At Pansy's accusation, a faint smile stirred in Draco's eyes.
"My apologies, Miss Pansy. I meant no disrespect. You've simply become even more lovely than before, and your appearance has changed so much that I failed to recognize you for a moment. I hope you won't hold it against me."
Before he had finished, Pansy's breath caught sharply. Her narrow, upturned eyes widened slightly, filled with incredulous astonishment.
It was hard to imagine that Draco had actually apologized.
The Malfoy family had always been haughty and aloof, looking down their noses at everyone. When had they ever lowered their heads and apologized so readily?
The unexpected apology shook Pansy deeply, leaving her momentarily bewildered.
Before her feelings could settle, the words "even more lovely" slipped softly into her ears, like a breeze brushing across the lake of her heart and setting ripples spreading over it.
Pansy's upturned eyes instantly narrowed, her gaze as sharp as a probe as it swept over Draco's face inch by inch.
She refused to let the slightest twitch of a muscle escape her, still less any flicker in Draco's gray-blue eyes.
Pansy desperately wanted to pick apart this sudden sweet talk: was it a perfunctory attempt to make amends after realizing he had been rude? Was he deliberately putting on an act, a more sophisticated form of humiliation? Or... could it really be a heartfelt compliment?
As questions churned, a hot current of warmth quietly rose from the bottom of her heart, carrying a young girl's vanity and fluttering excitement, gradually melting the icy shell she had deliberately built earlier.
She forced down the turmoil in her heart, deliberately keeping that offended expression on her face for another second.
Yet the corners of her mouth were already curling upward beyond her control, forming a pert, radiant curve that could scarcely hide her delight.
"Hmph." Pansy gave a short breath through her nose, impossible to tell whether it was reproachful or coy.
She raised her chin even higher, her bearing still proud, but her gaze now held a little of the newly acquired self-satisfaction of someone who was admired.
"You think saying that will let you brush aside your rudeness so easily, Malfoy?"
Draco's smile deepened at her words, and he turned the question back on her. "Oh? Then how do you think I should make up for today's mistake to appease you, Miss Pansy?"
At Draco's question, Pansy's dark eyes instantly lit up, undisguised triumph and delight flashing in their depths.
She knew perfectly well that the initiative had now been symbolically placed in her hands.
This was a rare gift, and an opportunity to bring them closer. She had to make good use of it and absolutely could not let it slip away.
Pansy deliberately tilted her head slightly to one side, letting her carefully styled short, dark-brown hair slip along her shoulder, the strands brushing lightly against her clothes.
Then she began imitating the picky yet slightly coy expression her mother wore at tea parties, looking pert and lively, with a touch of a young lady's spoiled air.
"Hmm..." Pansy drew out the sound, tapping her chin lightly with her index finger and pretending to be deep in thought, though a hint of slyness hid in her eyes, as if she were carefully calculating something.
"First," she slowly raised one slender finger, her tone carrying the particular sense of entitlement of a young lady accustomed to being indulged, "you can't just vaguely say my appearance has changed. Since you said I've become prettier, you have to prove you really paid close attention, rather than just saying it to humor me."
As she spoke, she took a small step closer and leaned slightly forward, instantly narrowing the distance considerably.
Draco could now clearly smell her faint fragrance, a sweet, fresh perfume suited to a child, not overpowering but particularly refreshing as it lingered beneath his nose.
He instinctively retreated half a step. As his gaze shifted, he happened to catch sight of the ornament in Pansy's hair and took the opportunity to speak. "That hair ribbon of yours is quite unusual. Such a distinctive design-you can tell at a glance that it's rather valuable."
Pansy looked even more pleased at his words and said with a touch of pride and ostentation, "Naturally. This ribbon is the latest style Mother brought back from Paris a few days ago. It's embroidered with exquisite Thestral feather patterns, using an extremely rare, special magical thread. Whenever it's somewhere dark, it gives off tiny glimmers, shining and shifting like a real galaxy. It's especially beautiful."
"It truly is exquisite. Only you could carry off a style like that. It perfectly complements your lively air," Draco said, following her lead with a compliment.
These words pleased Pansy thoroughly. Her smile grew even brighter, the delight in her eyes almost spilling over. Much of her haughtiness faded, replaced by more of a young girl's playful vivacity.
"Second," Pansy slowly raised another finger, her expression gradually turning a little sly. This was more like making a deal with Draco that she considered "fair."
"Since you missed me... er, missed the process of me gradually becoming prettier, and didn't get to witness those changes!"
After a pause, Pansy continued, "Then you'll have to make up for that properly. Next weekend, we're holding a little magical competition in our garden to cast Engorgement Charms on Puffapods. Father has specially invited several families we know in the Wizarding World to take part. It'll be quite lively. You have to come, and..."
She paused briefly, and some of the slyness in Pansy's eyes abruptly faded, replaced by an unquestionable sharpness. "You have to be my partner. The others my age at the manor, or the children invited over, are either cowardly and useless or crude and reckless. Fools like Crabbe and Goyle haven't the slightest spark to them. I don't want to pair up with them and lower my own standing for nothing."
Her words were full of disdain for everyone else, and only when she spoke of having Draco as her partner did she show unmistakable insistence.
Draco shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of helpless evasion. "But I only bought my wand in Diagon Alley a short while ago. I haven't even fully grasped the most basic spells yet, let alone tried anything like the Engorgement Charm. I don't even know the syllables of the incantation. How could I be your partner? If I made a fool of myself during the competition and held you back instead, wouldn't that do more harm than good?"
Though this was an excuse, there was some sincerity behind it.
Draco had never intended to take part in such leisure competitions among pure-blood families, and he was even less willing to pair up with her.
Pansy was lovely, with a delicate figure, and although she was somewhat spoiled, she also had a young girl's vivacity.
But Draco knew perfectly well that her closeness toward him was most likely rooted in the Malfoy family's power and glory, and in the friendship between their families over generations, rather than genuine affection for him as a person.
Affection mixed with self-interest and family standing had never been what Draco wanted.
What Draco thought of and longed for had always been someone as pure, clearhearted, and sincere as Hermione. He only wanted to stay true to those feelings and slowly draw closer to her.
Besides, those invited to the competition held by Pansy's family would certainly all be children of pure-blood families in the Wizarding World.
Those people had been taught the doctrine of "pure-blood supremacy" by their families from birth. They carried an inborn sense of superiority in their bones, looked down on Muggle-born and half-blood wizards, and behaved with brazen arrogance, full of pride and prejudice.
Draco had always loathed such hidebound, bigoted thinking, and was even less willing to wallow in the mire with them. Nor would he ever follow the path prescribed by pure-blood families in the future; he refused to let bloodline and family standing bind him hand and foot.