Draco chuckled inwardly, but remained outwardly calm—this kid had actually guessed right.
Hagrid suddenly stood up, ending abruptly, "Alright, little ones, I have things to do. You should go back to the castle and get something to eat! Next time you come, I'll treat you to something different, definitely not Rock Cakes!"
Although everyone felt that Hagrid's change in attitude was abrupt, they had indeed stayed long enough, so they got up to say goodbye.
Draco saw Fang to a great distance before turning back and ruffling its head. "Go back, it's not like I'm not coming back."
On the way to the castle, Neville exclaimed with adoration, " Draco, Fang really likes you!"
Draco said, feigning smugness, "There's nothing I can do; his charisma is just too strong."
Olivia laughed and teased, "Stinky Draco."
The others, however, seemed preoccupied.
Hermione spoke first, her brow furrowed. " Hagrid seems to act strangely whenever he mentions the Gringotts theft?"
Ron thought about it and agreed, "Yeah! One second they're welcoming you to come anytime, the next they're rushing to see you off. That's really strange."
"It's simple. Hagrid knows the inside story, but he's afraid of letting it slip; he's a big mouth," Draco said calmly.
The others nodded in sudden understanding, Olivia asked curiously, "So what secret is Hagrid keeping?"
"Who cares?" Draco said casually. " Hagrid is in charge of guarding the Forbidden Forest; it's perfectly normal for him to have some secrets."
Olivia and Neville weren't fond of prying into other people's private lives, so they nodded after listening and didn't ask any more questions.
Only Harry took those words to heart.
He clearly remembered that it was on that day that he went to Gringotts with Hagrid and retrieved a mysterious little bag.
Immediately following was the intrusion, and the intruders clearly found nothing.
This could not possibly be a coincidence.
What could possibly be so dangerous as to warrant someone risking their life to storm Gringotts?
The more he thought about it, the deeper his doubts became.
The Great Hall was exceptionally peaceful at night.
The sensational event of summoning Giant Squid during the day gradually subsided as the explanation of the reunion of childhood friends spread.
Halfway through dinner, Wood crossed the long table, patted Draco on the shoulder, and said, " Malfoy, the trial is at seven tonight, don't be late."
Draco nodded to indicate that he understood.
Harry's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Can we go take a look?"
Wood laughed heartily and said, "Of course, anyone who wants to come can come."
"That's awesome!" Ron exclaimed excitedly. "I've been wanting to see proper Quidditch training for ages! George and Fred are always bragging about it to me, it's driving me crazy!"
Wood waved to the group and said, "Those who want to come can just go to the court. I'll go get my gear ready."
After saying that, he turned and left.
As soon as Wood left, everyone at the table ate noticeably faster, even the usually leisurely Olivia quickened her pace.
Lavender rested his chin on his hand, looking at Draco with curiosity. "I've figured it out, Draco. Everything you do is unprecedented and unparalleled. What's your secret?"
Draco replied, feigning seriousness, "There's no secret, it's just hard work and diligence."
Lavender and the others rolled their eyes in unison, giving each other a look that said, "No way they'd believe that."
Parvati was even more blunt in exposing their shortcomings. "When it comes to diligence, look at Hannah and Susan; they're the queens of Hufflepuff."
Draco smiled and turned to Hermione beside him, saying, "That depends on my wife. With her around, it's hard not to be diligent."
The moment those two words were uttered, the entire long table fell silent for half a second, then...
"Wow--!!"
Lavender was the first to lose control, covering his mouth and letting out a short, excited gasp.
Parvati exclaimed "Huh!" with a look of utter astonishment.
She shook Lavender excitedly, saying, "Did you hear that?! He called her 'wife'!!"
Lavender nodded frantically.
Hannah and Susan blushed instantly, covered their mouths and giggled, their eyes darting back and forth between Draco and Hermione.
They were both shy and curious, only daring to exclaim softly, "Wow!"
"Oh~~ Wife?! That's great, Draco, things are progressing so fast!" Olivia said with a doting smile.
Ron, who was still eating, dropped his fork onto his plate with a clatter. His mouth gaped open in an "O" shape, and after a long pause, he managed to stammer, "You... you all... you've all come this far?!"
Students at nearby tables also turned to look, and snickers and whispers spread like small waves.
"What did Malfoy just call Granger?"
"Wife?!"
"My God, is it really that direct?!"
And Hermione--
She froze instantly, her blood rushing to her head, turning her face bright red from her cheeks to her ears and neck.
She glared at Draco, both ashamed and anxious. Her lips trembled slightly, but she couldn't utter a single word.
She pinched Draco hard under the table with her little hand, but dared not argue back loudly, afraid that it would only make things worse.
She tried to act nonchalant, but her eyelashes trembled, her breathing quickened, and even the hand holding the cup trembled slightly.
She was like a kitten whose vital point had been hit, its fur standing on end but too afraid to run away.
The long table was filled with jeering, smirking, and winking. Everyone was looking at the two of them with knowing glances, and the noise was so loud it felt like the roof was about to be lifted.
Hermione did her best to maintain her usual calm and serious demeanor, forcefully changing the subject with a straight face:
"Diligence is the foundation of wisdom. Some talents are innate, but without learning and accumulation, one cannot go far."
She spoke a beat faster than usual, deliberately avoiding eye contact with everyone, pretending to be discussing serious academic matters.
Lavender burst out laughing on the spot, while Parvati winked and nudged her arm, giving her a knowing look.
Ron, astonished, managed to stammer, " Hermione, you don't need to try and cover it up with grand pronouncements... we heard everything!"
Hermione glared at Ron, then secretly pinched Draco's hand hard under the table.
Seeing Hermione's ears turn bright red, almost bleeding, and she was on the verge of bursting with embarrassment, Draco quickly smiled and smoothed things over:
"That's enough, don't embarrass our Miss Granger."
Seizing the opportunity, Lavender continued to tease, "Oh--why are you calling me ' Miss Granger ' again? You weren't calling me that just now!"
"Yeah, who was it that kept calling me 'wife' just now... I won't say~" Parvati drawled out, grinning mischievously.
Draco raised his eyes, feigning seriousness as he interrupted, "Stop it. If you keep teasing me, I'm just taking my wife and leaving. You can forget about watching the Quidditch tryouts."
As soon as the word "wife" was uttered again, a burst of cheers and jeers erupted from the long table.
Everyone laughed and joked, but wisely stopped teasing, fearing that Draco might actually take Hermione and run away ahead of time.