When Pansy heard Draco say he did not know the Engorgement Charm, she never stopped to consider why he was making excuses, nor did she ponder whether his words were true.
Only one thought exploded in her mind, shaking her like a thunderclap.
He actually didn't know it! A Malfoy, born into one of the Wizarding World's foremost pure-blood families and immersed in magic since childhood, actually didn't know something as basic as the Engorgement Charm!
That thought wound around Pansy's mind like wildly growing vines, and the coy sweetness Draco's praise had stirred in her was instantly forgotten.
Immediately afterward, a burning surge of smugness, almost enough to make her scalp tingle, shot from the bottom of her heart straight to the top of her head, instantly drowning out her insignificant bit of shock.
She felt wonderful all over. Her earlier hurt at being "forgotten" by Draco and the arrogance she had deliberately maintained now turned into an overwhelming sense of superiority-even a Malfoy had weaknesses, times when he fell short of her!
Pansy could clearly feel the corners of her mouth curling upward uncontrollably. The amusement in her eyes was almost overflowing, and she could barely hold back a shrill laugh.
She hastily raised her free hand, holding her neatly rounded fingertips loosely before her lips, and only just managed to suppress the laughter threatening to burst from her throat.
Yet the smugness in her eyes continued to spread unchecked, and even her brows took on a brazen hint of glee.
"Oh-?" A long, high-pitched syllable finally slipped from Pansy's mouth, laced with teasing amusement, like a cat that had caught the scent of fish and was staring fixedly at the "prey" before it.
She even deliberately leaned forward a little, closing the distance between herself and Draco.
Lowering her voice, she said, "So... even the all-knowing, all-powerful young master Malfoy has times when he needs to turn to the first page of a textbook and learn a spell from scratch?"
Her voice was so quiet that only the two of them could hear it.
But she made no attempt to conceal the mockery in her words. Every word seemed deliberately aimed at Draco's "weakness," carrying the swagger of someone gloating over a petty victory.
Draco instinctively drew another half step back, avoiding her excessive closeness, and reiterated, "I never said I knew everything. Besides, learning from a textbook isn't without merit. Making steady progress is always better than having a half-baked understanding and making a mess of things."
At this, Pansy raised an eyebrow slightly, and the corner of her mouth twitched. It was not quite a genuine smile, but rather something perfunctory and disdainful.
"That's certainly a... novel way of putting it. This is the first time I've heard you say anything like that since I've known you."
The Draco she remembered had always been insufferably haughty, disdaining any mention of studying textbooks, much less admitting there were things he did not understand. Though she felt disdain for this change in him today, it also left her with a faint sense of something different.
"People change," Draco said.
Pansy fell silent for a moment, but ultimately refused to set aside her pride.
"'Change' however you like, make whatever excuses you want. The competition this weekend won't change. It's still going ahead. Puffapods won't obediently swell up on their own just because someone has 'changed,' and the Engorgement Charm won't magically become easier just because someone doesn't understand it."
Watching her struggle to keep up appearances, Draco's eyes flickered with faint amusement, and he slowly asked, "Since you're so certain, I take it you've already learned the Engorgement Charm?"
"Of course," Pansy answered at once, her smugness surging again.
"The incantation for the Engorgement Charm is 'En-gor-gi-o' (E. You have to pronounce the second syllable clearly and loudly, without the slightest slurring."
Her words even took on a hint of gracious condescension, as though she were bestowing a tremendous honor upon Draco.
"My father said plenty of id-iots-" She deliberately stressed the word "idiots," sweeping a pointed glance across Draco's face before quickly looking away, pretending she had only mentioned it in passing.
"They pronounce the spell 'Engorgio,' and then, instead of making the Puffapod swell, they blow the pod to pieces and get mashed pod splattered all over their faces. Utterly ridiculous."
Pansy showed off so deliberately, with mockery concealed beneath her words.
Yet Draco did not get angry. He merely spoke mildly, his tone calm. "Since you've already mastered it, why not demonstrate it here? That way, I can see how it's cast correctly and learn a thing or two."
At those words, Pansy suddenly stiffened, then swiftly turned around, her movements hurried and rigid, as though something had struck her squarely in a vulnerable spot.
Her face instantly registered startled disbelief, the humiliation and irritation of having the tables turned on her, and a barely perceptible trace of panic.
Her narrow, upturned eyes widened enormously, her pupils even contracting slightly under the sudden pressure. Her fingers clenched involuntarily, and even her breathing grew a little hurried.
Now? Here? Demonstrate it just for him?
The thought exploded in Pansy's mind like a thunderclap, leaving her mind briefly blank and muddled.
Her earlier boasts of having "long since mastered it," of being "flawless," and of being able to "blow a Puffapod up big enough to sunbathe on" now came flying viciously back at her like boomerangs.
How could she possibly have truly mastered the Engorgement Charm?
She had merely heard her father mention a few pointers about the incantation and made two cursory attempts at home. She had never even successfully enlarged a pod, let alone gained complete mastery of it.
Her earlier showing off had only been meant to demonstrate her prowess to Draco so he would agree to be her partner.
But she had never imagined that Draco would suddenly ask her to demonstrate it on the spot, catching her completely off guard.
"H-here?" Pansy's voice rose involuntarily, even cracking almost imperceptibly, clearly betraying how startled and flustered she was.
She swiftly glanced around-the drawing room at Malfoy Manor was magnificent and solemn, with gilded decorations, soft velvet sofas, and classical oil paintings hanging on the walls. Every detail exuded refinement and dignity. It was certainly no place to practice spells.
There was no familiar practice ground like the Parkinson family's, none of the specially prepared Puffapods she usually used, treated beforehand by house-elves to ensure a "stable expansion coefficient," and certainly none of the spectators who could provide a distraction at the weekend competition.
One mistake would mean making a fool of herself in front of others and losing all dignity.
"Are you joking, Malfoy!" Pansy tried to conceal that fleeting panic with a louder voice and sharper accusations. "Do you think demonstrating a carefully prepared spell is as simple as waving your hand and saying 'Lumos'?"
"It requires suitable materials, a stable environment, and..." At this point, she suddenly faltered, her mind racing as she frantically searched for an excuse.
Only after a moment did Pansy manage to continue, "...and a formal atmosphere! It's certainly not something you can demonstrate carelessly in some random corner like this!"
She spoke with complete self-assurance, but she could not hide the evasiveness in her eyes and did not dare meet Draco's gaze. Clearly, her guilty conscience had reached its limit.
Draco took in all her embarrassment and panic and already understood that she had never truly learned the Engorgement Charm. Her earlier display had been nothing but bluffing.
But Draco had no intention of continuing to press that sore spot either.
After all, being so aggressive would be going too far. Besides, he had never intended to take part in that competition, and he wanted even less to get overly entangled with Pansy.