Draco, seeing the lingering fear in her eyes, felt a pang of tenderness. He gently stroked her slightly cool cheek and said with concern:
"It's my fault. I shouldn't have told you everything at once. Look how scared my wife is."
Upon hearing this, Hermione was slightly taken aback, and her tense mind instantly softened.
She looked up at Draco, her eyes revealing a gentle warmth and shyness.
All the fear and unease from before vanished with his tender whisper.
Hermione didn't dodge; instead, she gently rubbed against his palm, saying with a hint of grievance that had just been soothed:
"I'm not afraid... As long as I'm with you, I'm not afraid."
As she spoke, she gently grasped his hand that was stroking her face, and added in a soft, earnest voice:
"Besides, you told me the truth for my own good. I don't want to know nothing, and I don't want to... just be hidden behind you."
The light shone on her earnest eyes and brows, making Draco's heart flutter.
Draco looked into her soft eyes and said with a mischievous grin:
" Miss Granger, don't look at me like that... If you keep doing that, I really want to kiss you."
Hermione: "..."
One second I was feeling relieved, touched, and earnestly wanting to fight alongside them.
The next second, I was taken aback by his blunt and sudden provocation.
She froze for half a second, and her cheeks, which had just calmed down, suddenly burned again.
The touching atmosphere shattered completely.
Hermione silently slapped his hand away, then shrank back, both angry and embarrassed.
" Draco Malfoy! Can't you be serious for once?! I was just talking to you about something serious!"
Draco chuckled at her flustered little face.
"Alright, I'm kidding you now." He dropped the teasing tone. "Then I have something even more shocking, something even more revolutionary, do you want to know?"
Hermione had just pushed his hand away and hadn't even had time to calm her racing heart when she heard these words, and she was stunned again.
Having just heard about Voldemort possessing Quirrell, she couldn't think of anything more shocking.
She frowned, feeling both angry and helpless, yet unable to suppress her intense curiosity:
"... What trick are you trying to pull now, Draco? I'm not in the mood for jokes."
Draco could see from her eyes what she wanted to hear.
Draco looked at her nervous yet expectant expression, his mischievous smile deepening.
"It's very simple. If Miss Granger kisses me, I'll tell you everything that's even more shocking."
Hermione froze instantly.
One second he was earnestly waiting for the secret, the next he left her speechless.
Hermione's pupils contracted, and her face flushed red from her cheeks to her ears.
The heavy atmosphere from a moment ago was completely dispelled by his words.
She shrank back a little more:
" Draco Malfoy! Can you—can you please stop bringing this up all the time!"
She was both shy and anxious, and dared not meet his smiling gaze, but the curiosity in her heart was scratching at her like a cat's claws.
I was genuinely angry, genuinely shy, and genuinely wanted to hear the secret.
Hermione bit her lower lip, glared at him, looking both amused and exasperated.
"You... you're completely unreasonable! I'm not going to talk to you!"
But that little bit of fierceness, set against her reddened eyes and flushed cheeks, had no power whatsoever; instead, it seemed like she was just being coquettish.
Draco looked at her bright red earlobes, smiled, and took a step closer. "Well... how about I pay you back for now?"
Hermione bit her lower lip hard, her curiosity almost overwhelming her reason.
She glared at him, both angry and helpless, but finally, with a stiff face, she uttered a single word. "... Fine."
Then she added with great force:
"But—when—is up to me."
Then he leaned forward slightly, his eyes carrying a serious threat:
"And also, if you dare to lie to me, the secrets you reveal won't be shocking enough... just you wait."
Draco's joking expression vanished:
"Well then, Miss Granger, listen carefully."
Hermione immediately held her breath, her earlier embarrassment and anger vanishing instantly.
Draco, seeing her tense expression, slowly spoke, and one sentence shattered all her expectations:
"In fact, I told Professor Dumbledore beforehand that Professor Quirrell was possessed by Voldemort."
That's why he and I became allies.
Time seemed to stand still at that moment.
Hermione's lips parted slightly, but no sound came out.
She stared blankly at Draco, her mind completely blank.
Did he tell Dumbledore?
Are he and Dumbledore allies?
"... What did you say?"
Draco, seeing her stunned and bewildered expression, resumed his arrogant and smug tone:
"That's why Professor Dumbledore sides with me on so many things. Now you know how powerful your husband is, right?"
Hermione was still reeling from the shocking secret she had just heard when he announced it so triumphantly, leaving her completely stunned.
One second I was shocked that he had allied with Dumbledore and exposed Quirrell ahead of time.
The next second, I was left feeling both annoyed, amused, and speechless by his arrogant and confident remark.
She was stunned for several seconds before she suddenly came to her senses. Her cheeks flushed again, and she glared at him, feeling both embarrassed and ashamed.
"Keep your voice down!"
"This is the Room of Requirement, it's very soundproof, what are you afraid of?" Draco said with a laugh.
Hermione's cheeks continued to burn from his laughter, so she simply turned her face away, muttering under her breath in a huff:
"Okay, okay, your thighs are thick and ugly!"
Draco teased her on purpose:
"My thighs aren't ugly at all."
As he spoke, he reached up to lift the hem of his bathrobe, as if he really wanted to show it to her.
Hermione tensed up in fright and quickly blurted out, "Okay, okay! I don't want to look at your thighs!"
She shouted frantically while covering her eyes tightly with both hands, not daring to peek through her fingers:
"Stop messing around!"
Draco smiled helplessly and stopped what he was doing, "You were the one who said my thighs were ugly first, so I'm just proving it."
Hermione's cheeks were still burning, and she covered her eyes, afraid to let go, her voice trembling with panic:
"It's all your fault... You... you didn't really show it, did you!"
"Not yet." Draco's voice was full of mischievous laughter.
"If you're really going to show off, it should be your abs and pecs, isn't that what you like to see?"
Hermione couldn't help but secretly open a tiny crack in her fingers, and retorted angrily:
"I don't like it at all! And... with your build, how could you possibly have abs?"
Draco's smile deepened, and he leaned slightly closer to her, about to lift her clothes. "Don't believe me? Then feel it."
Oh no... Is he really going to lift his shirt? This is the Room of Requirement, and it's just the two of us. What if he really does... Where should I look?!
We were just talking about Voldemort, how did it suddenly turn into this... this kind of topic that makes it impossible to think straight!
Draco is such a master at manipulating people! One second he's so reliable, and the next he's... so shameless!
But... when he got closer, my heart was beating so fast...
No, no, Hermione Granger, you need to calm down! Don't let him lead you astray!
But his voice was so close, I could almost feel his breath... Touch him? Absolutely not! Something bad would happen!
My face is so hot... If I stay here any longer, I won't be able to sleep tonight!
She hurriedly covered the gap, shrinking back and shaking her head repeatedly, "No, no—don't come any closer!"