Hermione's mother glared at her, and Hermione reluctantly got up to help, inwardly grumbling:
If this guy hadn't come, she wouldn't have needed to clean all this up; his arrival has only made things worse for her.
But Draco persisted, and Hermione's mother finally agreed, letting him join her in the kitchen.
As she washed the dishes, she mentally assessed him: This child is diligent and sensible, and has a decent appearance. He's pleasing to the eye no matter how you look at him. I wonder which girl he'll end up with.
Little did she know that this seemingly respectable and well-mannered young man came from a family that had connections to the Dark Lord. If she had known, she probably wouldn't have thought this way.
Draco himself hadn't expected that simply washing a few dishes would significantly increase his future mother-in-law's favorability towards him.
After cleaning up, Hermione's mother wouldn't let them interfere with the finishing touches.
Draco washed his hands and came out of the kitchen. Hermione's mother instructed Hermione, who was drying her hands, as follows:
Go and tidy up Draco's room; tell him to rest for a while at noon.
Hermione rubbed the grease off her hands vigorously and softly replied, "Okay."
When Draco came out of the kitchen, Hermione's father, who was sitting on the sofa, waved to him.
Draco felt much more at ease by now, so he slowly walked over.
Hermione's father gestured for him to sit next to him, Draco remained polite, keeping a slight distance and sitting upright and humble.
The two chatted casually, and the atmosphere was quite peaceful.
Hermione rubbed her hands clean, glanced at her father and Draco, and seeing that the two were getting along fairly well, she turned around with relief and went upstairs to prepare a guest room for Draco to take a nap.
As they chatted, Hermione's father suddenly looked surprised and raised his voice slightly.
Hermione's mother had just finished tidying up and came out of the house when she heard the noise and quickly said, "What are you talking about so loudly? Don't scare the child."
Draco quickly smiled gently, "It's alright, Auntie. Uncle was just asking how my studies are going at school."
"Exactly," Hermione's father chimed in, "Don't always look at me with such old-fashioned eyes, really."
Hermione's mother sighed softly, "Do you think it was because all of Hermione's male classmates were afraid to have much contact with her? It was because you scared them away."
Hermione's father gave a wry smile, "I just told them not to be too playful, and they all acted like frightened birds. I really didn't do anything to them."
"Alright, alright, if there's nothing else, just rest. I know you too well."
After Hermione's mother finished speaking, she turned and went upstairs.
Once everyone left, Hermione's father quickly lowered his voice and said to Draco, "Don't listen to Hermione's mother's nonsense. We've been chatting for so long, do you think I'd eat someone?"
Draco already knew what was going on, but he said something nice, "Uncle has always given me a very approachable feeling."
Once you've appeased your father-in-law, getting past your mother-in-law will be much easier.
Hermione's dad chuckled and patted him on the shoulder:
"You're still the kind of kid I like! Uncle's going upstairs to rest for a bit too."
"Okay, Uncle, take care."
Hermione's father smiled and got up, following Hermione's mother upstairs.
Draco finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He believed what Hermione's mother said.
Given how open this place is, it's understandable that the father would be a little more cautious.
A moment later, a familiar head peeked out from the stairwell, and Hermione called out softly to him:
"The room is ready, please come in."
Draco immediately got up and followed her upstairs.
The two tiptoed upstairs, speaking in hushed tones the whole way.
Draco leaned closer to her, a hint of smugness in his voice, and asked softly, "How was it? Did I do... alright?"
Hermione's cheeks flushed slightly, and she glanced at him sideways. "You're quite sensible, with a sweet tongue and quick hands."
Draco chuckled softly, walking beside her. "Of course, look who it belongs to..."
Hermione was so frightened that she immediately covered his mouth with her hand, pricked up her ears, and listened carefully to the sounds coming from upstairs and downstairs, afraid that her parents would hear a single word.
After confirming there was no noise, she slowly released her grip, muttering reproachfully, "You do it again..."
Draco blinked, looking completely innocent. "I really didn't mean that..."
"You are," Hermione insisted in a low voice.
One sentence made her ears turn bright red instantly. She hurriedly took a few steps forward to create some distance and tossed out, "Don't get too cocky, this is just the beginning."
Hermione led Draco to the guest room door, gently pushed it open, and gestured for him to go in first.
Just as she was about to turn and leave, he gently grabbed her wrist.
Draco pleaded, "I don't want to rest first... I want to see Miss Granger's room."
Hermione froze instantly, her face turning bright red.
She instinctively shrank back, avoiding his gaze, and hurriedly whispered her refusal:
"No, no! Just look at the guest rooms, my room... there's nothing to see."
Draco's smile deepened as he watched her blushing, flustered, and desperately trying to hide her embarrassment.
He wanted to see her most authentic, most private, and least publicly revealed side.
Hermione was flustered by his gaze, and her voice softened:
"This really won't do... It's too chaotic, and... and this is just too..."
They're too intimate.
She didn't say those words aloud, but they were written all over her flushed cheeks.
She's genuinely shy!
It contained her books, notebooks, little habits, and secrets from childhood to adulthood; it was a little world that belonged only to her.
The first time she let a boy in, and it was Draco no less, she wasn't mentally prepared at all.
Draco saw that she was almost too embarrassed to lift her head, so he didn't press her further and just smiled gently.
"Okay, I'm going to rest."
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little disappointed for some reason.
"Next time... we'll talk about it next time."
After saying that, she turned away almost as if fleeing, not daring to look at the smile in his eyes.
But suddenly her wrist was gently grasped; Draco had reached out and grabbed her.
The force wasn't strong, but it froze her in place instantly.
The two suddenly became closer, their breaths light and shallow. The hallway was so quiet that they could hear each other's breathing, creating an incredibly ambiguous atmosphere.
Draco asked with a slight smile, "When is the next time?"
Hermione tensed up and hurriedly lowered her voice, "Don't do anything rash, my parents are upstairs!"
Draco chuckled softly, his breath brushing against her head. "Your aunt and uncle went back to their room a long time ago and are already resting."
"That won't do..." Hermione's heart was pounding wildly. She tried to pull her hand away, but he held it even more firmly and gently. "This is my home. You better behave yourself..."
Her flustered, embarrassed, and annoyed appearance only made Draco want to tease her even more.
He couldn't help but chuckle softly, and gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind Hermione's ear.
The movement was as light as a feather, yet exceptionally ambiguous.
In that very instant!
Very light footsteps came from the corner of the stairs, along with two sentences of conversation spoken in hushed tones.
The two suddenly separated, each taking a step back as if burned.
One stood frozen at the guest room door, the other in the middle of the corridor, their cheeks flushed an unnatural red.