Hermione then asked, "And what about the Wizard's Chess? Is it going well for you?"
The mere mention of Wizard's Chess caused Lavender's face to fall. "Don't even mention it! It was a hard-fought victory, we almost lost everything!"
Parvati pointed at Ron, looking helpless. " Ron boasted that he was the best chess player in the world, but when he played, he hesitated for ages and sacrificed several pieces to barely win. Our clothes were all messed up during the game!"
Olivia nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, we almost got stuck there."
Harry, still shaken, said, "I almost got chopped down by the knight's axe! It scared me to death!"
Ron stubbornly argued, "That was tactical! Don't you understand tactics? Anyway, didn't I lead you guys to victory in the end?"
As he spoke, he turned to Draco and Hermione, quickly seeking their help. "I didn't want to either, but that game was just too difficult! You can ask them!"
Everyone turned to look at Draco and Hermione.
Without hesitation, Hermione looked up and said calmly, "Is it difficult? Draco only took three steps to clear it."
The moment the words left his mouth, the common room fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone froze on the spot, their eyes wide open, their mouths agape in shock.
"Three... three steps?!"
"No way... We were fighting tooth and nail and almost crashed, and he made it in three steps?!"
"This is insane!"
" Malfoy, are you even human?!"
The next second, everyone's anger turned against Ron.
Lavender, hands on his hips, looked at you with exasperation. "Look at them! And look at you! They cleared the level in three steps, while you struggled for ages and almost got wiped out, leaving us all covered in dust!"
Parvati chimed in, "Exactly, the difference is just too big!"
Olivia smiled and shook her head, " Ron, your chess skills still have a lot of room for improvement."
Ron scratched the back of his head, looking bewildered and aggrieved. "That's not right... how could it be over in three steps..."
Draco coughed lightly, kindly offering him a way out. "Perhaps the game changed later, and the difficulty was adjusted."
Ron immediately grasped at this straw, nodding frantically. "Yes, yes, yes! That must be it! Professor Dumbledore must have changed the game!"
Everyone let out a unified "whoosh--" and looked at him with disgust.
Ron's face turned bright red, but he couldn't refute it, so he could only scratch his head and chuckle foolishly.
Hermione, witnessing this scene, was completely convinced.
She finally believed that Draco could utterly defeat Ron in chess.
The night was deep, and the fire in the stove gradually died down.
The adventure and courage that Dumbledore once spoke of became their most vivid memories tonight.
Everyone yawned, feeling tired yet satisfied. They smiled and waved goodbye, then climbed the stairs back to their dormitories to sleep.
Draco and Hermione exchanged a smile and followed the crowd up the stairs.
The next morning, the Hogwarts bulletin board was covered with notices, and owls circled overhead.
Students can pack their bags and prepare to go home; the notice was emphasized in bold below:
The use of magic outside of school is strictly prohibited, and it must never be seen by Muggle other than family members.
Today is also the day when academic report cards are distributed.
The entire castle was filled with the excitement of the holiday, except for the library, which remained quiet.
Hermione sat by the window flipping through her textbooks for the next semester, while Draco sat opposite her, chin in hand.
Before long, a series of light footsteps approached, and Draco and Hermione's roommates rushed in.
Everyone held their report cards in their hands, and their faces were beaming with joy.
Lavender was the first to rush forward and spread the report card on the table:
" Hermione! We all passed the exams! It's all thanks to you dragging us along to study every day, highlighting key points, and helping us with Magical Theory and Potions recipes, otherwise we definitely would have failed!"
Parvati echoed with gratitude, "Yes, yes, you sacrifice your time every night to help us with our problems, and you even check our Divination homework. Thank you so much!"
Olivia added with a laugh, "If it weren't for you supervising our memorization, we'd still be worried about failing the exam. You're our savior!"
Ron immediately pushed his way to the front, slammed his report card in front of Draco, chin held high, utterly smug.
"Look, look! Malfoy, I also got excellent grades! Aren't you amazing!"
He was incredibly lucky, just like Harry, managing to barely pass several subjects he barely passed and get decent grades.
Harry stood to the side, beaming, "Me too! Me too! Many subjects went much better than I expected!"
Lavender immediately rolled her eyes and mercilessly exposed him. "What's with the arrogance? You just got lucky, right? Do you really think you're some kind of superhuman?"
Ron immediately retorted, unconvinced. "Luck is also part of ability! Besides, there are always some people who can't have good luck even if they want to!"
Lavender instantly bristled, hands on her hips, ready to yell, "Who are you calling unlucky? I clearly improved this time too!"
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again as usual, Olivia quickly reached out and pulled them apart, smiling helplessly:
"Alright, alright, if you want to argue, go outside—what are you two so smug about, being the first and second in the whole grade?"
After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.
That's right, Hermione is number one in the entire grade, firmly holding the top spot.
But Hermione glanced at Draco, then whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "You definitely let me win on purpose, didn't you?"
Draco didn't refute, but a smile was hidden in his eyes.
He didn't care about the ranking; being second in the entire grade was already enough for him to meet Professor McGonagall's expectations.
Parvati, watching Hermione still engrossed in her book, couldn't help but sigh, "It's always our Hermione; even on vacation, she's still studying in the library. No wonder she consistently ranks first in her grade."
Hermione closed the book and smiled gently, "I'm not always studying. I also try to balance work and rest, and I go out for walks occasionally."
Lavender immediately shrugged off Ron, who was still pouting, and leaned over to Hermione, winking and making faces at her:
"Isn't that because you have a great partner who's both capable and keeps you in check? If it were us, we'd be having a blast by now!"
Hermione's cheeks flushed slightly as she asked, "What, are you envious?"
Lavender nodded without any hesitation, "Of course I'm envious! Who here isn't envious of you two? I'm just more open about it and dare to say it!"
Hermione's smile widened, and she deliberately raised her voice, "Then you can just keep envying me."
As soon as she finished speaking, Parvati and Olivia immediately chimed in, "We're so envious!"
"I'm impressed by you two," Ron laughed along.
Neville scratched his head shyly and muttered in agreement, "It's really enviable."
Draco sighed and rubbed his forehead, lowering his voice to remind him, "Stop fooling around, this is a library."
Then everyone remembered they were still in the quiet library, and quickly covered their mouths to stifle their laughter, nodding vigorously in agreement.
"Okay, okay, I won't make a fuss anymore."
We'll leave now, so as not to disturb your time together.
Hermione, let's go back and pack our bags!
Goodbye, Draco!
A group of people waved and laughed, then quietly turned and left the library. Their footsteps gradually faded away, finally restoring the quiet to the two people by the window.