Hermione then released her grip, a sly smile playing on her lips, "It would have been better if you'd done this earlier."
Draco rubbed his lower back and gave her a deliberately mournful look:
"I've discovered that the closer we are, the less I can kiss Miss Granger."
Hermione said without changing her expression, "Stop joking around. I'm tired of kissing every day."
Draco choked on his words.
Seeing his deflated expression, Hermione laughed and nudged him, "Don't change the subject, just tell me, why do you keep changing your Defence Against Dark Magic teacher?"
Draco then stopped joking, his tone becoming a little more serious. "It's not that Quirrell doesn't want to stay, it's just that the position itself is cursed."
Hermione was taken aback. "A curse?"
Before Voldemort fell from grace, he applied for a position as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, but was rejected by Dumbledore.
He harbored resentment and, before leaving, cursed the position—from that day forward, no Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts has ever been able to teach at Hogwarts for a full year.
Hermione was stunned, and after a long while, she asked, "... So even if Professor Quirrell breaks free from the control, he will still be forced to resign?"
"Yes," Draco nodded. "That's why, ever since then, this position has changed hands every year without fail."
Hermione was silent for a moment, then her eyes showed shock and realization. "I see... I only found it strange before, but I never thought there was such a reason behind it."
She looked up at Draco, her eyes filled with even more admiration. "How did you know?"
Draco smiled slightly, reached out, and gently brushed the stray hairs from her forehead. "Don't worry about it. Miss Granger will answer any questions she has."
Hermione's face flushed at his gentle gesture. She turned her head away but couldn't escape his hand, so she resigned herself to letting him do as he pleased.
"Stop being so glib. You were just jealous of Lockhart, and now you're pretending to be all sweet."
Draco chuckled, his fingers sliding down to the top of her head, gently ruffling it. "Jealousy is one thing, but being good to you is another. The two don't conflict."
Hermione felt a warmth in her heart, but she still reached out and slapped away his mischievous hand.
She then straightened her clothes, feigning composure, but a slight upturn remained at the corners of her mouth.
"Alright, stop fooling around." She steered the conversation back on track, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and trust.
"Then tell me, besides being cursed, what other trouble will Hogwarts Lockhart year?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Draco deliberately leaned closer. "... Shouldn't there be a reward for answering questions, like..."
Hermione immediately blocked his face as he leaned in, interrupting him fiercely, " Draco Malfoy! This is the library! What if someone sees us!"
Draco didn't back away; instead, he moved even closer. "What's there to be afraid of? My parents don't like spending time in the library at all."
"Even if they do come, it's fine. They'll just pretend they didn't see anything, turn around and leave, and they definitely won't say a word."
Hermione froze, her hand still stiff on his face. "Why?"
Draco grinned mischievously at her. "Because the Malfoy family has been small for generations, they probably wish we'd have more children in the future, even ten or eight wouldn't be too many."
Hermione's face instantly turned as red as the sunset, and she gave him a light, forceful shove on the cheek. "What nonsense are you spouting! Draco Malfoy, do you think I'm a sow?!"
Draco burst into uncontrollable laughter, his raucous giggles echoing clearly in the quiet library.
He finished laughing and, panting, began to speak, "When I used my reasons to convince my parents, my mother said exactly the same lines to you."
Hermione was both embarrassed and angry. She reached out and pinched the soft flesh on his side, her voice trembling with rage. "I don't want to be a sow!"
Draco immediately winced in pain. "Alright, alright, I won't be a sow. How could our Miss Granger be called that?"
As he spoke, he grabbed Hermione's hand to stop her from pinching him further. "Then... how many does Miss Granger want?"
Hermione's cheeks burned, her eyes darted around nervously, and she stammered for a while, "More or less..."
She snapped out of her daze, embarrassed and angrily slapping his hand away. "What are you talking about! How old are we anyway!"
Draco's smile widened. "Oh, it's not illegal to think ahead."
"Don't even think about it!"
Hermione immediately covered his mouth with her hand, firmly pressing down on his mouth that always loved to say flirtatious things. "Now, right now, get rid of these weird thoughts!"
"Okay, okay." Draco was so muffled by her covering his mouth that he could barely speak.
Hermione let go of his hand, glared at him angrily, but forcibly suppressed those chaotic thoughts and pulled him back to the serious matter:
"Honestly, Lockhart... is the Memory Charm really the only spell he knows?"
Draco thought for a moment, then nodded, suppressing a laugh, "More or less. As far as I remember, he couldn't even Expelliarmus."
Hermione's glimmer of anticipation for the new school term shattered instantly.
She had just been mentally organizing Lockhart's works, and had even planned to ask him a few professional questions when school started.
As a result, Draco's casual remark shattered her idol image completely.
Hermione was stunned for a long while, her voice softening slightly. "Isn't that... even worse than Ron?"
Draco couldn't help but laugh out loud, "It's a good thing Ron isn't here, or he'd be gloating for a whole year."
Hermione was also stunned for a moment before realizing what she had said. Her lips twitched slightly, but she tried her best to keep it in check.
"That's not what I meant... I meant, he's a renowned wizard, how could he not even know basic spells?"
Draco shrugged.
Hermione, having received confirmation, frowned slightly again, a hint of unease in her voice. "Won't there be any problems if he teaches Defence Against Dark Magic?"
"Even at worst, he shouldn't be worse than Professor Quirrell. Quirrell is talented, but his teaching level... well, let's just say it's questionable."
"I hope so," Hermione sighed softly.
Draco immediately noticed her disappointment, reached out and gently ruffled her hair, softening his voice as he asked, "Disappointed?"
Hermione pursed her lips and admitted softly, "... There was one thing I really thought was that amazing."
Draco chuckled lightly, "Real people never need to boast. Having this guy next to you is enough, isn't it?"