Draco, unconcerned about others' opinions, accompanied Hermione on a tour, and only asked after she had had her fill of looking around:
"Is your hair a bit dry lately? Would you like to get a treatment here? I'm free right now anyway."
Hermione paused, subconsciously brushing aside her always slightly messy curly hair, and hesitated softly:
"No need... My hair is already thick and messy, it's hard to manage."
Draco stared at Hermione's fluffy, soft curls for a few seconds, then suddenly spoke up, "Actually, I also think it's unnecessary."
Hermione immediately looked up at him, a hint of doubt in her eyes.
Draco smiled and reached out to gently ruffle her hair, deliberately making her already slightly curly hair even more messy.
"You look great as you are. If you made it too smooth, I wouldn't be used to it. I thought you were especially cute when you looked all messy."
The entire beauty pharmacy fell silent instantly.
Mrs. Prim behind the counter paused, and the witches next to her, picking out hair oils, almost dropped their bottles.
A young witch in the corner let out a soft "Wow!" and then quickly covered her mouth.
Then everyone pretended to be busy.
Hermione blushed instantly, her face turning bright red from head to neck.
She was both embarrassed and ashamed. She reached out and grabbed his still-misbehaving hand, lowering her voice, " Draco Malfoy! Shut up—!"
The subtle, almost imperceptible gazes around her felt like burning embers; she couldn't stay any longer. Grabbing his wrist, she forcefully dragged him outside.
"Hurry up and get out of here! Don't embarrass yourself!"
Draco, instead of panicking as she dragged him, laughed and let her frantically pull him toward the door.
Mrs. Prim, watching the two flee in disarray, finally couldn't help but laugh out loud and called out towards the door:
" Young Master Malfoy! Miss Hermione! Come again next time--!"
Hermione quickened her pace upon hearing this.
They practically dragged Draco out of the beauty and apothecary, and his ears were still burning as soon as he stepped onto the stone path outside.
Faint laughter drifted from the shop behind her; her cheeks puffed out like an angry kitten.
Draco was being pulled along by her wrist, and the smile on his lips never faded.
"Why are you running?" Draco deliberately slowed his pace and gently squeezed her hand in return. "I'm telling the truth."
Hermione stopped, turned around, glared at him, and angrily exposed him. "You were the one who asked me to do the nursing first, and now you're contradicting yourself!"
Draco paused for a moment, then reached out to ruffle her curly hair, which he had messed up.
Hermione immediately turned her head to avoid it, but she didn't actually get very far away.
"I wanted you to choose what you liked, not to force yourself to be neat and tidy," Draco said, his joking tone dropping. "I'm used to you no matter what you look like; you're best when you're a mess."
As he spoke, he brushed aside the small curls that were sticking up at Hermione's sideburns.
"The first time I really noticed you wasn't at school, it was at Ollivander's Wand Shop, do you remember?"
Hermione paused, looking at him in surprise.
"You came to choose a wand with Professor McGonagall, and I went over to explain it to you, talking for ages about the wood and the wand core..."
"I wasn't Ollivander's apprentice at all back then."
"You... you finally admit it now?" Hermione gently pinched his arm. "I really thought you were here to help, and I was surprised to find that you actually had a reliable side!"
"Now you understand?" Draco smiled brightly. "That old man was clearly doing this on purpose, pushing me in front of you."
"I fell for you right away and just wanted to talk to you more, to get to know you better. Who would have thought... we'd actually become a couple?"
Hermione's heart felt as if it were being gently enveloped by warm water. Gazing at Draco's face so close to hers, she was momentarily speechless.
"... So you've been up to no good since then." A smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.
Draco laughed out loud.
"Yes, from the moment I saw him at Ollivander's Wand Shop, my intentions have never been pure."
"Back then, I was naive enough to believe you, thinking you really came to work for Ollivander, and I even thought... you were much more agreeable than you were at school."
"Otherwise, why do you think I would go to help out at the wand shop for no reason?" Draco retorted.
"And you say that!" Hermione couldn't help but laugh again as she recalled the scene from back then.
"You put on such a serious face back then, talking to me about paulownia wood and Dragon Heartstring, speaking so knowledgeably that I almost actually believed you knew a lot."
"Now I realize you were just learning on the spot, it was all an act!"
"At least I fooled you, didn't I?" Draco said. "That old man Ollivander saw right through it; he clearly just wanted to see what happened."
Hermione also recalled that Ollivander's gaze towards them that day did indeed carry a hint of amusement.
At the time, she was so focused on the wand that she didn't think much about it. Now, putting everything together, she realizes that everything was foreshadowed all along.
"No wonder..." Hermione murmured softly, the corners of her mouth curving upwards. "No wonder he kept smiling at us that day; it turns out it was all on purpose from the very beginning."
"He did the dirty work, and I did it willingly."
A gentle breeze swept through Diagon Alley, carrying the faint fragrance of flowers from the roadside florists and ruffling Hermione's slightly curled hair.
"I was completely fooled by you and Ollivander working together..."
"So, are you willing to keep being fooled?" Draco asked.
Hermione didn't say anything, but gave him the most affirmative answer with a tight hug.
Draco suddenly hugged her and chuckled softly.
"Speaking of which—shouldn't we go to Ollivander to fulfill our vow?"
Hermione jerked her head up from his embrace. "Fulfilling a vow? You really treated that old man as a matchmaker?"
"Of course not." Draco poked her cheek.
"If he hadn't deliberately pushed me, this fake apprentice, in front of you, how would I have had the chance to talk to you?"
"In that case, they might still be at odds with you at school, never knowing they'd already fallen for your little curly hair."
"Besides, I should thank him for his bad intentions, which made this huge thing happen to me," Draco said with a wicked grin.
Hermione's cheeks flushed from his words, and she gently slapped away his hand that was poking her face.
"Stop talking nonsense. She sells magic wands, she's not a matchmaker."
"It's mine." Draco took her hand and shook it. "Come on, let's go now."
Hermione was pulled forward by him, her steps light and unsteady, and she muttered under her breath, "You were the one with bad intentions, and now you're blaming Mr. Ollivander."
"I don't care." Draco, ever the rogue, just kept gripping her hand and walking towards the wand shop.
The two pushed open the creaking old wooden door, and the familiar scent of sandalwood and oak immediately wafted towards them.