"I knew my wife had good taste. So tell me, what makes him handsome?" Draco pressed on.
"That's enough! Know when to stop, don't push your luck," Hermione said sternly.
"Feeling much better now?"
Hermione paused for a moment. The overwhelming anxiety and fear she had felt when she learned of Fudge's calculations had largely faded away during their brief banter.
She didn't answer directly, but just gave a soft hum.
"My Patronus is a sea otter, what about yours?"
Hermione asked curiously.
"Want to see?" Draco asked, a sly smile spreading across his face.
"Can't I watch?" Hermione retorted.
"No way," Draco said smugly.
Hermione's face instantly fell. She reached out and pinched his arm, puffing out her cheeks. "You're so stingy! What's wrong with taking a look? It's not like it's a secret."
Draco suppressed a laugh and went along with her words, saying, "It's a secret, and I'm not showing it to you."
Hermione pouted, her eyes darted around, and she hooked her arm around his and shook it, saying in a coquettish tone:
"Look, look! I've already let you see mine, so you should let me see yours too. It's called reciprocity."
Upon hearing this, Draco's smile deepened, and he gently pointed to his profile, the meaning of which couldn't be clearer.
Hermione instantly understood what he meant. " Draco Malfoy! What's on your mind all the time!"
"A bet's a bet, and reciprocity is key. If you want to see my Patronus, you'll have to pay a price, right? I didn't force you."
Draco looked quite confident and assertive.
Hermione bit her lip and glared at him, feeling both angry and itchy inside, her curiosity scratching at her like tiny claws.
She really wanted to know what the Patronus of this proud Malfoy would look like.
Is it a ferocious beast? Or an elegant bird of prey?
She hesitated for a moment, then tiptoed up and quickly planted a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Is this okay now?" Hermione blushed and turned her head away, her voice barely audible.
"Show it now, no cheating allowed!"
Draco touched the spot where she had kissed him. "What's the rush? We've already kissed, there's no harm in it."
He gently raised his wand, and the tip of the wand instantly burst forth with a dense and dazzling silver-white light.
The light was no longer a soft, pale silver, but rather carried a fiery halo, slowly condensing and taking shape in the air.
The next second, a majestic, fiery red lion stepped out from the light!
It has a lithe and upright body, and its mane is fluffy and flying like a burning flame.
Its golden eyes are sharp yet gentle, its limbs are strong and powerful, and its tail gracefully sweeps the ground.
Every step he took carried a calm, regal air, yet without a trace of ferocity. Instead, he obediently lowered his head toward Hermione, gently nuzzling the back of her hand with his nose.
Enveloped in a silvery-white Patronus aura, the fiery lion appeared both sacred and warm.
Hermione was instantly stunned, her fingertips trembling slightly, unable to believe what she was seeing.
Hermione stared blankly at the fiery red lion for a long time before she came to her senses and blurted out instinctively, "Could it be that you're the born Gryffindor?"
Draco's gesture of retracting his wand was quite flamboyant, and the fiery red lion transformed into silver-red specks of light and vanished into the air.
He looked down at Hermione.
"So, at school, shouldn't you listen to the Gryffindor leader?"
Hermione glared at him defiantly. "Who acknowledges you as the leader? You're just a lion as your Patronus, do you really think you're the representative of Gryffindor?"
"Otherwise what?" Draco chuckled.
" The Sorting Hat almost sorted me into Gryffindor, and now my Patronus is a lion. In terms of courage and boldness, am I not qualified to be the leader?"
"Besides, your sea otter is following my lion, so shouldn't it obey the lion's orders?"
"Stop your sophistry! I'm the head of the household, and everyone has to listen to me, whether at home or at school!"
Hermione stood with her hands lightly on her hips, speaking with a confident and assertive air, exuding both charm and sassiness.
Draco's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, looking down at her puffed-up but exceptionally cute face.
"Fine, fine," he conceded readily, "You're the head of the household, we'll do whatever you say."
"You're smart enough to know who's in charge."
Hermione did not push away his hand that was around her waist.
"I've always known. From the very beginning, my gaze has only followed you. My Patronus came for you, and I have long been under your control."
His warm breath fell on her head, and Hermione froze in his arms, her cheeks burning hot.
"Stop, stop being so mushy... We were just talking about Dementor, don't change the subject."
"Okay, okay, no need for mushy talk, we'll do whatever the head of the family says." Draco hugged him even tighter.
"That's more like it... Let go already, what if your uncle and aunt come in?"
As soon as Hermione finished speaking, Draco suddenly bent down and steadily picked her up in a princess carry.
Hermione gasped in shock, instinctively reaching out to cling tightly to his neck. " Draco! What are you doing! Put me down!"
Draco laughed, picked her up, and turned to walk slowly towards the bed.
"Lunch break, my lord."
Hermione was gently placed on the soft bed. The moment she touched the sheets, her body tensed up, and she almost instinctively tried to sit up and run out.
But as soon as she moved slightly, he gently grabbed her wrist, and the next second she was pulled back by a gentle force, falling directly into his warm embrace.
Draco pressed gently against her from behind, his chest firmly against her back, his breath brushing against her ear.
He didn't make any excessive movements; he simply wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her securely in his embrace.
"Go to sleep, you can't skip a nap."
In that instant, Hermione's body froze, and she could clearly feel his steady heartbeat on her back.
The warm touch through the thin fabric made her hold her breath.
Her whole body flushed red, and her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest; the thumping sound was especially clear in the quiet room.
Her fingers gripped the sheets tightly, her whole body tense. She dared not move or turn around, afraid that she would meet his gaze if she did.
Hermione's mind was in complete turmoil!
I'm so embarrassed!
We agreed not to do anything, but being so close makes me more uneasy than any intimate words.
His breath was too close.
So close it enveloped all her senses!
He tried to struggle but Draco held him tightly in his arms.
Listening to his steady heartbeat, Hermione softened little by little amidst her flustered shyness, and even her tense shoulders unconsciously relaxed a bit.
She buried her face in the pillow, whispered "Let me go," and then stopped struggling.