"Alright, I won't tease you anymore," Mrs. Granger said with a smile, ruffling her hair and instructing her gently.
"You have to go to Hogwarts tomorrow, so go wash up and get ready for bed early. Don't stay up too late."
Hermione nodded and replied, "Okay, Mom."
Mrs. Granger smiled at her expression, turned and went back to her bedroom without saying anything more.
Hermione watched her mother's retreating figure, breathed a sigh of relief, sipped her milk, walked to the living room, finished it, and then took the cup to the kitchen to put it away before quickly going into the bathroom.
After washing up, Hermione changed into soft pajamas, lay down in bed, and just as she pulled the blanket up to her chest, the door was gently pushed open.
"Mom?" Hermione exclaimed in surprise.
Mrs. Granger gently closed the door behind her, walked very quietly to the bedside, and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Are you still awake?" Mrs. Granger asked, tucking the blanket around Hermione's neck.
Hermione shook her head gently. "It's okay, I just slept too long this afternoon, so I'm not very sleepy yet."
The mother and daughter chatted for a bit about school matters, and the atmosphere relaxed. Hermione gradually let her guard down.
To everyone's surprise, Mrs. Granger changed the subject, looking at her earnestly and cautiously probing:
"Oh, right, Mom forgot to ask you yesterday, when you and Draco went on your last trip to France, did you... you know?"
"What? Which one?" Hermione looked blank, not understanding what her mother meant by "that one."
Mrs. Granger looked at her daughter's bewildered expression, sighed helplessly, and carefully considered her words before speaking more bluntly.
"So... have you two had any intimate relations?"
Upon hearing this, Hermione reacted as if she had been burned, instantly sitting up from the pillow without even noticing the blanket slipping down to her waist.
As a result, her cheeks turned bright red at a visible speed, the redness spreading from her cheeks all the way to her ears.
"Mom! What are you saying?!"
Hermione never expected her mother to ask such a question, and her mind went blank for a moment.
Immediately, her mind was filled with images of sleeping in Draco's arms, which made her feel even more embarrassed.
Seeing her reaction, Mrs. Granger roughly understood what was going on, but remained seated and reassured her:
"Don't be nervous. Mom isn't blaming you. It's just that as a girl, there are some things you need to clarify, and I also want to remind you to protect yourself."
"Of course not..." Hermione said shyly, confirming.
By the end, her voice was almost inaudible.
Hermione simply felt incredibly embarrassed to be asked about this topic by her mother.
Seeing her daughter's expression, Mrs. Granger softened her tone and said with concern:
"Mom knows you're a sensible child, but girls must be mindful of boundaries and protect themselves when they're out, especially when interacting with the opposite sex."
"I know," Hermione replied sullenly, her cheeks still burning.
"Mom can see that Draco cares about you, but you're both still too young, and there are too many uncertainties in the future."
Mrs. Granger said earnestly, "Intimate relationships must be built on sufficient maturity and responsibility, not on a fleeting infatuation, do you understand?"
"I understand, Mom. We've never done anything wrong." Hermione nodded emphatically.
Seeing her serious attitude, Mrs. Granger finally felt relieved. She pulled the blanket back up to her shoulder and tucked it in, saying, "Okay, Mom believes you. Lie down and go to sleep early; you have to go to school tomorrow."
Hermione obediently lay back on her pillow, closed her eyes, and listened as her mother got up and tiptoed out of the room.
Only after closing the door did she finally let out a long sigh of relief, cover her burning cheeks, toss and turn for a while, and then slowly drifted off to sleep, her mind filled with thoughts.
Back at the Malfoy Manor.
Draco asked his mother where his father was, Narcissa told him that his father was waiting for him in the study.
When Draco entered the study, Lucius was standing in front of the French windows, stroking the carved details on the windowsill, with confidential Ministry of Magic documents spread out on the desk behind him.
" Laodeng."
"Sit down and talk." Lucius did not turn around after hearing this.
After Draco sat down, Lucius turned around, at which point Draco casually uttered a sentence:
" The Hogwarts Express departs tomorrow. I will activate the Patronus Protective Barrier in the carriages to protect the students on board."
" Patronus Protective Barrier? You can independently construct such a large-scale defensive barrier?" Lucius's fingers, which were gripping the document, suddenly paused.
It's important to know that the Patronus Charm is a high-level spell.
To be able to condense a protective barrier from Patronus that covers the entire express train carriage requires not only extremely strong control over magic, but also the ability to ensure that the Patronus's positive magic forms a continuous barrier.
Even experienced adult wizards rarely manage to do this, let alone Draco, who is just a Hogwarts student.
After the initial surprise,
His gaze swept over Draco carefully. "It seems your magical abilities have exceeded my expectations."
Draco did not respond, but simply said:
"At that time, we'll need your people to step in and take the blame."
"You knew I had people on my side?"
"I can probably guess," Draco said.
"This is an opportunity, isn't it?"
That hit the nail on the head, and Lucius replied decisively, "I will cooperate with you."
Without further questions or elaborate plans, the tacit understanding between father and son was achieved in just a few words.
Draco said nothing more, turned and walked out of the study.
Draco walked through the empty corridor to his bedroom, then casually cast a Silencing Charm upon entering.
He took off his outer clothes and lay down on the bed. Without tossing and turning, he quickly closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The next day.
The morning sunlight gently shone on the Granger family's doorway. As Draco slowly walked to the door, his gaze immediately fixed on Hermione.
Hermione was standing at the bottom of the steps.
She wore a light gray knit sweater with fine red, blue and white stripes, and the cuffs and hem were finished with natural ribbed edges.
She wore slim-fitting khaki casual pants and simple black ankle boots.
She tightly hugged the chubby orange cat in her arms, her hands folded over to protect the cat's body.
Draco was slightly taken aback, then smiled and stepped forward to praise, "I didn't expect my wife to have such a good sense of style; she looks especially beautiful today."
Hermione just rolled her eyes at that. "It's just something I wore casually; I can't exactly go out in a wizard's robe."
"She looks good in anything, no wonder she's my wife."
The chubby orange cat meowed and rubbed its head against her hand. Hermione looked down and stroked the cat's fur, pretending not to notice.
"Let's go, stop dawdling."
The two easily navigated Platform Nine and Three-Quarters and boarded the Hogwarts Express.
The carriage was still empty, with only a few students who had arrived early organizing their luggage.