When they returned to Hogwarts Castle through the secret passage, it was lunchtime, and there were only a few people in the Great Hall, with sunlight streaming down through the magical sky on the ceiling.
The two found a relatively secluded spot to sit down, Draco unceremoniously picked up a piece of steak.
"Wife," he said, placing the steak on Hermione's plate.
Do you think our future children might inherit this Ancient Magic constitution?
Hermione's hand jerked violently as she cut the potato, the sharp knife making a piercing sound as it sliced across the silver plate.
Her face instantly turned bright red.
" Draco!" Hermione whispered, glancing around frantically, afraid the students nearby would hear.
"What nonsense are you talking about? How can you discuss such a topic in public...?"
"It's quiet here, nobody's paying attention to us." Draco grinned mischievously, seemingly pleased with her reaction.
"I was just seriously discussing genetics. After all, you're an expert; you should know more about the combinations of dominant and recessive genes than I do, right?"
"If our child has both your intelligence and my special physical constitution..."
"Shut up!"
Hermione forked her steak and stuffed it into his mouth, trying to hide her pounding heart, but it was no use.
She stammered her rebuttal, her logic already starting to falter. "This... this doesn't conform to scientific sampling... and we haven't even... I mean, this assumption is completely unfounded! There's absolutely no written record of the genetic mechanisms of Ancient Magic..."
"I only said 'later,' not 'now.' Why are you so agitated? Haven't you thought about it?"
"I never even thought about that!" Hermione picked up her fork and poked at the chicken leg on her plate. "We're still so young, we have so many things to do, and you're thinking about this kind of thing!"
That being said,
But a blurry image flashed through her mind!
A child with golden hair like Draco's but brown eyes like Draco's was reaching out to touch Ancient Magic specks floating in the air.
The thought had barely crossed her mind when she hurriedly nipped it in the bud.
Hermione blushed even more, and Draco's smile deepened at Hermione flustered appearance.
Just as he was about to tease her a little more, an owl suddenly swooped into the Great Hall and Accio straight toward Draco.
Its wings were stained with mud, indicating that it had flown all the way here and finally landed on the table in front of Draco.
He had a tightly rolled parchment in his mouth, and the Malfoy family crest was engraved on his anklet.
The surrounding students all turned to look, Draco's smile vanished instantly, replaced by a cold expression.
He put down his knife and fork, took the letter, and quickly opened it.
"What's wrong?" Hermione snapped out of her earlier embarrassment and regained her usual calm and alertness.
"It was sent by a Hogsmeade patrol," Draco said. "They were patrolling when they were attacked by unidentified dark wizards, and two of them were injured."
"It must be someone from Rookwood or Ranrok!" Hermione speculated. "They've discovered something."
"Okay, let's go!"
Draco gripped the letter tightly and stood up. The two exchanged a glance, said nothing more, and then turned and ran out of the Great Hall.
On the way to Hogsmeade, before the two had even left the edge of the Forbidden Forest, shadows swayed ahead, and two guards in Malfoy family uniforms were supporting a blood-covered person, stumbling towards Hogwarts.
"Young Master! Miss Hermione!" one of the guards cried out as if he'd seen Draco as a savior. "Save Tom!"
Tom, who was being helped up, was as pale as a sheet, with a charred wound on his abdomen from which wisps of black smoke were still rising, clearly indicating that he had been afflicted by a malevolent Dark Magic.
Without a word, Draco pulled a bottle of powerful healing potion that gleamed with golden light from the inner pocket of his robe.
"Hold him down," he commanded, then uncorked the bottle and forced the medicine into Tom's mouth.
The golden liquid melted upon entering the throat.
The terrifying black aura surrounding Tom vanished instantly, and his pale face regained its rosy hue at a visible speed.
Within seconds, he was "fully revived," taking a deep breath and looking at Draco with lingering fear.
"Thank you... thank you, young master!" Tom said, bowing with his hands clasped in thanks.
"Stop talking nonsense, what happened? Who did it?"
Tom swallowed hard and answered fearfully, "It's... it's Rookwood's men! They call themselves the ' Ashwinder faction '!"
" The Ashwinder faction?" Minmin caught the unfamiliar term and pressed, "What kind of organization is that?"
"Yes!" another guard beside him explained through gritted teeth, " Miss Hermione, that's a faction of mad dark wizards that Rookwood recently assembled!"
He had barely finished speaking when a voice suddenly came from deep within the distant woods, "What do you want!"
"Over there!" Draco's eyes sharpened, and he turned to his three henchmen behind him, shouting, "Follow them! Hermione, let's go!"
The five people ran in the direction of the sound, one after the other, and after passing through a thicket of bushes, a makeshift camp appeared before them.
In the center of the camp, two tall men were surrounding a woman.
The two attackers were particularly conspicuous; they both wore bright red masks with a scarlet snake's head with its gaping maw painted on them in glaring black paint.
"Old woman, hand over the things!"
One of the Ashwinder faction members grinned maliciously, the tip of his wand flashing a dangerous green light.
"I know nothing..."
"Stop pretending!" another person raised their wand, ready to cast a spell. "Then let me show you what it's like!"
Draco had no desire to say anything more to them.
" Stupefy!"
Two beams of red light shot out precisely, striking the two Ashwinder faction members between the eyebrows. The two men froze instantly, their eyes rolled back, and they fell straight to the ground, unconscious.
The scene fell silent instantly. The old woman slumped to the ground, looking at Draco with gratitude.
The three Malfoy family henchmen exchanged a glance, secretly marveling: the young master's actions were indeed ruthless and decisive, giving the enemy absolutely no chance to breathe.
Hermione looked at the two people lying on the ground, then at the old woman whose legs were trembling with fear. She stepped forward, took the old woman's arm, and gently comforted her, "Madam, don't be afraid, they've been subdued."
Thank you!
Draco didn't respond, but instead cast two more spells on the two unconscious Ashwinder faction members.
" Obliviate!"
Two beams of white light flashed and entered their minds.
Take him away and deal with him according to family rules. Since he has lost his memory, it's a good opportunity to try absorbing it.
"Yes, young master!"
The three immediately stepped forward, grabbed the two Ashwinder faction members, and quickly disappeared into the forest.