Draco remained silent for a moment, looking at the extremely humble House-elf, and finally sighed.
He carefully tucked the diary into his pocket, softening his tone. "Don't worry! We will only state the facts and restore the truth; we will never deliberately smear her to gain sympathy."
Scrope breathed a sigh of relief, kowtowed deeply in Draco's direction, tears wetting the ground. "Thank you... thank you so much, sir and madam."
After finishing dealing with the letters, Draco glanced at the sack containing Jackdaw's remains in the corner.
Turning to Hermione, he asked in a questioning tone, "This thing... are we still going to bury it as planned?"
Hermione's gaze also fell on the sack. She thought of the sweet yet calculating love letters in the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets, and of Scrope's mutilated hearing and his humiliating fear.
Finally, she sighed and said, "What he did is unforgivable, but death absolves all debts. A skeleton left to rot in the wilderness or be devoured by wild beasts is meaningless."
"For Anne's sake... and so that this matter can be truly resolved, so that she can be laid to rest, thus putting a period to this century-old tragedy."
"Alright, whatever you say." Draco shrugged. "But I'm absolutely not helping him with erecting a monument or carving an inscription. He'll be lucky if he even gets a hole to lie in!"
"Let's go, honey." Draco took her hand. "It's too late today. Tomorrow I'll have someone deliver his remains and these letters to the Ministry of Magic."
Hermione nodded. Through this incident and Fudge's affair, she was well aware of the bureaucratic nature of the Ministry of Magic.
However, it is believed that with solid evidence and the Malfoy family's efforts, this matter can hopefully be handled fairly.
This eased her heavy mood somewhat.
The two walked out of the cave, and the stone door behind them slowly closed, sealing away that twisted century-old feud once again.
Draco carefully put away the package containing the important letters, and then he took out the two brooms again.
He first handed Hermione's broom back to her, and then, unexpectedly, he casually handed his own broom to Scrope, who had been anxiously guarding the cave entrance.
"Yours." He said in a flat tone, as if he were giving her not a broom, but an ordinary wooden stick.
Scrope stared in horror, his body stiffening. "S-Sir... this is too precious, I am unworthy—"
"How could the House-elf use his master's—no, the noble wizard's—broom! I... I'll go back..." it stammered incoherently.
"Stop talking nonsense, ride back yourself." Draco didn't even frown, his tone still carrying his usual impatience.
Hermione, about to mount her broomstick, sensed something was amiss upon hearing this. She turned to Draco, asking in confusion:
"Then how will you get back?"
"I want to ride with my wife," Draco said matter-of-factly, patting the tip of Hermione's broom.
"I don't want someone to go in and see a bunch of upsetting things, then bottle up all their emotions and end up flying off into the distance. I need to keep an eye on them."
Hermione's cheeks instantly flushed red, both embarrassed and annoyed. "I don't need anyone watching me! I'm in a great mood! And am I any worse at flying than you?"
She tried to argue, but Draco's gaze, which seemed to read her mind, made her feel somewhat unsure of herself.
Indeed, the truth she had just learned was so shocking that her mind was in turmoil, a jumble of emotions churning within her.
Scrope, who had been frozen in place, was relieved to see his young master wave his hand. He grabbed his broom and hurriedly ran off, afraid of disturbing this rare moment of tenderness.
Outside the cave, only Draco and Hermione remained.
Draco mounted Hermione's broom, slammed the broom head down near Hermione's feet, and brought it to a steady stop.
He tapped the end of the broom, a broad smile on his face:
"Come on, wife, come up here."
Hermione looked at his smug expression, as if to say, "I knew you'd give in," and then at the seat he had deliberately left empty. Her heart began to race.
Without a word, she stepped forward and nimbly straddled the back seat, her hands gripping the control handle tightly. She turned her head and stubbornly whispered, "I'll control it... I don't want to be swayed around by you."
Draco seemed somewhat surprised by her "power grab," but his eyes quickly filled with amusement.
"Okay, I'll listen to my wife. You take me flying."
Under Hermione's control, the broom rose smoothly into the air and Depulso towards Hogwarts Castle.
A cool night breeze ruffled their hair.
However, they had only flown a short distance from the cave entrance when...
Once in a relatively stable flight state, Draco suddenly made an extremely daring and dangerous maneuver.
With a swift turn, he actually sat upside down on the high-speed flying broom!
He went from having his back to Hermione to facing her directly!
"Ah!" Hermione gasped in surprise, and the broom wobbled.
Before she could react and scold him, Draco's arms had already reached out from the outside and gently encircled her waist.
Then, he naturally lowered his head, gently rested his chin on the top of her head, and closed his eyes, as if he were just finding a comfortable position to rest.
Hermione froze instantly!
The blood seemed to rush to the top of my head, then to my ears, cheeks, and neck, burning all the way down to my collar.
" Draco Malfoy! Are you crazy?! You'll fall—turn around! It's too dangerous!"
She was both anxious and angry, her voice trembling. She wanted to break free from his arm, but was afraid that any sudden movement would cause the broom to go out of control.
Draco kept his eyes closed, his chin brushing against her soft hair with a look of complete trust and languidness.
"I won't fall, I believe you! You won't let me fall, right, Miss Know-It-All?"
"You...!" Hermione was furious, but her heart softened because of his unwavering trust.
She was both ashamed and angry.
Her fingers gripped the broom handle tightly, and she turned her head away, completely unable to look at his face so close to hers and his closed eyes.
Even so,
Her flight rhythm remained remarkably steady.
Even though her heart was pounding, she still steadily controlled the broom and Depulso towards Hogwarts.
The wind rustled the hems of their clothes.
He held her lightly yet steadily, without affecting her control at all, simply protecting her completely in his arms.
Hermione bit her lower lip, the blush spreading from her cheeks to behind her ears; she could clearly feel the rhythm of his heartbeat.
"Don't hug me so tightly... If we fly near the castle later, someone will see us..." Hermione said, biting her lower lip.
"So what if they saw it?" Draco said matter-of-factly. "It's my right to hug my wife, who dares to say anything? Let them keep their opinions to themselves."
"You—!" Hermione was so embarrassed that she couldn't say a word. She could only exert all her strength and make the broom fly even faster, trying to use the sound of the wind to cover up her out-of-control heartbeat.