Seeing how embarrassed she was, Draco finally took pity on her and stopped teasing her.
"Okay, I'm not teasing you anymore. It won't hurt, really! Even if it did, I'd still enjoy being bitten."
Then he jokingly added,
"However, if you bite again next time, remember to switch to the other shoulder. It'll look better if it's more balanced!"
Hermione was both amused and exasperated by his nonsensical remark.
That little bit of guilt and heartache in my heart,
His outburst also disrupted many things.
She knew Draco was saying that on purpose.
That way, she won't take it to heart.
The two left the Room of Requirement hand in hand, like any ordinary student couple, and headed towards the library.
Hermione said she wanted to write down the spell improvement ideas she came up with during the duel, Draco obediently followed behind her, occasionally reaching out to help her straighten the books that were about to slip.
The library was even quieter during the holidays, so quiet that the only sound was the soft scratching of a quill pen across parchment.
Hermione quickly became engrossed in her research, occasionally frowning as she jotted down dense formulas in her notebook.
Draco, sitting opposite her, was still lost in thought, his gaze constantly drifting towards Hermione's focused profile.
Watching her curly hair sway gently as she writes, and seeing her unconsciously bite her lower lip when she's thinking.
Whenever he tried to cause trouble, Hermione would warn him in a low voice without looking up, "Don't mess around, I'm busy."
At this point, Draco pursed his lips and obediently withdrew his hand. However, a few minutes later, he secretly pushed his notebook in front of her again, on which was drawn a crooked little figure.
Next to it was a sign that read "Miss Granger's Serious Face." Hermione blushed slightly upon seeing it, then smiled and pushed it away.
The afternoon sunlight softened, Draco asked Hermione to put down her book. The two then took a walk toward the Black Lake.
" Expelliarmus!" Hermione suddenly drew her wand without warning, and a beam of red light shot straight into Draco's back.
Of course, the force was controlled extremely well; it was just a joke.
However, Draco seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. Without turning around, he casually took half a step to the side, and the red light flew past the hem of his robe and disappeared into the grass.
He turned around helplessly. " Miss Granger, you've got a taste for sneak attacks, haven't you? Looks like the lesson this morning wasn't severe enough?"
After making a face at him, Hermione turned and ran, her orange-red curls flying in the wind, accompanied by a clear laugh.
"Stop right there!" Draco chuckled and took off after him. The two chased and frolicked along the empty lakeside in the winter, startling a few Puffskein that were sunbathing.
Hermione continued to deliberately run around the tree, occasionally turning back to distract him with harmless prank spells, but Draco always kept up with her pace and never actually caught her.
Playing around, they unknowingly ran to the vicinity of Hagrid's Hut. Fang smelled the familiar scent from afar, barked excitedly, and charged over like a small tank, its huge body kicking up a cloud of dust.
" Fang! Sit down!" Hermione called out with a smile, expertly stroking its fluffy head. Fang reciprocated enthusiastically, licking her hand repeatedly, its tail wagging like a propeller.
Fang still wants to play with Draco the most, because Draco is aloof, and every time Fang pounces on him, Draco frowns and pushes Draco away with his elbow in disgust.
" Fang, your drool is all over my robe!"
Despite being chased away, Fang remained persistent, circling Draco and wagging its tail like a small fan.
Hermione chuckled and patted Fang's head, "Don't tease it, it just wants to play with you." Draco sighed helplessly and simply reached out to rub Fang's ear.
The door to the cabin creaked open, and Hagrid's enormous figure appeared in the doorway. He was wearing a plaid scarf and holding a large knife, presumably used to process some Magical Creatures's ingredients. Upon seeing the two, he immediately hid.
" Hermione! Draco!" Hagrid's booming voice was filled with surprise, "Come in quickly! It's cold outside!"
The cabin remained cramped and warm, filled with the unique aroma of Rock Cakes, roasted chestnuts, and some kind of animal fur.
Fang followed Draco closely, only reluctantly crawling to the fireplace after being ordered several times by Hagrid.
"Tea? Or would you like some of my newly made Pepper Imps Pies? They're a bit spicy, but they'll warm you up from head to toe!"
Hagrid enthusiastically made the arrangements.
"Tea is fine, thank you, Hagrid," Hermione said with a smile.
Draco nodded in agreement.
The three sat around the fireplace.
Draco took a sip of scalding hot tea and got to the point:
" Hagrid, how's the Ministry of Magic handling those poachers from the Forbidden Forest? Have they caused any further trouble?"
At the mention of this, Hagrid's eyes lit up, and his smile widened, "It's solved! This morning, the Auror from the Ministry of Magic successfully arrested those guys!"
Hermione smiled and said, " Hagrid, you've worked hard!"
Hagrid shook his head, his smile fading slightly, "It's just that... during the interrogation, the leader confessed that they weren't just working alone, in order to get a reduced sentence."
"I heard that gang is quite powerful and has operations in other places... The Forbidden Forest is safe for now, but what about other places..." Hagrid sighed as he spoke.
He loved all Fantastic Beasts, and the thought of other creatures being poached elsewhere saddened him.
" Hagrid, don't worry too much!" Hermione put down her teacup and comforted him, "Now that we've got a lead, the Ministry of Magic will definitely follow it and crack down on it thoroughly!"
"You've protected the Forbidden Forest, which is a huge success. The rest is up to us to trust the law and the dutiful Auror." She was full of confidence.
Hagrid looked at her and nodded vigorously. "You're right, Hermione, thank goodness for your help."
"Let's not talk about that anymore. Come on, try this. I just baked some Rock Cakes. I put fewer stones in this time!"
"No, no, we just ate, we're not hungry yet," Hermione and Draco tacitly refused.
Hagrid didn't insist.
Just then, Hermione's gaze was drawn to a copy of the Daily Prophet spread out on the table.
The headline on the front page was very eye-catching:
A dark wizard redeems himself by assisting in the arrest of Goblin rebel army! Mysterious "high-level instructions" spark speculation.
Young Rookwood and his gang of dark wizards did as instructed, and even hinted that they had been influenced by a high-ranking figure...
Hagrid leaned over and glanced at the newspaper, muttering, "Oh, this? I saw it when it was delivered this morning."
" Goblin rebels? Hmph, serves them right!"
But when did these dark wizards become so 'kind'? And this 'higher-ups' instruction... it's just a gimmick."
Hagrid was clearly more concerned with whether the Rock Cakes were done baking.
Draco and Hermione spent most of their remaining Christmas holidays like this.