"What classic?... You're just kidding me." Hermione looked at Draco suspiciously, sensing that he was up to something.
"Once you're tired of reading this version of ' Dream of the Red Chamber,' and you've understood it, I'll get you the other one," Draco promised.
"Hmph!" Hermione turned her head away, but the warmth and touch of his hand still lingered on her neck, making her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Still flushed with embarrassment and annoyance, she lightly slapped his wrist, the one she had just touched, and whispered a warning, "Don't always touch me like that... you're so unseemly."
"Is this what you call loving interaction?" Draco gently grasped her wrist as she slapped him, his fingers lightly tracing the delicate skin of her wrist. "Don't you like it?"
"What kind of loving interaction is this... it's just being a pervert!" Hermione tried to pull her hand back, but failed.
"Oh? Then Miss Granger, what kind of interaction do you prefer...?" Draco persisted, tightening his grip on her wrist and leaning closer to her.
"Anyway, it's not like that. They're always getting physical..." Hermione's ears burned from his question, and she hugged " Dream of the Red Chamber " even tighter to her chest, as if it were her shield.
"I see..." Draco nodded as if suddenly enlightened. "So you like to express love with words?"
"But..." He changed the subject, deliberately steer the conversation in a dangerous direction, "I seem to remember that night at the Room of Requirement, someone seemed to have gotten their clothes wet from listening..."
" Draco!" Hermione exploded, hastily covering his mouth with her own. "Shut up! Don't say another word!"
She was going crazy. How dare he bring up that night in this seemingly deserted public place!
"How could you... how could you say such a thing here!" Hermione was filled with shame and indignation, wishing she could Apparition away immediately.
"Can't we talk about it here? Then we can talk about it when we get back to our suite?" Draco squeezed out the words from between her fingers.
Hermione wanted to throw a book at him because of his serious demeanor; she glared at him angrily but couldn't say a word.
Does that mean I can't say it anywhere?
Wouldn't that make her seem even more guilty?
"So, Miss Granger, do you prefer... expressing love with words, or do you prefer... actions?"
Draco persisted, pressing for an answer.
Hermione: "..." She really wanted to call the police!
Then she had to take a deep breath and tell herself to stay calm, not to fall into his trap, and not to dwell on this issue any longer. She hugged her book, sat up straight, and tried to put on a serious expression, even though her flushed cheeks were anything but convincing.
"Don't ask such strange questions here!"
Where can I ask?
"... You're not allowed to be so frivolous anywhere!" Hermione finally found the right word, and her voice even became a fraction softer.
"... You're never allowed to be so frivolous, anywhere."
"Flirtatious?" Draco seemed to have heard a new word, his gaze sweeping over her still pink neck.
"I only touched her neck lightly, and that's considered frivolous? Is the neck some kind of sensitive spot for Miss Granger?"
Hermione froze as if she'd been struck on a magic spell, then frowned and said with displeasure, "You... can you stop making wild guesses?"
As she spoke, she secretly glanced at Draco out of the corner of her eye, only to see that the hateful smirk in his eyes was growing deeper and deeper.
"A neck is a neck! It has absolutely nothing to do with any sensitive spots!" Hermione retorted weakly.
"Alright, I'll stop guessing. Just watch carefully." Seeing her ostrich-like appearance, as if she wanted to bury herself in the sand, Draco finally took pity on her and stopped tormenting her.
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief; that wretched guy had finally stopped bringing up those embarrassing topics.
"Alright," she said softly, with a hint of successful bargaining, "Once I finish reading this one and understand it, you have to give me... give me the book ' Five Fingers Mountain '."
"No cheating!" Draco affirmed.
Hermione's gaze inadvertently drifted to the book lying casually on his side, its spine facing outwards, obscuring the title and revealing only a corner of its dark cover.
She tilted her head slightly and asked curiously, "What book is that? Why have you been hiding it from me?"
"Nothing much, just some random book I was flipping through." Draco paused, then said casually, unconsciously pulling the book closer to his chest.
But the more he tried to cover up his ulterior motives, the more Hermione's doubts and curiosity grew.
Knowing Draco as she did, when would he ever casually flip through a book and then deliberately hide it from her?
Either look at it openly and honestly, or deliberately show off in front of her. If neither of these applies, then there's definitely something wrong with this book!
Thinking of this, a detective's glint lit up in Hermione's eyes. She closed the copy of " Dream of the Red Chamber " in her hands and said:
"Why hide it if you're just looking around? There's definitely something wrong."
As she spoke, she stretched out her hand, opened her palm, and urged,
"Quick, let me see it."
"What book is it that's making you so secretive?"
Seeing her determined look, Draco's lips curled up slightly. He then pulled the book even closer to his chest, using his elbow to more tightly cover the title.
"It's just an ordinary book, nothing special," he insisted, but his eyes seemed a little unfocused.
"Just let me see it once..." Hermione shook his arm. "Just one look, I promise I won't look more."
Feeling the softness from her arm and hearing her unusually gentle voice, Draco struggled to suppress himself, but hardened his heart and didn't give in, only managing a muffled "uh."
Seeing that this trick didn't seem to be working, Hermione puffed out her cheeks slightly, like a squirrel that hadn't gotten the nut.
Then she released his arm and accused him:
"You know so many embarrassing things about me... even the Room of Requirement..." She skipped over the words that made her cheeks burn, "Now I'm reading one of your books, and you're hiding it from me... It's not fair."
After saying that, she gave me a look that said, "You figure it out."
"It's not that I won't let you see it," Draco feigned a sigh, a mischievous grin playing on his lips, "It's just that this book... is rather special."
"I'm afraid Miss Granger might find it... well, not quite in line with your consistently rigorous academic taste." He deliberately used a literary term, trying to bluff his way out of it.
"How do you know I don't like it?" Hermione glared defiantly at the tightly guarded book, feeling looked down upon.
Then she raised her chin, with Gryffindor stubbornness, and said, "I can even tame ' The Monster Book of Monsters,' and I dare to borrow ' The Secrets of the Darkest Art.' What book doesn't suit my taste?"
"Unless..." she narrowed her eyes, provoking, "Unless this book isn't a proper book at all, right?"