Although Draco could ignore the gossip without a care, Pansy was different. She took it personally—especially since she was one of the few who knew the truth. If Draco hadn't stopped her, the first thing she'd have done was throw that truth straight at the smug faces of the Weasley twins. Oh, and Cedric Diggory, who had clapped along with every Hufflepuff in the room... But after considering the consequences, Draco had held her back.
Seeing Pansy's sulky expression, Draco chuckled inwardly and set his cup down.
"It's just an empty title. Do you really think it's a good thing?"
"Isn't it? The Savior is famous, after all. Haven't you heard people comparing you to him? I've no idea how they even came to that conclusion."
It seemed that more than Harry Potter's fame, Pansy was bothered by the gossip surrounding it. Because of that, she wasn't thinking straight—or perhaps she was simply venting her frustration. After all, in her eyes, there was no comparison between Draco and anyone else.
This sudden display of affection made Goyle and Crabbe exchange strange looks before quietly leaving the table. As they did, their eyes drifted toward the other side—where Hermione Granger sat, for some reason, at the Slytherin table...
...
Although most of the school's attention was still on the Harry Potter incident, a few wizards hadn't forgotten the rumor that Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger seemed unusually close. Many had even seen Draco holding Hermione in his arms.
Perhaps because of that, Hermione no longer went out of her way to avoid him. She even came over to Draco openly, right in front of everyone.
And it wasn't just the onlookers who were curious—Pansy, most of all, wanted to know what was going on.
Noticing Goyle and Crabbe's glances, Pansy turned her sharp gaze toward the intruder who didn't belong there.
"Miss Granger, why are you here again today? Even if Potter and the others haven't returned to Hogwarts yet, surely there's someone in Gryffindor you could eat with? And don't tell me that's not your real reason for coming."
"I just thought Draco might have some news about Harry and the others," Hermione said calmly. "If it bothers you, just pretend I'm not here. I'm not here for you anyway, Miss Parkinson."
Pansy's eye twitched at the flat reply.
"I don't think that's such a good idea. Look, the wizards in your house are furious about what you're doing. Don't you—"
"Don't worry about them. Or is Miss Parkinson, with her powerful background, actually afraid of them?"
"Afraid? Hardly. I'm just concerned someone might get so upset about being left out that they end up crying alone."
Hermione flushed slightly, remembering something from before. She bit her lip and glared at Draco, who had somehow taken the hit for no reason.
She probably thought Draco had told someone about that embarrassing first-year incident—worst of all, to the one person she didn't want to know.
If Draco knew what she was thinking, he'd be crying injustice right about now...
…
"Well, thank you for your concern."
"You're welcome."
Though both girls wore beautiful smiles, they gave off an eerie sense of an approaching storm. Strangely, the commotion didn't draw the attention of the surrounding Slytherins. Instead, their expressions seemed to say, "Just as expected."
In truth, this wasn't the first time they had witnessed such a scene. Ever since returning to Hogwarts, they'd seen similar moments every single day during meals in the Great Hall.
At every breakfast, Hermione would appear punctually at Draco's table, looking so natural that any wizard unaware might have assumed she was a Slytherin herself.
Amidst the tension between the two girls, Draco calmly set down his teacup. Then, as everyone around them tried not to laugh, he tapped both Pansy and Hermione lightly on the head with his book.
Thump! Thump!
"Now eat your breakfast properly! Class is about to start."
"Mmmph."
"Wuh-eh."
Though Draco hadn't used much force, his action—looking very much like someone trying to balance between two sides—earned him fierce glares from both Pansy and Hermione.
Just as everyone thought Draco was about to get into trouble, an ethereal voice floated across the table.
"Gurdyroot Infusion."
"..."
"..."
It was Luna Lovegood, sitting opposite Draco and pushing her empty cup toward him.
Hmm... Hermione wasn't the only little witch who visited this table every day...
...
Several days after the Christmas break ended, Harry Potter and his friends still hadn't returned to Hogwarts.
At first, everyone assumed they would come back soon after the Daily Prophet reported Sirius Black's capture—but that wasn't the case. As the end of term drew near, Harry and his friends were still nowhere to be seen.
Because of this, Oliver Wood had been on the verge of tears. After all, their Seeker had missed several Quidditch matches, and without Harry Potter, there was no way the team could achieve any good results.
However, the impact wasn't significant—nor was it something the other three houses particularly cared about. What truly caught the students' attention was the professors' strange behavior.
"Have you heard? Headmaster Dumbledore hasn't returned to school since that day."
"I also noticed Professor McGonagall hasn't been on campus unless she has a class. Who knows where she's been?"
"That's nothing. The new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor never showed up at all. Now Professor Snape is teaching that class."
"Speaking of the Dark Bat... ahem, Professor Snape—have you noticed how unusually irritable he's been lately?"
With all these whispers circulating, nearly every student knew something was off. Truthfully, these changes weren't hard to notice.
And then there was Professor Lupin, who hadn't appeared again at all—as if he'd already been dismissed from his post entirely...