"I was just about to come find you to thank you for saving Ginny." Hermione was a little embarrassed—she could not admit that she had been keeping an eye on him.
After being rescued by Draco, she developed a dependence on him that she could not quite understand, and she could not help but want to know where he was. He seemed to have become a source of security for her.
But she denied it, deceiving herself. How can you expect a girl to so easily admit how much she cares about a boy?
This put her in a moral dilemma—she demanded honesty from Draco, whilst harbouring ulterior motives herself.
Hermione was completely flustered. She quickly thought of something else to try and cover up the situation: "By the way, I admit it, you won the wager. I heard what Lockhart did, and I also heard he wanted to cast a Memory Charm on you! Now, I have absolutely no good feelings towards him."
"It should have been done long ago," Draco said lazily. He glanced up at Hermione—she was staring absently at her teacup, looking somewhat distracted.
"He is not worth your sadness. There is nothing shameful about being fooled by him. Just think of the crowds at Flourish and Blotts! So many experienced wizards have fallen for his tricks." Draco poured her some tea, trying to comfort her.
"Thank you, Draco. I am fine, I just need a little time to adjust." She frowned.
She did not care about that despicable Lockhart at all right now. She was preoccupied with other things. She was frustrated that she could not be "completely honest," and awkward that she was ashamed to admit her interest in him.
In this situation, what right does she have to demand anything from him?
She stole a glance at the boy beside her, whom she had treated so harshly, and a hidden sense of guilt welled up inside her. She wanted to say something to break the feeling of guilt, but then belatedly noticed the book in Draco's hand. "What are you reading?"
"Felix Felicis." Draco handed half of his book to Hermione, gesturing for her to look. He had only picked up a book casually to ease the awkwardness, but he had not expected such a pleasant surprise.
The Room of Requirement has all sorts of treasures, Draco thought to himself.
"I know what this is! It is a lucky potion that will bring you good luck, right?" Hermione leaned in and said with great interest. He always managed to get his hands on some new gadgets to study.
"Absolutely right," he said. Her hair fell across one of his arms, its colour looking warm.
"Draco, you are not planning to brew this potion, are you?" Hermione looked up at him, her rosy lips curving into a mischievous smile. "What are you going to do with it?"
She stood very close to him, her face completely unguarded. This expression appeared more and more frequently when she looked at him.
Draco knew this was the side of her that she would never have shown him in his past life; but now, everything was in chaos.
He tried to put on a stern face again, adopting a cold demeanour, attempting to regain a safe distance between them. However, she moved even closer to him, completely disregarding his expression.
She seemed quite certain that she would not hurt him, and confidently showed him her delicate face, small nose, and clear eyes... Her blatant approach made him a little distracted.
"Just out of interest. I have only heard that it is supposedly very difficult." Draco coughed lightly, his face slightly flushed, and he struggled to look back at his book.
In fact, he had long wanted to try concocting some Felix Felicis himself. In his previous life, he had never forgotten Professor Slughorn's bottle of Felix Felicis.
Just imagine, with a bottle of this stuff, everything would be twice as effective. And if it were used in a critical moment—if Hogwarts were to face another great battle and besieged by Death Eaters—he would definitely need a drink to feel safe.
"That is not a convincing reason," Hermione thought, not believing he was just doing it for academic research. Draco was probably up to something again. He was not the kind of boy who did "useless work."
"Think about your own luck. Out of so many people in the whole school, it was you who encountered the Basilisk." Draco chuckled. "If any monster ever appears in the school again, I strongly suggest you have a drink."
"Oh, shut up! There will not be any more monsters at school!" Hermione blushed, clearly disapproving of his strange sense of humour.
But her gaze remained fixed on the book—Draco noticed this, and she hesitated.
"It is only for emergencies. You know Harry's 'trouble-bringing' nature; he always gets himself into danger for no reason. As his friend, you are the first to be affected. I did not say you should drink it every day. Overdosing on this stuff can cause dizziness, recklessness, and arrogance." Draco flipped through the pages, gesturing for her to look with his chin—there were quite a few contraindications and precautions associated with Felix Felicis.
Now, her innocent and carefree demeanour vanished, replaced by a serious expression as she nodded silently and memorised the words.
"Making it is extremely complicated, and if you make a mistake, the consequences could be disastrous." Hermione continued to decipher the following words, reading softly. She looked at the steps in the book, her face showing an uncontrollable, intense interest.
She carefully examined the ingredient list: Ashwinder egg, squill bulb, Murtlap growth, horseradish...
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she let out a soft sigh. Her excitement had subsided. "That is impossible. Some of the ingredients are too hard to find. Even if we did find them, it would take six months to brew..."
"I am not saying we should make it right away; it will take some time to find the ingredients. What I mean is, if I can get them all together, at least we can give it a try..." Draco could not bear to see her so disappointed, so he tried to comfort her in a light-hearted manner.
"We?" Hermione turned her head sharply, a few strands of hair sliding down his face and tickling him. She raised her voice awkwardly, "I never said I was going to get involved—"
Her eyes clearly showed a strong desire to try it out. From the tips of her hair to the tip of her tail, she was filled with eagerness and curiosity.
She is truly the worst hypocrite in the world.
At this moment, her thoughts were as transparent as a beautiful jellyfish in the Black Lake.
Draco decided to motivate her.
He softened his voice, his pale grey eyes becoming incredibly gentle. "Please help me. I shall figure out the ingredients, but brewing this potion is far more difficult than finding the ingredients. You are a master potion maker who can brew Polyjuice Potion; if even you cannot brew it, I do not know who else I can ask for help."
"That being said... you are a potion expert yourself," Hermione said with difficulty. "The ingredients it requires are so rare, what if I ruin it..." She did not mention that she did not want to make it herself, but was only concerned about the ingredients.
"If we fail, it is on me. If we succeed, we shall split the Felix Felicis in half, how about that?" Draco yawned and said lazily.
"Is it a deal?" She looked at him with sparkling eyes, completely smitten.
"It is a deal." He smiled smugly, clearly in a good mood. He looked at the little girl nestled beside him, beaming, raised his hand, and gently touched her palm.