"The Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Seine, the Palace of Fontainebleau…"
She began counting them off on her fingers, but as she continued, Pansy's fingers, which had been repeatedly bending and straightening, gradually came to a stop.
"Also, I don't know what you did to Miss Delacour. I heard she's been transferred to St Mungo's now," Pansy continued.
Upon hearing this news, Malfoy's heart skipped another beat.
He had not been following The Daily Prophet lately. Or rather, he had been living abroad and simply had no opportunity to keep up with the news.
France was relatively stable under the current circumstances, so he did not understand why Fleur had wanted to come to Britain.
"I'm going to find her one day and ask her what you did to her…"
There was a hint of jealousy in Pansy's voice, but it was only a joke. She was not that bored.
She had no intention of wasting her time on something meaningless.
"I heard you became a Prefect?"
Malfoy could only try to keep the conversation going with trivial topics. He had never expected the two of them to meet again under such circumstances.
He did not even know what to say.
Compared with Pansy, Luna was easier to get along with. There was a natural, friend-like feeling around her.
Of course, that natural atmosphere was also somewhat awkward in its own way. It was not quite like an ordinary conversation between people.
For example, Malfoy still did not understand why Luna, who did not know him particularly well, trusted him so deeply.
Perhaps it really could only be attributed to her intuition.
His wandering thoughts were pulled back by the girl in front of him.
"Yeah, you know what? It was really impressive. It was so funny watching him give speeches to those first-year students."
Pansy boasted with a hint of pride, raising her head proudly.
She looked like a student who had just finished her homework and was waiting for praise.
"Then I hope Miss Pansy will go easy on me and not deduct any points."
Malfoy joked.
"Am I stupid? We're from the same house. How could I deduct points from you? Besides, Prefects can't deduct points."
Pansy laughed through her tears before straightening her expression and explaining seriously.
Right now, she felt that as long as Malfoy was safe and sound, even simply being able to talk to him was enough to make her happy.
"If you were still in school… maybe we could both be Prefects."
Pansy spoke wistfully.
"I might not go back."
Malfoy decisively interrupted her daydream.
Pansy's face immediately turned deathly pale.
"By the way, now that you're back, what are you going to do? Are you safe? Won't they take you to Azkaban?"
Pansy had countless questions she wanted to ask him, and she asked anxiously.
"That's because someone was gone. It gave me the opportunity to come back."
Malfoy explained.
"You really…?"
The girl looked at him incredulously, but then abruptly stopped herself.
She pursed her lips.
"I don't care anymore. No matter which side you're on, I'll be on your side."
Her voice was firm.
Malfoy's brow furrowed unconsciously.
"Don't get involved in these things."
His tone became unusually serious again.
In fact, he was already considering whether he should make Pansy forget these memories.
Knowing too much was not a good thing for her.
The atmosphere had been warm only moments earlier, but the moment this subject was mentioned, another serious disagreement had arisen between them.
"You're still the same. You hide everything from me."
Pansy turned her head away and sulked.
"Let's not talk about those unpleasant things."
Pansy noticed the awkward atmosphere and took the initiative to change the subject.
"Where's my present?"
Pansy stretched out her small, fair hand and slowly opened her palm, her bright eyes staring straight at Malfoy.
"I don't think I went on vacation."
Malfoy's lips twitched slightly.
It seemed as though he had just returned from a trip abroad. Did that mean he was supposed to bring back some souvenirs?
He began recalling his experiences.
Speaking of which…
It was not as though he had nothing suitable.
There was a necklace made from the crystallised ashes left behind by tens of thousands of Inferi after they had been burned. It was said to possess an extremely powerful curse of resentment that would bring misfortune upon its wearer.
There were also skull helmets made from the skulls of his enemies, which were likewise filled with resentment. Once worn, they would plunge the wearer into a frenzied killing spree.
These strange Dark Arts artefacts had all been picked up from the "treasure troves" Salazar had mentioned.
He had said that they were relics belonging to vicious Dark Wizards he had personally dealt with, but he had been too lazy to destroy them, so he had simply left them there.
These things were obviously not suitable as gifts.
Just as Malfoy was seriously considering what to give her, he suddenly felt a dark shadow approach him like the wind.
He instinctively clenched his wand, then quickly relaxed his grip.
He sensed no malice.
A cool sensation brushed against his cheek, followed by a warm, smooth touch upon his lips.
"Okay, I'll accept this gift."
Pansy's face was slightly flushed as she wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
"It's so salty…"
She muttered, sticking out her tongue slightly, her expression somewhat conflicted.
"How long have you been at the beach? You're even saltier than smoked meat. You must be very flavourful."
Pansy complained under her breath.
Malfoy seemed somewhat dazed.
It was not because he had been hurt by her teasing.
As he looked at the girl in front of him, he suddenly realised that she had already spent most of her fifth year at Hogwarts and was about to enter her sixth.
During the six months he had been gone, she seemed to have grown taller, while the youthful innocence on her face had faded, making her appear more mature.
Her eyes occasionally revealed the unique authority of a Prefect, but whenever she looked at him, that expression would transform into an entirely different kind of infatuation.
Separation had made her longing deeper, and her feelings more mature.
If before it had merely been a young girl's infatuation with a more mature peer, Pansy now truly understood her own feelings.
—Of course, she still liked him very much.
So what attitude should he have toward this?
Sometimes, emotions were simply too heavy, making people instinctively want to escape.
Especially now, when there were hardly any reasons left for him to run away.
At fifteen or sixteen, a person should already be able to take responsibility for their own life.
Just as he remained momentarily stunned by the kiss, Pansy seemed to suddenly remember something.
She subconsciously looked around, and in an instant, the joy of their long-awaited reunion turned into a faint anxiety.
"Should I go back now? Otherwise, won't you be exposed?"
She asked anxiously.
It had to be said that her training as a Prefect had been very effective. It had taught Pansy to think about problems more deeply and consider matters more thoroughly.
Even though neither of them wanted to part, for Malfoy's safety, they took the initiative to separate.
Malfoy glanced at her in surprise, seemingly taken aback by Pansy's words.