Draco realized his hands were covered in ink, and the parchment he was almost finished writing on was a mess.
She pulled the ink stained parchment away from him, glanced at it, and said in surprise, "Where did you find this information? It is much more detailed than what I found... I did not know that Ekrizdis had created Azkaban using Dark magic..."
"Just some historical accounts," Draco said.
I am angry and feel sorry for her, but she is concerned about the contents of my essay? Draco was both amused and exasperated.
"I am fine now, Draco," Hermione noticed his worry and, having shaken off her recent despondency, said cheerfully. "Actually, it was not merely because of Ron. I... I thought I had no friends and no one liked me. But then I realized I was completely wrong."
She did not want to tell Draco about the strange feelings she had on the day of the flight, nor did she want to admit the inexplicable sense of closeness she felt toward him under his Invisibility Cloak that day.
On the day they learned the Levitation Charm, when his feather floated above the classroom along with hers, she felt somewhat angry, yet also subtly shy. Her feelings for him had nothing to do with dislike.
Intuition told her that it was best to keep these perplexing things buried deep in her heart for the time being.
Perhaps it was simply because she had begun to genuinely consider him a friend, rather than merely an eye catching Slytherin classmate.
She looked at Draco, a bright smile on her face. "My friends were there for me in my most dangerous moments, risking their lives to save me. And yet I was angry with them for not following the rules. In fact, if you had followed the rules that day, I might be dead."
Draco, having just calmed down, was now refilling Hermione's tea. Hearing this, he glanced up at her, a lazy smirk playing on his lips. "I am glad you think that way."
I admire people who know how to be flexible.
"Draco, you saved me twice that day. I think I can trust you," Hermione said seriously. "Harry also asked me to thank you. We found his father's trophies in the trophy room, and he is training much better than before."
She cleared her throat, sat down facing Draco, readily accepted the cup of tea, and announced triumphantly, "The three of us have discussed it and decided to tell you a big secret."
Next, to Draco's surprise, Hermione, representing the Potter trio, revealed everything.
Hagrid had once been asked by Dumbledore to retrieve a special small package from Gringotts. They had once inadvertently entered the restricted corridor on the fourth floor and seen a three headed dog. There was a trapdoor beneath the dog's body. Even when Harry accidentally discovered that Professor Snape was injured, Hermione told him everything.
"Harry and Ron suspect that Professor Snape wants to steal what the big dog is guarding!" Hermione said seriously, carefully observing his expression. "They even suspect that Professor Snape let the troll in."
Draco rubbed his temples and asked with difficulty, "Why are you telling me this?"
Are they truly that reckless and gullible?
Have they gotten to know me that well?
Should they not report this to Professor McGonagall or Professor Dumbledore?
"We trust you! You have been helping us all along," the girl before him had sincerity in her eyes, even a hint of trust.
Draco could only sigh.
Merlin! With such a bizarre thought process and such blind trust, how did Harry and his friends manage to survive to the end?
Do not blame me for being so emotional.
In his past life, they had always been wary and guarded toward him. In this life, this trust came too easily, making him feel a sense of unreality.
He knew, of course, that this trust was beneficial for him. It meant that Harry and the others regarded him well, or at least not with dislike.
Because of his past memories, Draco knew exactly what was happening. It was Quirrell who released the mountain troll, and it was also Quirrell who wanted to bypass the three headed dog.
Quirrell wanted to obtain the Philosopher's Stone, which could be used to create the Elixir of Life, for the Dark Lord on the back of his head, but Draco could not explain this to them directly.
Moreover, as Draco re examined the events of his entire first year, an idea gradually formed in his mind.
All of this seems to be a test, or trial, that Dumbledore is giving to Potter, the future savior.
While interfering might solve the problem, it would hinder Potter's growth. How could Potter then shoulder the responsibility of being a savior?
Hermione stirred the sugar in her teacup for a moment, then hesitated before continuing, "Actually, I do not believe any professor at Hogwarts would do anything to put a student in danger. You are a student in Professor Snape's house, so you know him better than we do. Perhaps you could have an opportunity to keep an eye on him and give us some ideas."
It seems they have shown sincerity, not merely out of simple trust, but also for the purpose of cooperation.
"You want me to be a spy?" Draco could not help but ask.
"Not a spy, but someone observing Professor Snape," Hermione said seriously. "Do you not want to know what sort of person the Head of your House is?"
This idea must have come from Hermione. Potter and Weasley would never have come up with such reasoning. Draco looked at the girl before him with an inscrutable expression, unable to help but think.
She is quick witted, bold, and somewhat cunning. He looked at her with admiration as she calmly drank her tea and smiled at him with a serene expression.
Draco could understand their suspicion of Professor Snape, but he did not agree with it.
Professor Snape had a terrible temper and was very harsh. He loved to use cutting language to attack non Slytherin students.
However, Draco trusted his professional ethics as a Hogwarts professor. In his memory over the years, he might at most make a few sarcastic remarks to students or deduct points from other houses as much as he could, but he would never attack any student, nor did he have any interest in acquiring any mysterious treasure.
If the Philosopher's Stone were replaced with Boomslang skin, Professor Snape might have attempted it.
But the Philosopher's Stone? Please...
Poor Professor Snape, due to his intimidating personality and eccentric behavior, became a prime example of a scapegoat.
Out of a secret sympathy for Professor Snape, Draco could not help but ask, "Do you not think Professor Quirrell is more suspicious than Professor Snape?"
Hermione froze, put down her empty teacup, and stared at Draco.
"Professor Quirrell?" she asked uncertainly.
"You might not have been at the Halloween feast and do not know the whole story," Draco said slowly, refilling her tea.
"The first thing I did when I returned to the Slytherin common room was to ask the students who had witnessed everything in the Great Hall. Interestingly, they told me that the first person to notice the troll was Professor Quirrell. He ran into the Great Hall, shouted that announcement, and immediately caused a commotion in the Great Hall."
Hermione was disturbed by his words.
She had never imagined such a possibility. In a daze, she took a large gulp of tea, so hot that she fanned her mouth with her hand, but at the same time, she truly liked the taste of the tea and squinted her eyes in satisfaction.
This is not very polite, but the simple and unrestrained vitality is not annoying.
Draco glanced at Miss Know It All's amusing expression, wanting to drink but afraid of burning herself, and chuckled quietly. Before she noticed, he straightened his face again and continued his unfinished sentence, "Under normal circumstances, Quirrell should have quietly told Dumbledore to attempt to avoid student panic, so as to prevent stampedes caused by fear."
Hermione opened her mouth, about to retort, but Draco continued unprompted. "What is even more interesting is that nobody knows Professor Quirrell's whereabouts. I mean, the time between the students returning to their dormitories and us hiding in the classroom and hearing Professor Quirrell arrive to deal with the troll."
"Did he not pass out?" Hermione interjected, puzzled, interrupting Draco's analysis.
"Yes, he appeared to have fainted, so when Dumbledore led all the teachers to search for the troll near the dungeons, he was the only one who did not need to participate in the search because he was unconscious. And after the students left, no one in the Great Hall could prove where Professor Quirrell had been during that time." Draco tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, analyzing methodically.
"I agree with you, Hermione. I do not believe any professor at Hogwarts would do anything to put a student in danger." Draco rested his pointed chin on his crossed hands, staring intently at Hermione's confused and scrunched up face.
"But if we must doubt a professor, let us speculate: is the stammering Professor Quirrell truly as innocent as we originally thought?" he asked calmly.