Ever since that day, the youngest Weasley girl had been treating Draco like he was something to be on guard against—almost as if she were warding off a thief.
The biggest change was this:
Where there had once been quiet mornings of shared tea, there was now an extra presence—a redheaded Weasley.
And she had no intention of touching the tea at all. On the surface, Ginny Weasley was there to accompany Luna, but in truth, she spent the entire time staring straight at Draco.
If not for the obvious wariness in her gaze, one might have mistaken her for one of his admirers.
As for why Ginny Weasley was looking at him like that, Draco wasn't particularly bothered. In fact, he was mildly curious what, exactly, was going through her head.
It wasn't as though her suspicion could do him any harm. Still, had she not noticed how the students around them were now glancing their way with odd, curious looks?
Draco tilted his head slightly, meeting Ginny's wide-eyed glare with confusion. "?"
"...Jerk."
"???"
Her sudden outburst made Draco raise an eyebrow, baffled.
If his memory was correct, he hadn't done anything to Ginny Weasley that could qualify as "jerk behavior."
Actually—how did he even look like one?
Apparently noticing the flicker of confusion in his eyes, Ginny clenched her jaw, looking even more exasperated—as though his complete lack of self-awareness was somehow the most infuriating thing in the world.
The sheer authenticity of that reaction made Draco pause. Did I actually do something to deserve that?
"You—"
She started, then abruptly stopped herself. Whatever she'd been about to say, Ginny bit back the words at the last second, merely glaring at Draco with a look that screamed How could you?
The silence that followed only seemed to make her more frustrated. She turned sharply toward Luna, shooting her friend a look of helpless dismay—half anger, half disbelief.
She was probably frustrated that Luna couldn't seem to see the supposed "villain" sitting across from them.
Meanwhile, Luna simply raised her teacup toward Ginny with that same serene expression, as if offering her a sip.
Ginny could only clutch her chest in despair.
As Draco watched Ginny fumble for an excuse to refuse Luna's offer, he noticed movement from the far end of the Great Hall—the Weasley brothers, apparently worried for their sister, were making their way toward the Slytherin table.
Their arrival drew every eye in the room.
Out of the corner of his eye, Draco caught sight of Professor Snape rising from his seat at the staff table, clearly intending to intervene. But before he could take a step, Lupin—who had also noticed the commotion—moved as well.
The two nearly collided halfway down the hall, freezing to exchange a long, tense stare.
Snape's expression darkened immediately, his face twisting into something that could only be described as murderous disdain—as if Lupin owed him a vault full of Galleons. No, it was more than that. It was the look one reserved for an enemy.
The tension radiating between the two professors was, in truth, far heavier than the one brewing at the Slytherin table—though no one else seemed to notice.
As Draco's gaze lingered on that silent standoff, he heard a familiar voice call out nearby.
"Ginny, come back with us. You know where you're supposed to sit, don't you?"
"That's right. We're not comfortable letting you sit with Slytherins."
The two figures earning glares from every Slytherin in the room were, of course, Ginny Weasley's twin brothers—George and Fred Weasley.
Their tone was firm, but tellingly, neither of them looked directly at Draco.
After all, since the incident last year when Draco had saved Ron, the twins—level-headed as they were compared to most of their family—had never quite known how to deal with him.
Too proud to admit any kind of gratitude, they had taken the easy route: avoidance. They had done their best to stay out of his way... until they saw Ginny voluntarily sitting near him.
Then, with no other choice, they had marched over, awkward determination on their faces.
Still, the Weasleys' general distaste for Slytherins hadn't changed—and one good deed from Draco wasn't nearly enough to overturn years of prejudice.
Not that Draco had any interest in changing their minds.
At their intrusion, he merely lifted a hand, signaling the Slytherins behind him to stay put. He wasn't going to dignify such childish provocation with a reaction. Words were a waste of time—Draco much preferred action.
It was simpler. More efficient.
But to everyone's surprise, it wasn't Draco who stopped the Weasley twins, nor any offended Slytherin ready to defend their house's honor.
It was their sister, Ginny Weasley.
...
"Mind your own business! This is my problem!"
"But…"
"Stop treating me like some clueless little girl. I'm not a child anymore. Besides, the one who really needs help right now is Ron. I heard he couldn't even beat Neville Longbottom."
"Ron's a grown man; he can handle himself. We're not worried about him at all. But you, Ginny…"
Compared to Ron's rather negligible place in the family, it was obvious that Ginny, as the only daughter of the Weasleys, was far more doted on by her brothers. Even after being firmly rebuffed, George and Fred didn't get angry—they just exchanged helpless smiles.
Draco, on the other hand, had no interest whatsoever in this little family drama. Luna, equally unaffected, calmly poured herself another cup of tea.
Their composed indifference left the nearby students, who'd been hoping for a bit of spectacle, looking disappointed and confused.
It wasn't until Fred brought up a certain someone that he finally managed to sway his increasingly headstrong sister.
"Didn't you say you wanted to watch our Quidditch practice? Harry's going to be there today."
"Really?!"
"Of course. But if you don't hurry back to get ready now, you'll probably miss it."
"Why didn't you say that earlier? Come on, Luna, stop drinking tea. Come with me to the dorm—I need to grab some things. I bet you'll love Quidditch once you see it!"
"Mm."
And just like that, they were off.
Ginny's bright smile and open, lively manner made it easy to see why she was so well-liked around Hogwarts. Draco even noticed a few subtle, admiring glances following her as she left.
As for Luna—well, if she didn't have a habit of saying things no one else could understand, she'd probably attract the same kind of attention.
But none of that was what Draco was focused on.
What lingered in his mind was the sentence Ginny had thrown at him before leaving.
"Please stay away from Hermione!"
Hermione?
What's going on with her…