Gazing at the words slowly surfacing before her eyes, and at the familiar name that followed, Hermione froze in stunned silence for a few seconds. Then she realized that her petite frame had unconsciously leaned closer to the trophy.
To someone who didn't know any better, it might have looked as though some kind of treasure map was etched onto its surface.
Clearly, the information related to someone named Tom Riddle had instantly ignited Hermione's curiosity and thirst for knowledge.
It was hardly surprising that she reacted so strongly. After all, everything connected to that person was far beyond what an underage witch like her was supposed to know…
In truth, it wasn't just Hermione. Even for other wizards, trying to uncover all information about that person through books was no easy task.
Under various policies enacted by the Ministry of Magic, his experiences and achievements during his time at Hogwarts, and even traces of his daily life, had been deliberately erased by those with ulterior motives.
Not only that, but everything he had done after graduation, before becoming the Dark Lord everyone feared, had likewise been intentionally hidden by the Ministry.
Of course, part of the reason for this was Voldemort's own deliberate efforts to conceal his whereabouts.
Perhaps Voldemort himself had intentionally allowed the wizarding world to forget what he had been like in his youth.
As a result, under the joint influence of the wizarding world's suppression and Voldemort's lack of cooperation, whether it was his origins or the name Tom Riddle itself—a name known to very few wizards—there was no publicly accessible information left to uncover.
Without anyone quite noticing, the name Tom Riddle was destined to become nothing more than dust in the pages of history…
Unfortunately for that fate, Hermione happened to be one of the wizards who knew exactly who that name belonged to.
And even more unfortunately, everyone had forgotten that within the Trophy Room, there still remained a trophy capable of recording information…
…
"Handsome and gentle, exceptionally gifted...."
"If you're going to read it, then read it properly. Don't stare at my face. The name engraved on this trophy isn't Draco Malfoy."
"Hmph. Don't you think that opening line sounds exactly like it's talking about you?"
Thud!
"Ouch… what are you doing?!"
Draco gave the girl in front of him a sharp chop to the head, clearly annoyed.
Whether it was just his imagination or not, Hermione, who had always carried an air of quiet intellect, seemed to have picked up some bad habits lately. She had even started teasing him on her own initiative.
Pouting slightly, she vented some of the lingering frustration from the Yule Ball before turning back to continue reading.
"Former Slytherin prefect and Hogwarts Head Boy… top marks in every subject."
When she reached that line, Hermione instinctively glanced back at Draco.
"I can already picture you becoming Prefect next year."
"Hm?"
Catching the teasing glint in her eyes, Draco decided he'd indulged her enough and took things a step further.
"Stop… it's hot!"
"Waaah~"
When Hermione finally managed to refocus on the trophy, her face was flushed an alarming shade of red for reasons unknown, and her body felt faintly weak.
After shooting Draco a glare with absolutely no killing power behind it, she forced herself to calm the frantic fluttering in her chest.
"Ahem! Let me see… 'For capturing the culprit who opened the Chamber of Secrets, hereby awarded the Special Award for Services to the School'… Huh?"
She read it over several times in a row. Once she was certain it wasn't a mistake or her eyes playing tricks on her, Hermione finally looked up at Draco with an expression that clearly said, Are you messing with me?
That adorable look, paired with her slightly watery eyes, stirred an almost irresistible urge in Draco to lower his head again.
After hearing what she read, Draco understood immediately why she looked like that.
Aside from the fact that the Chamber of Secrets was no longer much of a secret, Hermione had already heard him mention this incident before.
The one who had suffered back then seemed to have been Hagrid…
"If that's the case, then Draco, you could've earned this honor too… No, actually, you were far more qualified to receive it. After all, you're the one who defeated the real culprit."
"The situation wasn't the same," Draco replied calmly. "Don't forget, someone died back then. That was enough to divert everyone's attention."
"Hmph! If you hadn't arrived in time, that Weasley guy would've been dead for sure. Thinking about it now, the fact that you didn't get any reward at all is just unfair."
Before seeing this so-called "Special Award for Services to the School," Hermione might not have been this angry. But now that she'd seen it, she couldn't help feeling that Dumbledore seemed to treat Draco… no, compared to the miraculous point bonuses during the House Cup in first year, he didn't seem nearly as fair or impartial toward Slytherin House.
Of course, if Hermione's heart hadn't been completely occupied by someone lately, she might not have realized this until graduation.
Faced with Hermione indignantly standing up for him, Draco withdrew his gaze and shrugged.
To be honest, he didn't care much about these so-called school honors. Perhaps after graduation he might feel a trace of regret, but he would never feel resentful…
…
After the punishment that was called detention but was really just a date came to an end, all the young wizards were about to enter their final stretch of the term at Hogwarts.
Unfortunately, those final days were anything but pleasant, as they were buried under mountains of homework in preparation for the upcoming final exams.
And because they needed to focus entirely on studying, the training Draco had arranged was temporarily put on hold…
"So, I can use my own wand now?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, but only during the exams. The rest of the time, you'll still use mine."
"Is that so? Is it because I—"
"Don't overthink it. It's not because you've already passed. I'm just worried you won't."
"…Are you looking down on me?!"
Before heading into the Transfiguration exam hall, Draco had deliberately sought Hermione out to tell her she could switch back to her original wand during the exam.
But even though it was concern, the moment she heard his explanation, Hermione was completely furious.
"I was such an idiot to expect anything from you!"
Girls in love always carried expectations and fantasies about the person they liked, but Hermione was quickly defeated by Draco's total lack of romantic awareness.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
After shooting Draco one final glare, Hermione stomped straight into the exam hall.
The way she tossed her hair and shot him an annoyed side-eye had to be said, it carried a distinctly feminine charm.
Watching from the side, Pansy couldn't help but let out a helpless smile. Come to think of it, she was probably a victim too.
A single sentence that could have easily raised affection, yet every time it came out of Draco's mouth, it somehow managed to make people bristle and want to hiss back.
In a way, that probably counted as one of Draco's talents…