Chapter 118: The Trembling Weasel
Time goes back to the night when Hogsmeade Open Day ended.
Lying on the four-poster bed in his private bedroom at the bottom of the Black Lake, Draco Malfoy tossed and turned as usual, unable to sleep.
Although the proud Draco told everyone he was in good shape - ever since he nearly drowned in the water tank during Defense Against the Dark Arts class - this insomnia had been bothering him.
He lied. The lake outside his dormitory window drove him crazy all the time.
He couldn't stare at the water for too long, or some kind of illusion would appear before his eyes - the black lake water would suddenly burst through the French window, pour into the bedroom, extinguish the warm fireplace, wash over the silver-green walls, and he and the furniture would be torn and swept away by this crazy illusion, eventually drowning him.
He began to understand one thing. Facing the same thing, different mindsets led to different states of mind. Many of the lake-bottom images Draco had admired in the past now became thorns in his side.
The small silver fish swimming outside the window - no longer a species that can effectively calm people's inner waves - mean endless water.
The occasional grindylows that passed by his sight - no longer the pets that were commonly seen in the hands of mermaids - reminded him of the terrifying tank that once held the grindylows.
He even lost interest in interacting with the giant squid. Seeing the bubbles coming out of its mouth reminded him of the bubbles exhaled from his mouth and nose and the cold water pouring into his lungs when he was drowning—a feeling of suffocation washed over him.
Draco sighed and pulled the thick curtains, blocking the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows and everything related to the Black Lake from his sight. He tried to use the lonely swaying wall lamps on the wall to create an illusion that he was in the warm bedroom of Malfoy Manor, rather than the cold and gloomy bottom of the Black Lake.
But he still couldn't sleep. He was tired and groggy. He yawned constantly but his mind was clear. His imagination couldn't convince him, perhaps because the sound of the lake rippling through the curtains was too loud.
Draco sighed, pulled the Marauder's Map from under his pillow, held it up on his back, and flipped through it aimlessly - one of his favorite activities when he couldn't sleep.
When he saw Hermione Granger's name appear in the Gryffindor common room on the map, he finally felt a little relieved.
Merlin, if she followed Harry and the others into the Forbidden Forest again in the middle of the night and encountered a werewolf or a dragon or something... the thought of this possibility made him shudder. Fortunately, she didn't seem to have such plans today.
So, Draco stared at his own personal tranquilizer - Hermione's name left Harry, and Ron's name returned to the girls' dormitory - and gained peace of mind for the day.
Then, he casually flipped through the Marauder's Map in his hand, re-studying the seven different secret passages of Hogwarts with relish - secretly wondering whether there were secret passages that had not yet been discovered - until he accidentally discovered the most unlikely person, appearing in the most unlikely place.
Barty Crouch—he shouldn't be at Hogwarts at this hour.
This serious and old-fashioned old fogey, this prejudiced Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Magic who hates Death Eaters.
It was almost curfew, and what was he doing alone at the door of Professor Snape's office?
A routine check? That was the Aurors' job, and there was no way the Director would be bothered with that.
This action was as sneaky and irrational as Professor Moody's.
Merlin's beard! Can someone tell him what treasure Professor Snape has hidden in his damn office that makes these people circle around him like vultures and chase him endlessly? Draco sighed in annoyance.
Should I take care of this? Draco thought wearily.
Professor Snape treated him well. Now that he had seen it, he couldn't just ignore it. Draco hesitated for a moment and looked at the Marauder's Map carefully again.
Yes, Barty Crouch is still there.
He hurriedly put on a robe over his pajamas, took out the invisibility cloak from the bottom of his storage bag - he hadn't used it for a long time - and walked out of the dormitory quickly, determined to see what was going on.
Despite wearing the invisibility cloak, Draco still cautiously hid behind the ugly stone statue last time and took a peek.
The corridor outside Professor Snape's office was silent - Barty Crouch had already broken in.
Draco rolled up the Marauder's Map and stuffed it into his storage bag while walking out from behind the statue, intending to peek at the office door to see what this seemingly righteous director was up to.
Just as he was about to step forward, his throat suddenly choked - Mad-Eye Moody was standing at the door of Professor Snape's office - the huge demonic eye was staring at him fiercely.
At this moment, Draco guessed a reality - the magic eye could probably see through the invisibility cloak.
Yes, Moody could see it—his shattered face gave Draco a terrifying grin: "Don't act rashly, Malfoy."
Draco froze in place, not even having time to draw his wand.
The owner of the evil eye whispered, "I should have noticed earlier that there was a disgusting rat following me. You just won't learn your lesson, will you? You have no manners at all. Come, let me teach you how to be a good student!"
Then there was a flash of white light, the invisibility cloak was blown away, and Draco was instantly transformed into a ferret.
It was exactly like yesterday.
Draco felt something was wrong and wanted to run away, but he was controlled and lifted into the air, then fell to the ground with a "bang".
"I hate sneaky people the most. You want to tell Snape about it again? Dirty, despicable, cowardly behavior... and you let Minerva threaten me... I even had to promise Dumbledore not to cause trouble for you in class... The Malfoy family has connections everywhere, even Dumbledore can be invited... What about now? You wandered out during curfew and fell into my hands?" He said in a gruff voice, staring at the ferret closely, and suddenly a cruel smile appeared on his face: "I remember that you seemed to be very afraid of the Cruciatus Curse. Cowardly Malfoy brat, even hearing it would make you tremble with fear..."
No! Draco thought, gritting his teeth as he endured the feeling of weightlessness as he bounced up and down in the air.
You have no idea what happened!
"You say... should I give it a try on you, little brat?" Moody said complacently, as if Draco was a teaching tool that he could manipulate at will, a spider that could be crushed at any time.
After being turned into a ferret, Draco was on the verge of despair. Now, after being controlled by Moody's wand, he had given up the idea of escaping and let Moody control him, throwing him to the ground again and again.
Memories of past humiliations resurface, and this time they're even worse.
No one would come to save him. This happened during curfew, not during the day as in his previous life; he certainly had fewer audiences and fewer people to laugh at; however, there was no way Professor McGonagall would rush to stop this abuse, no way she would suddenly appear in the basement in the middle of the night and cast a spell to remove it.
The corridor was completely silent except for the sound of the ferret being thrown up and down.
"Try the Cruciatus Curse," said Moody cruelly, smacking his lips. "You deserve some extra instruction."
Cruciatus Curse. At this moment, was he finally going to experience the same Cruciatus Curse that had caused Hermione so much pain?
He was thrown to the ground with a slam, the wand pointed at him mercilessly, and at any second he might cast the excruciating spell.
The stoat lay on the ground in a mess, eyes closed, knowing that it could not resist its predetermined fate.
Come on, let this coward have a taste of Cruciatus, Draco thought desperately.
"Expelliarmus!" Hermione's voice came to his ears.
The voice was so sweet, a hallucinatory sound that had appeared in his mind countless times.
Impossible. It couldn't be her. She should be in the Gryffindor dormitories. He was probably just imagining things again.
However, a soft hand decisively lifted up his soft neck. His back and body trembled, but he found that being lifted up like this did not hurt. He opened his eyes in surprise and found that he was already held in the girl's arms with one hand.
Across from him, Professor Moody was empty-handed—his wand had been knocked against the far wall—and he stood stunned.
He seemed to be still unsure why a student would dare to cast a Disarming Spell on him.
Hermione glared at Professor Moody, her face flushed with anger. She pointed the tip of her wand at him with her other hand, "How dare you? Using Transfiguration to punish or attack students is against Hogwarts rules!"
"You didn't obey the curfew and attacked the professor with your wand," he ignored Hermione's questioning and sneered, his blue eyes spinning wildly in his eye sockets. "This is not what a good student should do. You will be expelled."
The ferret was clinging to Hermione. He could feel her trembling slightly, but she didn't lower her wand.
"Oh, is it fair and just for you to run to Professor Snape's office door in the middle of the night? Is casting spells on students the proper behavior of a Hogwarts professor? If you want to report it, I will also report these things to Professor McGonagall. As for whether to expel me, I don't think it is up to you to decide." Her voice was trembling, but she was very determined.
Professor Moody's magic eye spun around, as if assessing the degree of Hermione's resolve. Finally, he looked at her grimly, without making any rash moves.
The girl held him in her arms, cautiously backing away step by step towards the stairs. She kept pointing the tip of her cane at Professor Moody, who was standing there. Only when she reached the corner did she rush up the stairs, holding him in her arms.
The ferret's body pressed tightly against hers. He could hear her heart beating hard and fast.
She must be nervous, Draco thought dizzily.
As he gradually got over the initial humiliation of being controlled and beaten by Moody, he finally realized certain facts.
For example, she had him tucked inside her outer robe. For example, she was wearing only a thin layer of pajamas underneath. For example, the ferret's face was pressed directly against her chest through the thin layer of pajamas.
Very soft.
Draco knew better than to think about it right now.
He had suffered a horrific torture at the hands of Moody, right in front of her, just minutes before.
He should be filled with shame and anger, he should be in unbearable pain, and he should be at a loss.
But now, his mind was completely occupied by the word "soft".
The thrill of running.
Ups and downs that cannot be ignored.
The humiliation, pain, and fear just now strangely transformed into a sweet, beautiful, and stimulating touch.
At this moment, the ferret named Draco Malfoy suddenly found that he was feeling all this with an extremely pleasant and guilty mood.
He could hardly control himself, clutching her nightgown, trembling with shameful arousal.
Hermione Granger had originally planned to go to bed early.
After returning from Hogsmeade, she had practiced several summoning spells with Harry and Ron in the common room—Harry had managed to make books, quills, a set of old Gobstones, Neville's toad, Riff, and even a few chairs fly towards him—but the practice had finally tired her, and the extra glass of Butterbeer Draco had bought them at the Three Broomsticks had left her feeling a little tipsy.
But as she lay on the four-poster bed, listening to the faint sound of the wind outside the window, she couldn't help but think about the progress of her SPEW membership recruitment again, and anxiety swept over her - it seemed that she would never be able to get ten members to make Draco admit defeat to her.
Like Ron, Draco, as children of wizarding families, was unconvinced about the rights of house-elves. But Draco was different from Ron in some ways. He was willing to pay Dobby a salary and give him vacation time – and based on that fact, Hermione didn't think his stance was completely unwavering.
He was still a worthy candidate, Hermione thought. Now, all she needed was an opportunity to get this stubborn young man involved. Who knows, maybe he'd make a significant contribution to this matter!
As she thought about it, her mind became more complicated. She felt extremely uneasy, as if something was hanging in her heart, lingering.
A daring thought even crossed her mind—she wanted to sneak out of the common room at this moment to check on the house-elves and see if they could get the right to go to bed on time—even though curfew was still a quarter of an hour away.
She thought back to her first grade self, when she had severely reprimanded Harry and his friends for their night outing. However, now, she herself had become a little naughty and tried to skirt the rules.
She didn't know who had made her so bold. Could it be because of the boy who often wore an invisible cloak and sneaked around Hogwarts at night but was never caught by Mr. Filch? Hermione chuckled inexplicably.
She hastily put on her robe over her pajamas and decided to sneak into the kitchen to watch and see if Winky was feeling any better.
It won't take long, she thought, she'd have enough time. She rushed out from behind the portrait of the Fat Lady curling her hair, hurried down the stairs, and sped towards her destination.
However, a certain staircase that kept changing direction took Hermione a little extra time, and when she reached the Great Hall, she was obviously a little dizzy. She hurriedly walked down the stairs to the next floor, but instead of finding the familiar spacious and bright underground corridor, she faced another dark and cold corridor.
Only then did she realize she had taken the wrong path.
This was probably the path to the Slytherin dungeons. Turning the corner, it looked like Professor Snape's office was right there.
Merlin! Don't let Professor Snape show up and grab her by the hair so close to curfew! Hermione tried to retreat when she heard a roar and was surprised to find it was Professor Moody's voice. She knew it was him because she had heard his voice at the Three Broomsticks earlier that day.
"I should have noticed earlier that there was a disgusting rat following me. You just won't learn your lesson, will you? You really don't know how to be polite. Let me teach you how to be a good student!" Professor Moody's voice was very soft, but it revealed some involuntary cruelty and gloating tone.
Hermione was so curious that she couldn't help but peek around the corner and saw Professor Moody facing her sideways, with the wand in his hand emitting a white light towards the empty corridor.
She saw Draco appear in the corridor in an instant, something invisible was knocked aside with a sound, and the boy was quickly transformed into a ferret.
The weasel wanted to run, but was controlled to rise into the air and then fell to the ground with a "bang".
Hermione covered her mouth in fear and quickly turned around and pressed herself against the wall in the corner, not daring to look closely.
What should she do? She hesitated, listening to Professor Moody's harsh words as he lectured Draco, echoing in the deserted corridor.
"I hate sneaky people. You want to tell Snape again? Dirty, despicable, cowardly behavior... and you let Minerva threaten me... I even had to promise Dumbledore not to bother you in class... The Malfoys are so well-connected that they even have Dumbledore on their side... And now what? You wandered out during curfew and I caught you?"
In between Moody's words, she could hear the poor ferret being hurled to the ground again and again. She could hear its faint little screams, and the sound gradually ignited a rage in her heart.
Deforming students is a serious violation and it is not permissible even as a punishment!
"I remember you seemed to be very afraid of the Cruciatus Curse. A cowardly Malfoy brat, you would tremble with fear even when you heard it... Tell me... should I try it on you, a brat? Try the Cruciatus Curse," Moody smacked his lips and said cruelly, "You deserve this kind of extra teaching."
Oh my god. Draco…Draco who claimed to be a coward yet stood in front of her countless times to save her without hesitation…Draco who admitted to being selfish yet was always selfless to her…Draco who was buried in a tank and nearly drowned yet had to tell her afterwards that "it's okay."
Her heart ached violently, and a rare violent emotion ignited.
Cruciatus Curse! How dare Moody?
Finally, Hermione's rage burned out the last bit of rationality in her mind. She flashed out from the corner and decisively shouted the spell she had thought about a thousand times in her mind: "Expelliarmus!"
She succeeded. Across from him, Professor Moody was left with nothing—his wand had been knocked against the far wall—and he was stunned.
Anger drove Hermione to scoop the ferret into her arms and wrap her robe tightly around it to prevent it from falling out. This was not the time to make a mistake, she had to make no mistakes, no mistakes at all.
She confronted Professor Moody. She challenged Professor Moody. She pointed her staff at a Hogwarts professor with a startling lack of remorse.
She didn't know how she had managed it, but when her sanity returned, she had already run all the way to the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"I don't think he's caught up," she whispered to the trembling ferret in her arms. The fat lady in front of her was sleeping soundly, snoring softly.
The ferret trembled in her arms. No, she couldn't take Draco into the Gryffindor common room. He must be terrified, and he didn't want anyone to know what he looked like.
Hermione had an idea and took the ferret to the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor.
She imagined a warm, cozy room with a bed, a sofa, an armchair, a roaring fire, soft wool rugs, and countless cushions.
She still felt like it was all a bizarre dream. Just a whimsical night trip. How did she end up like this, and how did he become like this?
Hermione nervously took the trembling ferret from her arms—it looked reluctant—and placed it neatly on the sofa, calling out shakily, "Draco?"
The ferret nodded and sat down on the sofa with a sullen look. It looked pitiful and cute. She tried to touch its head, and it did not resist, but accepted her touch obediently.
She couldn't help but move closer to it, wanting to take a closer look at its appearance. It moved very flexibly, even climbing up the pole, from her hand to her arm and even to her shoulder.
Surprised, she turned to look at the stoat on her shoulder - it was rubbing its wet nose against her cheek tentatively.
——Merlin, it smells so good. He was suddenly captured by her scent.
For a moment, Hermione forgot that the ferret was a young boy. Its docile appearance, which allowed her to lift it by the neck with one hand, was completely different from the aloof boy who was a head taller than her.
Moreover, it was busy moving around on her shoulders, fluttering on her neck and cheeks, making her ears feel ticklish. That kind of playful spirit was completely different from Draco's usual indifferent and calm appearance.
——She smells so good. I want to get closer to her, closer to her. This thought was swirling in his mind.
Hermione didn't want to laugh, but the ferret had tickled her. She fell back on the sofa, hugging its throbbing body, and begged for mercy with a smile, "Don't do this, Draco, stop, Draco, stop..."
Then the stoat lay motionless at her heart, its body spread out on top of her, its tiny claws clinging to her clothes.
"Why do I feel that you are so clingy after turning into a ferret?" Hermione asked curiously.
The ferret didn't answer, but just lay on her obediently, rubbing its little head against her affectionately, as if revealing a certain satisfaction.
She didn't know why she could understand the animal's expressions, it was completely illogical, but she could feel the attachment and contentment, just as she could feel that it loved touching her.
Perhaps being an animal made him feel insecure, Hermione thought worriedly.
"Draco, are you okay?" she asked.
Still no response. The ferret was too busy staring at her stubbornly with its gleaming grey eyes – eyes that looked a bit like Draco's.
She couldn't help but touch the soft white fur a few times, causing it to tremble.
"Are you scared?" she asked softly, looking at him tenderly with her big brown eyes.
——No, it's more of an excitement than fear.
After transforming into a ferret, Draco's sense of smell became extremely acute. He could smell the alluring sweetness of his favorite green apple from her wrist, along with a faint floral scent. The combined stimulation of smell and touch made every pore in his body open with pleasure.
Oh my god, it's shaking again. He must be scared, Hermione thought.
"It's okay, relax, he won't hurt you anymore." She stroked the ferret again and again, trying to comfort it. Her face was anxious, but her eyes were full of love.
At this moment, he felt comfortable from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail.
——Don't stop, Merlin, it smells so good, so soft, so comfortable. He thought intoxicatedly.
Hermione decided to help Draco return to his original form as soon as possible.
"Okay, I'll see if I can remove the curse for you... Luckily, we practiced this spell in Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class a few days ago." She frowned. "I hope I don't have to go to her. Otherwise, I'll have to explain myself and probably get a lot of points deducted. I might even get detention from Mr. Filch. I guess he's trying to get us to clean something without magic again."
The ferret nodded at her, a look of trust on its face.
So she sat on the carpet and placed it in front of her. However, she pointed the tip of the stick at him for a long time, and finally put it down tremblingly, "No, I'm afraid I'm not skilled enough and won't be accurate enough."
Hermione was self-aware. She was only a 15-year-old witch who had only just started learning about human transformation and spell removal. Most of the time, she wasn't satisfied with the results of her spells.
Professor Moody was undoubtedly a very powerful Auror. If he had used his full power to Transfiguration someone, it would have taken an equally powerful Transfigurator to undo the curse—like Professor McGonagall.
At this moment, she probably didn't have enough power to remove the curse. She said to the ferret: "Draco, let's go find Professor McGonagall..."
The ferret shook its head wildly, looking incredibly stupid. Despite her confused and worried mood, Hermione couldn't help but chuckle and even petted it again.
——This touch succeeded in making him stunned. His body softened and he leaned comfortably along her hand on the carpet.
"Are you really not afraid that I might make a mistake?" Hermione said, "You can just shake your head and refuse me."
The ferret didn't move. It lay on the carpet, staring at her, looking at her trustingly, as if to say, "You can do this."
Hermione took a deep breath and finally decided to try it herself. She knew it was risky, but she was still hoping for a chance.
She pointed her wand at the ferret, took a deep breath, and chanted the spell to undo the transformation.
With a loud snap, the ferret disappeared and Draco Malfoy appeared.
The boy looked disheveled. His once perfectly straight platinum hair hung in a mess around his flushed face. His smock was tangled up in his silver-gray pajamas. His gray eyes were misty.
"Hermione..." Draco whispered. He was lying on the carpet, bewildered, still recovering from the shock of his transformation, and even less from the pleasure of being in close contact with her.
"Thank Merlin! He just cursed casually and didn't use his full strength—" Hermione suddenly choked up. She rushed over and landed firmly in his arms.
She stroked his hair, touched her cheek against his, and sniffed his scent with the tip of her nose, trying to feel a sense of reality that he had turned back into a human being from the feedback of various senses.
The warmth of his cheek and the faint scent of cedar on his shoulder gradually relaxed her tense heart. She hugged him and let out a few short sighs. Then, the sighs turned into sobs, and then sobs. "If you can't change back, I really will go crazy."
Only then did she dare to burst into tears, feeling wronged. Because before he could return to his calm and composed self, she had to be strong.
Hermione didn't know why she was crying.
Perhaps it was the tension and fear brought about by confronting an experienced former Auror like Moody; perhaps it was because she felt it was unfair for Draco, because he was obviously an extremely proud man, but he suffered such a great insult; or perhaps she was deeply afraid - if she had not had a sudden whim to go to the kitchen to visit the house-elves tonight, if she had not been dizzy and taken the wrong path, would he have actually suffered such torture and felt the heart-wrenching pain?
And he was, obviously, terrified of the Cruciatus curse.
Hermione, tears welling in her eyes, leaned over him, not caring whether she was pinning him to the carpet or how suggestive their position was.
Amidst her tears, she heard his gentle, clear voice, with a hint of comfort and pity, "Oh, Hermione... don't cry..."
Draco Malfoy was being hugged closely by the crying girl.
Her body fell into his arms like a long awaited dream.
At this moment, complex emotions surged into the boy's heart like a tide.
He was overwhelmed by a mixture of shame, shyness, nervousness and excitement; coupled with the pain in his body from being thrown by Moody, and the physiological reaction of some strange feelings, he felt like he was going crazy.
He noticed more details.
His palms rested dreamily on her back, and he suspected she was wearing nothing underneath her pajamas.
He felt her embrace, almost fitting around him. Oh, God, she was so soft. Any normal teenager couldn't miss the undulations beneath her thin nightgown.
For a brief, sinful moment, or perhaps every moment, he wished he could just bury his face in hers like a ferret and listen to her heartbeat again.
Oh, God, Merlin, Draco closed his eyes, thinking he might need a slap to wake himself up.
Even if he couldn't do that, his face was already very lucky at the moment. It was buried in her neck and hair, and the pleasant sweet smell drifted into his nostrils.
Oh—Hermione.
She was so warm and beautiful, so innocent and gentle. She nuzzled his shoulder, loving and affectionate, close to him. She was crying, heartbroken for him.
Her fragrance, her softness, her rise and fall, even the way she gently stroked his hand, each one of them could drive him crazy.
Draco forced himself to stop stroking her back and instead held her shaking shoulders.
Under all these stimulations, a beast awakened in his heart - the beast suddenly opened its eyes and said - it wanted to kiss her.
He wanted to kiss her.
He wanted to taste her, to see if she was as sweet as he imagined.
But the little witch who had just dared to cast the Disarming Charm on Mad-Eye Moody was now crying in fear. Her tears were wetting his shoulders. She sobbed and shuddered, huddled and twitching in his arms, as if it wasn't him who was being insulted by Moody, but herself.
Is Hermione Granger brave or a coward? He wondered vaguely, his mind lost in her tears and fragrance.
"He—how could he do this to you!" she sobbed, her voice breaking in disbelief. "He's a professor! And he's torturing you!"
The brokenness in her voice finally brought the bewildered boy back to his senses.
He resisted the terrible urge to kiss her, sat up from the carpet, picked up the crying girl, and leaned them together on the sofa beside him.
He quietly grasped the sofa cover with one hand, and patted her back as gently as possible with the other hand, coaxing the sobbing girl in a relaxed tone, "I'm fine..."
But she still cried in his arms, even crying harder.
Draco was so confused that he couldn't think about any of his own thoughts.
He was only busy putting her head on his shoulder, hugging her, and trying to say in a nonchalant tone: "Thanks for saving me from Professor Moody's clutches, again."
"He doesn't deserve it! He doesn't deserve to be a professor!" She nestled in his arms, sobbing and hiccuping, saying fiercely, "I've never seen anyone as bad as him! I must tell Professor McGonagall tomorrow..."
"Silly girl, your curfew violation will be made public." Draco patted her shoulder nervously. "Professor Dumbledore has high expectations of Professor Moody. He seems to be counting on this former Auror to protect Harry's life..."
"Then he should have fulfilled his duties instead of targeting you!" Hermione said angrily, "I just changed my mind about him a little recently, but in the end, he hasn't changed at all... I think there's something wrong with him! He has no sense of protecting his students... Professor Snape does a much better job than him!"
If Professor Snape knew that Hermione Granger regarded him as the bottom line for the school professors - he didn't know whether he should cry or laugh - he would probably spew a lot of venom from his harsh and ruthless mouth. Draco thought silently, patting her shoulder in a soothing manner.
"He caught me today. I shouldn't have been hanging around during curfew. He wouldn't dare do anything to me in class. He'd already promised Dumbledore." Draco said thoughtfully, his fingers tapping unconsciously on her shoulder. "I just don't understand why he was there at that time."
"What do you mean?" Hermione sniffed. She shivered at his touch, but she tried not to think about it.
"I thought it was Barty Crouch there, but it was Mad-Eye Moody..." Draco said nonchalantly.
He tried his best to distract himself, to forget that she was leaning trustingly against him, looking up at him with wet eyes. He tried to ignore the thick mass of her hair that covered his shoulders and arms, and how good she smelled.
Merlin, she was like a piece of fine honey that he couldn't help but want to suck, and the only place he could suck the honey from happened to be her lips.
She was looking at him innocently. Draco's eyes were a little evasive, his other hand tormenting the carpet behind him. He didn't dare put his other hand on her, for fear that he would hug her tightly and hold her completely in his arms.
Then he might want to dump the unsuspecting honey on the carpet and taste her sweetness - which would probably scare her.
She's sad right now, you shouldn't do anything to her, Draco told himself.
"Barty Crouch? I only saw him once in Hogwarts. He went back to the Ministry of Magic on the day the champion of the Goblet of Fire was announced. You can't expect him to stay in Hogwarts every day. He only comes when he's a referee, right?" As soon as he got to the point, Hermione straightened up and looked at him, forgetting to cry.
Thanks to Merlin, she's finally stopped crying—and away from him, Draco thought wistfully, ruffling the rug and regaining some of his composure.
"That's what I'm wondering about. Look—" He pondered for a moment and decided to take out the Marauder's Map.
He confessed to the curious girl, "I have evidence that Barty Crouch came to Hogwarts today and ran to Professor Snape's office. First of all, you have to promise not to be angry with me for this. Secondly, I have to introduce to you what this thing is..."
Half an hour later, they were lying on the soft wool carpet studying the fully unfolded Marauder's Map.
Hermione couldn't believe her eyes – she was shocked.
"Draco! You can always see what everyone does at Hogwarts." She looked at Draco reproachfully, her eyes wide.
"I understand that. But I don't always have the time to open it, considering the mountains of homework the professors assign." Draco shrugged.
At this moment, he saw that the little dot belonging to Barty Crouch on the door of Professor Snape's office had disappeared; the name of the terrible Alastor Moody was in his own office.
"And yet you didn't tell me until now!" said Hermione angrily, wiping her eyes with the handkerchief the boy had given her.
"I never found the right opportunity," Draco said awkwardly. "When I got it, I hadn't confessed to you what I had done."
Hermione remained silent. She pursed her lips for a moment, stole a glance into his earnest grey eyes, then glanced at the handkerchief he had offered her – she had lost count of how many times – and finally decided to forgive him.
"Now I know how you found out about Peter Pettigrew." Hermione softened her tone and brought up another topic.
"Right. When a rat has that name, it's hard not to notice it," Draco shrugged.
"But why can't I find us?" she asked him.
Draco had been observing her reaction, and when he saw she no longer showed any signs of anger, he was relieved. He smiled and explained to her, "Oh, I guess the cartographer didn't know about the Room of Requirement, so once we enter this room, we will disappear from the map."
"Makes sense," Hermione said, resting her chin on her hands as she stared at the map. "And the Shrieking Shack, too?"
"That's right. That's why I didn't notice anything unusual about the Shrieking Shack last year." Draco said sullenly.
"It can't be some kind of dark magic item—"
"Oh, it was made by Harry's godfather Sirius Black, Harry's father James Potter, and former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Remus Lupin. Maybe Peter Pettigrew should be included, so he knows he's safe in the Shrieking Shack and no one can find him," Draco said lightly, "but I doubt he had any role in this matter."
"Oh my god, they're amazing." Hermione said in amazement, "I only knew that Harry's father was very good at Quidditch, a very talented Seeker, and very good at the Patronus Charm. But I didn't know he was so good at this kind of Trace Magic..."
"They are all very good. This excellence is not limited to a specific field, just like you are not only good at one subject, but an all-round talent." Draco said as a matter of course, and saw Hermione blushing, smiling at him half shyly and half proudly.
He smiled back at her, "Look at Sirius Black. Even after all these years in Azkaban, you still can't deny the brilliance and wisdom that shines through him."
"You seem to admire him," she said sharply. "You admire Sirius Black, don't you?"
"Oh, I wouldn't say that. He can be a bit foolish at times - with Harry's father - but you have to admit that he's quite forward-thinking in a lot of things. He can see beneath the surface, which is something not just anyone can do." Draco shrugged.
"Yes, something beneath the surface..." Hermione repeated his words softly, as if chewing on the meaning of this sentence. It seemed that some kind of spark flickered briefly in the mist, and then suddenly extinguished when she tried to locate the location of the Mars.
Her eyes wandered aimlessly over the map, and she asked casually, "So you saw Mr. Barty Crouch on the map, but ran into Moody while looking for him?"
"Yes."
"There's such a loud noise at the office door. If Mr. Barty Crouch is inside, he should come out to take a look, right?" Hermione said thoughtfully.
"Perhaps not," Draco reminded her. "You shouldn't consider his thoughts in such an open and honest way. Perhaps we should try to put ourselves in his shoes. If a reputable and self-conscious person were to go to Professor Snape's office to do something sneaky, the last thing he should do is come out and let anyone see what he's doing. He should hide in the office and pretend he doesn't exist."
"That makes sense," said Hermione. "Exactly. I've noticed you're quite good at that sort of thing. You know, putting yourself in other people's shoes."
Draco gave her a faint smile. "The thing is, the last time I checked the map, I didn't see Mad-Eye Moody. He seemed to have appeared out of thin air. You know, the Invisibility Cloak doesn't work on this map. It's like he's carrying around a Room of Requirement, hiding himself."
"You might as well say Barty Crouch is a Metamorphmagus, capable of transforming himself into Mad-Eye Moody," said Hermione dreamily, shuddering. "A wooden leg, then a magical eye... the very thought of the transformation... gives me chills."
"Yeah, but he's not. At least I haven't heard of him having this ability." Draco gave up and lay down on the carpet beside him, pressing his forehead in annoyance and sighing, "It's always just a little bit short. I always feel that the answer is about to come out, but there is always a little bit of decisive detailed evidence missing to fill the gaps in my thinking."
"I feel the same way," Hermione also sighed, lying on the carpet on the other side of the map. She tilted her face, her brown eyes soft, "But it's rare to see the arrogant Draco Malfoy looking so dejected."
"Oh, come on, stop teasing me. I've already embarrassed myself in front of you - you've even seen me in such a miserable state as a ferret." Draco covered his face in annoyance, and his ears began to turn red.
"I won't tell anyone, and I won't laugh at you. I've kept so many secrets for you, what else is this?" A smile played on her lips. "Besides, you look so cute when you turn into a ferret—"
"Oh, do you think that's cute?" Draco turned to look at her.
Under the flickering candlelight, his eyes were like a quiet deep lake, with a kind of magic that made people unable to help but indulge in it.
"Very-very cute." Hermione blushed and looked into his eyes, saying absentmindedly.