At the end of the corridor was a door, the very door to the restricted area.
"We cannot go in! There is..." Hermione gasped for breath, paused, and then said incoherently, "Professor Dumbledore said so."
There was a three headed dog inside! She had already seen it by chance before.
But she was not certain whether to tell Draco. If she did, would it not be blatantly telling him that she had broken the school rules? Hermione was incredibly conflicted.
"I know!" he said impatiently, continuing to pull her toward the door.
To Hermione's surprise, he did not lead her to open the door, but instead pulled her behind a statue not far from the door.
By this time, Filch's complaints and threats were getting closer and closer, and she could even see the flashes of light at the top of the stairs.
"Are you certain this will work?" she whispered, hiding behind the statue, trembling slightly. "He will see us."
"No, he will not," Draco said calmly. He then pulled a shimmering silver cloak from his pocket, shook it, and draped it over both of them.
Hermione reached out and found that her hand had vanished outside the cloak.
"This is..." she exclaimed, her mouth agape in surprise.
"Invisibility Cloak. Space is limited. Come closer to me, quickly. Do not give yourself away," he whispered to her.
Hermione was stunned by the magical cloak. She had never seen such a wondrous magical item before.
Besides, Mr Filch always looked terrifying. She did not want to be caught by him, have points deducted from her record, or be treated specially with chains or something.
In the emergency, panic overcame her shyness. As he requested, she nestled almost entirely in his arms, carefully moving her feet into the cloak's cover.
"Will this work?" she asked anxiously.
"Do not make a sound," he whispered in her ear.
Hermione dared not move or make a sound, because Filch was getting closer and closer, and his cat seemed to be sniffing around in front of the statue where they were hiding.
What exactly was that cat sniffing?
Hermione involuntarily twitched her nose and caught a pleasant, refreshing scent, seemingly emanating from the neck of the boy named Draco.
She turned her head slightly to look at him.
The boy was staring intently at the cat, and at Filch. Filch was standing to their side, his face stretched out, his eyes almost touching theirs.
She was somewhat uncomfortable with Filch's furious, pale eyes and distorted face, and fearfully clung to Draco's collar. He, however, remained remarkably composed, his expression unchanged, one hand clenched into a fist and gently resting on her back, the other gripping his wand tightly.
Judging from his expression, it seems as though he is about to cast some spell to make the nasty caretaker forget everything if Filch discovers us, Hermione thought, barely daring to breathe.
Fortunately, Mr Filch found nothing. He called out to the suspicious Mrs Norris to go and investigate elsewhere.
"Can we..." Hermione asked impatiently, feeling her body stiffen from holding the position for too long.
"Wait a little longer," Draco said softly, pressing his fist against her back.
Filch's greatest skill is launching a surprise attack. I know his tactics all too well from my previous life.
Hermione sighed almost imperceptibly and wearily rested her head on his shoulder.
Being stuck on the steps for so long, running up and down the stairs at breakneck speed, and the tense atmosphere in the corridor, all these things combined to exhaust a twelve year old girl's energy.
In the silent darkness, she felt drowsy and tired. The boy's shoulder seemed reassuring. He had just saved her from the steps and had not made any sarcastic remarks or mocked her as she had feared.
Draco, this Slytherin boy, is quite friendly to me, friendlier than all the Gryffindor boys combined. He is also quite clever and resourceful, even managing to fool Mr Filch, who is keen on finding fault with students...
It would not hurt to lean on his shoulder, would it? We cannot move anyway, and I cannot lean on anything else, correct? Hermione thought drowsily.
Draco felt the weight on his shoulder and glanced at her in surprise. His lips moved, but he remained silent, allowing her to rest there.
How can she have absolutely no guard up against me? Not long ago, was she not still haughtily angry with me? Now, she is leaning on my shoulder so absurdly, willingly, and trustingly?
This is something that no one could have imagined in two lifetimes.
This capricious, willful, endearing yet troublesome little girl... he thought, his mind in turmoil.
However, the commotion at the stairwell prevented him from thinking any further. Sure enough, Filch was extremely cunning. He returned and lingered there for quite a while before leaving.
Draco was right, Hermione thought to herself. Thank goodness I listened to him and waited a little longer, otherwise we would definitely have been caught by Mr Filch.
This experience was so different from when she, Harry, and Ron accidentally entered the forbidden area last time. Last time, she had been nervous the whole time and had to desperately think of a solution. She could not count on those boys at all.
However, Draco always seemed unhurried and always did things very well.
I suddenly feel less afraid. With him around, there does not seem to be anything to worry about. After all, he will definitely not put us in danger.
So Hermione closed her eyes and continued to rest against him. In the small safe space created by the Invisibility Cloak, her mind gradually went blank.
They waited cautiously for a long time, just in case Filch returned again. Only when all was quiet did they slip out from under the Invisibility Cloak and quietly make their way back to the stairs at the other end of the corridor.
"Wait, Draco, can we bring Invisibility Cloaks to school? Is it allowed?" As Hermione descended the stairs, her mind finally cleared somewhat, and she suddenly realized, "Do you often sneak out like this in the middle of the night?"
"Otherwise what? What do you think the Invisibility Cloak is for?" Draco said casually, without any shame, and instead strolled leisurely toward the stairs.
Judging from his appearance, he is clearly a repeat offender.
"This is against school rules!" Hermione caught up with him, admonishing him as they descended the stairs. "You cannot do this anymore. It is too dangerous... What if Filch catches you one day? I know you are good at avoiding punishment, but it is still risky! You cannot use this Invisibility Cloak to do whatever you want anymore, or I will tell Professor McGonagall..."
"Let me remind you, if it were not for this thing, we would both be finished tonight. Go experience Filch's chains!" Draco gave her an annoyed look.
That ungrateful girl! She used me and then ignored me!
Hermione snorted, clearly not convinced by him.
I know, of course, that this thing saved us today, but breaking school rules is still not quite right...
"There is a difference between an accidental mishap like today and a series of deliberate acts, is there not?" she said stubbornly.
Draco abruptly stopped, meeting her wide eyed stare, a cold, mischievous smile playing on his lips as he tried to intimidate her. "If you tell Professor McGonagall, you will be punished too. We are all in this together now."
"You are threatening me!" Hermione said angrily. The gratitude she felt for being rescued and the sense of security he gave her in the darkness had vanished completely because of his threat.
"Yes," Draco pursed his lips, walked to the platform at the bottom of the stairs on the second floor, picked up the book Hogwarts, A History that had been left on the ground, dusted it off with distaste, and then shoved it into Hermione's arms.
Then, that refined face provocatively moved closer to hers, as though trying to see what was going on in her mind, which startled her.
He said bluntly, "I am threatening you, so you had better not talk nonsense to Professor McGonagall."
Hermione was somewhat disoriented by his closeness. His rebellious grey eyes were quite striking, his hair shimmered in the flickering candlelight, yet the words from his mouth were utterly infuriating, leaving her at a complete loss.
Finally, a surge of desperate anger welled up inside her. Her face flushed red as she recalled the things her housemates often said about Slytherins.
She angrily said to him, "You ruthless Slytherin!"
Just as in my previous life, I am once again accused of being ruthless, Draco thought expressionlessly.
"Yes! That is how I am, no matter what. Do not bother reminding me! Go back to your respectable Gryffindor common room and avoid running into any more Slytherins. Goodnight!" He said sternly, making a series of extreme remarks, leaving her on the platform, and strode away.
Hermione Granger is rigid, dogmatic, and conventional, and not particularly endearing.
And quite troublesome.
Draco grumbled as he walked toward the Slytherin common room.
But will this little scatterbrain fall into one of those missing steps again?
After all that commotion, it is almost curfew, and Filch, who is obsessed with arresting students, is wandering around... As he thought about it, his pace slowed down, and he walked more and more slowly.
Hermione Granger, the most infuriating little girl in the world! Draco frowned, hesitated, and looked back at the small figure on the next flight of stairs before involuntarily stopping in his tracks.
On the other hand, Hermione, whose relationship with her friends was strained because of her insistence on following school rules, walked sullenly to the Gryffindor common room on the seventh floor, holding the book he had picked up for her, looking extremely listless.
After this thrilling night, her heart felt like a spilled paint bottle, with Gryffindor red and Slytherin green scattered all over the place, topped with a touch of melancholy blue.
In short, it was a complete mess.
How should I deal with the Slytherin boy who helped me and then proudly admitted to breaking the rules?
He also... he brazenly threatened and intimidated me. Even though he is somewhat attractive, he is still utterly wicked!
Those dreadful grey eyes... are quite striking. And he smells rather nice too.
She stepped through the portrait of the Fat Lady with great hesitation, completely unaware that an invisible boy was quietly following her, his eyebrows furrowed deeply. Only when she entered the Gryffindor common room did he let out a slight sigh. The Fat Lady, who was about to change into her nightgown for sleep, was startled by the sound and nearly toppled over. He then slowly went downstairs.
The plump woman, who had only just regained her composure, frantically clutched her chest and shouted into the air, "Who is there? Is that you Peeves?"