Draco didn’t believe for a second that the brave and prideful little witch in front of him had come to him just to complain about her awful experience last night.
Of course not.
When Draco asked if she’d run into anything in the restricted area, it was easy to spot the hesitation on Hermione’s face, like she was torn about saying something.
“I’m not sure if I should be telling you this... I think Headmaster Dumbledore didn’t want anyone to know what’s down there. That’s probably why he brought it up during the Sorting Ceremony.”
“Oh?”
Draco wasn’t in a rush.
He knew Hermione well enough to understand that she wouldn’t bring up what happened after the duel unless she had already made up her mind. Maybe she was just trying to get back at him for always teasing her?
“......”
“......”
“Aren’t you even a little curious?”
They locked eyes for a moment.
In the end, it seemed Hermione couldn’t hold back anymore and finally spoke first.
“Of course I’m curious. But if you didn’t trust me, you wouldn’t have brought it up to begin with, right?”
“Hmph! Annoying guy...”
Maybe Draco’s words hit the right note?
Even though Hermione’s face was puffed up in frustration, the flicker in her eyes and that unfamiliar feeling in her chest made her lips twitch upward before she could stop it.
But trying to look angry while also hiding her delight only twisted her expression into something caught between both.
Draco found the little witch oddly entertaining.
A little foolish, but kind of cute...
...
Hermione had no idea Draco had mentally added that strange label to her.
After pulling herself together, she started telling him what happened last night.
She leaned in close to Draco, glanced around cautiously, then lowered her voice.
“You might find this hard to believe, but behind that door, we saw a Three-Headed Dog that practically filled the whole room!”
“You mean... a Three-Headed Dog?”
“Don’t you get it? A huge dog. With three heads.”
“.........”
Is that really what he’s stuck on?
Draco’s confusion wasn’t about Hermione’s description. What puzzled him was why a creature like that was even in Hogwarts.
Something like that shouldn’t be here, should it?
And judging by Hermione’s tone, it was definitely no harmless, playful pet...
While Draco frowned in thought, Hermione continued.
“Not only that, I saw a trapdoor beneath its feet. It was clearly guarding something!”
At that point, something seemed to spark in Hermione, and she got visibly upset.
“If it hadn’t been for that completely pointless duel, I could’ve been torn apart by that thing—or worse, expelled from school!”
Draco wasn’t sure why, in Hermione’s mind, being expelled was worse than being mauled, but it was clear just how furious she was at that red-haired Weasley who ignored her warning and left the common room anyway.
In any case—
Draco wasn’t about to provoke this feisty little kitten.
“Well, that’s probably the only way to look at it. But why would that Greatest Wizard make a point of mentioning it? Especially knowing how Gryffindors act without thinking... Alright, alright, I’ll stop.”
After receiving a sharp glare from Hermione, Draco wisely dropped his commentary on Gryffindor.
“But more importantly—how did you even end up there?”
“From what I know, the dueling spot is a good distance from that corridor.”
Hermione stared blankly at Draco as he mumbled to himself and scribbled something on a piece of parchment. For a moment, she felt completely thrown off.
Was she overreacting?
Or was it just coincidence?
The clever little witch quickly realized—this wasn’t as simple as she’d thought...
...
Hermione didn’t interrupt Draco’s thoughts—she simply watched him quietly, taking in his focused expression.
It was probably the first time she’d ever looked at Draco’s face from this close, for this long.
His pale blond hair was neatly combed, which made Hermione instinctively smooth down her own slightly frizzy curls.
Those grey eyes of his held a maturity and sharpness far beyond their age. The way he concentrated so intently made Hermione gently press a hand to her chest, where her heart was starting to beat a little faster.
Even if she claimed to “hate” Draco, Hermione had to admit there was a reason those fox-like girls whispered about him like he was some kind of prince.
At the very least, when Draco was this focused, he really did have a strange sort of charm that was hard to look away from...
She shook her head quickly.
Gave her cheeks a little pat.
The moment Draco set down his quill, Hermione blurted something out—like she was trying to cover something up.
“Do you know where that Three-Headed Dog comes from?”
Draco didn’t notice her flushed face—his mind was still elsewhere.
“In ancient Greek mythology, the Three-Headed Dog is called Cerberus. Muggles know it as the hound of the underworld. In that sense, it really is a kind of gatekeeper. So, saying it was guarding something makes perfect sense.”
“A hound of the underworld?!”
Noticing the look of alarm on Hermione’s face, Draco added,
“Of course, that’s just mythology. Real Three-Headed Dogs aren’t nearly that terrifying or dangerous. At most, they’re classified as magical creatures. And to a powerful wizard, it’s still just... a dog.”
“I see...”
Hermione was glad she’d come to talk to him. She’d known that Draco’s knowledge of the wizarding world far surpassed her own.
Not like the other two who were running with her that night—they hadn’t even known how to open a door with a spell.
For some reason...
The nervousness Hermione had felt began to fade after sharing her findings with Draco.
Maybe—just maybe—they could uncover this mystery together...