Draco tried to distract her, but to no avail. She seemed determined to stay at the table, flipping through books with lightning speed and scribbling furiously on parchment with her quill, without even looking up.
She did not even look up at him.
Just then, the scruffy, ginger-coloured cat named Crookshanks tiptoed in through the library window.
It strolled leisurely across the windowsill, skipping over Hermione's huge stack of books with a lightness Draco could not comprehend, and finally lay down on the empty table in front of him, watching him intently.
Draco glanced at it casually. The cat had a grumpy, oddly flattened face, as if it had once charged headfirst into a wall.
He smiled and tried to touch it, but it stood up and bared its teeth at him.
"Oh, Crookshanks, do not do that!" Hermione finally noticed the commotion. She softened her tone and said to the cat, "He is my study partner, so you had better be polite."
Crookshanks meekly wagged his fat, bottle-brush-like tail at Hermione, then glanced at Draco with his round yellow eyes, as if assessing his worthiness.
Draco watched the cat silently, sensing that it was pondering something.
Finally, like a large, ginger leather blanket, Crookshanks lowered his guard and lay motionless in front of Draco once more.
"He does this all the time, you know, jumping in through the library window to see what I am doing..." Hermione said to him, taking a new sheet of parchment... the previous one was already full of writing. "When I am just reading and not writing, I stroke him for a while, and he gets really happy."
Draco stroked Crookshanks' messy fur with great interest and flipped up his ears to take a look.
"Where did you get him from?" Draco asked.
"A magical creature shop in Diagon Alley." Hermione looked up quickly, glancing at him. "Is there a problem?"
"If I am not mistaken, he is not an ordinary cat," Draco said with a smile, staring at her with his light grey eyes. "He is a Kneazle-Persian cross. A very intelligent and loyal breed."
His words now captured Hermione's full attention, and she finally deigned to look up from among those massive books.
She looked at Crookshanks with delight, then reached out to hug him. "Really? Crookshanks, you are so amazing!"
Crookshanks raised his head, nimbly leapt into her arms to accept her caresses, and abandoned Draco without hesitation.
"You heartless little rascal," he muttered with a laugh.
Goodness knows who he was really calling heartless.
"I know absolutely nothing about Crookshanks' breed. You know, when I went to buy him, the shop assistant said he had never been bought. Is that not right, you poor little thing?" she said to the cat in a sweet voice, oblivious to everyone else.
After speaking, she grasped Crookshanks' plump cheeks with both hands and rubbed her nose against his.
Poor thing? So sickeningly sweet.
Does she say that to everyone?
Draco thought with disdain, annoyed by her nose-rubbing gesture.
"How can you be so cute? I love you the most..." Hermione said in a loving tone, stroking the soft fur on his face.
"Oh, please, Hermione, do not get so close. He has grass stuck to his head. Has he even had a bath?" he said, sounding offended.
Crookshanks gave him a sharp look. He yawned and lazily hopped off her lap.
Draco watched as he nimbly circled around Hermione's chair and stealthily jumped out the window along the same path he had taken in.
"Yes, that is a big problem." She pouted and picked up her quill again. "Crookshanks, he is a bit lively, sometimes even a bit wild. He always disappears mysteriously, and every time he comes back, his paws are covered in dirt and fallen leaves. I suppose he might be wandering around the Forbidden Forest. Is it safe for him there?"
"He will be fine," Draco blurted out abruptly. "Er... just keep an eye on him during the full moon."
"What do you mean by that?" Hermione asked, puzzled.
"The Forbidden Forest is not always peaceful. Wizarding children are usually warned by their parents that there might be werewolves in the Forbidden Forest."
Draco imitated a wolf's howl with a half-smile... Madam Pince, who was passing by, glared at him... which made Hermione laugh out loud. "During the full moon, never howl like a wolf, or werewolves will come running at you."
"Draco, are you not making a mountain out of a molehill? Since when have you become so nervous and cowardly? I remember when you were in first year, you begged me to take you to the Forbidden Forest..." Hermione could not help but chuckle.
This is no exaggeration. There really are werewolves at Hogwarts!
Draco thought, frowning.
Hermione did not take his words to heart. Instead, she asked him casually, "Hey, you cowardly Slytherin, could you sometimes learn some of Gryffindor's bravery from me?"
Courage? That is something Draco Malfoy will never have.
"I can never learn Gryffindor's courage." After a pause, he said calmly, "Slytherins do not put themselves in danger. As for me, I have always hated risk."
There was an overly serious edge to his tone. Hermione noticed it. She scrutinised him with her keen eyes, her smile fading, and asked suspiciously, "Are you serious about the werewolves?"
"This..." Draco hesitated. He did not know whether he should make this public.
Draco had always kept his distance from Lupin. A Slytherin hates getting involved in trouble. He did not want to create unnecessary rumours or cause the students to gossip.
Although he did not want to admit it, deep down he knew that Lupin was a fairly gentle werewolf, unlike Fenrir Greyback.
During his time teaching at Hogwarts, Lupin never harmed any of his students.
What gives me the right to influence the fate of others?
However, Draco could not control himself... he always had some ridiculous and unnecessary worries about her.
He could not help but think of how Greyback had gazed at her greedily in his past life.
At that moment, Greyback had wanted to bite her to death. Draco felt a pang of pain in his heart at the thought of the werewolf's filthy eyes and the terrifying possibilities implied in his words.
He knew perfectly well that Greyback was thousands of miles away, did not know of her yet, and kept his distance; he knew perfectly well that Lupin took Wolfsbane Potion to suppress his werewolf nature, and that she was safe at Hogwarts.
He still could not help but care about her and worry about her. He did not want her to have even the slightest scratch.
Perhaps I am being ridiculous.
He was being a little too protective of her.
He was worrying excessively; it was completely irrational.
Draco thought, watching her face tighten.
He had probably crossed the line... gotten much closer than the safe distance... and he was becoming tense, wary, and alert.
I am just a study partner. I am nothing more than that.
"Fine, just pretend I did not say anything." He suddenly stood up and left in a flustered and agitated manner.
Only the girl, who had stopped writing, remained sitting motionless by the window. She stared at his retreating figure, lost in thought, for a long time.