Acting Normal
While everything else was happening, Harry's group didn't seem to know much about it. This year, the adults had clearly been making an effort to give them a calm school year, without the constant interruptions of the past.
Maybe a bit too much.
To the point where even they could notice it.
And when adults tried that hard to hide something…
it usually meant that "something" wasn't small.
Even so, they could recognize the effort to protect them. It wasn't something they could really be upset about, not when the adults were trying so hard to let them live as normal magical students.
And it also gave them more time for their own projects.
Especially Hermione and her magical creature welfare group, which was currently working on developing enchanted owls and improving their structure to replace real ones. The idea was to make them more accessible and a perfect alternative, able to carry heavier packages, fly for hours without stopping, increase speed, and lower costs so that anyone could afford them.
As long as they were cheaper than buying a real owl, that alone would be enough to make them the better option.
"You know, if you actually pull that off, owl shops are going to be furious. You'd be taking a lot of their customers and profit," Draco said with a faint smile, sitting beside her as he helped sketch out designs, while she worked through calculations for materials and costs.
"Then they should've found another job instead of selling animals and keeping them caged for a living," Hermione replied stubbornly.
Draco let out a soft scoff, a small smile still on his face.
Across from them, Daphne rested her chin on her hand, watching the two of them closely. Her gaze moved from Hermione to Draco, and then back again, going back and forth between them as they worked side by side without issue.
"That's strange," she murmured.
Both of them looked up at her.
"What is?" Hermione asked, slightly confused, while Draco simply stared at her.
"You two. Before the Yule Ball, you were both acting nervous and ridiculous. You could even see how excited you were while dancing together under Harry's illusion spell. And now you're here acting completely normal. That's strange," she repeated, her eyes narrowing slightly.
The two of them glanced at each other for a moment, eyes widening just a bit… before quickly looking away.
Which only made Daphne's expression grow more suspicious. She even tilted her head slightly as she studied them.
"Ahem." Hermione cleared her throat. "Why would that be strange? Draco and I are friends. A dance wouldn't make things awkward between us. We always spend time together. Why would anything change? We just danced one or two songs and then went back to talking like normal," she said, a little too quickly, glancing at Draco as if asking for support.
"Yeah… it was just a dance. I don't see why it would make anything weird," Draco added more calmly, continuing to work on his drawing.
Though if anyone paid attention, the line he was drawing didn't quite make sense.
Daphne's stare only sharpened.
"And what about you? You went to the ball with Viktor, didn't you?" Hermione asked quickly, as if trying to escape the pressure of that gaze.
"That's different. Teasing Viktor turned out to be surprisingly fun. It's like teasing a big dog. He still feels guilty about the first time we met, so he barely fights back. It's so ridiculous it's entertaining," Daphne said with a grin.
"Didn't you help him train for the second task?" Draco asked, giving her a look, feeling a hint of sympathy for Viktor.
"Oh, well… he was really worried about an old photograph of his parents. Apparently, he lost them when he was young and was raised by his uncles, so I put aside my…" she stopped mid-sentence and looked back at both of them suspiciously.
"This feels exactly like when Harry changes the topic to his advantage. Are you two trying to distract me?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"No, of course not," both of them said almost at the same time, shaking their heads.
That only made Daphne smile, clearly entertained… and interested.
"You're hiding something," she said, catching the slight flinch from Hermione, who avoided her gaze, while Draco focused even harder on his plans just to avoid the conversation.
"If you don't want to say it, fine. I'll just keep an eye on you," Daphne added, clearly not giving up, as if she had just found something new and amusing to entertain herself with this year.
Both of them knew very well…
she wasn't joking.
Knowing her the way they did… that only made it worse.
After all, she enjoyed messing with people… especially her friends.
Draco couldn't help letting out a quiet sigh at Daphne's persistence. Knowing her, and much to his misfortune, she wasn't someone you could control.
Meanwhile, Hermione kept avoiding Daphne's gaze.
"By the way…" Daphne said, looking around the Ravenclaw common room. Some students were studying in different corners, while others came and went. "Where's Harry?" she asked, noticing one member of their group was missing.
"Last time I saw him, he was playing with some kind of girl's necklace. He's probably up to something again," Draco said.
"Hmm," Daphne hummed softly.
Before she could say anything else, her eyes flicked toward a clock in one corner.
"Well, I have a few things to take care of," she said, gathering her things from the table with an amused smile. But before leaving, she gave the two of them one last look, then pointed from her eyes toward them in a clear "I'm watching you" gesture before walking off.
Draco let out another sigh as he watched her go.
Hermione, on the other hand, looked a bit tense, glancing at him for a moment. The mood had shifted slightly because of Daphne, turning a little more awkward between them.
"Well… ahem," she said, clearing her throat, trying to sound normal. "I'm sure she's bothering Viktor again… and then she says she doesn't see him any differently," she added, just to break the silence.
"Yeah…" Draco said.
After a brief pause, he added, "Both Fleur and Viktor have terrible luck, running into the two most chaotic people in this school," he said, unable to stop a small sigh.
"Yeah, even Harry tries to act like an adult… but he's still so childish," Hermione said with an amused smile. "You too. You're both the same in that sense," she added, looking at Draco.
"What? No, I'm not," Draco said immediately. "I don't try to act mature. I just am," he added quickly.
"Right… you always have that serious face, but you're actually really easy to read," Hermione said, smiling with a hint of teasing.
"Oh, really?" Draco said, stopping what he was doing and looking straight at her. "Then what am I thinking right now?" he asked, a small smile forming on his face.
"I didn't say I could read your mind," she replied, letting out a quiet laugh.
"I think you're just lying," he said, his tone playful.
"Come on, I know you well enough to understand a lot about you. I can read you like a book," she said right away, a bit of competitiveness slipping into her voice.
Draco raised an eyebrow… clearly not believing her at all.
"Then I'll be waiting to see that," he said in the same tone, as they held each other's gaze for a moment.
Neither of them looked away right away.
And for some reason…
that didn't help at all.
Then they seemed to notice something.
They both glanced to the side for a moment and realized several people were watching them.
Some discreetly…
others not so much.
Like Terry, who had a mischievous smile on his face as he looked at them.
Both of them cleared their throats and returned to what they were doing.
Hermione went back to her calculations, her smile still lingering.
Draco returned to his drawings as well, a faint smile on his face too.
They stayed silent…
but the atmosphere between them had clearly changed.
Students passing by couldn't help but glance at them, some even smiling as they walked past.
And even though neither of them said it out loud…
neither of them was entirely sure what had changed.
And neither of them seemed very willing to find out…
or risk what they already had.