A History of Magic is universally acknowledged as the most tedious subject of all.
In this class, the ghostly professor's voice never rises or falls. His speech is slow and drawn-out, so much so that if you lose focus for even a moment, you forget what he just said. The material itself does little to help.
After all, no wizard is particularly eager to hear endless praise of Cornelius Fudge's glorious accomplishments.
Of course, if Percy were still at Hogwarts, he would no doubt be the most attentive student in the room...
If you look closely, you can spot the book resting on the lectern in front of Professor Binns: Our Great Minister of Magic.
And the person who provided that book... is Umbridge, currently seated at the very back of the classroom.
Yes, after Umbridge's "suggestion" and outright coercion, Professor Binns obligingly added material from the biography that Cornelius Fudge personally paid to have published into his lectures.
As for why he accepted such a suggestion, perhaps Professor Binns felt that Cornelius Fudge, as the Minister for Magic, could be considered part of magical history in some sense.
Even if using his own autobiography as course material was, admittedly, rather biased...
But compared to learning exactly what grand achievements Cornelius Fudge had made for the wizarding world, what Pansy and Hermione really wanted to know was what had happened between Draco and Luna in the Great Hall that morning.
If she'd known things would turn out like that...
Pansy definitely wouldn't have let Hermione drag her down to the Hogwarts kitchens just to "bond" with the house-elves and try to recruit them into the so-called Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare.
Compared to convincing everyone of the organization's importance, Pansy cared far more about everything happening around Draco.
And as for Hermione, the president of the house-elf rights society... judging by the current situation, she still had a long road ahead in terms of overcoming obstacles and growing into the role.
...
As expected of A History of Magic.
Even with a terrifying presence sitting at the back of the classroom, it took less than ten minutes for the young wizards to start growing drowsy, as if Professor Bins' voice carried the effects of a powerful sleeping spell.
Compared to the other students staring blankly at the front with heavy eyelids, Pansy quietly tugged at Draco's sleeve.
"I heard it from Vincent," she whispered. "You were almost expelled by Umbridge this morning? What happened?"
Before Draco could respond, a light, drifting voice reached his ears.
"Hmph. What else could it be? Playing the hero, of course. Trying to save a damsel in distress. For a pretty little underclassman, he was even ready to give up Hogwarts."
Hermione continued writing her notes as she spoke, never once glancing in Draco's direction. Still, the sharp, acidic edge in her voice made her true feelings impossible to miss.
Simply put, she was furious about Draco's reckless behavior that morning.
But it wasn't entirely jealousy...
Compared to Pansy, Hermione was far more concerned about the possibility of Draco actually being expelled than about him supposedly chasing after a pretty underclassman.
After all, if Draco really were expelled, Hermione wouldn't be like Pansy, who could visit his home without drawing Lucius's cold stare.
Even transferring to another wizarding school alongside Draco wouldn't be much of a hardship for Pansy.
Hermione understood these innate disadvantages all too well.
Maybe, once Draco left the school, whatever bond existed between them would simply end there.
He hadn't thought about her feelings at all.
So irresponsibly, he was ready to leave her behind.
That was the real reason Hermione was acting so angry…
Hermione, silent and wearing a stiff little expression, still carried an air of authority.
Pansy blinked and poked Draco in the side with her finger. Her bright, sparkling eyes seemed to be sending him a very clear message: You're finished. Let's see how you plan to calm Granger down.
In truth, after learning what had happened that morning, Hermione had been so angry that she didn't want to say a single word to Draco.
If Pansy hadn't deliberately brought it up, Hermione might have kept up the silence for who knew how long. But at least now, there was an opening...
"Ahem. Don't you think it's strange?" Draco said. "Why did Umbridge change her mind in the end?"
"Mm... that's true," Pansy replied. "She really didn't have any reason to let you off. Especially if it had been an Acromantula."
"..."
Draco didn't use the fact that he hadn't been expelled as an explanation, nor did he deny having designs on any pretty little underclassman. Instead, he tossed out a question that invited deeper thought.
It might not have done much for Pansy, but for someone like Hermione, who loved analyzing and reasoning, that single sentence was more than enough to spark her curiosity.
Draco glanced at Hermione. Though she appeared to be staring straight at Professor Bins on the podium, her ears were clearly perked up. Folding his arms, he raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah," he said lightly. "Why did she change her mind?"
"Huh? You don't know either, Draco?"
"..."
How could that infuriating little devil possibly not know!
Hermione couldn't help rolling her eyes toward Pansy, grumbling silently to herself.
Even without looking at him, she could picture the infuriatingly smug smile that was probably on Draco's face right now.
It wasn't that he couldn't say it. He just wanted her to be the one to ask.
Realizing this, Hermione's competitive streak immediately flared. She let out a sharp huff and continued to ignore Draco, lifting her chin and frowning as she thought hard.
She refused to believe she couldn't figure out what Draco had really been aiming for when he confronted Umbridge.
She was Gryffindor's know-it-all, after all. There was no way she was losing to that jerk.
...
On the way to the potions classroom, Draco and Hermione didn't exchange a single word.
From the outside, it really did look like the two of them were fighting, to the point that it even caught the attention of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.
That alone showed just how rare and unusual this situation was...
Yet despite all this, there wasn't the slightest hint of satisfaction on Pansy's face. Instead, she stepped closer and firmly hooked her arm through Draco's.
Judging by how deeply her arm pressed in, it also became very clear just how soft... ahem, how indignant Pansy was.
In short, she was jealous.
Yes. Watching from the sidelines and seeing everything clearly, Pansy noticed far more than just what was on the surface.
She saw Draco repeatedly provoking Granger with teasing, challenging looks, and Granger snapping back with irritated stares that clearly said, Just wait and see.
Calling this a fight?
This was obviously flirting.
And they were doing it right in front of me, Pansy.
...
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