On a Sunday in mid-September, Neville Longbottom was about to step out through the portrait of the Fat Lady but when he opened it and felt a jolt.
Draco Malfoy stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the doorway, glancing at him sideways.
Merlin! His eyes were exactly like Professor Snape's, like hail mixed in with a blizzard.
Neville pulled back his outstretched foot, intending to turn and run, but was stopped by this terrible Slytherin student.
"Longbottom..." he drawled arrogantly, "is Hermione here?"
"Yes, yes, she is..." Longbottom said tremblingly, feeling the fear that had been suppressed by the Potions Professor rise up in him again.
"Call her out," Draco said, giving him a malicious look. "Otherwise, I will cast a Leg-Locker Curse on you, sticking your legs together so you have to hop around."
Neville's face quickly turned ashen and he disappeared behind the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"Darling, that is a bit rude," the plump lady said, fanning herself with a fan in her right hand. "In my opinion, girls will not like that tone."
"Has anyone asked for your opinion?" the platinum-blonde-haired boy said lazily.
The plump lady looked offended, turned her head away, and ignored the boy wearing the unusual silver-green tie.
Draco waited aimlessly for a while before he saw the girl excitedly step out over the threshold, almost tripping over it.
As she cried out in alarm, he reached out and caught her, thus averting a tragedy.
"A reckless girl..." he said softly, hurriedly steadying her.
"Draco!" She jumped up abruptly, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks flushed. "Were you waiting impatiently? Sorry, Harry and the others just had a little celebration for me. You know, cutting the cake, blowing out the candles, making a wish and all that..."
She glanced at the item in her hand and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was intact.
It was an exquisite porcelain plate with an enormous strawberry cake on it.
"I have saved the best piece for you!" she said cheerfully to Draco. "A birthday gift, take it!"
Draco raised an eyebrow, surprised to receive such a gift. He took the porcelain plate and followed Hermione slowly down a quiet corridor.
Looking out from the corridor, one could see the endless valleys surrounding the castle. They sat on a window platform on one side of the corridor, where the warmth of the setting sun still lingered, offsetting the chill of the autumn breeze.
Hermione was struggling with the birthday hat on her head... her hair was a bit messy from the wind and was tangled in the hat.
"Oh, it is always like this!" she complained, wrinkling her nose like a helpless kitten tangled in a ball of yarn.
"Let me do it." Draco chuckled softly as he placed the porcelain plate beside him and moved closer to her.
Hermione stared blankly at him. He was getting closer and closer. A refreshing scent wafted through the air, landing on her nose. In that instant, she lost the ability to refuse.
She had no other choice but to look up at his slightly curved lips and whisper, "Thank you."
The boy's fingers were beautiful and long. He was extremely patient, a slight smile playing on his lips, as he gently smoothed down strands of her brown hair that were tangled in her birthday hat.
The process was going smoothly until a restless strand of hair protested. It stubbornly stuck somewhere in the hat and would not leave, eliciting a small cry of pain when he tugged at it.
The boy in front of her suddenly panicked. He loosened his grip and hurriedly leaned forward to examine the gold-and-red hat on the back of her head, his fingertips inadvertently brushing against her cheek. He murmured, "Sorry, sorry."
"It is okay," Hermione said softly, staring at his ears that had turned red in an instant.
In the twilight's glow, she tilted her head slightly so he could see her more clearly. She resisted the urge to scratch her cheek, even though she could feel a slight itch, even a burning sensation, where his fingers had touched.
"It is stuck in the decorations," he said quietly after examining it for a while.
Then, in silence, he began to untangle the stray strands of hair, his fingers working a long, gentle adjustment with the crimson and gold embellishments. The only sounds in the air were the rustling of hair and his soft breaths falling on the tips of her hair.
He never let her feel any pain again.
Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief, took off the birthday hat, and said cheerfully, "All done."
"Thank you." She thanked him again.
She seemed to be thanking him the whole day. She seemed to have nothing else to say.
Hermione let out a quiet breath, glanced at him, and quickly turned her gaze back to the scenery of the valley. His gaze was as gentle as fingers untangling her hair, covering her face and making her cheeks burn even hotter.
Draco looked at the girl gazing at the valley. Perhaps it was because of the sunset's glow, but her profile was tinged with a soft rosy hue.
He secretly tossed the birthday hat behind her... he still could not stand the combination of red and gold... and then pulled a silver-green decorated gift box from his pocket and handed it to Hermione.
Hermione took the palm-sized box, curious about its contents.
"Open it." He gestured encouragingly.
She opened the gift box, and a gorgeous crystal-beaded pouch appeared before her.
"Happy birthday," Draco said. "I do not know if you like this style. It is actually an old item. In fact, it was left to me by my grandmother. Look..." He showed her. "It is a storage bag with a seamless Stretching Charm, the largest I could find..."
"Oh!" She gazed at the rhomboid crystal beads... which refracted the light in a gradient from forest green to deep blue... and a look of radiant joy spread across her face. "I love them, I really love them, they are so beautiful."
"I am glad you like it." He smiled, looked up at her, and felt an unprecedented sense of peace in his heart.
She stroked the silver leather chain on the small bag and could not help but ask, "How much can it hold?"
"I think it could probably fit a small house," Draco said casually, taking a small bite of cake. "A sizeable one, at that."
"Sizeable? You still think it is small?" She shook her head, looking helpless. However, the smile on her lips betrayed her good mood, and she continued, "How did you manage to extend such a large space?"
"The size of the storage bag's expandable space is mainly affected by the material. An ordinary small bag, even with a spell, cannot expand to this extent," Draco said meaningfully. "Crystal beads are beautiful, but they are just beads. The most important thing is the inconspicuous inner layer; that is the real rare thing."
"What kind of material is that?" Hermione asked with interest.
"If I remember correctly, it is made from the skin of a bird-serpent, a lizard, and a Swedish Short-Snout dragon. Oh, and it seems to have fire-retardant and anti-theft properties too; you will have to discover that for yourself," Draco said.
"This gift is so precious! I cannot imagine anything more pleasing to my eye." Hermione's face showed a look of genuine appreciation. "Thank you, Draco. But why did you think of giving me this?"
"I will not press you about the oddities of your timetable. I just hope you stop carrying around a mountain of books and frightening people at Hogwarts," Draco said lazily. "I cannot be with you in every class anyway."
...I cannot carry that pile of books for you every time.
As he thought to himself, he glanced subtly at her neck, where a thin gold chain was faintly visible through her slightly open collar.
He knew what it was.
His grandfather had written to him, telling him that the Ministry of Magic had a batch of Time-Turners.
"That thing is very rare, and the application requirements are very strict, but if you are determined, Hogwarts is not out of the question," Abraxas wrote. "Want one? I can get you one?"
Draco had quickly written to his grandfather, telling him that he was not very interested in the thing.
He was interested in the owner of the Time-Turner.
The owner, completely unaware that her secret had been exposed, was still examining the internal structure of the beaded pouch, indulging in wild fantasies about becoming a female library robber.
"If... I mean if... I were to rob the library, how many books could I fit in?" Hermione asked him, a genuine liveliness appearing on her face.
"You know you cannot use Summoning Charms in a library, do you not?" Draco reminded her. "Think about it, you have to put the books in one by one. You should not be worrying about whether your beaded pouch has enough space, but rather whether you have enough time to commit the crime..."
"You are right." She thought for a moment, put away her beaded pouch, and her eyes darted around, as if she was up to something.
Is she planning to use the Time-Turner to get some books? Draco chuckled inwardly, observing the look on her face and imagining her sneaking off to the library like a squirrel stealing pine cones.
He glanced again at the thin gold chain, which had pressed a faint pink mark onto her collarbone, spreading into a depth he could not see. His face flushed slightly, and he quickly looked away, gazing into the valley below.
The sun suddenly disappeared, and the darkness surged violently; this was not merely due to the change of time, but also for some other reason.
"What is going on?" Hermione asked in surprise. "Why is the sun setting so quickly?"
"Look down," Draco said quietly.
A group of black shadows roamed below in the valley... the Dementors.
A shadow suddenly fell across Hermione's bright face. Draco noticed.
He understood that she was afraid, and he understood what she was afraid of.
He carefully considered his words before speaking. "You once said you wanted to learn the Patronus Charm. Are you still interested?"
She turned to look at him, her eyes suddenly lighting up.
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