There were three things Hermione was always talking about.
The first was the magically enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall. The second was the fact that Apparition and Disapparition couldn't be used within Hogwarts. And the third was how electronic devices simply failed anywhere on school grounds.
Together, they spoke of both the wonders and the limitations of magic, with that last detail being something only witches and wizards from Muggle families were likely to notice.
Thinking about it now, if she weren't a witch, Hermione honestly couldn't imagine how she would have adapted to a life without electricity.
Beyond that, the most fascinating and strangely intimate feature was probably the brilliant expanse of stars overhead, a sky so vivid it felt as though it might fall at any moment…
According to Hermione, the wizard who had created this extraordinary magic was Helga Hufflepuff, one of the founders of the school.
It was said that Hufflepuff had put such care into it simply to ensure that Hogwarts students could enjoy a comfortable dining environment.
Compared to Gryffindor, with its love of adventure, Ravenclaw, calm on the surface yet proud to the core, or Slytherin, whose eyes were fixed solely on power and status, this was never the sort of detail they would bother to notice, much less value.
In a sense, only Hufflepuff House, with its gentle nature and habit of always thinking of others, would take something so seemingly impractical and treat it with such seriousness.
Now, that beautiful starry sky, steeped in history and memory, seemed as though it had finally found its rightful owner, spilling its light over that pale golden figure…
...
Girls with delicate emotions often matured faster than boys their age.
Yet the childishness common in young boys was nowhere to be found in Draco. At the very least, his candid side was never shown to witches and wizards he had no connection with.
Beyond that, within such a mature soul, his tall frame, striking features that balanced sharpness and softness, and the aristocratic poise cultivated since childhood all combined to make Draco the quiet object of countless girls' admiration.
Even the possibility of him being a Death Eater did nothing to dampen that affection.
As a result, among the witches present, the few who could still remain relatively calm were probably only Pansy and Hermione, whose long familiarity with Draco had granted them a certain immunity to his charm.
Even so, the Draco now walking toward them still seemed to shine, as though light itself clung to him…
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Despite how much had been said, very little time had actually passed. Draco had only just reached the area where the witches were gathered.
In that short walk, the hesitation that had lingered in his eyes was already gone, replaced by a look no different from his usual calm gaze.
Indecision had never been part of Draco's nature.
As those faintly gleaming eyes came into view, the rule-breaking, domineering wizard clearly seemed to have made his choice…
Now resolved, Draco's steps grew slightly quicker than before.
Faced with his unhesitating approach, witches from all four houses parted to either side, their expressions a mixture of disappointment and envy.
At the end of that path stood two beautiful girls, both smiling brightly, each possessing her own distinct charm.
Pansy Parkinson.
And Hermione Granger.
In that instant, almost everyone held their breath…
...
Step.
Draco came to a stop and lowered his head slightly, looking at the two girls in front of him.
Seeing them up close, he couldn't help but be momentarily stunned by their beauty, his thoughts going briefly blank.
As he looked at the two girls who had slipped quietly into his life like a gentle, soundless rain, Draco's eyes seemed even deeper in the surrounding darkness.
Under that gaze, the tips of Pansy's and Hermione's ears burned red with heat…
Ignoring their shy reactions, Draco first glanced at Pansy, then shifted his gaze to Hermione, who was standing just half a step behind her.
In the midst of that subtle, charged atmosphere, Draco didn't notice anything amiss.
But that small detail didn't escape Astoria, who was quietly watching from the sidelines. Forced by her age to give up any chance of participation and remain only an observer, she raised an eyebrow slightly, as if she'd suddenly understood something.
Or rather, the question she'd carried in her heart for so long finally had its answer…
"Ahem."
Draco brought a fist to his lips and cleared his throat. It was a gesture he almost never made, and it clearly showed that even the Slytherin prince was feeling a bit nervous.
Perhaps that tension came from the unusually intense looks the two girls were giving him.
After all, dancing could happen anytime. But the opening dance of the Triwizard Tournament, held only once every five years, was likely a once-in-a-lifetime moment. And there could only be one dance partner…
Still, Draco quickly pushed those emotions down. Placing one hand over his chest and extending the other, palm up, he assumed a perfect, formal invitation posture.
"Then, my beautiful—"
"Wait, Draco!"
"Hm?"
Interrupted by Hermione, Draco paused, a quiet sound of confusion slipping from him as he looked at her.
Of course, things didn't unfold the way Harry Potter and Ron Weasley might have hoped. Draco wasn't being rejected outright by both girls at such a crucial moment.
While Draco was still trying to make sense of it, Hermione, clearly unwilling to let the situation turn awkward, surprised him by stepping back the very next second, widening the distance between them under his astonished gaze.
Naturally, the only girl left standing directly in front of Draco was Pansy Parkinson, who was looking up at him with open anticipation.
Quick-witted and already harboring suspicions, Draco immediately understood what the two girls were doing.
His feelings were complicated, mixed with a strange sense of being caught off guard.
He had always been the one making decisions, in nearly every situation. Yet this time, it felt as though he had been neatly arranged by the two girls in front of him.
Perhaps it was the helplessness and surprise on Draco's face that made Pansy and Hermione, attempting their first real act of "defiance" against him, look so excited and pleased with themselves.
But as Draco's eyes slowly narrowed, a sense of danger crept in. Hermione Granger instinctively took another step back, turning her head away and refusing to meet his gaze.
If this had been the Draco of the past, he never would have accepted such a decision made without him.
He frowned.
Still, while Draco wasn't particularly gentle, his emotional awareness wasn't lacking either. In the end, he abandoned his original intention.
Because he understood all too well what Pansy and Hermione had sacrificed, and what they were giving up beneath that playful act…
"Just this once."
He reached out and took Pansy's hand, then, after leaving those words behind, led her toward the dance floor.
Behind them, Hermione watched, her gaze filled with complexity and quiet envy.