Hermione stomach cramped instantly, and her heartbeat abruptly stopped, then intensified violently, racing at a frequency she could not comprehend.
She may have developed some kind of illness, such as heart palpitations.
She was finished.
The distance she had carefully maintained with him over the past month was now completely rendered meaningless.
Her feigned handshake, her pulling at his sleeve through her clothes, his half-circle around her instead of touching her... all these deliberate efforts were completely wasted.
The surrounding voices fell silent, leaving only their embrace as a tangible reality.
A refreshing scent wafted from his neck, so pleasant that it made her dizzy and her soul tighten.
In that instant, she seemed to understand how Crookshanks felt when he smelled catnip.
"Oh, sorry," Hermione said, resting her chin on his shoulder and whispering in his ear, not daring to look up at his face.
She could not lift her head either; she was firmly pinned to his arms by the crowded throng.
A warm sensation came from her back; it was his hand. He seemed to be slowly clenching his outstretched hand into a fist, which made her feel flustered and lost, and her body trembled slightly.
"I am sorry, I did not think it through," Draco said, somewhat dumbfounded by the situation.
His ears felt hot from her words, and his cheeks felt burning from her thick hair brushing against them.
Anyone who is hugged tightly by a sweet-smelling young girl... even if it is by accident... would have their heart skip a beat for a second or two.
Besides, she was none other than Hermione Granger. She had even instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist, her cheek pressed against his shoulder, seemingly with an unreserved trust in him.
He knew, of course, that it was just an illusion... she probably did not want to hug him, nor did she completely trust him.
He did not ignore her recent actions of deliberately keeping her distance from him.
She seemed to be gradually becoming wary of him, just as in their past life. He could sense that at times, when he got closer to her, her expression would become uncomfortable, and her body would begin to stiffen.
They should not have exceeded the safe distance. He should not have been greedy and thought too much.
It is enough that she is not hurt, is it not? As long as she keeps smiling, that is enough.
He was just a study partner she occasionally thought of, a Slytherin friend she could chat with. Nothing more.
She did not like him. He could not take advantage of her vulnerability.
Draco clenched his fist, resisting the urge to hug her tightly, and whispered, "It is getting too crowded here, let us go to a quieter corner..."
"That is right." Her voice trembled slightly as she said in his arms, "Let us do it this way."
Draco continued to hold Hermione close, leading her away from the crowded area.
Both of them were busy. He was busy carving a path through the frenzied customers with his back and elbows; she was busy burying her increasingly flushed face in his shoulder and neck, her fingers gripping the fabric of his robes, her heart pounding faster and faster, not daring to look at the people around her, as he led her away.
Only when they returned to the shelf filled with the bloody-smelling Acid Pops did they have room to separate and no longer cling to each other so tightly.
"You are safe now." Draco released the sweet scent with a hint of loss, not daring to look at her closely, afraid of seeing any more of that aloof expression that would hurt his heart.
"Yes." Hermione lowered her head, hiding her flushed cheeks in her thick hair, not daring to look up at him, afraid that he would trigger more of her abnormal heartbeat symptoms.
"Hermione," he said, glancing back at the noisy crowd of customers, his voice tinged with annoyance, "since you have no idea which sweets to choose, let me decide."
"Okay." She nodded blankly, blinking nervously as she stared blankly at the pile of Acid Pops.
"Wait for me here." After saying that, he resolutely re-entered the crowd, regardless of how much he disliked the congestion, noise, and chaos.
Draco decided to end the battle quickly.
He pushed aside a few hesitant students in front of the counter, placed a wad of coins in front of the broad-shouldered, bald man, and called out, "Mr Flume, bring me all the best-selling sweets! A bit less of the less popular ones... and a few individually wrapped..."
Mr Flume recognised Draco by the colour of his hair... this wealthy regular customer who patronised his business by owl-order. He admired the Malfoy young master's decisiveness and quickly packed the sweets for him, soon stuffing a large pile of colourful treats into Draco's hands.
Hermione was patiently waiting for the boy in the corner.
His hair was very noticeable, and she could clearly see him squeeze to the counter in no time. Then, she watched him forcefully push through the crowd, emerge, and return to her.
"Take out the beaded pouch," he said, helping her stuff the large bag of sweets into her beaded pouch. "These are for Harry and the others." Then he grabbed a small bag of Peppermint Toads and a bag of sugar quills and handed them to her. "These are for you."
"How did you know I wanted..." she asked in surprise.
"You looked at them several times," he said casually. "I guessed you would be interested."
Hermione was at a loss for words. He had considered every single aspect!
How could he do everything so perfectly? He even noticed that she had glanced at something a few times?
There was probably no boy in the world who was more attentive than him. How could she have thought he was aloof before? He was clearly gentle and thoughtful. He was wholeheartedly taking care of her, not anyone else.
This strange thought filled Hermione with a strange joy. She finally dared to look up at him. Her face flushed slightly, and her brown eyes brightened. "Thank you, Draco."
Draco glanced at her... making sure she did not seem uncomfortable... and finally managed a satisfied smile. "Let us go, let us go and look at something else."
"Where to?" she asked, her tone tinged with curiosity.
"Lunchtime is coming." He took out his pocket watch, checked the time, and waved it in front of her, kindly reminding her, "It is almost noon, and all the hungry students will be looking for a place to fill their stomachs. If you still want a seat, you had better hurry."
"Oh, let us hurry up and go!" Hermione quickly packed up the sweets, carefully clutching his sleeve, and followed him back to the cobblestone path.