Not long after, the fluffy, brown head disappeared menacingly behind the bookshelf. Only Draco's soft sigh remained.
It was not that he did not want to tell Hermione, it was just... if he told her, she might misunderstand him even more.
However, the good student Hermione eventually got the answer she wanted.
She took Draco's casual remark as a guiding light in her pursuit of truth—uncharacteristically challenging Professor Binns' authority by asking him to talk about things beyond the textbook, she innovatively swept away the sleepiness of the entire class.
Professor Binns was perhaps experiencing for the first time how popular he was with his students. He was surprised to find that almost all the drowsy students had opened their eyes and were listening intently and eagerly to his account of the Chamber of Secrets legend.
When class ended, students rushed through the crowded corridors to the Great Hall.
Amidst the crowd, Ron said to Harry and Hermione with a look of disgust, "...Salazar Slytherin is a lunatic old freak. Even if you paid me, I would not want to go to his house and become an evil Slytherin..."
Hermione nodded in agreement and enthusiasm.
The scene was so jarring that Draco felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him. He was sullen and did not even bother to greet them, rudely pushing past them with a few other Slytherin students without giving them a second glance.
To be honest, he did not want to see their disgusted expressions.
This was one of the reasons why Draco did not want to tell Hermione the inside story.
Once people learnt that the Chamber of Secrets was related to Slytherin, they would immediately view them with prejudice, treating all Slytherin students as monsters and tarnishing their reputation.
He was somewhat concerned about how she perceived him.
After what happened at the library where she defended him, he did not want her to think too badly of him.
He... somewhat enjoyed the feeling of being so passionately believed in by her.
Now, that feeling seemed to have vanished, because in her eyes, he was an evil Slytherin.
"I think he heard us talking," Harry said to Ron and Hermione, glancing uneasily at Draco's figure.
"I was not talking about Draco… but you know, most Slytherin students are pretty annoying," Ron quickly added.
"Oh, whatever," Hermione said coldly, staring at the back of Draco's head. Even amongst hundreds of students, his platinum blonde hair was still very eye-catching and impossible to ignore.
Is he not even willing to give me a glance now? That is rather hurtful to my pride, she thought.
Harry and Ron looked at Hermione in surprise.
"Why would you say that? Are you two not very close? Do you not go to the library with him every day to study together?" Harry asked.
"That might be your misconception," she said sadly. "I feel like I do not understand him at all. Or rather, I never understood him."
The crowd thinned out slightly, and Hermione continued walking forward with heavy steps.
Professor Binns's presentation had left her feeling completely disoriented.
All the evidence pointed to a very likely conclusion, and although she did not want to admit it, Draco was highly suspicious.
Professor Binns said that only Slytherin's true heir could open the Chamber of Secrets.
Not just anyone could open the Chamber of Secrets. It had to be a Slytherin, someone with the qualifications and ability.
And Draco was undoubtedly Slytherin's best student!
He was even the best in the entire year. Only someone like him deserved to be Salazar Slytherin's successor, right? He was also a pure-blood wizard, the kind of wizarding blood that Salazar Slytherin preferred.
Shortly before the Chamber of Secrets opened, she translated an entire sheet of parchment filled with information about Dark magic for him. Undoubtedly, he was studying some advanced Dark magic—could this be related to Mrs Norris's Petrification?
Professor Binns also said that there was some kind of monster in Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets.
Almost simultaneously, she thought of the "Basilisk" on Draco's parchment—what a coincidence! What monster could be more terrifying than the Basilisk?
The Slytherin symbol was a snake. Assuming the Chamber of Secrets truly existed, was it possible that the monster inside was a Basilisk? If so, who released it—Draco?
The thought of the possibility that Draco might be the heir to the Chamber of Secrets made Hermione's brow furrow with heartache.
Professor Binns also said that the heir could open the Chamber of Secrets, release the horrors inside, purify the school, and eliminate all those unworthy to learn magic.
If Draco was the heir, it meant that he was no different from his terrible father; both were pure-blood lovers.
Was she one of those he deemed unworthy of learning magic? Would he really see her that way?
Would those grey eyes that once smiled gently at her one day turn cold and indifferent as they watched her being harmed by some monster?
If things were to reach that most terrible point, if her suspicions were true, then all the impressions he had given her would be shattered.
He might not be the boy she thought would respect a Muggle-born witch.
Hermione dared not think any further, nor could she bear to look at that platinum blonde hair in the crowd.
He was so dazzling that she could not look away; but if she did not look away, those doubts would entwine her heart like thorny vines, causing her waves of hidden pain.
"Did they two have a falling out?" Ron mouthed to Harry, following behind a listless Hermione.
"I do not know either." Harry shrugged, mouthing the same answer.