A nasty rumor sends Hermione to the library for answers, where Theo Nott’s dry honesty clears the air about Draco, Blaise, and old Slytherin gossip, and sets Hermione laughing again.

Confidence restored, she finds Draco after class, a kiss turns into a rule breaking closet scene, and talk of hate mail, NEWTs, and the future reveals one truth she will not share yet.

On joint patrol with Pansy Parkinson, barbed questions cut close as Hermione lays out the real cost of Omega bonds, and why she would rather choose surgery than chain her life to the wrong match.