the tutor session begins
707 Words
Draco P.O.V.
“Damn it, periwel, pay attention!” I snap, grabbing her wrist before she can dump dragon scales into the bubbling cauldron. “You have to put in claws, not scales.”
“I’m sorry!” she cries, looking so flustered. “I thought you said scales…”
“Jesus,” I breathe with annoyance. “Aren’t you listening to me?”
periwel steps away from the cauldron and runs her fingers through her golden-brown hair. “No.”
“periwel, this is our third time of me tutoring you. I can’t help you if you’re not even listening to me!”
“I know,” she sighs quietly. “I’m just tired. It’s three in the morning, and we have school tomorrow.”
“No s**t,” I snap harshly, then soften my voice when I notice the dark circles under her eyes. Although I know mine are much worse, I can’t help but feel a little guilty. “It’s okay, we’ll meet here straight after classes tomorrow. But if you don’t start paying attention to me, you’ll have to get help from someone else.”
periwel blinks her slightly puffy eyes and whispers almost silently, “Thanks, Draco.” Before I can process what she even said, she’s stumbled out the door and is gone.
Did she just…call me Draco? No, I think in disbelief. I’m only Malfoy to her, and it’s going to stay that way if I have anything to say about it. although it did make my heart flutter.
~*~
rosae P.O.V.
Despite my issues with paying attention, I’m actually starting to do better in Potions. Malfoy isn’t as stupid as I thought, and it seems like he actually knows what he’s doing. He’s been tutoring me for about two weeks now, and Christmas vacation is coming up. Three days before everyone will be leaving for break, Malfoy sends me an owl, telling me to come to the Room of Requirement.
“Hey,” I say as I enter the room he thought up for our tutoring. He returns our mutually decided greeting as I drop my bag beside the center table.
“Did you start the essay?” he asks, rubbing his face.
I sit down at the table with a groan and retrieve the scroll of paper from my bag, responding, “Yeah, but it sucks.”
Malfoy laughs at this, and holds the paper up to scan it over. “Well, for one thing, ‘definitely’ does not have three ‘e’s in it.”
“…it doesn’t?”
He rolls his eyes and smirks, “Really, periwel? You can’t listen, read, or spell?”
I have a burst of indignation and say with annoyance, “At least I’m better at actual spells than you!”
“I doubt it,” he scoffs. “I know spells you couldn’t even dream of.”
“But I’m doing better than you in Charms.”
“Who cares about Charms class? Anyway, stop distracting me.” Malfoy sets the essay down on the table and tries to read it over, but I keep leaning over to see the mistakes he’s correcting. “periwel, I can’t fix your stupid essay with you staring at everything I do.”
“But why is that wrong?” I ask, pointing to a sentence he’s crossed out. “Death Potions do take hours to brew.”
“For you they do,” he smirks up at me again, earning a glare in return. “For everyone else, it takes a little under an hour. I thought you were doing better, periwel?”
“I am!” I burst out, leaning back in my chair. “I just hate Potions.”
“And I hate this school. I’m still here, aren’t I?”
I look up at him and brush the hair out of my eyes, suddenly curious. “It can’t be that bad, can it? I mean, you practically run Hogwarts as it is.”
His face turns darker, as though he’s remembering something. “Not anymore, according to Crabbe and Goyle.”
“What? Did they say something to you?” I ask nosily, not being able to stop myself from pushing further.
Malfoy shakes his head and rolls up my essay suddenly, saying, “I don’t want to talk about it. Your essay looks okay, I would just talk about the ingredients more.”
“Okay,” I reply, looking at him suspiciously out of the corner of my eye. “So…I guess I’ll see you after break?”
“Yeah, see you after break,” he says as I pack up my bag.
i turn around and smile. if only.. nah, i thought.
- Writer
