• Chapter Four : Tutor •
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Days always gone pass quickly in Hogwarts when things are quite enjoyable. Most especially when you're with the person you're quite fond with.
In (Y/N)'s case, she had been in the company of the famous Harry Potter for the past few weeks since the start of the term. Harry had been right when he said he'll be walking (Y/N) in to her classes, which constantly earned constant teasings from their friends and admirations from other students.
"Oh, honestly, we're not dating." (Y/N) always tell to anyone who asked if she was going out with Harry. But this constant replies only fall into deaf ears as they continued asking how did they get together.
Their friends, however, always have this just-get-together-look every time they had walked in to the Great Hall together, which made (Y/N) and Harry practice ignoring those looks as they sat down to their designated tables.
Even the professors had joined in to this topic. Unbeknownst to the students, with the exception of Fred and George (since they had started this idea), they had made their own bets on when they are going to get together. Yes, even Snape.
"Cho, for Rowena's sake!" whisper-yelled (Y/N) on a fine afternoon of Saturday in the first week of October inside the Hogwarts library. "We are not talking about Harry."
"I was just trying to ask if he already asked you to go out with him." said Cho eagerly, her eyes grew steady as she stared at (Y/N). "Because Hermione and Pansy told me that Harry asked them both when was the first Hogsmeade visit this term."
(Y/N) frowned at her, but on her mind, she had formed a scenario in where Harry was asking her to go to the Hogsmeade with him. Shaking her head, she stared at Cho helplessly.
"He didn't." said (Y/N), then she ignored Cho to continue writing her Potions essay.
"You sound disappointed." said Cho, grinning. "Are you, perhaps, waiting him to do it?"
(Y/N) looked up and glared at Cho.
"I'm not."
"Lies."
"Then don't believe it. I don't care."
Cho stared at her in disbelief. Surely, she knows how thick (Y/N) can get in admitting that she has feeling to the bespectacled boy like how Hermione couldn't admit how she like the red-haired boy. Fifth year students really had a hard time sorting out their feelings, like how Cho did when she was in fifth year.
Sighing, Cho looked down on her own essay in Herbology. She had decided to do it in any other time because she had a planned date with Cedric.
"Listen, (Y/N)." said Cho, pushing her parchments, quills and bottled ink on her bag. "I have to meet Cedric. Are you sure you're staying here?"
"Yeah, sure." said (Y/N) without looking at her. When she didn't hear Cho's answer, she looked up, meeting her eye and said; "I'm fine, Cho. You go ahead. I'll probably be back before dinner."
"Alright." said Cho defeatedly. She stood up and patted (Y/N)'s shoulder. "I'll see you later."
When Cho vanished from the library's door, (Y/N) slouched on her seat. She had been trying to focus on her Potions essay but some random thought had been pestering her mind ever since Cho mentioned it.
Obviously, it was Harry and his sudden curiousity about the first Hogsmeade visit. Would Cho might be right? That Harry was actually trying to figure out when will he ask (Y/N) to go to Hogsmeade with him?
Although this thought was quite absurd, it would be too hypocrite for (Y/N) to throw this thought away from her mind. Because she knew to herself that she had been half expecting Harry to do it. But what if it was for other girl? (Y/N) wouldn't know.
She didn't have time to face her Potions essay once more because the person who occupied her mind for a moment had been walking towards her table.
"Hey, (Y/N)." said Harry, grinning. He was holding a book that looks like his own Potions book because it had a familiar book cover, just like (Y/N)'s. "Can I seat here?"
He was pointing at Cho's vacated seat in front of her.
"Yeah, sure." said (Y/N) instantly, slightly twirling her quill in between her fingers as she watched Harry settle down. "So... Potions essay?"
"Yeah." said Harry, nodding, then he looked down on his book. "I hate Potions, like Snape."
"That is obvious." muttered (Y/N), snickering. "Want any help?"
"I was about to ask to since I heard that you're great at the subject." Harry said, now pulling out a roll of parchment, his quills and a bottle of ink from his bag.
(Y/N) felt herself going red as she looked down to her undone essay.
"I could only check your wrongs." said (Y/N) tentatively. "That's the only help I could give."
"That's alright." Harry said casually. "At least I could get help and I have a chance to pass this homework with an A."
"Silly." laughed (Y/N) lowly. "Why? What's the lowest and the highest you ever had in Potions?"
"In my four years of magical education?" he asked in a rather amused tone. (Y/N) nodded, and Harry laughed at her when she did. "The lowest was D and the highest was A, but that was just for once because Hermione helped me with it."
(Y/N) stared at him.
"You're not serious." she said, frowning.
But when Harry merely stared back at her, she knew it wasn't a joke.
"You're not that bad, though." she added rather enthusiastically. "I mean, you can get an E, trust me."
"That's why I was asking you to help me." said Harry, his grin was now turning into frown. "I was failing, Snape just told me yesterday."
(Y/N) jerked her head to Harry. She stared at him again but this time with terror. She always had thought that Harry could get his grades into scratch but she never thought that he was actually failing his classes.
"And obviously my parents would be really disappointed if I'd fail any subject." he mumbled, looking away from (Y/N). "Thought I'd need help from anyone. I would try Hermione but I don't want being told off. Knowing her, she'll really go frantic about it. I might ask for a tutor but I don't want Snape to choose the tutor for me. So..." he trailed off, looking back to (Y/N). "... I've thought about you. You're the best option I have."
(Y/N) gazed at him, not knowing how to react. Then after some seconds of weighing things down, she merely said;
"Alright. I'll help you."
Harry's face lit up, his emerald eyes behind his eyeglass showed a sign of relief and hope. He was now smiling widely to the point that he couldn't seem to let it go anymore. He stood up from his chair, so abrupt that it made a screeching sound, before hugging (Y/N) tightly.
It was a shock as (Y/N) sat frozen on her seat, only letting the thoughts ran through her mind as the bespectacled boy continued muttering "Thank you" on her ears.
When he pulled away, that was only when they realized that Madam Pince, the librarian, had been glaring at the both of them because of the rucus they just made.
"Sorry." they both muttered, and Madam Pince stalked off, constantly darting sharp glances at the both of them.
"Thank you so much, (Y/N)." said Harry again. "I really thought you'll decline it. Thank you -"
"That's the eighth time you said 'thank you' today, Harry." (Y/N) said, chuckling lowly. "And I think it would be great to start sooner such as today."
"Right." muttered Harry, rubbing his neck out of embarrassment. "Sorry."
"So... what particular lesson should we start?"
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"I think - that would be for today...?" asked Harry apprehensively, staring at (Y/N). He was rubbing his eyes tiredly after three hours of tutor session. "We should head for dinner."
"Alright. I'll just have to finish rewriting my essay." said (Y/N) without looking at him while furiously writing on her parchment.
Harry watched her silently, staring through from her hairline to her jaw. His own jaw dropped as he noticed how perfect her eyebrows, how curly her eyelashes, how pointed her nose, how alluring her brown eyes, how pinkish her lips, and how sharp her jaw was. He was staring at a heavenly masterpiece in front of him.
A small smile formed on his lips while gazing upon (Y/N)'s seemingly flawless features. He couldn't believe his luck as he had always been staring at her before from a far, but now... he was staring at her up close, which made him feel like the luckiest guy in Hogwarts, or maybe, in the whole world.
He was somewhere, somewhere in his mind, far from the library, from Hogwarts. He was floating along with clouds as he watch his world revolve. However, this small scenery in his own world was interrupted when a fifth year Hufflepuff stood beside their table.
"(Y/N) Heather?" said the boy confidently.
Harry raised his eyebrow at him, frowning. The Hufflepuff, however, didn't look at him and waited until (Y/N) looked up.
"Yes, that's my name." said (Y/N), looking up from her essay.
The Hufflepuff boy smiled at her, which made Harry's jaw clench.
"Madam Pince told me that you have a spare key to the Restricted Section. I have something to get in there and, perhaps, you could open it for me?" the boy asked, still smiling widely.
"Why couldn't Madam Pince open it herself?" (Y/N) asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"She lost her key. So, she told me to look for you here. Told me you're with Chang but -" The Hufflepuff boy looked at Harry with a smirk. "- I didn't realize Chang had became a boy."
Harry squinted his eyes at the boy as the latter turned to (Y/N).
"Er - alright." she said, turning around for Harry. "You don't mind, do you, Harry, if I leave you for a moment?"
The bespectacled boy gritted his teeth, took a sharp glare at the Hufflepuff boy, who merely smirked at him, before he shake her head at (Y/N) to tell her that he didn't mind at all, although inside him, he knew that he minded at how the Hufflepuff had stolen the girl away from him.
"I'll be back." (Y/N) said. She grabbed the spare key on her bag and rushed off with the Hufflepuff boy.
Harry clenched his fist, and glared at the Hufflepuff's back as they turned into a tall shelf of books, leaving him with nothing but anger.
"Fucking git." he murmured under his breath. He pursed his lips thin as he looked down on the table, catching sight of the essay (Y/N) had been hurrying to finish for quite a while now.
Biting his lower lip to stop himself from attacking the Hufflepuff boy, he grabbed the parchments, (Y/N)'s quill, and the bottle of ink, and started rewriting the last bit (Y/N) had been poring over.
The moment he finished writing, he pulled out his wand and casted a spell to forge (Y/N)'s penmanship. He then pushed it back to where it had been before. He sighed in contentment as he watched (Y/N) traipsed through shelves by shelves to reach him. She looked slightly disgruntled.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked as she sat down.
"Fine." said (Y/N), running her fingers through her hair. "Just hungry. I was supposed to finish my essay but that Hufflepuff boy seems to be making me hold back on going back here. Now, my essay's - hold on..." She stopped as she stared at the finished essay in front of her, her hand was suspended on air as she was about to reach for her quill. "I didn't realize I'd finished it..."
"You didn't." said Harry quickly. "I finished it for you."
(Y/N) looked up, confused.
"But - surely, we didn't have the same penmanship?" she asked tentatively.
"I forged it." Harry said slowly. He looked slightly sheepish.
"You - what?" muttered (Y/N) in amazement.
"I shouldn't have done it. Sorry -"
"Oh, I'm not talking about that, Harry." said (Y/N), chuckling. "It was amazing. Thank you for finishing it for me."
Harry grinned at her, looking relieved. (Y/N) decided to arrange her stuffs as the raven-haired boy watched her silently.
"Right." muttered (Y/N) after zipping her bag. "I'm really really hungry, Harry. I think dinner's still on going."
They both stood up and left the library together. (Y/N) had this disgruntled expression that clearly showed how hungry she was, and Harry, as he had been watching her silently for a couple of hours now, noticed it.
He cleared her throat in attempt to catch (Y/N)'s attention. The girl looked up, slightly confused about the sudden noise Harry had made.
"I had an idea." he mumbled between the silent corridors. He saw (Y/N)'s eyebrow went up. It was a simple sign to go on. "I really don't fancy walking in to the Great Hall in the middle of dinner or something like the sort."
(Y/N) nodded her head slowly to show that she understood it, but she didn't speak. Harry went on.
"Er - do you mind if we just go to the kitchens?" Harry finally said, eyeing (Y/N) hopefully.
"Oh." said (Y/N). "Alright."
"Really?" said Harry, surprised.
"Why's that? Always the tone of surprise?" (Y/N) asked, chuckling.
"No." said Harry quickly, rubbing his neck again. "It's just - you're a Ravenclaw. I really didn't expected you to allow me to break rules."
The girl stared at him, looking as though she was sizing him up. Then she laughed. She halted from walking, held the strap of her bag as though it was the only thing that could hold her up. Harry was watching her, half amazed half horrified.
"Sor - sorry. Oh God, I'm sorry." she said in between her laughters. She seemed like she really couldn't hold her laughs anymore.
Then she stopped. She drew a very deep breath before looking up at Harry again.
"I was honestly very used to someone from other Houses saying those lines to Ravenclaws. But it never really occur to me that you, Harry Potter, would be the very first one to say those things to me amongst all my friends." she said animatedly, now sounding amazed than her usual tone of surprised voice.
Harry found himself going red like a tomato. He looked away, feeling his sharp heartbeats on his ribcage.
"But, you know, Harry. We do break rules." said (Y/N), beaming, as they continued their way to the kitchens. "We just know when to do an act." she added meaningfully, winking.
Harry flushed more than usual, which (Y/N) noticed immediately, however, she didn't want to make Harry blush more. Instead, she looked away and smiled to herself.
Finally, after some minutes of silence, they reached the large paintings of fruits at the basement of the castle. Harry, who was three inches taller than (Y/N), reached for the painting of pear and tickled it with his finger. It wriggled and turned into a doorknob.
Harry opened the door and, followed by (Y/N), both of them entered the kitchens. Hundreds of house-elves hurried over them, pulled them into the four long table, like the one on the Great Hall, and made them sat down.
"Harry Potter!" squeaked one house-elf.
"Hello Dobby." said Harry, grinning at the elf.
"So wonderful to see you again, Harry Potter." said Dobby, bowing. "And Harry Potter brought Miss (Y/N) Heather with him!"
"Hello, Dobby." said (Y/N) enthusiastically.
Harry gazed at her, aghast.
"You know Dobby?" he asked to (Y/N).
"Yes, I know him." stated (Y/N), smiling. "I met him last year. After the Yule Ball. We went down to the kitchens to nicked some foods and he was the one who gave us the service."
"You didn't tell me anything." said Harry.
"You didn't ask me anything." retaliated (Y/N).
Harry didn't answer. He playfully glared at her, but (Y/N) started mumbling about how hungry she was. Smiling, Harry turned to Dobby and said;
"Dobby, do you mind if we ask for dinner here?"
Dobby goggled at them with happiness as he nodded his head joyfully.
"Yes, Harry Potter. Dobby don't mind at all." he said, then turned away with a couple of other elves.
"They're really so happy about it, do they?" mumbled (Y/N), watching the elves happily making dinner for the two of them. "I wonder how Hermione come up with that S.P.E.W thing last year."
"She thought of it in the Quidditch World Cup." Harry answered at once. "We saw a house-elf sitting in there and the elf told us that she was afraid of heights but she have to wait for her master. And Hermione was really disturbed about it. She went ballistic, you could just imagine."
"I could." said (Y/N), snorting. "I just remembered that I wasn't at the World Cup that time." She put up a face of grim. "My parents were so busy to buy tickets and attend it. That was the saddest moment I had in my life."
Harry watched her face falter into a frown. In an attempt to cheer her up, he reached for two treacle tart that was on a platter that a house-elf had brought to their table and slightly shoved it in front of her face.
"Treacle tart?"
(Y/N) grinned as she took the treacle tart from Harry's hand, brushing her hand to his. This, seemingly, made the black-haired boy blush unconsciously.
"Say, (Y/N)." said Harry after taking a bite to his own tart. "Did you - er - know that the first Hogsmeade visit this term's on Saturday next week?"
(Y/N) stared at him, subconsciously thinking about what Cho told her that afternoon.
"Er - yeah." said (Y/N), biting the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from smiling. "Padma told me last night."
Harry opened his mouth but there were no words coming out, so he closed it again, and swallowed hard. He opened it again, then closed afterwards when he realized that he couldn't tell what he wanted to tell. He looked away from (Y/N), who was watching him struggle on his own, and directed on looking for Dobby instead.
Soon enough, the house-elves had prepared all the food they had prepared for the dinner upstairs at the Great Hall. The two started eating in silence, with the house-elves on their background, scuttling over to do their jobs.
Then, out of a sudden, Harry had regained his confidence and said, in a rather hurried voice;
"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday next week?"
(Y/N), who was chewing her chicken, choked and coughed abruptly that it caught the house-elves attention.
"Miss (Y/N)! Miss (Y/N)! Is Miss (Y/N) alright?" said one house-elf from behind her.
"Here." said Harry quickly, handing her a goblet of pumpkin juice.
(Y/N) took it hastily, then, without hesitation, drained its contents.
"I'm okay. I'm okay." she reassured the house-elves, who was still asking whether she was okay or not. "I'm fine now. You can go back to whatever you were doing." she added firmly to Dobby, who kept on googling her anxiously.
When Dobby and the other house-elves went back to their previous works, (Y/N) gaped at Harry, who kept a crossed finger under the table.
"Like - like a date?" asked (Y/N) tentatively.
Harry nodded, silently praying for a good result.
(Y/N) looked down on her plate to hide her burning face before she looked up again and nodded her head.
"Alright." she answered.
The bespectacled boy smiled widely, and for the second time that day, he felt grateful that (Y/N) agreed upon his requests.
"I - you -" he stammered. He coughed awkwardly, driving his nervousness away. "I'll look forward to it, then."
The Heather girl smiled sheepishly.
"Me too."
And still blushing madly, they continued helping themselves with the dinner that the house-elves had prepared.
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A/N - I just started writing the next chapter. So, I think it'll take time to publish it. Anyway, stay safe. And thank you so much to everyone who had put this book into their reading lists. It made my day better. I love you!
- 𝑦𝑎𝑛𝑔