You have your first tutoring sessions with Draco, and it goes remarkably well.
~~~
You barely had time to think before it was Friday. Although suspicious, Snape had agreed to allow you and Draco to use the Potions classroom for tutoring purposes.
"The boy could use some help," Snape had said as he gave you his permission. "Five points to Slytherin for you for stepping up to the plate."
Quidditch practice had taken forever, also, because Arlie had made the team drill and drill and drill.
"Hufflepuff is never going to let us live it down if they beat us two games in a row," he had yelled by way of a post-practice 'pep talk'. "Our focus this week is teamwork and aim. Our scoring needs to improve, but for our team to improve, we have to work together."
His glances at you and Draco as he emphasized "teamwork" and "work together" did not go unnoticed by either of you.
Draco beat you to the Potions classroom, which didn't really surprise you. You had washed your hair in your post-practice shower, so it now laid down your back in big, shiny waves.
You handed the ingredient list for the brain elixir to Draco as you pulled out your cauldron. He wandered around grabbing the ingredients while you pulled out your Potions book, opening it to the right page.
He brought all the ingredients to the desk where you sat, the cauldron across from where you had the book open to the recipe.
"What happened when you messed this up the first time?" you asked, reading over the part of the book that told you what things caused what bad reactions.
"Um...it sort of gurgled, then it turned red and evaporated," he said, staring into the empty cauldron.
You read through the book to find what that meant. "Okay, it looks like you stirred it completely before you added the hippogriff feather, and you were supposed to add the feather after you stirred six times."
"So, I stir six times, then add the feather, then stir four more times to make it ten stirs?"
"That's what it looks like," you said. "I'm pretty sure that's what Snape told us to do, anyway."
Draco nodded. "I'll get the water started for this, then."
You agreed, looking through the ingredients he'd brought. "You have your wand, right?"
He nodded again, pulling it out and handing it to you to set on the table. You were surprised at how sleek it looked, admiring it as you set it down too.
Once Draco had the water ready for the ingredients, you handed him the first one.
"Pour this one in slowly," you said firmly, holding the book open in your arms. "Remember, Potions is about taking your time, not rushing to get it done as quickly as possible. The Polyjuice Potion takes a month to brew for a reason."
Draco nodded, opening the vial, and pouring the ingredient in slowly, as ordered. He emptied it and placed it back on the desk, looking at you expectantly.
"Here, you read the book," you said, placing it down. "I can't tell you how to do everything."
He huffed slightly but didn't argue. You stood by his side, watching as he read through the ingredients and added them one by one.
"Okay, now here's the tricky part," you said once he picked up the feather. "Stir six times first, remember?"
He nodded, beginning to stir. He counted to six, then pulled the spoon out. He looked at you nervously, and you nodded, handing him the feather back. "Just drop it in, and wait until it dissolves before you stir again," you instructed.
He dropped it in, watching for a few seconds before picking up the spoon again.
"Four more stirs, and it should turn clear," you said, reading the book over his shoulder.
He stirred four more times, and gasped slightly when the mixture did, indeed, turn clear.
"Now wave your wand over it and it should be done," you said, feeling your chest swell with pride at the fact that you taught someone else something.
He waved his wand in a perfect figure eight over the cauldron, and with a spark from his wand, the potion was finished.
"You did it, Draco!" you said happily, holding up your hand for a high-five.
Instead Draco grabbed you and pulled you close for a hug, which was almost the exact opposite of what you had been expecting. You froze for a second before just giving in, and you wrapped your arms around the boy's neck, holding him tightly to yourself before he pulled away.
"S-sorry, I just got excited," he said sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck.
"It's okay, Draco, you should be proud of yourself. See how much good taking it slow can do?" you said, nudging him playfully.
"I'll remember that," he said with a wink, and suddenly your knees went weak.
You hoped he didn't notice when you turned away to hide the blush on your face, but you were honestly shocked at your own reaction to what Draco had done.
You couldn't rationalize the reaction you had just had, and you weren't sure you wanted to. You knew Draco hadn't meant anything by that wink, so you tried your best to shrug it off as you thumbed to the page for the Bitterroot Balm potion.
"Here, this is the one that nearly ruined your cauldron on Monday," you pointed out, sliding the book over into Draco's view. He looked down at it, nodding. "That sure is it," he mumbled, his eyes glazing over as if he was replaying the incident in his head.
"Alright, now just remember, take your time and count your stirs," you reminded him, pouring part of the elixir you had finished into a vial to show Snape later, and the rest of it down the drain. You rinsed the cauldron thoroughly and got more water into it before setting it back down in front of Draco.
He looked down at the book. "It says the first thing we need to put in is the paste from this aloe plant," he said, holding the leaf oddly.
"Cut it open," you advised, and he nodded. But then he looked at it more closely, squeezing it with his fingers before simply snapping it open.
"Well, that's one way to do it," you said with a chuckle as you helped him squeeze the paste from the plant into the cauldron.
"I mean, did you see a knife?" Draco asked, and you gave him a funny look as you pointed down to the small knife you had procured from Snape's desk.
"Fuck, I guess I'm just blind," Draco said with a laugh.
You laughed. "I won't argue that."
"Hey, that's rude."
You attempted to wink back. "That's my best quality," you said jokingly, and Draco laughed—a real laugh—at that one.
The two of you continued working through the potion, and when this one came out just as successful as the elixir, you praised the Slytherin Prince once again. He didn't hug you this time, but you hated that you found yourself wishing he would have.
You went your separate ways after cleaning up in Potions, the two vials clinking in your robe pocket to proudly show Snape come Monday.
~~~
You headed to the Great Hall for dinner, meeting with Marin and sitting across from her and Cedric Diggory, a Hufflepuff you knew fairly well but didn't consider yourself super close to.
"Hi, Cedric," you said with a smile as you sat down. Marin gave you a smug smile, and you returned it with a confused look.
"Y/N, we were just talking about you," Marin said with a smile. "Cedric had something he wanted to ask you." The brunette boy blushed furiously at Marin's words, but you just smiled at him. "It's okay, Cedric," you said reassuringly, "I don't bite."
"I-I know we don't know each other super well," Cedric began, "but I've always thought you were extremely pretty. I was wondering if you would want to sit with me at the Quidditch match next weekend? It's Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, so you won't be playing. I mean because you're in Slytherin. I mean...you know?" he asked, blushing furiously as he stumbled through his last words.
You smiled at the Hufflepuff boy across the table from you. You hadn't really noticed before how handsome he really was. Sure, you thought he was funny and charming, but he really was good-looking, too.
"Sure, that sounds like a great idea," you said brightly, and Cedric's face lit up.
"Great! I'll meet you in the courtyard an hour before the game, then?"
"Definitely. I'll wear my best Gryffindor attire," you said with a laugh.
"Good choice, you wouldn't want to wear the losing team's colors," an older Gryffindor boy remarked from farther down the table, causing your whole group to burst into laughter.
Finishing your food, you stood and stretched. "I'll see you guys later, I have to study," you said begrudgingly.
"You still have homework to finish?" Marin asked. "What have you been doing since Quidditch practice ended?"
"In the Potions classroom, tutoring Draco," you replied.
"Draco Malfoy?" Marin asked, and you nodded. "He says he isn't doing too well, and since I'm his partner in Potions, I can vouch for that. I'm just helping him redo potions and telling him where he's screwing up, really. It's probably the easiest job in the world."
You then remembered how he said he was also struggling in Divinations, and you turned back to Marin as you went to leave. "Also, he told me he isn't doing too well in Divinations, either. I told him to talk to you, but I doubt he'll do that on his own accord. If he hasn't spoken to you by Monday, please talk to him about it yourself. He said his parents are going to pull him from Hogwarts if his grades aren't up by Christmas."
Cedric's brows furrowed together as Marin nodded in acknowledgement. "I didn't realize you and Malfoy were so close lately," Marin remarked, and Cedric nodded in agreement. You shrugged. "I wouldn't call it close," you said simply. "He's just less of a dick. I wouldn't even say we're friends. He's just desperate to stay at Hogwarts."
"Which I can understand," Cedric filled in.
You nodded. "I'll see you guys later," you said with a smile, waving at the two of them as you departed.
You Accio'd your books to yourself, heading into the library with everything you needed to study for your upcoming Divinations exam. You weren't as smart as Marin when it came to Divinations, as she was much more skilled in the art of bullshittery when it came to just getting through Trelawney's class. However, you weren't failing. You just needed to come up with more predictions and possibly get yourself some House points while you were at it.
You'd been studying for quite a while when you heard someone fall into the chair next to you, scooting up awfully close.
Looking up, you saw none other than Draco pulling up beside you, his grey eyes light as he seemingly attempted to smile at you.
"What can I do for you, Malfoy?" you asked, your tone light. You weren't unhappy that he was here, you just had no idea why. You could never be sure with the blonde boy, his intentions were never readable or predictable.
"Came here to study, same as you," he said with a shrug. "But then I saw you, so I figured I'd stay around and bother you awhile."
You rolled your eyes. "I've got studying to do, maybe try that at the Quidditch game tomorrow," you said, though you smiled at him to soften your words.
"Oh, come on, y/n, how long have you been in here? I haven't seen you since we finished up in the Potions classroom."
You glanced up at the clock, shocked to see that it was almost ten o' clock. You had left dinner just after 6. Had you really been here almost four hours?
"Come on, let's go do something fun," Draco urged, pulling slightly on your robes. "It's Friday, we have until midnight tonight."
"I know, Draco, but I really have to get homework done. Plus, our Quidditch game is tomorrow. Our curfew will be midnight tomorrow night too, can we wait until then?"
Draco huffed. He flopped back down in the chair beside you, making a noise the librarian shot a deadly glare towards.
"Quiet," she hissed, and you gave her an apologetic smile even as Draco moved his lips to silently mock her words.
"Seriously, Draco, if you're going to be a bother, maybe you shouldn't be here."
His eyes flashed, pushing back from the table. "Sorry to disturb you, your highness," he spat. "Fuck, next time I won't even speak to you."
You looked up at him, surprised at his sudden outburst. He'd been so much kinder to you all week—where was this sudden change coming from?
"Draco, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he snapped, turning to leave the library. "Guess I'll see you Monday."
"I—I mean, I guess. Do you not want to hang out tomorrow anymore?"
"No. I'll see you on the field."
You sat there, stinging from his harsh rejection. You hadn't expected that from Draco. You expected him to be a little annoyed at you brushing him off so you could study—but you hadn't been prepared for him to be that angry.
You tried to keep studying, but you were too distracted by that point. Sighing, you packed up your stuff to head up to your dorm, just as the clock hit 10:30.
You climbed up the stairs to your dorm room, still mulling over Draco's latest episode.
It was all you could hope for that he would be back to being less hateful tomorrow, because you knew if either of you pulled anything, the both of you were off the Quidditch team for the rest of the school year.
You shivered at the thought of what that might mean for Draco's future at Hogwarts, but you tried to push the thought out of your head as you pulled the covers of your bed up over your body.
Your sleep didn't come easily, and it fought against staying, too. Your restless sleep was accompanied only by fitful dreams of pale, white-blond boys, lying on your lap and smiling up at you, despite their stormy grey eyes pleading for help.