As Hermione levitated the last of her posters in the library, she was really hoping that someone would reply to her offer to tutor them for exams. She was willing to teach any subject, up to practice OWL exams, as she was already preparing for her own. The library was about to close, and she sighed as she made her way back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Truth be told, while studying with someone would be beneficial, she could really use the money, and the sooner the better
Draco had noticed Hermione putting up posters around the school for the past hour and couldn't help but find it slightly amusing. When noticing her on her way back to the Gryffindor common room, he thought he'd have a little fun. "Not had enough time making yourself feel smarter than others, granger?" He called after her, the smile lingering on his lips
Hermione swiveled on the spot upon hearing her name, but immediately regretted it. She started to turn away without saying anything, surely Draco Malfoy would know nor care about her money issues, with his royalties and parents sending him anything he desired as fast his owl could deliver it.
"Going to ignore me now?" He asked, walking towards her while his grin played on his lips. "Now tell me, why do you want to tutor people? Isnt doing weasleys homework enough for you?"
"If you're not going to inquire about the service, just walk away, Malfoy." She said, an exasperated tone to her voice. She really had quite enough to deal with to put up with him, on top of it all.
He couldnt help but laugh. "And how would i inquire?" He asked, his tone quite jokey still
She turned around. "Do you need help in any subject, advancing from first year to OWL-level?" She asked in a curt fashion.
"I might do. I'm more interested in how i would ask for your... Help" he said simply, hiding the fact that he was honestly asking instead of annoying her
"It's tutoring, Malfoy. I'm not going to complete your assignments for you." she answered point-blank, assuming that's what he'd want
Nevermind then" he shrugged, walking away from her. "Good luck getting clients" he said over his shoulder as he heads towards the dungeons
The next day in potions, Draco sat with his head quite low as he struggled to get the instructions to work with what was happening in his cauldron. Snape has swept by the Gryffindor table giving his usual snide remarks to Harry and Ron, and kept silent at Hermione's cauldron, meaning he found nothing to criticize. "Just ignore it.." Hermione said softly to her friends as Snape walked on. After Draco himself received a disappointed look and a grunt off Snape, he walked away. Draco turned off his cauldron and sat in silence at the back of the room with his head on the table. As the bell rang, they started to pack up and Hermione, passing the Slytherin table, scrunched up her nose. Someone's potion had failed horribly, not that Snape would dare subtract points from his precious house. Draco waved his wand, quickly clearing the potion when seeing Hermione scrunch her nose. "Looking at something?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her She shook her head quickly. Now wasn't the time to instigate anything, right under Snape's nose. Even Harry and Ron knew better.
After about half an hour, an owl was sent off draco to find hermione at her dorm later that night. He didn't want people knowing he needed a bit of help from the gryffindor princess. "Meet me in the library at nine." Hermione read this over and over. She wasn't sure if it was a serious offer, or an attempt for someone to catch her out of bounds, after the library had closed. Only one way to find out. "Hey Harry..."
She stood in front of the library in Harry's invisibility cloak at 8:50. Either this person would show up, or they wouldn't. Draco entered the library at 8:55 and hung in the shadows as he looked around for hermione. Maybe she was coming. As students started to filter through the hallways back to their dorms the only one staying put was Draco Malfoy. She wasn't quick to trust it was him but as he, too, continued to stay he had just as much risk of getting caught. Taking off the cloak behind a pillar, Hermione emerged and walked towards him calmly. He raised an eyebrow as she approached him. "Nice to see that you came" he said simply, his eyes glided to her
"So you were the client, then?"
He gave a quick nod before moving to sit on a table near her. "Yes but before anything else, we need to talk conditions" he said firmly
"Yes, and somewhere more private."
"Where would be better for you?" He asked curiously. "Slytherin dorms?" He asked with a smug look
"Ha ha..." She led him to an abandoned classroom. He followed her silently, a grin playing on his lips as he noticed Hermione's unease to being out after hours.
"Firstly, how much does it cost for your silence to helping me and sneaking around so no one sees us together?" He asked bluntly, walking towards her.
"Technically, it wouldn't cost anything extra." she replied honestly. "What subject do you need help with?"
"Im not talking technically, think of it as compensation" he suggested, not letting her move on yet
"What I meant to say," she put it more plainly "is that I wasn't going to disclose anyone's information, anyway"
He rolled his eyes. "Is 30 Galleons a session enough?" He asked, sitting on the table and having hermione stand in front of him
She stared with her eyes as wide as the Galleons. "That's more than what I was going to charge, honestly."
"What's your rate?" He asked casually, knowing it won't make much difference to what he'll pay
"5 galleons per session" she replied honestly
He couldn't help but laugh slightly. "Because of your moral and that I'm going to have you sneaking round after hours with me and lie to your little friends about where you are, ill pay 30 a night" he said softly in her ear
"D-done"
He couldn't help but smirked at her stutter. "I think you noticed how badly im doing at potions this year so that's where im going to need your skills" he said simply, still whispering in her ear. "Do you have any rules?" He asked curiously
"Where exactly are you having trouble?" She raised her head up, opening the book
"You didnt answer my question. Are you sure thats wise not to have any rules of your own?" He asked playfully. "You never know what may happen"
"I'll let you know if I think of any." She replied curtly.
He shook his head and laughed. "Right, its not that um struggling but i cant seem to get the instructions to go from book to cauldron without messing up" he admitted.
"The application is the hardest part for sure, but with lots of concentration is it possible. Additionally, understanding the principles will serve you better than just following the instructions"
He gave her a curious look, running his hand through his hair. So where do you think we should start?" He asked, suddenly feeling more unsure and vulnerable infront of her than what he was comfortable with. She leafed until she reached the current chapter. "did you have difficulty understanding this?"
He glanced down at the page and frowned slightly, reading the instructions without saying anything to her. "Granger, im struggling in practical not theory" he pointed out. "Im fine with copying a text book"
"But that's my point, you have to understand it before you can apply it!"
"What are you talking about Granger"?" he sighed, his hand running through his hair. "So getting high marks on the essay isnt the right thing to do?"
"Not if you're just memorizing facts without any comprehension? what, do you think you'll spend the rest of your life just blindly following orders without understanding wh-" she cut herself off, and dropped her gaze back the book.
He placed his fingers under her chin and lifted her face to look at him. "Finish what you were saying" he said bluntly, staring her in the eyes
"Look, we're not here to talk about what you're planning on doing after you leave school." She said equally as blunty
He rolled his eyes. "Never shy away from finishing your sentence. It annoys me far to quickly" he warned. "I'd rather you say it and tell me not to take notice instead of cutting yourself off" he said simply, still holding her chin
"And I'd rather we focused on the subject at hand." She said, moving her face back, out of his reach.
He nodded. "So what do you want me to do?" He asked, looking back at the book.
He sat there listening to her talk through everything to do with the potion. He stayed silent, trying to take in any and all details possible."Any questions?" she finally asked. He looked slightly overwhelmed and dropped his eyes to the book. "Errmm... " he started but trailed off
"Dont cut yourself off," she reminded him. "Look, if you do what we discussed, Snape should give you at least an acceptable, but if you keep practicing, it should go up to an E or maybe even an O by the end of term"
He nodded slightly, still not believing her on it. "So how does that work with the practical?"
"Because the practical is application of the theory" He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, getting a little stressed off her reply. "Same time, next week?" He gave a slight nod.