Chapter 9

When I had gone and gathered my things to bring down to the tutoring session I had completely forgotten the Muggle Studies and Astronomy textbooks. Feeling rather stupid I had rushed back up to get them and managed to go down the wrong corridor in my haste. After having finally gotten back on track I saw I was ten minutes late.

When I entered the room everyone was still around. They were huddled together around one table, peering at something one of the second years was holding.

"What are you all looking at?"

Maverick turned to me with a grave face. "Come look at this article, Elizabeth."

I set my things on the empty teachers' desk and strode forward. The group split apart so I could make out the headline.

"ENTIRE WIZARDING FAMILY MURDERED, ONLY SURVIVOR IMPRISONED IN AZKABAN"

"The Nott family," I said surprised. "The oldest Nott was a Death Eater wasn't he?"

Maverick nodded. "Yeah. He's also the only one alive."

The second year offered me the paper and I took it to read. Apparently there was no information about the cause of death just yet, but there were some distant shots of the crime scene and several aurors moving around it. Harry must have known something about it and I suspected that James would be writing to him very soon. I handed the paper back to the second year. "Save that for dinner, alright? Let's work on Muggle Studies now."

Everyone took a seat as I began pulling everything out.

"Alright everyone, let's start by—" I finally looked at Maverick. Really looked. My eyebrows rose. "Uh, what happened to your hair?"

He put a hand on his head. "You like it? James turned my hair this color and it grew about two feet. I had to ask Rose to cut it for me."

Everyone chuckled.

"Yeah it looks good. Just a little strange at first I guess." It was a bright blonde-yellow color and it had been cut into a faux hawk. It was such a stark contrast to his mocha colored skin that it would need some time to get used to.

"Funny, that's what she said."

"It should be interesting to see you play Quidditch like that. You've already got that celebrity image going. Now all you need is an eyebrow ring." He seemed to genuinely be contemplating the idea. "Alright, alright. Now on to the fun stuff...school! First off, let's get everyone's name and year, then we can go through any assignments you have due and we'll get a general idea of the topics we'll need to be discussing."

We spent a good thirty minutes going through names and making a list of all the topics being discussed in second through seventh year. The second years were mostly around for Astronomy since they didn't have the Muggle Studies class yet, so they took the time to sit with each other in the very back of the classroom and talk about Astronomy together to see if they could figure some of it out.

"So it looks like the three big topics we should start discussing tonight are electricity, communication and transportation, and muggle potions. We'll start with electricity as this has a major role in what most Muggles do. In order to understand the basic fundamentals of electricity you are also going to want to understand the principles of science. I would suggest you take notes." I pick up a piece of chalk and scribble the word 'science' on the blackboard while everyone pulls out paper. "Science is to muggles as magic is to wizards. Science is a way for Muggles to understand and interpret the world. Muggles use science to explain everyday events like weather, nature and the creation of life. It is a form of logic. There are many scientific principles in place today, but for now we're going to focus on neutrons, electrons, and protons and electric charges. This will help you make better sense of electricity as a whole. It is not required for the Muggle Studies O.W.L but it will be advantageous for you to know."

We spent an hour going over the scientific principles of electricity. Most everyone seemed to get it on a basic level, which was good. I had to take some time to explain it to the third and fourth years in simpler terms but eventually we came to the same consensus. We moved on to the topic of communication and transportation, which they drew into our discussion about electricity. They understood how important electricity was for Muggles and the third and fourth years had even begun to start their essays which were due back on Monday. The fifth years were easier to help since their essay was about transportation and communication. They were a little rocky on the subject but once we spent about twenty minutes going over the different types and the simple ways they worked they had gained enough understanding to begin their essays as well. For the sixth and seventh years we spent some time discussing Muggle potions.

"Now it's probably best not to look at them as muggle potions simply because I don't want you to confuse them with our potions. They have the same fundamental purpose: to change, heal or enhance. But they're very different in the way they are made and used."

I pulled out an old table of the elements I had back from my sixth year in muggle school. "This table here should be on page four hundred and two in your books, along with a table of herbs and plants muggles use on the next page. "

As they were flipping through the pages of their book the door opened.

"Excuse me?"

I looked up to see Pepper standing there with her bookbag over her shoulder, looking rather flustered.

"What do you need Pepper?"

"Where's the teacher in charge of this study group?" she asked as she came in.

I stood up. "That would be me."

"Oh," she said a little surprised. "Um, I know I'm a little late but can I squeeze in?"

"A little late is a bit of an understatement Pepper. You've missed a lot of important information but if you're capable of getting caught up I have no problem with you being here."

She smiled and set her things down. "Great."

I turned to Jesse who was getting close to finishing her essay. "Jesse can I ask you to share your notes on electricity with Pepper and help her to get caught up with the rest of the group?"

"Absolutely," she said picking up her notes and heading over to the table Pepper had situated herself in.

I turned back to the group of sixth and seventh years. Maverick looked at me with raised brows and I shrugged a little. "Alright, where was I?"

Throughout the rest of the session I noticed that Pepper was paying more attention to Maverick than she was to Jesse's notes. Of course Maverick was oblivious to it (perhaps because he was actually working). It occurred to me that Pepper had never really seemed all that troubled in Muggle Studies and I wondered if she even really needed the help at all. It seemed more likely that she was just here because Maverick was.

As the study session came to an end I said, "When you finish your essay feel free to bring it to me to read over. Just make sure you do so by Sunday morning so I have enough time to look at them and get them back to you so you can correct them."

Everyone was packing up to leave and I saw Pepper make her move towards Maverick. I couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"Hey Maverick," she said, perhaps a bit too cheery.

"Oh, hello Pepper. How are you?"

"Pretty good. I'd ask the same of you but I'm a little more interested in what happened with your hair."

He laughed a little. "Oh yeah. Blame James. He cursed me and it turned out like this."

"So what are you going to do with it now?"

"Well, I actually like it," he said.

She smiled. "Really? It's just so bright and silly. That actually kind of suits you. I like it."

"Yeah. Bright and silly." He hauled his bag over his shoulder. "I'll see you around Pepper."

I watched her smile at him as he left, but I saw the waver in her expression as she headed out the door. She was probably hoping to walk with him to dinner. Instead he came up to me.

"What do you need?"

"I was going to walk with you to the Great Hall. You coming?"

I shook my head. "I've actually got someone coming down for a private session just now. But thanks anyway. Tell Rose and Al for me, would you?"

"Absolutely," he said as he headed out.

"We'll see you next time," Gustance and Ferra said as they dropped a few sickles on the table. A few others followed suit.

I waved as everyone left.

Once they were gone I went about straightening up the room. There was nothing much besides a few crooked tables and some crumpled papers. It didn't bother me too much, mostly because it would die out eventually.

As I was clearing the coins from the table and depositing them into an envelope in my bag Scorpius walked in.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Is that money?" he asked setting his bag down and coming up from behind me.

I sniffled. "Yes it is." He looked down at me for a moment but then turned back to his things and began taking them out. "So you've got the essay to work on now. Is there something in particular that you need help with?"

He looked a little ashamed as he sat down and said, "Well, everything about it really. I've got the similarities down but I'm not sure I really understand the difference between muggle potions and magic potions."

"Let's start by thinking of them in different terms," I said pulling up a chair. "The things muggles use aren't really potions. Think of them more as chemical mixtures. There are no magical properties used in the creation of muggle mixtures and they are dependent solely on the properties of science."

The look on his face showed me that he still didn't understand.

I smiled. "That's okay," I said answering his unspoken question. "Look at it this way: you have an egg. There are two different styles of egg that you can make. You can scramble them or you can boil them. You start out with the same exact ingredient but the way you cook them and the resulting product are completely different. That's how magical potions and chemical mixtures are different."

"Okay," he said hesitantly. It was starting to come to him I could tell, there was just something missing from the explanation.

"When muggles make these chemical mixtures they use the natural properties that come with the ingredient being used. If you've looked at the table of herbs in the book you might notice a few magical ingredients too. Muggles use them in their mixtures, it's just that for some reason they aren't able to access the magical properties that wizards can. For example, you know that nettles can be used for improving the glossiness of hair and be used for a Boil-Cure Potion. However, muggles use nettles as a cure for certain skin diseases and other healing properties."

"Alright, I think I get it. I just don't really know all that much about science. Can we talk about that?"

"Absolutely!"

We spent a good forty-five minutes discussing chemistry and the biology of plant life. I had a limited knowledge of the subject (only the things I had gathered from Madison's textbooks and the things I had learned in muggle school) but it was just enough to help Scorpius understand. He even had a little time to start his essay. I took the time to begin mine as well. For a while we sat in silence, writing, until he said, "It's already seven thirty. We should go eat dinner." He closed his book and rolled up his parchment. He pulled an envelope from his bag. "This is from my father to you."

I took the letter. "I'll open it tonight."

"Hold on," he said as I started putting my things away. "Put this in that envelope of yours."

He made me hold out my hand and then dropped five—no seven!—galleons in my palm. I gasped and looked up at him. "I can't take this," I said shoving the money back at him. "No way. Not a chance."

"Yes you can Elizabeth. I'm paying you for this. For tutoring me," he said eyeing me. He slung his bag over his shoulder and leaned down to me. "You decided to help me and so I'm going to help you."

"But—"

"Let's get going," he said walking towards the door. "I'm hungry."

I jogged after him. "Scorpius this is ridiculous. This is way too much."

"I'm not going to talk about it, Elizabeth," he said gruffly.

"And I'm not a charity case!"

He stopped and glared down at me. "And I'm not offering you charity. You taught me something that a Hogwarts professor couldn't. I gave you that money because you deserved it not because I feel bad for you. Now will you just take it?" I fell silent and crossed my arms. There was something to what he was saying. There was no reason for me to feel guilty about taking the money. Besides a tutoring session like that would have cost just about the same amount in the muggle world.

"Excuse me? What are you two doing down here?"

We both looked up to see Professor Riley standing at the fork in the corridor. She had on some strangely intimidating makeup and looked as though she might just kill me in the most fabulous fashion.

"Professor why have you got all that makeup on?"

She looked taken-aback but then suddenly she came to and laughed a little. "Oh it's just a little joke I have going with a few of the other Professors. I don't look like this because I want to, trust me." She waved her wand and the makeup disappeared and that young happy glow came back to her face. "Though I do find it quite fun to wear sometimes. It certainly puts everyone in a flustered state."

I really loved her. "Sorry professor. We were just heading up to the Great Hall from a study session."

"Oh no problem! I was just wondering why a couple of Ravenclaws would be down here at this hour. Don't go doing anything too devious now alright!" With that she drifted off.

Scorpius looked extremely confused. I couldn't help but laugh at him.

The Great Hall was more populated than I thought. I saw Rose and Al still seated, picking at some desserts. I said goodbye to Scorpius before heading over to them.

As I approached I saw James stick his head up and wave me over.

"What is it?"

He put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me down closer to him. "Hey, Scorpius didn't give you any trouble did he?"

"Absolutely not!" I said, getting prepared to beat back any protests he had.

I was surprised when he smiled and put up his hand. "Now hold on, hold on! I didn't think he would I just wanted to make sure. You know he came to talk to me a few days ago about you."

"What?"

"That's what I thought," he said with a nod. "I just thought you should know that he asked me about your family situation and I told him. Not everything of course, but a little. He said he wanted to help you because you were helping him. I just wanted to make sure that that is what was really going on."

"Well yes. He paid me a lot of galleons for that session. I just...I didn't expect…" I glanced over at the Ravenclaw table to see him watching the scene intently. When I caught eyes with him he looked away. "If you'll excuse me James I need to go send this to my mum."

As I headed out I grabbed Rose by the arm. "You need to come with me."

She got up and followed quickly after me. "What is it? You look upset."

"Upset? No. Just surprised and a little emotional is all. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to tell you about what happened with Maverick today."

"Uh-oh. That doesn't sound like a 'he-confessed-his-love-for-you' kind of voice," she said.

I shook my head. "It's not. But it's not entirely bad either." I pulled out the envelope of money from my bag and put the galleons that I still had clenched in my fist inside of it. Rose eyed it but didn't say anything. "Pepper showed up today at the study group."

"Oh?" She asked uneasily.

"Yeah. I doubt that she really needed the help either. She showed up late and spent most of her time making puppy eyes at him behind his back."

She frowned. "That seems a little desperate."

"If you're referring to the puppy dog eyes then I should call you a hypocrite."

"No," she laughed. "I just meant showing up late and sitting there for an hour just to stare at a guy."

"Yeah, well, that's probably normal. Don't you think you'd do the same if you could?"

She was silent for a minute. "You're probably right. I just don't like her because I like him and so does she."

"Don't worry about it Rose. You're only human." When we got to the owlery I took out parchment to write a letter back home. "Besides you're going to look ten times cooler up there showing everyone what you know."

She talks about her day and about how she cut Maverick's hair and Quidditch tryouts while I write back to my mum and tell her what had happened with Scorpius. I made it as brief as I can before tucking the letter into the envelope and attaching it to one of the Hogwarts owls. It would have taken me much longer to make that amount of money and send it home. I smiled in satisfaction. They would be so surprised.

"Where were you this morning? I didn't see you in Care of Magical Creatures."

"I had to talk to Professor Longbottom. He had accidentally given me a second herbology class that morning that conflicted with Hagrid's and I hadn't noticed."

I was tempted to tell her that Maverick was in that class as well and tell her all about his trip to Romania. But it wouldn't have been any fun if I told it to her. She had to hear it from him. So for the moment I refrained.

"Were those galleons that you had sent home? How'd you get those if you don't mind me asking? I don't suppose Al finally got you to accept them from him?"

"Not at all. And that will never happen," I said giving her a look. She just shrugged. "I am now tutoring someone privately. He...he was nice enough to pay me that much."

"Oooh. Tutoring a bloke privately now are we? Who is it? Is he cute?"

I hesitated. Did I really want to tell her that it was Scorpius Malfoy, the boy who her cousin had sworn was evil? She would surely tell Al who would surely berate me for it. But then again what kind of person would I be if I hid that from her. I certainly had no problem with Scorpius so it shouldn't matter what she thought of it. I looked her in the eye and said, "It's Scorpius."

"Scorpius Malfoy?" When I nodded her eyebrows pulled up in a sort of judgmental expression. "Wow. I certainly hadn't expected that. And you would accept money from him and not from Al?"

"Now that's a completely different story. You and Al are trying to give me charity. He paid me for tutoring him. It's very different."

"How so? Al offered you money to help out and now Scorpius has. You don't even know him and yet you can take that sum of money from him and not from us?"

I look at her incredulously. "You know it's not like that! There's a difference between charity and payment. Scorpius wasn't trying to help me...he was…" I suddenly realized that that is exactly what James had said he had told him. And Scorpius said it to my face as well. He was trying to help me. "...No he was just paying me."

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself," she said critically. She crossed her arms.

I ran my fingers through my hair. "I-I'm not. It's just...goddamit." I rubbed my face and forced myself not to cry. Don't cry. I couldn't cry! "I've got to go Rose."

I jumped up and rushed from the owlery back to the Great Hall. It was mostly empty but Scorpius was still sitting at the table eating his dinner. I walked up to him, closer to tears than I would have liked to be. I felt so guilty for sending that money back home when I shouldn't have even had it in the first place. He looked at me as I sat down next to him, avoiding his eyes.

"Scorpius," I managed to choke out. He set down his fork. "I can't have you paying me alright. I...I just can't take your money. So please...don't do it again. I don't want to talk about it and it isn't up for debate. I-I'll see you later."

Without giving him a chance to retort I dashed back to the dorms and dove under my covers, allowing myself just a few moments to cry. I fell asleep with my shoes on.

A/N: I've been updating a lot today. Being bed-ridden sure has its perks I guess! Please leave a review if you liked the story.

- Chumett