"Have you seen Scarlett?" a voice asked suddenly. Scarlett could only hear it over the roar of children because it was particularly close to the doors. The person was standing by them. It was Cormac. "I have this book she's been searching for-" He got it? Scarlett was surprised he actually got it in the time he promised.
"Wouldn't tell you if we had," Ron said shortly and Scarlett felt her brows furrow in confusion. They knew she was in the Room of Requirement - she had practically told the entire Common Room that piece of information Sunday evening.
The hall seemed to get quieter the more focused Scarlett was on the conversation. "Well, if you do see her, let her know I've got it."
"Why don't you just leave it with us?" Harry asked sharply. Scarlett could tell, by the way the Great Hall truly was getting quiet that people were beginning to listen. Scarlett heard the beat as there was silence and then Cormac began speaking again.
"Because I needed to talk to her."
Ron snorted. "She doesn't like you, McLaggen. She's just nice to you because she's nice to everyone. Bloody hell, I've even seen her having a pleasant conversation with Marcus Flint." She had only asked him to move out of her way, as he was blocking the hall on her way to Charms after lunch. It wasn't that pleasant, because he had snipped back at her. "So, stop wasting your time, McLaggen. She's not interested in you. And don't you dare bother with her. She's none of your business."
"And you're saying this because you're friends with her? You know what she's thinking? She hangs with me and Weaslette and Zabinimore than she hangs out with you. Why?" She heard Cormac snort, but Scarlett, as she thought about it, found it was true. She had rarely been in the company of the Golden Trio since school started. "Because all you bloody do is get on her case. So, I'd say I'm a better friend to her than you are." He was leaving. She scrambled back so that she was hidden by the door, and watched as he stormed up the stairs, possibly to the dorm. Maybe to look for her. She sighed, knowing she should probably have called out to him, to stop him, but she would find him after she got breakfast. Breakfast ended soon, anyhow, and she was quite hungry.
She couldn't hear Ron and Harry, but she knew things had resumed to normal once everyone began to gossip again. Scarlett took a deep breath and walked into the Great Hall, surprised when she nearly ran smack dab into Harry and Ron, muttering to themselves about some plan.
"Scarlett!" Harry said in surprise, catching her.
"Harry," Scarlett said, catching her balance with his help, fixed her bag, which had nearly spilled out.
"Where have you been?" Ron asked. "You couldn't have been studying for that long."
"I decided to catch up on a few assignments that aren't due until next week," Scarlett lied. She walked towards the Gryffindor table and they followed her, seeming to think she was in a good mood, and that they could possibly reconcile. Scarlett had missed them, greatly, but... but it was so exhausting to fight them. And she truly didn't want to. "So, yes," Scarlett said, sitting down beside Ginny, Harry sitting at her other side. "I was studying."
"Aren't you overwhelmed?" Harry asked, and Scarlett suspected he had already eaten by the lack of interest for the food on the table. Scarlett, however, was hungry.
"No," she said simply. "I have plenty of time to do what I need to do, as well as a few extra things." She gave him a bright smile, but a sinking feeling was in the pit of her stomach. They really weren't going to tell her that Cormac was searching for her? "I even got a few of the projects out of the way-"
Hermione chose that moment to join in, sitting beside Ron, a book in the place of where her plate would have been. "That's ridiculous that they've given you extra projects," she said pointedly. "They know how many courses you have. How could they possibly think you could-"
"I've been managing them fine for the past few weeks," Scarlett shrugged.
"We hardly ever see you," Harry said quietly. "You're either in the library, or in that window in the Common Room, or off in the Room of Requirement..." She hated the tone in his voice. The sadness. Perhaps she had been cruel... She did miss her brother. "I went to the library to try to find you last night... but I didn't want to interrupt your flirting with Zabini."
Scarlett smirked, pouring herself a glass of gillywater. "I thought that was exactly what you wanted to do. Isn't that why you keep sitting in the table a few places down and glare at us?" She sipped from the water as Harry started to stammer something. "Yeah, I know you're there Harry, we both do. We aren't blind. It's been the same for weeks now."
"Every Monday and Wednesday nights," Harry said stiffly. "Do you and Zabini have little dates or something?"
"No," Scarlett said pleasantly, glancing towards the Slytherin in question, talking to Draco, once more. "We just like talking. Is that a problem?"
"Yeah, it is," Ron said sharply. "He's friends with the enemy here, okay. You may claim he's not a Death Eater, but he's still friends with Malfoy, who's guaranteed to be a Death Eater."
She was silent a moment, taking in their anger. She didn't want to fight again. "I trust him with my life. Is it so much for me to ask you to trust me?"
Harry's face fell, and he sighed. "That's not... I trust you, Scarlett. I really do, but... I don't trust him."
"I do," Scarlett said firmly. "And Cormac, and Luna, and Seamus and Neville and Dean. I trust them all, so... please, trust me for once."
"Why are you getting projects?" Hermione asked suddenly. "No one has ever given me projects outside of class before, and I'm top of my class-"
"Actually, Granger, they released first month ranks," Seamus grinned, winking at Scarlett as he sat down besides Hermione. "Prince here's on top. Which I like, by the way-"
Scarlett giggled, but Ron turned purple. "Oi! I'll have you know she's my friend!"
"Oh, dear," Ginny sighed besides Scarlett. "Ron, honestly! Seamus has flirted with everyone. He's harmless."
Seamus held up his hands, a serious expression on his face. "It's all in good fun, I swear. You know that, right, Prince?"
"Of course," Scarlett said immediately. "I'm not offended or anything. Ron, calm down, please. You're making a scene."
"But, how did you get on top!" Hermione demanded. "You've-you've just started here! I've been number one in all of my classes since First year! They don't have grades to determine-"
"I got all Os on my OWLs," Scarlett shrugged. "And the teachers are counting every assignment I do this year six times, so that it makes the grades for my years missed." She swallowed. "If it means so much to you, I can-"
"Don't you bloody dare," Ginny snapped, cutting Scarlett off. "You deserve top spot. You've learned so much just in the last few months, that you don't need to stop earning it because Hermione's jealous!"
"It's not a lot of projects," Scarlett said quietly, to Hermione. "It's just three a week. Slughorn gives me a project, and Professor Snape gives me a Potions and a Defense one, all of them due every Friday evening. They're usually simple, really, like reverse brewing certain potions, or the Latin involved in a spell-"
"Bloody hell, you can reverse brew a potion?" Seamus asked. "Please tell me this won't be on the NEWT test because if so, then I'm out-"
"It's not on the NEWTs," Scarlett giggled. "It's actually not that difficult. It's just looking at a completed potion and then doing the instructions in reverse order - of course, you'd have to be able to identify the potion first, and then have the instructions memorized so that you can reverse it, but... it takes usually the length of brewing a potion, once it's identified. I can show you sometime-"
"You're learning Latin?" Harry asked flatly.
Scarlett swallowed at the look he was giving her. "Er, yes..."
"I introduced her to the Grey Lady," Ginny shrugged. "She was more than happy to teach it to her. Back in the founding days of Hogwarts, Latin was the language all courses were taught in - being the eleventh century and all. The Grey Lady is fluent."
"Er, I go to her every Sunday evenings, now," Scarlett admitted. "Right after lunch and before my Healing classes. Usually only a half hour or so. She likes the company, I think. I'd imagine being a ghost for a thousand years must be very lonely."
She finished her toast and stood, biting her lip. "I need to go to Arithmancy. Blaise wanted to meet me early so that we could go over a few things about our project." She glanced towards Blaise who was leaving, Draco walking with him. She glanced at the Golden Trio. "I don't want to fight," she said quietly when Harry opened his mouth. "I really don't. But I want you to trust me to make my own choices."
"Oh, Scarlett!" Ginny called when she began to walk towards the doors. Scarlett turned, frowning. "Cormac was looking for you, I think. I don't know what for, I didn't catch it, but he was talking to this lot about trying to find you. I'm sorry I'm not too helpful-"
At least Ginny wanted to tell her about it. Scarlett smiled, heartfelt and happy. "Thanks, Ginny. That was very kind of you. He has a book I need for my Healing project." She saw the immediately guilty looks of the Trio as she turned again. They must truly hate Cormac.
A hand grabbed Scarlett's arm suddenly and she blinked in surprise at being grabbed. Her instincts flared, but who it was made her shift slightly, to hide the shock. "Er, Cormac, hi," Scarlett said brightly. "Ginny just told me-"
"I almost didn't catch you," he admitted. "So, Mum sent me a package this morning. It's got what you were looking for." He held the package out to her, still wrapped. She glanced at it confused. It was so heavy, and there seemed to be more than one boo. "She sent what she thought was best for what you described. If it's not what you need, I can send her another letter after dinner and it'll be here by tomorrow morning-"
"I'm sure it's perfect," Scarlett insisted. "Thank you so much."
"She didn't say what she sent. But... yeah, use them for as long as you need them."
"Oh, I'll give them back in just a few days," she said, smiling brightly. She opened the package flap, peering down inside. "Merlin, this book looks so old," she whispered. She pulled out a small book, the pages yellowed and the cover fading. Opening it, juggling all of the things in her arms, she was surprised to see that it was handwritten.
"Merlin, Cormac, this is like a original report!" She tried to find a date and gasped, glancing at him in absolute delight. "Thirteen hundred and twelve?"
He chuckled, shrugging. "I did say, Mum sent everything she thought you might need. I've got to get to class, before I'm late. You should probably go too." He was right. She didn't want to be late. "I'll see you tonight?"
"Of course," she smiled towards him, moving towards the Grand Staircase, her strides matching his. "Thank you, again. I don't know how to repay you."
He shrugged. "Seeing that smile is enough." She flushed but he didn't see, as he glanced at his watch and cursed. "Right, running now. Bye!"
"Bye," she returned. He ran off and Scarlett went towards the Arithmancy classroom, her fingers clutching the books in her arms tightly. She didn't want to ruin them.
Blaise was sitting in their usual seat, a roll of parchment spread on the desk as he leaned back in his chair, talking casually to Draco a row in front of him. When Scarlett entered, his chair dropped to the ground with a clap and he glanced back towards her, grinning. "Scarlett! Glad you decided to join us."
"Sorry, I ran into someone-" She sat down in her seat, leaning forward as she inspected the Arithmancy formula. Her gaze traveled across the vast amounts of numbers, and arrows. "Hello, Draco," she greeted politely.
"How's the cat?" he asked, his posture leaning on the back of his chair as he sat backwards, each leg almost straddling the back end of it.
"Oh, he's marvelous," she promised, glancing up with a smile. "Apparently, he's inheritied a bit of his upbringing, because he's quite moody and attention starved, it seems. He bites my toes while I sleep."
Blaise laughed loudly. "Now you know why I hated the thing when it was trapped in my bedroom."
"It hurts," Scarlett insisted to Draco, who raised his eyebrow. "But he does like to cuddle under the blankets, too, so I suppose he's a keeper."
"Good, that thing was a bloody nuisance to find," Draco said shortly.
She giggled, glancing down at the chart. "Did you test the results, Blaise?" Scarlett asked suddenly, glancing at Blaise.
He nodded. "Just like you told me to. And I got four different factors." Interesting. She surveyed the formula, trying to find any holes that they would need to patch, but it was flawless. "Is it ready to turn in?"
"I think so," Scarlett admitted. "And she might even grade it first for being early."
"I wish I had you for a partner instead of bloody Romilda Vane," Draco muttered. "All she does is talk about Potter. Did you know his eyes are so strikingly green they could be a forest-"
Scarlett giggled. "I didn't, but I'm glad I do now."
"She's a bloody nuisance," Draco muttered. "Can we please trade?"
"I don't want to work with her," Scarlett groaned. "She's friends with Lavender, and Lavender hates me."
"No," Blaise said firmly. "I am not working with that bint!"
Scarlett smacked his shoulder, glancing in the doorway. "She's right there. She can probably hear you when you shout like that."
"Don't you dare, Draco," Blaise said warningly. "I mean it!"
Draco smirked and strode up to Professor Vector, who was reading a few essays from Tuesdays class. "Professor?" Scarlett distinctly heard him ask. Blaise sighed, burying his head in his arms as he succumbed to defeat.
"Yes, Mister Malfoy?" Professor Vector said stiffly, not glancing up from her work.
"I'd like to report a complaint with my partner. She has not helped once on any projects assigned and has not discussed anything but Potter. I find I'm unable to work with her, as I'm not taught anything by her partnership that helps me academically." Professor Vector glanced up, surprised.
"So, who do you suggest be your partner?"
"Is she actually buying this?" Blaise asked, glancing up.
Scarlett giggled, nodding in Draco's direction. "Well, we're about to see."
"Scarlett Prince." Immediately Professor Vector's face hardened. "She's adequate in the field of Arithmancy and Blaise certainly has no complaints with her contribution to work. I think I'd learn more academic things listening to her drone on about something actually related to Arithmancy than Vane, who drones on about a new way to get into Potter's sheets."
Scarlett coughed, hiding her laugh as she looked down, trying to avoid the Professor's gaze. "He did not just say that to a teacher!"
"She's actually considering it," Blaise observed. Scarlett glanced up in surprise, as the woman didn't seem to automatically refuse.
"Considering your history with the girl," Professor Vector said carefully, "I'm not sure if it would be wise-"
"Whatever version of our history you might have heard," Draco said stiffly, "was most likely not entirely accurate."
"Miss Prince, if you could please come up here?" Scarlett groaned, burying her face in her hands once more, before rising from her seat and approaching the severe professor that at times gave her father a run for his money. "Mister Malfoy has made an interesting request. And I was wondering your take on the situation."
"Oh, I think he's fully capable of any assignments in this class," Scarlett said brightly. "Draco's third in the class, after all. I would have no problems working with him."
"Is Mister Zabini an issue with your work?"
"No, ma'am," Scarlett admitted. "We actually work well together, as well. Draco approached me with the idea, and I'd be more than happy to switch. Perhaps Blaise will be able to stop Romilda from discussing Harry at any possible point in their work together - since Draco's so incapable of doing so." Draco sputtered, his eyes wide in disbelief at her betrayal. She could only imagine how Blaise was looking.
Professor Vector allowed a small smile to touch her lips. "Very well... I'll allow the switch, since it seems to be mutual. But if there are any problems, any at all, Miss Prince, I request to be informed immediately and the switch will be reversed, no matter how many times Miss Vane drones on about Potter's perfect face, Mister Malfoy. Is that understood?"
"Er, yes, Professor," Draco said slowly. Scarlett turned with a smile of triumph and noticed Blaise's mutinous glare.
"Oh, you honestly expected to hog me all to yourself?" Scarlett questioned. "You're my partner in Runes. You'll survive."
"I hate all of you," Blaise declared, grabbing his things and dropping them down in the seat in front of him. Draco smirked, grabbing his things and plopping into the chair besides Scarlett.
"No, you don't," Scarlett countered. A waft of Draco's cologne washed over her, a calming scent, that reminded her of the halls of the manor. But not in a bad way. In a comforting way. A familiar way, much like the kitchens. "Should I turn in the project now, Blaise, or after class?"
"Not talking to you," Blaise said in a rather high voice, his eyes traveling towards the ceiling.
"Blaise, you're being childish," she scolded with a smile.
"Was that the wind, Draco?" Blaise questioned.
"Oh, honestly, you'll talk to him? He suggested this whole thing," Scarlett reminded the dark skinned man. She pulled out a quill from her bag. "I could just erase your name-"
"Turn it in now," Blaise said immediately.
She grinned, standing once more and walking to Professor Vector's desk. "Professor Vector? I'm sorry for interrupting?"
"Want to reverse it already?" she asked in surprise.
"Er, no. Actually, Blaise and I's project. We finished it a few days ahead of schedule, and I was wondering if we could turn it in early?"
"Oh, of course!" Professor Vector said warmly. "Of course, of course. Set it down in the basket. Thank you so much for being prompt, Miss Prince. Us professors do appreciate it."
"Um... thank you?" Scarlett said carefully. She returned to her seat, spotting Hermione walk through with Harry at that moment. Their eyes met hers, but she glanced away, sitting back down beside Draco.
"So..." Draco said, leaning back in his chair, much like Blaise had been, his feet resting atop the table. "On a scale of one to ten, how attractive am I?"
"Is this a serious question?" Scarlett asked, wondering if it was Romilda that annoyed him, or truly him that annoyed her. "Because I don't think I'm going to give you an answer you're expecting, Draco," she admitted.
"You wound me," he said airly. "Because it was a very serious question."
"Well, if one is bad and ten is good," she said as though beginning a lecture. "Then you must be placed precisely at 3.7." Blaise started laughing as the chair dropped and Draco stared at her. "You see, you're not a ten. No one is," she continued, smirking. "And you're not a nine. That's very rare, you know. Eight is perhaps a huge stretch for even you to fit in. And sevens are more ... well, Blaise's standpoint, for instance. A six is ... You have met Zacharias Smith, haven't you? A five is someone who is rather normal with a stunning personality. A four is someone with a average personality. And a three is someone absolutely dismal at speaking - such as Crabbe or Goyle. I ranked you a 3.7 because... You're not a horrible as them, but you're quite horrible."
"Are you joking?" he demanded.
Scarlett laughed, biting her lip. "Perhaps."
"I think you're a nine," he said with a smirk. "Like you said, there's always room for improvement."
She laughed again, smacking his arm. "You jerk!"
"The only Gryffindor I'll talk to willingly," he shrugged. "That's got to be something. And since Blaise seems to think you're a ten, well... I sure wish you were sorted into Slytherin."
"You're in my seat." Scarlett glanced up to see Romilda staring at Scarlett with an expression of hatred. "Get out of it."
"Um, no I'm not, actually," Scarlett admitted. "We've switched. Blaise is your new partner."
She sucked on her teeth, glancing at Blaise. "I didn't agree to this."
"Then take it up with Vector, Vane," Draco spoke up. "Annoy someone else."
Romilda huffed and sat down besides Blaise, who groaned and buried his head into his arms, almost as if he was falling asleep. She glanced at Draco, giggling slightly. "You could be a little nicer."
"Like I said, you-" he stopped, glaring at something over her shoulder. "Need help, Potty?"
Scarlett closed her eyes, sighing. Of course. She swiveled in her chair once more, seeing Harry glare at Draco with absolute loating. "Uh, hi, Harry."
"Can I talk to you?"
Again? Was he honestly going to try this again? "Is this about the trust thing?" Scarlett questioned. "Because I totally get it. I mean, I wouldn't trust me either. Afterall, I'm a naive eighteen year old girl that doesn't understand what she's doing." Harry opened his mouth, but seemed to think better of it.
"Um, nevermind," he said, shuffling back to his seat, which was behind her. She didn't understand why he couldn't lean forward to talk to her, until she realized he probably hadn't sat down at all.
"Merlin, you were born for Slytherin. Are you sure the Sorting Hat said Gryffindor?" Draco asked, propping up the chair again.
"I'm assuming so," Scarlett shrugged. "McGonagall sorted me without the hat."
He grunted, crossing his arms. "So... you're doing my projects for me, right?'
"What?" Scarlett hissed. "No! Draco, I thought we were working on them together?"
"You honestly think I want to work on an Arithmancy project?" Scarlett glared at him and he noticed. "Fine. Twenty percent. You do the rest."
She could take that. But she couldn't do the entire project all of the time. "But... it was so cold down there," she said quietly, frowning. "And I didn't have any blankets. I was barely fed-"
He pointed his finger at her. "Don't you dare try to guilt me. Don't you dare!" She pouted, sniffling for good measure. He growled, crossing his legs in front of him as they rested atop the table top. "Fine, fine. I'll do sixty."
Scarlett immediately grinned. "Thank you, Draco."
"Whatever," he muttered. Blaise glanced back, smirking. "Shut up, Blaise," Draco snarled at him. Scarlett giggled, biting her lip to keep the noise from escaping, and happily pulled out her Arithmancy book, putting the books Cormac had loaned to her in the satchel almost immediately after there was space.
In Potions, that afternoon, Slughorn released them all early after Seamus managed to blow up his cauldron. And after she was sure he was alright, she followed the rest of her house to Gryffindor Tower, intent on using the freetime to get started on her homework.
"Er, Neville?" she asked tenatively, approaching the boy. She could hear Harry, Ron, and Hermione discussing their Hogsmeade plans behind her, and it made her feel sort of sad, as she wasn't able to go.
"Y-Yes?" he asked, flushing immediately when he glanced at her. She looked at what he was working on - a beautiful Mimbulus Mimbletonia, much like the one he had talked to her about a few weeks ago.
"I know you're brilliant at Herbology, so I figured there's no better person to ask besides Professor Sprout herself," Scarlett began, the blush going deeper. Why was he blushing? Was he embarrassed she was talking to him? "I... While I was being homeschooled, I never learned about Mandrakes. I'm afraid I only know the healing properties of them, and not the ... well, plant properties." She had asked Severus about them over the summer, but he promptly ripped those pages out of her textbook, informing her that it was rubbish. "Could you maybe help me? If not, that's okay. And I only have about forty minutes until I need to go to the Hospital Wing, so-"
"No!" Neville said immediately. "I can help. Sure. It's about the lesson we had in Herbology today, right?"
"Yes, but I'm afraid I don't know anything about them, really," Scarlett admitted.
"Well, what you'll find in your textbook is wrong. The guy that wrote the book was allergic to Mandrakes and didn't even bother researching them before he wrote about it." Oh, that's why Severus had ripped it out, then. "But, the most important thing you need to know is that their cry is pretty fatal. Baby mandrakes, it'll just make you faint - so you have to wear spider silk earmuffs to muffle their cries. And they're best used in petrification cases - like in second year when the Basilisk was set loose." Scarlett nodded. Madame Pomfrey had explained that much to her.
"It's a bit, er... difficult to explain really. They're sort of like babies - look like them anyway. You have to feed them and put them in the right conditions, or they can rot." He explained to her these conditions, what they grew well with, what they should never grow with, and other properties, such as how to tell if they're healthy, or sick, and how to tell if they're old.
"They even grow to be the size of willow trees. You know the Whomping Willow on the grounds?" Scarlett nodded. She had seen it briefly on her exploration Tuesday during lunch. "That's a mandrake, that's at least a few hundred years old. It was purchased in the Siberian wasteland, in Russia, and transported here about thirty years ago, maybe a little less? It's the oldest mandrake known to have ever existed in the world."
"That's fascinating," Scarlett insisted. "Do they know how it lives so well? I mean, if the average mandrake lives to about thirty or forty-"
"It's remarkable, right?" he agreed. She agreed. "Hey, what are you doing-"
"-to blow it up!" Hermione's shrill voice cut off whatever Neville was going to ask her. Scarlett jumped, glancing behind her to see her glaring at Harry, at the book in his hands. "It's not safe, Harry. The writing it that is clearly-"
"'Mione, if it wasn't safe, then it wouldn't have been stored-"
Scarlett sighed. "Wonderful. That's the third time so far they've argued over his bloody Potions book." She grabbed her bag. "I should go to class. Thank you so much, Neville, for your help. I owe you."
"Oh, no, I'm happy to help," he insisted. "You don't owe me anything."
She departed, her exit barely noticed as everyone was too worried Hermione might actually hex Harry this time. In Healing class, Madame Pomfrey had her sit down in front of a screen, and a film began to roll. It was silent, as there seemed to be no sound output on the projector anyway.
"Now, I know this is a bit change in how I normally teach," Madame Pomfrey began. "But, we're getting into a bit more complex situations, and well... we'll use more videos and pictures than actual lectures. So, this is the part where being squimish isn't going to work."
"I understand, ma'am," Scarlett said simply. "What is today's lesson?"
"Good. And we'll be discussing childbirth. While we don't have it in Hogwarts halls - against the rules you see, for teen parents here - it is something you will no doubt encounter outside of these halls. St. Mungo's maternity ward is state of the art and the most common place mothers go, if they do not favor the traditional at-home method."
Childbirth. Of course. But the entire video, even as Madame Pomfrey explained intricate details of the process, was background noise as Scarlett heard the words echoing in her head - against the rules. If they knew... would she be kicked out? What about Blaise? It was a whole new incentive to keep everything a secret. She couldn't ruin his education with it getting out - he didn't deserve it.
She left the Hospital wing in a flurry, heading to the library, intent on finding Hogwarts school rules - she needed to know the conditions to the rule. And then she needed to talk to didn't even mind that she was skipping dinner.
She grabbed the book and set it down on the table, flipping through the index until she found the law and began to read.
"Hey," Cormac's accent lilted, bringing her out of her deep research. She glanced up sharply, shutting the book in case he saw what she was looking for. "Uh, you okay?"
"Fine," she promised. "Just a little... a little frazzled, is all. Can I help you?"
"Uh, we agreed to work on grammar... remember?" He looked slightly disappointed that she didn't.
"Oh! Right, sorry. I had a lot on my mind this afternoon. Of course." She set the book aside, vowing to get back to it later, and smiled. "Thank you for the books, by the way. They're exactly what I needed."
"Oh, good. I, uh, didn't see you at dinner earlier?" She glanced towards the windows. Oh, it was later in the evening. How long had she been reading?
"Oh, I ate a massive lunch," Scarlett told him. "So, I'm not hungry."
"Oh," Cormac said almost to himself. "Uh, so... let's get started, huh?" She agreed, and he asked if she had any writing, which she did. She passed it over to him, biting her lip as he began to read.
He didn't teach it to her for long. She figured he had his own work to do, and that he didn't want to be in there all night, anyway.
"What are you doing Saturday?" he asked casually.
"I have classes," Scarlett sighed. thinking of Hogsmeade weekend. "Divination, Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, Healing, and then Astronomy that night."
"All Saturday classes are canceled Hogsmeade weekend," Cormac said simply, shrugging. "I mean, there's only four a year, it's not like you're missing a lot of class. If you don't believe me, you can ask your teachers or Gonagall, but... yeah..."
"Oh," Scarlett said softly. "That's a relief. All I've heard about this summer has been Hogsmeade."
"Did you want to go?" Cormac said suddenly, brightly. "With me? We can get lunch and go to all the shops... if you want? I didn't know if you had plans with your friends."
"I didn't," Scarlett admitted. "But... I'd love to go... with you. That sounds like a lot of fun."
"Yeah?" he asked, as if unsure, but very bright.
Scarlett giggled, nodding. "Yeah. Should I meet you somewhere?"
"How about the Great Hall at eight. Eat breakfast and whatnot, and then we can walk down together."
"That sounds lovely," Scarlett admitted, smiling softly as she glanced down at the almost completely corrected essay.
He gave her a charming smile and passed the essay back to her. "So, uh, rumor has it you're partners with Malfoy in Arithmancy?"
She sighed. "Yes. And before you go shouting at me too about it - because I've heard plenty from Hermione and Harry and Ron - it was a mutual switch and we're friends. I've known Draco my entire life." She shrugged as he raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Don't look at me like that, please... I know all of Gryffindor house hates him, but ... he's really not that bad."
Cormac didn't look like he believed her. "I guess if you're friends with Zabini, you're bound to be friends with Malfoy too... What has Gryffindor fallen to?" The last bit was exasperated, but dramatic and Scarlett giggled. "I've got astronomy tonight," he told her. "And a star chart I still need to finish, so I should probably go... but I'll see you Saturday."
"I'll see you Saturday," Scarlett promised.
"It's a date," he winked. She smiled back, and watched him leave. As soon as the doors shut, she grabbed the Hogswarts rules book and flipped it to where she was last, skimming the page.
Cases are evaluated case by case. Those deemed in a direct violation of school rules, including, but not limited to societal laws, are dismissed from their studies indefinitely. The Headmaster, or Headmistress, of Hogwarts is required to submit a formal document that vouches the student is capable of caring for their child while also being a student. No child, at any times, is permitted to be on Hogwarts grounds unless visiting. If parent is unable to leave their child at home, for any period of time, they will be dismissed immediately.
She felt her insides twist. She couldn't make any arguments against it. She didn't even know where Tyler was... She needed to talk to Severus. Severus would tell her his thoughts, his approach. Give her a way to go about it.
She didn't want to quit her studies. If she did, she'd have no future means of support, if they ever found Tyler - no job. And no job would mean that she couldn't keep Tyler. . .
She checked out the book quickly, gathering her things, and then walked to the Common Room, intent on reading the rule book cover to cover so that she would know any potential loopholes, any ways to remain in class. The price was simply too much not to.
And another word danced around her head. Date. Just what exactly did Cormac expect from her on Saturday? She didn't know at all what to do on a ... date. Perhaps she should ask Ginny... Ginny was the least likely to scream at her for accepting. And the less screaming the better.