Figuring Emily wouldn't bring food anymore, he ate his dinner early and left for the Library, without telling Crabbe nor Goyle where he was off to.
Emily was already there, and, as he suspected, she had not brought food. Instead the table was covered with countless books, all opened and scattered about. Emily was hunched over a particularly large one when she noticed Draco there.
"Research," she told him. "I managed to get Sprout to tell me all the plants she'd be covering this term so we can get a head start."
Draco nodded, feeling it best for him not to speak. He quickly and quietly took his seat across from her, and found himself not knowing what to do next.
Emily, however, seemed very busy and began shuffling through a pile of parchment which — Draco noticed — she had written rather untidily on, as if she were in a hurry. She found what she was looking for and handed it to him, saying, "That's the list of plants and herbs we're going to cover. All the way from gillyweed to draconis."
Draco stared wide-eyed at the list. There may as well have been 20 herbs listed down. It was beyond him how Sprout planned to go over all of them in just one term.
"Now I've managed to look up the first five," she said, showing him a pile of parchment with her hurried writing on it, "but I'm having trouble getting anything useful on harpstring."
Draco nodded again, though he had no idea what a harpstring was. He instinctively took a book and began shuffling through it, not entirely sure what he was looking for.
The session was uneventful, yet again. Draco barely absorbed any of the notes Emily had written, and was very close to dismissing the whole tutoring thing, feeling it wasn't helping him at all — just taking up his time.
It was around breakfast time the next day, though, that Draco received his first, real shock.
"How's you and that Hufflepuff girl?" asked Crabbe, grinning madly.
"What are you talking about?" asked Draco, trying to act as though he'd never seen a Hufflepuff before.
"Goyle here said he saw you and some Hufflepuff coming out of the Library last night on his way to the kitchens," explained Crabbe, now winking at him.
Draco cursed himself inwardly. They're sure to bully him about the tutoring now. But, neither Crabbe nor Goyle looked it. They were both looking at Draco with utmost respect.
"You dog," said Goyle, who winked at him as well.
"Wha— ?"
"Why didn't you tell us you were snogging some Hufflepuff?" said Crabbe suddenly.
Draco's pale eyes widened. "What?!"
"Oh, come on," said Goyle. "There's no need to lie about it. I mean, what else would Draco Malfoy be doing in the Library?" He chuckled. "'Course, I'd understand why you'd want to hide it. I mean, a Hufflepuff?" Now Crabbe joined in the chuckling. Draco felt himself getting mad — this was exactly the thing Emily had mentioned before on their first session. "She must be quite a snogger for you to go for her." He winked at Draco again.
Draco smiled weakly. They thought he was snogging Emily.
"We should've known it was a girl," said Crabbe. "You've not really been yourself lately." He chuckled again. "Goyle, here, thought you were going soft."
Draco let out a weak chuckle. He didn't really know what to say.
"So who is this lucky girl?" asked Goyle. Either he hadn't seen Emily last night, or he too didn't pay much attention to Hufflepuffs.
"Why?" Draco found himself saying. For some reason, he didn't want the word going around. No doubt they'd pin Emily to be some sort of scarlet woman — like what his mom called them.
"You're not gonna' keep her secret from us, are you?" said Crabbe, in his would-be hurt voice.
"Who have you told?" asked Draco. If word got around... He shuddered to think about it.
"No one yet," said Goyle. Draco's eye twitched. 'Yet'. He shut his mouth tight. He didn't want them thinking he was going for a Hufflepuff — but he didn't want them to know he was getting tutored either. So instead he remained silent, hoping Crabbe and Goyle's two-minute attention span would kick in soon.
The grins on Crabbe and Goyle's mouths slowly disappeared. For a fracture of a moment, they looked almost hurt. But all too quickly, scowls appeared on their faces.
"I see," said Goyle, staring so hard at Draco that it made him sweat. Crabbe and Goyle glanced at each other, then turned back to their breakfast, completely ignoring Draco.
Draco, sensing a lot of tension, chose this moment to go back to the common room.
He didn't get a chance to, though, for Pansy was standing right in front of it, chatting away with her friends. He really didn't want to see nor talk to her then so he made a quick about-face and found himself wandering around the lake.
He didn't have Divination til the afternoon, and seeing as how eating breakfast and chilling in the common room was out of the question, he found a comfy spot at the shore of the lake, his back to the castle. There was a calm wind blowing against him, making small ripples across the lake. And though he was deeply troubled, he couldn't help but feeling calm.
The fact remained though. He was likely on the road to failing and his friends are mad at him because of a misunderstanding — which is sure to reach the ears of everyone soon. And, throughout all of this, he can't help but remember his promise to his mom. He cursed. He literally wanted to punch something just then. He actually felt like punching himself. Feeling he was at great risk to himself, he placed his hands underneath him.
"What are you doing?"
Draco let in a small intake of breath. Emily was standing behind him, looking curiously at him. There were pieces of parchment in her hands — it looked as if she were going to give him some more notes.
Draco, realizing how stupid he must've looked with his hands underneath his bum, quickly stood up — stumbling a bit.
"N-nothing," he said, brushing off the grass from his robes. "What are you doing here?" He quickly looked around for any signs of Crabbe and Goyle. To his great relief, no one was outside but them. She seemed to have forgotten what she was doing there for a second, but quickly fumbled with the parchment in her hands.
"I found this legend on harpstring," she said. "My mom looked it over on the internet. Apparently, Muggles have a lot of info on magical herbs."
He flinched. She was a Mud... She was Muggle-born.
She held it out to him. She looked a bit embarrassed, as if resenting what she had told him. He took it, seeing her familiar rushed handwriting.
"I don't know if it'll help the research much," she said, holding her hands uncomfortably. "I mean it's just a legend — and I'm not entirely sure it's a real one but — "
"It's something," said Draco, catching Emily off-guard.
"Yeah — of course, I mean..." She was grasping her hands tighter now. "Yes."
Draco stared. She was acting very weird. Had she perhaps heard about the rumor? But even if she had, wouldn't she feel insulted and/or mad? She was avoiding his eyes. She cleared her throat, mumbled something about being late for her next class, and rushed towards the Entrance Hall.
Emily was already there, and, as he suspected, she had not brought food. Instead the table was covered with countless books, all opened and scattered about. Emily was hunched over a particularly large one when she noticed Draco there.
"Research," she told him. "I managed to get Sprout to tell me all the plants she'd be covering this term so we can get a head start."
Draco nodded, feeling it best for him not to speak. He quickly and quietly took his seat across from her, and found himself not knowing what to do next.
Emily, however, seemed very busy and began shuffling through a pile of parchment which — Draco noticed — she had written rather untidily on, as if she were in a hurry. She found what she was looking for and handed it to him, saying, "That's the list of plants and herbs we're going to cover. All the way from gillyweed to draconis."
Draco stared wide-eyed at the list. There may as well have been 20 herbs listed down. It was beyond him how Sprout planned to go over all of them in just one term.
"Now I've managed to look up the first five," she said, showing him a pile of parchment with her hurried writing on it, "but I'm having trouble getting anything useful on harpstring."
Draco nodded again, though he had no idea what a harpstring was. He instinctively took a book and began shuffling through it, not entirely sure what he was looking for.
The session was uneventful, yet again. Draco barely absorbed any of the notes Emily had written, and was very close to dismissing the whole tutoring thing, feeling it wasn't helping him at all — just taking up his time.
It was around breakfast time the next day, though, that Draco received his first, real shock.
"How's you and that Hufflepuff girl?" asked Crabbe, grinning madly.
"What are you talking about?" asked Draco, trying to act as though he'd never seen a Hufflepuff before.
"Goyle here said he saw you and some Hufflepuff coming out of the Library last night on his way to the kitchens," explained Crabbe, now winking at him.
Draco cursed himself inwardly. They're sure to bully him about the tutoring now. But, neither Crabbe nor Goyle looked it. They were both looking at Draco with utmost respect.
"You dog," said Goyle, who winked at him as well.
"Wha— ?"
"Why didn't you tell us you were snogging some Hufflepuff?" said Crabbe suddenly.
Draco's pale eyes widened. "What?!"
"Oh, come on," said Goyle. "There's no need to lie about it. I mean, what else would Draco Malfoy be doing in the Library?" He chuckled. "'Course, I'd understand why you'd want to hide it. I mean, a Hufflepuff?" Now Crabbe joined in the chuckling. Draco felt himself getting mad — this was exactly the thing Emily had mentioned before on their first session. "She must be quite a snogger for you to go for her." He winked at Draco again.
Draco smiled weakly. They thought he was snogging Emily.
"We should've known it was a girl," said Crabbe. "You've not really been yourself lately." He chuckled again. "Goyle, here, thought you were going soft."
Draco let out a weak chuckle. He didn't really know what to say.
"So who is this lucky girl?" asked Goyle. Either he hadn't seen Emily last night, or he too didn't pay much attention to Hufflepuffs.
"Why?" Draco found himself saying. For some reason, he didn't want the word going around. No doubt they'd pin Emily to be some sort of scarlet woman — like what his mom called them.
"You're not gonna' keep her secret from us, are you?" said Crabbe, in his would-be hurt voice.
"Who have you told?" asked Draco. If word got around... He shuddered to think about it.
"No one yet," said Goyle. Draco's eye twitched. 'Yet'. He shut his mouth tight. He didn't want them thinking he was going for a Hufflepuff — but he didn't want them to know he was getting tutored either. So instead he remained silent, hoping Crabbe and Goyle's two-minute attention span would kick in soon.
The grins on Crabbe and Goyle's mouths slowly disappeared. For a fracture of a moment, they looked almost hurt. But all too quickly, scowls appeared on their faces.
"I see," said Goyle, staring so hard at Draco that it made him sweat. Crabbe and Goyle glanced at each other, then turned back to their breakfast, completely ignoring Draco.
Draco, sensing a lot of tension, chose this moment to go back to the common room.
He didn't get a chance to, though, for Pansy was standing right in front of it, chatting away with her friends. He really didn't want to see nor talk to her then so he made a quick about-face and found himself wandering around the lake.
He didn't have Divination til the afternoon, and seeing as how eating breakfast and chilling in the common room was out of the question, he found a comfy spot at the shore of the lake, his back to the castle. There was a calm wind blowing against him, making small ripples across the lake. And though he was deeply troubled, he couldn't help but feeling calm.
The fact remained though. He was likely on the road to failing and his friends are mad at him because of a misunderstanding — which is sure to reach the ears of everyone soon. And, throughout all of this, he can't help but remember his promise to his mom. He cursed. He literally wanted to punch something just then. He actually felt like punching himself. Feeling he was at great risk to himself, he placed his hands underneath him.
"What are you doing?"
Draco let in a small intake of breath. Emily was standing behind him, looking curiously at him. There were pieces of parchment in her hands — it looked as if she were going to give him some more notes.
Draco, realizing how stupid he must've looked with his hands underneath his bum, quickly stood up — stumbling a bit.
"N-nothing," he said, brushing off the grass from his robes. "What are you doing here?" He quickly looked around for any signs of Crabbe and Goyle. To his great relief, no one was outside but them. She seemed to have forgotten what she was doing there for a second, but quickly fumbled with the parchment in her hands.
"I found this legend on harpstring," she said. "My mom looked it over on the internet. Apparently, Muggles have a lot of info on magical herbs."
He flinched. She was a Mud... She was Muggle-born.
She held it out to him. She looked a bit embarrassed, as if resenting what she had told him. He took it, seeing her familiar rushed handwriting.
"I don't know if it'll help the research much," she said, holding her hands uncomfortably. "I mean it's just a legend — and I'm not entirely sure it's a real one but — "
"It's something," said Draco, catching Emily off-guard.
"Yeah — of course, I mean..." She was grasping her hands tighter now. "Yes."
Draco stared. She was acting very weird. Had she perhaps heard about the rumor? But even if she had, wouldn't she feel insulted and/or mad? She was avoiding his eyes. She cleared her throat, mumbled something about being late for her next class, and rushed towards the Entrance Hall.