Chapter Thirteen
The holidays were over and everyone was settling back into school life. It also meant for Gwen that her birthday was coming up soon.
She could hardly wait because when she was 16, she'd be able to get her own wand and finally become a proper witch.
***
"Gwen.you have to," Professor Trelawney replied firmly.
"Why can't you do it?" Gwen asked.
Trelawney focused her eyes onto Gwen's and shook her head, "I cannot. I am far too busy and anyway, I'm sure that he would far prefer you to tutor him. One young person to another."
Gwen swore she heard a faint giggle as she said that sentence.
"But."
"No. You are going to do it," Trelawney said again.
Gwen threw her hands in the air and slumped into a chair and pouted.
She'd been discussing with Professor Trelawney, the idea of her tutoring a student and why she really couldn't do it. It wasn't that Gwen didn't wanted to, she didn't mind in reality.
No, it wasn't that, it was the fact that the student she had to tutor was Draco Malfoy.
The boy that had humiliated her a couple of weeks before.
It seemed that Malfoy's father had not been impressed with his son's last report and so thought he needed to be tutored.
Actually, he just didn't want to have the Malfoy good name, sullied by some bad grades. Mr. Malfoy had come to school, a couple of days before term had started to "discuss" what could be done to improve Draco's grades.
Gwen used the word "discuss" but there had been no discussing in Dumbledore's office, not when Lucius Malfoy was around.
That day she was talking to Dumbledore about Alfred, Nancy, Maggie and when they were coming back to collect her.
But in the middle of their conversation, they'd been rudely interrupted by Lucius Malfoy, yelling that all the school's teachers, apart from Snape, were being biased towards his son and that these could not possibly be Draco's grades.
He had waved the piece of paper under Dumbledore's nose, poking it at him threateningly before he realised that Gwen was seated there as well, witnessing the whole scene.
"Who are you?" he'd asked tartly.
"Oh, how rude of me," Dumbledore had said politely, "this is Gwen Aldan. Gwen, this is Lucius Malfoy."
Mr. Malfoy's eyes had lit up at her name and it sent a shiver down her spine.
"The merlin?" Lucius asked, his eyes focused on Gwen.
"Yes," Dumbledore replied.
"How good to meet you," Lucius said, his tone changing to a softer one. He extended his hand towards her.
Gwen forced herself to smile and took the man's hand, cold as ice.
"I hope to see you in the future," Lucius said, almost sounding happy.
"Gwen, why don't you go back to lessons?" Dumbledore asked.
Gwen took this opportunity to leave and quickly exited. As soon as she'd left the room, she'd heard the distinct noise of shouting, Lucius Malfoy shouting to be exact.
How Dumbledore could put up with such a two-faced man without wanting to throttle him was a mystery to her.
She could see why Draco was the person he was.
"The apple does not fall far from the tree."
***
It was another normal day and Gwen was walking down the corridor on her way to an afternoon divination lesson and she was late.
Lunch had finished 20 minutes before but she'd still been hungry and so had snuck back to her room, to have a biscuit snack.
She'd then become obsessed with trying out a new biscuit creation of her own and had completely forgotten the time.
As Gwen hurried along the corridor, she saw three figures standing over a lone form on the floor.
The three figures were Draco, Crabbe and Goyle, the person on the floor was Neville Longbottom.
She watched the scene for a moment.
"Get up then!" Draco yelled, laughing.
Neville tried to gather his spilled books and quills but Crabbe kept kicking them away and as he tried to get up, Goyle would kick him back down.
Gwen could feel her anger building, the scene reminded of her of her encounter with Malfoy.
She hated people like Draco and couldn't believe that she would have to tutor him.
"Come on!" Draco yelled again.
This time, Crabbe picked up the boy and brought his face up to Draco's.
Draco then removed his wand from his robes and pointed it into Neville's chest. Neville let out a yelp of panic.
"You're a disgrace to the word wizard!" Draco spat and Gwen could see a spell forming on his lips.
"Leave him alone!" Gwen screamed and rushed forward.
Crabbe immediately dropped Neville onto the ground.
Gwen pushed Crabbe out of the way and handed the books to the boy, who gave her a weak smile of thanks.
"Oh look, it's the wand less helping the gutless. How sweet," Draco sneered. Crabbe and Goyle grunted in agreement.
"Oh look, it's the spineless leading the brainless. How pathetic," Gwen snapped, imitating his tone.
Malfoy frowned slightly and was about to say something when McGonagall appeared from around a corner.
"Aren't you all supposed to be in class?" She asked, scanning over everyone quickly.
Neville made a quiet whimper while Draco remained still, trying to think up an excuse.
Gwen saw the expression on Neville's face and decided to save him from yet another embarrassment.
"It's my fault, Professor. I needed to speak to Neville about his divination essay and I didn't realise the time," Gwen said, trying to keep her face still.
McGonagall cast an eye at Neville, who nodded furiously like an idiot.
Please believe me, please believe me, Gwen muttered in her head.
McGonagall sighed and looked down at the floor for a second.
"Very well. You'd better get along to class, Neville. We don't want anymore points taken away from Gryffindor for tardiness. Gwen, you'd better get to the West Tower," with that she fanned them off with her hand.
Gwen grabbed Neville by the shoulder and pulled him away.
She heard McGonagall's voice say in a hard tone, "and what about you Mr. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle?"
They're in it alright, Gwen thought to herself and smiled.
"Thanks, Gwen," Neville mumbled, gathering his stuff together in his arms.
"No problem, Neville," Gwen replied and started to walk towards the West Tower.
"No, you didn't have to.," he started.
"Neville, stop talking and go to class," she said over her shoulder.
"Ok," Neville replied feebly before heading off to his class.
Gwen shook her head and laughed before running up to Professor Trelawney's class room.
***
"I'd better go," Gwen said, closing her book.
She'd been in the library with Hermione, helping her to do some research on spontaneously combusting wands. It was an essay Hermione was doing for the History of Magic.
"Good luck," Hermione said, giving her the thumbs up.
"Thanks, but I'll need more than that.a hammer perhaps?" Gwen replied, she was trying to cover up her nervousness.
Hermione laughed gently and gave her a reassuring smile before returning to her work.
***
Gwen turned the corner and saw the entrance to the Slytherin house and shivered slightly.
It was colder in this part of the school.
"Let's get this over with then," a cold voice said.
Gwen turned and saw Malfoy scowling at her and for once, Crabbe and Goyle weren't with him.
"What, no body guards today?" Gwen asked, smiling sweetly.
Malfoy chose to ignore her comment and walked forward.
"Puritas," Malfoy said loudly towards a stone wall. A door that was concealed in the wall then slid open and he walked in.
I guess, it's now or never, Gwen thought and followed him in.
As she entered she was instantly inspected by the rest of the house, they watched her every move.
Gwen felt uncomfortable and nervous but she didn't want the Slytherins to have the pleasure of knowing that they made her feel like that.
Gwen held her head held and walked with confidence, she even smirked at a few Slytherins that walked past her.
As she scanned the Slytherin common room, she found it to be cold, unwelcoming and a little ostentatious.
What with the large leather couches and chairs and massive pictures hanging everywhere.
It was nothing like the Gryffindor common room.
"Come on then," Malfoy's icy voice called.
Gwen glanced around and saw him, seated in front of the fire, his face hidden half in shadow.
She walked over slowly, feeling her skin shiver as she got closer to him. She sat at the opposite end of the couch, trying to be as far from him, as possible.
They both didn't say anything for a moment.
"Well.," Malfoy sneered. He leaned back into the couch and stared at her, expecting her to say something.
"Well, what are you stuck on?" Gwen asked a little impatiently. She drummed her fingers on the arm rest.
"I'm failing, so I guess, everything," he said, smirking.
Gwen wanted to slap him but that wouldn't have been wise, since she was surrounded by Slytherins.
Then Pansy Parkinson turned up.
Gwen had disliked Pansy ever since, Pansy had accused her of favouritism towards the Gryffindors.
This was after Gwen had told Trelawney that points should be taken from Slytherin because Pansy had purposely spilt milk onto Lavender Brown's homework at breakfast.
She had also threatened to tell Professor Snape as well but Trelawney had said that in her visions, she saw no good could come out of it.
Pansy had shut up then but from that day on her and Gwen weren't on friendly terms.
"Draco," Pansy cooed in a sickly sweet voice.
Malfoy nodded, acknowledging her presence.
She then perched on the arm of the couch and slid an arm around him.
It seemed that she was trying to defend her territory; Gwen almost laughed out loud at the thought that she would want Malfoy.
"So, what is a Gryffindor lover doing here?" Pansy said in an icy tone, that could have rivalled Malfoy's.
"Trying to stop a Slytherin from failing," Gwen snapped back.
The two girls then exchanged cold glances and Pansy walked off but not before pecking Draco on the cheek.
"Shall we get on? Or is your girlfriend going to return?" Gwen asked, removing her divination book from her bag.
"One, she's not my girlfriend and two, you're the one that's stopping us from getting on," Malfoy replied.
Gwen clenched her teeth and slammed her book between them, "fine. Let's begin."
The next hour or so, Gwen worked through the book quickly, stopping and starting when Draco asked a question or didn't understand which wasn't as many times as Gwen thought it would be.
Thus proving that Malfoy wasn't as stupid as he looked.
***
"I think that's enough for tonight," Gwen said, closing the book.
"Good. So I guess I'll see you next week then?" Malfoy asked, getting up and fixing his robe.
"I suppose so. But next week, we'll meet in Professor Trelawney's classroom," Gwen stated firmly.
"Why?"
"Because if I spend another hour in here, I'll catch pneumonia. Also there aren't so many distractions up there," Gwen glanced over at Pansy, who was seated in the corner and had been observing them for the whole tutorial.
"Scared of Pansy, are we?" Draco asked mockingly.
Gwen's eyes narrowed, "I'm more scared of Neville."
Draco laughed and Gwen saw Pansy pouting in the corner.
"Well, I'm leaving," Gwen said quickly.
She then rushed out of the "ice house" and made her way back to her warm room.
***
"It's not that bad," Harry said loudly.
"What do you mean? It's horrible," Hermione replied indignantly.
"Oh no, I may die from the humiliation," Ron said in a melodramatic voice.
Gwen laughed but was then silenced by a look from Hermione.
"I don't think it's very funny," Hermione continued, looking glum.
She'd just announced that she'd gotten her first 99/100 for potions and she was panicking about it.
"Come on, 99/100, it's just a number. It doesn't mean anything," Harry offered.
Hermione stared at him, like he'd just said the sky was pink.
"Aldan!"
Gwen turned and saw Malfoy coming up to her.
Over the weeks, he'd stopped calling her "merlin" and "wandless."
He had now resorted to calling her Aldan, which was supposedly the closest thing he could be to being civil.
"How can I help you today?" Gwen asked in her polite, slightly sarcastic tone that she used whenever she talked to Malfoy.
He looked at the other three and growled at the sight of Harry, Harry grunted back.
"I need to talk to you, in private," Malfoy said coolly.
"Fine," Gwen said, slightly put out, "I'll see you later," she said to Hermione.
Then she and Malfoy walked off to talk.
"What's with those two, then?" Ron said suspiciously.
"She's tutoring him because he's failing," Hermione replied, her mind was still on her test.
"Oh. Interesting," Ron mumbled quietly.
His mind returned to the other night's conversation about where Gwen's loyalties lay.
But his thoughts were rudely interrupted by Hermione's whinging; Ron decided to think about Gwen and her loyalties later.
***
When they'd turned the corner and the trio were safely out of earshot, Malfoy stopped and stared at Gwen.
"What?" Gwen asked, tapping her foot.
"Look, to be blunt," Malfoy said, "I need you to teach me how to read the future."
"I already.," Gwen started.
"No, not in charts or stupid tea leaves. I want you to teach me, how to do it the merlin way," Malfoy cut in. He sounded a little excited about this prospect.
"The merlin way?" Gwen repeated. She wasn't sure what Malfoy meant by that.
"Yeah.," Malfoy stopped, he could see the confusion on her face, "don't tell me, you don't know how to see the future."
"I do.just not in the merlin way, that's all," Gwen replied. What the hell was the merlin way? She thought.
"Oh, you're useless! I mean, first I find out that you don't have a wand and now, you can't read the future. What kind of a bloody merlin are you?" Malfoy yelled, throwing his hands into the air.
"I don't get my powers 'till I'm 16 and if you knew anything about merlins, you would know that," Gwen retorted.
Malfoy fell silent before asking, "when's your birthday?"
"Why are you so, interested?" Gwen asked, staring into his cold blue eyes.
"It's none of your business. Now, just answer the question."
"Well if you're going not to share, neither am I," Gwen shouted, before turning to leave.
"I haven't finished talking to you!" Malfoy screamed, walking after Gwen.
"Unless you're going to tell me why, we've got nothing to talk about," Gwen replied, not stopping.
"I said, it's none of your business, fathe.," Malfoy stopped, realising his mistake.
Gwen turned to face Draco and saw fear on his face, "scared of that death- eater father of yours, are you?"
Malfoy's eyes filled with rage and they turned an icy blue, "you don't know anything about my father."
"I know enough. I've seen the reports and just because other people can't see it, doesn't change the fact that you're father was.is a traitor," Gwen spat.
"At least, he wasn't a raving lunatic like your mother," Malfoy replied smugly.
"How do you know about my.," Gwen could see the smirk on Malfoy's face and it ripped her insides up and before she could stop herself, her hand went flying through the air, making contact on Malfoy's cold cheek.
They both stood stunned for a minute, Gwen could hardly believe what she'd just done. Malfoy's cheek was bright red and he touched his sore skin, his face blackened.
"I think this conversation is over," Gwen said quickly, walking away. She didn't like the look that was on his face.
Malfoy couldn't believe that Gwen had slapped him; he wasn't going to stand to be treated like that by a bloody wand less girl.
His anger grew and he grabbed her and pushed her against the wall. His hand was around her throat.
"I'm trying to be nice about this, but don't push me," Malfoy said bitterly, his grip tightening slightly.
Gwen's head ached where it'd been slammed against the stone wall and she was scared. Draco Malfoy had his hands around her neck and he was surprisingly strong.
"Get off me," Gwen said, trying to break his grip on her.
He laughed at her attempt.
"If anyone comes and sees you hurting me, not even your father will be able to save you," Gwen said, still trying to free herself.
"Yeah, couldn't hurt the merlin now, could I?" He released her and Gwen slumped against the wall, rubbing her neck.
"This isn't over, Aldan. You'd better watch yourself," Malfoy said cheerily, he stared at her for a few more seconds before walking off.
Gwen shuddered and sank to the floor.
She thought two things, one, what was that all about? And two, Malfoy was going to pay dearly once she had her wand.
***
Malfoy walked into his room and felt the cold wind blowing into it; he walked over and closed his window.
But the coldness in his room still lingered, his smooth skin was covered in goose bumps and he knew why.
"Hello father," Malfoy said.
He turned to face his mirror and the sour face of Lucius Malfoy scowled at him from inside it.
"You're late, Draco. You know, how I hate tardiness," his father scolded.
"Sorry father," Draco automatically replied, his head was hung low on his chest.
"Now, what happened with the merlin?" Lucius asked impatiently.
"She hasn't got her powers yet," Malfoy answered, his head still hanging low.
Lucius Malfoy inspected his son and a wave of suspicion washed over him, "anything else I should know about?"
Draco shook his head furiously and took this moment to look at his father. The man's eyes had narrowed and could have burned holes in him.
"I don't believe you, give me your hand," Lucius said forcefully, putting his hand on the mirror.
"But father, I'm telling you the truth," Draco whined.
"Then put your hand on the mirror, Draco," Lucius said sharply.
Draco couldn't argue with his father and placed his palm on the mirror.
He felt the sharp pain, as the connection between them was made and Lucius probed into his memories and thoughts.
After Lucius had witnessed the encounter between Gwen and his son, he broke the connection and Draco fell back, exhausted and clammy.
"You handled that badly, Draco," Lucius said coldly.
Draco turned his back on the mirror and leant against his bed post for support. He didn't have to look at his father, to see the look on his face.
He remembered the day that he'd handed his report to him and the disgust on his face when he looked at the grades that were written there.
Then the lecture started about the disgrace he was putting on the Malfoy name; that night he'd had no dinner.
The next day after the report incident when he'd come down for breakfast, he'd seen his father smiling at him.
This was when the plan had started, the plan which involved him and Gwen, the plan which the dark lord had thought up.
He would get close to the merlin and find out the extent of her powers and slowly, persuade her to the other side, the dark side.
His father had thought up the tutoring idea and now, Draco had messed it up.
The days before the recent encounter between Gwen and Draco, their relationship had been progressing slowly, mostly due to each party's reluctance to be tutor and student.
Draco had been trying but not enough and Lucius had become impatient with how things were moving and so had forced Draco to subtlety inquire about her powers.
But Draco had not been subtle, he'd let his anger take over.
The anger which was fuelled by Lucius, who constantly berated and bullied him, increasing his son's hatred for the world.
As Draco thought this, Gwen's face came into his head and his anger grew even more, this was all that merlin's fault, if she'd just answered his questions.
Yes, this was all Gwen's fault, not his, hers and next time, she wouldn't be so lucky, Draco thought, rubbing his hands together.
"Draco!" his father screamed.
Draco whirled around and faced his father, he felt strangely strong all of a sudden.
"Now that I have your attention," his father said acidly, "I don't want you hurting that girl again, you know how important she is to our dark lord. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, I hear you, father," Draco replied coolly, his fingers casually crossing behind his back.
The holidays were over and everyone was settling back into school life. It also meant for Gwen that her birthday was coming up soon.
She could hardly wait because when she was 16, she'd be able to get her own wand and finally become a proper witch.
***
"Gwen.you have to," Professor Trelawney replied firmly.
"Why can't you do it?" Gwen asked.
Trelawney focused her eyes onto Gwen's and shook her head, "I cannot. I am far too busy and anyway, I'm sure that he would far prefer you to tutor him. One young person to another."
Gwen swore she heard a faint giggle as she said that sentence.
"But."
"No. You are going to do it," Trelawney said again.
Gwen threw her hands in the air and slumped into a chair and pouted.
She'd been discussing with Professor Trelawney, the idea of her tutoring a student and why she really couldn't do it. It wasn't that Gwen didn't wanted to, she didn't mind in reality.
No, it wasn't that, it was the fact that the student she had to tutor was Draco Malfoy.
The boy that had humiliated her a couple of weeks before.
It seemed that Malfoy's father had not been impressed with his son's last report and so thought he needed to be tutored.
Actually, he just didn't want to have the Malfoy good name, sullied by some bad grades. Mr. Malfoy had come to school, a couple of days before term had started to "discuss" what could be done to improve Draco's grades.
Gwen used the word "discuss" but there had been no discussing in Dumbledore's office, not when Lucius Malfoy was around.
That day she was talking to Dumbledore about Alfred, Nancy, Maggie and when they were coming back to collect her.
But in the middle of their conversation, they'd been rudely interrupted by Lucius Malfoy, yelling that all the school's teachers, apart from Snape, were being biased towards his son and that these could not possibly be Draco's grades.
He had waved the piece of paper under Dumbledore's nose, poking it at him threateningly before he realised that Gwen was seated there as well, witnessing the whole scene.
"Who are you?" he'd asked tartly.
"Oh, how rude of me," Dumbledore had said politely, "this is Gwen Aldan. Gwen, this is Lucius Malfoy."
Mr. Malfoy's eyes had lit up at her name and it sent a shiver down her spine.
"The merlin?" Lucius asked, his eyes focused on Gwen.
"Yes," Dumbledore replied.
"How good to meet you," Lucius said, his tone changing to a softer one. He extended his hand towards her.
Gwen forced herself to smile and took the man's hand, cold as ice.
"I hope to see you in the future," Lucius said, almost sounding happy.
"Gwen, why don't you go back to lessons?" Dumbledore asked.
Gwen took this opportunity to leave and quickly exited. As soon as she'd left the room, she'd heard the distinct noise of shouting, Lucius Malfoy shouting to be exact.
How Dumbledore could put up with such a two-faced man without wanting to throttle him was a mystery to her.
She could see why Draco was the person he was.
"The apple does not fall far from the tree."
***
It was another normal day and Gwen was walking down the corridor on her way to an afternoon divination lesson and she was late.
Lunch had finished 20 minutes before but she'd still been hungry and so had snuck back to her room, to have a biscuit snack.
She'd then become obsessed with trying out a new biscuit creation of her own and had completely forgotten the time.
As Gwen hurried along the corridor, she saw three figures standing over a lone form on the floor.
The three figures were Draco, Crabbe and Goyle, the person on the floor was Neville Longbottom.
She watched the scene for a moment.
"Get up then!" Draco yelled, laughing.
Neville tried to gather his spilled books and quills but Crabbe kept kicking them away and as he tried to get up, Goyle would kick him back down.
Gwen could feel her anger building, the scene reminded of her of her encounter with Malfoy.
She hated people like Draco and couldn't believe that she would have to tutor him.
"Come on!" Draco yelled again.
This time, Crabbe picked up the boy and brought his face up to Draco's.
Draco then removed his wand from his robes and pointed it into Neville's chest. Neville let out a yelp of panic.
"You're a disgrace to the word wizard!" Draco spat and Gwen could see a spell forming on his lips.
"Leave him alone!" Gwen screamed and rushed forward.
Crabbe immediately dropped Neville onto the ground.
Gwen pushed Crabbe out of the way and handed the books to the boy, who gave her a weak smile of thanks.
"Oh look, it's the wand less helping the gutless. How sweet," Draco sneered. Crabbe and Goyle grunted in agreement.
"Oh look, it's the spineless leading the brainless. How pathetic," Gwen snapped, imitating his tone.
Malfoy frowned slightly and was about to say something when McGonagall appeared from around a corner.
"Aren't you all supposed to be in class?" She asked, scanning over everyone quickly.
Neville made a quiet whimper while Draco remained still, trying to think up an excuse.
Gwen saw the expression on Neville's face and decided to save him from yet another embarrassment.
"It's my fault, Professor. I needed to speak to Neville about his divination essay and I didn't realise the time," Gwen said, trying to keep her face still.
McGonagall cast an eye at Neville, who nodded furiously like an idiot.
Please believe me, please believe me, Gwen muttered in her head.
McGonagall sighed and looked down at the floor for a second.
"Very well. You'd better get along to class, Neville. We don't want anymore points taken away from Gryffindor for tardiness. Gwen, you'd better get to the West Tower," with that she fanned them off with her hand.
Gwen grabbed Neville by the shoulder and pulled him away.
She heard McGonagall's voice say in a hard tone, "and what about you Mr. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle?"
They're in it alright, Gwen thought to herself and smiled.
"Thanks, Gwen," Neville mumbled, gathering his stuff together in his arms.
"No problem, Neville," Gwen replied and started to walk towards the West Tower.
"No, you didn't have to.," he started.
"Neville, stop talking and go to class," she said over her shoulder.
"Ok," Neville replied feebly before heading off to his class.
Gwen shook her head and laughed before running up to Professor Trelawney's class room.
***
"I'd better go," Gwen said, closing her book.
She'd been in the library with Hermione, helping her to do some research on spontaneously combusting wands. It was an essay Hermione was doing for the History of Magic.
"Good luck," Hermione said, giving her the thumbs up.
"Thanks, but I'll need more than that.a hammer perhaps?" Gwen replied, she was trying to cover up her nervousness.
Hermione laughed gently and gave her a reassuring smile before returning to her work.
***
Gwen turned the corner and saw the entrance to the Slytherin house and shivered slightly.
It was colder in this part of the school.
"Let's get this over with then," a cold voice said.
Gwen turned and saw Malfoy scowling at her and for once, Crabbe and Goyle weren't with him.
"What, no body guards today?" Gwen asked, smiling sweetly.
Malfoy chose to ignore her comment and walked forward.
"Puritas," Malfoy said loudly towards a stone wall. A door that was concealed in the wall then slid open and he walked in.
I guess, it's now or never, Gwen thought and followed him in.
As she entered she was instantly inspected by the rest of the house, they watched her every move.
Gwen felt uncomfortable and nervous but she didn't want the Slytherins to have the pleasure of knowing that they made her feel like that.
Gwen held her head held and walked with confidence, she even smirked at a few Slytherins that walked past her.
As she scanned the Slytherin common room, she found it to be cold, unwelcoming and a little ostentatious.
What with the large leather couches and chairs and massive pictures hanging everywhere.
It was nothing like the Gryffindor common room.
"Come on then," Malfoy's icy voice called.
Gwen glanced around and saw him, seated in front of the fire, his face hidden half in shadow.
She walked over slowly, feeling her skin shiver as she got closer to him. She sat at the opposite end of the couch, trying to be as far from him, as possible.
They both didn't say anything for a moment.
"Well.," Malfoy sneered. He leaned back into the couch and stared at her, expecting her to say something.
"Well, what are you stuck on?" Gwen asked a little impatiently. She drummed her fingers on the arm rest.
"I'm failing, so I guess, everything," he said, smirking.
Gwen wanted to slap him but that wouldn't have been wise, since she was surrounded by Slytherins.
Then Pansy Parkinson turned up.
Gwen had disliked Pansy ever since, Pansy had accused her of favouritism towards the Gryffindors.
This was after Gwen had told Trelawney that points should be taken from Slytherin because Pansy had purposely spilt milk onto Lavender Brown's homework at breakfast.
She had also threatened to tell Professor Snape as well but Trelawney had said that in her visions, she saw no good could come out of it.
Pansy had shut up then but from that day on her and Gwen weren't on friendly terms.
"Draco," Pansy cooed in a sickly sweet voice.
Malfoy nodded, acknowledging her presence.
She then perched on the arm of the couch and slid an arm around him.
It seemed that she was trying to defend her territory; Gwen almost laughed out loud at the thought that she would want Malfoy.
"So, what is a Gryffindor lover doing here?" Pansy said in an icy tone, that could have rivalled Malfoy's.
"Trying to stop a Slytherin from failing," Gwen snapped back.
The two girls then exchanged cold glances and Pansy walked off but not before pecking Draco on the cheek.
"Shall we get on? Or is your girlfriend going to return?" Gwen asked, removing her divination book from her bag.
"One, she's not my girlfriend and two, you're the one that's stopping us from getting on," Malfoy replied.
Gwen clenched her teeth and slammed her book between them, "fine. Let's begin."
The next hour or so, Gwen worked through the book quickly, stopping and starting when Draco asked a question or didn't understand which wasn't as many times as Gwen thought it would be.
Thus proving that Malfoy wasn't as stupid as he looked.
***
"I think that's enough for tonight," Gwen said, closing the book.
"Good. So I guess I'll see you next week then?" Malfoy asked, getting up and fixing his robe.
"I suppose so. But next week, we'll meet in Professor Trelawney's classroom," Gwen stated firmly.
"Why?"
"Because if I spend another hour in here, I'll catch pneumonia. Also there aren't so many distractions up there," Gwen glanced over at Pansy, who was seated in the corner and had been observing them for the whole tutorial.
"Scared of Pansy, are we?" Draco asked mockingly.
Gwen's eyes narrowed, "I'm more scared of Neville."
Draco laughed and Gwen saw Pansy pouting in the corner.
"Well, I'm leaving," Gwen said quickly.
She then rushed out of the "ice house" and made her way back to her warm room.
***
"It's not that bad," Harry said loudly.
"What do you mean? It's horrible," Hermione replied indignantly.
"Oh no, I may die from the humiliation," Ron said in a melodramatic voice.
Gwen laughed but was then silenced by a look from Hermione.
"I don't think it's very funny," Hermione continued, looking glum.
She'd just announced that she'd gotten her first 99/100 for potions and she was panicking about it.
"Come on, 99/100, it's just a number. It doesn't mean anything," Harry offered.
Hermione stared at him, like he'd just said the sky was pink.
"Aldan!"
Gwen turned and saw Malfoy coming up to her.
Over the weeks, he'd stopped calling her "merlin" and "wandless."
He had now resorted to calling her Aldan, which was supposedly the closest thing he could be to being civil.
"How can I help you today?" Gwen asked in her polite, slightly sarcastic tone that she used whenever she talked to Malfoy.
He looked at the other three and growled at the sight of Harry, Harry grunted back.
"I need to talk to you, in private," Malfoy said coolly.
"Fine," Gwen said, slightly put out, "I'll see you later," she said to Hermione.
Then she and Malfoy walked off to talk.
"What's with those two, then?" Ron said suspiciously.
"She's tutoring him because he's failing," Hermione replied, her mind was still on her test.
"Oh. Interesting," Ron mumbled quietly.
His mind returned to the other night's conversation about where Gwen's loyalties lay.
But his thoughts were rudely interrupted by Hermione's whinging; Ron decided to think about Gwen and her loyalties later.
***
When they'd turned the corner and the trio were safely out of earshot, Malfoy stopped and stared at Gwen.
"What?" Gwen asked, tapping her foot.
"Look, to be blunt," Malfoy said, "I need you to teach me how to read the future."
"I already.," Gwen started.
"No, not in charts or stupid tea leaves. I want you to teach me, how to do it the merlin way," Malfoy cut in. He sounded a little excited about this prospect.
"The merlin way?" Gwen repeated. She wasn't sure what Malfoy meant by that.
"Yeah.," Malfoy stopped, he could see the confusion on her face, "don't tell me, you don't know how to see the future."
"I do.just not in the merlin way, that's all," Gwen replied. What the hell was the merlin way? She thought.
"Oh, you're useless! I mean, first I find out that you don't have a wand and now, you can't read the future. What kind of a bloody merlin are you?" Malfoy yelled, throwing his hands into the air.
"I don't get my powers 'till I'm 16 and if you knew anything about merlins, you would know that," Gwen retorted.
Malfoy fell silent before asking, "when's your birthday?"
"Why are you so, interested?" Gwen asked, staring into his cold blue eyes.
"It's none of your business. Now, just answer the question."
"Well if you're going not to share, neither am I," Gwen shouted, before turning to leave.
"I haven't finished talking to you!" Malfoy screamed, walking after Gwen.
"Unless you're going to tell me why, we've got nothing to talk about," Gwen replied, not stopping.
"I said, it's none of your business, fathe.," Malfoy stopped, realising his mistake.
Gwen turned to face Draco and saw fear on his face, "scared of that death- eater father of yours, are you?"
Malfoy's eyes filled with rage and they turned an icy blue, "you don't know anything about my father."
"I know enough. I've seen the reports and just because other people can't see it, doesn't change the fact that you're father was.is a traitor," Gwen spat.
"At least, he wasn't a raving lunatic like your mother," Malfoy replied smugly.
"How do you know about my.," Gwen could see the smirk on Malfoy's face and it ripped her insides up and before she could stop herself, her hand went flying through the air, making contact on Malfoy's cold cheek.
They both stood stunned for a minute, Gwen could hardly believe what she'd just done. Malfoy's cheek was bright red and he touched his sore skin, his face blackened.
"I think this conversation is over," Gwen said quickly, walking away. She didn't like the look that was on his face.
Malfoy couldn't believe that Gwen had slapped him; he wasn't going to stand to be treated like that by a bloody wand less girl.
His anger grew and he grabbed her and pushed her against the wall. His hand was around her throat.
"I'm trying to be nice about this, but don't push me," Malfoy said bitterly, his grip tightening slightly.
Gwen's head ached where it'd been slammed against the stone wall and she was scared. Draco Malfoy had his hands around her neck and he was surprisingly strong.
"Get off me," Gwen said, trying to break his grip on her.
He laughed at her attempt.
"If anyone comes and sees you hurting me, not even your father will be able to save you," Gwen said, still trying to free herself.
"Yeah, couldn't hurt the merlin now, could I?" He released her and Gwen slumped against the wall, rubbing her neck.
"This isn't over, Aldan. You'd better watch yourself," Malfoy said cheerily, he stared at her for a few more seconds before walking off.
Gwen shuddered and sank to the floor.
She thought two things, one, what was that all about? And two, Malfoy was going to pay dearly once she had her wand.
***
Malfoy walked into his room and felt the cold wind blowing into it; he walked over and closed his window.
But the coldness in his room still lingered, his smooth skin was covered in goose bumps and he knew why.
"Hello father," Malfoy said.
He turned to face his mirror and the sour face of Lucius Malfoy scowled at him from inside it.
"You're late, Draco. You know, how I hate tardiness," his father scolded.
"Sorry father," Draco automatically replied, his head was hung low on his chest.
"Now, what happened with the merlin?" Lucius asked impatiently.
"She hasn't got her powers yet," Malfoy answered, his head still hanging low.
Lucius Malfoy inspected his son and a wave of suspicion washed over him, "anything else I should know about?"
Draco shook his head furiously and took this moment to look at his father. The man's eyes had narrowed and could have burned holes in him.
"I don't believe you, give me your hand," Lucius said forcefully, putting his hand on the mirror.
"But father, I'm telling you the truth," Draco whined.
"Then put your hand on the mirror, Draco," Lucius said sharply.
Draco couldn't argue with his father and placed his palm on the mirror.
He felt the sharp pain, as the connection between them was made and Lucius probed into his memories and thoughts.
After Lucius had witnessed the encounter between Gwen and his son, he broke the connection and Draco fell back, exhausted and clammy.
"You handled that badly, Draco," Lucius said coldly.
Draco turned his back on the mirror and leant against his bed post for support. He didn't have to look at his father, to see the look on his face.
He remembered the day that he'd handed his report to him and the disgust on his face when he looked at the grades that were written there.
Then the lecture started about the disgrace he was putting on the Malfoy name; that night he'd had no dinner.
The next day after the report incident when he'd come down for breakfast, he'd seen his father smiling at him.
This was when the plan had started, the plan which involved him and Gwen, the plan which the dark lord had thought up.
He would get close to the merlin and find out the extent of her powers and slowly, persuade her to the other side, the dark side.
His father had thought up the tutoring idea and now, Draco had messed it up.
The days before the recent encounter between Gwen and Draco, their relationship had been progressing slowly, mostly due to each party's reluctance to be tutor and student.
Draco had been trying but not enough and Lucius had become impatient with how things were moving and so had forced Draco to subtlety inquire about her powers.
But Draco had not been subtle, he'd let his anger take over.
The anger which was fuelled by Lucius, who constantly berated and bullied him, increasing his son's hatred for the world.
As Draco thought this, Gwen's face came into his head and his anger grew even more, this was all that merlin's fault, if she'd just answered his questions.
Yes, this was all Gwen's fault, not his, hers and next time, she wouldn't be so lucky, Draco thought, rubbing his hands together.
"Draco!" his father screamed.
Draco whirled around and faced his father, he felt strangely strong all of a sudden.
"Now that I have your attention," his father said acidly, "I don't want you hurting that girl again, you know how important she is to our dark lord. Do you hear me?"
"Yes, I hear you, father," Draco replied coolly, his fingers casually crossing behind his back.
