AlbusScorpius

On Your Side

Chapter Three: Extra Classes

A/N: I'm writing this waaay too fast. I've only just finished the second chapter and I'm starting on the first.

His first week was going entirely better than he had expected. He was incredibly thankful that his old Potions teacher and family friend, Blaise Zabini, was still there, head of Slytherin now and eager to see his former student settled in his new career path. His grandfather had recommended he took a week or two to settle in before contacting him. His fingers brushed over the mirror that weighed in his pocket, taking a deep sigh. He had sent an owl home to allow his family to know he was well and safe, and had received a positive reply from his father telling him that all was well at the Manor.

He glanced at the timetable for the day, pleased that it was Thursday and almost the weekend, though he had an alarmingly large amount of marking and working to do considering it was the first week of school. He raised a brow to see that he was scheduled to have the sixth years, thinking about to the boy he had met on the train. He'd assumed the boy was fifth year or above, but he had already had both the fifth and seventh years earlier in the week. He wondered if the dark haired boy would be in the sixth year class before reviewing his lesson plan; they would be looking at Vanishment. It seemed like the most logical place to start, as they would have done it for their OWLs, and it should be an easy way to break in the term, even if it was a rather difficult subject.

He looked up as he heard the door open, followed by chatter and gossip, students filing into the room in pairs and threes, finding places to sit and gradually filling the classroom up. He waited patiently, glancing at his pocket watch, waiting as the gaps between pairs of students entering slimed to the occasional one, promptly at the correct time looking up at the sea of people and moving to the chalk board, picking up a piece of white chalk and writing the topic on the board in large letters, setting it back down and turning to the class that was slowly falling into a hush. He waited for the last student to finish speaking, eyes meeting with green ones that were in the corner of the classroom. He bowed his head in acknowledgement.

"I believe you studied the subject of Vanishment in fourth and fifth year, correct?" the students nodded in agreement, some exchanging glances before following suit. "It would help me know where you're at if you could tell me what you know of the subject so far," he said clearly, glancing around the room, raising a brow at the slight silence. Some of the students flicked through their notes and a couple stared at him dumbly. "Don't be too long, it's not like we have all day," he murmured.

Eventually a student with a blue and bronze tie raised their hand, and gave him a quick rundown of what they'd done the year before. He nodded approvingly, noting that some students were starting to look nervous, assuming a few had forgotten it. He suppressed an annoyed sigh, turning back to the board and jotting down what she had told him quickly.

"Now, does anyone require us to go over any of these points? If you do, today is the best day to say so."

He was not happy with the amount of students who raised their hand.

By the end of the class he was slightly more satisfied however. As the students piled out of the classroom, allowing him to return to his desk and make a few notes, he decided that most of them seemed to have remembered what they had done on Vanishment the two years before, and it was likely they had all just got caught up in celebrating the end of their OWLs and enjoying their summer. There was one particular student that worried him however. One particular student that seemed to fail to remember anything about Vanishment, and was looking slightly pale as he left the classroom with a redheaded Ravenclaw. The boy from the train.

He rifled through the drawers in his room for the student records, remembering the boy was a Potter, so far only managing to find a James Potter who had graduated the year before. He finally ended up in what appeared to be the sixth years, smiling proudly as he found an Albus Potter, remembering the boy had introduced himself as Al. He opened the record, frowning as he saw the boy's Transfiguration marks through his years.

"He barely scraped enough," he muttered with a frown. "There's no way he should be taking the Transfiguration NEWT."

There was a familiar knock on his office door and he murmured a welcome, not looking up as the Potions Professor entered the room. He put the record away, looking up with a strained smile.

"Scorpius," he greeted. "You seem worried."

"Blaise," the blond boy said with a nod. He was accustomed to calling the man by his first name, having seen him several times outside of school since graduating. "The Potter boy; he's in my class and he shouldn't be."

There was a small pause before a nod. "I see, his Potions score was particularly good, however I do seem to recall our last Transfigurations Professor arguing with Minerva about allowing the boy to continue. Perhaps you should see her, ask why she allowed him to continue?"

"Seems like I'll have to," he muttered. "Surely she has a reason. From what I remember Professor McGonagall is not a fool."

"She is not, no. But she cares very deeply for her students," the man smiled wryly. "Perhaps too much on occasions."

Scorpius nodded, looking up with a slightly more relaxed smile. "Is there anything you need before I go and see her? I suppose it would be best to go now rather than later."

"This is very true," the dark man nodded. "There is nothing I require, I was merely making sure you were okay. It's almost the end of the week. Have you been enjoying yourself?"

Scorpius raised a brow, but nodded. "Yes, I have, surprisingly. I never really saw myself as a teacher before," he hummed. "But it's rather nice. Satisfying. I understand why you picked this particular profession."

"I always thought you might have a talent for teaching, I must admit. I am pleased to have you here."

"Thank you," the younger man gave an honest smile. "I am glad you're still here to help. Not sure what I'd do without you."

Blaise chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh, you're far too kind," he moved out the way, gesturing to the door. "I trust you remember the password to the Headmistress' office?"

"Yes, I believe so. Thank you for stopping by. I will see you at lunch," the blond nodded and left the room, striding down the halls and heading for one place he hated visiting as a child. Being summoned to the headmistress' office was rarely a good thing.

The Transfiguration Professor still got curious looks from students as he walked down the hallways, and was still occasionally subjected to gossiping girls trying to pry information out of him, though for the life of him he could not understand why they were so insistent on learning about him. He was hardly the most interesting person in the world, though when he asked his father's friend the man merely shook his head and laughed, telling him that 'young girls will always enjoy bothering their young Professors'. He was never bothered by groups of gossiping girls while he was at school, from what he remembered. They usually left him alone, though he did remember a few of them following him around.

His train of thought was cut short as he found himself in front of a rather ugly gargoyle statue, raising his head high and pronouncing the password, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"Lemon Sherbet."

The stone rolled against stone, revealing a staircase that led up to where he desired to go. His hand brushed against the cold wall as he ascended to the office, brows rising ever so slightly as he entered, still in awe at the office. It never failed to amaze him. Grey eyes sought out the elderly woman seated behind her desk, a bottle of Firewhiskey on her desk with a cystal patterned glass, three quarters of the way full. A wrinkled hand rose, beckoning him forward, head still down as she scribbled away on papers.

As he approached the table she looked up, an expectant look on her face as she gestured to one of two chairs in front of her desk. "Please, Scorpius. Sit."

He did so, slightly awkwardly, nodding respectfully. "Professor McGonagall."

"Please, do not make me feel my age, Mr Malfoy. I would prefer you called me Minerva, now we are co-workers."

An amused smile graced his face. "Of course, I apologise, Minerva."

The woman smiled back and she set her quill in its stand, linking her fingers together as she placed her hands on the desk. "Would you like a drink?"

"No, I'm fine thank you."

"I assume you have something important to talk to me about, seeing as you appear reluctant to visit me on social calls."

He flustered slightly, knowing she knew why he was so nervous about entering her office. "Yes, it's about one of my students; Albus Potter."

She looked confused for a moment, but recognition soon dawned on her face and she nodded once, pursing her lips. "Yes, Mr Potter."

"He shouldn't have been allowed to take my class."

"It's true; he fell short of getting a high grade for his OWLs. He came to see me however, and pleaded his case. He has always wanted to be an Auror like his father, since before coming to school. It is a desire that has only grown over the years, and as teachers it is our job to see our students' goals are reached."

"I honestly don't see why you've allowed him to continue to his NEWTs with this, headmistress," Scorpius said, shaking his head slowly. "He may have fallen just short, but I had him today; he has no idea what he's doing and we're recapping some work that they did for their OWLs, he should have been perfectly capable of participating in class, but seemed to struggle comprehending basic Vanishment."

"I seem to remember you having difficulty with Transfiguration once, Mr Malfoy."

The man huffed his chest out, grinding his teeth slightly. "That's entirely different; I didn't struggle with it by the time my NEWTs came round."

"Perhaps Mr Potter just needs some extra help," she reasoned with a small smile. "I'm sure with some one on one classes, you'll find Mr Potter is a very eager learner. Different students have different learning styles. I believe personal tutoring would improve his grades to your satisfaction."

The blond man faltered. "That is-are you suggesting I give him extra classes, Pro-Minerva?"

She nodded.

He had far too much on his plate. With the amount of work he was getting from teaching, he barely had enough free time for himself, and while the work load would become manageable once he settled in he would then have to start on his grandfather's little…project. Extra classes with a student like the Potter boy would take up the last of his free time; he would have no time for himself except while he was sleeping.

"Perhaps you should talk to Mr Potter about it," she said quietly, seeing his reluctance. "Understand his feelings on the matter at hand."

"You think he will convince me to help him?"

She chuckled, picking up her glass and swirling the golden liquid rhythmically. "You'd be surprised."

He furrowed his brows in thought and looked down as Minerva took a sip of her drink, setting it down on the table once again. He nodded, looking up. If he was going to convince the headmistress to keep him as a teacher, he would have to act like one. He could not let it be known he was doing work for his grandfather; else he would be out of there without a second thought. If that meant sacrificing the last of his personal time, then that was what he would do. "Very well, I will talk to Mr Potter. Thank you, headmistress."

"I hope you come to a suitable compromise with Mr Potter," she said. "And if that means kicking him off the course, then I will respect your decision. But please, give him a little bit more of a chance."

"Good day, Minerva."

"It was a pleasure seeing you, Scorpius."

"Thank you," he said with a small bow, heading for the exit, formulating a plan of what he would say in his mind.

Nervous would be one way to sum up the face in front of him. And slightly guilty. The green eyes were cast down, the head slightly bowed and brow creased, the sixth year Gryffindor waited patiently for his Professor to start talking. The blond man had his elbows on his desk, frowning as his grey eyes drilled into the boy's head, fingers pressed to his lips which were pulled into an unhappy line. They had been sat like this in silence for five to ten minutes, the student occasionally glancing round the older man's office, taking slight interest in what was kept in here. Very little from the looks of things.

Scorpius had approached the boy in the Great Hall, distracting him from his friends and requesting his presence in his office as soon as he finished. The boy had been too nervous to eat anything else after that. His two friends were waiting for him outside of the office, and Scorpius was aware they might have something to say if he upset the boy. From what he'd seen the loyalty that could be found with Gryffindor's would ignore the rules and common sense.

"I was looking at your Transfigurations marks from last year," Scorpius started, placing his hands on the table and trying to school his face into that of indifference.

"I know they weren't high enough but Professor McGonagall said that if I promised to work really hard this year and get them up she'd let me continue!" Albus said hurriedly before Scorpius had a chance to expand. "I will, I swear it, my cousin Rose said she'd tutor me and she's been tutoring me all summer, we just didn't do Vanishment and in year four and five it was one of those topics that always stunned me and-!"

"Mr Potter, please, calm down."

"-You know how there's some things you just can't wrap your head around but I swear to you I'll get it I know I will please don't kick me out of the class I'm begging you it's only the start of-!"

"Albus!"

The boy's mouth camped shut, a pink tint colouring his freckled cheeks.

Scorpius nodded thankfully, running a hand through his hair. "I have already heard from Professor McGonagall's desire that you continue with this class, she said you wanted to become and Auror, correct?"

Albus smiled brightly, green eyes shining in a way that had Scorpius wonder if it was why the headmistress seemed confident he would agree with her. "More than anything, Professor."

"I'm merely here to ask if you would be interested in private classes to help me assist you with your studying."

He looked stunned. "You-what?"

"Extra classes, you know, after school hours during your free time where I can help you with the content we cover during the week."

"You'd really be willing to do that for me?"

The pale head nodded. "I will give you one extra class a week, and after a month if we see little improvement we will have to rethink this arrangement. Understood, Mr Potter?"

"Yes, of course!" Albus grinned brightly, standing and nodding furiously. "Thank you, Professor Malfoy, you won't regret it!"

"I hope not," he rolled his eyes as the Gryffindor reached the door. "What day will you be arriving here for your first lesson, Mr Potter?"

"Uh, I forgot about that."

Grey eyes rolled. "Be here after lunch on Saturday, Mr Potter. I expect to see you ready and as eager as you are now."

"Of course Professor! I'll see you then!"

As the door shut and there was an joyful shout from the other side of the door, he found himself smiling despite himself, almost looking forward to helping the boy with his studies. This teaching thing was certainly affecting his brain.

He heard the students running away from his office, taking out an oval, simple mirror from his pocket, running his thumb over the smooth surface and sighing lightly. This was probably not the best thing to tell his grandfather; the man would insist he simply left the Potter boy to his own devices. And considering how his grandfather felt about the Potter's, he would certainly be unhappy about the extra time Scorpius would be spending with the youngest son. He still didn't know when he was meant to contact the eldest Malfoy, or if he would be contacted one day. Hopefully it wouldn't be during a class or when he was in the company of another teacher, the last thing he needed was questions about why Lucius Malfoy was so interested in his day-to-day activities, family or not.

Now all he had to do was figure out where he should start with the boy.

The next morning found the sixth years back in Transfiguration, all ready for the weekend after their first week back at school. Their Professors also seemed like they were ready for a bit of a break. The students piled into the classroom half-heartedly, their Professor leaning against his desk and flipping through papers, not glancing up as everyone sorted themselves into their seats. Albus slid in next to his cousin, bidding goodbye to his Hufflepuff friend who left to sit closer to the front. He grinned brightly at the redheaded girl next to him, who gave him an amused look.

"What are you so happy about?" she asked with a quirked brow. "I never got a chance to ask you at dinner yesterday."

"You will not need to worry about helping me with my Transfiguration grades," he said with a toothy smile. "I've got it all covered."

"Really?" she didn't look convinced. "Why do you suddenly think you're okay on your own?"

"I'm not on my own."

Rose narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Someone else is helping you?"

"I'm getting extra classes with Professor Malfoy."

"You're what?"

Albus glanced at the front of the class where the blond man was. "He called me into his office yesterday and said he thought extra classes might help me. My first one is tomorrow; he's going to make sure I understand what we did this week!"

"So long as you don't get too distracted by your unusual attraction," she said, not expanding further in fear of someone overhearing them. "I'm sure it'll be good for you. Just," she paused, frowning slightly. "Just be careful. I don't trust him."

"You rarely trust people unless you know them, Rosie."

"There's a reason for that," she said, giving him a pointed look. He cringed slightly. "Remember why I found out about your little secret?"

"Jeremy."

The school heartbreaker. In hindsight he should have known to stay well away when the boy first approached him with dazzling eyes and a flirty smile. But Jeremy had been sweet and kind to him, and shown him love and care, and for a moment, even if just a moment, Albus was sure it was real. Until he was curled in Rose and Lucy's arms, crying his eyes out, broken and hysterical. He had little choice but to tell his cousins about what had happened, though Rose had begun to warn him about the boy before he told her what exactly had happened. Rose was always the observant one. She was always the one he knew he could trust unconditionally.

"Exactly," she pushed her short hair from her face. "You fall for people too easily, Al. Especially people who are out of your reach."

"Jeremy wasn't out of my reach," he protested, though his heart wasn't in it. He knew it was a lie. "But I get what you're saying, I'll be careful."

Rose nodded, satisfied. "Even if he wasn't, Professor Malfoy certainly is."

This was true. But his little crush was a little crush and nothing more. Like Lucy had said, if eye-candy wasn't there to look at, what was it for? And as he ran his green eyes up his teacher's form he was very certain that the man was the definition of eye-candy. But if he didn't improve in the next four weeks he was looking at being kicked off the course, so he was going to have to buckle down and focus on the class.

"Today we'll be moving on to more advanced Vanishment," Scorpius said in a loud voice, placing his papers down on the desk behind him, instantly silencing the whole class. "We won't spend too long on this, don't worry. It's merely an easy starting point and a good way to break into the term. I'll be testing your abilities today, we might be able to drop this branch earlier than I hoped, which would be very good," he glanced around the classroom, eyes lingering on Albus' for a moment. "Assuming an acceptable amount of students successfully perform the spell, which I trust you all remember."

Oh, he was so incredibly doomed.

I was planning on focusing on only one of them per chapter, but it was suggested I added the bit at the end by my BETA. I think I quite like it, it's fun writing as Al. I hope this chapter was a good length and didn't disappoint!

Thank you for the alerts, faves and reviews!

~ Kivea R.

PREVIEW

"At least you managed to cast the charm successfully."

"I'm so, so, so sorry!"

"I think we might have to find a different room."

"You can get it back, can't you? It wasn't too important?"