Chapter Fifteen

Third Person POV

When they walked into the Great Hall, silence spread throughout the hall. Taylor began to blush and Draco felt the urge to grab her hand again, but he knew they needed to keep things quiet for now. They could hear the whispers, you'd have to be deaf not to. Dumbledore cleared his throat and the hall went silent. After a moment, everyone went back to their original conversations, not paying attention to the couple at the entrance.

"I'll talk to you later, okay?" he said, quickly grabbing her hand and gave it a quick squeeze before they both headed to their own tables.

Draco kept a close eye on Taylor as she made her way to Granger and the rest of the golden group. He wanted nothing more to go over and sit with her. When he sat down, Blaise, Pansy, and Crabb were looking at him with looks of confusion and disgust. "What the hell, Drake?" Blaise asked, leaning forward and keeping his voice low so the nosey first years nearby couldn't over hear them.

"What?" Draco asked defensively, throwing a glance to the red head at the Gryffindor table before turning his attention to his childhood friend.

"I mean the new girl! What the hell's going on? Not only is she a Gryffindor, she's a half-blood! Drake, have you completely forgotten what your father has taught you?" Blaise whispered angrily. Draco had to take a moment to calm himself, reminding himself that he needed to keep things about Taylor secret for now.

"I'm tutoring her, Blaise. Nothing more." he lied and Blaise glared at him for a moment before sighing. He had a feeling Blaise knew he was lying, but Draco was going to take what he got at the moment. Pansy still wasn't talking to him, she was still upset with the way he'd treated her the day before, but he honestly didn't care. He knew he couldn't set them in their places just yet without everything coming out into the open. He didn't want the entire school to know he was a Veela, but he didn't want everyone to know Taylor was his mate.

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Taylor's POV

I knew people were watching as I made my way to my seat next to Heromine. It wasn't that I cared about what people thought of me, I just didn't like when people actually acknowledged me. As I sat down, Luna and Heromine smiled at me while the others looked at me funny. "What?" I asked the others and they must have realized they were acting weird because they seemed to snap out of it.

"Uh, nothing. It's just...You're actually letting Malfoy tutor you?" Ron asked, his voice filled with contempt and disbelief. I felt myself start to get defensive and had to remind myself to calm down. I kept reminding myself that most everyone wasn't getting to see the side Draco that I was. That he was still viewed as the bad guy in their eyes because of what he'd done in his past.

"He's not so bad. Plus he's really helped me. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have finished my Astronomy essay on Friday and I'd still be working on my potions homework. He's been a big help." I defended, agitation getting the better of me.

"Why not just have Heromine tutor you? I mean, she has higher scores than he does and, well, she hasn't tried to kill us." Ginny spat out and I flinched. I wanted nothing more than to put them in their place, but I knew I couldn't without letting everything out. Not to mention I didn't want to make a scene, causing even more unwanted attention and questions.

"Well, one, I'm already tutoring Neville and your brother. I don't have to really worry about Harry anymore since everything's been over and he's actually started taking pride in his work. And two, I asked Malfoy if he'd be willing to tutor her. He said he'd be glad to help her and from the looks of it, they seem to be getting along fairly well." Heromine spoke up and had to breath a sigh of relief. As I looked to the others, the only ones who didn't look ashamed were Neville and Luna.

"He changed over the summer. Maybe this is a good thing." Harry cleared his throat, trying to appease everyone.

"Harry's got a point. If Malfoy's too busy tutoring Taylor, he'll leave us alone." Neville said and I smiled. At least someone was willing to search for a bright side. Ron and Ginny still didn't seem to like the idea, but let the topic drop. The rest of the night, no one mentioned what was going on between Draco and I, but I knew they were all thinking about it.

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The next to weeks smoothed out for everyone. Classes were running smoothly now that everyone was used to the routine. Draco continued to help me with Astronomy and we spent most of our time together, usually in the library or out by the lake if it wasn't too warm. It wasn't until Wednesday of the third week till things began to go downhill. I was making my way from Music to Potions when someone stepped in front of me, blocking my way. "What the hell's going on between you and Draco?" the dark skinned boy in Slytherin robes demanded and I took a cautious step back.

"I'm sorry, what? I don't know what you're talking about." I said, feeling on edge at being cornered not only in the dungeons, but no one else being around.

"Look, I've known Draco since we were kids. I know something's going on between you two and don't think I won't find out. If you think he's spending time with you because he likes you, think again. I've seen him do this hundreds of times just get girl into bed with him. I've just never seen him go through so much effort to get a Gryffindor into his bed and that's what confuses me. What makes you so different from the others besides being new?" he went on and I felt my heart clench.

I knew he was saying all of this to get to me, to drive me away from Draco, but that didn't make it hurt any less. I knew he'd done these things, he'd told me himself because he didn't want me to hear it from someone else, but it still made my heart ache. I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't just one of his flings, that I actually meant something to him. I ran my fingers over the ring he'd given me a few weeks ago and felt a calming wave wash over me.

"Nothing's going on between Draco and I! We're nothing more than friends. He helps me with Astronomy, I keep him company while we do our homework. Nothing more." I said and I technically wasn't lying. When we spent time together, we were usually doing homework or studying for class. The only exception was on Saturdays when he'd ask me to go to Hogsmeade with him.

Blaise glared at me and practically snarled at me. "I'll be keeping an eye on you. You say nothing's going on between you two, but you'd have to be blind not to see he's acting differently." he said and stormed past me. I breathed a sigh of relief and continued to potions. I was late walking into class and Professor Slughorn gave me a look, but didn't say anything while I sat at my seat next to Draco.

"Are you okay? I nearly stormed out of class when you didn't show up!" Draco whispered, his attention fully on me and no longer on the potion's master.

"I'm fine. I just ran into someone who thought they needed to lecture me on your past and that should stay away from you." I said and Draco got a deadly look on his face. "It's okay, Draco. I'm not going anywhere." I told him and placed my hand on his. He took a deep breath and relaxed, lacing his fingers with mine under the table.

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Third Person POV

Draco wasn't stupid. He knew exactly who decided to have a talk with her and he wasn't happy. He was going to have a little talk of his own with his childhood friend.