Tutoring A Dragon

Four

'The nerve of that...that...God, I can't even find a fit enough insult for that...that...THAT!' Draco glared at a passing first year Ravenclaw.

"Why aren't you in class," he growled, scowling.

"Please, Mr. Prefect, sir," said the first year, trembling, "I got lost. Could you help me find the," she looked at a schedule, "um, the Herbology class? I can't find it, I've been searching since lunch, too." The girl looked as if she was going to cry.

Draco sighed. He had forgotten he was dealing with an eleven-year-old. He offered the girl his hand, and she held it. "Come with me, what's your name anyway, kid?"

"Ellie, Elisha Rose-Wilde, I'm from Dublin, but my mum moved to Bath when she and my dad divorced and took me with her, leaving behind my older brother."

"What a sob story. Look, kid-Elisha, I mean. Don't, um, tell anyone about me helping you. I know it's my job as a Prefect and all, but it would ruin my rep to have some poor Ravenclaw kid tell everyone about how Draco Malfoy helped her out. You know what I mean?" He looked down at Elisha, who nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course. That's how my brother feels. I won't tell anyone, don't worry." She removed her hand from his. "And I'm not a little kid. As much as I was enjoying it, I don't need to hold your hand."

Draco blushed. "Oh. Wait, your brother is here? Who is he? I should talk to him, neglecting his responsibilities towards his sister and all."

Elisha's eyes widened. "No, no, no. We're aren't even supposed to talk. Mum says that that was a term in the divorce. No contact between the two of us. At all." She smiled. "I guess the Sorting Hat had different ideas about that, since he put both of us in the same House.

They rounded the corner to the Greenhouses. Draco popped his head inside one.

"Professor Sprout? can I speak with you for a moment?" he called to slightly frazzled-looking witch in spring-green.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" she said, dusting her hands off on her apron.

"One of your students for the Ravenclaw first years' class - Elisha Rose-Wilde - has not been able to find your class." He motioned to Elisha, who shrank from the teachers' gaze.

"Oh, my dear, I'm so sorry," said the professor. "I was wondering why you have not been present at any of my classes."

"As a prefect," said Draco. "I suggest that you ask her Head of House to assign another first- or second-year guide to show her around the school until she learns how to get her classes." He smiled at Elisha. "You can't always depend on the kindness of stranger, El." He nodded at the professor. "If you could write me a note? I'm late for Ancient Runes and I need a note so that I don't get detention..."

"Of course, dear," said Prof. Sprout absentmindedly, patting his arm. "I'll get one for you, just wait right here."

She disappeared in the greenhouse with Elisha who flashed him a nervous glance over her should as the professor steered her inside. Draco gave her a reassuring smile.

'Note to self,' he thought as he walked away (after he had gotten his note, of course). 'Never be nice to first years. Ever. Again. No good will come of this, for sure.'

He opened the door to the Ancient Runes classroom. Prof. King looked up from helping a student with a particularly hard translation.

"Mr. Malfoy, you are," he checked his pocket watch, "twenty minutes late. I trust you have a satisfactory explanation?"

Draco fidgeted. Why, oh why did he have to explain himself in front of the entire class.

"Well, I am waiting, Mr. Malfoy," said King, looking like he was a five-year-old about to get a treat after hitting his baby-sitter.

"Er, may I explain in your office, professor?" asked Draco, hoping to at least maintain some of his dignity.

"No."

'Fine, then,' thought Draco. "I ran into a Ravenclaw first year," he said, very fast. "She-was-lost-I-helped-her-find-her-class. Here-I-have-a-note," he said, thrusting the piece of paper into the disappointed professor's hand. Professor King had been a Gryffindor; he had an aversion to Slytherins.

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Hermione gaped at Draco. Malfoy had helped someone? And a first year, no less! This was an incredible first.

"Nice, Draco, very nice," she murmured as he sat down across from her.

"What was that, Mudblood?" he asked softly. "Wishing you were as nice a person as I am?"

"Far from it, oh great one," she said sarcastically. "I was just amazed that you can actually be nice and not have you brain blow up, or have your ancestors rise from the grave to get you." She looked thoughtful. "Or both," she added after further thought.

"You know," he said, leafing through a three-inch-wide book, "that happened to my Great-uncle Eustus. My Great-great-great grandfather rose and dragged him--Eustus--back to his--my grandfather's--crypt. Father said you can heard screams coming from that direction every once in a while," he lowered his voice to a spookier tone, "and you still can. When the moon is full-"

"Oh, shut it, Malfoy," said Hermione disgusted that she had been a smidge interested in his story. "I-I don't like ghost stories; they, well, they scare me," she said in a small voice, looking at him defiantly.

'I shouldn't have told him that,' she thought. 'Now he'll tell me ghost story every time he sees me. Damn.'

"Really?" he asked, interested. "Me too. My father always told them to me to 'toughen me up' as he said. They 'built character'. Here's my response to that-" He said some words Hermione hadn't known that made her gasp. "Impressed, Granger? I was too, when my father said them after I threw a glass paperweight at him after told me one story." He smiled--at least Hermione thought it was a smile--wistfully at the memory. "He still has a bump on his head. And a scar. But it was the helm from the solid iron suit of armor that broke his skull open; now that was an interesting day."

"Your dad broke his skull open?" asked Hermione. "When?"

"Ah, before I was born. My uncle Orion saw what happened. My aunt was mad at my father. She picked up the helm to a iron suit of armor and dropped it on his head from a stair landing. Apparently, he had popped the head off her doll and done something to it. Well, after that, my uncle went over to my father to see if he was alive, lo and behold you could see his brain peeking out! He spent a week in St. Mungo's after that and Bella was banned from Malfoy Manor for a month, as uncle says."

"You have an uncle?"

"Well, yes. But father and him don't get along since Grandfather disinherited Uncle Orion, who is older than my father." He wrinkled his perfectly shaped nose. "I wish he hadn't. I did like Orion, even if he was a Mudblood-lover-" He cut himself off, looking like he had said something that he shouldn't have.

"Your uncle likes Muggleborns?" asked Hermione incredulously.

"Yeah, well, not everyone is like my father. I certainly am not, for instance."

"What does your uncle do now?"

"He lives in Romania, on his ranch. He works with dragons now." The nose wrinkled again. "With that Weasley child. Charlie, I think was his name."

"Huh," mused Hermione. "Let's get back to our schoolwork, shall we?" And then she turned to the teacher and ignored Draco for the remainder of the class, hurrying off when they were dismissed.

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'Malfoy has an uncle who could be termed decent? Impossible. I shall write Charlie to see if it is indeed true,' thought Hermione. She nodded her assent at her thoughts. Then she spotted Ewan and grinned flirtatiously at him, and her actions were reciprocated.

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Dear Charlie, she wrote.

How is Romania? How are your dragons? And you yourself are fine, I trust. I realize that I have never actually written you a letter, but I heard something and wanted you affirmation. Draco Malfoy (who I have been tutoring in several different subjects) says that he has an uncle, one Orion Malfoy, who works with you and is apparently a decent chap. I wanted to know if he does indeed work with you, and if so, is he really all that nice? Please send your return via this owl.

Yours,

Hermione Granger

Hermione smiled at her letter, blew on the ink to dry it, and rolled it up to take to the owlry to send if off.

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Draco stroked his eagle owl, Hercules, on its head. Pulling a Owl Treat out of his pocket, Draco froze. There were footsteps coming closer. If it was a professor, he was in for it. He'd skipped Divination to come and be alone. And to send a letter to his uncle, who understood him.

"....Really? You don't sound a bit Irish, but you know that, don't you?" It was the voice of Hermione Granger, who was talking to someone.

"Oh, yes, I know. It's because mum took me to Bath when I was young, so I lost my accent. Anyway, mum remarried a year after we moved to England and had six kids! My stepfather already had a son who was five years older than me, so I'm the second oldest of eight." That was that Elisha girl, talking to Hermione.

"Oh, well here's the Owlry! You actually haven't been here before?" exclaimed Hermione's disembodied voice, as Draco searched for somewhere to hide. No luck, he couldn't hide, they would just find him.

The door creaked open....

"Malfoy? What are you doing here?" asked Hermione, suspiciously.

"Sending a letter, Granger. What about you? Don't you have some sort of class with Potty and the Weasel?" drawled Draco, leaning against the cages.

Hermione blushed. "Yes, but you have Divination. So you skipped too."

Elisha skipped over to Draco and hugged him round his middle. "Thank you for helping me find Herbology, Draco. And for telling Prof. Sprout that I needed a guide, now Bobby Makswillman helps me, and he's adorable."

Hermione sidled over to Draco and helped him peel the girl off him. "Looks like we've found the new Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown of Ravenclaw," she whispered into his ear.

Draco let out a small laugh, but it sounded wonderful.

'I made him laugh!' thought Hermione. 'Me, Hermione Granger, made the prince of Slytherin laugh! Imagine that!' She blushed at her thought and gave Draco a small smile.

Then Hermione walked over to a school owl and gave it her letter, and told it something Draco couldn't hear.

Draco shrugged, and gave Hercules his letter and told him to give it to Orion Malfoy, personally, or not to give it at all.

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Because she skipped, Hermione walked across the lawn to Care of Magical Creatures alone, Harry and Ron already waiting there for her.

"Granger, wait up!" called someone from behind her. She stopped and turned.

As Draco Malfoy jogged over to her she rolled her eyes.

'Why oh why did I wait?' she thought. 'Why couldn't I just kept walking?'

Draco stopped beside Hermione, puffing slightly. He'd been running after her since the Ancient Runes. But, somewhere three corridors down from the classroom, she disappeared into a hidden passage, and Draco didn't catch sight of her until he gave up and headed for class.

"I...wanted...to...know...when...did...you..want..to..get..together...for...a tutoring session?" he asked, regaining his wind.

"You ran all the way from the Ancient Runes class to ask me that?" asked Hermione, astounded.

Draco bent double. Something wasn't right. Usually he was fine but now....something was the matter with his heart! "My.....heart..." he croaked before he collapsed.

Hermione hurriedly knelt on the grass, not caring about possible grass stains. She pushed Draco onto his back and checked his pulse. "Pulse fine," she murmured. "But he isn't breathing. Have to do mouth-to-mouth." She shuddered and prayed no one passed them while she was trying to wake Draco up.

She bent down and opened his mouth, hesitating for just a second.

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Draco felt himself waking up. Air somehow made its way to his lungs. He slowly opened his eyes, he could see Hermione leaning over him, doing mouth-to-mouth. He realized he had fainted. He also realized he was in danger of liking this. So he pulled away and jumped up.

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Hermione's brow furrowed. He wasn't reacting. He seemed to need her to breathe, and until he regained consciousness, she'd have to comply.

She didn't see his eyes open and hardly noticed any movement until she found herself being thrown on her back with the force of a boulder.

She stared at him, amazed.

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Draco was suprised when she didn't yell at him. She just looked up at him calmly.

"Are you all right?" she asked softly.

"Yes," Draco grunted.

"Well, lets get you to the Hospital wing. Madame Pomfry would kill me if I didn't make sure you saw her."

She stood up, brushed her robes off, and grabbed his elbow, leading him towards the castle. To her immense amazement he let her lead him.