My Damned Lover: Third Year

Chapter 67

"Seraphina! Wake up! Seraphina! You're going to be late! Seraphina!" 

"I'M UP!" Seraphina sprang up and looked around. She was absolutely baffled. Where was Hermione? Her voice was echoing throughout the dorm room, but she was nowhere to be seen. Then Seraphina spotted the magical alarm that eerily resembled a Howler. 

That's right. Hermione left first. I have no idea why she would want to take that many classes when I can't even handle the normal amount. She's definitely extraordinary. Seraphina rubbed her face with a sigh. 

"Seraphina! Wake up! Seraphina! You're going to be late! Seraphina!" 

Hermione's voice continued to ring in her ears. Seraphina's expression flattened. Although she was grateful for her best friend's attempt to get her to take the exams on time, she was going to give her an earful for coming up with such a ridiculous alarm. 

At least it's not Ron's voice. 

Seraphina got up and went to take a shower without even bothering to make the bed. The chores could wait. It was an important day, and she had to focus on not forgetting the ingredients of the Shrinking Solution. By the time she was out of the shower and in her uniform, she only had half an hour until Charms started. 

"Great. Hermione went out of her way to make sure I woke up on time, but it looks like I'm going to be late anyway," Seraphina muttered to herself as she rushed out of the common room. She struggled to put on her tie correctly and huffed in frustration when she messed up. It wasn't turning out to be the best start of the day. 

Seraphina bumped straight into someone and hoped it wasn't a nasty Slytherin or grouchy Ravenclaw. The last thing she needed was to get into a verbal fight that could escalate into a physical one. 

"Draco?" Seraphina blinked in surprise. Once he saw her, he sighed in relief. "Where the bloody hell have you been? The exam is about to start soon. Did you sleep in again?" 

"No! I woke up on time. I just... lost track of it," she muttered as she made another attempt with her tie. Draco noticed her struggling and took a step closer to her. "I'll do it," he murmured before taking over. 

Seraphina held her breath as he leaned towards her. His proximity was making her forget all the spells she had engraved into her brain for the past few weeks. "There," Draco said as he straightened up. "Now, let's go, or we're really going to be late." 

"R-Right," Seraphina answered with a firm nod of the head. Get a hold of yourself! 

Draco took her hand, and they raced down the hallway. They reached Charms just in time, and she hurried towards the front to sit next to Harry and Ron. "Ah, even on exams day, you're late," Ron snickered. "Shut up, Ron," Seraphina hissed with a shove. 

"I can't believe you're late! Did you sleep through the alarm I set up for you?" 

"Hermione! You scared me. I shouldn't even be surprised anymore." "What happened to the alarm, Seraphina?!" "I got up on time! Seriously! You know what? Just give me your Time Turner next time!" 

"Professor Flitwick is here," Harry whispered, and the girls hushed up right away. 

Seraphina took a deep breath as she pulled out her quill from her backpack. She looked back and locked eyes with Draco. One corner of his lips surged up, and she couldn't help but smile back.

-----

Seraphina plunked down onto the bench and grabbed a chicken and ham sandwich. She took a huge bite as she looked through her Potions notes. She didn't have much time left. Potions was next, and she had to use this lunch hour in the Great Hall to study whatever she could. Hermione gave her a sympathetic look, while Ron stared at her with an open mouth. Harry didn't really care that she looked like a starving war soldier about to have their last meal. 

"Slow down, you lunatic," Ron scolded.

 "I have half an hour to absorb all this into my brain," Seraphina said as she took another bite of her sandwich. 

"If it didn't get into your head before, it won't get into your head now- OUCH! WATCH IT!" Ron yelped as he dodged a green apple. 

Harry chortled, "You deserved that one." 

"Don't side with her, Harry! It'll only make her worse," Ron complained. 

Suddenly, a pile of neat parchments landed in front of her. What? Where did these come from? Seraphina looked back to see Draco. Heading towards the Slytherin table, he told her, "You're going to need those." Seraphina looked at the parchments and realized they were his notes for Potions class. Score! This is my ticket to passing the class! Seraphina looked back and beamed gratefully at Draco. He gave her a grin, but his face quickly hardened when he noticed Ron gawping at him. 

Draco sneered in his direction, and Ron made a face before picking up his fork. Seraphina examined the notes and couldn't help but admire Draco's writing. It was impeccably neat, just the way his father taught him, but there was also a soft edge to it. "He's a lunatic as well," Ron muttered. Harry leaned over and checked out Draco's notes. 

"A lunatic who writes good notes. He did a better job than you, Ron." 

"Oh, whatever. You two are meant to be," Ron huffed. 

"Be quiet and look at your notes. If I'm right, you're going to fail Potions this year," Hermione said. 

"Is that right? Do you want to make a bet, Hermione?" Ron demanded. 

Seraphina chuckled softly as she reviewed Draco's notes. Her grades were starting to look up already.

-----

Seraphina waved goodbye to her friends and headed to the library. It was a full house tonight. She weaved through the bodies and headed to the back. She scanned the area, and her patience paid off when she spotted a group of Hufflepuff girls leaving. Seraphina rushed to the table and dropped her books on top of it. With a sigh, she sank onto a chair. The exams continued tomorrow, but at least Potions was over and done with. Seraphina had just opened up her Divinations book when someone flopped down in the empty seat in front of her. 

"Thanks for the invite," Draco said, sounding slightly annoyed. 

"Oh, you're welcome," Seraphina joked. 

Draco made a face. "I gave you my notes. The least you can do is say, 'Hey, Draco. Do you want to study at the library with me?'" 

Seraphina crossed her arms at the table, looked him dead in the eyes, and asked, "Hey, Draco. Do you want to study at the library with me?" 

Draco rolled his eyes. "Very funny. You're a natural jester." 

Seraphina chuckled as she gave him back his notes. "Thank you. They were really helpful. Butterbeer is on me this weekend," she said. He lightened up a bit and took out his quill. 

"Draco, sit here." Seraphina patted the vacant seat next to her. 

Draco smirked as his eyes flashed with pride. "You really want me that close, do you? Can't get enough of me, can you?" 

"Jeez, don't let your ego get to your head. I'm afraid it'll inflate and you'll explode," Seraphina sarcastically bit. 

Draco's smirk just widened. He stood up and slowly circled the table. "It's okay, darling. Just admit you want me." He plunked down next to her and grinned. Seraphina wasn't about to admit the "darling" made her body melt into a puddle of fluttering warmth. She cleared her throat and pointed to her Divinations book.

 "Lend me your notes for this class." 

"Okay, I'll play along, but just so you know, denial isn't healthy," Draco sang. 

"Arrogance isn't either," Seraphina quipped before ducking her head in hopes that he wouldn't catch her blush.