Always and Forever | Mattheo Riddle

4) Tutoring session-1

Next was Potions with Slytherins.

Potions with Snape is already torture but with Slytherins, it's worse than dying.

Angelina and I pick a table as far away from Snape as possible, with Fred and George in front of us.

Riddle and Cooperson went and sat at the desk right next to Snape. Those snobs. Snape starts the lesson on a wonderful note by assigning partners by himself.

"Angelina Johnson and Mia Kedar, Thomas Norman and Jared Harrison, Fred Weasley and Bradley Cooperson, Katherine Pearl and Mattheo Riddle, George Weasley and Andy Refort, ..."

The list went on and on but all I could hear was buzzing. I could've been assigned with anyone, anyone but him. I was so zoned out that it took Snape to come to my table and slam my book on the desk to get my attention.

I was startled to say the least when I saw Snape's face.
"10 points from Gryffindor for not paying attention in my class, Miss Pearl."

Great.
All that I wanted was to deduct my house's points on my first day.

Snape walks back to the blackboard and says, "As I was saying, your partners will be the most important in Potions this year. You will be making potions with assistance of your partners. And you will be graded on both of yours performance."

Everyone groans but Snape quietens us up by slamming a book on his desk again.
"What are you all waiting for, go and sit with your partners. And today we'll start by making Snorkelling Potion today."

I go to a seat near the back where Mattheo comes and sits next to me.
He says, "You're that girl from the train, aren't  you?"

"Surprise, I guess?"

He rolls his eyes and says, "Not a surprise but a shock. Devastating shock."

"Ok....?" I said unable to utter another word. I tried to be chill about it, but I guess he doesn't want to be chill about it.

Alright then.

——

The double lessons were a blur. Riddle was so bad at it that I lost my temper, not once, not twice but thrice.

When we had to cut the beetles, he crushed it. When we had to stir the potion clockwise, he stirred it anti-clockwise. When we had to put unicorn hair in the potion, he put crushed unicorn horn.

Whatever he did was wrong, not one thing was right and in that lesson we got a 'TROLL' grade for the potion.

I was ready to unleash my anger at him yet again when Snape called us to him when the lesson ended.

"As you can see, Mr Riddle here needs a tutor. So you'll be tutoring him starting from tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" I ask, puzzled.

"Do you have any problem, Miss Pearl?"

"No sir," I reply, not wanting to deduct more of my house points.

"Alright then, it's settled." Snape says, and walks away.

Riddle turned away from me, sighed and said, "Now you'll be my tutor. I guess I do have the worst luck."

Outraged, I say, "What do you mean you have th- leave it."

I left the classroom as soon as I said that. I couldn't believe he would be so arrogant. God, he is annoying.

"Five o'clock, tomorrow at the library," he yelled.

As if I would go there.

——

I'm at the library. I know I'm embarrassed too.
But being embarrassed was better than suffering Snape's wrath.

It's about 4:45 p.m. right now, and I'm setting up the basic potion making books I found on a desk at the deserted corner of the library. I walk at the entrance of the library and surely enough I saw him, chatting with his friends, and a bit too busy to come to the tutoring session he asked for.

One of his friend seemed to notice me, he pointed towards me and the group snickered. Embarrassed I turned back to the library. I go to the stack of books in the fiction section. If he wanted tutoring sessions, he was going to be asking for it, I wouldn't be waiting for his Majesty to come so I can waste my time.

A few moments later, I can feel his presence behind me. "What do you want," I ask.

"Tutoring sessions, or are you offering something else too," he said, his voice lingering on my neck, leaving goosebumps. I turn around and I find him standing only a few inches away from me. I could see his perfect jawline clearly, and I had to resist the urge to trace it with my finger. He had an amused expression playing on his lips. Realizing I had been staring at the perfect, almost God-like man for a few minutes, my cheeks started heating up and I pushed him away so he couldn't see me blushing.

I went and sat at the chair, motioning for him to take his seat too. He sat in front of me, leaning in front, as if watching my every move. I cleared my throat and said, "Uh- well, what do you know about potions right now."

He replied, "Nothing except I'm pretty bad at it." That piqued my interest so I asked him, "Haven't you gone to any other wizarding school?"

"There are other schools like this. Gosh," he said. Huh, so he didn't go to any other school. How did he not get noticed by Dumbledore. I'll think about it later.

"So, let's start with the basics, shall we?"

He grunted and said, "I don't have a choice I suppose."

——

We sat there for two hours, him piercing my soul with his stare and me, rumbling on and on about potions as if anyone cared about it except Snape.

I had finally explained to him the first five chapters from the first years book on potions.
And it took not as long as I thought. He'd left after I told him he could go. I just sat there, putting the books in a stack at the corner of the desk and keeping the notes in the middle.

I entered my dreamland when I saw his face. Marcus' face. I've liked that guy from my previous year, when he had bumped into me accidentally. He had deep blue eyes, a strong jawline and a smile that captivated me. It was his wonderful personality that made me like him even more. I HAVE to ask him out this year somehow.

It's the start of the session so I'm pretty sure Fred and George would be up to hold a start of the session party. A stupid smile found its way on my lips when I imagined Marcus and me dancing together at the party.

"What are you so damn happy for?" Piper, my friend from Ravenclaw asked. She was my partner in divination previous year. Those weird shapes the tea leaves made in the tea cup and the stories we made of our misery together bonded us.

"Nothing really. Just thinking about who'd be hosting this years party," I half-lie to her.

She takes my hand and drags me away from the library. I barely manage to take the notes with me. She starts speaking, "Walk with me, will ya?"

She had already dragged me away from the library, so I just nodded.
"So, I just found out the Slytherins will be hosting this year's party."

The hopes I'd been holding for this party just vanished away in thin air. Most people wouldn't go to the party. Including him.

"And, they're hosting it for the new kid, Mattheo Riddle."

As if I hadn't been punched in the guy by the previous information, I asked, "When is it?"

"Tomorrow night. And we still have to get dresses! We are going to Hogsmede tomorrow first thing. Bring Angelina too."

"Alright, worry not, captain. I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow and then we'll go," I say to her, throwing in salute after 'captain'.

We both laugh and walk towards the Great Hall. Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day.