The Carnival ⌁ Draco Malfoy [1/4] ✔

28

"Shall we go then?" said Emma after sitting in the tree for at least half an hour, talking. Her stomach was rumbling and she thought she'd heard Draco's rumbling, too.

"Yeah," he said, jumping down while Emma decided best for her to just climb down. "Oh, don't be such a princess."

"Shut it, you," she said, and jumped down when she thought she was low enough. She picked up her basket off the ground by the tree and walked up toward the castle. "Have you got the time?"

Draco shook his head.

"Well what time do you think it is?"

"Probably about one or two," Draco replied idly, stretching his arms out and walking funnily. 

"Hey, Draco," Emma said questioningly, trying to sound as innocent as possible. It worked as Draco glanced back at her with adoration in his eyes. "I hear you're quite the expert at potions," Draco half smirked and, while a bit further up the hill than Emma, waited patiently for her to catch up, "even though Snape makes Harry and Ron fix your ingredients up for you."

"I can do it myself, just - why would I when someone else can do it for me?" he replied defensively

"OK, OK, just listen; that's not the point," Emma said hastily. Draco fell silent and stared for her to continue. "I'm kind of terrible at this point, and I was wondering if...if..."

"If I could tutor you?" he smirked, a sense of pride in his tone though Emma didn't know what from - the fact that she'd just called him an expert at potions or the fact that this was his chance to teach her.

"Well I wouldn't call it tutoring, but, yeah, something like that," Emma said, feeling her face flush. "No one else would if I asked. You know, cause they're all worried about themselves and I thought maybe you could help me."

"You're cute when you blush, you know," Draco said loudly, Emma completely taken aback.

"I'm not blushing, I'm just...ashamed...'cause I suck," Emma said shyly, running up the gravel toward the entrance of the castle with Draco keeping up beside her.

"Come on, you can't be that bad."

"Sabrina and Daphne, even Pansy, have told me Snape always passes Slytherins and grades them quite well unless you're Crabbe or Goyle," Emma told him irritably, almost shuddering at the mention of Crabbe and Goyle. It seemed whenever she heard their names she was scarred by the image of their bum sweat or horrible odour. "I don't want to be like Crabbe and Goyle. I want to be like you and everybody else."

"Relax, relax, you don't have to explain yourself. I'll teach you," Draco said casually, as though it were not a big deal to him at all. "As long as Pansy doesn't know. She already detests you enough."

"Is it that obvious?" Emma mumbled, realising they had reached the Entrance Hall, but it appeared that lunch was well over for those who did not go along to Hogsmeade were rushing out of it, a few burps here and there.

"Yes, well," Draco started, absently looking around at those who'd just come out of the Great Hall. "She isn't a very private person. Here comes Astoria." 

Annoyed and fighting against a low groan, Emma looked over her shoulder to see Astoria skipping out of the Great Hall with a few other fourth-years who hadn't gone along to Hogsmeade. Her gaze naturally landed on sight of Emma and Draco and she proceeded to drift over to the pair.