Five

                                    

                                          
Although Umbridge was hands down the worst professor Hogwarts had ever had, Snape was a close second.
It was a common fact that he hated his job - he'd much rather have Umbridge's position, but Dumbledore refused to end this poor man's suffering and give him the job. So he resorted to bitching about it in the teacher's lounge. His yap sessions hadn't bypassed Magnolia because his voice carried when he was angry, which was surprising considering the low and slow way he talked.
Magnolia didn't know what was going on in Snape's puny brain, but he thought it would be a wonderful idea for her to tutor Draco Malfoy.
I mean, who is he kidding? Magnolia thought to herself. Those gorgeous gray eyes of his can't fool me, no sir. Draco Malfoy is a horrible person, and I will always hate him.
Did I say gorgeous? Magnolia asked herself, furrowing her brows in thought.
Of course I meant gross, she finally decided. Obviously.
When the two were both stopped after Potions one dreary afternoon, Magnolia thought it was separate problems. But no, Snape decided to make Draco's problem hers, resulting in her tutoring him.
Magnolia didn't expect him to show up - after all, he was Draco Malfoy. Didn't he have much more important things to do? 
But surprisingly, he was there.
And on time.
She tried to get over her intial shock and opened her textbook. He first had to review what was being taught, because he'd completely bombed all of the first assignments and the unit test.
"This is rubbish," he scoffed as he begrudgingly opened his textbook. "I know all this. He's just got it out for me."
"Right. And here I was thinking that you were supposed to be smart," Magnolia replied coolly. It was true - he had been top of the class four years in a row, second only to Hermione.
"Don't get me started, Princeton," he muttered. "Here's last week's quiz. He marked it all up with some notes. I was certain I had all the material right, but apparently not."
Magnolia glanced over his quiz suspiciously - but she noticed something odd.
"Your answers are nearly identical to mine," she said, knitting her brows in confusion. "Here, look."
She fished her own quiz out of her bag and handed it to him.
"You're right," Draco replied. "And you got full marks."
"Should we go ask Snape about it?" Magnolia asked, but Draco hurriedly shook his head.
"He thinks I need this tutoring session, so I think we should keep it going," he explained.
Magnolia had always known that Draco looked up to Snape, probably because he was close with Draco's father, but for Snape to deliberately fail Draco and Draco making excuses for it was going a bit too far.
Just as Magnolia was about to say that, Draco cleared his throat, handing her the quiz back. "So, we should probably start reviewing?"
"Um. Yes," Magnolia said after a moment. "So this first unit was about the Draught of Peace..."
Draco wasn't really listening to her. He was simply staring at her. Although he would never admit it, he had had the biggest crush on her ever since he had met her in first year.
And yes, he had called her a dog. But he didn't mean it.
"...and it relieves anxiety and agitation," Magnolia finished. "You know what the ingredients are, I hope?"
"Hmm?" Draco glanced up at a frowning Magnolia. "Oh. Ingredients. Powdered moonstone, syrup of hellebore, powdered unicorn horn... and powdered porcupine quills."
Draco looked quite proud of himself, and Magnolia offered a slow and sarcastic round of applause.
"Wow. Wonderful. You know basic Potions. What color is it supposed to be when brewed correctly?" she challenged.
"Turquoise," Draco replied swiftly.
"What should you do before consuming it?"
"Simmer it."
Magnolia tapped her foot on the floor, seemingly defeated. "If you know all this, why did Snape fail you?" she asked.
Draco shrugged. "How should I know? He didn't tell me."
Magnolia lowered her head to the table in exasperation. "Why am I wasting my time," she complained.
"How should I-"
"It was a rhetorical question, Malfoy," Magnolia snapped.
"Merlin, someone's cranky today," Draco shrugged, purposely annoying her now. "Perhaps a bit of the Draught of Peace would do you some good."
Magnolia shot Draco a withering glare. "I don't care what Snape said. I'm done tutoring you."
She picked up her bag and textbook and left the library, muttering about how much of a prick Draco Malfoy was.
Draco sat there, bewildered. "Goodbye to you too," he called after her, slumping in his chair. "Why am I like this?"