𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑑 - 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿

vi.

"No, see, you have to do it like this. You take the whole piece of parchment, then you fold the top right corner down until there's a piece of paper left over like this. See?" Zara showed him the paper that was left following her own instructions and tore off the extra piece. "Now fold the remaining corners towards the centre of the paper. Then there will be four foldouts left."

Theo nodded, trying to follow the steps Zara was describing, though perhaps too quickly for him, who was tired and not overly skilled. Besides, it was a Muggle game, so he wasn't very used to it —in fact, it was the first time he'd tried it— so anything Zara said sounded like a foreign language. After several attempts and seeing the girl's displeased face, Theo gave up, throwing his paper on the table. "There's no way. It's too hard, I'm a mess. Can't you do it yourself and give it to me?"

Zara rolled her eyes, snorting jokingly. She finished the fortune teller in a matter of minutes, folding the sheet neatly and slipping her fingers through the holes so Theo could appreciate the perfection of her craft. "My grandmother spent summers teaching me how to make these things and play cards. In Spain it's very typical, so I grew up with it; don't worry if it's not your thing. You have many other virtues."

"For example?" Theo raised his eyebrows.

"Well, I don't know, you'll have some, won't you?" Zara laughed out loud as Theo opened his mouth in offence and his shoulders slumped. She heard voices hushing her because they were in the library, so she pouted her lips and apologised between whispers. Then she picked up her quill and began to write, and when Theo peeked out, Zara gave her a withering look. "You can't look!" She scolded him between whispers, hiding the paper. "It's not funny if you already know what it says. Wait for me to write down a few more things and then we'll test it." Theo nodded silently again, because he didn't want them to be noticed again: if they were kicked out of the library, the only place they'd have left to do homework would be in their respective Common Rooms, and they both knew they weren't particularly welcome in each other's. Zara smiled broadly. "That's it. Come on, say a number."

"Three."

Zara wiggled her fingers, and with them, the fortune teller moved. Theo frowned as Zara stopped counting and showed him four triangles. "Now you have to pick one of these numbers, and whatever's written behind it is what's in store for you this week."

"One it is."

"It says here that... Snape will give you a T in Potions," Zara stifled a laugh at the sight of Theo's crestfallen face, who dropped back into the seat.

"Well, this thing might work because we have to hand in an essay I haven't even done yet."

Zara took a neatly folded piece of parchment from her backpack and set it down in front of Theo, whose eyes lit up. "You can copy it from mine. It's due on Friday, so you have plenty of time to change the words, because Snape will notice if you copy it word for word. Just don't lend it to anyone, eh? We know each other."

"Since when do you do Potions homework?" Theo fell silent and rectified. "Since when do you do homework for anything?"

"I could always keep it," Zara took the parchment, but Theo slammed it down hard on the table, preventing her from putting it back in her bag and tucked it away in her own with a distrustful look. "Now that I've got Hermione as my tutor, I've got to get my act together. I'm telling you, I hate doing Potions papers, but if Hermione takes a look at them I'm sure they'll be better. Besides, if I get better marks, I might be able to get back on the Quidditch team."

"Ah, not a chance," Theo let out a soft chuckle. "Gryffindor's playing worse since you've been gone. It's all Draco and the others talk about; Gryffindor is a mess. Maybe then we'll have a chance of winning the Cup once and for all," Zara gave him a good-natured grimace, to which Theo responded by sticking his tongue out at her. "By the way, how's it going with Granger as your tutor? I meant to ask you earlier, but you've been in demand lately and I haven't had the time."