Elyssa Greer came from a Pureblood family, a Pureblood descent of Serbians. She was the outcast of her family; the only Gryffindor after centuries of the Greer and Banović family being sorted into Slytherin. Ellie felt like an outcast before she was...
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This particular Autumn Sunday morning felt nice to wake up to for once in while. Ellie hadn't woken up to the sounds of any of the other girls and the temperature was perfect - it wasn't hot nor cold, it was just right. Everything about the morning felt wonderful as the redhead threw off her covers and ripped open her bed hangings, until she remembered Nikolai and Draco Malfoy. The idiotic comments didn't even bother her when she thought of Nikolai and there being a chance of seeing his face today. At this point, Ellie would rather put up with Malfoy than seeing Nikolai even from a far distance.
Shrugging it off and trying not to dwell too much on it, she changed into a long-sleeved white T-shirt, a dark pair of jeans, and a maroon cotton cardigan.
Ellie looked down at herself. "I look so stupid," she muttered, before tying her hair back into a loose plait and leaving her dormitory.
The common room was fairly empty, save for a few students studying by the desks in the corner. Ellie bit her lip seeing more than just a few people outside of Gryffindor common room on her way to the Great Hall - she didn't even know what time it was. She had indirectly promised to tag along with Lavender and Parvarti after she had had her 'alone time' in the morning.
"You're joking," Ellie gasped to herself, seeing the giant oak doors to the Great Hall closed, meaning that she had awoken too late for breakfast.
She put a hand to her disappointed stomach and turned away, ignoring the sounds of hunger coming from her stomach. Depending on the time, it probably wouldn't take long for lunch, she must have really needed that long sleep. On her way to the grounds, she had hoped to spot Silas along the way, but she knew it was a fat chance; she could picture him in the library with his head in his books. She was just glad she hadn't spotted Nikolai just yet.
Draco Malfoy was by a large tree at the edge of the black lake, sitting with his knees up and his elbows resting on either one of them. He was dressed in his typical clothing that screamed 'rich boy.' Ellie allowed herself to admit that Malfoy was actually quite handsome when he didn't have a sneer or a smug look on his face, when he was just calm, herself being unable to read him.
He looked at her, having heard her approaching footsteps.
"Well, it's about time," he said loudly, crossing his legs. Ellie hesitantly sat across from him, at a certain distance. "Only took you a week. Did you bring anything?"
The redhead gave him an uncertain look before fishing out her wand. He threw her an unimpressed look before throwing his bag onto the ground in between them, causing her to jump a little and place a fist against her chest. Draco looked at her strangely, and Ellie noticed his eyes fixed on her necklace from Nikolai with her engagement ring attached to it. The Slytherin raised an eyebrow before looking away to dig through his bag.
"Hang on," he said, stopping all of a sudden. Ellie looked at him. "What . . . what exactly am I helping you with?"
"Potions . . ."
"No, I know - I mean . . . what exactly . . ."
Ellie rolled her eyes slightly. "I tried explaining to Nikolai that I didn't really need help, that I excel at theory work but I completely fail at attempting methods. I don't know what's wrong with me. So, really, I just blame Snape. It . . . makes me feel better," she finished quietly, slightly embarrassed.
It surprised Ellie to find that Draco looked somewhat amused. "Do you think it'd be weird if I gave you - say - homework, let's call it?"
"Homework as in I wait for you to write something out, then I can leave and enjoy my Sunday without being in the presence of an arrogant Slytherin?" Ellie said, purposely sounding hopeful. Her stomach rumbled loudly. "I'm hungry, when's lunch? What's the time?"
Draco raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes slightly. "There's your problem, you don't pay any attention."
"Well, excuse me, I missed out on breakfast and I'm starving," Ellie retorted, looking away sheepishly. "Now, what was this about homework?"
"Would've been nice to have a heads up that's all - about what you need help with," Draco scoffed, piling his books back into his bag. "I mean - I don't . . . what . . ."
"Well we are learning about Strengthening Solutions," Ellie suggested, biting her lip. "Hey, does - does Nikolai know we're together doing this right now?"
The look in Draco Malfoy's eyes was something Ellie couldn't figure out.
"Well, duh," he scoffed, looking away from her. "Do you really think I'd be here if he didn't ask me to be? What's with you?"
"What? Nothing," Ellie replied, fiddling with her wand. She sighed and looked up at him. "Listen, we don't really need to . . . practice together if that isn't what you actually want. It's not really what I want but if it helps then it helps. If you want nothing to do with me but want Nikolai to think you're helping me, then we don't really need to tell him, do we?"
Draco stared at her for a moment. "So, what are you saying?"
"We can just meet up and ignore each other," Ellie shrugged, jumping when Draco let out a loud noise of amusement. "I mean . . . you know?"
"I'd rather be near you for a reason," the Slytherin stubbornly rolled his eyes. "Being near you like this, doing nothing, not doing what we're meant to be doing, is pointless."
"Sure . . ."
"Now . . . I suggest that I be with you while you write down theory work and methods that way I can see if you're actually doing it correctly. Afterwards, I'll help you with the attempts. Sound good to you?"
Ellie gave him a small smile and nodded. "Thank you," she said regrettably, awkwardly avoiding his eyes. "I know you don't have or want to do this. I'm sure you have better things to do with your time."
She saw his eyes flicker to her necklace again. The wind picked up slightly and being near the water meant the wind was slightly stronger, and the Malfoy boy held tightly onto his things from his bag.
"Same with you," he shrugged, calming slightly when the wind stopped blowing. "I'll write you something now, a method for what we've done last year. Then I'll get my cauldron since my common room is closer."
Ellie nodded and sat in silence, very awkward silence, as Malfoy wrote in one of his books. A moment later he tossed the book in her lap and stood with his bag. She looked up at him, annoyed.
"You wait here," he said and began to walk off.
Ellie looked over his method, and she was amazed that he still remembered it considering it was from last year. Ellie barely even remembered what she did in class a fortnight ago.
