☽ "What's got his panties in a twist?" Maisie asked, unimpressed, as Mattheo handed me his routine and strolled away with his friends. "You're doing him a big favor by agreeing to help. The least he can do is be nice to you."

"Forget it, let's go," I dismissed, brushing off the interaction as Maisie and I headed towards the courtyard, our favorite place to hang out.

"Why did you even agree in the first place?" Maisie probed again as we took our usual seat next to one of the fountains.

"Dumbledore said it could help me in becoming a prefect next year," I answered, "and I can go off-campus more often-"

"Yeah, but you know you can't go meet him often even if you get to go," she reminded. I rolled my eyes at her. I didn't need a reminder that I can't just go and meet my father as casually as anyone else could. I knew my limitations; I grew up getting accustomed to them. But it still felt good to know I had the option if I wanted to visit him someday.

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Nearly 30 minutes had passed as I focused on sorting out possible timings between classes when I could tutor Mattheo. So far, it seemed as though all my free periods would just be spent with him from now on, since there was a lot of material to catch up on. Professor Dumbledore had given me the list of all the things I needed to revise or teach Mattheo, and it spanned over all the past five years' materials, which is A LOT.

At this rate, I would have to spend over 7 hours each day with Mattheo, and after seeing his behavior today, I knew I was going to be dreading every second of it. Maybe I had made the wrong decision after all.

I was snapped out of my thoughts as Theodore Nott walked up to us with his signature smug smile.

"Hey, Bright Eyes, are you done sorting Mattheo's schedule?" he asked, even though his eyes were trained on Maisie, who glared back at him.

"What? Are you his new assistant?" Maisie quirked as Nott's expression changed.

"I'm his friend-"

"You're his sidekick," Maisie corrected with a smug smile, "tell him if he wants this back, he should come and ask for it himself."

With that, she got up and took my hand, pulling me up to follow her as we walked off towards our next class, leaving behind an annoyed Theodore Nott.

Nott and Maisie had a strange relationship. Back in Year 1, they were close friends, always chatting between classes and sharing lunch. Sometimes, even Draco would join us. I remember how excited Maisie was to see him again after the summer break at the start of Year 2. But then something happened.

We overheard Draco insulting half-bloods and muggles on the Hogwarts Express, and Nott just sat there beside him, laughing. He didn't stand up for us. He didn't stand up for Maisie.

When Maisie and Nott locked eyes, it was like he had seen a ghost. While Maisie ran off in tears, I followed her. Nott didn't move. And since then, they haven't spoken unless it was to exchange rude remarks.

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Walking to Potions class, I noticed Maisie's bitter mood, a typical aftermath of interacting with Nott. "Are you okay, Mais?" I asked, and she nodded, throwing the question back at me, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Before I could respond, I felt someone behind me and turned to face Mattheo Riddle. "Hey, I need my routine back," he requested, avoiding eye contact.

"I'll save you a seat inside," Maisie whispered as she entered the class.

Other students filed in too, bumping into us as I shot Mattheo a glare.

"I need to talk to you about the timings and explain the lessons," I started, but he cut me off.

"I know how to read," he snapped, "just give me the routine."

"What's your problem?" I asked, annoyed. "I'm trying to help, and you can't even talk to me properly. If you don't want the help, just say so."

"You're not doing me a favor, okay?" he rolled his eyes. "You're only doing it because Dumbledore is bribing you with a promise to make you a prefect next year-"

"So what?" I interrupted, "There's no reason for us not to be civil."

"Just write down when the lessons are, and I'll be there," he sighed.

"It's not like I want to waste my day with you," I shot back, "but if we're going to-"

"Listen, I don't want to spend my day with you either," he cut me off again, "but I can't get kicked out of Hogwarts, so I'll do what Dumbledore says. If this is a problem for you, tell Dumbledore you can't do it. I'm sure he'll find someone else who can."

"You-"

"What is going on here?" a voice spoke from behind me, and I turned to face Professor Snape. "May I know why you two are chatting outside instead of being on time for your lesson?" he asked in his usual, drowsy tone.

"Professor, we were just discussing the tuition tim-"

"You had 45 minutes for that, Miss Black," he countered. "It is unacceptable to be late for the first lesson of the year. I ought to give you both detention."

"I'm sorry, Sir," I mumbled as Snape moved away from the doorway, motioning for us to enter the class.

Rushing in, I quickly took my seat beside Maisie as Mattheo and Snape walked in a few seconds later. Great, Day 1 with Mattheo in my life, and he's already getting me into trouble. This guy is going to bring my life downhill, it seems. Oh no.