Patience
It was another Friday evening, and Draco sat in the empty classroom waiting for Juliet. His quill scratched impatiently on the parchment as the minutes ticked by. She was late — again. Draco could feel his irritation simmering, especially after their last few sessions had been somewhat productive. By that, he meant she was fucking up potions sober.
When the door finally creaked open, Draco turned sharply, his scowl deepening. Juliet Van Der Hart stumbled in, barely managing to close the door behind her. Her uniform was slightly disheveled, and her eyes were glassy, her steps uneven. Draco didn't need to be a genius to figure out what was going on.
"You're late," he said, his voice cold.
Juliet giggled, the sound high-pitched and unsteady. "I'm here, aren't I?" she slurred, leaning heavily against one of the desks, her hair falling messily over her shoulder.
Draco's eyes narrowed as she swayed, obviously drunk. He could smell the alcohol on her from across the room. "Are you kidding me?" he snapped. "You're completely wasted."
Juliet's laugh was almost mocking as she pushed off the desk and staggered toward him, her movements sluggish. "Come on, Draco. It's just a little fun," she said, her voice dripping with carelessness. "Who cares about stupid Potions?"
"I care," he snapped, glaring at her. "And you should too if you don't want to fail."
Juliet rolled her eyes dramatically, clearly not taking any of it seriously. "Relax," she said, giggling again as she stumbled forward. "Tell you what... how about a deal?"
Draco raised an eyebrow, his patience wearing thin. "A deal?" His tone was full of skepticism.
Juliet moved closer, standing far too close to him now, her breath warm and laced with the sharp scent of firewhiskey. "Yeah," she said with a smirk, her words slurring together. "I want an A+ on this assignment."
For a moment, Draco was stunned into silence. His brain struggled to process her offer. Did she seriously meant what he thought she meant? He stared at her in disbelief as she leaned in closer, her lips almost brushing his. "What do you say, Malfoy?" she whispered, her tone teasing and playful, before pressing her lips against his.
The kiss was sloppy, and Draco didn't move, his mind frozen in shock. He could feel the warmth of her body against his, and for a brief second, he was too bewildered to react. But then she pulled away, laughing — a carefree, mocking laugh that snapped him back to reality.
Fury roared through him. She was making a joke out of this. Out of him.
Without a word, Draco dropped the quill and parchment onto the desk, the sound sharp and final. He stood abruptly, his jaw clenched so tightly it hurt. "You're a complete disaster," he spat, his voice low and venomous.
Juliet just laughed again, clearly enjoying his reaction, but Draco wasn't going to stand for it any longer. His hands curled into fists at his sides, but instead of lashing out, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.
He didn't know where he was going until his feet led him straight to Snape's office. Bursting through the door, Draco didn't bother to knock. "I can't do this anymore," he said, his voice loud and angry. "I can't tutor her, it's impossible! She's... she's drunk! She doesn't care about anything! It's a waste of my time!"
Snape, sitting behind his desk, raised a cold eyebrow at Draco's outburst, clearly unimpressed. "Is that so, Mr. Malfoy?" he drawled, his voice calm but menacing. "You cannot handle a simple tutoring assignment?"
"It's not a tutoring assignment! She's impossible!" Draco shouted, pacing back and forth in front of the desk. "I refuse to waste my time on someone who doesn't even care about her own future!"
Snape stood slowly, his dark eyes gleaming with a sinister satisfaction. "Since you are so insistent on abandoning your responsibilities, Mr. Malfoy, perhaps you need to be reminded of them." He paused, letting the silence stretch. "You will continue tutoring Miss Van Der Hart. And to ensure you both take this more seriously... I'm assigning you both detention."
Draco's mouth fell open. "What?" he exclaimed, incredulous. "You're punishing me? I'm the one doing the work here!"
Snape gave him a cold smile, clearly enjoying Draco's frustration. "Consider it a lesson in patience, Mr. Malfoy. I expect you and Miss Van Der Hart to report to detention tomorrow evening. Now, get out."
Draco stared at Snape, his chest heaving with barely contained fury. But there was no point in arguing. With a sharp glare, he turned and stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him.
As he made his way back to the dormitory, his mind churned with anger. Juliet Van Der Hart was nothing but a nuisance, a spoiled, self-destructive mess. And now, thanks to her, he was stuck in detention.
"Perfect," he muttered under his breath. "Just bloody perfect."
But despite his frustration, he couldn't shake the image of her laughing after that ridiculous kiss. He hated her. He reminded himself of that as he made his way back to his dorm.
And yet, something about her recklessness pulled at him in a way he didn't want to admit.