Noah was standing in front of the greenhouses, giving himself a mental pep talk before he met up with Regulus.

"Come on, Noah," he muttered to himself. "You can do this." He nodded and took in a deep breath before opening the door with a shaky hand. He shyly entered the room and blushed when he saw Regulus. He slowly approached the boy and avoided his gaze as Regulus smirked at him.

"You're late," Regulus muttered. He bit his lip before adding hesitantly, "Maybe you should spend less time with that Mudblood and blood traitor."

Noah's eyes widened and he paled while he started to play with his fingers. "W-Well at l-least I have f-friends," Noah mumbled quietly, hoping that Regulus wouldn't hear him. But just his luck, he did.

Regulus' face flushed in irritation. "If you ever speak to me in that way again..." Regulus stopped to smirk at Noah. "Well, I assume you can imagine, with me becoming a Death Eater and all." Regulus saw the blood drain from Noah's face and he felt bad for making him so upset, but he quickly shook himself out of it. He couldn't afford to be nice if he wanted to prove himself as a true Black.

Noah's heart started beating frantically out of fright and he bit down on his lip harshly. "O-Okay, s-sorry," he whispered so quietly Regulus almost didn't hear him.

Regulus softened slightly as he saw how terrified Noah was but he tried to cover it up with a scowl. He had to remind himself that he was a Black and Noah was Hufflepuff and a half-blood. "Let's just get this over with." He muttered, realizing that the less he insulted Noah, the faster they could get through their lesson and the quicker Regulus could leave.

Noah blushed but he nodded his head. He dropped his bag on the ground before approaching a table that had all the plants they needed to revise on it. Noah assumed that Professor Sprout had set it up considering all partners had
to tell her what days and times they would be working.

He stood a few feet away from the Fanged Geranium, being cautious as to not get bitten. He got out his textbook and placed it a few feet away from the plant. He started flicking through the pages nervously with shaking hands as he willed himself not to look and see if Regulus would join him.

Regulus took in a breath before walking over to Noah. He gave himself a small, mental pep talk, telling himself to bite his tongue if he had any insults and to just get through this lesson. He looked at the fanged plant in disgust before turning to look at Noah. He noticed the boy had pink cheeks – like he normally did from all the blushing – and he seemed to be fiddling with his textbook nervously. Regulus gulped at the fact that he had probably made the Hufflepuff afraid of him. He didn't like being the reason for people's terror.

"What's that?" Regulus asked as he glanced back at the plant, sneering when it tried to bite him.

Noah blushed lightly when Regulus talked to him as he hoped he wouldn't have to interact with the Black much other than to teach him. Although he supposed this would be considered as teaching since he would be telling Regulus something that he didn't know.

Noah didn't understand how Regulus couldn't know what the plant was, considering they had studied it not even two months prior. He was sure that if their roles were reversed, Regulus would've sighed in irritation before snapping that he should've already known what it was. However, Noah was not Regulus and he instead swallowed and quickly glanced at the much taller boy before answering him, keeping his eyes on his textbook the whole time.

"It-It's c-called a F-Fanged Geranium a-and i-it's wh-what we're g-going t-to b-be studying t-today." He said quietly, immediately biting the inside of his lip and blushing in embarrassment from how much he stuttered. He was always embarrassed when he stuttered in front of people, even his friends (because he was comfortable enough to not stutter in front of his parents), but with Regulus, he was more easily embarrassed for some odd reason. He assumed it was because Regulus was a Black and the Blacks were one of the most noble Wizarding families, almost like royalty, and to stutter or do anything wrong in front of one, would be like signing your death wish.

Regulus was getting slightly annoyed with Noah and his stutter, but he tried to ignore it and instead focused on what Noah was saying.

He glanced back at the plant with a raised brow. "What's it for?" He asked curiously.

"I-It's f-fangs a-are used f-for cooking a-and potions." Noah explained, his gaze remaining on his textbook to avoid looking at Regulus. His face was coloured lightly as it normally was and he kept shifting from foot to foot nervously.

Regulus looked back at the plant questioningly, as if it would correct Noah of his facts. "Are you sure?" He asked skeptically as he glanced back at Noah. "I don't see how a plant could be that useful."

Noah sighed quietly and bit his lip before looking looking up Regulus. He took in a deep breath to gain some courage before asking Regulus quietly, "D-Do you even l-listen i-in c-class?"

Regulus' face flared at the question but he smirked slightly, surprised that Noah would be so bold as to ask him something like that. He scowled to hide the smile that wanted to creep up on his face and looked down at Noah, considering their great height difference. "Not really," Regulus responded as he shrugged his shoulders carelessly. "Most of it is pretty useless. I mean, when am I going to have to know what this stupid plant does?" He asked Noah rhetorically as he pointed at the Fanged Geranium, nearly getting his finger bitten in the process.

Noah placed a hand over his mouth to muffle his giggles as Regulus held his hand to his chest protectively, glaring at the plant. He wanted to curse the plant intensely but refrained from doing so, assuming that Noah would be frightened of him if he did and then they wouldn't get anywhere with their lessons.

Noah removed his hand and looked at Regulus' hand in concern, even though there was still a small smile on his face. "A-Are you o-okay?" He asked softly and with a blush.

Regulus glanced down at Noah surprised. He had been nothing but rude towards him so he didn't know why Noah would even care if he was actually hurt or not. He guessed Noah was just nice like that and Regulus hated him for it.

"Yes, I'm fine." Regulus answered in a surprisingly soft tone. He looked down at Noah curiously, tilting his head to the side slightly as he looked at him.

Noah nodded and blushed as Regulus looked at him. He glanced down at his textbook just as he remembered what Regulus had said earlier.

"Y-You should r-really s-start p-paying more a-attention in c-class." Noah said softly, blushing when Regulus looked at him quizzically. "I-I th-think you'll f-find th-that th-this stuff is a-actually p-pretty useful and who-who knows? M-Maybe it c-could save your l-life one day."

Regulus scoffed and shook his head. "No offence, but I don't think some plants are going to save my life."

Noah shrugged and looked back down at his textbook, turning a couple pages so they could get further into the lesson. "Y-You n-never know."

———

Regulus sighed in relief when he realized their lesson was over and he could tell Noah felt the same. They started packing up their things awkwardly, neither of them saying anything.

Noah didn't say anything because he just normally wasn't the person to initiate a conversation and Regulus just didn't know what to say. He didn't want to chat with Noah and make the boy think that they were friends but he also hated the awkward silence they were in, he experienced enough of that at home. If it even counted as a home.

Noah finished gathering his things the same time as Regulus and the shorter boy bit his lip before looking up at Regulus with a blush. Regulus glanced at Noah and licked his lips before facing him. He hoisted his bag up onto his shoulder before rubbing the back of his neck in an awkward way.

"Okay," he sighed. "I admit, today wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be."

Noah looked at Regulus surprised and he started wringing his hands unconsciously. He smiled slightly and was about to say that he agreed with him, before the Black cut him off.

"But that doesn't mean I'm happy with our arrangement, I still think it's stupid and utterly pointless." He added hurriedly. Even though he didn't have a terrible time, he didn't want to Noah think that he liked hanging out with him or anything. Because, even if Regulus did enjoy spending time with Noah, it wasn't as if his family would ever approve so there wouldn't be any point in raising his or Noah's expectations.

Noah's stomach churned but he nodded his head, still smiling softly at Regulus. "I-I agree."

Regulus nodded and looked around the greenhouse for a moment before looking back at Noah. "I suppose I'll see you in class then. Goodbye." He said quietly before nodding once more and walking out of the greenhouse without a second glance back.

Once Regulus was gone, Noah released a breath he didn't even know he was holding and collapsed in the chair he had been sitting in during their lesson. He thought about everything that had happened in the past hour and he smiled to himself. It was a bit difficult in the beginning but he was happy when Regulus stopped insulting him and cooperated, making it a whole lot easier for the both of them.

If Noah could make that much progress with Regulus after only one lesson, he could just imagine how much progress he could make when they were done. Maybe tutoring Regulus might not be so bad after all.

------

SO THEY HAD THEIR FIRST TUTORING SESSION!! HOW WAS IT, DID YOU LIKE IT? WHAT DID YOU WISH HAPPENED? FEEL FREE TO LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS, I LOVE HEARING FROM YOU GUYS!!

ALSO, SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT, I WAS KIND OF TAKING A BREAK FROM WATTPAD BUT IM BACK AND HOPEFULLY ILL BE ON AND UPDATING A LOT MORE!

THIS IS DEDICATED TO ALL OF YOU WHO WAITED SO LONG AND STILL CAME BACK, Y'ALL ARE THE REAL MVP <3