#group studying

Part 1/? (I don’t know how long this is going to end up being lol)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25758838/chapters/62556034

Setting: Hogwarts, 3rd year

Content warnings: None. Contains subtle hints of Drarry (with more to come)

Summary: Star student Draco Malfoy is acing all his courses...except Herbology. His father threatens to pull Draco out of Quidditch if he doesn’t get straight As on all his exams, and with time running out before the Herbology final, a desperate Draco finds himself reluctantly accepting help from a most unlikely source.

Featuring: Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley

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“Draco!” Lucius Malfoy’s cold, stern voice reverberated throughout the Great Hall, causing many heads to turn to the Howler that had just flown in to interrupt everyone’s luncheon. Draco Malfoy put his head into his hands as his father’s voice began to berate him about his mid-term progress grades. “Your school performance thus far is highly unsatisfactory.” Draco got mostly As with a few Bs. “Don’t you dare tarnish our family name with a B again. If you don’t bring your average up to an A by winter break, I’m taking you off the Quidditch team!” The letter promptly burst into flame and burned into a little pile of ash on the table. Draco’s Quidditch teammates looked at him with worry and discomfort at the thought of losing their star Seeker, while quiet chuckles and snickers came from the other tables.

“Bloody hell!” exclaimed Ron Weasley, turning to a wide-eyed Harry Potter. “What are them Slytherins going to do without Malfoy hunting you down every game, Harry?”

Hermione Granger shrugged. “I suppose Gryffindor is going to start winning a lot more matches.”

“I guess so,” agreed Harry absent-mindedly. According to Harry, Draco Malfoy had a lot of deficiencies, but intelligence was definitely not one of them. Lucius Malfoy’s standards must have been very demanding. The trio, along with just about everyone else, watched as a sullen Draco pushed away his half-eaten lunch and slinked out of the Hall.

-

The loud cheers faded into the background as Harry strode into the locker room. His last Quidditch match of the term had just ended with a Slytherin victory, but he was still in good spirits, energized by the lingering sensation of the cool autumn wind in his hair and on his cheeks. He took his time changing out of uniform and back into his regular school robes, aware that this was the last time he would get to do so until next term. By the time Harry started to walk casually towards the exit, nearly all the other players had already gone. But in the corner of Harry’s eye, he spotted a lone hunched-over figure sitting on one of the benches, his blond hair hanging over his eyes. Harry hesitantly turned away from the exit and towards Draco Malfoy. Harry was used to Draco’s excessive gloating after every Slytherin victory, yet despite the fact that he had just secured the win for his team that day, Draco seemed pretty downcast.

“Is your dad really going to take you out of Quidditch because of bad grades?” Harry inquired. “You seemed to be doing pretty well in Potions.”

Draco glared up at him with stormy grey eyes. “I’m acing Potions. It’s Herbology that’s the trouble. It’s boring and useless -” (Harry shrugged understandingly; he never cared much about plants either) “- and Professor Sprout never grades me fairly. I suppose that teacher’s pet Granger doesn’t have that problem, does she, Potter?” Draco sneered. His hostile expression quickly weakened, however, as he looked around the familiar locker room.

Since the classroom environment was so restrictive, the only time Draco ever felt truly powerful was when he blasted through the air on his broom, knocking opponents out of the way and skilfully dodging obstacles as he chased victory and received the cheers and admiration of his peers. He couldn’t imagine his life at Hogwarts without Quidditch.

Draco groaned in frustration and ran his hands through his hair as Harry stood there awkwardly. He knew Draco needed help, but he also knew the proud Slytherin would never ask. He arguably didn’t even deserve help, but Harry found himself thinking about how terrible he would feel in Draco’s current position. Powerless, and desperate, even. An idea began to come alight in Harry’s mind.

“Why don’t you…” Harry started carefully, “…come study with us? Hermione got ‘perfect’ on her last assignment – which I honestly didn’t even know was possible – and she could teach you all her tricks. She’s smarter than anyone I know.”

“Oh, yeah. Exam prep with the Mudblood, the Weasel, and the Wonder Boy. Sounds great,” Draco retorted sarcastically. “The noble, virtuous Saint Potter, rescuing me from my plight!”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Listen, Malfoy. You either ace Herbology or you never get to knock me out of the sky again. You choose.” Harry stared Draco straight in the eye, as if challenging him. How far would he let his pride go?

Draco clenched his jaw and turned away from Harry’s intense gaze. Crabb & Goyle certainly weren’t ideal study partners, and Draco didn’t exactly have a cooperative reputation even in his own House. The Herbology final was mere days away and his options were narrow. “No one can see us together. It’ll be the first and the last time I ever choose to be around you lot.”

If Harry didn’t know any better, Draco was making it sound like they were going to start secretly dating or something. Harry fought off a smug smile. “We know a pretty secluded area of the studying commons. It’ll only be a couple of days, really.” Draco did not protest, so Harry continued. “Bring your book and notes and meet me after dinner tomorrow at the studying commons entrance, and we’ll get it done. You’ll see what kind of a whiz Hermione really is.”

Draco sighed. “Fine. But you better keep out of my sight until then, Potter.”

“Gladly,” Harry smirked. “Tomorrow, then.”

Draco shook his head as Harry left, feeling his stomach sinking as he processed what he just agreed to. Studying help from the three Hogwarts students he despised most. This better be worth it.

-

Harry ran into the Gryffindor common room where his friends were relaxing and enjoying their downtime. “Hey, guys!” he whispered to Ron and Hermione, gesturing for them to come closer. “I’ve got some news to tell you!” Ron and Hermione shared a confused glance, and went over to their grinning friend. They looked at Harry expectantly. His bright eyes were glinting with excitement (and a hint of panic), and he paused for effect.

“…Draco Malfoy is going to be studying with us for the Herbology final!”

“Hah!” Ron guffawed loudly. “Good one, mate!”

“Very funny, Harry,” said Hermione with her arms crossed. “Now what were you really going to tell us?”

“No, really!” Harry persisted. “He needs to get an A in Herbology to stay on the Quidditch team, and I told him all about how smart you are, Hermione.”

“Oh please, you can’t be serious, Harry!” Hermione exclaimed. “He’s done nothing but be awful to us!”

“She’s right, mate!” Ron echoed. “Bloody good riddance if he’s off Quidditch!”

“No, listen, don’t you see?” Harry insisted in a conspiratorial whisper. “If we help him…he owes us.” He gestured to Ron. “We can get him to stop calling you ‘Weasel’!” He pivoted to Hermione. “And we can get him to stop calling you…you know…that.” Hermione crossed her arms even tighter.

“The point is,” Harry concluded, “If we’re nice to him and we help him out just this once, maybe he’ll be more decent towards us too. I didn’t come to Hogwarts to make enemies. And honestly, Quidditch wouldn’t really be the same without him.”

“Yeah, we’d win more,” Ron scoffed. “I don’t think this is a good idea, mate.”

“Just trust me, guys,” said Harry. “If it turns out to be a disaster you can say ‘I told you so’.”

“You can count on that,” Hermione said with a smirk. Harry grinned and left to go upstairs. As soon as he was out of sight, Ron turned to her with an anxious expression.

“What do you really think of all this, ‘Mione?”

She let out a deep sigh. “I think…that no amount of niceties or politeness or favours could ever make someone like Malfoy think any more highly of anybody like me or you.” Ron looked down at the floor. “I’m just going to go through with this for Harry.”

“What do you suppose he thinks of Harry, then?” Ron inquired.

Hermione looked into the distance thoughtfully. “I’ve always thought that Malfoy’s jealous of Harry. For having real friends, and being popular without having to treat anyone horribly. I’ve never known anyone as rude as Malfoy.” Hermione shook her head. “I don’t understand why Harry thinks this is going to work.”

Ron nodded dismally. “I’m going to talk to him about it tonight. Don’t worry.”

-

“Harry?” Ron said quietly as he untucked the covers and climbed into his bed.

“Yeah, Ron?” Harry replied, already lying down and staring up at the ceiling, his glasses sitting on the bedside table.

“Why do you want to help Malfoy?” Ron asked honestly. “He’d never do anything of the sort for us. ‘Mione and I are worried, you see. We can’t trust him.”

Harry sighed, still looking up at the ceiling. “I don’t know. I just had a feeling. What would you do, Ron, if you weren’t allowed to play Quidditch anymore?”

Ron tried to visualize himself in that position. “I reckon I’d feel pretty angry. I’d do anything to stay on the squad.”

Harry knew Ron would feel the same way he did about that. “Now just imagine Malfoy next term, all angry and bitter now that he can’t play anymore, and then he sees us walking down the hall celebrating all our wins.”

A terrible realization dawned on Ron. “Blimey, he’d be even worse to us than he was before. Hermione said he’s jealous enough of you already.”

Harry chuckled. “I really didn’t even expect him to agree to come study with us. Though he did make me promise to stay out of his sight until then. Not sure how that’s going to happen since we have the same class tomorrow morning.” This prompted a giggle from Ron.

“We’re all going to be a bunch of chums,” Ron joked as he turned over and squirmed into a comfy position to drift off into an uneasy sleep.

-

Harry stood outside the entrance to the studying commons near the library, arms crossed. That morning in their last Potions class of the term, Malfoy did not look his way even once. Not even when Neville accidentally spilled the wrong ingredient into Harry’s brew and it bubbled over and poured all over the table. During dinner, Draco sat with his head down the whole time, barely saying a word to his friends who were loudly squabbling over all manner of petty topics. Ron had elbowed Harry and asked why he was watching Malfoy like a hawk all day, while Draco had done everything possible to avoid Potter’s gaze. “I’m just not used to it, I guess,” Harry replied. “He didn’t even say anything when Neville made my brew spill over.”

Hermione shrugged. “I guess he’s just dreading spending time with us as much as we are.”

Now Harry was standing there, waiting for the lively-turned-sullen Slytherin to show up. Hermione and Ron were already seated inside (Hermione was amassing an intimidating stack of textbooks to scrutinise). Finally, a pale blond head emerged out of the shadows. Draco slinked over to Harry, book bag over his shoulder.

“Hello, Malfoy,” said Harry politely.

“Potter,” Draco curtly replied. “Let’s get this over with.” Harry fought the urge to smirk, enjoying Draco’s evident displeasure with the situation. No matter how much Malfoy didn’t like it, he needed their help and he was here.

“Follow me,” Harry said, leading Draco into the large room of studying desks and chairs tucked away between bookshelves full of large, musty academic volumes. Some students were clustered together in small groups in different pockets of the room, but despite the quiet hum of voices and flipping pages, the place did not feel particularly busy. A few lamps here and there offered some dim reading light. Draco looked around as if he hadn’t been here many times before.

As promised, Harry led his rival-turned-study-buddy into a far corner of the commons hidden away behind tall bookshelves, where Ron looked on in despair as Hermione laid yet another massive volume on top of her studying pile. The anxious red-head turned to see Harry enter, hoping for some good news, but alas. There was Draco Malfoy, their haughty tormentor. Except now he was standing there uncomfortably, fidgeting with the strap of his book bag.

“Hey, guys,” Harry sighed. “I’m sure you all know Draco Malfoy,” he joked half-heartedly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Sit down, Draco.” She ordered, pointing at the empty chair in front of her, beside Ron. Ron looked from Hermione to Draco to the seat, and he jumped up and clambered into the chair beside Hermione to avoid sitting next to the awkward Slytherin. Draco narrowed his eyes and reluctantly took his seat, followed by Harry sitting down beside Draco where Ron was glad not to be.

“Alright, then,” Hermione began, clearing her throat and smoothing out her frizzy hair. She hoped going into full-on study mode would successfully distract her from her uneasiness. Ron watched the beady-eyed Slytherin look around the room once more before reluctantly turning his attention to the large stack of books on the table. “Let’s start with the basics,” said Hermione, lifting a thick volume detailing the magical properties of thousands of plants off the stack and placing it on the table with a thud.

This is going to be a long night, thought all four of them.

-

“Blimey, Harry!” Ron exclaimed as Draco smiled smugly and Hermione shook her head in exasperation. “Everyone knows that Valerian sprigs are a main ingredient in a Forgetfulness Potion!” After going over their notes and looking up more information on some of the plants that Professor Sprout highlighted in class, they had just started quizzing each other on the properties and uses of different herbs.

“Actually, Ronald, I seem to remember you having a particularly hard time recalling the most crucial ingredients of a Forgetfulness Potion,” Hermione remarked. “But honestly, Harry, this is first-year stuff!”

Harry shrugged apologetically. “I know we’re already in Third year, but I’m still not all that familiar with these things. I didn’t grow up in a magical family like Ron or Malfoy, remember?”

“That’s no excuse,” Hermione retorted. “Both my parents are Muggles and I still know everything I need to know to pass my exams.”

Draco scoffed. “No matter how many books you cram into your head, that doesn’t change what you are.” (So far he had done a pretty good job of keeping snarky remarks to a minimum, but as far as he was concerned Hermione had just walked right into that one.)

“And what’s that, exactly?” Ron exclaimed, incensed.

“Remind me why we’re helping him, Harry,” Hermione said bitterly. Draco shot upright but Harry grabbed his arm and plunked him back down in his chair. Draco frowned and brushed his arm off dramatically.

“She’s right, Harry,” Ron argued. “We can’t just let him insult us the way he does. If he wants our help, he has to start acting decent.”

“I don’t need your help!” Draco spat. Harry looked over at him with a Really? expression. Draco looked down at all the extra information he’d added onto his notes. The studying had actually been going pretty well (until this point, that is).

“It doesn’t matter if Hermione’s parents are Muggles,” Ron said, more calmly now but firmly. “She’s bloody brilliant and she can help us all get an A on this bloody final.” Draco didn’t look up.

“Come on, Malfoy. You can keep studying with us until the Herbology final if you just act civil,” Harry told Draco. “We’ve already made a lot of progress. Let’s just keep at it until it’s over.”

Draco sighed in defeat. “Fine.” Without further ado, Hermione reopened one of the textbooks and flipped a few pages to where they were before. “What is Wormwood used in?” she asked in a resolute voice, keeping her eyes firmly glued to the book.

“Draught of Living Death,” Draco replied without missing a beat.

Hermione nodded. “And?”

“And…? What?” Draco was getting annoyed. Ron shook his head, knowing what was imminent.

Hermione sighed in exasperation. “If Professor Sprout asks us that question on the exam, naming one use of a plant is not good enough! We have to show her how much we know, give her all the details we can. Wormwood is an ingredient in Draught of Living Death and Elixir to Induce Euphoria and Shrinking Solution.”

Draco rolled his eyes as Harry and Ron chuckled at Hermione’s meticulousness. She flipped a few pages forward. “Try again. What can stinging nettles be used for?”

Draco recalled that particular plant being mentioned in class. “Dried nettles are used in the Boil-Cure Potion…” Hermione, Ron, and Harry raised their eyebrows expectantly. “And in nettle tea and soup?”

Hermione nodded in satisfaction, but Draco wasn’t done.

“And I heard nettles can improve the glossiness of one’s hair,” he concluded with a smirk, smoothing down his own sleek blond locks and eliciting a chuckle from Harry (and eyerolls from Ron and Hermione).

The rest of the studying session was surprisingly productive. Turns out the four of them could get a lot done when they momentarily put aside their grievances and got to work. By the time they were done Ron felt like his head was swimming with plants and potions. Overall, except for the rough patch in the middle, Harry thought that it went better than he expected.

Harry turned to Draco as they were packing up their notes. “Hey, Malfoy, we’ve still got one more night to study before the exam. Do you want to join us tomorrow?” He half-expected Malfoy to say “No way”.

But Draco just shrugged. “Sure,” he replied. He wasn’t particularly excited about studying with them again but he also had to admit that it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. Since he’d gotten this far already, he didn’t see any good reason to stop now. He just hoped he would end up getting that A and it’d all be worth it. He was too tired to worry about his reputation now. Without another word, he slung his book bag over his shoulder and went on his way.

-

“Hey, Malfoy, where you been?” asked Crabb as Draco slinked through the dark Slytherin common room on his way to the dorms.

“Nowhere,” he briskly replied. Realizing that might make him sound a bit suspicious, he quickly rebounded. “Studying. For Herbology.” His friends looked at each other, wondering why Draco was acting a bit odd but not really wanting to ask.

He walked past them without another word and went up to his room. He set his book bag down and sat on his bed, looking out the window at the dark night sky. The more Draco stared out at the sky, the more it seemed to swallow him up in its pitch-black expanse. The only way he could explain how he was feeling right now was “weird”. He was uncertain, about how the exams were going to go, about what the next (hopefully last) study session with Harry and his strange friends was going to be like, about how his father was going to greet him when he comes home for winter break. “Hello, dear son, I’ve missed you”? Not too likely. 

If my father cared about me then why would he pull me out of Quidditch? He only cares about himself. And his reputation, Draco thought to himself bitterly, leaning back onto his pillow. As if a B in Third year Herbology would leave such a stain on the family crest. It’s certainly not as embarrassing as studying with Granger and Weasley. The thing that frustrated Draco the most, though, was that he wasn’t as riled up about the studying session as he felt he should’ve been. He didn’t even feel particularly proud of the jab he took at Hermione. When it was his gaggle of friends behind him egging him on, he relished every chance he got to belittle Potter and his sidekicks. But Draco was not on home territory tonight, and there was no one to laugh.

Then Draco sat up with a jolt, suddenly remembering Harry audibly chuckling at Draco’s comment about stinging nettles and silky hair. Draco didn’t know why he was so stunned by the sudden memory of his nemesis Harry Potter laughing at his harmless joke. That moment was probably the friendliest one they’d ever had. Then he recalled Harry quietly and politely, almost carefully, asking if Draco wanted to join them again. Draco remembered the day he met Potter like it was yesterday, and Harry seemed thoroughly disinterested in being friends then, so why was he acting so agreeable now? A deeply buried sentiment started to bubble up to the surface, 11-year-old Draco’s wish to be friends with the famous Harry Potter, to feel like more than his rival.

But Draco’s cynical side pushed these thoughts away. They must be up to something. I don’t care what. I just need that A, he reminded himself yet again. His mind wandered back to when he got up to leave after offending Ron and Hermione, and how Harry just wordlessly pulled him back into his seat. Harry wanted him to stay. Draco stood up and tried to shake these thoughts away. No point in dwelling on it. Things will go back to the way they used to be after the exam.

I like to have study groups in all my classes, and I use Google Doc as a way to share notes with contacts in the class in the hopes that they will share their notes with me and the rest of the group so we can all benefit. However, I end up being the one who contributes most, if not all, of the notes that are posted. I know there are other people who make it work, by individually taking notes during lecture simultaneously and then combining each day’s notes into one collective study guide. I know others contribute on their own time, with all the important notes highlighted so that it is easier to read and study for exams and finals season. I know that many students are very creative thinkers and find ways to study effectively with a group.

Part 1 | 2 | 3 (coming soon)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25758838/chapters/62709049

Setting: Hogwarts, 3rd year

Content warnings: None. Contains subtle hints of Drarry

Summary: Star student Draco Malfoy is acing all his courses…except Herbology. Lucius threatens to pull Draco out of Quidditch if he doesn’t get straight As on all his exams, and with time running out, a desperate Draco finds himself reluctantly accepting help from Harry Potter, of all people. 

Now it's the day before the Herbology exam, and while Harry wrestles with confusing thoughts about Draco, Hermione has only got one thing on her mind: studying! But what happens when the group's late-night cramming session takes a few unexpected turns?

Featuring: Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley

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“We can’t have him dragging us down, Harry. We still have so much material to go through and the exam is first thing tomorrow morning! We have to be ready!” Hermione was adamant. Ron and Harry were just trying to eat their breakfast in peace, but Hermione was in exam season mode.

“Bloody hell,” muttered Ron, turning to a tired Harry. “I need this all to be over already. I just want Christmastime to come. Forget about these bloody exams.” Harry nodded in silent agreement before turning to address his studying fiend of a friend’s immediate concerns.

“It’s just this once more, Hermione,” Harry maintained in a low voice. “Malfoy will be out of our hair after that. Besides, he’s smart. If he can just restrain his urge to make cutting remarks about us every five minutes, it should go fine. I think we got a reasonable amount of work done last night anyway.”

Ron and Hermione didn’t feel like arguing anymore. What was there even left to argue about? Ron took a big gulp of pumpkin juice as he got up from the table, patting Harry on the back. “I’m heading to class, mate. See you later.”

Hermione rose up out of her seat as well and followed Ron out of the Hall, leaving Harry alone to stare at the back of Draco’s blond head on the other side of the room. His hair really does look glossy, he randomly thought, putting his hand to the back of his hair to feel his own messy dark mane. Hermione was always prattling on about her hair and “How about the back? Does it look okay at the back?” (Ron and Harry always told her it looked fine because what did they care?), but now for the first time Harry found Hermione’s self-conscious habits relatable.

Harry felt that everything seemed to go right for Draco all the time (until now, apparently). Not only was Draco smart, popular with his friends, and good at Quidditch, but he had parents who gave him everything and whom he could go to with any grievance (however minor it may be). Harry knew from last year’s uncomfortable encounters that Draco’s father was not a nice man. But surely having that kind of man for a father couldn’t be much worse than having no father at all? On top of all that, Draco had just grown considerably taller over the summer and Harry couldn’t help but notice that he was always looking well put-together and even rather handsome at times. Harry attempted to straighten out his crooked shirt collar as he tried to shake these unexpected thoughts out of his head. But he could so easily hear Malfoy’s taunting voice in his head saying, “Jealous, Potter?”.

I’m not jealous, Harry told himself as he got up from the table. He wished Ron and Hermione were still there to give him a confidence boost, but he realized they’d probably be even more confused by the content of Harry’s thoughts than Harry was himself.

-

Classes were over now and all the Hogwarts students were busy preparing for their exams. Some were sitting outside together and comparing notes (although they decided to migrate indoors once a bit of light snow started to fall); others were clustered in their House’s common rooms doing more joking around than studying. Hermione strode purposefully into the Gryffindor common room and pulled Ron away from a lively debate he was having with Seamus and Dean. “Come on, Ronald! Harry’s on his way to the library already.”

Ron sighed wearily as Hermione dragged him out of the room by the arm. “Oh, great. We get to hang out with Malfoy again,” he grumbled.

“Forget about him,” said Hermione (she seemed willing to study with a troll at this point). “It’s the exam we need to be worrying about. It’s tomorrow and Professor Sprout expects us to know all the material!”

Ron shook his head hopelessly. “Why do we have to do exams?” he wondered aloud as they walked down an empty hallway. “Why couldn’t we just grow some plants or something?”

“Hey, guys,” Harry greeted his friends as he joined them in the corridor near the library. “Professor McGonagall said that the studying rooms are open all night so that students can get their last-minute cramming in.”

“Perfect,” said Hermione. “That way we can stay as long as it takes until we’ve gone over everything.”

Ron scoffed. “‘As long as it takes?’ I don’t know about you, but I need my beauty sleep!” Hermione rolled her eyes.

“And I need the best grade possible!” she retorted. Their bickering put a smile on Harry’s face, distracting him from his nerves as they turned a corner and headed to the entrance of the studying commons.

Tonight the dimly lit room was busier than it was the night before, and there was no sign of Malfoy yet. The three headed to their tucked away table on the far end of the room to make sure they claimed it before anyone else came, but to their surprise someone was already seated there.

Draco looked up from the dense textbook he was perusing. “If you’re wondering why I’m early, it’s because I didn’t want to be seen coming in here with you lot,” he said matter-of-factly. Ron shrugged his shoulders in agreement with the Slytherin’s petty sentiment (the feeling was mutual, after all), and Harry smirked. “Nice to see you too, Malfoy.”

Draco rolled his eyes but seemed to be suppressing a small smile. “That’s enough with the pleasantries, Potter. Let’s just get this done.” Harry nodded briskly and sat down in his spot beside Malfoy.

Hermione took a large stack of notes from her book bag and plopped them onto the table. “I made a list of all the topics and terms we need to go over. We won’t be ready for tomorrow morning until we go through this entire list, understood?” Ron sighed quietly, but all three boys nodded in agreement. Draco watched Harry carefully as the young Gryffindor started laying out and organizing his class notes, pushing his messy dark hair out of his face and adjusting his round glasses as he prepared himself for a long night of studying. His intense green eyes flitted from page to page as he started to lose focus, aware that he was being watched. But Harry didn’t dare turn to face Draco right now, not when they both needed to focus on getting all this studying done. There were still plenty of confusing thoughts swimming around in Harry’s head that he was trying to dispel, and most of them had to do with Malfoy.

Draco just didn’t know why Harry ever allowed him to study here with them in the first place. Potter doesn’t want to be friends with me now, does he? Draco wondered. What does he want from me, then?

“Hel-lo!” Ron’s impatient tone broke Draco and Harry out of their thoughts. Draco turned sharply from Harry, who looked up from his notes as Ron and Hermione stared at them with annoyance.

“We need to focus!” Hermione reiterated. “This is important. The exam is tomorrow morning, remember? If we all want the best grade possible, we need to start going through the terms right now.” Ron nodded in agreement, and Harry took a deep breath to ease his tension. Draco sat up straighter, determined to behave (at least, until this whole thing was over), and he reopened the textbook he was reading earlier, ready to look up the first topic as Hermione reached for her list.

“You’re right, Hermione. It’s time to get to work,” Harry said to the others and to himself as well. He could worry about Malfoy later.

-

They’d been studying nonstop for three hours now. Books were lying all over the table, and Ron was furiously scribbling in his notes as Harry read out an exhaustive description of the properties of Mandrakes from a particularly large and dusty volume. Hermione nodded as she double-checked her notes to make sure she had all the information Harry was giving, and Draco glanced at the text over Harry’s shoulder before jotting down the extra details in his notes.

“Are you sure we need to know all these details?” Draco muttered as he flipped through the notebook pages he’d just filled. Ron massaged his hand, looking woeful. “Never thought I’d be agreeing with Malfoy, but my hand’s cramping from writing all these things down.”

“Writing it helps you remember it,” Hermione stated without looking up from her notes. “You’ll thank me later.”

Harry set the book down and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. “I’m hungry.” Draco nodded glumly in agreement and Hermione sighed quietly, not wanting to admit that her energy was also beginning to wane.

A mischievous smile spread on Ron’s face. “Well, you’ll all be thanking me now,” he said as he reached into his pockets and drew out a bunch of cookies. “I nabbed them during dinner!” Hermione shook her head in amusement as Ron placed several mostly intact baked goods on the table.

“How do you even fit that much food in your pockets, Ron?” Hermione wondered aloud as Harry reached for a big chocolate chip cookie, too peckish to care that it had just spent a few hours in the deep and mysterious pockets of Ron’s robes. Hermione, too, gave in and started munching on an oatmeal cookie.

“Want one, Malfoy?” asked Ron. Enemies or no, his generous mother had taught him to always share.

“No,” replied Draco, as haughtily as he could muster.

“Too bad.” Ron reached over and plunked a gingerbread cookie in front of the weary Slytherin. Harry looked on in amusement as Draco reluctantly nibbled at his late-night snack.

“You’ve got chocolate on your face, Potter,” Draco commented in an attempt to deflect attention from himself and the fact that he was now participating in the universally acknowledged human bonding activity of eating food together. But despite his awkwardness about the situation, Draco couldn’t help but smile a little as the previously un-self-conscious Harry immediately licked his lips and wiped his face with his sleeve.

“Is it still there?” Harry asked as Ron and Hermione giggled.

“Yeah, there’s just a little—” Draco pointed to the left side of Harry’s upper lip, where there was clearly nothing there. Harry hurriedly wiped his mouth again and then noticed his friends’ uncontrollable laughter and the teasing glint in Draco’s eyes.

“Oh, sod off, Malfoy!” he almost shrieked as he playfully whacked Draco’s arm, a big embarrassed grin on his face. Draco laughed as he tried to fight Harry off (“Stop it, Potter!” he squealed), and Hermione shook her head in amusement once again.

“Can we get back to studying now?” she asked, still smiling.

“Oh, yeah, shtudying,” Ron mumbled through a mouthful of cookies, causing Harry to laugh louder than would be deemed appropriate in a library at 11 in the evening.

“You’re going to get us in trouble, Harry!” Hermione whisper-yelled, trying to contain her own laughter. Draco poked his head out from behind the bookshelves and peered around the room at the few tables of people still trying to study.

“Most of the others have gone already,” he reported in a hushed voice. He glanced at Harry who was still smiling broadly, his cheeks reddened from embarrassment and laughter. Despite the late hour Draco felt a sudden surge of energy (maybe it was partially due to the sugary cookie?). He could only think of one other time he felt this kind of a breathless thrill, a pure joy, and that was when he was soaring through the air in the middle of a high-stakes Quidditch match.

There was just something about seeing Potter smile—how he made him smile. Sure, it was fun to try and get a rise out of Potter, taunt him and his friends and see him get all riled up. But somehow, this was even better. Harry’s openness and sensitivity made him a perfect target for teasing, but his reactions were always so genuine. His fierce glares, his loud laughs, his awkward smiles. Draco could clearly see why everyone liked Potter so much. Harry was always himself, and so people could be themselves around him too.

Harry honestly couldn’t believe what had just happened (neither could Ron and Hermione, for that matter). Potter and Malfoy, joking around like a pair of chums? And yet it felt so natural in the moment. It was a part of Draco he felt he’d never seen before (or didn’t even know existed), an almost friendly playfulness so different from the malice-laced taunting Harry was so used to from Malfoy. Seeing Draco’s eyes glint not with evil but with wit and charm. Perhaps Malfoy could be a tad bit good-natured after all. Or maybe he was just trying to distract him so they wouldn’t get any studying done.

“Anyway, where were we?” Harry asked, a little out of breath from how hard he was laughing just moments ago. Ron and Hermione shared a bemused We’ll talk about this later glance, but the group pulled themselves together, now re-energized thanks to a tasty snack and some good laughs, and got back to work. How they were going to cover everything in time for the exam, they had no idea.

-

The large room was still and silent, except for the quiet rustling of pages, scribbling pencils, and yawns coming from the tucked-away corner that these four very tired Hogwarts students were still holed up in. The warm lights seemed to become more and more dim, the bookshelves closing in on their hard wooden table which was starting to feel comfier by the minute.

“Just a few more to go,” Hermione mumbled, peering at the list in her limp hand. Draco’s refined handwriting had descended into a droopy scrawl, and Ron was staring lifelessly into the distance, eyes half-closed. Suddenly he blinked as if stirred from a dream, and staggered up from his chair.

“That’s it. I’m going to bed.” Harry watched Ron shuffle away, hoping his weary friend wouldn’t fall asleep in some random spot on the way to the dorms. Hermione muttered a quick “Bye”, barely looking up. A bit more time passed. None of them really knew how much; it was that time past midnight where the hours seemed to drag on and bleed into each other. Draco was quietly continuing to read beside him, but Harry was struggling to focus on a single word in his notes. He took off his glasses and massaged his sore eyes. Hermione sighed as she pored over a dense textbook chapter, feeling her brain threatening to quit on her.

In the dead-silent space, Harry and Hermione heard Draco’s pencil clatter onto the table. Harry turned to Malfoy, putting his glasses back on and peering at him to see if he had fallen asleep. The warm, dim light was casting an oddly ethereal glow onto the pale boy drifting in and out of consciousness. Harry gazed at Draco’s drooping eyelashes, long and dark and delicate. That’s so pretty, Harry drowsily thought. He felt as though he were watching a sleeping dragon, deadly and beautiful. As Draco’s breath started to slow, his body began to lean over and tip towards Harry, whose eyes suddenly widened with panic. He looked at Hermione in alarm as a sleeping Draco flopped over and fell onto Harry’s shoulder.

“What do I do?” he mouthed while Hermione clasped her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggling. Harry’s shoulders were tensed up and he tried to keep the unconscious Malfoy at arm’s length, but Draco just sort of snuggled onto Harry like a sleeping cat and Harry was too scared to try and nudge Draco off him.

“Just ignore him,” whispered Hermione as quietly as possible as she resumed her reading. Harry sighed in defeat and tried to go back to examining his notes. But it only took a little while for Harry’s initial panic to be replaced by drowsiness again, and the feeling of Draco’s warm, slender body nestled into his side was oddly calming at this late hour. The room became darker and smaller still, and Harry’s vision blurred even with his glasses on. He felt like he was pushing through deep water as he lifted his heavy arm up to slip his glasses off his face again. Harry couldn’t keep track of his drifting thoughts anymore; his mind was spinning and reeling and spiralling and faraway songs and abstract shapes swam through his brain as he collapsed onto Draco, dark messy hair mingling with fine light tresses as Harry’s head rested on top of Draco’s. The last thing Harry remembered was the musk of old books and the comforting scent of Draco’s hair.

-

“What time is it?” Draco mumbled softly, eyes still closed though he could tell there was light in the room. Still half-asleep, he squirmed and snuggled into the warm body beside him, hiding his face in soft messy hair. He felt like he was slowly beginning to wake from a strange but happy dream, and as he stirred he started to feel aware of an ache in his legs from sitting in his chair all night…chair? Why am I in a chair? Shouldn’t I be in bed? As Draco hesitantly began to pull himself away from the grip of unconsciousness, he suddenly wondered who on Earth he was so comfortably nestled onto. Draco certainly wasn’t the huggy type and he wouldn’t dream of lying next to anyone (except maybe his mother? But perhaps he was too old for that now). Whoever it was, they felt so comforting and familiar that he almost didn’t want to know. Almost. He felt so tired and he struggled to recollect his memory of the previous night. Where am I, and how did I get here?

“Wake up, you bloody idiots!” yelled a very exasperated voice that could only be Ron Weasley’s. He slammed a huge textbook shut, making a loud CLAP! that, in combination with the sudden shouting and the horrifying realization of exactly where Draco was and who he was with, caused the startled and mortified Malfoy to shoot straight up out of his seat, his head smacking Harry squarely in the chin, causing Harry to jolt awake with an indignant “Ow!”

Ron had just come into the library after a good night’s sleep, unable to find Harry anywhere. To his shock and utter dismay, what he saw when he rounded the corner of their studying nook was his best friend fast asleep on none other than their nemesis Draco Malfoy. He could only stand there in shock as Hermione appeared beside him, trying to suppress her amusement at the inexplicable sight. She left them asleep the night before, but she didn’t expect them to actually stay there all night. They looked awfully cosy, snuggled into each other and sleeping the morning away. The only problem (other than the fact that Harry and Draco aren’t supposed to be able to stand each other)?

“The exam’s in thirty minutes!”

Yes, I think group studying could be great! However, I would hesitate to get all of my best friends together for one big study session because we’d likely end up chitchatting within the first ten minutes. When choosing your groupmates, you’ll want to find people who are studying the same subject and who have similar goals, focus levels, and academic performance. It might even be best to study with people whom you don’t know that well, so you feel just a bit pressured to study instead of playing with Snapchat lenses. Keep the group small, maybe between 2-5 people. During the study session, choose activities that keep everyone engaged. Try lots of new study methods— you can always quiz yourself and take notes at home, so take this group study opportunity to try things you couldn’t do alone. You could have a discussion, hold a debate, take turns teaching everyone else a topic, play a quiz-bowl style game, etc.