He kept his distance, gripping his wand as they reached their destination. Professor Ludwig had assigned them a specific room that would benefit their studies, and so that they can go on uninterrupted. Although he was warned about unexpected visits to see Alfred's progress, to make sure Arthur's teaching methods were effective. Though Arthur wasn't going to tell him that; the last thing he needed was the Gryffindor student purposely acting up when a Professor came around, just to get him in trouble.

Minutes after arriving to the classroom, Alfred couldn't be less animated about the whole ordeal. It seemed as if Arthur took a less liking in the circumstances. What in blazes was he talking about anyway? Herbal concoctions, flying on a broom, gnomes, it was all the same to Alfred.

"Wait. What about flying? We can fly?" The American always thought that was an old wife's tale with a witch flying past the moon on a broom. "That's the coolest!" Exclaimed the now over ecstatic Alfred. "Will I be able to fly?" He was hanging of the edge of his seat, staring at Arthur with large, childlike eyes. This brought him back to his kid days where every day was a role play of superheroes and super villains in the backyard. If he could give anything, it would be the experience of flying. "Oh Arthur! Are we going to fly?" He rambled on.

Arthur couldn't help but feel his eyebrow twitch, for the other's ramblings irked him to no end. Not only was he cocky, he was one very distracted individual. "For the fifth time, we don't actually fly /ourselves/. We fly /on brooms/. You have to learn to control the broom so that you don't skyrocket all over the place like a Mexican jumping bean." Quite honestly, Alfred looked perfectly capable of doing so without the help of a rabid broom. "Do you even have one? I can't teach you if you don't." He put bluntly. "Either way, that's for another time. Right now, focus on this spell. I'll demonstrate one more time." With a wave of his wand, he pointed to a nearby textbook and commanded: "Wingardium leviosa!" Said object was immediately suspended into the air, and stayed afloat at his eye-level. "...Now you try."

Alfred made a bitch-face and rolled his eyes. With his spirits down, he raised his wand and gave his wrist a flick repeating the words "Wingardium leviosa!" But such a spell shouldn't be controlled with a jab as the text book went flying and smacked right against the green eyed Slytherin's head. "So where do I get a broom?" Alfred asked, still advent on the topic of flying.

"ARG!" Arthur held his nose, doubling over in pain from the impact. "Y-you...GIT! Watch where you bloody AIM!" He could feel a light trickle of blood on his fingers, causing him to curse under his breath. "... Episkey.." Arthur muttered, relieving himself a bit of the pain. Though he hissed shortly after he felt a small burning sensation. "Jones, focus. I won't ask you again. We still have about an hour to go, and we can talk about flying later."

"But I did the spell!" Alfred huffed, pouted, and sat back in his chair with his arms folded. "And nothing got turned into a fish this time."

"You didn't do it right! What, do you want a biscuit for screwing up?" He barked, though flinching after a couple more moments from the shift of a hot sensation to cold.

"...Biscuit? Hey, I'm not a dog, y'know!" The sandy blond retorted, somewhat insulted.

Arthur simply sighed. "It's not-here, we call them-oh, nevermind!"

At that moment, Ludwig had stepped in with a stern, brisk walk with his head held high and his hands behind his back. "How is the lesson coming along?" He more or less demanded, standing next to Alfred, seeing the book and the blood on the floor. Ludwig raised an eyebrow.

A low growl escaped him just before Ludwig entered the room. "...I'm trying, professor. But he won't listen to me. I was just assaulted with this book due to his incompetence with a simple levitation spell!" His eyes narrowed at the sandy blond.

"Is this true, Alfred?" Ludwig asked the American who was rather surprised by his appearance.

"I… It might be." Alfred looked down with a sigh. Ludwig gave him a thick pat on the shoulder which wretched him forward slightly before squeezing his large fingers around it.

"Shape up, Alfred Jones. I don't want to have to have you expelled." Lies. He totally wanted Alfred out of Hogwarts. The American kept his cool and gave a nod. He left with another pat that frankly rammed Alfred's chest into the table. This left Alfred thinking of going back to America again, away from wizards, witches, ghosts, and Hogwarts in general.

"Tch… Old brute…" Alfred muttered under his breath.

"You heard the professor. Now do as I say. Lift your wand and try again." To be honest, having the brat expelled didn't sound like a bad idea. If that were to happen, he'd have Alfred out of his hair, and their rivalry would be diminished. However, he had no choice but to mentor him because part of his grades depended on it...he had to admit, it was an inconvenient burden. "Come now, Jones. Surely you don't perceive to be that much of a failure, do you?" Arthur jeered.

"How can I be a failure when I'm the chosen one?" Alfred retorted, and quite honestly, that failure comment did bring out his ugly side. "You want to see magic? Wingardium leviosa!" Alfred pointed his wand at the green-eyed snake and shot him back a couple feet until his back hit a wall; Alfred kept him there. "Don't call me a failure." He growled, holding the spell for a few seconds longer until he knew that Arthur had seen the serious expression he wore.

His eyes widened slightly as he was thrust against the rugged bricks, taken aback by the other's sudden outburst. Well, at least it seems he got the spell...but kept using it to throw objects rather than simply lift them. As Arthur was released, he fell in a crouching position before stumbling to stand. The Brit's expression was slightly flabbergasted, despite his attempts to regain his composure.

"...If you don't want to be called as such, clean up your act." He chose his words carefully through gritted teeth, dusting himself off. "Instead of flaunting around like some kind of 'Hero', sharpen your skills. Incarcerous!" Arthur shouted, casting a spell straight at Alfred. The other blond was automatically bound to his chair with ropes generated from thin air. Marching over to where he sat, the Slytherin student slammed his palms on the table and looked him dead in the eye. He was observant, peering past the sandy locks that concealed that sickle-shaped scar. "...you may be the chosen one, but that doesn't grant you the divine right to pass your classes with flying colors. Make yourself aware of that."

"Fine then." Alfred glared back. "Teach me something." The ropes binding him were strong and gave him burns whenever he moved yet he didn't flinch or break eye contact.

Throughout the rest of the lesson, Alfred found himself slightly bored as he had nearly forgotten the incident. He would pay attention whenever Arthur made a move to perform a spell but lost interest soon after he started talking about the history of each spell he taught. At that, Alfred became dazed as he would seem attentive at first but would smile at small things like Arthur's unstoppable eyebrows and his messy blonde hair. He had a strange proper air about him but at the same time he looked like a silly individual if provoked.

At one point, Arthur noticed Alfred spacing out and snapped his fingers. "Jones...Jones! Did you hear what I just said?" Arms crossed, he huffed before glancing at the clock. "No matter...we're done for today." ..LIFE. Arthur thanked Merlin's beard it was over. "We'll continue this tomorrow. And if you prove to me you're capable of casting a few spells and studying efficiently...I might show you how to use a broom. It's your responsibility to obtain one." Collecting his books and belongings, he shoved them into a messenger back and slung it over his shoulder.

Alfred sighed before gathering his belongings and heading out minutes after Arthur had. What a disgusting individual that Brit was. A certain snake; cold blooded with venomous sarcasm lacing his forked tongue. 'I mean he's handsome for a snake but a snake none the less.' Arthur, no matter how cliché, reminded Alfred of a rose. He was appealing but his lies were filled with unpleasantness. Alfred headed up to his empty room, his mates might have been out and about, but Alfred needed some time with his 'owl', Ace. Ace nuzzled up to him, against his cheek, and asked in his own way to be scratched on his white neck. Bald eagles aren't always this affectionate.

Arthur let out a long sigh as he entered his previously assigned dorm. He didn't even bother greeting his former roommates as he carelessly tossed his bag on the bed, kicked off his shoes and sat down. Pinching the bridge of his nose, the Brit mumbled incoherently under his breath. Gilbert and Francis were quick to notice Arthur's displeased demeanor.

"Mon cher, is something ze matter?~" The Frenchman cooed with curiosity, strolling his way over to the other blond's bed.

Arthur kept his gaze cast to the floor, massaging his temples. "Bloody hell...I don't know how I'm going to tolerate these excruciatingly long tutoring sessions with that pompous git." Granted, after only one day they were already at each other's throats with hollow threats. He was beginning to feel stressed from the annoyance of it all.

"You seem tense. Perhaps I can help allow you to relax, non?~..." Francis snaked his hands up Arthur's back, thumbs grazing stiff shoulder blades hidden under his gray uniform sweater.

Gilbert simply watched in amusement, already predicting what was to come. "Three...two..."

THWACK

"O-ow! I-I was only trying to help! You are so cruel!" Francis wailed, withdrawing his hands from the wrath of his roommate's thick textbook.

"Kesese~"

"You can help by keeping your wanking mits off me! For cripes sake, when are you going to learn?" That frog was too persistent for Arthur's liking.

Francis sat, pressed against the Brit while weaving his fingers though his hair. "Is there anything we can do to help you, mon ami?" He asked while noticing his German friend Gilbert nodding vigorously.

"Yeah! You want us to whack this kid?" Gilbert exclaimed rather than asked.

"No, no, no. That's far too extreme." Francis replied and rubbed his scratchy chin.

Arthur rolled his eyes in slight defeat, though easing up a bit as his hair was fondled. "Hmm...perhaps there is something you can do. Maybe not now, but for future reference...we'll see how the next couple sessions come along." A small smirk tugged at his lips before he gathered his belongings and proceeded to leave to his private quarters. "I'll be seeing you two tomorrow."