"The Elixir To Seduce" was inspired by this lovely Dramione photoset: /749why8
"Merlin's beard, no. There must have been a mistake. Surely I ought to be paired with someone else..." Hermione gave a quick glance around the room, surveying the shocked faces of her fellow classmates; it had appeared as though all eyes in the room were on her. Of course, how could they not be? Professor Slughorn had just announced to the entire Potions class, quite exuberantly, that Draco Mafloy and Hermione Granger were to be paired for an assignment.
It's not that Draco was a particularly bad partner; oftentimes, Hermione would watch him brew even the most tricky of potions close to perfect the first time, and would find herself in awe at how easily his hands sifted through the ingredients, delicately pouring the specified amounts in at a time-though she would never care to admit to it. The fact of the matter was that the pair had had a most regrettable history throughout their time at Hogwarts. It had only been Hermione's first year when he had dared to address her as 'Mudblood,' a derogatory nickname that soon caught on and remained to the day for her. A pure-blood Slytherin and a Muggle-born Gryiffindor working together seemed down right barmy.
She scanned the faces around her once more, resting her eyes on the two boys across from her. She searched their faces-one lightly dusted with freckles, the other marked with the familiar lightning bolt shaped scar-with a pleading urgency and found only dismay. It was rotten luck, but the trio knew that nothing more could be done; Slughorn's decision was final. She would just have to pluck up all of her mighty Gryffindor courage to face that seething snake of a boy. After all, the sooner they finished the assigment, the better. It was not as if their arrangement was to be permanent.
Hermione waited patiently as Slughorn finished coupling off the rest of the Sixth Years, fervently reading over the potion to be made, the Elixir to Induce Euphoria.
"And lastly," Slughorn's voice drawled on, pulling Hermione's attention away from the informative words, "We'll have Katie Bell and Padma Patil." The two girls exchanged a friendly smile to one another, and Hermione desperately wished she could trade places with either one of them for today. She let out an exasperated sigh as Slughorn carried on with his lecture.
"Now, the Elixir to Induce Euphoria is a fairly simple potion. However, I have asked each of you to get into pairs for the sole reason of testing your potions. The first team that produces a sufficient Elixir, without any of the possible side effects listed in your Advanced Potion-Making textbooks, shall receive a special prize from me." He gave a sly smile and opened his mouth once more: "You may begin."
There was a loud cacophony within the room as the Sixth Years gathered their textbooks and shuffled about, meeting with their assigned partners and hastily deciding who would be getting what. Hermione watched Draco warily for a moment while majority of the class returned to their seats to get started. She had half-expected him to be giving her a death glare back, but his eyes were downcast, staring instead at the feather at the end of his quill. She pursed her lips, gathered her books, and strode over to his table. "Something's got his knickers in a twist...," she thought darkly to herself as she placed her books down beside his on the wooden table top. She paused for a moment, eyeing him carefully, and curtly addressed him. "Malfoy." His head snapped up at once, her voice bringing him back to the here and now. His grey eyes lifted to meet hers, and she saw them darken with some intensity she could not place. She sucked in a breath, preparing herself for whatever foul remark he had for her today.
"Hermione," he said softly, nodding his head once in acknowledgement. The suppressed breath came tumbling out of her lungs at once. This was not the reaction she had expected from someone who hated her existence and everything she stood for. She couldn't even recall a time when he had once called her by her actual name. Something was definitely off.
"What is up with him today?" She wondered briefly, immediately dismissing the thought as the sound of an explosion a few tables away brought her back to the matter at hand. Her eyes glided over to Seamus Finnigan, smoke roiling over his cauldron as Professor Slughorn hurriedly made his way over to the troubled student. Catching a glimpse of Seamus' singed eyebrows, Hermione muttered that she was off to get the supplies and left the brooding Draco at once.
She gathered the appropriate materials and returned to the table, setting them down carefully beside Draco's copper cauldron before seating herself. Hesitating, she looked up to see Harry and Ron looking back at her; once again, she searched their faces, this time looking for some sort of comfort. Harry gave her a reassuring smile, and that settled it. She nodded to herself and turned her attention, with much effort, to Draco. He was staring at the end of his quill again, and Hermione couldn't help but wonder what was on his mind. Deciding she'd actually rather not know, she picked up three porcupine quills and prompted him, "Right then. Shall we get started?"
Surprisingly enough, Draco turned out to be a rather decent partner. He was putting in as much effort as she was, and even offered to stir the potion while she slowly added the castor beans. Perhaps he cared more about his marks than he led everyone to believe. She smiled smugly to herself. "At least we have something in common..." As if waking from some terrible nightmare, she shook her head mechanically to banish the horrid thought from her mind. "Draco Malfoy and I have nothing in common. How ridiculous of me to even think of such a thing."
"All right there, Granger?" Draco asked, continuing to stir the jaundiced potion. Hermione flushed. "Yes, of course. I'm fine," she muttered. Out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw the hint of a smile playing on his thin lips. "A smile would do him good," she thought idly."Hermione Jean Granger," she scolded herself, "What on Earth has gotten into you? This is Draco Malfoy we're talking about."
Trying to busy her mind on something else, she fixed her eyes on the bright yellow potion in the cauldron. She smiled to herself, pleased at her-their--work. "That ought to do it," she insisted, starting to lift her hand in order to get Professor Slughorn's attention.
"Wait," Draco snarled, catching her by the wrist. Upon immediate contact, Hermione felt a surge of electricty run from the skin around her wrist where his long fingers touched all the way down her arm to the pit of her stomach, her muscles clenching. She pulled away and he released her hand, reaching instead for a few sprigs of peppermint. She gaped at him, knowing full well that the recipe did not mention anything about peppermint. Seeing her expression, a ghost of a smile flashed across his pale face. "Trust me," he urged. Her expression softened and, taking that as his OK, he dropped them into the potion. A sweet, aromatic smell filled the air around them. Perhaps that was the reason Draco had wanted to use the peppermint. The smell of the Elixir alone wasn't exactly awful to begin with, but the mint definitely made it more tolerable. Perhaps it was merely an added flavour to make it easier to drink.
She looked at him expectantly, and he gave her a nod. She raised her hand once more, this time without interruption, and Slughorn sauntered over to their table.
"Ahhh. Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy. Which of you is to be the guinea pig today?" He chortled. Without a moment's delay, Draco eagerly spoke up. "I will be." Shocked by his sudden enthusiasm, Hermione made no objections. "Very well, then, Mr. Malfoy. Ms. Granger, if you will." He said, indicating the vial rack near her left hand. She picked one up and handed it to Draco, his fingers grazing hers as he took it and she let go, that odd surge racing through her again. She bit her lip nervously as she watched him ladle the potion into his vial. Surely her nerves had just come about due to the fact that Professor Slughorn wanted something very precise, and if they didn't have what he was looking for to a tee, she would feel rotten about herself. "Or perhaps it's because of how confident Draco looks holding his peppermint-spiked Elixir..." She thought to herself, smiling. "What? Did I really just...?" She took a deep breath, composing herself as Draco downed his vial.
A few moments passed by and no notable changes had been made; Hermione began to panic. "Oh, no. It's not working. We've done something wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong."
"Well?" Professor Slughorn interrupted, scrutinizing him. "How do you feel, boy?" A smile cracked Draco's lips, small at first, then widening as his face brightened, the light in his grey eyes returning. "Fantastic. Absolutely brilliant." Suddenly, Hermione felt a stinging pain in her palms. It was then that she realised she had been holding her hands in tight fists, but upon hearing his reply, opened them, relief washing over her.
Though, it had appeared as though the war had not been won just yet. A hint of a smile played beneath Slughorn's massive mustache, as if he were waiting for something. "The side effects!" Hermione yelped internally. "But...shouldn't they have surfaced already? Unless..."
"Care for a song, Mr. Malfoy? I personally love a good tune every now and then to help lighten the mood." Draco chuckled, a soft, seductive sound that came from the back of his throat. "I couldn't agree more, Professor, though I'm afraid my singing sounds like that of a Mandrake root being ripped from its soil. And quite frankly, I'm not much in the mood for it." He grinned knowingly, the sight of it almost knocking Hermione off her feet. "A smile really does do him good," she observed, recalling her previous thought.
Professor Slughorn narrowed his large eyes at Draco who only smiled right back. A friendly, radiant smile. At last, he laughed. A loud, booming noise that filled the room, startling the other students. "Excellent work, you two." He inhaled deeply. "Is that peppermint I detect?" He wondered with slight disbelief. Draco nodded. A wide grin spread across the professor's face. "Very excellent, indeed." He turned to face the rest of the Sixth Years.
"If you'd all stop what you're doing, please. Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger have produced an extraordinary batch of Elixir, and seeing as how they were the first to do so, have now won the contest. As for the rest of you, we will continue with this potion next class. You may all clear your tables and be dismissed, apart from yourself and Ms. Granger, that is." He said, inclining his head toward Draco and Hermione.
The class quickly dispersed, some muttering in disbelief, others exuding their relief that the class was finally over. As Hermione organised her books on the table, two familiar faces popped up in front of her
"Blimey, Hermione," said Ron. "You and Malfoy. Who would've thought?"
"W-What?" She sputtered. "Draco and I...I mean, it was-nothing, really. I..." She trailed off, realising she was fumbling like a fool with her words. The more collected voice inside her head was looking at her with mock disgust. "Get a hold of yourself, Granger," she chided.
"Congratulations, Hermione." Harry smiled. It was infectious; she couldn't help but smile back. "Thanks, Harry."
Upon seeing Slughorn return from his office, the two boys made their way towards the door. "See you later, Hermione," they said, shuffling through the exit.
Draco returned to the table at the same time as Slughorn. They both had that same wide grin plastered on their faces. "Well, then. I'm sure you both must be very pleased with yourselves. I have a special club for students with great talent, such as yourselves." He handed them each a small piece of parchment with instructions to meet him at his office the Friday next for a gathering at 8 PM. "Welcome to the Slug Club," he smiled brightly.
Having returned to his office, the pair of them were now left alone in the classroom. It wasn't exactly a comforting thing to know. Hermione quickly gathered her things and began to head towards the door when, once again, Draco caught her by the wrist. "Granger," he breathed. "Yes?" She asked, feeling dazed. It was one thing for Draco to be civil with her for an entire class period, but it was a completely other thing for him to make her feel so...well, it was definitely nothing she had ever felt before, whatever it was exactly.
"I, uh, was wondering if you'd accompany me somewhere." He shook his head, not quite getting what he wanted to say right, and smiled shyly. A sight Hermione never would have thought she'd see in her lifetime. "I mean," he began again, "would you come with me somewhere? I have something I'd like to show you."
"What could he possibly have to show me?" She thought, utterly confused. "A torture chamber for Muggle-borns, perhaps?" She felt the blood drain from her face. "No. Absolutely not. This isn't right. Just politely decline his "offer" and get as far away from him as possible."
"Okay." The word was out before she could stop herself. "Okay? You're agreeing to this madness? Bloody hell, what's gotten into you? It's all over now..."