Title: Those...damn...unpredictable potions...
Author: Gizomo
Pairing: Harry/Ron
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Summary: The usual. A potions accident, an act of forgiveness, an unexpected turn of events...

A/N: Yeah. I know. Beginning is a bit clichéd. I mean, seriously, nearly every plot starts out because of a potion. But, but, at least Neville's the only one who isn't screwing it all up, so that should throw it off the path, right? RIGHT?!

-

The dungeon was completely silent, save for a few choppings of the knife against different ingredients, the bubbling of the cauldron's contents, and perhaps a cough and a sneeze here or there.

Harry was paired with Ron, as Neville would have needed all the help he could get from Hermione. Harry thought that Hermione was a little miffed by this, but as usual Ron went with the flow and hadn't realized a thing. He smiled; there was hardly anyone who could be more oblivious than Ron.

He absentmindedly threw his crushed peppermint flowers into the potion, glancing over at Ron. He looked as if his mind was elsewhere, face concentrated on cutting his leaves but eyes not on them. Ron moved to stir in the sliced ingredients into the potion, his mind most likely inattentive to the act, when suddenly there was a quiet gasp behind them.

"Ron, Ron—," whispered Neville urgently, his eyes wide when Harry turned around to see what was bothering him, "—No, Ron! That's not sneezewort, it's raspberry—"

Some curious things happened in the next few seconds. Harry, eyes wide, moved to stop Ron from throwing the leaves into their potion while Professor Snape barked at Neville, ("—Five points from Gryffindor for unnecessary chatting, Longbottom—") Hermione gasped and was belatedly getting out her wand, and Ron, snapping out of his reverie too late, tried to move the board of leaves away from the cauldron, effectively knocking into the rim, causing the boiling liquid to spill over the table and onto Harry's poor lap.

And so, of course, the dungeons throughout Hogwarts echoed as Harry's screams of pain bounced off the stone walls.

Well, there goes his Elixir of Euphoria, along with his beloved grade marks.

--

Harry sighed as he sat alone in the Common Room at one of the more comfortable tables. The plus side of it all was that because Potions was one of the last classes of the day, Madam Pomfrey allowed Harry to skip the rest of his classes and go straight to the Common Room, so now Harry was working on his homework before any distractions arose. ("Hermione would be proud," Harry muttered to himself.)

The upper parts of his thighs still tingled. Harry thought that it was because of the Burn-soothing cream Madam Promfrey gave him — she mercifully didn't apply it on him, thank Merlin— and so he left it alone, since it should disappear as it healed his poor skin.

Professor Snape had uttered a quick cleaning spell on Harry's robes to keep the liquid from burning him any longer than it should and hastily sent the boy alone to the Hospital Wing. The nurse had pursed her lips at Harry's mention of this, since it could have done anything to him, but she let it go after checking him and found no major side effects. After giving him the cream — and not applying it, seeing as the affected area included some of his waist as well, which might have led to some very awkward scenes — she was sufficiently satisfied to let Harry free after a while of nothing happening.

The Common Room slowly filled up as the day passed, and Harry was now proud to be the owner of several finished essays and papers. His books and bag had returned to his dormitory bed when he came back from the Hospital Wing, so he was coming down from there after putting his things away when he noticed his fellow Sixth Years returned.

"Oh, Harry," greeted Hermione, a reassuring smile on her face, "We saved a bit of your potion and turned it in for you. Any potion is better than none, you know." Neville nodded shyly beside her.

"Thanks, both of you," Harry said, feeling a surge of affection towards them. They were such wonderful people. Speaking of people, Harry looked around.

"Where's Ron?" asked Harry, as worry flitted across his face, "I haven't properly throttled him yet for nearly burning my privates off." He chuckled as the other two reddened slightly but laughed with him.

"Ron ran off after classes ended," Neville replied, "I couldn't catch what he was saying."

Harry's face fell. Well, nothing you could really do when Ron didn't want to be seen. He did that sometimes, refusing to return until it was curfew. When asked, Ron simply replied that he had just wandered around the grounds.

Ron wasn't at the Great Hall for dinner, either, but Harry assumed that Ron visited the kitchens directly to get his food. He sighed, deciding not to try and find him that way; he would probably have to waste a considerable amount of time waiting, seeing as Ron's stomach would prompt him to get his food much earlier than the scheduled time.

--

Harry was nestled in his blankets when he felt a pressure on the other side of his bed. He turned around, watching as Ron snuggled into the bed beside him.

"Hmph, so you've only tried to come back when I'd be too tired to strangle you against the wall," accused Harry.

Ron froze as his face showed the slow realization that this was, in fact, not his bed.

Harry chuckled. Just like Ron to forget bed placements in the dead of the night. As Ron heard the other boy's laughter, he relaxed considerably.

"Don't worry, I'll give you plenty of time once morning comes along," Ron responded, playing along.

"So where were you, anyway?" Harry knew that it was useless to ask, but he did it anyway.

"Just walking around," said Ron, but he unexpectedly continued, "I was trying to come up with a suitable apology, but I suppose it was completely wasted."

"You're right, seeing as you still haven't made a move to say sorry," said Harry, feigning an expression of reproachfulness. Ron simply laughed, with the barest hint of nervousness.

"Alright, you caught me." Ron took a breath, "I'm sorry for having not paid attention to the potion, and for nearly burning your privates off and getting you in the Hospital Wing."

Harry chuckled. "Well, the Hospital Wing is pretty much my second dorm anyway. And don't worry about the burning part; I'll just make you pay in the morning."

Ron laughed with Harry, then extended his left hand towards the other boy.

"Forgive me?"

"Of course," Harry replied, smiling at Ron's hopeful expression and taking his hand, shaking it.

With their hands still clasped together, they both drifted to sleep in the peaceful night.

----

A/N: I have my next chapter nearly written, don't worry. This was just a perfect place to end the chapter. By the way, anyone know what Raspberry Leaves are traditionally used for? -grins-

Oh and, please please please click that little button.

10/27/07