Wow, I really wasn't expecting reviews so early :D This was just a story I've been thinking about for a while and I just couldn't not write it anymore, so thank you Dixie.f.9 and KShara Khan, without your wonderful reviews I don't think this chapter would have been out so quickly. I hope you all enjoy this one too and remember to comment :D

Chapter 2: The Disaster Factor

Harry groaned into his pillow as his dastardly foe woke him once again. He could hear Neville's snores from across the room as he turned over getting twisted in his sheets. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes Harry grabbed his glasses and looked around. Sure enough everyone else was fast asleep with only his and Neville's beds having the curtains open. The sun was barely over the horizon when it soaked through the window, and exasperated Harry grabbed his wand and quickly got dressed. He was obviously not going to be able to fall back to sleep and decided to wait in the common room before breakfast began.

He sat in a cozy chair by the fireplace, it was quickly becoming one of his favorite spots as he's used it numerous times for occasions just like this. Since the beginning of the year, and his war against the sun, he's been waking up earlier than everyone else so often that he would quickly feel bored. To help he one day brought down some unfinished homework he needed to take care of, and to his surprise he was able to finish it before breakfast. In fact, he noticed that his mind would go quiet and he'd be able to concentrate much easier when in this environment. Since then he has been either checking homework, or finishing homework whenever he awoke early, and to his pleasure his work in all his classes slightly improved. It wasn't much, but he felt proud of himself….well, except when it came to a certain class.

He wasn't sure why, but he could never wrap his head around Potions. Theoretically it should be simple; you follow the instructions and it comes out well. However, even with his morning brain workout he was still unable to fully grasp the unusual directions, and thus Potions gave him a headache like the one he had now. To sooth his aching brain Harry massaged his temple, trying to take deep breaths as he stared blankly at his homework. What made his headache worse was the fact that Draco Malfoy was now his Potion's partner, and how he did in class also affected Draco's grade as well. Harry felt tremendous pressure from this since he found out that Draco was a perfectionist when it came to Potions. There was rarely a time he didn't have Draco's mouth in his ear as he barked orders and critiques at how wrong he was doing something. Harry shuddered.

His homework as to write the correct process of brewing a skelting potion in as few steps as possible. So far all Harry's parchment had on it was a doodle of a koala, and random notes that he remembered from Snape's lecture. So far he had come up with an outline for twelve steps, but he was sure that Snape had at some point said it could be down in fewer steps. Harry sighed as he racked his brain for the right information, and unsurprisingly nothing came up. He knew that if he didn't get at least an average grade for this Draco would be unpleasant….well more unpleasant. This task was designed so that he took half of an advanced potion procedure, and Draco took the other. His half was brewing the necessary amount of skelting, while Draco had Nupja. Snape wanted a paper on each person's process for brewing before they attempted to brew their individual potions to mix into an even more advanced potion which would be part of their final grade before the winter break.

Harry really didn't like this. He never felt so frustrated at Hogwarts before, and this was the place where he wasn't supposed to be frustrated! He told himself that he'd leave all his worries back at the Dursleys. With a huff, Harry packed up his remaining homework and threw it on his bed before making his way to the Great Hall. He figured that a nice full stomach would stop his worrying, and possible put him in a calm state.

When he opened the doors he was glad to see roughly ten other people already sitting down to eat, once again he'd have peace. Harry took in a deep breath as he sat down, taking in all the wonderful smells radiating off the fresh baked goods and meats that all lay out in front of him. He drooled a little as he reached for the spoon that was in the bowl of eggs, and with efficient speed his plate took on eggs, ham, syrup, and a pastry he didn't know the name of, but sighed in pleasure as he discovered its chocolatey center. A warm feeling was spreading through his stomach as he started to eat, and he knew he had the right idea. Already his day went from gloomy to hopeful. No worries, no frustration, and no— damnit, Harry cursed with a mouthful of bacon. Draco Malfoy had just opened the doors to the Great Hall and sauntered in.

Draco yawned as he walked casually to his table, raising an eyebrow as he caught Harry staring at him, following him. Harry saw the eyebrow, and looked back down at his plate. His mouth was still full, and he decided to try chewing again. His food tasted different, bland and soggy almost as his jaw was slow to start up again. It took him a great effort to swallow what he had, and he concluded that he had indeed lost his appetite. You could always ask Malfoy for help, he thought. A scowl quickly formed on his face as he pictured the scene:

"Hey Malfoy!"

"Yeah, Potter?"

"I was…um…I was wond…"

"Spit it out Potter, you're ruining my breakfast."

"C-c-could you help me with my pa-paper?"

Draco laughed, tears of joy flowing from the corner of his eyes. "Help you?" he was holding his sides as he laughed harder. "Are you telling me you couldn't even figure out a simple skelting potion?"

Harry blushed, he felt like little ants were excavating throughout his body. He really didn't want to be here.

Harry shook his head, trying to get rid of that image, before another one took its place:

"M-Malfoy?"

"Potter..?"

"I was wondering…um…if…if you don't mind, of c-course…"

Draco raised his eyebrow in "anticipation" as if to tell him to get on with it.

"Can you help me with my pa-paper?"

"Me. Help you? Are you insane Potter?! You're telling me you still haven't done it? We have potions this morning you bloody idiot!"

Harry shrunk away a little, trying to stand his ground, but again feeling Draco's dominance escalate.

Harry blinked out of his daydream. He was confused, in both instances he acted…submissive, and yet he knew perfectly well that if he went over to Malfoy right now and something like those scenarios popped up he'd have blown his top and tried to hex the Slytherin to next Thursday! So he ate the rest of his breakfast only thinking about why he thought of himself as being submissive toward his archenemy.

Draco dropped his eyebrow as Harry quickly decided to stare at his plate of food. His enemy had been avoiding him ever since Snape had paired them up. Because of this he didn't have any time to actually throw insults, prank, or hex Harry to next week, and Draco had to admit it felt strange. He wasn't used to this, his skin crawled thinking about the change. What made it really confusing was the fact that Harry had avoided him for over a day and here he was staring at him like he was the only person around. To be honest it creeped Draco out of his wits, but when he saw Harry focus on his food and begin chewing again Draco had to admit that there was a little part of him that wished he was still watching him. Draco breathed a curse under his breath as he couldn't believe what he thought….or felt? He wasn't sure, but now wasn't the time to focus on himself, now was the time to worry about Harry. Draco knew that Harry was dreadful when it came to potions, and he guessed that said boy was probably on the bottom half of their class, which meant that Potter may have fucked up his paper, which meant he'd fuck up his half of the potion, which leads to him fucking up his half of the potion when it was time to mix.

Draco grabbed a hardboiled egg and kept wondering if Potter had in fact at least tried his best, because he wasn't going to sacrifice his good standing in academia, no way, Draco Malfoy would not let Harry fucking Potter drag him down. His face was scrunched up so much that wrinkles were forming over his brow, and his eyes felt like they'd set fire to whoever was in sight. A small giggle brought him out of his head. It belonged to Pansy, and bewilderment showed through Draco's face as he looked into hers.

"Draco, I've been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes."

"Pansy? When did you get here?"

"About fifteen minutes ago."

"Oh," Draco cursed in his head, he didn't think that thinking about Potter took up so much of his time. "What did you want?"

"I asked if you had a fight with your egg."

Draco looked down and saw that the hardboiled egg he grabbed was now in tiny pieces and crushed within his fist. He let a nervous laugh before cleaning his hand and starting to put food on his plate. Pansy had started eating and watched Draco with a look that he never saw her wear before.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Draco.

"No reason," she smiled.

"Oh?" he narrowed his eyes.

"Nope."

Draco grunted and focused back to his breakfast. He sighed and pushed his plate away, he was suddenly not hungry anymore.

First and second period came and went with no problems. Harry and Draco had different classes for first period, so there wasn't anything to worry Harry there. Second period he shared Transfiguration with Draco, but they were on opposite sides of the room, and Harry at most only looked at Draco at least fifteen times during class.

"Oi, are you okay?" Ron whispered as Professor McGonagall finished up her instructions for the day's lesson.

"Huh?" Harry said turning his attention back toward Ron.

"You've been staring at Malfoy since he walked into class, what's up with you?"

"Oh, I guess I'm just…not looking forward to Potions next."

Ron nodded in understanding, he'd probably be looking over his back too if Draco bloody Malfoy was his partner. He gave Harry a look of pity as he thought of Harry's inevitable mistakes that would send Malfoy off the rails.

"Don't stare at me like that, you make me feel like I'm going to die."

"Sorry."

"And what, may I ask, is so interesting with your boys' conversation?" asked McGonagall's cool voice over the silent class. Both Ron and Harry apologized before being scolded and making Gryffindor loose five points for Harry and Ron. She then sent the class onto the assignment she just went over, which the two boys had no clue what it was about, and Harry risked another look back at Draco. This time Draco was looking directly at him and smiling. A cold shiver ran down Harry's back as Ron nudged him in the ribs.

"I hope you did your part Potter," said Draco as Harry sat next to him. The day finally caught up to Harry as he sighed and tried to nod in answer. After breakfast he went back to his comfy chair and raced through his paper, while he inevitably had to use his twelve step process, he was sure it would have the same result as the shorter step process. Now he just hoped that he did his long process perfectly, or it would be his and Draco's ass on the line.

A moment later the doors burst open, Harry rolled his eyes at his teacher's flair for the dramatics, and Professor Snape strolled into class.

"Papers on desk, Cauldrons out, and butts in seat," Snape directed as his stare landed on Longbottom which made him quiver and shake in fear. Severus smiled. He flicked his wand and twenty-odd papers flew to his desk, landing in a perfect pyramid. "Today, as I've told you, you will be brewing your potions according to what you learned from your papers. You have the rest of class to achieve this, before you leave I want you to mix your half of the advanced potion with your partner's half. You'll then let the cauldron simmer and cool through the weekend before I grade your final product on the day." He paused letting that sink into his students, quite a few of them were trembling, and to his amusement they were all Gryffindor. "Good, now begin."

Harry's hands were trembling as he was setting up his cauldron and laying out all of his ingredients. He took quick deep breaths to calm his nerves. His ingredients were organized by roots, organics, flakes, and juices. The instructions floated into Harry's mind as he remembered them over and over before finally setting to work. He first took a grape looking ingredient from his juice section and carefully cut it in half. The juice inside dripped into his cauldron turning the liquid into a sickly green color. He then stirred it clockwise four times as he grabbed the next item on the list.

Draco watched Harry out of the corner of his eye. He could tell that Harry was utterly nervous, and Draco secretly hoped that he was alright. Satisfied that Harry looked like he knew what he was doing, Draco set out to focus on his potion. It took him only twenty minutes to finish, and Draco set his stirring rod to the side as his cauldron full of potion glowed and bubbled in a playful way. He grinned.

Looking at Harry, Draco was shocked to see that he still had more than half his ingredients on the table and his pace was relentlessly slow.

"How far in are you Potter?" asked Draco.

"Um…step six, I think?"

"Step six?" Draco hissed in disbelief. "Skelting potions can be made within four steps, just how many steps do you have planned?"

"Um…" Harry blushed lightly as his fears were starting to come true. Should he tell him the truth? Either way Harry could only see Draco getting angry with any answer he gave. "I'm halfway done, so twelve steps…"

"Twelve?" Draco said in a hushed tone as if what Harry said was taboo. Draco wanted to continue and rant to Harry just how idiotic the twelve steps were to Skelting potion. There were so many steps that could easily go wrong, just one slip, just one wrong nick, and the whole project could be ruined because Potter couldn't figure out a less aggravating way to make a stinkin' Skelting potion!

Harry grabbed the next ingredient, wormgunths, and started to cut into it. His silver knife sliced through the wormgunths like butter, and Draco couldn't help but watch every detailed move that Harry made. Draco bit his lip, trying to stay calm.

"Potter, are you sure you're doing this the right way? I mean twelve steps is a lot to memorize—"

"Malfoy I'm trying to concentrate. Yes I know what I'm doing, I studied the twelve steps by heart and I can assure you I'm doing it all perfectly. It may not be as simple and fast as you like it, but I'm at least making sure I'm doing everything right!" he threw in his sliced wormgunths and he watched as his cauldron turned orange and large angry bubbles began to expand over his cauldron's lid.

"Oh, bloody hell Potter you idiot!" yelled Malfoy.

"What? How do you know that's not what' it's supposed to do?!"

"Come on, Potter, even you should know that this reaction isn't what you were looking for."

"Well since it is my potion, and I did study this I'm pretty sure that once I add in a handful of batwings it'll all settle down."

"Potter wait—"

Snape turned his head as his attention was drawn away from Ron and Pansy's work. He expected the two boys that made his head turn to start fighting much sooner, but what made him really want to turn his head was the fact that their rivalry was nectar to his mundane life. He didn't want to miss anything when things really went downhill, and the best part in all of this was that his plan was working. It took the boys far longer to fight, and their fighting hasn't flowed into his court yet, nothing could go wrong. And then Snape saw Potter's cauldron bubbling angry, and the color dangerous, but what really sent him over the edge was the fact that Potter had grabbed a handful of batwings and he could only imagine the horror that would bring.

"Potter no—!" he screamed, but was too late.

The classroom exploded as gas and liquid of the most revolting stench and color covered the classroom and the students, and a very sizzling Severus Snape.

Harry blinked and tried to process what happened. He saw Draco standing next to him trying with all his might to not unleash his anger on him, his hands squeezed into fists so tight that blood was dripping from them. Harry looked around the classroom and saw the damage he had caused. Snape was fuming in the middle of the room and Harry could only shrink inside.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor and twenty-five points from Slytherin," Snape roared, "Detention for both you, Potter, and Mr. Malfoy. I want to see you two first thing after breakfast Saturday morning. You two can start now by cleaning this classroom, the muggle way. As for the rest of you," Snape turned toward his class who was all staring at him with wide eyes, "go and wash up. Class is canceled and all your potions are ruined thanks to Mr. Potter."

The whole class grumbled as they left with the sounds of their wet feet slapping the flags on the ground. Severus Snape summoned two mops, ordinary mops, and gave each to Draco and Harry. "I expect to see this place spotless before dinner," he said in the coldest voice he could muster, before he too walked out of the classroom. Harry looked at Draco and just stood still for the longest time before uttering a small apology, and getting to work on the classroom.