Chapter 3

"Hermione... pst! Hermione!" Ron whispered out from the corner of his mouth. I rolled my eyes.

"What? I mouthed, not bothering to face him.

"How much bat's blood do you add to a energizing draught?" he asked again, louder this time. Hermione kept her head bent over her parchment. Snape had given them a pop quiz on everything they had learned so far from the past seven years. Most teachers would give you time to study, a little warning... stupid git.

"Cheating Weasley? Granger? Twenty points from Gryffindor. Each." Snape said, appearing out of nowhere. I saw Harry look up indignantly, his eyes flashing.

"Professor, Hermione wasn't cheating. She didn't say anything." he said, his voice completely calm, contrary to the fire in his eyes. He's gotten quite good at holding his temper in. Ron made a little noise of surprise at not being defended, and Snape looked back at the handsome dark-haired boy...a boy turned man.

"Ten points Potter. Eyes down and finish your test." he said, one of his tramautizing smiles on his sallow face. Harry sat down, hands shaking slightly. He bent his head over his paper, staring unseeingly at it. He took a deep breath and began to write again.

Convinced that he was alright, I focused my attention back on my test. I had finished about a half of an hour ahead of everyone else, head resting on my arms, when I felt something land beside my hand. I lifted my head and looked up slightly. There was a tiny paper airplane on my desk. I looked up cautiously, looking over at Snape. He was at his desk, greasy hair out of his face. He was bent over a roll of parchment, greasy nose pressed against it. He looked too busy to be paying attention to anything,

I shifted my gaze to each one of my friends. All of them looked busy, until my eyes fell on Harry. He was making every pretense of doing his work, but his quill wasn't scratching at the parchment, and his eyes weren't moving across the paper. Suddenly, the emeralds were raised. His eyes were twinkling, but his face remained rather calm. I arched an eyebrow, and he winked back at me.

"Open it." he mouthed, then looked back down at his paper. Oh, what the hell. I unfolded the plane, and it opened into a small piece of parchement, no larger than a Quidditch Through the Ages book. Harry's untidy, yet legible writing was scrawled across the page.

Hermione, what's the answer? To Ron's question?

I raised my eyes, looking severely at Harry. I wish he wouldn't ask me to cheat. I can't refuse him anything. I dipped my quill into the inkwell and wrote my reply. But as the quill touched the parchment, the Harry's writing disappeared. I blinked bemusedly (A/N: Bemused means confused. Not amused, contrary to popular belief.) and continued writing.

Harry, you know I don't condone cheating.

I was just folding the paper again, when the words disappeared again, replaced by more writing, as if an imaginary hand was writing them before my eyes. This was sorta like MSN, on muggle computers.

Aw, come on Mione! You don't want my failure to be in your hands, do you? Please?

I shook my head, and looked up at Harry. He was looking over at me too, making a little puppy dog face. I swear, if it was possible, I would be a puddle under my desk by now. But since it wasn't...

Oh, alright. It's only two drops, because if you add more, you won't be able to sleep for months.

I wrote. My words disappeared again, and Harry's writing came back fast.

Thanks Hermione! Can always depend on you. By the way, you looked hilarious when you saw how this worked! Why so surprised? I told you, Fred and George were geniuses, this is one of their new inventions. What do you think?

I grinned, and was about to respond, when a swish of robes made my snapped my head up.

"What is it that you are doing Granger?" Snape asked, looking down at me disdainfully.

"Nothing Professor." I said, trying to hide the bit of parchment. He grabbed it from my hand, and I looked at Harry in dismay, but he looked quite smug.

"What's this?" Snape asked quietly. I gulped. His quiet voice always scared me, more than his loud one.

"Spare bit of parchment, Sir." I said, trying not to sound guilty. He sneered down at me.

"Potter offered me that same excuse four years ago, about a certain spare bit of parchement. I didn't believe that flimsy excuse then, and I won't believe it now." he said. He pulled out his wand.

"Show your secret." he hissed. I looked down, trying not to burst out in tears. The class was deathly silent.

"Son of a bitch." Snape breathed.

"Detention Granger!" he said loudly. Harry looked up angrily.

"Jackass." he muttered. "Professor, it's mine." he said, this time loud enough for Snape to hear.

I looked around wildly. NO! Not detention! I caught Draco Malfoy's eye, and blushed. He had grown into quite the charmer, and paired together with his dashing good looks... if it wasn't for his previous years as a supreme arse, I would actually consider him hot.

"I don't know where you got this, and I'm not certain how it works, I recall a cetain piece of parchement acting in the same manner. If I wanted to be insulted, I would ask. Detention Potter." Snape said to Harry, his face close to his. I shuddered. Snape always seems to have his face close to Harry's. Disgusting.

"Come see me after class. We'll discuss your detentions then." Snape said, rising and returning to his desk. Harry shrugged and continued on his test. I looked around, bewildered. Another piece of spare parchment...same manner...wait, who cares! He didn't know how the parchment worked! I wouldn't be suspended for cheating!

I sighed in relief and looked around the room, checking to see who else was done. I glanced at the Slytherin side, and I almost fell out of my seat. When my gaze had arrived at the other side of the room, my eyes had met a pair of stormy gray ones, and held me there for longer than I liked. Not that I minded... Malfoy had a pair of the sexiest eyes in school, second only to Harry. But there was something in Malfoy's eyes that I couldn't see in Harry's...danger. Intriguing, heart-quickening, skin tingling danger. And those eyes were on mine... he winked slowly and looked back at his paper, his shiny blond hair falling into his gray eyes... sunlight passing over storm clouds.

A/N: Um... that's all for now. Review!