This story was originally published from 2007-2010 before I removed it around 2012. Recently, I decided to rework it and republish it.
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
"You came home late last night," Ron said, pulling on one of his socks. Harry felt color rise up his cheeks and busied himself with fixing his tie in the mirror.
"Did I?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant. His tie fixed, he reached up and tried in vain to flatten his unruly hair.
"Yeah, you must have gotten in around midnight." Ron came and stood next to him and attempted to fix his own tie. "Where were you?"
"Time for breakfast!" Harry cried and ran down the stairs. Ron shook his head but let the subject drop and followed his brown haired friend down to the Great Hall.
The Slytherins were already at breakfast when Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table. He glanced over at Malfoy and saw the blond chatting with Blaise Zabini while he munched on some toast. As though he could feel Harry's gaze on him, Draco looked up and briefly met Harry's eye. Harry felt himself redden again and he looked away. He turned his attention instead to the breakfast foods before him.
"Blast," Seamus harrumphed as he sat down next to Harry, slamming his bag emphatically down on the bench beside him. "I would give anything not to have Double Potions right now."
"Cheer up, Seamus," Ron said. "Who knows, maybe Snape will let us choose our own partners today."
"Sure, he will. When pigs fly," the Irishman muttered, filling his plate with sausages and baked beans.
"Actually," Hermione interjected. "I did recently see an article about a new species of wild boar they've discovered in the Amazonian rainforest that appears to have the ability to hover off of the ground for minutes at a time. The Muggle scientists are very confused and are trying to pin the phenomenon on excess helium production from the boars' digestive systems." Ron rolled his eyes and mouthed 'know-it-all' at Harry.
"Well then," Seamus said around a bite of sausage. "A man can hope."
…
"And a man can be disappointed," he muttered half an hour later after Snape had announced that they would be working in assigned pairs.
"Cheer up, Seamus," Ron said, patting him on the arm. "Disappointment was inevitable. It is Snape after all."
"Zabini and Granger," Snape called. "Weasley and Parkinson. Longbottom and Bullstrode. Finnegan and Greengrass. Potter and Malfoy."
Harry had been expecting it, but his stomach still twinged with butterflies as he gathered up his things and went to stand by Malfoy.
"Potter," Malfoy said curtly as Harry put his bag and cauldron down.
"Hello, Malfoy." Harry acknowledged the blond with a small nod of his head. They were clearly pretending they hadn't played tonsil hockey the night before.
"Sit down," Snape intoned. "Get out your quills and some parchment. This morning's lesson will mostly involve taking notes, but we will get to some practical work later. Today you will be starting your mid-term coursework. You will be brewing the rather complicated Ehwaz potion. This potion is about teamwork, so you will have to be civil and work together if you want your potion to succeed.
"If, at the end of the six-week brewing period, you have successfully brewed your potion, then you will be allowed to try a sip. The Ehwaz potion, when brewed correctly, facilitates astral travel, which will allow you a brief glimpse of your partner's future. The clarity of your vision is wholly dependent on how well you concoct your potion. Thus, I expect Longbottom's vision to be akin to staring through a thick wall of mud." Harry glanced over at Neville who had buried his head in his arms.
"One of the reasons this potion is so potent and difficult is that it involves the use of runes." Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Hermione perk up at the mention of runes. "For that reason, I have invited Professor Babbling to come and speak on the topic for those of you who were not intelligent enough to take up Ancient Runes when you had the chance." Draco gave a snort of laughter beside Harry and Harry turned his head to look at him.
"Time for me to have a nap then," the blond whispered. Harry rolled his eyes and picked up his quill, determined to show Malfoy that he was perfectly intelligent enough to understand Runes.
Runes, as it turned out, were difficult.
"So, if your quill slips a bit and it looks more like this," he pointed at one rune he had drawn, "than this," he pointed at another. "Then the whole meaning is entirely different?" Draco nodded. "But I can barely tell them apart!" Harry threw his hands up in despair and Draco clapped a hand to his forehead in exasperation.
"You're hopeless, Potter," he said wearily. "How you've made it this far at Hogwarts is beyond me." Harry scowled at him. "Granger must have been doing all your work for you."
"She hasn't," Harry retorted, anger flaring in his chest. "Just because I'm not good at bloody runes, it doesn't mean I'm stupid. It just means I'm not good at runes."
"Okay," Draco said, putting his hands up in surrender. "Don't get your knickers in a twist. I need you to be nice and calm while we start chopping these onions. Notice how it says to shred them tenderly."
"Thanks, Malfoy. I can read, you know." Harry picked up his knife and then put it down again. He took a deep breath and tried to quell his emotions. "Do you have to be such a twat?" he asked. Draco looked up sharply from his onion. Harry could see some color in the blond's cheeks and sure enough, Draco put down his knife as well.
"I beg your pardon, Potter?"
"Why must you always insult me, or belittle me, or make me feel stupid?"
"Do I?" Draco looked like he was torn between elation and concern. "My, I didn't realize I had such an effect on you."
"Don't flatter yourself," Harry snapped. "It's annoying and right now it's really not helping."
"Right, I'm sorry. You're decently intelligent. Can we carry on now?" Draco picked up his knife and turned his attention back to his onion. Harry bit his lip and took a deep breath, letting his anger drain away. Had Malfoy really just apologized to him? It was probably just for their potion and it had been little more than a passing comment, but even still, it gave Harry a small warm feeling in the middle of his chest.
"Now, as you finish chopping your first ingredients," Snape said, looking around the room to see how the class was getting along. "I will take you, group by group, to your individual brewing rooms. As this potion requires teamwork, you will be working in isolated pods so that your partnership will not be influenced by anyone else around you." He gave a pointed stare at Ron, who had been on the receiving end of some encouraging whispering from Hermione.
"These pods are sound proof and will be locked to your DNA so that no one aside from you or your partner can enter the room. This not only prevents others from tampering with your potion during the brewing period, it also encourages teamwork with only your partner. This way you cannot use pre-existing friendships to improve the quality of your potion." There was a susurrus as everyone turned to their friends and muttered about the unfairness of this project.
"How am I supposed to get a passing grade with him as my partner?" Pansy Parkinson whispered to Blaise Zabini, while Ron asked nearly the exact same question to Hermione.
"Soundproof, huh?" Draco said so quietly that only Harry could hear him. He looked over at the blond and Draco winked at him, giving Harry the first hint that he hadn't just imagined their date the night before, before turning his eyes back to his onion. Harry's mouth went dry as his stomach turned over in a not unpleasant manner.
Concentrate, he thought, squinting down at his onion. It was starting to make his eyes water. He pushed his glasses up and wiped his eyes with his sleeve, but that just seemed to make the burning sensation worse.
"How are you not crying?" Harry asked, looking over at Draco, who had now finished slicing his onion and was putting pieces of it onto his set of scales. Draco smirked.
"Contact lenses," he said. "Hurry up, Potter. We need to make sure you've chopped the same amount." Harry scowled and turned back to his onion which was now blurry as he looked at it through tear-filled eyes. He heard Draco sigh and then felt himself being pushed gently out of the way as the blond took over his chopping.
"Thanks," Harry muttered. He put down his knife and covered his eyes with his sleeves. Merlin, why did it hurt so much?
"Don't mention it," Draco said, deftly slicing the onion. "In the meantime, you can get started on the rose petals. They're about as delicate as you are."
"Oh, ha bleedin' ha," Harry said. He wiped his eyes one more time and then walked around the desk to collect the rose petals. He looked down at the instructions and minced them before putting them in a separate prep bowl to the onions. As he scraped the last of the petals off of his chopping board, Snape walked up to their table.
"Follow me. Bring your things." He waited for them to gather up their prepped ingredients and cauldron, then turned with a swish of his long, black robes. Harry and Draco followed him out into the corridor and over to a painting of a knight that was hung next to a long line of portraits. Harry groaned as he recognized Sir Cadogan.
"Welcome, good sirs," the tiny knight said. "What is the password?"
"Scurvy cur," Snape said in a bored tone.
"Yes, you are a scurvy cur indeed!" cried Sir Cadogan and he swung forward to let them in. Across the doorway behind the Sir Cadogan was a shimmering wall of what Harry recognized as wards.
"I will need you to place your hands into the wards," Snape said. "They need to learn your DNA." Harry and Draco obliged and stuck their arms into the glimmering web. Harry watched as sparks crawled over his hand, shocking and stinging as they went. He winced and saw Draco do the same beside him. After about twenty seconds the pain subsided and they pulled their arms back.
"Very well, you're all set," Snape said. "Good luck." And he swept away, his cloak swishing behind him.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed. All encouragement is much appreciated!
...Riyan...