That day, the first class was potions with the Slytherins. Hermione and Ron were whining about it, but Harry was secretly glad. Class with the Slytherins meant that he could see Draco for a little while. The dungeon hallways were especially gloomy, but Harry didn't seem to mind. They walked in Professor Snape's classroom, and Harry immediately saw that Draco wasn't there. They sat at their usual chairs, and waited for the lesson to begin. After a few minutes, Draco came in, sitting in the chair a bit to the left of Harry. Professor Snape strode into the room, his black robes flying dramatically behind him. A hush fell over the students, and Snape glared at them for a while, soaking in the uncomfortable atmosphere. He began to speak, soaking his words in hateful venom as usual.

"We currently have a shortage of very rare ingredients that will only become available sometime next year, so we will be creating a potion with pairs. Everyone find a partner, and do it quick. You have fifteen seconds."

There was a sudden scramble of motion as everyone lunged for a partner, and the sounds of scraping chairs and shouting filled the air. Ron and Hermione grabbed each other, abandoning Harry, and soon everyone else was partnered up. Everyone else, that is, except for Draco Malfoy.

Harry and Draco looked at each other, realizing that they would have to partner up. They both smiled just ever so slightly, which Draco quickly replaced with a scowl and Harry with a frown. They stiffly sat next to each other at a table, both trying to look as hateful as possible. Everyone was staring at the pairing, just waiting for the curses and counterspells to start flying.

Snape grabbed back the class's attention by the simple act of clearing his throat. "The potion will take a week to prepare. You will have to spend at least three hours here every day in order to finish it on time. You and your partner must be here at the same time, as it is impossible to brew this particular potion with only one set of hands. Do I make myself clear?" Professor Snape's face clearly showed his dare for anyone to say otherwise. No one even blinked, in fear that the professor would turn on them.

Hearing no opposition, Snape continued his terse speech. "Turn to page 273, the Trans Amar potion. Begin."

Harry and Draco looked at each other, trying to keep up the facade. Harry decided to break up the silence first, and opened up his book, skimming over the ingredients. He slid the book over to Draco.

"How about you get the ingredients, and I'll set up the equipment?" He tried to keep his face as neutral as possible, squishing down the urge to smile brightly. Draco was doing no better acting than Harry, and he just nodded and went to the ingredient cabinet, taking the book. Harry walked to the other side of the room, gathering a cauldron, mortar and pestle, measuring spoons, and flame manager.

Walking back to his table, he noticed that everyone had finally stopped staring, coming to terms that he and Draco wouldn't start fighting. He started setting up the cauldron above the flame manager, carefully laying down the other instruments on the table. Draco comes up, arms full of strange jars and flasks. Harry immediately stands up to help him get all the ingredients on the table. When the ingredients are all sorted, they look over the book together, their heads almost touching. They look at each other at the same time, both having the same thoughts.

"You do the odd steps, I do the even ones?" Draco asked, and Harry nodded calmly. They both serenely got to work, unaware of Ron and Hermione's repetitive glances in their direction. After a few minutes, they found their rhythm, and no longer bumped into each other while reaching for an ingredient. Ron whispered surreptitiously in Hermione's ear.

"Since when did they get along so well?" Hermione jumped a little at the sudden breath on her ear.

"I don't know," she hissed back. She looked over at Harry, simply observing for a few seconds. "Hey, Ron?

"Yeah?"

"Can you see that?"

"See what?" Hermione slapped Ron in the stomach, making sure he was paying attention. He started to protest, but Hermione cut him off short.

"They're in sync. I mean, they're literally orbiting around each other. Only people who are really comfortable can do that." Hermione and Ron fall silent, contemplating their friend's fate.

In front of Harry and Draco by a single row, Neville and Seamus were working together. They were both utterly absorbed in what they were doing, not noticing that their flame maintainer was beginning to malfunction. Suddenly, with a big bang, the entire contents of the cauldron soared out skyward, making a magnificent arch through the air. Inevitably, the mixture headed toward one table, where Harry and Draco were working.

A big splash of pink liquid cascaded over the couple, and both their faces held a mild look of surprise as they looked at each other's dripping face. The entire class was looking at them, hoping feverishly that the mixture was harmless, and would have no effect on them. Even Snape was paying attention, knowing exactly what affects the spilled potion would have.

Harry and Draco suddenly blushed and looked away, then shyly glanced back, only to blush even more and look back away. They started inching closer, Harry almost beginning to sit on top of Draco. Snape began burrowing through his potion cabinet, immediately finding a small splash vial filled with a clear liquid. He looked at the couple, and calmly wondered how far he should let it go before he stopped it.

Harry and Draco looked at each other, their cheekbones highlighted with the red of roses. Their faces got closer, and their eyes began to flutter closed. Their lips neared ever so slowly, Snape relishing every moment and Ron and Hermione's jaws left forgotten on the floor.

Their lips were mere millimeters away when Snape lobbed the splash vial at them, the fragile glass container shattering on the desk, showering Harry and Draco in sparkling liquid and sharp glass shards. The mist quickly cleared away, showing the couple in a full-on kiss. Hermione stuttered incoherently in outrage, breaking the spell.

Harry and Draco immediately noticed what was going on, and from sheer surprise, pushed away. At the same moment, Snape cast a repulsion spell, making the two boys fly much farther than they could have pushed, landing Draco in the laps of Crabbe and Goyle, and Harry in the laps of Ron and Hermione. The two boys were frozen in shock, and Harry slowly began to notice his awkward position. He looked up at Ron from his lap, smiling apologetically. Ron smiled back, knowing that the lack of comfort was mutual. Harry looked over at Hermione, and noticed that her face was red with rage. Mere seconds later, he understood why; his hand was on her breast. His face turned the color of a tomato, and he tried to stutter out an apology while attempting to get off of his friends.

"HARRY POTTER!" Hermione practically exploded, bringing her hand across Harry's face in a sharp slap. Harry's head whipped to the side and stayed there, Harry refusing to turn his head to look at Hermione. The room was utterly silent, and everyone was shocked by Hermione's burst of emotion.

Harry silently got up, turned, and promptly walked out of the door, not once letting anyone glimpse his face.