IMPORTANT*******Some of you have been very kindly reviewing and telling me that my explanation of the Intellecetic Potion (pronounced IN-TELL-SET-IK) was a confusing, and I am so sorry for that. Things just make sense in my brain and come out sounding like the worst thing in the world when I write it out. So, I've made some revisions; you might want to go back and reread the middle part of Chapter Nine: Two Fools, where Draco reads aloud the Intellecetic Potion paragraph. If not, here's the gist of it: Draco reads aloud the potion paragraph, but neither of them understand the paragraph to its full extent. They decide to still write the essay, but find out what it really does when they brew and test it.

Thank you all for reviewing, favorite-ing, and following; please continue to review J! I don't own.

Chapter Ten-Burke Aldrich

On the second day, while Granger had just left from finishing up the essay, Draco heard Blaise wake.

He woke with a sort of undignified animal noise, and Draco nearly fell off the bed in surprise. He jerked open his curtain, disgusted to see Potter doing the same. Why was Potter still even here? He hadn't been brutally bashed against a table and then left there for twenty minutes.

Blaise struggled weakly to get up, and then moved his arms fruitlessly around the air. Draco watched him, partly smug and unwilling to help. Draco had been weak for the first week at the Infirmary as well, and Madam Pomfrey had fussed over his bed adjustments and spelled a spoon to feed him during meals.

Madam Pomfrey appeared out of nowhere, and she instantly berated the struggling Slytherin, pushing his arms down and lecturing him about rest. The doors to the Infirmary opened once more, with a gasping Granger holding her bag at the doorway. She jerked her bag to her side as it slipped down her shoulder, gasped an apology to Madam Pomfrey, and sprinted over to Potter.

Potter blinked owlishly as she grabbed him by the shoulders and said eagerly, "A Ministry official is coming to Hogwarts!" Granger sat down next to Potter.

Instantly, Potter straightened. Draco sneered at the pair of them, coddling together on the bed. He tried to close the curtains, but his fingers refused to move, latched onto the fabric of the curtain.

"Is the Ministry trying to do anything with Dumbledore?" Potter leaned in closer, murmuring the words.

Granger shrugged. She leaned in, too. Draco clenched his teeth. "I don't know, Harry. But I would assume the Ministry official's here because of the Hogsmeade thing…"

"I would hope they're doing something about the old crackpot we have as a headmaster," Draco sneered from a few beds down. Potter and Granger's heads snapped up.

Granger's face lit up. "Oh, excuse me, Harry," she gave the Golden Boy a quick hug that left Draco feeling repulsed. "I need to tell Malfoy something." With that, she slipped off the bed and hoisted her bag onto her shoulder.

NOTTDEADYETSAYSTHEREWILLBEABREAKLINEANDTHEREWEGOBAMMM

Hermione jerked open the curtain door a little more and stepped inside. She sat down on Malfoy's bed, ignoring his protest. She was much too excited to be bothered.

"So how long have you and Potter been dating?" Malfoy drawled, and the statement shocked Hermione long enough to make her stop rummaging through her bag and stare at Malfoy.

"What?" Malfoy asked indignantly.

Hermione frowned. "What?"

"You're looking at me like I'm mentally retarded, Granger. Spit it out!"

"We're not dating, Malfoy," Hermione snapped. "And even if we were, it's none of your business." She grabbed her bag and pulled out a heavy book.

"Of course it is," Malfoy snarled. Hermione snapped her head up in time to see Malfoy's angry face. "You and Potter's little thing together will mess up my grade for the project. And I, for one, am not going to let you."

"Excuse me?" Hermione said shrilly. "This is has absolutely nothing to do with you, Malfoy!" Of course, only Malfoy would think that the world revolved around him and only him.

Malfoy sneered at her. "It has everything to do with me. I won't have a little mudblood slinking around trying to snog the Golden Boy just to purify hersel-"

Hermione set her book down on his bed angrily. "So it's back to mudblood now, isn't it? Fine! Fine! I'll brew the potion all by myself, and you can figure out how to pass while you're stuck here in bed!" Malfoy could go rot in hell for all she cared! Hermione fumed. How dare that little ferret even-

The doors to the Infirmary opened once more, and a man strode in. Hermione twisted around, squinting. She was sure she'd seen that man before…

He looked so familiar. His eyes were sharp and keen, with gray streaks running through his rough brown hair-Hermione swallowed as his eyes met hers for a brief second of disinterest.

"Auror Aldrich!" Madam Pomfrey's eyes widened slightly, and Hermione almost thought she would sink to her knees and bow. Then, as quickly as it had come, Madam Pomfrey composed herself and stated, "Visiting hours are over, sir. I'm afraid-"

Aldrich silenced her with a swift glare. "Pomfrey, is it? I am well aware visiting hours are over; however, the Ministry has given me a permit allowing me to have free access of anywhere in Hogwarts anytime. As you have probably heard, I am here to make sure the students are of complete safety from any…"his eyes swept around and lingered on Zabini, then Malfoy. "…danger."

Malfoy seemed frozen, and he struggled to compose himself, but couldn't even seem to bring himself to meet the man's eyes. For the first time in a long time, Malfoy seemed almost…intimidated.

"Dangers?" Madam Pomfrey queried, in the middle of redoing Zabini's bandages. "Auror Aldrich, I assure you, Hogwarts is completely safe-"

But Aldrich wasn't listening. He had turned to look at Malfoy intently, eyes sharp and interested. Hermione wasn't certain, but she thought she saw a flicker of deadly amusement shoot through Adlrich's expression.

"Lucius Malfoy's son, no?" Aldrich's lips curved upward. "The son of the man who was accused of being a Death Eater? I was at your father's trial…he was very insistent the Dark Mark brought upon him was the Imperius curse…"

"It-it was," Malfoy insisted uncertainly.

" ," Aldrich said abruptly. "Do you find it odd that Harry Potter—the boy who Voldemort himself hated undoubtedly—was in the bookstore that blew up?" A few beds down, Harry himself mumbled in his sleep.

Beads of sweat were starting to spill over the tip of Malfoy's forehead. Hermione watched the exchange, bemused and slightly frightened.

Aldrich pulled out his wand and twirled it. "Ten killed, thirty injured-including ." he said this casually, and then turned his eyes back to Malfoy. "Tell me, , do you not find that odd?"

Malfoy swallowed, and he lifted his chin. "I-Potter is a Hogwarts student. I do not find it odd that he would be shopping for schoolbooks."

"What's queer is that before the attack on Hogsmeade, you were Potter's partner, were you not? Rumor has it that-"

"That's enough," Hermione interrupted, almost as surprised as Malfoy and Aldrich looked. She quavered under Aldrich's inquiring gaze, but pulled herself up fiercely. "I'm here to work with-with Draco here on our project, and curfew is close, sir. So if you don't mind…"

Aldrich stared at her for a second, looking a little confused, and then he smiled. "Of course, Miss…"

"Granger," Hermione supplied.

"Granger, of course. Muggleborn, am I right?" He continued when she nodded slightly. "I must warn you, Miss Granger…there are those who do not appreciate your magic because of your blood purity. I advise you to be wise and wary."

Hermione mumbled a thank you, I will, her bravery lost as Aldrich turned on his heel and strode away confidently, nodding to Madam Pomfrey as he left.

All traces of smug stuck-up-ness was gone from Malfoy. He was pale and sweating, and he scrambled for Hermione's book when she looked at him. "I-" he licked his lips. "-what were you showing me, Granger?"

NOTTDEADYETPLACESABREAKLINEHERE

Draco couldn't remember the last time he felt so shaken. The minute those doors opened, and those eyes had met his, he'd known. How could anyone not know Burke Aldrich? The name itself demanded fear and respect; fear for the most part if you were of any relation to death eaters.

He was one of the best Aurors the Ministry had ever seen in a century, and had tracked down nearly half of the death eaters in Azkaban.

"..foy? Malfoy!" A hand was on his arm, shaking gently. He jerked his arm away.

"Don't touch me, Granger." It was supposed to come out harsh and angry, but all he managed was a hoarse, shaken voice that filled Granger's eyes with pity. He glared. "Well? What were you showing me?"

"Oh!" Granger's eyes brightened, and Draco was almost relieved. She jerked the book out of his hands and began flipping so fast the pages were a blur. "I found the recipe to the potion, Malfoy! We can start brewing tomorrow!"

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Phew! I finally finished this chapter! Thank all so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! Love you all!

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