Breaking the silence dramatically, the bell rang and the students burst into the classroom like a particularly noisy and short explosion. The actual physical presence of the students – as well as their intimidating number, energy level, and ability to produce noise – stunned Hermione, and she froze with her mouth set into a shocked-looking smile. Beside her, Draco appeared much more composed, his only sign of nerves being that his eyes were slightly wider than usual. Nudging Hermione in the ribs to bring her to attention, Draco cleared his throat loudly.

The class fell silent, and two dozen pairs of eyes stared up at the strange older children standing where their old, incoherent potions master usually stood. Hermione attempted to make her smile a tad more genuine, while Draco kept his face neutral. "Um, good morning class!" she said, almost slapping herself for addressing them as 'class'.

"Good morning Professor Granger," a mean-spirited female voice called out from the back of the classroom.

Hermione's eyes narrowed, and she gave the brunette a glare that would have reduced Voldemort to ashes. Understandably, the girl paled and looked down at her hands. Putting a smile back on her face, Hermione looked back up at the significantly cowed class. "I'm Hermione Granger, as your classmate has so courteously pointed out, and this is Draco Malfoy beside me. We'll be your part-time teachers for the rest of this year, and I'm sure we'll have a great time together."

"There are, however, guidelines that you must follow." Hermione's head snapped around; Draco's voice was cool and detached, his expression aloof, and his eyes shuttered. Obviously he had decided to use his false icy exterior for teaching. It's understandable, Hermione thought reluctantly. Not what I'd do, but it's his decision….but he's fidgeting. Why does he keep doing that with his hands?

"If you listen to Miss Granger and myself, then we'll have a good year," Draco said, running his hands up and down his forearms. "However, choose to disobey us or disrespect us" – Draco glared pointedly at the outspoken brunette in the back row – "and you will have significantly less fun."

Hermione felt the mood of the class turn from excitement to fear, and she decided to jump in before Draco recreated Professor Snape's tyrannical rule. "Today's potion is fairly simple, and is primarily just for us to get to know everyone's individual style." To Hermione, her voice sounded falsely cheerful and forced. However, the class seemed to like her tone, as most of them brightened considerably. "Professor Slughorn already went over potion safety with you, so we can just jump right into the lesson!"

With an enthusiastic wave of her wand, Hermione covered the blackboard in her neat cursive, spelling out the instructions for Personality Potion. At seeing their lesson, most of the class grinned and hurried off to find various ingredients. A select few seemed a bit confused – Hermione guessed that they were most likely the students who had failed to complete Slughorn's assigned readings from the day before – and ended up leafing through their textbooks to find the potion description.

A dark haired boy from Ravenclaw raised his hand, and at a nod from Draco Hermione walked up to the front row. "Miss Granger, I did the readings but I'm not entirely sure what this potion does," he said, his brow furrowed.

The young boy's blue eyes looked expectantly up at Hermione, who smiled. "Well, a Personality Potion essentially changes colour to indicate what the primary trait of your personality is. Each colour matches a specific trait, and -"

Still looking confused, the boy interrupted. "Yes, I get that, but…how is that useful? Why would someone make this potion out of class?"

"Some employers use it in job interviews," Draco supplied from just behind Hermione. "plus sometimes people make it to test themselves." The blonde obviously held back a sigh when the boy still looked lost. "Your personality changes over time, yes? So, if you took this potion test now, and then took it again after ten years, you'd most likely get a different result. It's a measurement for personal growth."

"But that still seems so pointless!" the boy said, exasperated. "Why not just make medical potions, or potions that have a real point?!"

Draco fell silent, examining the testy Ravenclaw. "Not all potions need to have a direct scientific purpose," Draco said firmly, placing his hands on the boy's desk and leaning over him slightly. "and this potion happens to have a rather significant social use." Looking around him as if he hasn't noticed the class had started, Draco arched his eyebrows and looked down at the Ravenclaw. "You'd better get moving, buddy, if you want to finish this potion during class time."

His cheeks red and his eyes blazing, the boy shut his textbook with a loud bang. Glaring at Draco, he hissed, "The name's not buddy, Malfoy, it'sFabian Fairfax."

With a jolt, Draco's hands flew off the table and clasped behind his back where Hermione could see them. Gasping, she blurted out "Mister Fairfax! You will address your teacher with the respect earned by someone in our position!"

"You earn my respect, Miss Granger, not him," Fabian spat, looking Draco up and down. "My father warned me about your type, and how heartless you are. You're nothing but trouble, filthy death eater."

Draco froze, his eyes narrowed, his nails digging into his palms behind his back. Moving beside Draco as if she was approaching Fabian, Hermione placed her right hand over Draco's fist. "Detention, Mister Fairfax," she said, her voice dangerously low as she rubbed her fingers in circles over the back of Malfoy's hand.

"You know who he is, who his father is!" Fabian protested, still glaring at Draco. "My family had to go into hiding during the last wizard war, and my mother died because of scum like Lucius Malfoy and his spawn! Just because she was a muggleborn! "

Feeling Draco's hand-muscles tense, Hermione pried open his fist and clasped his hand with just enough pressure to prevent him from squeezing his nails through his skin. "Fifty points from Ravenclaw, Fairfax, for disrespecting your teachers and talking back." Not really knowing what to do to help her friend calm down, she started tracing unknown patterns with her pointer finger on Draco's palm. "I'd recommend you start your lesson now if you don't wish for your detention tonight to become a detention every night for a month."

Fabian transferred his malicious stare to Hermione, and with a final slow blink he whirled on his heel and stalked away towards the ingredient cabinet. At the last moment, Hermione let go of Draco's hand, reached out, and grabbed the Ravenclaw's upper arm to turn him around and face her. "I will take no more of your attitude in this class, Mister Fairfax, be very aware of that." Her stony glare and suddenly cold facial expression caused Fabian's eyes to go wide, and Hermione heard him swallow. "If we have another incident like this," she continued lowly, "I will have to involve Headmistress McGonagall, and she would undoubtedly involve your parents and potentially a ministry official specializing in post-war equality laws. Would you like that Fabian?" The obviously frightened boy shook his head frantically. "I thought not. Now go start your potion, and don't forget to ground the bicorn horn fully before adding it."

Resisting her strong urge to shove the impertinent brat, Hermione turned around to see a pale Draco standing at the front of the class. Hermione frowned, and noticed that Draco was running his hands up and down his arms again. Is it a fidget, or is he cold? she wondered.

Smiling forcedly, Hermione looked around the room. "I wonder where Slughorn is?" she asked loudly, making several students smile.

"Most likely he's just sleeping," a girl supplied from the side of the room.

The class snickered, Hermione included, and everyone turned their attention back to their potions. Hermione watched Fabian closely as he moodily threw his ingredients into an empty cauldron and slammed his materials down onto his desk loudly. The Hufflepuff girl beside him wasn't impressed by his dramatics, and she rolled her eyes. "Calm down Fabian," she whispered. "You don't want to make Miss Granger upset. She seems nice now, but rumour has it that she has quite the temper."

"Yeah, I figured that out," Fabian hissed, mincing his flobberworm into nonexistence.

Confused, his neighbor shook her head and looked back down at her potion which was turning a vibrant shade of aquamarine as it transitioned from one phase into another. Giving a sly smile, Hermione turned around to face Draco. Slightly more composed, the blonde was leaning against Slughorn's empty desk, his eyes surveying the classroom without really seeing anything. Hermione took a moment to appreciate the blonde's lean silhouette, his muscles clearly defined through his pull-over sweater. Who'd have thought that the snarky eleven-year-old would turn into an eighteen-year-old sexy beast, she thought, her eyes skimming over his arms. Following the curve of his shoulder, her eyes rested on his tired-looking expression and blank eyes. She mentally corrected herself. An eighteen-year-old, broken-down, traumatized, scarred young man who happens to look devastatingly attractive even while he's having a nervous break-down.

Copying Draco and leaning against the desk behind her, Hermione watched the class satisfactorily. "No one's blown anything up yet, so that's good," she said to Draco, not thinking that the stonily silent Slytherin would respond. When the expected silence answered her, Hermione shrugged and continued talking. "Maybe we can set a record and have no cauldrons blow up this year. Wouldn't that be wonderful? We'd probably get a plaque in the Great Hall, maybe even a personal thank-you from the Board of Governors, and – hey, who knows? We might even get a thank-you from the Minister of Magic! Wouldn't that be something! I mean, it's not like I see Kingsley every other month for tea…."

Hermione trailed off, disheartened by the fact that Draco's expression didn't change and he didn't appear to be even listening to her. Sighing, she looked out again over the classroom and put her hand down on the desk beside her. Hermione almost jumped when she felt a cool weight place itself over her hand; Draco's pale hand, shaking slightly, subtly rested on top of Hermione's hand for the next several moments. Finally, Hermione squeezed Draco's hand gently and smiled at him, not caring if she looked like an idiot. Closing his eyes, Draco murmured "Thank you."

"It was nothing, Draco," Hermione insisted. "He's just an idiot kid -"

"No, thank you for everything."

"…everything?"

"Everything."

"Umm….well….you're welcome. Things will get better, I promise."

A loud ringing sounded through the classroom, indicating that it was ten minutes until the class was over. Re-adjusting her face so that it was fit for a public appearance, Hermione stood up straight. "Alright everyone, bottle your potions and come around this table, please!"

Hermione watched as Draco took a deep breath and closed his eyes; when he opened them again, they were indifferent and distanced, completing his stony mask. While the students did as Hermione asked and headed towards a front potion table, Hermione gave Draco's hand a final squeeze. "You'll be fine," she whispered. "Just stand there are look scary."

Draco snorted. "I can do that."

Reluctantly, Hermione pulled her hand out from under Draco's and walked towards the students. She listened to the clicks that Draco's dress shoes made as he followed her, and smiled to herself when she felt Draco's hand rest on the small of her back. A thrill of electricity shot up her spine, making her fingertips and scalp tingle. Her stomach felt like it had dropped out onto the floor, and her pulse fluttered up to approximately a million beats a minute.

When Draco and Hermione arrived in front of the table, Draco's hand still subtly on Hermione's back, the students quieted. Clutching their bottles like they were life preservers, the students looked wide-eyed at the TAs. "So, as we go around the table, you'll state your name, something about yourself, and then you'll drink your potion," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "Mister Malfoy and I will tell you what colour your auras glow, and what trait that colour coincides with."

"Um, Miss," a small Hufflepuff with curly black hair raised his hand hesitantly. "What if we brewed our potion incorrectly? Will something bad happen?" Eyeing his own dark brown, clumpy potion nervously, the boy swayed on his feet.

"Absolutely not," Draco said firmly. "None of the ingredients you used were lethal. At worst, your hair will turn an interesting colour for a few hours."

Looking relieved, the boy who asked the question nodded and thanked Draco politely. "Alright, are we ready?" Hermione asked enthusiastically, smiling at the class' excited reactions. "You can go first, young man."

The boy who'd asked Draco about the potion smiled weakly, looking at his friend beside him. "Um, hello," he said slowly. "My name is Aadam Hussein, and I'm a fan of muggle comic books. Particularly Superman." Looking hesitantly at his odd-coloured potion, Aadam took a deep breath and gulped his liquid down. Grimacing, he closed his eyes. "Is my hair purple?" he asked, reaching a hand hesitantly up to touch his hair.

Draco and Hermione shared a troubled look. Where was the potion's colour? Even if he mis-brewed it, the colour would show up somewhere….."No, Mister Hussein, your hair is perfectly normal," Hermione assured him.

The young boy opened his eyes and smiled, only to become concerned because of everyone's stares. "What?" he asked, panicking and reaching for his hair again.

"Your eyes, Aadam!" a girl shouted. "They're orange!"

Flipping through her answer key, Hermione smiled. "It's alright, the colour will wear off in a few hours. According to the colour, though, your primary trait is curiosity."

Still looking worried, Aadam nodded. The girl beside him elbowed him, grinning. "It's your turn!" Aadam said, embarrassed, trying to deflect attention from himself.

Seeing Draco nod to confirm Aadam's statement, the girl grew silent. Her potion at least looked normal, which was good. Stuttering slightly, the girl said, "H-hi, m-m-my name is M-Melissa Greyland, and I l-love dolphins."

Not even pausing to look at the crowd or her potion, Melissa drank her entire beaker. The entire crowd made a sound of amazement as the air around Melissa glowed a vibrant purple. Hermione was leafing through her answer key when Draco spoke up; "Purple indicates that you're primarily conscientious."

Scrunching her nose up, Melissa mouthed the word "conscientious" to Aadam, who was silently convulsing with laughter. As the class progressed, there were two more oranges – not surprising in a Ravenclaw class – a few "rebellious" children, an "independent" Ravenclaw, a couple "reliable" Hufflepuffs, several "kind-hearted" students, and a single "ambitious". Hermione felt very smug when Fabian Fairfax's potion turned a strange green, indicating that he was "stubborn". Draco didn't let anything slip from behind his indifferent mask. After the last student had sampled their potion, Aadam raised his hand tentatively.

"Yes Aadam?"

"Well, Miss Granger….there's some left over and…maybe yourself and Mister Malfoy could try some potion?"

Smiling, Hermione gave Draco a knowing glance. Acting on the blonde's slight nod, Hermione turned to face the anxious students. "Why not?" she said nonchalantly. "It can't hurt."

A loud cheer rose up from the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and half-full flasks were shoved into Draco and Hermione's waiting hands. Hermione had taken this test a few months ago and had gotten the result "kind-hearted". Expecting the light blue shade to surround her, Hermione took a deep draught of the potion. All the children's eyes grew wide and everyone stayed silent.

Worried, Hermione turned to face Draco whose wide eyes betrayed his surprise. "What colour was it?" Hermione asked quietly, making it clear that she expected honesty.

"….silver," Draco answered quietly.

"Silver?" Hermione squeaked, covering her mouth.

The silence was broken by a young Hufflepuff named Cameron Jordan, who said loudly, "I didn't do the homework. What does silver mean?"

"Silver m-means that M-Miss Grang-ger is n-needed." Melissa looked at her teacher with a different sort of respect.

"Needed?" Cameron said loudly. "That's not a personality trait."

"Shut up stupid, that's what makes it so special!" Chase McKnight hit his friend on the back of the head. "If someone's silver, it means that all of their personality is needed by someone; the good, the bad, and the weird. Do your bloody reading next time, git."

Hermione should have deducted five points for the Hufflepuff's use of inappropriate language, but she was unable to move. Silver? I'm needed? What the hell?!

"Mister Malfoy, will you try yours?" Aadam asked, gesturing to the flask that Draco held.

Silently, Draco tipped his beaker back and waited. Hermione just about collapsed when she saw that Draco, too, was glowing silver. Surprisingly, however, the Slytherin didn't even ask what his result was. With a single wave of his wand, he transferred all the empty beakers into the cleaning area, cleared the blackboard, rearranged the desks properly, and indicated to the students that class was over.

"Thank you for your enthusiasm!" Hermione called out, watching as the confused and exhausted students left the classroom.

Well, all the students but one. Fabian Fairfax hadn't left yet. "Miss Granger," he said, "can we talk for a second?"

Stiffening, Hermione walked over to where Fabian was standing. "Yes, Mister Fairfax?" she said in a clipped tone. "Can I help you?"

"Meaning no disrespect Miss, but – why do you associate yourself with Mister Malfoy?" Fabian widened his eyes so as to look innocent, but Hermione didn't fall for it for one second. "You're a very respected witch, and you're causing a big stir by associating with that dea – Mister Malfoy."

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "You're walking a fine line here, Fairfax," she said sharply. "and that's my personal business. I think it'd be a good idea if you went to your next class now."

Fabian reached into his bag and pulled out the Daily Prophet. "Just know that this is what you choose to be friends with."

And on that ominous note, Fabian left the classroom.

Looking at the paper in front of her, Hermione winced at the headline.

Death Eater Attacks Muggle Village; Lucius Malfoy Still At Large

Earlier today in a small town just outside of Brighton, Death Eater Lucius Malfoy led an attack against a well-known muggleborn family. Backed by an unknown number of supporters – eyewitnesses recall anywhere between two and two hundred masked men behind a dramatically unmasked Malfoy – Lucius broke into the Kenney household and held the family hostage for approximately two hours. Mr Jonathan Kenney, the head of the family, was severely wounded by an unknown curse and is currently in St Mungo's. His wife, Laura Kenney, escaped unscathed, but Marie, the youngest of the four Kenney children, is in critical condition…..

Hermione stopped reading. Draco can't see this, she thought, holding the paper behind her back. She was too late, however; Draco snatched the paper out of her hands and stood stock still as he read the entire article. Watching the blonde carefully, Hermione felt static electricity start to spark in the air, and saw as the area around Malfoy started to swirl and roil. "Draco…." she said hesitantly, taking a step towards her friend. "Just calm down -"

But Hermione's words were too little too late, and Draco's anger exploded in a demonstration of accidental magic unlike anything the witch had ever seen before. The room erupted in a veritable maelstrom, potion jars shattering, cauldrons whipping around the room at top speeds, and ingredients of all sorts being propelled into one another causing reactions mid-air. Hermione ducked to avoid a huge pewter cauldron, only to feel a horrible sensation on the left side of her face. Reaching up just below her ear, Hermione felt the sharp glass embedded in her skin and the warm blood running over her fingertips. Shit, she thought. That could have been my eyes.

Knowing that she had to stop this insane chaos, Hermione took a deep breath and lunged towards the center of the storm. When she stood up, she was free from the potion room's storm; no materials came within a foot of Draco. He was standing stock still, eyes closed, chest heaving, completely oblivious to the nature of his rage. Taking a deep breath, Hermione closed the gap between herself and the Slytherin to embrace him. She felt small against his tall, lean frame, but she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her uninjured cheek to his chest. "Draco, please," she whispered, knowing that he most likely couldn't hear her. "It's ok. You aren't your father….please, stop."

Some of her words must have gotten through to him, since the ingredients, cauldrons, glass shards, and other debris immediately stopped their deadly dance and fell to the ground, inanimate. Hermione didn't move a muscle, too worried about what she might find if she looked up from her warm, safe haven. Sparks of electricity shot from Hermione's head down to her toes when she felt Draco's hand on her head, and the feeling intensified when she felt his fingers running lightly through her hair. "Thank you," he whispered again.

"What would you do without me?" she asked jokingly, ensuring that Draco's hand wouldn't touch her injured cheek – she didn't want him to know about that, he'd feel so horrible.

"I don't know," Draco answered sincerely, his hand pausing in its motion. Hermione wanted to cry out at the lack of friction, her head feeling too light and too cold. "I genuinely don't know what I'd do without you, Hermione."

After a moment of silence, Hermione replied honestly "You don't have to know. I'm not going anywhere, don't worry."

A/N: Ok, so yes these chapters were late - but there are two of them, so hopefully that makes up for it. :) My goal is to get the next chapter out by Tuesday, October 23rd. Providing that my health stays normal, it should be on-time this time! Credit to Muse Amusant for the name Fabian Fairfax - what a great name, hey? Thanks everybody, please R&R!