A/N: edit 2-29-16- I'm seriously so mad at myself for cutting off chapters in the middle of the day...


When Draco went down for dinner, he pulled Blaise away from the rest of the group, sitting further away than usual. Once they sat and started eating, he glanced around to make sure Pansy and her group weren't looking their way.

"So, did you find out what Pansy was scheming?"

"Yea, tomorrow in Potions, she's going to have Millicent distract Professor Slughorn and she's going to put some Angel's Trumpet in Granger's potion."

"What? Angel's Trumpet? That could kill her if she drinks the potion, what's wrong with her?" Draco fumed, staring daggers at the witch down the table. "Not to mention… depending on the potion we make, it might have a bad reaction…"

"She claims she's only going to put a small amount in, but when she pulled out the jar, there was more than just a pinch. I don't know if she's going to use all of it or not… She's not the brightest, she only got by because of Snape. She probably honestly doesn't know just how dangerous it is, but that still doesn't excuse her- she isn't exactly stupid either, she would have done some research. So, what are you going to do?" Blaise asked.

"I'm not sure just yet. I'll probably have her sit with me in class so I can keep an eye on her potion. Maybe if I'm with her, Pansy will change her mind… she probably doesn't want me to know about her plan so she should back off."

"Alright, I'll help you keep an eye out- I don't want Granger to die just because Pansy is being a jealous idiot," Blaise assured him.

"Thanks, glad I can count on you."

"Well, you did help me out big time in our 4th year so I owe you a lot. Plus Pansy is annoying, so it will be fun to ruin her plans."

"I'll admit I'm surprised, I thought you didn't like Muggles or Muggle-borns?"

"Heh, dude, I'm a Slytherin, of course I'm going to say that. I don't care much for anyone, you know that. Mother didn't raise me to be touchy-feely or friendly, although I do consider you a friend now, so I will be cordial to your new girlfriend. At least privately, no promises when too many people are watching, I do want to uphold my reputation."

Draco laughed, Blaise could be hard to understand sometimes but he was trustworthy. The blond wondered how he really felt about Muggle-borns and the like, he just never seemed to be friendly towards anyone. Draco sighed and looked over at Hermione, watching her laugh with her friends; the Slytherin table hardly seemed so warm. Sure they talked and made friends, but Gryffindor was clearly the chummiest table. Hufflepuffs were quite laid back with everything and Ravenclaws were so used to studying that they spoke quietly most of the time. For years now he wondered what it would be like if he had been sorted into her house… he didn't know if he could adjust to the constant shows of emotion. Blaise and Draco continued to discuss ideas of how to deal with Pansy during dinner, keeping a wary eye on said witch the whole time.

*Tuesday*

Hermione woke up early, unable to sleep any longer, and she decided to head to Ginny's dorm and wake up her friend. She opened the curtains around Ginny's bed and flopped down next to the redhead.

"Psst, Gin, wake up, I'm hungry."

"Wha? I don't wan' a bunny," Ginny mumbled in her sleep.

"But they are so fluffy and cute, are you sure?"

"I got Arnold."

Hermione started giggling and pulled Arnold out of his small bed, placing him by Ginny's ear. Arnold started snuggling in her ear and wandered around on her face. Hermione watched as Ginny mumbled in her sleep and wiggled her nose. She started laughing more when Ginny finally reached up and felt the furry little puff on her face.

"Huh, Arnold, how did you get out of your box?" Ginny wondered, slowly opening her eyes and petting the puff. Suddenly she registered someone laughing and sleepily looked around. Spotting Hermione, Ginny scowled, "You put Arnold on me? Why are we even awake right now?"

"I can't sleep anymore, and I don't want to go eat breakfast by myself, come on, let's get an early start."

"Ugh, the things I put up with!" Ginny groaned.

Hermione laughed some more and tossed Ginny her school clothes, urging her to get up. As Ginny made her way to the bathrooms to shower, Hermione finished gathering her school supplies and went to the Common Room to wait. She pulled out her Potions essay and looked it over one last time for mistakes- she was glad that Professor Slughorn was teaching Potions this year, he was much more friendly. Although now Snape was in charge of Defense of the Dark Arts, she wasn't sure how she felt about that... When Ginny finally emerged from upstairs, Hermione put her homework away and they went down to breakfast. Ginny hated waking up early but she did enjoy the earlier hours of breakfast, it was much quieter and more peaceful. The girls were able to discuss some topics that Harry and Ron didn't enjoy listening to. Or sometimes, like today, Ginny was asking for advice about classes and Harry.

"I'm really not sure why Harry hasn't said anything to you, I mean, I see the way he looks at you, he's impressed by you. But he might still be seeing you as Ron's little sister… he probably doesn't want to make Ron mad you know?"

"Why would Ron care? I mean Harry is his best friend right?" Ginny questioned.

"Boys are weird that way sometimes… But, at least Harry is being considerate of his friend's feelings. Ron is very protective of you, look what happened when you were dating Michael Corner? And when you were dating Dean earlier this year, he wasn't too happy… you guys went through a rough patch…"

Ginny groaned and laid her head on the table, Hermione was right, Harry must be afraid of upsetting Ron, but instead she was the one being hurt by his inaction! Even though she had dated other boys, she was always hopefully Harry would come around, and it seemed like Ron might ruin it.

"Ron may or may not react badly, but I guess Harry is afraid to take the chance, it might be up to you to start something, either by talking to your brother, or by talking to Harry," Hermione advised her.

The pair quickly moved on to safer topics as they saw more Gryffindors, including Harry and Ron, enter the Hall to eat. As all of them were eating, they looked up automatically when the owls came in with the post. As they flew around, one swooped down and landed in front of Hermione. She gave the owl some toast and picked up the letter.

Princess,
Just hoping that you might sit with me in Potions today?
I'm sure your two friends would be willing to give you up for one period right?
Yours,
Draco.

Hermione smiled and looked for Draco, giving him a nod, eyes shining. They shared a few classes together but they only really sat together in Arithmacy and Ancient Runes. It would be interesting to see how her friends took being separated from her, although, it's not like they needed her help anyways… Harry had his Potions book. Seriously, why did Harry choose to trust the edits, it was just so suspicious… Hermione was excited at the prospect of Potions with Draco, it was one of his best subjects, when he was trying. And now that they were dating, she knew he wasn't going to be whispering snide remarks the whole time. She hummed on her way to their first class, in a great mood! Her good mood lasted all day, she was still humming as the trio finally made their way to Potions that afternoon.

Ron and Harry were too preoccupied to notice her good mood, but as the trio entered the dungeons, they looked up when Hermione didn't take her regular spot in between them. Instead they watched as she took her seat next to Malfoy, Zabini sitting on her other side. Ron started to growl, face turning a deep shade of red. Harry was tempted to march over there and drag her away but decided against it; if Hermione started studying with the ferret, then maybe she'd overhear something pertaining to his 'mission.' Besides, they had been fighting a lot over the use of his potions book so maybe a small break was for the best. But did she really have to sit with Malfoy? If she wanted a break, she could have easily sat with Ernie or Padma… Harry looked to the door, along with the rest of the class, when they heard a loud choking noise, Pansy standing in the doorway.

Draco couldn't help but give her a nasty smirk when he saw her there, mouth hanging open. She was glaring at Hermione and if looks could kill… but then she straightened back and there was a triumphant gleam in her eyes. He scowled at her as she walked by and took a seat next to Theo at the desk behind theirs. Draco caught Blaise's eye, with Pansy behind them it would be all too easy for her to slip something into Hermione's potion… he hadn't quite thought of that… Professor Slughorn came in and started telling the class about their lesson, today they'd be making the Volubilis potion, with Hermione's hand shooting in the air to answer what it was.

"Yes Miss Granger, since no one else will venture a guess," Professor Slughorn smiled. He liked to give the other students a chance to answer before calling on her. It was rare that anyone else raised their hands though.

"The Volubilis Potion is a potion that changes the drinker's voice. It is most often used as a restorative potion to those who have lost their voice or whom have had the Silencing Charm cast on them."

"Yes, very good Miss Granger, 10 points to Gryffindor, now everyone begin. At the end of the class, you and your tablemates will be casting a Silencing Charm on each other and seeing if you've correctly made your potion, get to work."

Draco's eyes widened as he heard this, Pansy giggling behind him, she must have known what they would be brewing today. Otherwise she wouldn't have brought in Angel's Trumpet to try and poison Hermione. Beside him, he saw his girlfriend open up her book and start gathering the necessary ingredients; she was completely ignorant of the danger she was in. Blaise leaned over to look at Hermione's book, saying he never brought his own, and started in on his own potion. Draco sighed inwardly and started too, he couldn't afford to fail any more assignments. He'd just have to wait for Millicent to come in and make a plan when it counted…

Hermione was humming as she worked, focusing on her potion, it was nice to have a break from the bickering about that blasted book. She didn't even mind sharing with Zabini, he seemed polite enough; when she looked over at Draco, she smiled, happy to see him working at a good pace. "Don't forget to add the Stewed Mandrake before the Syrup of Hellbore," Hermione gently reminded him, seeing him reach for the Hellbore.

"Oh, right thanks, that might have ended badly for me," he chuckled, dropping the Mandrake in the potion. It was hard to pay attention to his potion when he was on pins and needles, waiting for the door to open… But Hermione was watching out for him, and the thought made him smile briefly.

Hermione nodded her head and went back to her cauldron, glad that he hadn't minded her correction. She was so used to working with the boys, she hadn't thought about if he'd bristle over it… Luckily Zabini hadn't needed any hints either, she wouldn't have been able to help herself from commenting and he was sure to get irritated…

Class was coming to a close, they should be done with their potions soon, any minute now Millicent would be coming in and distracting Professor Slughorn. He had been wandering between the desks as they toiled away, keeping an eye on everyone's progress; he seemed slightly surprised to see Draco doing his work so efficiently today but made no comment. Just as Professor Slughorn was telling everyone to finish up and prepare to test their potions, Millicent burst through the door.

"Sorry for interrupting Professor but um, I-I was told to come down here and see if you had any spare Murtlap Essence, there was a bit of a mishap in Transfiguration."

"Not too serious then, if no one is heading to the Hospital Wing?" Slughorn asked, heading to his storeroom.

"No, just some nasty scrapes, but Professor McGonagall, ran out of her own supply and needs some more," Millicent told him, looking over at Pansy nervously.

Hermione had, like everyone else, looked away from her potion when the door had opened, and Draco hadn't acted fast enough before Pansy upended her jar of Angel's Trumpet into Hermione's cauldron.

Pansy, who had been expecting Millicent, had already snuck up behind Draco, standing in place, just waiting for the door to open. She grinned when Draco glared at her, and quickly went back to her seat, the Mudblood completely unaware; for all her supposed talent, she really wasn't very observant.

Draco watched as the Angel's Trumpet dissolved into the potion, unsure of what he should do. He didn't want to frighten Hermione by telling her that his fellow Slytherin was trying to kill her… Looking at Blaise, Draco was rapidly thinking of how to fix this. Blaise narrowed his eyes, figuring that Pansy had been successful and was thinking of away to spill Hermione's cauldron when Professor Slughorn spoke up.

"Alright students, everyone pour some of your potions in a vial and get ready to test it."

Hermione scooped up her potion and looked at her tablemates, waiting for them to do the same. She noticed their wide eyes as they glanced at each other over her head but before she could question them, Draco spoke up.

"Hey Hermione, you have faith in me right?" Draco asked, as he scooped up some of his own completed potion.

"Well of course I do, why?"

Blaise watched, unsure what Draco had planned, still ready to knock the vial out of Hermione's hand. He had his own vial ready, wondering if he could make a swap while Hermione wasn't looking, was that what Draco wanted him to try?

"Well, as my newfound efforts to stay a good student, would you try my potion, and I'll try yours?"

Hermione smiled at him, he wanted to show her that he was still a capable student. She nodded in agreement, she had watched him brew the potion and knew it was done right. And he had to know that her own potion was completely safe, so she handed over her vial, and grabbed Draco's. She had complete faith in him.

Draco visibly relaxed when Hermione agreed, at least now she wouldn't be poisoned, he could think about the consequences for himself later. When he looked over at Blaise, he saw the slight shake of his head and worried look in his eyes. Before either of them said anything, Hermione asked a question.

"So I guess Blaise can go first?"

When Blaise nodded his head mutely, she raised her wand and cast the spell. He quickly knocked back the vial and waited a moment before opening his mouth and asking if it worked.

"Ah, congratulations Mr. Zabini, full points!" Professor Slughorn called out, watching the students drinking their potions.

Okay, me next," Hermione smiled, waiting for Draco to cast the spell on her.

"Silencio."

Hermione laughed, silently, before raising her vial and drinking the potion. "Ta da," she called out, smiled at Draco. Draco barely heard Professor Slughorn congratulate him on his potion, granting him full marks. Then Hermione raised her wand and silenced Draco, waiting for him to drink the potion. Draco took a deep breath, raising the vial to his lips, preparing himself to drink it-

"NO!"