The third year potions class entered the room noisily, carrying on their conversations from the lunch they had just come from.
As they took their seats, chairs scraped across the hard stone floor, screeching,
Horace Slughorn entered later than his students, making a dramatic, flamboyant entrance as usual.
"Afternoon class, Afternoon. And welcome back, should I say, to another action packed term. Apologies for my lateness I was catching up with my correspondence and time eluded me."
Those who had been in the dining room knew that he was seated in there just ten minutes ago, scoffing down as much food as his enormous belly would allow.
"Now then, as it is a new year I thought we would start off with something a little bit fun. Can anyone tell me what this potion here is?"
He waved his arm over an acid green looking potion in the cauldron sat on his desk. His eyes scanned the classroom looking for eager volunteers waiting to answer.
Chairs again scrapped as the students stood and craned their necks eager for a look. The watery potion bubbled.
A young Hufflepuff girl, Millie Draper had her hand in the air immediately, Hermione concealed a smile. The girl reminded her so much of herself. All bushy hair and brains.
"It is a shrinking potion, sir"
"Very good Ms Draper, five points to Hufflepuff. Now can anybody tell me the five main ingredients? Without looking at your book Mr Winn" he scolded as the raven haired boy stowed his textbook back under his desk.
Again it was the Hufflepuff girl who answered.
"Yes Miss Draper"
"Caterpillars, sliced. Daisy roots, shrivellfig, wormwood and a rats spleen" she answered confidently, as if she had recited it from the potions book itself.
"Very good, very good indeed, another ten points to Hufflepuff. Right take out your books and open at page..."
Professor Slughorn grabbed his copy of Advanced Potion Making from his desk and he flicked through it, finding the appropriate page.
" page 258, read the chapter on shrinking potions whilst our class helpers hand out your required ingredients. When you have finished reading, you may attempt to recreate this potion. You will find the correct measurements and method on page 260"
Hermione resented being called the class helper it sounded so derogatory. Assistant professor sounded so much better. Was she being snobby? She questioned.
The professor sat at his desk, marking essays from this mornings class whilst Draco raced to the store cupboard pushing past Hermione on his way. The witch did not understand his haste, were they in some sort of competition that she was unaware of?
"Humpf" she stalked to the cupboard but before she had even got there Draco was handing out items to the right hand side of the room.
This behavior was not what she had been expecting of the Slytherin boy. She had never imagined him to suck up to a teacher even if it was a fellow Slytherin. She had seen how he had rebuffed Snape. There must be some ulterior motive she thought.
The students dived into the task that had been set, Hermione had to resist temptation, she so wanted to tell the children where they were going wrong. She was forbidden however, "they must learn from their own mistakes Miss Granger" her professor had told her after she had stopped a first year from adding a catastrophic addition to his Forgetfulness Potion.
The lesson as going well, Hermione walked down the aisles looking at the students progress. She had seen some errors but nothing too worrying. Draco continued to do all he could to please their Professor. Hermione had even seen him, at one point, hand a steaming hot coffee to a delighted Slughorn that he had retrieved from the staff room, half the length of the castle away.
That had annoyed her, she did not know what Draco was up to but she was determined to find out.
Lost in her thoughts, Hermione noticed it too late, a young ravenclaw boy had made a fatal mistake. His cauldron made a terrible rumbling noise and then suddenly exploded, splashing the unknown solution high into the air.
"Come students, please" Slug horn said running out of the room faster than he'd moved in a long time.
The students evacuated their classroom after their professor.
Hermione and Draco had to remain behind, to clear up the classroom. Their robes were dripping with the acrid smelling, blue slime. Hermione felt the substance dripping down her neck. With a wave of Draco's wand the slime that had been dripping from the walls and ceiling as now gone, he had sorted it before Hermione had even thought of the incantation. With another wave of his wand, they both stood clean.
"Thanks" Hermione mumbled without looking up at him.
They both stalked around the classroom retrieving any equipment and ingredients that had been left. She bumped into him accidentally as they both reached for the same abandoned text book.
"Watch it m..Granger" he snapped but then quickly mumbled an apology.
She knew he was about to put her down, she did not understand why he had stopped himself. He had never afforded her that courtesy before.
Hermione did not know how to act around Malfoy now. She had tried to be polite but her attempts had been rebuffed time and time again. It was not that she thought they could become friends but it would be at least easier if they could be cordial to one another, now they were living in such close quarters.
Draco hated her as much as he always had. She did not feel the same about him, she was just indifferent towards. She actually pitied him slightly, everything he had known had come crashing down around him. She was actually quite impressed, he was braver by far than she had ever imagined for coming back here. It cannot have been easy.
Hermione had hung out with the eighth year girls a few times now and the conversation had always turned to the boys. Hermione was not really interested in this kind of gossip but she participated, wanting to include.
All of the other girls had found something fascinating about Malfoy, dangerous but damaged, they had called him. She knew most found him attractive. She did not see it herself. He had certainly changed, that she could not deny but she was not certain the change was for the better. He seemed withdrawn, not his usual self centered, arrogant self.
She did not know what he had been through to make him so introvert but she could guess.
She could not bring herself to feel sorry for him though, however much the other girls did.
He had kind of bought it upon himself she thought.
Hermione finished clearing the classroom lost in her thoughts. She did not notice that Draco had left nor did she hear him mumble a "goodbye" to her.