For Lyrrie, who requested Hermione and the Potions classroom for Funfair Egg Swap! I hope you enjoy. This may become a bigger thing later on. :D

For Hogwarts Challenges & Assignments - Term 14, Assignment 8 - Celtic Studies, Task #4: Write about someone brewing a potion.

No Laughing Matter

"Today, you'll be brewing a Laughing Potion," Professor Slughorn informed the sixth-year class. "As the name suggests, if brewed correctly, it will induce laughter in the drinker. Off you go!"

Hermione immediately set about organizing her workstation. First, she laid her book on the table and opened it to the proper page. Next, she procured the ingredients from her bag and, in the case of the Puffskein, from the large cage at the front of the classroom.

Once she had lined up the ingredients on her table in the order she would need them, she was ready to begin brewing. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Harry and Ron still struggling to get their own workstations ready, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Boys.

Hermione then spent the next several minutes chopping up alihotsy leaves, which she added to the spring water inside her cauldron. The book instructed her to stir the mixture slowly, so she did so with exaggerated movements. She frowned when she saw Harry mixing his more quickly, and waved a hand at him to get his attention.

"It says to stir slowly!" she hissed. To her chagrin, Harry merely shrugged and kept up his pace. Hermione really did roll her eyes at that. If that Prince wanted him to mess up the finished product by damaging the mirthful properties of the alihotsy leaves, so be it.

When it came time to snicker at her potion, she paused for a moment, feeling a bit silly. She needed to come up with a funny memory so that her laughter would be authentic, but she found it difficult to concentrate when Harry was so clearly disregarding the instructions in the book. Instead of a snicker, he let out a sort of guffaw, startling Ron so much that he dropped his ladle into his cauldron with a splash. Finally, she thought about the time when she punched Malfoy in the face, drawing out a small titter.

Hermione's irritation only grew as the class wore on. Five minutes before the end of the period, Professor Slughorn moved towards Hermione's table, and for a brief moment, she thought he was going to compliment her potion. Her optimism was short-lived, however, for he barely looked at her cauldron at all. His gaze was focused on Harry and Harry alone.

"Can you stay after class today, Harry?" he asked, smiling genially over at him. "I require some...assistance in a delicate matter, and I feel that you would be best suited to help."

Hermione huffed and brushed a strand of hair away from her sweaty face. Her Laughing Potion was a brilliant gold, but it lacked the delicate shimmer that Harry's had. As if that wasn't bad enough, Professor Slughorn wanted Harry to stay after class and not her! It simply wasn't fair.

To her left, Harry shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't, Professor. I'm very, er, busy, you see…"

Slughorn looked disappointed for a moment, but he recovered quickly, turning his bright smile towards Hermione.

"Miss Granger! Would you be able to stay after class today?"

Hermione nodded eagerly. "Of course, Professor. I have plenty of time to spare."

In truth, her schedule was quite full, but she wasn't about to pass up whatever opportunity her teacher had for her, and she thanked her lucky stars that Harry had turned it down. No doubt he was going to spend his time in a far less valuable manner. He had been awfully obsessed with catching Malfoy doing something shifty lately...

If she thought Professor Slughorn would be ecstatic about her enthusiastic reply, however, she was sadly mistaken. He merely nodded and moved towards the other side of the classroom to correct Terry Boot's efforts.

When the bell sounded, Hermione leapt up and hurried over to Professor Slughorn's desk.

"Professor," she said breathlessly, "I'd just like to thank you—"

"Don't thank me yet, you haven't heard what it is you'll be doing!" Professor Slughorn chuckled. He lowered his voice, but only slightly. "I think it'd better wait until the rest of your classmates have cleared out, though. As I said before, it is a delicate matter."

Her curiosity piqued, Hermione watched her classmates clean their workstations, chattering away to their friends as they did so. She wished that they would hurry up and leave so that Professor Slughorn could tell her more about the "delicate matter" he needed assistance with. Her mind quickly mapped out the possibilities. Maybe he was starting an apprenticeship. Maybe he was looking for someone to prep ingredients for the store cupboard. Maybe he—

"Miss Granger?"

Hermione blinked and realized that the Potions classroom was empty save for herself and her professor. She gave herself a little shake before smiling at Professor Slughorn.

"Yes, sir?"

She couldn't wait to learn what he needed help with. It had to be something exciting. Why else would he be so secretive about it?

"Your aptitude at Potions has not gone unnoticed, my dear," the wizard began, and Hermione flushed with pride.

"Thank you, Professor."

"Severus has asked me to find an exceptional student to tutor someone who has been struggling," Professor Slughorn continued. "Naturally, you were one of the first people who sprang to mind!"

Hermione tamped down the hurt she felt at not being the only student he thought of. There were more pressing issues, such as the identity of the student who needed tutoring. What year were they? How much additional work would this require on her part?

"I'm to be a tutor, sir?" she said, frowning. "I—who is it?"

She held her breath, privately hoping that it wasn't Crabbe or Goyle. She did not have the patience to deal with either of them for extended periods of time, she was sure of it.

Somehow, though, Professor Slughorn's reply was worse than she ever could have feared.

"Draco Malfoy."

For a moment, all Hermione could do was stare at her teacher. This had to be some kind of joke. She couldn't work with Malfoy! And since when was he struggling with Potions, anyway?

"I'm sorry, sir," she said as diplomatically as she could, "but I'm afraid that isn't a good idea. We don't...get along, exactly."

"Oh, now that is a shame." Professor Slughorn's face fell. "I was really looking forward to telling Severus that I had found someone...but no matter! I suppose there's always Mr. Macmillan…"

"Ernie?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. Ernie was a diligent student, but he was hardly a skilled potioneer. There was no way she was going to forfeit this opportunity to Ernie. "Sir, please tell Professor Snape that I'll be helping Malfoy."

She was still curious to know why Malfoy needed so much help, but she figured she would find out more details later—if Malfoy was willing to talk to her, that is.

"Excellent!" Professor Slughorn clapped his hands together. "You may begin the extra lessons at whatever time is convenient for the both of you—I'll give you the key to the store cupboard for any extra ingredients you might need."

Hermione thanked him and took the small copper key that he held out to her. As she exited the classroom, she let out a small sigh. Her need to prove herself, to be the best, had landed her in a tight spot. Tutoring Draco Malfoy wasn't going to be an easy task, but she was determined to see it through.

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