Draco sat in the empty observation room for longer than he cared to
consider. Finally, deciding that he would just have to snap out of it, he
got up, still holding Harry's invisibility cloak, and walked out into the
hall.
Coming down the last flight of stairs to the main floor of the castle, he finally realized he'd been sitting - brooding - much longer than he thought. It was daylight and the early risers of the school were already in the Great Hall for breakfast. Draco thought he could get back to his room before anyone noticed; very few Slytherins were early risers. What he didn't count on was one particular red-headed Gryffindor.
"Watch where you're going Malfoy," Ron said just in time for the blond to avoid running directly into him.
Draco looked at the floor quickly, realizing that the conflict with Harry last night was bothering him much more than he expected. "Sorry, 'scuse me."
Ron was still looking in the direction of the Slytherin dorms when Harry and Hermione caught up with him 10 minutes later.
"Earth to Ron?"
"Hmm?" he turned at the sound of Harry's voice. "OH,, erm, I - uh - morning."
"Ron, are you all right?" Hermione wasn't use to seeing Ron this distracted unless it was because of her.
"Yeah, fine," he said, coming back to reality. "It was just - Malfoy acted *human* for a minute there. Freaked me out."
The three of them laughed as they headed into the Great Hall for breakfast, two of them completely oblivious to the concerned look and the forced sound of the laughter coming from the dark-haired one in the group.
~*_*~
Potions. Double Potions, with the Gryffindors. Potions with Potter, Harry. Two hours in a dungeon with Harry. Draco couldn't seem to put his finger on the precise reason that he was dreading this class. He'd been getting a lot of comments from his housemates ever since he and Harry became friends. Of course, they didn't know he was friends with the Golden Boy, they just knew that Malfoy was a little different and didn't seem to enjoy harassing said Golden Boy anymore.
He was early, as usual. Draco sat, watching as the rest of the class filtered in, Snape pacing around with his robes billowing behind him. Finally, at the back of the crowd, came the Gryffindor Trio. Draco watched in amusement as the three of them realized there were only three seats left in the room, and that one of them was next to Draco Malfoy. Harry whispered something to his friends and nodded toward the empty seats on the other side of the room. At Hermione's questioning look, he nodded again and the Trio split up. Draco took a deep breath and braced himself against the onslaught of emotions as Harry walked toward him.
As Hermione and Ron sat down, Ron mumbled his concern for Harry and Draco, just loud enough for Hermione to think she'd heard him wrong. She didn't get the chance to ask about it, because at that moment, Snape stopped his pacing, faced the classroom and asked Seamus Finnegan what would happen if he added a handful of peppercorns to an infusion of wolfsbane and Hydra blood. Seamus, of course, didn't know and Snape promptly took 40 points from Gryffindor.
As several Slytherins smirked at this, Harry was distracted by the hand brushing his thigh under the table. He was shocked, nervous and a little excited, but couldn't bear to let anyone, especially Draco, realize how much that touch affected him. He'd begun to realize that he was getting too close to Draco.
'Why is it that I can't just use him for his knowledge and not care what happens to him? I just - ahh, there's his hand again. I've got to find a way to get him to stop that.'
Harry reached down and clamped his hand over Draco's, simultaneously turning to land an uncharacteristic sneer on the boy's face. His resolve nearly faltered when he thought he saw a trace of disappointment in the blue-grey eyes, but it was gone before he could be certain. All he could see, upon truly looking, was the familiar fire of cruelty and joy - the sort of joy Dra-no-Malfoy always got when harassing Harry and his friends. As they glared at each other, the blue-grey eyes became silvery and the sparkling emerald eyes became darker, much like the night in the potions classroom.
Draco held Harry's gaze while telling himself that he didn't feel anything unusual and there was nothing special about that smoldering look. After what seemed like quite some time, but was in reality less than a minute, Draco moved his hand slightly, to let Harry recognize that it held a piece of parchment.
Harry took it, looked down and read ~infuse wb & H-blood, you get empathy potion, add peppercorns, it's a love potion~
Surprised that Draco would be giving him answers, he looked up, suspiciously at the blond Slytherin who had invaded his dreams last night. Harry didn't think he could ever tell anyone that he'd woken up shaking and crying after the dream about Draco's fall from the Astronomy Tower. In Harry's dream, Draco hadn't stopped falling. It was horrid.
Harry was so caught up in the emotions, thoughts, memories, dreams and Draco's note that he didn't hear Snape calling his name.
"MR. POTTER!" Harry jumped, looked at Draco again and then at the very impatient Potions professor with the inky black eyes glaring at him.
'I'm so sick of this.' Harry thought as he gave Snape the same uncharacteristic sneer. He noticed a flicker of questioning in the older man's gaze, but it, too, was gone before he could be certain. "Yes?" He purposely left off the 'sir' simply not being in the mood to indulge Snape's attitude or ego.
"I was asking if you could tell me what happens if you add a handful of peppercorns to and infusion of wolfsbane and Hydra blood. It seems that no one else in your house has been taking the initiative to study, though. Is there any REASON I should expect Harry Potter to know the answer when even his studious friend, Ms. Granger doesn't?"
"What will happen is highly dependant on who is making the potion as well as who drinks the potion and who is around when the potion is taken. As those possibilities are endless I can't see how anyone could answer your question. Were you, however, to ask what the infusion does and how the peppercorns could change that, I would be able to tell you that the infusion of Hydra blood with wolfsbane is an empathy potion, allowing the creator and the drinker to have a temporary emotional connection. The addition of a handful of peppercorns makes it a love potion, which we all know are forbidden due to the total lack of control by the drinker and the complete power held by the object of the inflicted affections."
Snape's eyes widened ever-so-slightly during Harry's response, barely acknowledging his surprise and approval. The other students in the room, however, were doing well to keep their chins out of the empty cauldrons on the tables in front of them. Under the table, Harry felt Draco's pinkie finger wrap itself around his own and squeeze, as though silently saying 'Way to go!'
Snape cleared his throat and quietly added 60 points to Gryffindor, causing the aforementioned chins to fall even further. Then, without further comment, he barked out his orders for the empathy potion they would be preparing today, reminding everyone to leave the peppercorns alone.
~*_*~
As they were leaving the classroom, Draco and Harry seemed to take a little longer to put their supplies away, both hesitating in the hopes of talking to each other. Harry went so far as to tell Ron and Hermione he would catch up with them at lunch. Draco glared at Pansy when she tried to hang around waiting for him. Finally, as they left the dungeon classroom, they were the only ones around and Harry took the opportunity to quietly approach Draco about his run-in with Ron that morning.
"What did the Weasel say?"
"Stop calling him that," Harry said. "He didn't say much, just that you nearly ran over him and then you actually apologized to him. We all know you well enough to know that it's not in your normal behavior to apologize to people." This last bit was said with a bit of dry humor but Draco barely noticed it.
"Well, I didn't mean to run over him. I was just, my mind was somewhere else at the time."
"Okay. Oh, and thanks for the help in potions."
"I can't say I was much help. You went into much more detail than I would have expected. Quite a performance you put on there, you sounded like.." he trailed off, not sure he wanted to finish the sentence.
"You?" Harry finished for him. "Listen, can we meet tonight? Maybe 11 or so?"
"Sure, how about the Quidditch stands, that hidden spot near the broom shed?"
"Sounds good, see you then."
Coming down the last flight of stairs to the main floor of the castle, he finally realized he'd been sitting - brooding - much longer than he thought. It was daylight and the early risers of the school were already in the Great Hall for breakfast. Draco thought he could get back to his room before anyone noticed; very few Slytherins were early risers. What he didn't count on was one particular red-headed Gryffindor.
"Watch where you're going Malfoy," Ron said just in time for the blond to avoid running directly into him.
Draco looked at the floor quickly, realizing that the conflict with Harry last night was bothering him much more than he expected. "Sorry, 'scuse me."
Ron was still looking in the direction of the Slytherin dorms when Harry and Hermione caught up with him 10 minutes later.
"Earth to Ron?"
"Hmm?" he turned at the sound of Harry's voice. "OH,, erm, I - uh - morning."
"Ron, are you all right?" Hermione wasn't use to seeing Ron this distracted unless it was because of her.
"Yeah, fine," he said, coming back to reality. "It was just - Malfoy acted *human* for a minute there. Freaked me out."
The three of them laughed as they headed into the Great Hall for breakfast, two of them completely oblivious to the concerned look and the forced sound of the laughter coming from the dark-haired one in the group.
~*_*~
Potions. Double Potions, with the Gryffindors. Potions with Potter, Harry. Two hours in a dungeon with Harry. Draco couldn't seem to put his finger on the precise reason that he was dreading this class. He'd been getting a lot of comments from his housemates ever since he and Harry became friends. Of course, they didn't know he was friends with the Golden Boy, they just knew that Malfoy was a little different and didn't seem to enjoy harassing said Golden Boy anymore.
He was early, as usual. Draco sat, watching as the rest of the class filtered in, Snape pacing around with his robes billowing behind him. Finally, at the back of the crowd, came the Gryffindor Trio. Draco watched in amusement as the three of them realized there were only three seats left in the room, and that one of them was next to Draco Malfoy. Harry whispered something to his friends and nodded toward the empty seats on the other side of the room. At Hermione's questioning look, he nodded again and the Trio split up. Draco took a deep breath and braced himself against the onslaught of emotions as Harry walked toward him.
As Hermione and Ron sat down, Ron mumbled his concern for Harry and Draco, just loud enough for Hermione to think she'd heard him wrong. She didn't get the chance to ask about it, because at that moment, Snape stopped his pacing, faced the classroom and asked Seamus Finnegan what would happen if he added a handful of peppercorns to an infusion of wolfsbane and Hydra blood. Seamus, of course, didn't know and Snape promptly took 40 points from Gryffindor.
As several Slytherins smirked at this, Harry was distracted by the hand brushing his thigh under the table. He was shocked, nervous and a little excited, but couldn't bear to let anyone, especially Draco, realize how much that touch affected him. He'd begun to realize that he was getting too close to Draco.
'Why is it that I can't just use him for his knowledge and not care what happens to him? I just - ahh, there's his hand again. I've got to find a way to get him to stop that.'
Harry reached down and clamped his hand over Draco's, simultaneously turning to land an uncharacteristic sneer on the boy's face. His resolve nearly faltered when he thought he saw a trace of disappointment in the blue-grey eyes, but it was gone before he could be certain. All he could see, upon truly looking, was the familiar fire of cruelty and joy - the sort of joy Dra-no-Malfoy always got when harassing Harry and his friends. As they glared at each other, the blue-grey eyes became silvery and the sparkling emerald eyes became darker, much like the night in the potions classroom.
Draco held Harry's gaze while telling himself that he didn't feel anything unusual and there was nothing special about that smoldering look. After what seemed like quite some time, but was in reality less than a minute, Draco moved his hand slightly, to let Harry recognize that it held a piece of parchment.
Harry took it, looked down and read ~infuse wb & H-blood, you get empathy potion, add peppercorns, it's a love potion~
Surprised that Draco would be giving him answers, he looked up, suspiciously at the blond Slytherin who had invaded his dreams last night. Harry didn't think he could ever tell anyone that he'd woken up shaking and crying after the dream about Draco's fall from the Astronomy Tower. In Harry's dream, Draco hadn't stopped falling. It was horrid.
Harry was so caught up in the emotions, thoughts, memories, dreams and Draco's note that he didn't hear Snape calling his name.
"MR. POTTER!" Harry jumped, looked at Draco again and then at the very impatient Potions professor with the inky black eyes glaring at him.
'I'm so sick of this.' Harry thought as he gave Snape the same uncharacteristic sneer. He noticed a flicker of questioning in the older man's gaze, but it, too, was gone before he could be certain. "Yes?" He purposely left off the 'sir' simply not being in the mood to indulge Snape's attitude or ego.
"I was asking if you could tell me what happens if you add a handful of peppercorns to and infusion of wolfsbane and Hydra blood. It seems that no one else in your house has been taking the initiative to study, though. Is there any REASON I should expect Harry Potter to know the answer when even his studious friend, Ms. Granger doesn't?"
"What will happen is highly dependant on who is making the potion as well as who drinks the potion and who is around when the potion is taken. As those possibilities are endless I can't see how anyone could answer your question. Were you, however, to ask what the infusion does and how the peppercorns could change that, I would be able to tell you that the infusion of Hydra blood with wolfsbane is an empathy potion, allowing the creator and the drinker to have a temporary emotional connection. The addition of a handful of peppercorns makes it a love potion, which we all know are forbidden due to the total lack of control by the drinker and the complete power held by the object of the inflicted affections."
Snape's eyes widened ever-so-slightly during Harry's response, barely acknowledging his surprise and approval. The other students in the room, however, were doing well to keep their chins out of the empty cauldrons on the tables in front of them. Under the table, Harry felt Draco's pinkie finger wrap itself around his own and squeeze, as though silently saying 'Way to go!'
Snape cleared his throat and quietly added 60 points to Gryffindor, causing the aforementioned chins to fall even further. Then, without further comment, he barked out his orders for the empathy potion they would be preparing today, reminding everyone to leave the peppercorns alone.
~*_*~
As they were leaving the classroom, Draco and Harry seemed to take a little longer to put their supplies away, both hesitating in the hopes of talking to each other. Harry went so far as to tell Ron and Hermione he would catch up with them at lunch. Draco glared at Pansy when she tried to hang around waiting for him. Finally, as they left the dungeon classroom, they were the only ones around and Harry took the opportunity to quietly approach Draco about his run-in with Ron that morning.
"What did the Weasel say?"
"Stop calling him that," Harry said. "He didn't say much, just that you nearly ran over him and then you actually apologized to him. We all know you well enough to know that it's not in your normal behavior to apologize to people." This last bit was said with a bit of dry humor but Draco barely noticed it.
"Well, I didn't mean to run over him. I was just, my mind was somewhere else at the time."
"Okay. Oh, and thanks for the help in potions."
"I can't say I was much help. You went into much more detail than I would have expected. Quite a performance you put on there, you sounded like.." he trailed off, not sure he wanted to finish the sentence.
"You?" Harry finished for him. "Listen, can we meet tonight? Maybe 11 or so?"
"Sure, how about the Quidditch stands, that hidden spot near the broom shed?"
"Sounds good, see you then."