Chapter Two: The Agreement
The next morning Draco woke up to the sound of Crabbe and Goyle snoring obnoxiously loud, and the gloom of the Hogwarts dungeons. When he walked into the common room he noted the usual cautious behavior and the scoffs on all of his housemate's faces. He sneered right back at them (sometimes he wondered if sneering could be considered the Slytherin way of greeting people) and with one last glance back into the common room he walked out through the stone wall. He walked through the halls quickly, making his way to delicious, nutritious breakfast (*). He wanted to get there before Crabbe and Goyle, because once they arrived the food at the table seemed to rapidly disappear.
In his haste to the Great Hall, he failed to notice the approaching head of bushy brown hair, otherwise known as Hermione Granger. She made a coughing noise in the back of her throat, trying to get his attention, but it didn't work. She then started talking, and Draco snapped out of his early morning stupor, but he still didn't acknowledge her.
"Draco, wait! I have something very important to tell you! Harry knows about what happened last night!" That was when he turned around, his face barely concealing his rage, and his stiff stance saying that you better have a damn good excuse. His eyes had a fire in them that Hermione had never seen before, and she was glad that she usually wasn't the target of his rage, just his insults.
"What the hell? How did he find out? I thought that you said it was a secret." All of this was said in a very calm voice. It was like the calmness before a storm, a horrible, earth-shaking storm. This was definitely not a good sign for Hermione. "How could he do that? Did he force-feed you Veritaserum? Did he torture you? Did he threaten you? Don't tell me, I already know the answer. NO! He is too good of a friend to do that to you! He probably just had to ask you, and then you'd tell him because 'you can't betray your friend's trust'!"
"I did not, Malfoy! He has an invisibility cloak! He saw us, and I would never just tell him!"
"What? How did Potter get his hands on an invisibility cloak?"
"It was his father's, and I expect you to not tell anyone about it. It means a lot to him, since his father is dead and all."
"Why shouldn't I tell? He knows my secrets, which you said that you'd keep."
"He didn't intend to know your secrets! He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!"
"Fine, then. Tell him that if any other Gryffindors, particularly Weasley, know about my sexual preference that the rest of my house will know about his invisibility cloak." Hermione thought about this a second, trying to see if Malfoy was being tricky and getting her into an undesirable situation. It didn't appear suspicious, and it didn't benefit him in any way, so she agreed.
"Okay, Malfoy. It's a deal."
"I have to go to breakfast before dumb and dumber show up and eat the whole table. I'll talk to you later, Granger. Bring Potter with you. I have to explain something that I noticed last night to both of you."
"Why do you want Harry there?"
"I assume that you told him about the experiment that we are doing, since he saw the mist and the kiss."
"Actually, when he asked I told him that it was nothing of his concern, and that he should shove off. Not in those words, of course, but that was the general idea." Hermione said this with a lot of smugness.
"I didn't know that you had it in you, Granger. Bring him anyways. I'll meet you in the potion's extra credit room at 8 tonight." With that he turned on his heel and headed towards the Slytherin table. He sat down and served himself breakfast and a leisurely pace. When he was nibbling on his toast (all of the other foods had been eaten by Crabbe and Goyle) he noticed Harry come into the room. His green eyes scanned the Slytherin table until they rested on a certain Draco Malfoy. He offered him a nod, which was quickly returned. Satisfied, he headed towards the Gryffindor table, and sat himself down between Ron and Hermione. He reflected on what Hermione had told him earlier
~~~
Harry had just woken up, and dressed in his (horribly annoying) school robes. He walked down the stairs, and saw Hermione pacing the common room in a nervous manner. Usually she was curled up in the corner with her dusty tomes, researching some hex or a potion. This didn't bother him too much, he knew the N.E.W.T.S. were coming, so Hermione could be stressing about that, but when she called out his name, he knew there was trouble.
"Harry! I have to tell you something." Ron stood up; obviously wanting to know what was going on. "Alone." She then spun on her heel and headed towards a more secluded part of the common room. Ron looked sad, and a little betrayed, but he held his tongue (unlike most other times) and gave a look to Harry that clearly said 'you are going to tell me what is going on.' Harry followed Hermione to the spot by the wall that Hermione had claimed as her 'studying table'.
"Malfoy wants you to come to our 'meeting' tonight, because he has something important to tell us. Be at the extra-credit potions room at eight o'clock, and if you are late, don't expect me to cover for you. He also knows that you know, and he knows that you have an invisibility cloak, so don't threaten him about telling his secret. He also said that if you tell any Gryffindors about his sexual preferences, all of the Slytherins would know about your cloak. He also says that you look very sexy in your Hogwarts robes."
"WHAT?"
"I was just kidding. It was a test to see if you were listening." Hermione said this with an enigmatic smile, one that looked half mischievous and half mysterious. Hermione was acting very, very odd.
~~~
Coming back to the present he heard Ron asking him what the meeting was all about. Hermione cut in ("It's none of your business, Ronald Weasley!") and Ron said to Harry in a low tone, "You will tell me what she said later, Harry." Harry's breakfast was normal (Ron nearly choked on a pancake, Hermione rambled on about the N.E.W.T.S., and Seamus endlessly flirted with Dean), and he spent the rest of Saturday doing his Divination homework. This week he would nearly choke on a head of broccoli, he would fall down a flight of stairs and break his arm, and Quidditch would result in him falling off of his broom. Ah, the joys of Divination.
As the hours in the day crawled on slowly, he finished his potions essay, he Transfiguration assignment, and his Defense Against the Dark Arts Thesis paper. During this time, Hermione and Ron set their own personal record of 'most fights possible in a span of less than 1 day' with 46 fights. Ron was extremely curious about what Harry and Hermione had talked about, and he didn't feel like doing his potions essay. Harry thought that Ron and Hermione fought like a married couple, and he wouldn't be surprised if a few hexes flew by the end of the hour that he had left until the meeting.
~~~
Finally, at 8 o'clock (on the dot) Harry made his way to the cold dungeons of Hogwarts and knocked on the door leading to the extra credit room. The door opened really quickly and someone grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in.
"Was that really necessary?" Harry said.
"Yes, Potter it was. We wouldn't want the Slytherins to know about you coming here. They are all rather angry at you because you imprisoned their families and friends."
"I did not!"
"You're defeat of the Dark Lord spurred all of the arrests, so you are technically the cause, or at least you are in their eyes."
"Okay, then. Their minds are really twisted."
"They are Slytherins, what do you expect?" That was the final comment on that line of thought, and both boys shared a comfortable, yet not companionable silence.
Hermione arrived about five minutes later looking flushed and a little bit disheveled, very similar to how she looked after she had kissed Draco.
"Hello, Hermione. What were you up to before you came here?"
"That is none of your business, Harry. Now, Draco, you wanted to talk to us. What is it?"
"First, let me show you how our mists acted towards each other." He pointed towards the cauldron and the liquids that never mixed. "I tried to shake them in the same vial, but they acted like oil and water. I also tried a bonding potion, but it fizzled out. Poke them, and feel the differences between the temperatures and texture." At that both Harry and Hermione touched the different liquids. They seemed fascinated by the liquids that filled the cauldron. They were complete opposites.
"I tried adding them to potions, but they just neutralized the potion, making it ineffective. My theory from when Hermione explained the mists to me was that they would act as a catalyst, and aphrodisiac, and an enhancer to potion properties, and I think I was right, but we have the mists wrong. I think we need to mix them together. Although, when they don't mix they could act as a neutralizer to something you believe might be a poison or something of the like. The rest is up to you, Hermione. You need to get mists that combine somehow, or maybe you need to come up with a new spell to create the mists."
"Hey! Don't go blaming this on my part! Maybe we just need to find someone else that is more 'compatible." Hermione truly took offence at the fact that Draco said that her part was wrong, even though it wasn't.
"I'm not blaming it on you! Potter, did I ever say that she was wrong and it was her fault?"
"Er. not really, but you see, you kind of implied it. Why are you bringing me into this little spat!" He turned to Hermione. "It is your spell," then he turned to Draco, "and your potion ingredient. I have nothing to do with this."
"Yes you do! You walked in on us snogging, so now you are part of this, whether you like it or not!"
"I have to agree with Draco on this one Harry." After much arguing Harry reluctantly agreed to be part of the potion and spell, as long as he didn't have to explain things to other people. Finally, around 10 o'clock the "meeting" was over. All arguments were resolved, but not all problems were unsolved. How could they get passion to mix, if the creator and tester didn't mix? Hermione and Draco didn't tell him the spell that activated what Hermione now dubbed as 'raw passion' and he had a feeling that it would be a long while until they did. During their meeting he had looked into Draco's eyes, and they both made a silent pact. As long as they were working together on the new ingredient, they could be civil to each other. Harry was thankful that he wouldn't have Malfoy constantly annoying him. And he was also fascinated by the depth of those silver eyes.
~~~
Author's Note: I'd like to give a BIG thank-you to my TWO Reviewers! I was so happy when I got it (I am completely serious, usually its one of my friends that leaves a review) that I was being really hyper and dancing all around the upstairs. That might have been partly to blame on the Dr. Pepper, but hey, it could have been the review! :O) Thanks asaroth69 & Silver Angel!
*The saying delicious, nutritious, breakfast is an inside joke between me and some of my friends. Please disregard it. :OP
The next morning Draco woke up to the sound of Crabbe and Goyle snoring obnoxiously loud, and the gloom of the Hogwarts dungeons. When he walked into the common room he noted the usual cautious behavior and the scoffs on all of his housemate's faces. He sneered right back at them (sometimes he wondered if sneering could be considered the Slytherin way of greeting people) and with one last glance back into the common room he walked out through the stone wall. He walked through the halls quickly, making his way to delicious, nutritious breakfast (*). He wanted to get there before Crabbe and Goyle, because once they arrived the food at the table seemed to rapidly disappear.
In his haste to the Great Hall, he failed to notice the approaching head of bushy brown hair, otherwise known as Hermione Granger. She made a coughing noise in the back of her throat, trying to get his attention, but it didn't work. She then started talking, and Draco snapped out of his early morning stupor, but he still didn't acknowledge her.
"Draco, wait! I have something very important to tell you! Harry knows about what happened last night!" That was when he turned around, his face barely concealing his rage, and his stiff stance saying that you better have a damn good excuse. His eyes had a fire in them that Hermione had never seen before, and she was glad that she usually wasn't the target of his rage, just his insults.
"What the hell? How did he find out? I thought that you said it was a secret." All of this was said in a very calm voice. It was like the calmness before a storm, a horrible, earth-shaking storm. This was definitely not a good sign for Hermione. "How could he do that? Did he force-feed you Veritaserum? Did he torture you? Did he threaten you? Don't tell me, I already know the answer. NO! He is too good of a friend to do that to you! He probably just had to ask you, and then you'd tell him because 'you can't betray your friend's trust'!"
"I did not, Malfoy! He has an invisibility cloak! He saw us, and I would never just tell him!"
"What? How did Potter get his hands on an invisibility cloak?"
"It was his father's, and I expect you to not tell anyone about it. It means a lot to him, since his father is dead and all."
"Why shouldn't I tell? He knows my secrets, which you said that you'd keep."
"He didn't intend to know your secrets! He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!"
"Fine, then. Tell him that if any other Gryffindors, particularly Weasley, know about my sexual preference that the rest of my house will know about his invisibility cloak." Hermione thought about this a second, trying to see if Malfoy was being tricky and getting her into an undesirable situation. It didn't appear suspicious, and it didn't benefit him in any way, so she agreed.
"Okay, Malfoy. It's a deal."
"I have to go to breakfast before dumb and dumber show up and eat the whole table. I'll talk to you later, Granger. Bring Potter with you. I have to explain something that I noticed last night to both of you."
"Why do you want Harry there?"
"I assume that you told him about the experiment that we are doing, since he saw the mist and the kiss."
"Actually, when he asked I told him that it was nothing of his concern, and that he should shove off. Not in those words, of course, but that was the general idea." Hermione said this with a lot of smugness.
"I didn't know that you had it in you, Granger. Bring him anyways. I'll meet you in the potion's extra credit room at 8 tonight." With that he turned on his heel and headed towards the Slytherin table. He sat down and served himself breakfast and a leisurely pace. When he was nibbling on his toast (all of the other foods had been eaten by Crabbe and Goyle) he noticed Harry come into the room. His green eyes scanned the Slytherin table until they rested on a certain Draco Malfoy. He offered him a nod, which was quickly returned. Satisfied, he headed towards the Gryffindor table, and sat himself down between Ron and Hermione. He reflected on what Hermione had told him earlier
~~~
Harry had just woken up, and dressed in his (horribly annoying) school robes. He walked down the stairs, and saw Hermione pacing the common room in a nervous manner. Usually she was curled up in the corner with her dusty tomes, researching some hex or a potion. This didn't bother him too much, he knew the N.E.W.T.S. were coming, so Hermione could be stressing about that, but when she called out his name, he knew there was trouble.
"Harry! I have to tell you something." Ron stood up; obviously wanting to know what was going on. "Alone." She then spun on her heel and headed towards a more secluded part of the common room. Ron looked sad, and a little betrayed, but he held his tongue (unlike most other times) and gave a look to Harry that clearly said 'you are going to tell me what is going on.' Harry followed Hermione to the spot by the wall that Hermione had claimed as her 'studying table'.
"Malfoy wants you to come to our 'meeting' tonight, because he has something important to tell us. Be at the extra-credit potions room at eight o'clock, and if you are late, don't expect me to cover for you. He also knows that you know, and he knows that you have an invisibility cloak, so don't threaten him about telling his secret. He also said that if you tell any Gryffindors about his sexual preferences, all of the Slytherins would know about your cloak. He also says that you look very sexy in your Hogwarts robes."
"WHAT?"
"I was just kidding. It was a test to see if you were listening." Hermione said this with an enigmatic smile, one that looked half mischievous and half mysterious. Hermione was acting very, very odd.
~~~
Coming back to the present he heard Ron asking him what the meeting was all about. Hermione cut in ("It's none of your business, Ronald Weasley!") and Ron said to Harry in a low tone, "You will tell me what she said later, Harry." Harry's breakfast was normal (Ron nearly choked on a pancake, Hermione rambled on about the N.E.W.T.S., and Seamus endlessly flirted with Dean), and he spent the rest of Saturday doing his Divination homework. This week he would nearly choke on a head of broccoli, he would fall down a flight of stairs and break his arm, and Quidditch would result in him falling off of his broom. Ah, the joys of Divination.
As the hours in the day crawled on slowly, he finished his potions essay, he Transfiguration assignment, and his Defense Against the Dark Arts Thesis paper. During this time, Hermione and Ron set their own personal record of 'most fights possible in a span of less than 1 day' with 46 fights. Ron was extremely curious about what Harry and Hermione had talked about, and he didn't feel like doing his potions essay. Harry thought that Ron and Hermione fought like a married couple, and he wouldn't be surprised if a few hexes flew by the end of the hour that he had left until the meeting.
~~~
Finally, at 8 o'clock (on the dot) Harry made his way to the cold dungeons of Hogwarts and knocked on the door leading to the extra credit room. The door opened really quickly and someone grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in.
"Was that really necessary?" Harry said.
"Yes, Potter it was. We wouldn't want the Slytherins to know about you coming here. They are all rather angry at you because you imprisoned their families and friends."
"I did not!"
"You're defeat of the Dark Lord spurred all of the arrests, so you are technically the cause, or at least you are in their eyes."
"Okay, then. Their minds are really twisted."
"They are Slytherins, what do you expect?" That was the final comment on that line of thought, and both boys shared a comfortable, yet not companionable silence.
Hermione arrived about five minutes later looking flushed and a little bit disheveled, very similar to how she looked after she had kissed Draco.
"Hello, Hermione. What were you up to before you came here?"
"That is none of your business, Harry. Now, Draco, you wanted to talk to us. What is it?"
"First, let me show you how our mists acted towards each other." He pointed towards the cauldron and the liquids that never mixed. "I tried to shake them in the same vial, but they acted like oil and water. I also tried a bonding potion, but it fizzled out. Poke them, and feel the differences between the temperatures and texture." At that both Harry and Hermione touched the different liquids. They seemed fascinated by the liquids that filled the cauldron. They were complete opposites.
"I tried adding them to potions, but they just neutralized the potion, making it ineffective. My theory from when Hermione explained the mists to me was that they would act as a catalyst, and aphrodisiac, and an enhancer to potion properties, and I think I was right, but we have the mists wrong. I think we need to mix them together. Although, when they don't mix they could act as a neutralizer to something you believe might be a poison or something of the like. The rest is up to you, Hermione. You need to get mists that combine somehow, or maybe you need to come up with a new spell to create the mists."
"Hey! Don't go blaming this on my part! Maybe we just need to find someone else that is more 'compatible." Hermione truly took offence at the fact that Draco said that her part was wrong, even though it wasn't.
"I'm not blaming it on you! Potter, did I ever say that she was wrong and it was her fault?"
"Er. not really, but you see, you kind of implied it. Why are you bringing me into this little spat!" He turned to Hermione. "It is your spell," then he turned to Draco, "and your potion ingredient. I have nothing to do with this."
"Yes you do! You walked in on us snogging, so now you are part of this, whether you like it or not!"
"I have to agree with Draco on this one Harry." After much arguing Harry reluctantly agreed to be part of the potion and spell, as long as he didn't have to explain things to other people. Finally, around 10 o'clock the "meeting" was over. All arguments were resolved, but not all problems were unsolved. How could they get passion to mix, if the creator and tester didn't mix? Hermione and Draco didn't tell him the spell that activated what Hermione now dubbed as 'raw passion' and he had a feeling that it would be a long while until they did. During their meeting he had looked into Draco's eyes, and they both made a silent pact. As long as they were working together on the new ingredient, they could be civil to each other. Harry was thankful that he wouldn't have Malfoy constantly annoying him. And he was also fascinated by the depth of those silver eyes.
~~~
Author's Note: I'd like to give a BIG thank-you to my TWO Reviewers! I was so happy when I got it (I am completely serious, usually its one of my friends that leaves a review) that I was being really hyper and dancing all around the upstairs. That might have been partly to blame on the Dr. Pepper, but hey, it could have been the review! :O) Thanks asaroth69 & Silver Angel!
*The saying delicious, nutritious, breakfast is an inside joke between me and some of my friends. Please disregard it. :OP
