Title: Everything About You is a Rose
Disclaimers: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Summary: Harry has been receiving many mysterious roses from an anonymous person, which has left him clueless and annoyed. Add on to that problem, a least likely person he never thought would, is slowly becoming a part of his life, and he has no idea how to react to it.
Author's Note: This is a slash warning, so please do not sue me if you hate it. Remember, I can counter it by saying, "Hello? I gave you a warning already! If you've read the whole chapter, then why couldn't you read a simple note like this too?"
As the morning dew, dropped lightly on the leaves of the trees and flowers after a calm rain, the students of Hogwarts tiredly got ready for another day of the forceful classes. The NEWTs are drawing near, and the atmospheres for the students are getting more intense.
By the break of dawn, you would be able to see the Ravenclaws wandering the halls to get to the libraries, the Hufflepuff walking around in circles with piles of notes in their hands, and even the Slytherins and Gryffindors have their faces in a textbook. Well – some, at least.
"Herrmiionee!" the redheaded Gryffindor whined as he, along with Harry and Hermione, headed towards the Great Hall for breakfast. "It's only April. We have another month and a half to study!"
The bushy-haired girl replied sternly, "Ron! How can you say that? Look around you. The Hufflepuff are studying, the Ravenclaws are studying—"
"The Ravenclaws are study addicts," Ron said clearly, pointing out the obvious. "They study and read all the time. This is their schedule: Wake up, study, study…study, and then sleep. They hardly have a life! Come to think of it 'Mione, you're kind of like that too."
This wasn't the best thing to say to Hermione as she playfully punched him hard on his arm. Ron pouted, and rubbed his arm frantically. "That hurt! Come on Harry, back me up on this."
Harry sighed, and gave Ron a sympathetic look. "Well, I don't know about you, Ron, but even I began studying already." Ron's face fell, but quickly recovered to his wide grin again as Harry added, "But then again, we do have a long time…"
Hermione exasperatedly cried out, "You are unbelievable!"
"We are, aren't we?" Ron whispered to his friend. Harry chuckled, and finally only catching Hermione's' last comment.
"Even the Slytherins are studying!"
This was true; Harry had noticed this for quite some time now. Malfoy was not bugging them that much anymore. Occasionally, they would pass some insults at each other during dinner, or when they see each other in the halls, but that was it. Even Crabbe and Goyle were studying. That was a big surprise for him. He wasn't even sure if they knew how to read in the first place! Maybe he should start reviewing his notes. Correction. Hermione's notes.
In the Great Hall, there were only a few students eating, but even they were rushing to finish, so they would have time to review their work. Harry and his friends took their usual seats at the Gryffindor table, and food began to appear in front of them. Harry still did not know how the house elves are doing this. Its like they have eyes everywhere. Harry shuddered at that thought. Just then, a medium-sized brown owl flew towards them. Harry, who rarely gets mail, was surprised when a flower dropped on his lap.
"What did you get Harry?" Ron asked.
Harry picked it up and gently let his fingers glide across the pedals. "It's a white rose."
"Why would some one give you a rose?" Hermione inquired curiously. "Especially a white rose too. They aren't too easy to find now."
"Ooh, Harry has a secret admirer!" Ron exclaimed happily with a mouthful of food. Hermione wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Check if there's a note."
Harry looked around and found nothing. "Maybe, the owl made a mistake. Maybe it's meant for someone else?"
"Honestly Harry!" Hermione cried out. "There are so many girls just dying to be your girlfriend!" Harry blushed. "Just the other day, I heard Parvati, Lavender, and Lisa Turpin saying that you are one of the most shaggable guys at our school." Ron choked on his food, following a bunch of coughs. Harry blushed even more. Is this true? He never did care about his looks that much. He didn't think it was necessary to dress and make himself look good for a normal day. Maybe for a special occasion, but usually he would be happy with just a pair of baggy jeans and a t-shirt or a sweater for the wintertime.
"Don't be surprised Ron," Hermione continued, after realizing her redheaded friend's reaction. "Harry is cute." She blushed, " …in a way."
Harry could not help blushing again. He probably looks like a tomato now, but as he looked at Ron, his face is nothing compared to Ron's face. It was flushed. This is probably because for all the years they had known Hermione, she had never talked about boys that much or even seemed interested in the subject. He chuckled when a lot came over him. 'Mione would probably choose a book over a guy anytime or anywhere.
Just as he finished that thought, the bell rang, indicating that they were probably going to be late for class. He looked around and did not see his friends anywhere. "What the…?" He shoved the rose into his robe pocket quickly, but still being careful not to ruin the delicate pedals and sprinted to his first class. Why, oh why does it have to be Potions?
"Ah, Mr. Potter, so glad you can join us," Snape's irritating voice filled the room.
Harry caught his breath for a second and muttered, "Sorry, sir,"
"Well, sit down! And 5 points from Gryffindor," Snape sneered. Harry groaned inwardly, not daring to lose any more points. He surveyed the room and his gaze met his friends, who shrugged and shot him a 'sorry' look. They were sitting together. Damn. So he did the only sensible thing, he glared at them, and made a mental note to kill them afterwards, or at least give them a long lecture.
There were only two seats left, one beside Millicent Bulstrode, or the one beside his arch-nemesis, Draco Malfoy. He could see that the Slytherins were sniggering at him. Wait a minute! Harry did a double take. Did she just wink at him? Harry wanted to scream. Oh My God! Did SHE just lick her lips! Harry shuddered and groaned again. Both of these options were not favorable at all.
"Well…?" an annoyed Snape said. "We don't have all day for the famous Harry Potter."
Anger raised inside him as he heard Snape's remark, but Harry hesitantly walked over to the seat next to Malfoy. The blond haired Slytherin smirked at him. He rolled his eyes and took his seat.
"Since, Mr. Potter here, took so long to decide where to sit, you will now have less time to finish making the potion assigned to you last class," Snape growled.
More than half the class moaned. Snape ignored them and continued, "You have laid out every thing already, so there shouldn't be a problem. Let's review for those who still don't know what we are doing." He glared at Ron. "Who can tell me what the Unmasking Potion do?"
Hermione's hand shot up quickly. He ignored her hand and scanned the classroom. His dark eyes landed on Harry. He gulped, when he saw Snape's smirk, but gladly exhaled in relief when his gaze moved over to his friend.
"Mr. Weasley."
Harry watched his friend closely. He knew that Ron did not know this and he did not do his homework last night, but he couldn't help but laugh at his redheaded friend. That's for going to class early without me. He couldn't do anything about Hermione though; she would probably tear him apart if he caused her to be late.
"I…err…I…Its for removing one's mask? To…umm…reveal one person's true characteristics?" Ron answered in a stuttering voice.
Snape growled, which was a sign that Ron was…right? Amazing, Harry thought. He could see his friend was very relief.
"That's right. Once a person takes this potion, the taker is forced to expose their true feelings and characteristics. It is somewhat like a truth serum, but it is not as strong and it lasts a little longer. Sometimes only an hour, maybe a week, or even one month, but that is unlikely, unless you drank a large amount of it. It may be able to be fought off, if you concentrate hard enough. This will be in your NEWTs, so you should know all of this already. The ingredients will be in the cupboard if you need anymore and your partner is the person next to you. Last time, there was no need for one, but today, we are going to test it out. Miss Bulstrode, you join Longbottom here. God knows he needs all the help he could get," he said bitterly. "Now get to work!"
Then some scurrying and the clinking of ingredients followed. Bulstrode did not look happy at all.
"Go get the ingredients, Potter," Malfoy's usual drawl commanded.
"Why don't you go get it?" he retorted.
" 'Cause I want to see you mess up on the ingredients, so I can have the pleasure of sending you back again to get the right ingredients."
"Does everyone visualize spello-tape over your mouth so early into the conversation?" Harry asked sardonically.
"Nice one, Potter. This is the first time you have a good comeback." Malfoy smirked while lazily stretching out on the table. "Now go get the ingredients."
"Fine! Lazy arse."
"What does that make you then?"
"Shut up, Malfoy!"
Harry grudgingly and went to get the ingredients. He could feel Malfoy's satisfied smirk behind his back. After a while, he came back with everything they needed. Malfoy had all the necessary equipments out already.
"Potter, you cut up the monkshood. Make sure it is the exact measurement. I don't want to fail this class like what you are doing now," then he paused and pretended to ponder for a while, "Or better yet, mess up. Then we can test the potion on you. If the outcome doesn't kill you right away, then at least I get to watch you suffer from the poison."
"Why do you have to be so sarcastic all the time? Don't you have anything better to do?" Harry asked, while cutting the monkshood. He truly wanted to know.
This seemed to catch Malfoy off guard, but he soon recovered quicker than the blink of the eyes. Only the most observant could tell. Harry did not notice this.
"Sarcasm is just one more service I offer, Potter. Besides from letting the world admire me," he retorted, sneering.
Harry rolled his eyes and continued working. He could not afford to lose any more marks in Potions, and most of them are caused by Malfoy.
"Pass the ladle."
"What?" Harry asked.
"The ladle, you git. You don't expect me to use my hand do you?" Malfoy said irritatingly.
"Oh. Here," Harry replied reaching out for the ladle. It was very good for potion making because it can withstand most potions, but it was extremely fragile. He handed it to Malfoy, but as the Slytherin reached for the apparatus, his fingers lightly brushed against Harry's hand.
Malfoy jerked his hand back as Harry let go of the ladle, causing the scoop to fall, with a loud bang. Pieces of it scattered about. Several students looked up to see the commotion, including his friends.
"Malfoy!" Harry yelled angrily. "Why did you do that for?" Then he hissed, "Are you trying to get me in trouble?"
Harry stared at the pale complexions of the Slytherin. He looked confused and scared at the same time. This may be the first time; Harry witnessed this look on his enemy. He wanted to study this sudden reaction, but as he looked into Malfoy's face again, he had his usual smirk on his face. The sudden change was as quick as it came.
"I don't know what you are talking about Potter," he said in his fake innocent voice. "I saw you dropping the ladle. Not me."
Harry narrowed his eyes and was about to say something, but Snape's voice interrupted him.
"Potter! What did you do this time?" he said accusingly, as if Harry was always the troublemaker.
"Nothing, sir," Harry replied, noticing the sympathetic looks on his fellow classmates, except for the Slytherins who were sniggering at him.
"Then what is all this commotion?" said Snape in a harsh tone, looking down at the broken scoop.
"Professor Snape, it wasn't Harry," Ron spoke out, trying to defend Harry. "I saw Malfoy asking for the ladle, and when Harry was handing it to him, he took his hand away!"
"I wasn't asking you Mr. Weasley," Snape snarled. Then he turned to Harry, "10 points from Gryffindor for disrupting my class, and for being clumsy. Then you have a detention with me tonight for breaking an extremely fragile equipment."
Harry glared at Malfoy, who still had on his arrogant look on his face. "Yes, sir."
"But—" Ron said trying to help again
"Would you like to join your friend too, Weasley?" Snape challenged.
That shut Ron up. Harry gave Ron a grateful glance, which Ron understood.
"Now, get back to work!" Snape yelled.
After some more unbearable minutes, and total silence from Malfoy and Harry, which Harry thought was very weird considering it was Malfoy, they were finally finished their potion without anything going wrong. Malfoy stayed on his side of his work area and Harry had no problems with that.
Just as Harry was going to ask Malfoy about the incident, an unexpected blast came from Neville's cauldron. Green goop went flying everywhere, but most of it stuck onto the clumsy boy. Harry turned to look, but instead stopped when he heard Malfoy snickering.
"I see the screw up fairy has visited Longbottom again."
'Poor Neville', Harry thought. He could hear Neville trying to explain to Snape what had happened, and doing a poor job with it too. Harry looked to his left and saw Crabbe and Goyle guffawing at Neville's mistake. He had a suspicion that they had something to do with it.
"Okay, Potter," Malfoy drawled after the incident with Neville's cauldron. Most of the students were finish making the potion. "You are trying the potion."
"What? No way!" Harry exclaimed. There is no way he is going to let Malfoy see his true feelings. That is too personal and it wouldn't likely be Malfoy to be the one who knows about them.
"Now, it is time to test your potion, but since there were many…interference today, we only have time to test one group's potion," Snape said. "Let's see…"
Snape's scanned the room again, and it rested upon Harry and Malfoy. "Mr. Malfoy, and Mr. Potter."
Harry instantly groaned. Oh no… He had to react quickly, but what? He knew Malfoy was better at this than him as much as he wants to admit it. He looked over at Malfoy, waiting for him to say something, but surprisingly, nothing came. He seems to be lost in some thought. This is not Malfoy like at all.
"Professor Snape, we were talking and Malfoy has decided to try the potion," Harry said blurted out. He held his breath, hoping Snape would believe him.
"What? Hey!" Malfoy seem to have snapped back to reality. Harry quickly covered his mouth. "I di-erm taysat…"
"He was just saying that he feels like he should be nice for once and test out the potion for me," Harry made up lamely. He wasn't even sure if that made sense. Malfoy's eyes widened, but made no struggle to get free from Harry's hands over his mouth. Instead, he shook his head.
"Oh Malfoy, don't be modest." Harry said, realizing Malfoy's disapproval. The Slytherin seem to be fuming.
Snape stared at Harry with suspicion, but he finally agreed. Harry removed his hands and breathed out in relief. As he looked at Malfoy again, he saw that he had his eyes closed. When he opened it, he casually ran his fingers through his light blond hair, causing several strands to fall over his eyes.
The atmosphere around the room seemed to be set on mute.
"Where's the potion?" Malfoy said nonchalantly, as if it was nothing. Harry handed him the potion and Malfoy drank it in one gulp. The class stared, waiting for something to happen.
"It may take a moment to take effect. Afterwards, you may ask him one question," Snape said glaring at Harry. "Since you were his partner."
'This opportunity to humiliate Malfoy is just too perfect', Harry thought, not realizing that his eyes were shining with maliciousness.
Snape realizing this added quickly, "But nothing personal, or else I will drown you with detentions for the rest of the year Potter." Harry's face fell. Malfoy seemed relieved though.
Harry thought for a moment. What can he ask?
"Malfoy, what do you think of Professor Snape?" Harry asked, grinning.
Author's Note: I must give big thanks to you for getting this far. It's a nice slow start, and for sure, it will get a little more juicy in the future chapters. So hope you enjoyed it, and you know the drill. Click the "Review" button and THEN you may leave. Sends love to all.
