DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NOTHING BUT MY IDEAS OF WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO HAPPEN IN THE BOOKS…

A/N: so yea although I'm not really using the same story as book 6 I still decided to use the characters, because I don't really like Snape after the 6th book so you won't be seeing him at all. Instead Professor Slughorn is here to save the day. And also nothing about the potions book will be mentioned either. It's like Snape never existed! YAY!

Chapter 5: Again

She couldn't believe what had just happened to her. She was a stupid git. How could she… "Oh Merlin" she groaned a loud. And not only… ugh she was frustrated, embarrassed, and not only that she owed him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Arithmancy, to her luck she had Potions with none other than Draco Malfoy. Everything had been fine, really. While making their way down Draco stayed 5 feet behind her and they walked in silence. He had been staring at her throughout Arithmancy but she had succeeded in not letting it get the best of her.

Finally she reached the Potions classroom and found Harry and Ron already there. "Hey guys." She said as she walked toward where they sat. But looking at their faces she figured it was because Malfoy had walked in right behind her.

"He didn't give you any problems in Arithmancy?" asked Harry.

"No, we got into a little argument before class, but it was nothing. He called me mudblood, I called him a ferret. It was just the same usual thing. Don't worry so much. And don't forget after we're…"

"Going to go and try to find your locket. I know Hermione. Don't worry. I wouldn't go and make other plans."

"I know I just…"

"Miss Granger it is great to see you back in class." Said Professor Slughorn, "We'll be starting class shortly. Now today we'll be making an aroma potion. The ingredients are on the board. Now can anyone tell me what this potion does? Yes Miss Granger as always."

"Much like the love potion from last year it magnifies the scent of your loved one. But unlike the potion last year, this is a much more dangerous potion. For last years potion merely showed who you were infatuated with at the time of smelling the potion, this potion will never change and it requires your blood to make sure that the potion is not wrong."

"Yes ten points to Gryffindor for that excellent description. It is true that you will need your blood, but only two drops. I have exactly twelve pins lying here for all of you. Also you will need ornithopus, a bird's foot; I know none of you have it so I have it in storage on the shelves behind me. This is a personal potion, so everyone will be doing this by themselves. Any questions? No then begin, you have 2 hours today because of double potions which is enough time to finish the potion."

Harry and Ron got up with the rest of the class and made there way to the shelf. Hermione stayed behind to first finish writing the ingredients on a scrap piece of parchment. She finally finished writing just when pretty much everyone else had grabbed their ornithopus and pin. She made her way to the front of the class, grabbed a pin from Professor Slughorn's desk and moved further on to get her ornithopus. She grabbed it and was about to go when she heard a small creek. She turned to see what was wrong to find that the shelf was very unsteady. It was about to fall on her and she didn't move. She was paralyzed to the spot. Right when the shelf fell she was knocked to the floor by someone.

The person's weight was on her and she didn't feel weird or grossed out. Instead she felt secure… protected… safe. She couldn't describe it, she felt safe like when she saw Harry in the water when she was being saved. She finally opened her eyes which she didn't even realize she had closed. Staring into her brown eyes were piercing gray ones. "I… I…" she didn't know what to say. Draco finally got off Hermione to her disappointment. All the security left her as he moved away. "Thanks." She murmured to Draco.

Harry and Ron rushed over to her and began to make a fuss. "Are you alright… are you sure your not hurt…" blah blahblah blah blah… was all she heard. Harry moved in front of her and blocked her view of Draco. He kept insisting on her going over to the infirmary until she had had enough.

"Harry, Ron its okay. I'm fine. Draco saved me…" She was as surprised as anyone to hear his real name come out of her mouth. When had she begun thinking of him a Draco instead of Malfoy? She was in a shock. So embarrassed by her mistake she excused herself and ran out of the classroom.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ugh I'm such a git!" Hermione exclaimed as she walked down the hallway. "Who in their right mind thanks a person, says their real name, and then runs? UGH!" She couldn't believe she was so stupid to let it slip. And now she had a debt to him. (A/N not magical, it's just she feels she owes him something) She owed him big for this one.

What was worse was that she had left class. She had already missed so much classes because of the incident, now because of this she had again missed another class. "Damn… maybe I can talk to Professor Slughorn and ask for permission to make the potion and hand it into him… no no that won't do… I won't have the time to make it any other time with all the other…" There she felt it again. She whipped herself around to be face to face with Draco Malfoy. He was just a foot away from her.

"Slughorn sent me to tell you if your not going to the infirmary you need to come back to class."

"I…I…I…er… yea… yea… sure." She was speechless. She was beginning to feel her face begin to burn. "Dr… MALfoy…" But before she could say anything else he had turned around and left. She had almost done it again. She had almost called him by his first name again. "UGH" she was indeed insufferable. Seeing Draco's retreating body she figured she would need to go as well and headed down to the dungeons. Then she realized… "shit I was saying those thing a loud wasn't I… SHIT!" she heard that last word echo through the halls. She even saw Malfoy's body tense before moving onward. Not only had he saved her, he probably had heard every single thing she had said, which made it ten times worse.

Upon arriving to the classroom, she saw everybody was trying not to stare at her as she walked in. All giving her a questioning look as she walked passed them to make her way to her seat. "Sorry Professor, I was in a bit of a shock just then."

"Quite understandable, but seeing as you have already missed your last class I felt it better for you to recover from your "shock" while finishing your work so that you don't fall behind."

She was disgusted by his false voice. "Yes sir of course sir" she said. She was not in any danger in falling behind. Truthfully she had already made this potion the year before. Due to all the jealousy and such about Ron, she just wanted to know if he was worth the fight, so she had decided to make the potion. It ended up not smelling like him at all. The love potion from the year before had his scent, but the aroma potion didn't hold his scent. She couldn't place it, it kind of reminded her of her father's after shave, but it wasn't the same. It had a very masculine smell. A bit of cinnamon with a whole lot of something she couldn't place. Now that she remembered she had a feeling she had smelt it so many times before… but she couldn't place where.

Before she could get into more trouble, she began to make the potion with ease. "A little bit of this, a little bit of that." With just ten minutes left of class, she was able to finish her potion. It was the same scent as last year as she suspected. She placed a vial of the potion on Professor Slughorn's desk and was just about to leave when Professor Slughorn began to reminisce about the old days.

"Harry, I remember when your mother made this potion, she was so embarrassed to find out who the scent belonged to. Your father knew though, he was so confident. Funny really, I wouldn't have thought your parents would marry. They hated each other since the first day of school. It was such a pleasant surprise to see them get married. Such a romantic story of hate becoming love…" He voice began to trail off as everyone got up from their seats to make their way out of the classroom. "Oh don't forget to write an 18 inch paper on the effects and dangers of this potion." He screamed over all the noise.

"Harry, I don't think I've ever heard that your parents didn't get along. I thought they had just fancied each other all throughout. I mean didn't they marry just shortly after they graduated?"

"Ummm… yea about that… I saw it briefly in the pensieve back in fifth year… remember I told you the story of how they were arguing and stuff…"

"Oh yea… I guess I just figured they were arguing. But isn't that o romantic to fall in love with someone like that. I mean not with an enemy, but with someone that your sure of. I mean from what Professor Slughorn says they didn't really approach each other until after the potion was made. It must be so…"

"Yea Hermione, so do you know who you love?" Ron asked.

"Well that was rude. And no it's not you if that's what your asking. I told you I made the potion last year and that was why I was so sure you weren't my night in shining armor. That was why I agreed to 'breaking up' there really never was an 'us' to begin with I presume."

"So what did you smell?"

"Ronald Weasley! If I didn't know any better I'd think you were trying to hook me up with someone."

"yea I am, I'm trying to get you to realize that your in love with Ha…. OWWW… what'd you do that for?"

"Sorry, my foot I guess I must of stepped wrong." Harry said. "Anyways, Hermione want to head outside to look for your locket?" trying to change the subject.

"Huh? Oh… oh yea yea… wow I almost forgot."

"You! Hermione! Never… I guess that knock down must've…" At seeing Hermione's face he stopped talking.

"I… uh… yea… that was interesting. It seems fate doesn't like me too much at the moment. Ha…ha…ha…" she said with a weak laugh.

"yea." There was an awkward silence that blanketed the conversation.

"Yea well you two have fun with that, I'll be in the common room." Ron said and left.

"Harry I need to tell you something. I'm telling you this because it's better you than Ron and you are my only other best friend."

"ummm yea sure…"

"After I got knocked down you know how Dr… Malfoy was a top of me?"

"Yea…wait… did something uncomfortable…" Harry's face began to turn red. At seeing his face she turned red and quickly replied,

"no…oh…NO…No… nothing of THAT sort. I was just trying to tell you that I felt… Oh I don't know. I can't explain it. It felt like that night. When you saved me. I felt so secure underneath him. Like he was my refuge… Oh never mind. I'm just talking crazy right now. Just forget what I said…"

Harry didn't know what to say. He was beginning to have a sneaking suspicion of who it really was that saved Hermione, and he prayed to Merlin that his instincts were wrong for the first time in his life.