-CHAPTER TWO-
Harry awoke the next morning feeling less than well-rested. The dormitory was empty, and one look at his watch told Harry he'd overslept by half an hour. He grabbed his gear and rushed out to the shower, where he'd barely washed away the soap-suds before he was out again.
As he ran into the Great Hall, he barely had time to grab a piece of toast and a fried sausage before the plates were wiped clean.
"Where were you?" Ron asked Harry.
"Nowhere, I just slept in," Harry replied as he finished off his toast.
"Yeah, well, you're lucky you woke up," Ron said, "We've got Potions first, and Snape's back."
Harry gave a groan of disappointment, but his mind was on other things. Things like Draco Malfoy, and his new-found feelings for him.
Ron was right – Snape was back, and his mood was sourer than ever. He strode into the class-room, slamming the door behind him, and glared at the class.
"Yesterday my replacement should have taught you about the properties of Lobalug poison in potions. Potter, tell me three potions you could use the poison in."
"Uh…I…uh…I don't know," Harry said.
Snape nodded, "I should have expected that," he sneered. He gazed around the classroom, ignoring Hermione's raised hand. "Can none of you answer my question?"
The resounding silence, broken only by Hermione's attempts to catch Snape's attention, was answer enough for Snape. "The teacher did talk to you about Lobalug poison, did he not?"
"Yes he did!" Hermione said, her hand still raised, "And you can use Lobalug poison in-"
"Fascinating Miss Granger," Snape said sarcastically, cutting her off mid-sentence. "I had guessed that none of you would bother paying attention," Snape said, "so I took the liberty of creating an assignment for you to do instead. But don't worry," he assured them, as a collective groan traveled through the room, "you'll be doing it in pairs."
The groan turned into a semi-excited mumble as people began picking partners to collaborate with.
Snape smirked "Oh no,I will be choosing who you'll be working with. Weasley, you go with Zabini. Granger, you're with…Goyle. Potter –"Snape's upper lip curled in disgust "Potter, you will work with Mr. Malfoy."
"What?" Draco asked, his voice ever-so-slightly shrill, "Why?"
"Yeah, why?" Harry agreed, trying to sound indignant. Inside however, he felt a strange mixture of emotions – excitement, trepidation, anticipation.
"Because I said so," Snape sneered, safe in the knowledge that only a teacher could give a reason that lame and get away with it.
Both Harry and Draco's faces registered their disappointment, although Harry really felt anything but that.