-1The War is Over

Chapter 2: Today was a day just like any other

Harry lay in his bed that night thinking about the day. He couldn't believe that Pansy had been made Head Girl. He had always thought it would be Hermione. Of course it would have been if she were at Hogwarts for their seventh year. Harry suddenly felt angry at Hermione. Why hadn't she just pushed him out of the way? Why did she have to stand in front of him and die for him? Harry rolled over trying not to make too much noise so he wouldn't wake Ron or Neville Longbottom. He had been shocked to hear that Seamus Finnegan had died. He thought he had heard about all the deaths of Hogwarts students. He knew about Dean Thomas and Lavender Brown. Harry lay awake in bed thinking about old friends and wishing they were still there with him. When he finally fell asleep, it was well past two in the morning.

"Harry, wake up." Harry rolled over as he felt himself being shaken awake.

"Bugger off."

"Harry, you've got to get up or you'll be late for Potions. Double Potions I might add. You've already missed breakfast."

Harry rolled back over and saw red hair and a very blurry person standing above him. He grabbed his glasses and put them on his nose and Ron came into view. "We have Double Potions first thing Monday mornings?"

"Yup, and Snape won't be too happy if we're late. Even if you are 'The Boy Who Lived' or whatever people are calling you these days."

"Right. I'm going back to sleep and dropping Potions first chance I get."

"You need Potions to become an Auror, Harry."

"Then maybe I don't want to be an Auror." And to Harry's surprise, Ron answered, "Fine, suit yourself," and left. Harry cursed, took off his glasses, and closed his eyes again. He definitely wasn't going to give in to Snape like everyone else. There was no way he could sit in a classroom with him for a double period without killing him.

A few minutes went by in silence after Ron had left, but then the door was opened and banged hard against the wall. Assuming it was Ron again, Harry put his arms over his head to block him out. "Harry Potter!" Harry's eyes flew open at the sound of the head of Gryffindor house and new Headmistress's voice. "You will get up and go to Potions with the rest of your classmates or I will have you expelled from this school." Before Harry had a chance to put on his glasses and argue, Professor McGonagall was gone.

Instead, he turned to look at Ron, who had turned red. "Thanks, Ron." Ron said nothing but turned and left.

Harry walked into the Potions dungeon yawning. He spotted Ron in the back corner saving a seat for him, but he quickly glanced around for a different seat. The only seat left was in the very front, right in front of Snape's desk. Ron or Snape, Harry thought for a moment. It was an easy decision, but Harry was surprised when he realised his feet were taking him to the front seat. He sat down against his will. He glanced back at Ron, who had a shocked expression across his face. Harry ignored him and faced the front of the room. Someone sat down next to him, but he didn't bother looking to see who it was. He thought he heard Ron gasp but ignored it. The door to the classroom opened again. Harry also ignored this. He knew it was Snape and had no interest in looking at the greasy haired fool.

"Welcome to Advanced Potions," Harry heard the professor say. Only it didn't sound like Snape at all. It sounded like… "I'm Professor Lupin. You might remember me as your third year Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. I am sorry to say that Professor Snape was not able to make it today and possibly won't be teaching at Hogwarts this year." Harry was so happy to hear Lupin's voice. He glanced at Ron, but Ron was looking in another direction. He therefore looked at the person next to him. He was so shocked he jumped out of his seat and nearly screamed.

"Malfoy!" Harry said a little too loudly. The whole class looked at him and he slowly sank back into his seat. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like, Potter? I'm here to learn," Draco said, a smirk rising on his pale face.

After the shock of Draco Malfoy sitting next to him wore off, Harry started thinking about how he could not believe that Snape was actually gone and his favourite professor was back. Maybe he'd actually be able to manage an O on his N.E.W.T. in Potions.

"Today we will be making a Polyjuice Potion that will last for one day rather than only one hour. Your partner will be the person sitting next to you. The instructions," Lupin said, waving his wand at a blackboard in front of the class where words began magically appearing as if someone were writing on it, "are on the board. You'll find everything you need in the store cupboards. As you may know, it takes a while for Polyjuice Potion to be made. However, this one will be done by the end of the week because of the full moon this week." Harry heard the slight change in Lupin's voice as he said the words 'full moon.' "You'll need to keep up, though, or it won't be ready in time. And if that's the case, you'll need to wait another month. You may begin."

Harry groaned and looked at Malfoy, his partner, who was staring back at him in disbelief, eyes bulging out of his skull. "Please, sir, can I move?" Draco said a little louder than he had planned.

"No, you may not, Mr. Malfoy. You will be working with Mr. Potter."

"But, sir…"

"It's not my fault you chose to sit where you did. Harry's not complaining."

Draco turned to face Harry. "Why aren't you complaining? The pathetic werewolf would pity you and let you move. Complain, Potter! I am not being you for a day."

"Shut up, Malfoy. I don't want to be you for a day either, but I guess we don't really have a choice," Harry answered, not really sure why he wasn't the one complaining. They both turned to the cauldron in front of them. Harry got up and walked to the store cupboard to get the ingredients they needed. He did this without looking at the list on the board, which Lupin noticed. When he came back, Lupin noted that he started without looking at the board.

"Potter, what the hell are you doing?"

Harry looked up at Malfoy. "What?"

"You're not even looking at the instructions."

"Your point being what?"

"You don't know what the fuck you're doing."

"Yes, I do. Trust me," Harry said, glancing at Malfoy.

Malfoy cringed and turned to read the instructions on the board, making sure Potter wasn't trying to poison him. He noticed Potter had forgotten to put in the belladonna.

"Trust you? You forgot something, moron."

"I did not," Harry answered, without looking up from the now boiling cauldron. "I don't need to change into you, Malfoy; I've already seen the way you live. I've been in your common room," Harry added in a whisper.

"What did you say?"

Harry looked up and saw a look of shock and annoyance in Malfoy's cold grey eyes. "I said I didn't miss anything."

They both stared at each other for a moment before Draco looked up at the board. "Yes, you did, Potter! You didn't even get belladonna from the cupboard. Now we'll have to start all over and we'll probably get detention because we don't have time to finish it now. Just what I want, detention with you."

"Shut up, Malfoy. I'd rather have detention with you than become you for a whole day. Besides, I didn't put belladonna in because it doesn't go in. It must be wrong."

"Oh yeah, Potter, you're smarter than our professor. Well, he is a werewolf."

Harry ignored this last comment and walked to Lupin's desk. "Professor?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Is the second line a mistake?"

Lupin glanced at the board and read the line before answering, "It is not wrong. Why do you ask?"

"It's just I remember…" Harry hesitated, thinking about Hermione. He felt tears forming behind his eyelids when he blinked. He coughed and choked out, "I remember reading about Polyjuice Potion and I just didn't remember belladonna being mentioned at all."

"That would be because belladonna makes it last for a full day rather than just an hour. If you've already passed that step, you may leave it out."

"Thanks, Professor." Lupin nodded and Harry went back to where Malfoy was standing waiting for him.

"We can leave it out."

"I already put it in."

"What?"

"Don't worry, Potter. If it's just something to make the potion last longer it won't matter when you add it. It'll only change the time slightly by a few minutes," Draco told Harry, not really knowing what he was talking about.

"Fine," Harry answered.

An hour later, Lupin came around looking at everyone's potions. "Good," he muttered as he walked past Harry and Draco. "Ah well, we can fix that," he said as he passed Ron, who had joined Neville since he had also been sitting alone.

Harry was walking down the hall after Potions when he realised he didn't have his schedule with him and his stomach was growling. He stopped and quickly checked his bag for his schedule before deciding to continue to the Great Hall for some food even

though he couldn't find it.

He got to the Great Hall and sat at the Gryffindor table. He was about to grab some food when someone poked him in the back. He turned and saw Neville. "Yes?"

"Ron wanted me to give you this," he said, holding out a piece of paper.

"Well tell him I don't want anything from him."

Neville shrugged and walked down to the other end of the table where Ron was sitting.

He handed the paper back to Ron. Ron ripped up the paper, got out of his seat, and started walking towards Harry. Harry ignored him and turned back to his lunch. His fork was halfway to his mouth when he was sprinkled with little pieces of paper. He turned and looked up to see a red faced Ron. "Good luck going to all your classes, boy who's an arse."

"Thanks, Ron. That made no sense."

"You're welcome!" Ron said, walking away.

What the hell? Harry thought and turned back to his plate of food. When he finished and everyone was getting up to go to their next classes, he realised he had no idea what his next class was. He saw Ron near the doorway and ran to catch up to him.

"Ron!" Ron turned for a moment, saw that it was Harry, and continued to walk with Neville. "Ron, you prat, stop!"

Ron turned slowly and stopped right in front of Harry. Harry nearly walked straight into him. "What do you want?"

"What class do I have next?"

"How should I know?"

"I'm pretty sure we're in the same classes mostly, aren't we?"

"Yup, every single last one of them."

"Then what do we have now?"

"Why would I tell you after the way you treated me today?"

"Come on, Ron! I can just follow you, ya know."

"Then follow," Ron said, turning back to Neville. Harry followed them out onto the grounds, towards the black lake. He tried to talk to Ron several times, but Ron continued to ignore him. Harry saw the tree he had once seen his father, Sirius, Lupin, and Peter sitting under while in Snape's memory. He turned away quickly not wanting to think about it, but Ron and Neville were headed that way. Ron sat on the ground and leaned against the tree. Neville followed suit, sitting a few feet away from Ron. Harry just waited, standing in front of them.

"Something you want, Potter?"

"Don't call me Potter. You sound like Malfoy."

"I wouldn't wanna sound like you're new best mate," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

"What! Malfoy is not my friend. It's not my fault I have to work with him in Potions."

"Yes, it is. You could have sat by me but you were too busy being angry that I woke you up so you wouldn't be late for class. It's not my fault all you do is mope around and sleep all the damn time. She was my girlfriend, you know, but I'm not spending my life moping and sleeping."

Harry stood there, shocked. He had no idea how his friend felt about Hermione's death. He had never bothered to ask. Ron always seemed fine, but, of course, he couldn't really have been fine.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered, not knowing what else to say. Ron just glared at him. Neville started to say something but Ron suddenly stood up and grabbed Harry by the shoulders.

"No, you're not! All you care about is yourself. You don't give a damn about how I feel about anything. You're not the only one who's ever lost someone, you know!"

"I know," Harry muttered. Before Harry could stop him, Ron shoved him hard, causing him to fall, and walked away. Neville hesitated before getting up himself, grabbing both his and Ron's book bags. Harry watched them leave before putting his head in his hands.

He had a strange feeling that he was going to lose his best friend.

He sat down and leaned against the tree, gazing at the lake. He half wanted to jump in and drown himself. He glanced at his watch, half past one. He looked towards the entrance to the castle and saw his best friend walk inside. He closed his eyes thinking about how it had been before the war. Everything was perfect, with the exception of Voldemort walking the earth killing whoever he pleased. Harry wanted more than anything to go back and fix everything. Thinking of Hermione, an idea popped in his head. He could go back and change what happened. He didn't care if he died, he had to save Hermione. He was about to stand up when he saw a shadow coming towards him. He looked up and saw the last person he wanted to see on this earth.

"Something bothering you?" Draco Malfoy mocked, standing above Harry.

"What?"

"Something bothering you?" Draco repeated, a smirk playing across his face.

"Why should you care?"

"I don't," Draco said, walking away.

As Harry watched Draco walk away, he found himself running after him.

Harry was still in shock that he had just had a conversation with Draco Malfoy without wanting to decapitate him and Draco had actually listened, really listened. At first, Harry found it very awkward telling Malfoy how he felt, but found that he'd kept it all bottled up so long that it didn't matter who he told, as long as he told someone. He ended up telling Draco everything. How he blamed himself. He shouldn't have brought Hermione or Ron with him. He should have refused to let them come. Malfoy had also told him that his next class might be Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts because he himself had it at that time and there was only one Advanced DADA class.

Harry followed Draco to class, making sure to walk a few feet behind him so they didn't attract attention. When they walked into their classroom, the first thing Harry saw was Ron sitting next to a girl he recognized as a sixth year Hufflepuff. To Harry's disgust, she was leaning towards Ron, giggling.

Draco followed Harry's death gaze and saw what he was glaring at. At first he was confused. Why was Harry looking at Ron, his best friend, as though he wanted nothing more than to kill him? Then Draco realised that Harry must be annoyed that Ron seemed to have moved on so fast after Hermione's death. He slammed into Harry and shouted,

"Move, Potter! You're in my way." Harry snapped out of his trance and followed Draco to the front of the class. He sat down next to Draco, who stared back. "What are you doing, Potter?"

Harry looked around to see everyone staring at them, but before he could move, the door opened and everyone looked up, including Harry. He was anxious to find out what kind of teacher Charlie was. Draco was the first to say something as everyone saw Professor Lupin walk in. "Um…I think I'm in the wrong class," he muttered, standing up.

"Please sit down, Mr. Malfoy. You're in the right class. For the time being, I will be teaching both Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. It seems that Mr. Weasley has come down with something."

Harry was still half sitting, half standing in his spot next to Malfoy, who had sat back down. He finally sat as everything sunk in. No Snape, his favourite teacher for two lessons, for the time being, and not being mocked by Malfoy. This year was starting off good; besides the fact that one of his best friends was dead and the other was… well,

Harry didn't know what the hell Ron's problem was.

"You'll be happy to know that your potions are all coming along great." At this, Neville turned slightly pink and put his head in his hands. "Even yours, Neville," Lupin added, seeing Neville's actions. Neville slowly raised his head a little, his face redder than it had been before the mention of his name. "They should be done by tomorrow after the full moon tonight. However, this is not Potions; therefore, we shall be dedicating our time today, in honour of the full moon tonight, to werewolves, a subject I know quite a lot about."

Harry smiled, but the rest of the class stared in silence, including Ron. Professor Lupin spent the next hour talking about werewolves and his own experiences. At the end of class, Lupin gave them their homework, one scroll of parchment on something they found interesting about the werewolf. "Next lesson, we will discuss animagi, another subject in which I have expertise," Lupin added as an afterthought, winking at Harry.

The rest of Harry's day went by very slowly. He had no more classes with Malfoy so he was forced to follow Ron around. He did this at a distance, not wanting Ron to know he had no idea what his classes were and had to follow him around. He skipped dinner, as he often did lately, and went straight to his dormitory. He lay on his bed without changing and fell asleep instantly.