Just wanted to say thank you to the people that reviewed, you guys are super awesome. I'm hoping to post more conistantly lengthwise. Don't forget to tell me what you think in the review section. Now on with the story!


Rumplestiltskin walked into Professor Snape's class. The room was really warm due to the cauldrons ready for everyone but the dark green brick walls were less than friendly. The room was surrounded by everything one would need for a potion of most any kind. He would have to catalog everything so if he needed one for some reason he could know what would have to be obtained differently. There were some kids already there because they wanted to get on Professor Snape's good side. It wouldn't matter in the end. The man didn't like anyone. Himself included.

Belle came in about ten minutes before class started. She went straight up to the professor and for the first time in Rumplestiltskin's life, he saw the man smile. "Good morning Ms. Belle," he greeted.

"Good morning Professor," she greeted him cheerily.

"I do believe that's a new sweater, is it not?" he asked.

"It is," she answered him. "I got it from someone and I absolutely love it."

"I'm glad to see you finally got something for the weather, it's only going to get colder you know," he said.

"I do," she smiled. "Do you happen to have my old textbook?"

"Of course I do," he said as he reached underneath and pulled out a different looking textbook than the others stacked in some piles around his desk. "Already checked out for you for the entire year."

"Thank you very much, Professor," she said happily as she took the textbook. She lightly traced the cover with her fingers as if it were one of the most precious things in the world.

"I do have to warn you, there is an even number of people in this class. I asked for an odd number but once again, no one cares," he told her bringing her back from the slight daydream she was having.

"It's okay," she told him less excitedly. "Someone could talk to me or at the very least I could come after school and remake the potion for you."

"Ms. Belle, it will be a pity to lose you next year. Of all my students I've had over the years, I actually liked you," he told her.

"And you will always be my favorite teacher," she promised him. She then went to go take her seat at one of the outer cauldrons.

Rumplestiltskin was beyond confused. How in the world did this girl manage to get the Professor to like her, much more say it aloud? He took a seat on the outskirts as well but not too close to Belle. If she wanted to sit by him, she'd have to come over all by herself. She looked over at him and smiled. He gave her a small smile back but not as big as hers. He had a plan to keep up. The bell rang for class to start and everyone raced to their seats including a few stragglers which did not make the Professor smile.

"Good morning students," he greeted coldly. "Normally I wouldn't let you do this but since you are seventh-year students, and not complete idiots anymore, I have decided to let you pick your own partners for the rest of the year. You will be allowed one switch so please, use it wisely."

With that, everyone ran to find their friend before they had to either get stuck with either The Dark One or The Crazy One. Belle stood up slowly and walked somehow even slower to him and asked him, very nervously, "Hey, um, I was, well I was wondering if maybe, if maybe you would be my partner? No one here wants to even be near me so I was wondering if you could possibly be my partner? I can't do anything better than get you an A in this class. So, would you? Please?"

He pretended as if he was scanning the crowd. "Dearie, you're a far better option than most of these idiots here." She smiled happily at him. It was something a little more than happy. Grateful, he supposed. To finally be wanted by someone and not be the one rejected. He gestured to the open seat next to him which she cheerfully sat down in. He swore he almost heard her giggle.

"Thank you," she told him as she pulled in her chair.

Professor Snape went to the front of the class, "Alright class. Today, I want you to focus on doing page 67. Please, try hard not to break anything."

Belle whipped out her textbook hurriedly. He'd never seen anyone so excited for a potions class before. "If you don't mind me asking, why does your textbook look so different than the rest of ours?" he asked.

"It's just an older model," she told him before she whipped out a flashlight. He realized after a minute that this was a black light flashlight and not just a regular one. "Oh my gosh, this one's going to be so cool."

"It's just a levitation potion. We did this when we were 11," Rumplestiltskin said.

"That's what your textbook says," she told him. "Mine says, The minor draught of telekinetic control."

"What?" he asked leaning over her book. In glowing letters, was another potion entirely from everyone else's.

"It says we need, 3 bowtruckle legs, 5 shavings of unicorn hoof, 2 measle eyeballs, and 6 pinches of finely powdered moonstone," she told him right before she sneezed. "If you grab the hoof and eyes, I'll grab the legs and moonstone."

He had no idea why he was doing what she asked. He should have told her absolutely not and just grabbed the moonstone, yet here he was. He watched as she mixed the potion very carefully and added this and that when needed. He added his magic when asked if this worked he did need to have some involvement in it. Finally, She took a glass and filled it with the potion. She then took a sip of it. That he was utterly baffled by.

"You have to drink it in order for it to work right," she told him. He shook his head slightly at the craziness he was witnessing. "Please don't look at me like that."

He was pulled from his thoughts in confusion. She looked so sad. Like she'd just been pulled away from something she loved. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I've seen that look so many times," she told him. "I'm not crazy like everyone thinks I am. It may be weird to see but I promise I'm not crazy. That look is almost worse than someone telling me that I am straight to my face. Please, Don't look at me like that. I don't want that to be what you think I am."

Rumplestiltskin felt like his heart was being squeezed. Everyone looked at her like that and it hurt her. Deeper than a lot of other things. He hadn't meant to hurt her. And it bothered him, he had no idea why though. He was so tired of people hurting her and here he did it himself when he was supposed to be trying to be her friend. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you like that. For the record, I don't think you're crazy. I think your intelligence has been ridiculed far too often by those who can't even comprehend that the world doesn't revolve around them."

He swore there were tears lining in her eyes. Though he didn't get a good look at them because seven seconds later her arms were wrapped around him and he was in the first hug he'd had in years. "Thank you," she whispered. She quickly pulled out and went back to the cauldron to finish the necessary amount she needed to drink. He couldn't believe how empty he felt right then. All her warmth had slipped from him and he was practically paralyzed.

She had grabbed some extra moonstone and sprinkled it on Rumplestiltskin book and called over the professor. "Alright Miss Belle, let's see what you have for us today."

"With pleasure," she said. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the book. After a few seconds, the book began to rise. Then he noticed, everything else that had been used in everyone else's potions were floating too. They all started flying around Belle in a clean circle before they were returned to where they had been before.

"Excellent job, Belle," he told her with a smile on his face.

"Thank you, sir, but Rumplestiltskin was very helpful too," she explained.

"Well then, A+ for you both then," he told them as he wrote down their grades in his book, heading back to his desk.

"Belle that was amazing," he told her placing a hand on her shoulder. She smiled so brightly at him. That was what he liked seeing. Her smiling, it felt right. When she smiled at him like that, It was like his world got a little lighter. A little nicer. He didn't exactly know why. After all, she was just a means to an end. He couldn't forget that.

"Trust me, Rumple," she told him. "As long as you stick with me, this class will be a breeze."

"I have every confidence of that," he told her.