Hey Guys, Thanks to those people who wrote a review, it's good to know that people like it! Again, please do write a review, if you have any questions let me know and i'll try and answer them. I plan to upload the first few chapter quite quickly to get the story going but as it progresses i'll wait a bit longer between each chapter, to make it last longer. Happy reading! :)

Chapter 3 - Potions

Harry trudged down the flagstone steps as he made his way to the potions class room. 'I can't believe they've ditched me!' Harry thought to himself as he turned the corner and waited by the potions door. After they had finished breakfast, Hermione and Ron bade him good bye then went off together and Harry turned and walked the opposite way towards the dungeons. By now there were other people standing near Harry, though none of them were his friends; everyone stood around him, every now and again glancing up to look at him, clearly talking about him. Was this what it was going to be like now? Everyone staring at him and talking about him? Just when he couldn't take it any more, Slughorn's voice echoed around the dungeons: "Enter!"

Harry walked in and sat down at a table near the back. The last time he was in this room with Professor Slughorn he had been a potions genius, but now he had come clean to Slughorn that he learned most of it from Snape's old potions book. Harry could still remember the look on Slughorns face when he realised his star pupil was no more than an average student: a mixture of horror, sadness and disappointment. Now, sitting at the back of the class rom, Harry tried not to make too much eye contact.

"Now, this year, the potions we will be studying are extremely difficult, so before we get started I would like each of you to pair off; you will stay in these pairs until the end of the term." Slughorn finished speaking just as stools were pulled back where people were moving around the dungeon to find their partners. Harry who no longer had a friend in potions remained at the back until everyone else was paired off.

Slughorn looked up once the noise had stopped and surveyed everyone in their pairs. "Excellent, right… Oh, Harry my boy, it seems you've been left on your own, no matter, i'm sure-

"-Sorry i'm late professor," said a voice from the doorway. Harry looked round to see Draco Malfoy waiting by the entrance. Dread filled Harry. He could not believe that this was happening.

Slughorn's face brightened, "Ah Mr Malfoy, so nice of you to join us. There we go Harry, Draco why don't you take a seat next to Harry over there, I was just telling everyone that you will be paired up for at least the first term"

As soon as Slughorn said this, two pink spots appeared on Malfoy's pale white cheeks. Draco Malfoy was blushing, Harry was sure of it. As fast as they appeared, the pink spots vanished from his face and were replaced with a calm and collected expression. Malfoy sauntered over to the back and dumped his bag on the table sitting as far away from Harry as he could.

"Now then, can everyone get their advanced potions books out? Today, to start off with, in your pairs I would like one of you to produce a hiccuping potion and the other to create the cure for hiccups. This may seem like an easy potion but it is vital that you work together with you partner, as you need to know exactly what goes into the hiccuping draft at what time to know what to put in to the cure and when. So you have the remainder of this lesson to finish. Off you go." Slughorn, started a stopwatch at the front of the class room and moved to his desk where he remained all lesson.

Harry took all of his equipment out of his bag and set it out on the table, then he took out his advanced potions book; he had to purchase a new one before arriving at Hogwarts so there were no more notes in the margins. He then turned to Malfoy: "you want the potion or the cure, Malfoy?" He wanted to sound more menacing than he actually did, but received the desired effect when Malfoy flinched ever so slightly.

"You take the potion Potter, its easier, and i've heard you need all the help you can get!" Finishing with a sneer Malfoy turned to his own bag and began taking equipment out.

Of course Malfoy would know about Snape's book, he spent the better part of a year following Snape around. Harry began to chop up some plant roots as his book instructed while Malfoy, watched. Half way through the lesson something was very wrong with Harrys potion. Not only was it not a light purple colour as it should be, but the murky grey liquid had begun to smoke.

"Potter, are you trying to kill everyone? Your supposed to put the rats tail in after the eyes of a newt! Now you've messed up my cure!" Malfoy announced in disgust; but there was something different about the tone of his voice, as if Malfoy couldn't quite put enough effort in to make it sound cruel. Harry realised he wasn't really paying attention to his potion at all, but was watching Malfoy make his cure. He had to admit, Malfoy had a certain elegance to the way he added ingredients to his caldron. Harry still didn't know what was wrong with Malfoy; to him it felt like Malfoy's heart just wasn't into making Harry's life miserable anymore.

By the end of the lesson, Harry had managed to make the potion turn the correct colour, but it was still smoking lightly. Malfoy's potion on the other hand looked clear and calm just like it was meant to. "You're actually not that bad at potions Malfoy." Harry commented.

"Was that a compliment Potter? One I will not be returning, by the looks of your steaming mess." Malfoy, cleared his stuff away and left before Harry had the chance to reply.

Back in the Gryffindor common room, Harry told Ron and Hermione everything that had happened with Malfoy before they left to go to lessons.

"He is acting a bit strange this year isn't he?" Harry asked the two of them.

"I dunno Harry, he still looks like a slimy git to me," Ron offered as he shoved books into his bag. "But then you've spent more time with him than I have."

"I agree with Ron, Harry, just ignore it" Hermione added.

That was the end of the conversation. Hermione and Ron gave him a small smile and left the common room, leaving Harry to mull over his first lesson of the day. He went up to his room and sat on the bed. Once again he was left with questions and no answers, but what really shocked Harry (which he didn't tell Ron and hermione) was how nice he was to Malfoy. Before the battle he despised Malfoy for following Voldemort and for hating Harry, but since the battle, all of the Malfoy's seemed to change. Narcissa actually helped Harry towards the end, saving him from death; not only that but they stopped any part they had in the destruction of Hogwarts and left. That to Harry meant that they could potentially change for the better. Maybe that was why Harry had complimented him, even though Malfoy was a complete ass. Harry decided that he was going to pay closer attention to Malfoy; he had to be up to something. The last time he acted this sketchy was when he kept going to the room of requirement to fix up that stupid vanishing cabinet, so Harry planned to do everything he could to make Malfoy tell him what he was up to; no matter the consequences.

The next day, Harry Ron and Hermione were in Transfiguration attempting to silently turn their chairs into a four legged table. While they did this, Harry told the others his plan to find out what Malfoy was up to.

"Oh Harry, can't you just have one normal year at Hogwarts? Let him do what he wants, he's no threat to us anymore." Hermione countered.

"Yea, now his precious leader is dead he has no one to turn to! Even Pansy Parkinson saw how pathetic he was, turns out she dumped him a few weeks ago! Can you imagine?" Ron burst out laughing, which hastily turned into a hacking cough as Professor Mcgonagall looked over with a stern look.

As she came over, all three of them turned to their chairs once more forgetting their conversation. "And how are you three getting along? I assume you have all successfully managed to transfigure your chairs into tables from all of the chatter I can hear?"

"Sorry Professor." Ron mumbled and he continued to work.

Before Mcgonagall walked away she turned to Harry: "Potter, don't forget, you have Quidditch trials coming up this Saturday. I'm counting on you to give us a winning team!"

"Yes Professor," he replied, returning to his work.

…..

The next day in potions, Harry decided that the best thing to do was to just confront Malfoy on why he was being so odd. So midway into their lesson he turned to Malfoy and said: "Why are you being so weird?"

Malfoy looked at Harry with a surprised look on his face. "What are you on about Potter?"

"You hate me, and yet you helped me up on the train, then you insult me in potions. Now, you haven't said one rude or demeaning thing to me since I walked in. What is going on with you?" Harry returned to his work. After getting everything he was feeling off of his chest he felt a little depleted.

Malfoy just looked at him, as if he were torn between telling the truth, and putting Harry in his place. As Harry waited for Malfoy to reply he saw the boys shoulders sag, and he brushed some blond hair out of his eyes. This was such weird behaviour for him; Malfoy never gave up so easily.

"I'm done Potter. I just can't be bothered to annoy you any more. I guess your just not very important now, time for me to move on and focus on other things. Like potions." He said the last part so sarcastically, Harry caught a glimpse of Malfoy's old self.

Well, the reply Harry got wasn't exactly what he had expected but it was an answer nonetheless. Harry decided that for now, he would leave the situation alone. At least he could be safe in the knowledge that he wasn't going to be bullied by Malfoy as much as usual. That was something right? Finally he settled down and paid attention to the lesson.