Chapter 2: Potions, Pastimes and Exceeding Expectations
Hermione slipped through the door, into her second period potions class. She had taken the long route down from transfiguration in order to give Malfoy the slip so he wouldn't follow her through the crowded corridors. But no matter how she tried, she still had to endure a double period potions lesson with the Slytherin sat no further than two feet away from her.
Hermione carefully took her seat between her best friends just as Slughorn stood up to tell the class the objective of that day's lesson.
"Excellent, everyone's present." Slughorn clapped his hand to call all attention to him, though after years of Snape's teaching, the sixth year students automatically quietened when the dungeon door closed. "Today I want to try something different. Previously you have all worked on your own individual potions and have often produced marvellous results." Slughorn paused briefly to shoot a proud glance over at Harry causing Hermione to scowl. "For a change I'm going to pair you up and you're going to be working on a far more complex potion."
"Sir, what potions will we be making?" Asked Harry, his hand in the air and Hermione glared at him. That was the question that she was going to ask.
"Yeah, and who will are partners be?" Ron chimed in. Hermione crossed her fingers under the desk, hoping beyond hope that she would be placed with Terry Boot, or anther Ravenclaw and not Harry with his book, or Ron with his inattentiveness. Hermione blanched and closed her eyes. Not Malfoy, definitely not Malfoy. She began to chant in her head, practically praying that her luck would hold.
"I'll tell you your partners in a minute Mr. Weasley and as for the potion; you will each be working on a different Medicinal Potion. These aren't all necessarily difficult potions, however with them being used for healing, every ingredient needs to be added perfectly, and some can't be chopped until the potion is ready for them. Henceforth, you will need an extra set of hands, though I do expect you to work equally on this." Slughorn reached over to his desk to grab a scroll of parchment. "Now for your partners. I've tried to put you in pairs of different houses yet equal ability so that you're working with different people for a change, and that no-one is overshadowed. Let me tell you that isn't as easy as it sounds." Slughorn gave them a wink. "Harry Potter, you're with Terry Boot." Harry dutifully picked up his bag and walked over to wear Terry was standing, Hermione bit her lip. She was expecting to be paired with Terry. "Ronald Weasley and Ernie McMillan," Slughorn continued as the pairs moved together, "Michael Corner and Millicent Bulstrode, Lisa Turpin and Blaise Zabini, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott and Padma Patil."
Hermione swore under her breath as Slughorn finished the list of pairings. She grabbed her bag, grimacing and headed over to where Draco sat amongst the other Slytherins. Hermione was glad that Millicent Bulstrode had moved to join Michael Corner as opposed to working next to the pair as Hermione disliked both of them. She was also pleased to see that Theo Nott had left too. She had hoped that the Ravenclaw, Lisa Turpin, may have offered some support, but she was gazing adoringly at the Italian Slytherin. Hermione sighed as she watched Blaise soak up the attention, smirking happily.
Hermione carefully sat with her eyes downcast, hoping to avoid any communication, at least until they had to start their still unknown potion. Slughorn reached them last and glanced down his list.
"You two will be concocting a Blood-Replenishing Potion." Slughorn waved his wand and a book floated from his desk and landed in front of Hermione. "Your recipe is in there and the ingredients are in the store cupboard." Slughorn gave them a grin and walked back to his desk to grade essays while the sixth years began their work.
Hermione opened the book and flicked immediately to the correct page. She had recently taken this book out of the library in order to look at some of the potions used in medicine, a route she was considering as a future career.
"What do we need?" Draco asked quietly from his seat. Hermione sighed resigned, there was no way she would get away with no contact, and she needed his help to make the potion as they had been given a relatively complex one.
"Here." Hermione placed the book open on the correct page on the desk in front of them so that they could both pour over the pages together. "There are some odd ingredients in this, not necessarily in the store room, either."
"You're not joking. Dragons blood, Valerian root, Graphorn horn. Re'em blood? Is that right?" Draco eyes were wide in shock at the unusual ingredient.
"Re'em blood?" Hermione echoed. "I wouldn't have thought they had that in school!"
"No, Father acquired some once, but it was straight off the black market. He paid a hefty price for it too. Oh look," Draco pointed, "stewed lacewing fly, I hope Slughorn has some of that pre-stewed or we will be here for a month."
"Why don't you go and ask about the lacewing flies and the re'em blood from Slughorn and I'll get the other ingredients, provided I can find them, out of the store cupboard. I hope they have some Salamander blood, mines run out." Hermione began to walk away, followed by Draco.
"Don't worry about the Salamander blood, I've got some." Draco smiled, before veering around the cauldrons to speak to their teacher.
Hermione continued into the store cupboard, carrying the book open on the correct page so she could fetch the right ingredients.
She was browsing the shelves, looking for powdered Graphorn horn when Harry entered laughing.
"Hey, Hermione." Harry grinned. "How's working with Malfoy going? I see he's got you doing all the work." Harry reached up and took down a small bottle labelled Flobberworm Mucus.
"Malfoy's fine and he hasn't left me to do all the work, he's getting lacewing flies and re'em blood from Professor Slughorn." Hermione smiled, finally locating the jar she was searching for.
"As long as he isn't giving you any hassle." Harry smiled, walking out to rejoin Terry Boot to work on their potion.
Hermione pulled down the jar and looked out the door, lost in thought. Harry was right, Draco hadn't given her any hassle, he hadn't done anything except be a perfectly respectable potions partner. Hermione frowned, was he up to something? Hermione shook her head; she was being paranoid after years of suspecting the worst from any Slytherin that crossed her path. Throwing all negative thoughts out of her mind so as not to pre-judge her potions partner, she walked back to their cauldron to start a fire.
Draco walked back to Hermione through the now heated room, carrying a small bottle of re'em blood that could contain no more than five drops and a large jar of pre-stewed lacewing flies.
"I've got them. But one of us needs to look after the re'em blood until tomorrow as we have to leave the potion to settle for twenty-four hours, so I'm suggesting you do so as you are clearly the responsible one." Draco grinned, placing the small vial next to the book. "How far have you gotten?"
"Not far, I've boiled the water and added the salamander blood and the dragon blood, could you stir? I need to open this jar of eel eyes." Hermione handed the potion-proof stirrer over and Draco began to stir exactly as was described in the instructions: 10 times alternatively clockwise and anti-clockwise.
The rest of the lesson passed in much the same way. They worked together in seamless harmony, switching for stirring to opening or adding ingredients with no quarrels. Draco for one was pleased to have the chance to actually work with Hermione, spend some time with her without either of their friends hovering over them.
Draco had always had the problem of idealising women. Pansy had seemed perfect in fourth year, but as soon as Draco had spent less than a week in her constant company, he had learnt all her annoying habits; her constant gossiping, pruning and undermining behaviour were so much that Draco got out and fast.
He had been watching Hermione for years, out of curiosity at first and sometimes to get some well aimed insults in, but he had soon learned the rhythm of her life and the way she dealt with her friends.
At the beginning of fifth year, he had caught sight of her boarding the train and had wondered who the new student was, until he saw her entering the great hall for the feast. He only recognised who she was because she was naturally flanked by the ever famous Potter and slightly less known Weasley.
He remembered being so shocked that he had asked Blaise for confirmation.
"Blaise, is that Hermione Granger?" Draco nudged his friend and indicated the Gryffindor table where the trio were taking their seats.
"God, it is. She looks good." Blaise's eyes were carefully tracked on Hermione's every movement.
Draco appraised her from his place. Her hair was no longer bushy, but fell in naturally loose curls past her shoulder. Her features had been outlined with make-up ridding her of her usual bossy persona. And Draco couldn't ignore that her school uniform, though unflattering, somehow still looked good on a figure that was usually hidden behind robes and out of sight.
"Whoa." Draco blinked removing himself from his reverie, and looked at Blaise, who was looking at him with a highly disapproving look on his Italian features.
"She's just a girl." Blaise said, trying his best to stop Draco obsessing over the Gryffindor princess. "She isn't worth it."
"Oh she is." Draco countered, smiling lightly. "She's Hermione Granger."
Draco watched the witch in fascination as she carefully added three pinches of powdered Graphorn horn. She was meticulous with every part of her potion making, a woman after his own, slightly OCD heart.
"Right, the potion is exactly the correct colour, a pale pink, we have to leave it for twenty-four hours before we can add the rest of the ingredients and we have ten minutes until the bell rings." Hermione smiled happily at herself.
Her potion had worked and she had no quarrel with Draco. Plus, she could see that Harry was struggling where he was working on his potion with Terry Boot, as they had all been given different books to work from and so Harry couldn't rely on the scribbled notes in the margin.
Hermione sat down on the empty stool next to Draco, grinning at him.
"You're happy." He noted and smiled in spite of himself. Wave goodbye to keeping up your usual hard shell. Draco thought.
"I'm allowed to be happy." Hermione looked at Draco, her brown eyes warm and inviting. "Why can't it always be like this?" She asked.
"Like what?"
"No arguments, no insults."
"Oh." Draco's eyes widened as he realise what she was asking, and his brow furrowed as he began to consider the idea. "Because, I'm in Slytherin, it's what I do. It's what I'm expected to do."
"Expectations." Hermione nodded. "Just what I thought. We behave like we do because that is what's expected of us by society. That is what is wrong with the Wizarding world, it is too closed minded."
"That doesn't mean that all the individuals are." Draco said, watching Hermione as she paused at his words.
Hermione didn't know how to respond, and was irrevocably glad when the bell rang and Slughorn called out that they could leave when they had reached the half-way point. She was even more relieved when Harry walked over to her table and practically pulled her out of the door, claiming he was starving.
Hermione was reflective over lunch, barely touching her plate in front of her. Harry and Ron dismissed her behaviour, presuming that as usual she was thinking things that they couldn't understand.
Hermione was in deep thought. She was trying to work out what Draco had meant and the only sensible outcome she could deduce was that Draco wasn't closed minded. He did what he did to protect himself. Hermione wasn't sure what to think of that. She decided that if she was right, then she didn't know Draco Malfoy as well as she thought she did.
Over at the Slytherin table, Malfoy was eating hungrily. Blaise had already finished, having just had a free period and came down to lunch early, and was letting his eyes wonder around the hall.
"Your girlfriend looks deep in thought. That can't be good."
"What are you on about?" Draco asked, looking at Blaise in slight confusion. "I don't have a girlfriend."
"Granger."
"Shut up." Draco put another piece of sausage in his mouth.
"Don't deny it; you'd love to go all Mr. Monogamy on her." Blaise smirked.
"I thought I told you to shut it. Anyway, what about you? Any new conquests lately?"
"A redhead and a blonde. Fifth years I think."
"Would have to be, you've already nailed everyone in our year. The redhead wouldn't be that Weasley girl would it?"
"That's why I recognised her, excellent, she's a feisty one." Blaise grinned. "I'll see you after class; I have an essay to write." Draco rolled his eyes as Blaise left. Ever the slacker.
Draco couldn't remember a time when Blaise didn't write an essay more than an hour before it was due in. He chuckled as he turned back to his lunch. At least he knew that he and Hermione had brains in common.