Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the mere plot!

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Potions

"'Mione, it's okay, we'll have our next class together. It's just one class!"

Hermione snorted but with a slight smile on her face. "It's really okay, Ronald. And no, we actually will not be having Herbology together." She patted his shoulder lightly. "I promise I can take care of myself though."

"What! Why?" Ron paled slightly.

"While we have Potions you will have a free period, I presume." She stated.

"Exactly" Slughorn shot in, having heard what Hermione had said. "Now when you've all been decided into two groups I would like for group one to stay here, and group two to head out. Be back here for the next class. What are you waiting for, now now, be off!" He moved the students in a shoo-ing motion towards the door.

Harry waved through the crowd at Hermione, and Ron gave her an utterly pained expression. At this she rolled her eyes but waved back slightly.

The room emptied rather quickly and soon only a few students were left in the room. Group one had been quite significantly smaller than group two.

Hermione looked around the room and couldn't help but note that the students that were left were the brightest ones in the class. This could not be a coincidence. Slughorn had always had a way to get the most famous students to stand out, but these were not all it. Harry, for one, was not there, and he was after all Slughorn's dearest possession. This must have been the works of both the Potions and Herbology teacher.

She was surprised to see a few of the faces that had joined her in looking around the room. They were probably coming to the same conclusion she was. All went to inspect the ones next to them, watching them carefully and judgmentally, but with respect.

She recognized a few of the prefects in her year and smiled at them. People had started to talk lowly to one an other in hopes of finding a Potions partner when that would be needed. All being insecure, as teens usually are, about not being picked. Hermione though, knew she wouldn't get picked, since most people didn't enjoy working with her, unless they preferred not doing any actual work. People like Harry and Ron wouldn't mind pairing up with her, as they weren't much for actually doing work. This especially concerned Ron, and she grunted at the thought.

Her eyes soon locked on someone she was quite surprised to see in the little group; Malfoy. He wasn't inspecting the rest of the class like all others, but was rather absentmindedly watching a fly roaming the window with an annoyed expression.

Hermione's eyebrows rose at the display of superiority.

She snorted but decided to make her way towards him. Purely out of respect for their titles. Once she reached him she opened her mouth to ask if he had been as surprised as she was to see him in this group, but he beat her to it.

Without taking his eyes off of the fly he asked her "Do you like what you see?"

She furrowed her brows at the setback.

He turned towards her, his face changing as he did so. A smug smile had began to form again. "'Cause you haven't been able to take your eyes off of me for a while now."

She huffed at his words.

At this he leaned down, so their heads were leveled, his hand still in his pant pockets. His smirk grew as he watched her react to his sudden closeness. A small blush was creeping on her cheeks, making them look rosy and full of life. "So?" He asked, still looking in her chocolate brown eyes. When she didn't respond he took the pleasure to lean in closer, making the distance not more than a couple of centimeters, and whispered lowly "Can't answer?".

His closeness and husky voice made her very uneasy, and her breathing got short and heavy. She was utterly aware of his warm scent as well as his breath caressing her skin. The heat that was rising on her cheeks reached every part of her body. She was rendered speechless.

Why is my tongue caught in a knot? Why now? She wanted to die from embarrassment as she still couldn't get herself to say something smart in return to his snide remark.

He stood back up snickering to himself and looked awfully pleased.

Slughorn finally spoke up, and Hermione was cursing him for not having been doing so a few minutes earlier. "Welcome, students!" He exclaimed with that glimmer in his eye. "I hope you have all gotten acquainted with each other? I know you didn't get much time to do so, but I believe this next exercise will be giving you more of an opportunity to connect, than practice knowing you're all excelling in this class!" He smiled at the students awkwardly standing infront of him. "Please, do pair up! Oh wait, hold on, I have a list of pairs already." He fumbled around on his desk to find the piece of parchment he was looking for. "Ah! Here it is!" Straightening it with a flick of his hands, stretching it between them he cleared his throat to start to name the couples.

"Owen Anthony and Hanna Abbott, Susan Bones and Sam Finkley, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, Eloise Midgen and Parvati Patil" He looked up from his paper to watch the students move about. He didn't notice the shock and inability to move that had struck his top students Granger and Malfoy.

Hermione finally took a deep breath. She plastered on a fake smile as she slowly turned to look at her partner. Malfoy didn't share the same smile when he turned to her however, yet a quick flash of an utterly fake smile appeared on his face. "So…" She started.

"Partners." He finished and nodded a few times and pursing his lips.

The awkwardness was quickly gone when Slughorn introduced the task at hand. Both got allert and Hermione bolted towards the cabinet with all the ingredients as soon as Slughorn had ended his introduction. Meanwhile, Malfoy jotted down a few notes on the sidelines of his Potions book.

When Hermione got back their kettle was already over the fire, with all the equipment ready and lined up. She tried not to look as surprised as she felt, but it was hard to hide the chock.

Draco had noticed her getting back and a smug smile crept up on his face when he saw the reaction she was having. "What's wrong Granger? Never seen a cauldron before?"

Draco had to muffle a laugh when Hermione quickly scrunched up her face in a frown and spat "Of course I have. I'm merely surprised you knew how to set it up."

Hermione lined up the ingredients with an ignorant facial expression. She was not going to give him any satisfaction just from doing simple potions work.

Draco rolled his eyes, but smiled. She was so predictable, and too easy to tease. He just couldn't help himself from pushing it further; Draco moved up closer behind her and whispered suggestively: "I know how to set other things up as well."

Hermione practically jumped out of her skin from the sudden closeness. And the remark, at that! When she came to her senses she huffed loudly, shaking her head while rolling her eyes and pursing her lips. "Just give me the iron rod, so we can get started." she sighed.

"Oh, you would like that, wouldn't you." Draco continued huskily and leaned his head down towards her shoulder. He pushed away some strays of hair to get even closer. He pressed his body up closer, to the point where she could feel his body.

The closeness came as such a surprise she froze on the spot. She couldn't move. Why can't I move!? she though hopelessly. His hasty charm and timing was impeccable. Without actually wanting to her mind drifted to the different places that was touching her back. The belt buckle was so cool and hard in comparison the the rest of him.

"You wouldn't… I wouldn't…"

"Relax Granger" And at that he moved away to stand next to her. "I am not going to harm you" At this he was back to his usual cold and emotionless self.

Strangely enough her body missed the warmth of his long, slender form. This fact made her even more confused, and, to say the least, frustrated! Her body was boiling, and for so many reasons. She was angry, and frustrated that Malfoy had had such an impact on her. Surely it must be because of her lack of physical contact. That must be it.

Hermione took a deep breath and took a step forward towards the first ingredient they were to use. In the middle of her step however she was jerked back by a chunk of her hair. Without being able to stop the motion she was slung backwards back into Malfoy. Malfoy awkwardly caught her around her waist.

He watched as she flew back into him and per automatics caught her. "What the…!" He lifted her back on to her feet, but as soon as she tried to urgently get away from him again she was pulled back. As she was pulled backwards, Draco too felt a pull, but from his shirt. "Hold on!" He exclaimed and grabbed hold of her shoulders to get her steady.

"What are you doing to me? If this is some kind of sick joke I am going to…"

"Your hair is stuck on my shirt."

"…Oh"

"Can you hold still. I am trying to get you loose."

"Well, just do it quick." She was feeling the urge to stay close to him again, and it made her feel uneasy. Very uneasy.

He stopped in his motion in trying to untangle her unruly hair from his shirt button. An eyebrow lifted as he stopped to look down at her. "Or what?"

She was struggling to come up with some great remark, but was left empty-handed.

"This must be a first. The great Granger doesn't know how to answer a question." His smug smile was back on.

Considering how close they were, she had to lean her head all the way back to be able to look back up at him.

A moment passed where they were merely looking in each others' eyes. Malfoy's pale gray eyes watched Hermione's hazel gold. Malfoy swallowed hard and Hermione watched as his adam's apple bob slowly.

"How is your Wideye potion coming along?" Slughorn just got to their table, which was were close to Slughorn's own working bench. "Ah! I see you've put out all the ingredients and equipment. Always good to be neat and orderly when it comes to potions, indeed. Excellent, now, five points each." As he made his way past their table he didn't seem to have noticed they entanglement.

The moment Slughorn had passed them Hermione franticly started untangling her hair from Malfoy's button, although his hands were already working on the matter. "Just let me…" she mumbled urgently. Malfoy removed his hands and held them up next to his head in defense. The hair did not want to come off of his shirt, however. Eventually she pulled it off by ripping her hair. Once she was freed she practically flew to their mortar standing on the other side of the table. Finally at a safe distance, she took a deep breath to calm herself.

Draco looked down at his shirt in astonishment. A huge part of her brown locks was still stuck to him. He would have to go change later.

Meanwhile Hermione was adding and crushing ingredients in the mortar Draco took the opportunity to start with the rest of the potion, using the already warm cauldron. He heated the dried Billywig Stings for 27 seconds instead of 30.

This little difference didn't go unnoticed. "It's supposed to be heated for another three more seconds, Malfoy." Hermione came rushing up beside him, holding the crushed ingredients in the mortar. "It says so, right here" She pointed to her opened Potions book.

"I know what it says" He took the mortar out of her hands and added four measures of it to the potion. "Shall we use the iron rod, or mine?" he asked her with a wink. Yet he picked up the rod and stirred three times before turning to Hermione and gesturing towards the cauldron. "If you will."

He gave her the pleasure of waving her wand over the potion. She was a bit surprised, but did as told.

"Now all we have to do is wait 42 minutes."

"41" Hermione corrected.

"42, trust me"

"I don't."

Draco turned his head to her. They were standing side by side, arms almost touching. "Maybe you should."

There was an edge of hurt honesty in his voice, something Hermione hadn't heard from him before. It was different and she didn't know quite what to make of it.

There was a silence between them. "You have given me no reason to." she finally said.

Malfoy nodded slowly. "Why trust the Death Eater."

"It's not only that you are a death eater" Hermione began.

"Was. Was a death eater." Draco said sharply.

Hermione turned her head to look up at him. His jaw was clenched shut and his features were pointy and sharp. He was looking down into the cauldron where the potion was boiling. Although he was looking down into the rippling surface he was not actually looking at it. Malfoy's mind was somewhere else, and Hermione was not sure she wanted to know what his mind was showing him. Memories flashing before him. Memories of the war.

"Was." She agreed.

Hermione's eyes drifted to Malfoy's underarm. It was fully covered, down to the wrist. Even the button by his arm was shut closed. It reminded her of her own covered arms. The desperate need to fully cover their arms for the sake of shame and memory. Both created by evil and cruelty. Both magically forever etched into their bodies.

Hermione could sense Malfoy's unwillingness to talk. His reluctancy to speak about the war was worrisome, but not surprising. Considering how the war had played out, and the Malfoy's role in it, she could not judge him. They were survivors to any price. They were smart, but had chosen the wrong side. Were they weak even? Weak to power that threaten to harm them.

Hermione felt like she had to mention something that had been on her mind for a long while. "You didn't do anything wrong, you know"

Draco was surprised, but barely showed it. He swallowed. "You are alone to think so."

"But am I wrong?" she tried.

"Yes."

"Considering how your mom lied to Voldemort, and ensured Harry's survival, as well as how you and your family left before the final battle, I must say it shows that your hearts were not in it. I do not think you wanted to hurt people, but it was a byproduct of your family's heritage. Besides, there is one action that speaks for itself. Dumbledore." At the sound of their old principal's name Malfoy flinched, as if pain was shooting through his body. "You could not kill Dumbledore even when your life depended on it."

"Well, would you be able to?"

"I would never get myself into that kind of situation, first of all. However, I do not think I would. Anyone with a soul would not be able to." She moved her hand to place it on his arm, but stopped mid-motion. What am I doing? This is Malfoy!

"Of course, miss goody-two-shoes is too high and mighty to get into those kind of situations."

"I did not mean it like that, Malfoy" She spat back, annoyed. "I would not be asked to kill someone, since only the dark side would use such horrible measures to win a war."

"Ah, you sure about that?"

"Yes, why?"

"No, nothing. But let me tell you this. Things are not always black and white."

Hermione contemplated this for a minute. "You are very right" she finally concluded. "You have always been a douche, but you are not evil. Cruel at times maybe, but you always have this hunch of humanity in you. There is always a reason for your actions."

Draco couldn't believe his ears and broke out laughing. This situation was too absurd. Hermione Granger was complementing him?

The sight of his happy outburst, although rooting from someplace complicatedly twisted, made her feel lighter. As his laughter went on she couldn't help but smile. She didn't quite know why, but the sheer joy in the sound of his laugh was highly contagious. She had never heard him like this. She had seen him sneer, possibly hint at a smile once or twice, but never laughed. This was the first time. Her eyes were watching him intently.

"What is so funny?" She finally asked with a big and warm smile.

He seemed to be coming down from his double-over laugh. Eventually he breathed in deeply, but whilst smiling. "Ah, you Granger. You are." Draco shook his head and laughed lightly before checking his wand for the time. "Only fifteen more minutes now"

"Perfect. I wonder how far along the rest are" she asked her self, more than Malfoy.

They both turned to look at the rest of the class. Each pair was bussy speaking to each other, and Hermione had a feeling this wasn't a coincidence.

Malfoy seemed to have come to the same conclusion cause he also commented, "Smart move. Slughorn must have planned this."

"Most definitely. I'm surprised to see it is working though"

"Why so surprised?" he asked her.

Hermione sighed. "Yes, the war changed people. But take Parvati Patil for example. She was, and still is, quite superficial and loves gossip. She's a kind girl, don't get me wrong, but she would never willingly talk to Eloise Midgen."

Malfoy rose an eyebrow at her.

"She used to have a lot of acne, and have since been treated as if she still does. Kids can be cruel, no matter what house they are in. My point is, Parvati would never, still to this day, not want to be seen with her. Let alone be socializing with her. All because people will talk."

"They seem to be getting along quite well to me" Draco said, nodding his head in the pair's direction.

"My point exactly. Slughorn must have wanted this."

"He is not smart enough to notice these intricate friendship relationships. No this is the work of McGonagall."

It made sense now. "Of course!" she exclaimed. "She must have told Slughorn who to pair up, and told him to use a potion with long waiting time. That way all these pairs could connect and be forced to communicate."

Draco huffed. "Do you do that often? Because it's rather annoying"

Malfoy had caught her attention again. "Do what?" She was honesty confused.

"State the obvious."

"Oh, sorry. I suppose I do. Normally people just tune it out."

"By people you mean your so called friends? Well, then I understand why you do it. They are not exactly… bright. They could need the summary of a conversation in order to understand it."

Hermione didn't know whether to take it as a compliment or an insult. Luckily there was no more time to think about it, however, because Malfoy's wand started making bleeping noises and shooting a few sparks out of its tip.

"Perfect" Draco mumbled. He added the ingredients while Hermione, for the first time in school history, watched. He stirred it before motioning for her to wave her wand over it again. It was a strange thing, feeling gratitude to Malfoy. Let alone to feel respected by him.

The potion gained its perfect color, and the smell was stingy and clear. The fumes smelled a bit like mind, according to Hermione. It almost reminded her of candy canes.

"Well done!" A voice from behind greeted them. Slughorn came up around the table and waved his hand over the potion. He sniffed it with a grin. "Excellent work you two! No wonder you are Head Boy and Girl. You set a perfect example for the rest."

The two grinned back at him. A prideful feeling spread through their bodies, as both seek confirmation.

Before they started filling vials of the potion at hand, a quick respectful glance was shared between the two.

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Hello!

It's been a while since I last updated, and I sincerely apologize for that! Life has been crazy lately.

I do have a beta, but we haven't started working together yet. Hopefully it will happen soon enough. Until you will have to deal with my spelling and grammar errors. So sorry. That's the pain of not being a native English speaker.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter ass much ass I did! Please let me know what you think, write and review, pretty please!

Love!