I'm so sorry that I've been so absent lately! Life has just overwhelmed me, it seems. Here's a new chapter, with the love potion, but with very little fluff, I'm afraid. I hate how Ooc the characters can get under the love potion, so it's not very long. But there is a sweet, real moment, and then of course Malfoy has to be a prat again. But they'll fall in love soon, I'm sure!

Please review, I swear it's the only reason I remembered to update this story at all!

Chapter Thirteen

"Just let me do it," said Malfoy, grabbing the knife from Hermione's shaking hand. "I don't need another explosion because you can't use a bloody knife."

She relented the knife and looked down at her open Potions book, trying to focus on the small words. "I'll go get the… moonstump."

"It says moonstone. Really, what's wrong with you today?" he asked, slicing the peppermint into small pieces. "Just stop trying to help and sit over there." Hermione glared at him, angry that her ineptness was so obvious. She shook her head to clear it and walked over to the cupboard as steadily as she was able.

"I'm just a little tired," she said as she came back gripping the moonstone in her hands. "In case you haven't noticed, I've had quite a bit to do this year."

"And I haven't?" Malfoy asked, glancing up from the cauldron and rolling his eyes at her. "You're not the only Head student, or the only student in all advanced classes."

"Except Herbology," she muttered, then blushed when he paused in her work to stare at her. "Sorry," she added sheepishly.

"And on top of all that, Quidditch and extra rounds," he said, tossing the peppermint into the cauldron and taking the moonstone from her hands. "I haven't had more than five hours of sleep in a night since arriving."

"You had all morning off yesterday."

"Well, some of us still like to speak to our old friends. I was with Blaise. Noticed you haven't been seeing much of Potter or Weasley."

Hermione looked away, a blush creeping up her neck when she remembered her horrible kiss with Ron that morning. "Like you said, we're both busy."

"At least there are some benefits then. When I heard I would be rooming with you I was worried you'd always be snogging the Weasel in the living area."

Hermione laughed bitterly. "I would never willingly snog him, don't worry about that."

"Potter then? That must cause some strain in your friendship with the Weaslette."

"No, not Harry. Neither of them. They're like my brothers," she said, picking up a wooden spoon and stirring the bubbling potion.

"Fourteen clockwise, fifteen counter," he said. He tossed the moonstone in and began setting up a second cauldron for the hate potion. They continued to work in silence for ten minutes until Hermione spoke up.

"You haven't had any girls around either. I thought you were the Slytherin Sex God – what, did the girls finally get some sense?" she asked, shocked at her own boldness.

Malfoy snickered at her comment. "Keeping up with the gossip, are you? And just because you don't see any girls doesn't mean there aren't any."

"But there aren't, are there?" she taunted.

"Like I said, we've both been very busy," he said, smirking at the confused look that crossed her face at his ambiguity.

An hour later Professor Snape peered into the two cauldrons, his face hiding any indication of the quality of their performance. He filled two goblets with the love potion, and two with the hate potion. "Well, let's just see if these work, shall we?" he said, leering down at the two teenagers. "Let's begin with the… love potions. I doubt I would be able to notice the affects of hate in you two. Each of you take one of the goblets and hand it to the other, I don't need anyone falling in love with me here."

Hermione shakily picked up the cauldron with the light pink color and handed it to Malfoy, careful not to let her fingers touch his. "Bottoms up," said Professor Snape, and they both gulped down the potion.

The two of them blinked for a moment, and then their angry glares disappeared and were replaced with goofy smiles. Malfoy winked at her, and Hermione blushed deeply.

Professor Snape looked down on the two students in disgust, shoving the hate potion into their hands. "Hurry up and take this one. I don't need to be present when you two begin snogging each other."

"Here you go," Hermione said shyly, handing Malfoy the potion. He grinned back and gave her the other glass, and they both drank. Malfoy's smile immediately faded, and he looked down at the potion in disgust. "I did not just wink at Granger."

"It seems the potions both worked. Clean up your station, and then you two are dismissed for the night" replied Professor Snape, turning around to return to his desk. Malfoy gathered three of the glasses, then looked up when he realized Hermione still clutched one in her hand.

"Granger, give me the glass," he said, reaching out to take it from her. She didn't respond. Her eyes were glassed over, and she was swaying slightly.

"I don't feel very well," she murmured, before slumping onto the table in a faint.

"Back already?" asked Madame Pomfrey as Professor Snape and Malfoy entered thirty minutes later. Hermione had come to after about five minutes, and had protested being levitated to the infirmary enough that Professor Snape had agreed to let her walk, so long as Malfoy assisted her. He had his arm wrapped around her waist, and as they came to a stop in the doorway, she slumped against his side. His grip on her tightened to support the weight, but she was too tired to notice the grimace that overtook his face as his back muscles tightened.

"They sampled the two potions they made, and Ms. Granger fainted," said Professor Snape swiftly. Madame Pomfrey shook her head.

"Severus, I keep telling you to be more careful with the potions your students create." She motioned to Malfoy to follow her to a bed and pulled back the sheets for Hermione to crawl beneath. "First Mr. Malfoy is burned by the potion, and now Ms. Granger faints? Honestly." The older witch turned to Hermione and smiled kindly. "When's the last time you ate, dear?"

Hermione frowned, trying to remember. "I had coffee this morning," she said, realizing that it was all she had had all day. Madame Pomfrey tsked again.

"This potion is not to be taken on an empty stomach. Severus, you should know that."

"The school had lunch right before this class, so I assumed they had all eaten," he replied, lifting his chin slightly and looking down at her, daring her to question his teaching methods further. Madame Pomfrey shook her head.

"Ms. Granger, you really should eat more, especially before Potions class."

"She's barely been eating for days." Hermione looked up at Malfoy as he said this, shocked. She hadn't thought anyone had noticed; she was always either too busy or too tired to eat, and had simply been passing up meals in favor of completing homework.

Madame Pomfrey looked down on Hermione, a worried look on her face. "Ms. Granger, you must not stress yourself to the point that it becomes unhealthy. I'll need you to stay here for another few hours to make sure you recover completely. Dinner will be sent up shortly." With that, she turned around to mend to the other ill students, and left Hermione alone with the Head Boy and their Professor.

"I expect you will be more careful in my class from now on, Ms. Granger. This really isn't the kind of behavior I would expect from Head Girl, and if it continues I'll have to speak to Professor McGonagall about moving you down to a remedial level." He turned and swept out of the room before Hermione had the chance to utter a single protest or apology. She slumped back against her pillow, defeated.

"Make sure you're awake at midnight, Granger, I have late rounds tonight," said Malfoy coolly, turning to follow his teacher out of the room.

"Don't we have rounds before dinner?" she asked, struggling to push herself up to follow him. "I doubt Madame Pomfrey will mind if I leave to do Head duties…"

"You know perfectly well that she would mind. Just stay here, I can cover the rounds for one night. And eat something this time, will you, Granger?"

When Hermione walked into the Common Room the next morning, she was surprised to see Malfoy and Clarise sitting at the table eating waffles, with an extra plate and mug of coffee at the empty seat beside Malfoy.

"Good morning!" exclaimed Clarie, a huge smile on her face. Hermione smiled back and walked over to the pair, eyeing the food. "We got breakfast for you!"

"Thank you, Clarise," replied Hermione, gingerly sitting down. When the girl was once again distracted by her food, she turned to Malfoy. "I can take care of myself," she muttered, glancing back at the food.

"Obviously not," he replied, shoving the plate at her. "You are rather heavy, and I'd rather not drag you back to the infirmary today." When Hermione opened her mouth to protest, he cut her off, saying, "Just eat," and turning back to his own food.

"Draco, what classes do you have today?" asked Clarise, not noticing the strain between the older students.

Malfoy glanced back at Hermione before answering. "Muggle Studies, Defense, and Charms," he muttered, quickly filling his mouth with another bite of waffle. Hermione hid a grin.

"Oh, I had Muggle Studies earlier this week! It's a really fun class, the teacher is great!"

"Aren't you excited, Malfoy?" teased Hermione, placing a small bite of waffle in her mouth. She smirked at the boy.

"Excited to learn about filthy creatures like your parents?" he spat. "I don't think so. The class is a waste of time if I've ever heard of one." Hermione froze, her grin gone. The food in her mouth suddenly felt like lead. She swallowed deeply, pushing it down her throat.

She was tempted to make a retort about his parents in return, but a glance at the confused look on Clarise's face stopped her. "I thought," she began, contemplating her words carefully, "that this year was supposed to be about forgiveness and moving on to a new future. If you're unable to do that... maybe you're not the best choice for this school."