Chapter Two: Potions and Chemistry

Resuming his position from the night before, his mind fought to organize all the information that had just been thrown at it. It was as though his mind was in a duel with life, and was definitely losing. He decided to start at the beginning. So his dream was real. Draco saved his life, and turned against everything he knew. He had been told that Malfoy was the boy with no choice. But he found a choice and pushed the glass box apart.

Well, in and of itself, the dream didn't mean much. Maybe Malfoy just wanted to clear his conscience. Do something good for once. And if it was something large, Ron and Hermione would have talked to him about it, right? He banished any further thought from his mind and turned to what Hermione had said. Malfoy had looked at him with...pleasure? But why? And if that was true, why did he change his expression to a look of disgust and loathing? His sneer was permanently ingrained in Harry's memory.

As he contemplated why Malfoy would look like such, his stomach twisted intensely. He'd only felt like this when thinking about Cho Chang, and even then, the feeling was much less intense. Harry's palms grew sweaty with nerves and indescribable emotion. Suddenly exhausted from the shocks, he began to drift off. He didn't realize that he'd fallen completely asleep until Hermione was calling his name much later.

"Harry! Harry, what are you doing? We have Potions in 10 minutes, and you're completely asleep! You know we do have a big partner project today right? And it's double potions with the Slytherins, just to make things worse. Ugh, if Slughorn puts me with Crabbe or Goyle I'll try to drown myself in my cauldron," Hermione rambled.

Harry shot up and immediately became dizzy from the sudden movement. Hermione looked shocked at his rapid motion and took a step back.

"Harry? Are you ok? You don't look well," she asked concernedly. Her face had morphed from annoyance to deep concern. Harry shrugged nonchalantly and made to put his books back in his bag. She grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Look, I understand if you don't want to talk, but you ended up with a lot of information to process quite quickly. I'm here if you want to talk about it, and I promise I won't tell Ron anything," she stated. Harry sighed in relief and immediately nodded. He had been wishing that he had someone to talk about it, to hopefully untangle his muddled thoughts.

"Thanks Hermione. Can we talk tonight? I don't want to have another...dream? Memory? While my thoughts are so muddled," he muttered ashamedly. She smiled kindly and handed him his bookbag. He looked down, blushing, and she gently lifted his chin so he'd meet her eyes.

"It's gonna be okay," she said, "We'll figure everything out, and if that means you try to forget about it, that's ok, and if that means you try to talk to Draco, I'll help you." Her deep brown eyes met his green ones, and he forced his mind and body to relax. He smiled slightly, and they left the tower for the dungeons.

Slughorn had not yet opened the classroom, so when they reached the dungeons, there was a mass of Hogwarts students, both Gryffindors and Slytherins crowded together in the dark corridor. Harry spotted Malfoy's blond hair from the other side of the small area; he was facing away from Harry talking to Goyle. Harry immediately felt blood rush into his face and he dipped his head quickly, hoping nobody would notice. He felt Hermione's hand slide into his and she gave him a quick, reassuring squeeze. He returned the gesture before letting go, grateful for the support. He knew Ron would never have helped him like she was.

There was a metal grinding, and everyone looked up to see Slughorn opening the classroom door. Harry was grateful for the distraction, and to get as far away from Malfoy as he could. He walked into the classroom and immediately went over to the far cauldron in the corner opposite the classroom door. Hermione followed him without comment, and Harry focused on setting up his things, begging his shaky hands to steady.

Malfoy sat a few stations away, lazily arranging his potion kit and conversing quietly with Goyle. Harry envied his calmness, as his own hands were struggling to open an empty potion flask. Slughorn waited at the front of the room for the class to settle down, and then waved his wand, magically writing instructions on the blackboard.

"Good afternoon class, as you all know, today is our important partner project. To your dismay I'm sure, you will not be able to pick your own partners, instead, I have assigned them. Your goal is to brew a successful Draught of Peace by the end of the hour. Any ingredients you need can be found in the classroom cupboard. Now, your partner assignments are on the board. You may begin. Good luck!" he ended with a dramatic sweep of his arms.

Harry's eyes searched the board for his name, and once he found "H. Potter," he looked slightly to the right and saw his partner. D. Malfoy. His head became fuzzy and the edges of his vision blurred. Hermione quietly gasped to his right and squeezed his hand once more.

"Just act cool. Remember, he doesn't know that you know anything. Try to act like you normally would. I have to go, I got stuck with Pansy Parkinson. She doesn't know Knotgrass from Moondew," she whispered in his ear. After giving him one more reassuring squeeze, she gathered her items and shuffled across the room to where Pansy was giving her a death glare.

Harry's heart sped up intensely, his palms were sweaty, and his legs were jumping involuntarily. He stared at his trembling hands and took a deep breath, wishing for the shaking to go away. If it kept up like this, Malfoy would surely notice. He was so focused on this task that he didn't realize someone walking up next to him.

"Potter," Malfoy said smugly. Harry's face grew hot, and he knew he was blushing furiously. He slid his hands under the desk and looked up, not at Draco, but at the board. He could feel Malfoy's eyes on him as he studied the detailed instructions. Without looking over at Malfoy, he stood up and mumbled something about getting the ingredients.

Harry forced his legs to move forward and shuffled to the store cupboard along with everyone else. Making sure to get everything they needed, he turned around slowly and looked directly at Malfoy for the first time. He was leaning back casually in his chair and looking over his potions book. A few strands of blond hair hung in his face, and he casually brushed them back as he looked up, making eye contact with Harry. His already burning face seemed to grow even hotter, as if it was over a fire. Draco looked surprised, and then smirked knowingly.

Harry arranged the ingredients in the order they would need them, and Draco lit the magic fire under their cauldron. Harry's hands steadied slightly, and he was very pleased to notice this. He had unstoppered the first flask containing hemlock essence, and made to pour it into the cauldron. However, before the first drops escaped their glass prison, a pale hand grabbed his wrist and held it tight, preventing the angle from increasing.

Harry's head shot up and stared at Malfoy's handsome face. He could feel every finger grasping his wrist, and his skin tingled at the cool touch. Something leaped in his stomach, and Harry was suddenly unwillingly excited.

"Potter, I've only just lit the cauldron. Didn't you read the instructions? We have to let it heat up for three minutes first before adding the essence," Malfoy said, not unkindly. Even though the words themselves were sassy and rude, his tone was not. Slightly exasperated yes, but with a base layer of amusement and pleasure. Harry didn't want Draco to release his wrist yet, and Malfoy wasn't making any moves to. They stared at each other, Harry's green eyes to Draco's grey ones.