The following day at breakfast, the respective Heads of House distributed the timetables for the new year. It took longer than usual for the sixth-years, since Professor Snape had to make sure that all the students had the necessary OWLs to advance to their NEWT level classes.

"Well, your results seem to be satisfactory, Mr. Malfoy," Snape said when he got to me, consulting a piece of parchment. "I was most pleased with your performance in Potions, safe to say you've met your OWL requirement. You can also advance to NEWT levels in Ancient Runes, Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Though while it's no longer necessary, I would highly recommend you continue with Potions. While NEWT level Potions is no doubt extremely challenging, I think you would be able to pass it with some effort. But more importantly, Professor Horace Slughorn is a highly experienced and well-connected teacher. Should you make a good impression on him, it will help you greatly in your career once you have left Hogwarts."

I considered it. I had already met my Potions requirement for becoming a Curse-Breaker, so even if I failed the NEWT class it wouldn't really matter, so long as I cleared all the other subjects. And Snape did have a point, if I got Slughorn to like me then that could be really helpful later on…

And on top of all that, Daphne would also probably be taking Potions.

Seeing more benefits than downsides, I said, "Yeah sure."

He tapped my empty timetable with his wand, causing it to fill itself out.

"Also, some twenty candidates have placed their name for the Quidditch team," Snape said. "As the new captain, you'll receive the list this evening and you can schedule trials at your leisure."

I nodded, and Snape moved onto Daphne.

She joined me a couple minutes later and we compared timetables. Daphne was going for Healer, an understandably tough choice. In fact, it was one of the few choices harder than mine…

"Why the hell are you willingly going for Potions?" she asked incredulously. "If I had the choice, I'd drop it first chance I got!"

I shrugged. "Why not? It's not like flunking it will particularly hurt my chances. Besides, from what I hear, a good impression on Professor Slughorn goes a long way…"

I checked my timetable. "Looks like I have a free period right now actually… what about you?"

She checked her timetable and sighed. "Herbology."

"Well… at least most of our subjects are the same," I said, as the bell rang. "Well, see you in Potions, then."

"See you," she said as she got up.

As I watched her walk away, I fell into thought about the new year, and realized something.

The sixth year seemed like it would be… relatively normal? Compared to the fifth, at least. Like last year there was always some kind of major problem. But this year, no Umbridge, significantly reduced Voldy threat… I guess the only thing I could do at Hogwarts was try to find an alternate way of dealing with the horcrux in Harry, and keeping an eye on the other Slytherins… just in case.

"I know you two are dating, but could you at least not stare at my sister's ass in public?" Astoria said, as she walked past me.

"I wasn't- never mind."

I got up and left the Hall. I figured since I had free time on my hands I might as well pay the Room of Requirement a visit. The Hogwarts library didn't have anything on horcruxes, I knew that, so maybe the Room could conjure up some books that might be helpful.

Long story short, it couldn't. There were very few books that actually went into Horcruxes in detail, it was a very vague branch of magic… or maybe most of the books about it were destroyed in the past. Possibly both. At any rate, there just didn't seem to be any real information on living Horcruxes. The concept of turning a living thing into a horcrux definitely existed but there were no known cases of it actually happening. Harry and Nagini were quite possibly the only two in history.

It was frustrating… but then again I didn't go too deep yet, I was only in there for forty-odd minutes. I'll keep trying, maybe something might turn up. Right now it was time for Potions.

I realized I didn't have a textbook or scales or anything… I suppose I could try getting them in the classroom? Though that might not work. There were only two copies, and since I was running a bit late there was a good chance Ron and Harry would already have taken them. So I decided to just get the necessary things from the Room, and if I could, convince Harry to let me borrow his book to quickly duplicate all the useful little tidbits from the Half-Blood Prince.

There were fewer students than normal in Potions this year, but that wasn't really surprising. There was the golden trio of course, then there was Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff, a pair of Ravenclaws, and three other Slytherins; Daphne – who waved at me eagerly when I entered, Zabini – who shot me a quick, cold glare before looking the other way, and Anastasia – who was looking at me with one eyebrow slightly raised, as if something about me mildly intrigued her.

I sat down next to Daphne and not two seconds later the door opened, and the fat, jovial Professor Slughorn entered, beaming widely at the class, and in particular, at Harry and me.

"Good morning, everyone!" he boomed cheerfully.

"Good morning, Professor Slughorn," the class chanted back unenthusiastically.

"Welcome to sixth-year of Potions," Slughorn said. "I believe the subject needs no introduction, so might as crack on then, eh? Scales out everyone, and potions kits, and of course, your copy of Advanced Potion-Making."

Harry raised his hand.

"Harry, m'boy?"

"I haven't got a book or anything… neither has Ron, we didn't realize we'd be able to do NEWTs in Potions, you see…"

"Ah, yes, Professor McGonagall told me," he said. "Not to worry dear boy, you can check in the cupboard, I'm sure you'll find what's necessary there."

Ah… so they hadn't yet gotten the books. Shit. Well at any rate I might be able to convince Harry to let me borrow. Worth a shot, anyway.

Slughorn cleared his throat and inflated his chest, the buttons on his waistcoat being stretched to their maximum limit and holding on for dear life, kinda reminding me of Tobey Maguire in the train scene from Spider-Man 2.

"Now, let us begin," he said, and waved his wand, summoning three different potions. "Gather round, everyone, gather round. As you can see, I have prepared these three potions, just out of interest, you know. These are the kind of potions you ought to be able to make after your NEWTs. Now, who can tell me this first potion, it's quite alright if you don't recognize it though."

He took the lid off one of the cauldrons and revealed a clear potion inside, white vapors rising from it. I raised my hand immediately, as did Hermione's at the same time. Slughorn, who had barely put away the lid, looks positively delighted.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?" he said, causing Hermione to lower her hand looking rather displeased.

"It's Veritaserum," I said. "It compels the drinker to tell the truth."

"Bravo, my boy!" Slughorn boomed. "Ten points to Slytherin! Now this next one-"

He removed the lid from the second cauldron, revealing a thick, bubbling, mud-like potion. I raised my hand again, but Hermione, as though determined to beat me this time, raised hers at super-sonic speed. I could feel the gust of wind she generated from across the classroom.

Slughorn beamed at Hermione. "May I ask your name, my dear?"

"Hermione Granger, sir," she said.

"Ms. Granger, go ahead please," he said, eagerly awaiting her answer.

"It's Polyjuice Potion," she said. "It allows the drinker to temporarily assume the form of another person."

"Exactly! Well done, my dear, take ten points for Gryffindor!" Slughorn said joyfully. "Now this next one…"

He took off the lid, revealing a rich, purplish potion with steam rising in swirls. It smelled amazing, like… woah… it smelt like biryani from a street vendor I used to buy from, back in my old life… goddamn I hadn't smelt that in so long.

I also smelt something newer, from this life. It smelt a bit like… apples, but not exactly. I couldn't quite place it.

I raised my hand in the air, but a bit delayed since I had been taken aback by the smell.

"Yes, Ms. Granger?"

"Amortentia, sir," she said.

"Precisely! I assume you recognized by its distinctive spiral steam?"

"And by the smell of the potion, sir… Amortentia smells differently to each person, based on what they like the most. For example, I smell freshly mown grass, and parchment and-"

She stopped abruptly, turning red slowly.

"Can anyone tell me what this potion does?" Slughorn said, ignoring Hermione's embarrassment.

I raised my hand, this time faster than Hermione, who was still recovering from her almost slip-up. Slughorn chuckled heartily. "Well, I must say, I'm most impressed with you two… quite the spectacular academic rivalry indeed, competition is always good." He nodded at me to continue.

"It's the most powerful love potion in the world," I said.

"Quite correct! Now, it's worth pointing out, Amortentia doesn't actually create love, it's impossible to create love you see. However, it does create a very powerful infatuation or obsession. When you reach my age, you'll understand quite how dangerous obsessive love can be. I would reckon Amortentia is the most dangerous potion in this room…"

After a brief pause, Slughorn withdrew a tiny vial from his pocket. It had a goldenish liquid in it.

"Now this one… is a curious little brew called Felix Felicis, also known as Liquid Luck," he said. "As the name implies, it grants success to the drinker in all their endeavors."

The whole class suddenly sat up straighter.

"Have you ever taken it, sir?" Ron asked.

"Twice, once when I was twenty-four, and again when I was fifty-seven. Two tablespoons with breakfast, two perfect days…" he gazed dreamily into the distance for a few moments before snapping back to reality. "This right here is about twelve hours' worth of luck, and shall be the prize of whoever performs best in today's class. Kindly turn to the page ten of your textbooks, to the Draught of Living Death."

The whole class, with renewed enthusiasm, quickly opened their textbooks and began working on the potion. While almost everyone else was struggling, there was one individual who was practically cruising along, and it wasn'tHarry… it was Ron.

Holy shit…!

Ron got the Half-Blood Prince book!

That is… weird. I wonder how this'll affect everything…

Right now I was focused more on the potion. Felix Felicis was what mattered right now. I tried using what tips I could remember from the books and movies, but I'd reckon those were only a fraction of what Snape had written in the book so I doubted my potion would be better than Ron's…

Christ, that was a depressing sentence to say.

An hour later, Slughorn inspected the potions. He was quite happy with mine and Daphne's… though Daphne had basically copied me when she had seen what I was doing yielded better results. Slughorn had various reactions to the rest of the class's work. He seemed reasonably pleased with Harry, who it seemed had done quite well even without the book… wouldn't be surprised if he'd copied from Ron though. He gave Hermione an approving nod with a smile as well, but was overjoyed with Ron.

"Oho! The clear winner!" he declared happily. "Excellent work, Mr. Weasley, this is remarkable! Here you are then-" Slughorn took out the vial from his pocket and handed it to Ron. "One vial of Felix Felicis as promised! I must warn you of course, the usage of this potion before competitions, examinations and sports is strictly prohibited – you are to use it on a regular day, and watch that regular day become extraordinary!"

Ron looked immensely pleased with himself. Harry looked happy for him, while the rest of the class wore expressions of jealousy, but that was still nothing compared to Hermione's expression. She looked like she was about to explode.

"Class dismissed," Slughorn said cheerfully, and everyone began packing up their things. I was leaving with Daphne but Slughorn stopped.

"A minute, my boy?" he said.

"Uh… sure," I said. I turned to Daphne, "I'll catch up, you go ahead."

I wasn't the only one who Slughorn had stopped, Zabini and the golden trio stuck behind too.

"Y'know, back in the old days, I liked to throw the occasional supper party for the select few students," he said. "I'd rather like to do that again, so I'd be charmed if you five would be willing to join me – and a few others, of course – for an evening every other week or so."

A moment of consideration was followed by murmurs of agreement from the five of us.

"Oh, splendid then!" Slughorn said, slapping his hands together. "Keep an eye out for my owl! In the meantime, crack on! Don't want to be late to your next class, do you?"

[…]

So, returning to the dormitory after the first day of the sixth year, I was completely exhausted, even though I had had two free periods today. Apart from Potions I had struggled to understand just about anything in class.

But tough studies aside there was also another thing… consequences of my actions at the Department of Mysteries, I guess. Before, Draco had been well-liked by Slytherin but generally disliked by everyone else. Now it was the opposite.

Throughout the day whenever I was walking down the corridors, I'd get glares, sneers and jeers from Slytherins.

Conversely, I was getting nods of respect from the other houses, specifically the DA members but also a few others. I ran into the group of fifth-year girls from the train again when I was on the way to Charms, and merely a glance their way had caused them to descend into blushing giggles.

Those girls weren't the only ones with a sudden interest in me though. On the way to Transfiguration a fourth-year Ravenclaw girl had walked up to me and squeaked something I couldn't quite make out, before being dragged away by her friend saying, "He has a girlfriend, idiot!"

Maybe I wouldn't have minded this kind of attention under different circumstances… but being that I was used to a completely different environment at school, and that I already had an awesome girlfriend, these incidents were less-than-enjoyable.

I had hoped the common room might be a sanctuary, but entering through the doors into the green-lit room reminded me that wasn't the case at all. Cold stares and tense silence greeted me. Surely, they'll get tired of doing that soon, right? Like I get it, I'm a blood traitor, can you please stop trying to nuke me with looks?

Finding the atmosphere unbearable, I went up to the dormitory early. The room was empty. I quickly changed into my pajamas and fell on top of my bed with a groan and closed my eyes.

I didn't fall asleep immediately, instead my head was filled with thoughts about the day. As I drifted in limbo, I heard the door of the dormitory open. I didn't open my eyes and pretended to be asleep. I was a bit annoyed… it was still early, couldn't whoever-it-was have waited a bit longer, to let me actually fall asleep?

A few seconds passed in silence, then I felt something – no, someone – lie down on top of my back.

"What the fuck-" I opened my eyes and was about to push whoever it was off but saw their long blonde hair and recognized who it was.

"Oh, it's you…"

Daphne slid off my back, and I made some room for her on the bed so she could lie down next to me.

"How was your day?" she asked softly, and starting running a hand through my hair.

I sighed. "It was… weird."

She let out a small laugh. "Tell me about it…"

"You too?"

"Yeah…"

All in all, I didn't really mind the cold looks from the other Slytherins too much, I'd probably get used to it in a day or so… but the thought of Daphne getting treated like that because of what I did made me feel angry…

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"Don't be," Daphne said. "You did a great thing, that's what's important. Besides, I reckon the Slytherins will get tired of hating us by the end of the week. If not, they'll definitely forget about it when the Quidditch season starts."

"Yeah, I suppose that's true," I said. "Actually, yeah there's no way they'll hate us more than the Gryffindors…"

"Mhmm," she said. "And really, I reckon this year might not be so bad."

"Because everyone outside the house likes us a lot better now?"

"Well, you mainly, but yes," Daphne said. "Though I think some people might be liking you a bit too much."

"Ugh yeah…" I said, remembering some of my encounters from today. "That's gonna be the most annoying if it continues."

"Babe, you don't have to pretend you don't like the attention," she said.

"No, really, I don't like it… I'm already dating the best girl in school; everything else is a huge downgrade by comparison."

"Heh… you're not too bad yourself, Draco Malfoy," she said.

I smiled. "Have I ever told you talking to you makes everything a bit better?"

"Only a bit?"

"Uh…"

"Shush," she said, holding a finger up to my lips, smirking mischievously. "I have something else in mind to make things just a bit better…"

She pushed me gently, onto my back before climbing on top of me. Well… if it takes a horrible, exhausting day to get this, then it's totally worth it, and let's just say my spirits weren't the only things rising at the moment.

I traced a finger along her inner thigh, feeling her shiver a bit in excitement. She leaned forward, her long blond hair softly caressing my cheek as she drew closer and closer; her hair smelt a bit like apples.

"I love you, more than I can describe," she whispered.

"And I love you, more than you can know," I whispered back.

"No, you just love my butt, don't you?" she said with a teasing smile.

"Well, it's part of you, isn't it?" I said, grinning back at her. "But I also love your boobs if it makes you feel better."

She laughed softly, and we finally kissed. Her lips were soft and sweet. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer to me. The kiss got more passionate; our hands eagerly explored each other until…

The door opened.

We quickly broke apart. The newcomers were Nott and Zabini, both turning red… Merlin's balls, couldn't they have waited a bit longer?!

"Uh… we'll give you a minute," Zabini said awkwardly and sprinted away.

"A minute is probably all he needs," Nott said as he left as well, closing the door behind him. To be honest I hadn't expected that from Nott… I actually chuckled a bit in spite of my irritation.

After they left, Daphne looked back at me but… the magic of the moment was lost.

Daphne sighed and said, "Well they really… ruined it."

"Yeah, we really need a private place…" I said with a sigh.

"I might have one in mind," she said. "I probably shouldn't keep them waiting… good night, babe."

She leaned in again for one last kiss, before climbing off me. I poured myself a glass of water from the bedside table. Daphne walked up to the door before stopping and peering over her shoulder at me. A grin broke across her face as she quickly lifted up her skirt and flashed me, throwing me into a coughing fit as she giggled and left the dorm.

As I lay back down and closed my eyes, suddenly the day didn't seem as bad in retrospect…

[…]

(Meanwhile in Gryffindor Tower)

Harry and Ron sat at their usual spot by the fireplace, where they were, for the first time in their lives, eagerly flipping through a textbook.

Ron's copy of Advanced Potion-Making, once the property of the mysterious 'Half-Blood Prince', had become a source of great interest for the two of them – and one of great annoyance for Hermione, who sat a short distance away from the pair, arms-crossed.

"Ooh, look at this one," Ron said, eagerly pointing at the edge of a page. "This one says 'for enemies – sectumsempra'… wonder what it does?"

Harry frowned. "It sounds familiar…"

"That's because," Hermione said, voice shaking with an annoyance so strong it bordered on anger. "That's the spell that hit Bellatrix Lestrange… remember what happened to her?"

"Yeah, Moody said it was probably friendly-fire or something," Ron said.

"Exactly! It's the kind of spell Death Eaters use!" Hermione said. "Does that not bother you?! This person – the Half-Blood Prince – could potentially have been a Death Eater!"

Ron threw back his head and groaned. "Uggghhh Hermione, drop it please? You just don't like that I beat you in a class for once!"

"Wha- no!" Hermione said, turning slightly red. "That's so petty- I'm genuinely worried!"

"Psshhh," Ron said. "Sure you are."

"Honestly, Hermione even if the Half-Blood Prince turns out to be a… well, Death Eater or whatever," Harry said reasonably. "You can't deny there's loads of useful, harmless stuff in here."

"Thank you!" Ron said gratefully.

"Harry you're only siding with Ron so that he'll let you copy him," Hermione snapped.

"Not true, Ron'd let me copy any way," Harry said with a grin. "Isn't that right, Ron?"

"Totally," Ron said, grinning also.

"You two are impossible…" Hermione said exasperatedly, clutching the bridge of her nose.

Harry and Ron's conversation turned to Felix Felicis, debating on what Ron should use it for. Not wanting to listen to that particular conversation, Hermione got up and went off to bed without another word. As she lay in her bunk, her thoughts swirled around the mysterious Half-Blood Prince, and the spell he had written about, sectumsempra.

She had seen how destructive that spell was, she had only been a few feet away from Lestrange. But more than that, she had seen who had cast the spell… it had been Draco. She hadn't said anything, she didn't know why… maybe to save him from potentially getting into trouble.

A thought came into her mind, that maybe Draco could be the half-blood prince, but she discarded it immediately. It made no sense in any way. He had most likely just heard the spell from somewhere else. She didn't really think any worse of Draco for using the spell… Bellatrix Lestrange deserved it, if not worse, and Draco likely would have suffered worse had he not acted. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

Her thoughts shifted away from the Half-Blood Prince and more towards Draco. No matter how many times she thought about it, it still seemed incredible how much he'd changed… improved, in the past year. She had been skeptical at first, of course, but at this point there was no way it was all an act… he truly had changed, and she couldn't help but admire that.

And the first person he had reached out to had been her… Draco had been horrible to her in the past, but he must have really felt ashamed about it. And then everything he had done after that, helping them both directly and indirectly. Risking his life, fighting his own family, and losing a hand in the process, just to help them even though he had no compulsion or reason to…

Every time Hermione thought about it, she felt something in her chest… each time the odd sensation was stronger than before, and she didn't know what it was. For the first time in her life, she was faced with something she couldn't explain.

And she both hated it, and loved it.