The first day of classes was interesting for everyone. Hermione could barely handle her excitement as they ate breakfast and Draco pulled her back to sitting more than once.
"Does she do that often?" James asked. He would have been excited, but he was obviously not a morning person.
Draco nodded. He studied James's hair. It was sticking up in places and flat in others. But Draco had seen James run a comb through it. He'd have to find some way of getting James to try some gel, or something.
"You should have seen her the past week," Blaise said. "She couldn't calm down."
"Or the week before she started primary school," Theo said. "That was a mess."
Hermione snorted. "I started primary school the second year we knew each other. You can't honestly remember that far back."
"I remember the first time you were on a broom," Draco said.
"That was different," Hermione snipped.
"What class do we have first?" James asked. He wanted the bantering to stop. It was too early in the morning for him to keep up with it.
"Herbology with the Hufflepuffs," Theo said.
James took another bite of bacon and nodded. He didn't really care. They were all going as a class to each lesson. He wasn't likely to get lost.
"We'll get to see Neville again," Hermione said. "Oh, I hope he found his toad."
"I think someone said that Hagrid found it," Daphne said.
"Oh great," Pansy griped, "someone found Longbottom's toad."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "No one asked you Pansy."
"Someone ought to ask my opinion every once in a while," the older girl sniffed.
Hermione rolled her eyes and kept her mouth shut. She'd been enough arguments with Pansy over the years to know that it wouldn't end well. And that was something she didn't want on the first day of school.
"Don't worry Pans," Theo said. "We'll make sure we do if it's really important."
James got the sense that if they did ask, which might not happen, her opinion would be discarded fairly quickly. He also got the impression that Pansy wasn't very likeable. So, it made sense that they wouldn't count her opinion in as much.
"And Pans," Daphne added, "you've been around Hermione as long as the rest of us. I don't doubt that you know just as well as the rest of us, save possibly Draco, what her reaction might have been."
Pansy shot Daphne a glare so violently that James thought the phrase glaring daggers might have been appropriate. Hermione looked like she hadn't noticed. And from how they had all seemed to know each other for many years, she might not have.
"When do we have to leave?" James asked.
"If we leave less than ten minutes from now we'll be beyond early," Draco said. It was directed more at Hermione than anyone else.
"And if we leave more than fifteen minutes from now you can't guarantee that we won't be late," Hermione countered.
"So, we'll leave in twelve minutes," Daphne said. "Not so early that we'll be mocked. But not late enough that we run the risk of missing the first few minutes of class."
"Sounds reasonable," James said. A murmur of assent rippled through the rest of the group.
They finished up breakfast quietly. Most everyone was somewhat excited, if only because they would be able to learn something from someone who wasn't a tutor. And Hermione's excitement was contagious.
On the way to the greenhouses they met up with quite a few of the Hufflepuffs. Neville was among them.
"Hey there," Hermione said.
"Hi," Neville said. He was still clearly shy. "You're Hermione, right?"
"That's me," she said with a smile. "You met Draco yesterday." She gestured over at the blond.
Neville nodded. "He was more helpful than I anticipated. Gran said that Malfoys were to be avoided."
Hermione looked over at Draco. An appraising expression came over her face. "He might use too much gel when playing quidditch, but that's mostly to keep it out of his eyes. Other than that, I don't think you have much to worry about."
"I do not use that much hair gel," Draco said.
"She said when you play quidditch," Theo said. "Which you do."
"Not that any of us mind it," Blaise added. "Apart from the fact that you probably don't need to see in order to play. But that's beside the point."
"What exactly is the point?" Draco asked slightly miffed.
"That you like to see me when we play quidditch," Hermione said. "And no one blames you for that. Even if Theo and Blaise want to see if we can play blindfolded."
"Isn't that dangerous," James asked.
He didn't know much about quidditch. He had managed to gather through the conversations that it was played on broomsticks. And from everything he'd heard, it sounded like a dangerous enough sport when one could see.
"Not when you're Draco Malfoy," Theo said. "He knows where everything is. And he doesn't need to see Hermione to know when she's thrown the quaffle at him."
"We don't always play chasers," Draco said. "We can play every position."
"Just how many of those are there?" James asked.
"Seven players on each team. But only four positions," Theo said. "Three chasers, two beaters, a keeper and a seeker."
"You guys are going to have to explain this game to me later," James said. They'd reached the greenhouses and wasn't anxious to speak when a teacher was talking. He'd gotten yelled at for that more than a few times in the past.
Herbology went well for the first lesson. They didn't do much. There were a few introductions and basic safety rules explained. Which seemed fair since quite a number of things could kill them.
The next few classes were similar. It turned out that there was a lot of danger in being magical. If you didn't do things exactly right you were liable to take someone's head off. Or cause a minor explosion. Seamus Finnigan, a Gryffindor had managed quite a few instances of explosions.
Hermione had taken notes on all of the rules of each subject. She even did history of magic when that class came around on Wednesday morning. None of the other students did. Professor Binns seemed the least likely to have any rules.
He did. He started straight into a lecture, and most everyone found themselves sleeping within the block. Lunch couldn't come fast enough.
They then had the afternoon open, only because they had to be up far too late for astronomy. It turned out to be rather fascinating. And everyone enjoyed the lesson. If only because they got to be awake far later than they normally would have been otherwise.
They all slept in a little the next morning. Class didn't start until eleven that morning, so even Hermione used the time to rest. Though she was up significantly earlier than everyone else.
They made it through defense against the dark arts and transfiguration without too much trouble. And James made a mental note to study with Hermione as much as he possibly could. She seemed to be doing the best, even if she did sometimes go off on some tangent.
Friday started earlier than James, or any of the boys, would have liked. Draco seemed to be doing the best in terms of keeping to a schedule. But they all figured that was due to some sort of competition that he had going on with Hermione.
"Potions today," James said.
Daphne and Pansy gave a small shudder at the thought of it. They didn't like potions. Never had. And the fact that they were going to attend a class where Professor Snape was teaching didn't exactly leave a pleasant taste in their mouths.
"Don't remind me," Theo said.
"What's wrong with potions?" James asked.
Draco shrugged. "Nothing as far as I can tell."
"They're afraid of Professor Snape," Hermione said. "He's really not that scary unless you blow up a cauldron of stuff. Then he gets very mad."
James looked back at his breakfast nervously. He didn't think he was as prepared for this class as he was for the others. Though he hadn't really been prepared for any of them. But none of his friends had let him fail spectacularly yet.
"How do you think I'll do?" he asked Hermione.
"Better than some, worse than others. Especially since we're going to be with the Gryffindors," Hermione said.
"What's wrong with the Gryffindors?" Theo asked. "Aside from their quidditch team."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "You boys only think about quidditch. Aside from the fact that we're not able to play first year."
"Which is totally unfair," Draco said. "You know we'd be better than who they've got on the team now."
Hermione gently smacked Draco on the ear. "And you know that we don't have the skills to balance our homework and quidditch at the same time," she said. "Next year."
"Maybe you could teach me the rules in that time," James said. "Then I can cheer for you and understand what's going on."
"Better," Draco said. "We'll teach you to play."
"You're small enough I think you'd make a good seeker," Blaise said. "Then we'd almost have enough players to form a full team."
Hermione snorted. "We've got a full year to form the team. And school comes first. If your grades slip you won't be allowed to play. So, make sure you don't pull a Finnigan in potions."
They all frowned. No one wanted to make anything explode. It was bad enough when it was transfiguration and all that happened was that the matchstick combusted. It would likely be much worse when it was a potion.
What felt all too soon to everyone save Draco and Hermione, breakfast was over and they were headed down to the dungeons for potions. James felt a twinge of fear in his stomach. He just had to get through the lesson and then he'd have the afternoon off. Mostly for homework.
Snape swooped in and started the lesson off by reading the roll. He paused when he got to "Harry Potter, our new celebrity." He elongated the last word, drawing it out with disgust.
"Actually sir," James said, "I'd like to go by James Evans if that's alright."
Snape's dark eyes warmed by a few degrees. He stared down at James for a moment. "If that's what you wish Mr. Evans," he said gruffly.
The roll continued with few other disturbances. The Gryffindors looked at Snape like he was evil. But he ignored them.
"We're here to learn about the subtle, dangerous, art of potion making," he said to his audience. "There won't be much wand waving in this class, so expect some of you will likely be bored. Do not confuse potions with a lack of magic.
"I can teach you to bottle fame, brew glory, and stopper death if you aren't the usual bunch of dunderheads that I have to teach."
He paused for a moment, looking over at Draco and Hermione. They'd had lessons with him, very simple stuff, for a few years. They should be ready for whatever he dished at them. And then there was Harry. No. Not Harry. James Evans.
Snape mulled that over in his mind for a moment. The great Harry Potter was rejecting his fame in favour of anonymity. It felt so different from what James Potter would have done.
And when Snape looked at the boy, he looked different than he had expected. Sure, the boy had Lilly's eyes. And he had his father's colouring. But his build and the gestures he made were so reminiscent of his mother. The nose was definitely Lilly's. As were his hands.
"Can anyone tell me what I would get if I added, in the proper amounts, powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Snape paused for just a moment. "Evans? Can you tell me?"
James shook his head. "No sir," he said softly.
"Could you perhaps tell me where one might find a bezoar?"
James looked down at his hands. He felt incredibly silly. "No sir."
"Do you happen to know the difference, Evans, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Snape asked with a sigh.
"No sir," James said once again.
"I would advise all of you to read your books before next class," Snape said. "Malfoy, what does one get when powdered root of asphodel is added to an infusion of wormwood?"
"You get a sleeping potion known as the draught of the living death," Draco said.
"And Miss Granger, where does one find a bezoar?"
"From the stomach of a goat," Hermione answered.
"And Miss Parkinson, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane"
"I have no idea," Pansy said.
"I advise that all of you look over your books before next class. We'll only have one each week, but don't expect that it will make things easier," Snape said. "This is a class where you must be prepared."
He paired them up and started them on a simple cure for boils. It was one of the simplest things that anyone learnt to make. It was also something that wasn't particularly horrible if they messed up.
There were quite a few problems as the students worked on their potions. Daphne and Pansy had trouble crushing the snake fangs. Fey Dunbar and the other Gryffindor girl couldn't seem to get the right weight of nettles.
Snape had to admit that some of the lessons he had given to Draco and Hermione were paying off. They didn't seem to be having much, if any, trouble with the potion. And they worked together fabulously. As if they could almost read each other's mind.
He was just about to praise them when a loud hiss sounded quickly followed by a cloud of green smoke filling the room. Professor Snape snapped his head around and surveyed the scene.
Somehow, Seamus Finnigan had managed to melt his cauldron into a twisted hissing mess. The potion he and Dean Thomas had been working on was quickly flowing in a sickly green mess across the room.
In just moments the rest of the class was standing on stools to keep themselves out of the mess. Seamus, who's face looked like something had exploded in it again, had gotten the brunt of it. Angry red boils sprang to life all where the potion had touched him.
"Idiot boy," Snape grumbled. He vanished the mess with a flick of his wand. "Take him up to the hospital wing," he told Dean and Ron.
"This is probably a good idea to explain what happens when you add porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the flame. There will be points take off for this, but that will be once Mr. Finnigan gets back from the hospital wing and I can explain what he did wrong."
Draco and Hermione gulped. They knew the tone of voice that Snape was using wasn't one he used when he was pleased. Seamus was in for a world of hurt later. And they were very glad that he wasn't in their house.
"So glad that's over," James breathed when they were done with potions.
"Me too," Theo said. "I thought Snape was going to bite your head off during roll call."
"I did too," James said. "Don't know why."
"Might have something to do with your parents," Draco said. "Father says that they were in the same year as Professor Snape."
"Maybe," James said. "Maybe."
A/N: So this is the longest chapter I've written for this story. And definitely one of the longer chapters I've ever posted. Yes, Harry is going to go by James for the rest of it. Will perhaps a reminder because people forget that he likes to go by that. Hope you guys enjoy it. This week will likely be a little slow on any updates because it's my sister's wedding on Wednesday and I'm a bridesmaid.