Chapter Text
Chapter One
Hermione Granger was a sensible person, she never made a decision without weighing all her options. Sometimes this could make her a bit of a control freak, but who could blame her. If she wasn’t in charge she couldn’t make the decisions, and if she didn’t make the decisions then who could guarantee the correct one was being made? This might make her a ‘difficult person” according to some people, but it’s who she is, and why would anyone expect for her to change herself just to please another person? Hopefully no one, and no matter who even wanted her to she certainly wasn’t going to comply, who was she if not a warrior?
Hermione started the day as any other, she went to her classes, she studied every free moment she could possibly find, and she made sure she always had a book on hand. She couldn’t say she was particularly excited about today’s potion lesson with the Slytherins, but as always, she was happy just to get the opportunity to, hopefully, learn something new. She briskly made her way down the corridor, she wanted to get there early as usual but she was running a bit behind and she may not get to sit as close as she would like.
She burst into the room and looked around for empty seats, just her luck there was only one in the front row, next to Malfoy. Hermione was sure that she could suffer the ferret for a class period, or else she would be forced to sit somewhere in the middle of the class Malfoy didn’t talk much these days, the war seemed to suck the snot right out of his personality, not to say that he wasn’t still an insufferable prick.
Mustering up some of her famous Gryffindor courage, she pointed her chin high and marched over to the seat she so desired. She promptly put her stuff down and sat on the stool, she didn’t even look in Malfoy’s direction.
Nothing was said for a moment.
“Tell me Granger, what exactly do you think you are doing?” Malfoy drawled.
“Well It seems as if I’m sitting in the only seat that is available in the front of the classroom.”
“Very well then, I don’t suppose anyone would think less of you. Just please try to keep interaction down to a minimum.” he turned away from her as he said this and reburied himself into the book he had been occupying himself with before she walked up.
She snorted “I’m not exactly sure why you would think I would want to interact with you more than necessary.” she replied.
“Well Granger it seems that you are now.”
That seemed to get her to shut up.
They seemed to progress the next few minutes of class without a hitch. Professor Slughorn bumbled to the front of the class and started to go over a very complicated potion while Hermione payed rapt attention and seemed to wrote down every word the professor wrote, while a couple inches away Draco sat there seeming to only take minimal notes.
Today they would be brewing a very complicated potion that would give a certain witch or wizard extreme empathy to the first individual to come in contact with them after they had ingested the potion. Hermione saw the danger while Draco saw the power in the potion.
The class was sent off to collect the ingredients and brew the potion. Hermione drew in a deep breath and seemed to find new courage because not only did Hermione have to sit next to Draco during the lecture, she now also had to brew this potion with him which was going to take the better half of the next three hours. Draco was just mildly annoyed; the only positive point he could find in this situation was that Granger was the only one who had ever been able to beat his potion skills so maybe she wouldn’t screw this up. But that was only a maybe.
They gathered their ingredients and warmed their cauldron without saying a word to each other. The potion making process had begun and now minimal words were exchanged between the two. They progressed and followed the potion step by step, not a mistake was to be made.
Hermione was deep in concentration, “Alright I am now adding ash bark covered in a single unicorn hair.” She carefully dropped the ingredients in and the two watched as the potion turned a brilliant pink instead of the calm blue it was supposed to be. Hermione was now panicking.
“Malfoy, what exactly is happening right now? This is not what the direction say.”
Draco clenched and unclenched his jaw a couple times trying to control his anger before he said anything, “Well Ganger that might be because I had already added those ingredients five minutes ago like we were supposed to.”
Hermione looked up shocked “What do you mean? And why didn’t you say anything!” she was now shrieking and drawing the attention of the whole class. “Oh my Godric, I have never messed up a potion in my life, my perfect record is ruined!”
Slughorn rushed over at the commotion, several students remarked that that was the quickest anyone had ever seen him move.
“What is going on over here?”
It took him a minute to get the phrase out as he was gasping for breath from moving across the classroom so quickly.
Hermione couldn’t help the tears that came to her eyes “Well Professor, it looks as if I have added the ash covered in a single unicorn hair a few minutes after Draco added it himself. I’m so sorry.”
Slughorn seemed to pale completely and his mouth started opening and closing his mouth so he seemed to resemble a fish. Draco rolled his eyes, while he was extremely annoyed at Granger’s mistake he didn’t think it was as big of a deal as Slughorn was seeming to make it.
“Sir with all due respect sure she messed up the potion. While she is Hermione Granger and everyone is probably shocked it’s not that big of a deal.” he drawled.
Slughorn dropped down into the nearest chair.
“Class is dismissed. Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy need to stay.” He seemed to choke out.
Hermione was trying not to start bawling her eyes out. This had to be a major screw up. Not only did Slughorn end class abruptly, make them stay behind, he called the Head Mistress and he wouldn’t even look at either of them. Sure she made mistakes, everyone does, but she wasn’t one to make mistakes this big.
The Head Mistress rushed into the room, “Is there anyone way to reverse it Horace?”
All eyes turned to Professor Slughorn and he slowly shook his head “I am afraid not Minerva. It looks as if they are bonded for life.”