Confusion in Green

Ch. 6: Potions and Positions


Draco woke up, showered, dressed, and was already in the great hall eating breakfast when Harry finally stirred. Sitting up in his bed and looking around, for a moment Harry didn’t know where he was. Then it dawned on him and he noticed that Draco wasn’t there. “Damn“, he murmured under his breath. “I’ve always been such a light sleeper. Always woke up at the slightest little noise. The only person I was ever comfortable enough around to sleep soundly was…well…no one. Oh well.” And with that he headed off to the shower to get ready for the first day of 7th year classes.
Harry slouched into the great hall and grabbed a seat at the very end of the Slytherin table. He snagged a strip pf bacon off of a platter nearby and watched while professors Snape and McGonagall started handing out schedules for their respective houses. Professor Snape handed Harry his schedule without a word. Harry was thankful for this.

Prd. 1 MWF Double Advanced Potions
Prd. 2 MWF Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts
Lunch
Prd. 3 MWF Double Divination
Prd. 4 MWF Profession Advisement

Profession advisement? What is that? I don’t have any idea what I want to do with my life. And who will be advising me. Harry was in a foul mood. He hated asking himself mental questions when he had no answers for them. His schedule was snatched from his hand and he looked up into the steely eyes of his new room mate.
“Same as me Potter, identical. Is this a plot to try to drive me insane or does Dumbledore think you need supervision. I would naturally be the only suitable choice in a case like this. And how on earth did you make it into advanced potions? The D.A.D.A I can understand, being the chosen one and all that, but you were dismal in potions.”
“Save me your theories Malfoy and let me have my schedule back. Shit, the other days aren’t any better.”

Prd. 1 TR History of Magic
Prd. 2 TR Advanced Transfiguration
Lunch
Prd. 3 TR 7th Year Self Studies
Prd. 4 TR Drama and Choir Studies

“I Don’t Sing! Nor do I parade around on stage like a little pansy!”
“There’s nothing wrong with acting a little like a pansy Potter.” Draco winked and strode out of the great hall towards the dungeons for the first class of the new term.
Harry slowly sulked out of the hall, it wouldn’t do to be late for his first lesson.

The class was very small for 7th year advanced potions. Professor Snape was notorious for only letting a select few of his favorites for advanced classes. Honestly Harry had no idea how he had made it this far in the first place. He took a seat near the back of the class with Hermione, Ron hadn’t made it into the class. Hermione immediately started whispering furiously in his ear, wanting to know all about his first night rooming with Draco. Before Harry had a chance to give her any information on the subject at all or even to begin to describe his strange dream of the night before, Professor Snape strode grandly into the room. Everyone looked up and became serious almost instantly.
“Welcome to your final year of potions class at Hogwarts. I have fewer rules in my advanced classes than I do with the more…lets say intermediate groups. I will assign you a research project and that is what you will be working on for the rest of this term. You will only have to attend my class on alternate Fridays for me to check your progress. However, I will be in my office during this time every day in case you should need advice. Today is used for giving particulars about the assignment, reviewing anything we need to review, and of course, figuring out who will be partnering with whom. Since we have six students in the class we will have three groups of two students each. Now let’s get the Griffindor students on the left side of the room and the Slytherins on the right and we’ll see what we have.”
There were only two Griffindors in the room, Hermione and her new roommate Parvati Patil. The right side of the room consisted of Harry, Mafoy, Millicent Bulstrode, and Pansy Parkinson. Just by looking at the situation Harry knew what was coming. Hermione and her room mate were paired, Millicent and Pansy were also room mates.
“This has worked out nicely, don’t you think” Snape sneered. We will put room mates together in pairs and that should leave you with plenty of opportunity to work together. Take a seat with your partners at these first three tables and prepare to take notes.
Harry and the rest of the students spent the rest of the lesson taking notes on how the assignment would go. They were expected to find a problem, and create a potion to correct that problem. They were to get no help from anyone other than their partner and Professor Snape himself. The recourses they were allowed to use were the library and any mail order potions ingredients they had use for. If the ingredients were only sold to wizards of age, they were required to make a list of them and the reasons they were needed and what each ingredient was commonly used for to turn in to Professor Snape. If he found the request necessary then he would order the ingredient himself. And in certain cases he would supervise the use of said ingredient. The potion they were creating would be tested on the last day of class. They would be graded on the research, time spent and he overall outcome of the potion.
“Well,” thought Harry, “this is going to be fun. Slaving away to create a new potion with Malfoy and Snape.” Harry noticed that Draco wasn’t acting very upset about the project. In fact, he looked excited. Maybe he really liked potions and Harry wouldn’t have to do much work.
Draco came out of his daydream and noticed that Harry was starting at him. He smirked at Harry and then looked away quickly, so that Harry wouldn’t see him blush. I have got to get over this, Draco thought, the golden boy is hott, but it’s Harry Potter we’re talking about here. He may have grown into himself over the summer but still. I’m the Slytherin Prince and he is Griffindor’s Golden Boy It would never work. Draco was so deep in thought that he hadn’t noticed that the bell had sounded and that the classroom had emptied. He looked up to see his godfather looking him straight in the eyes. He immediately tried to close his mind, but Snape’s power at occlumency was too much for him, and Draco knew that he had seen everything.
Draco’s godfather looked him in the eyes and said, “I couldn’t possibly fathom what you see in him but to each his own.” And with he strode from the room with his robes billowing behind him as if caught in a strong swirling wind, leaving a slightly bewildered Draco in his wake.