Unpleasant Surprise
“So... who do you think will be returning to Hogwarts for their 8th Year?” Ron asked with a wondering look on his face.“
Well I think in the first place many students or especially their parents might have considered a lot if Hogwarts is even a safe place anymore... so a lot of the 8th year students and even the younger years might not return. But after all what happened, is there even worse to come, I don’t think so.” Hermione added.
Harry listened to their friends arguing about which persons might finish their school years at Hogwarts. He wasn’t really taking part in their discussions. He was looking out of the window, admiring the beautiful view of the highland the train was passing through, lost in his thoughts. The war changed a lot of things in Harry‘s life. For the first time since he entered the wizarding world, there was no pressure on him to save the world and try to survive all the obstacles that were placed in his way. And now people were treating him even more as the Boy Who Lived, the saviour – random people coming up to him, thanking him for saving the world... but he was just Harry. Harry who grew up under the cupboard. There were a lot of things he had to figure out on his own, now that he finally had time to properly think –
“Harry? Harrrrry?! Are you even listening? Come on, tell me what is your bet?” Ron said, a bit impatiently, eagerly waiting for his answer.
Hermione was tilting her head slightly, wearing a worried look on her face. “Are you sure you’re alright? You’ve been awfully quiet for the whole ride now.”
“Ehh... Everything is fine, don’t worry!” Harry replied with a smile. But the look on her face let him know that his answer didn’t satisfy her. He tried to change the subject real quick – he didn’t want to let his friends worry after all they’ve been through.
“So yeah, what was that bet-thingy about again, Ron?” Harry added quickly to the conversation, trying to cover up the small distress on his face.
Hermione let out a silent sigh, but Harry knew that she didn’t want to bother him about his traumas and thoughts, so she gave Harry a little knowing smile.“
Do you think the Slytherins are brave enough to return?” Ron asked while taking a huge bite of his sandwich, eating noisily.
„For Merlin’s sake, can’t you eat like a proper person for once?” Hermione said with a disgusted look on her face, covering her face with her hands.
Harry laughed.
Honestly, why have all these gloomy thoughts when he was surrounded by his funny friends?“
And also Ron, not all Slytherins are bad people and many might have changed a lot because of the war too. I think it’s time to let go of the bad blood.” Hermione explained.
Hermione always was really rational and reasonable, and Harry thought so too, so he let Ron know his opinion.
„Yeah, I think she‘s right. Really no reason in holding a grudge. No one‘s asking you to be all chummy-chummy with them now though.”
Ron wasn’t too pleased with Harry’s answer, rolling his eyes, taking yet another big hearty bite of his sandwich, but choosing to stay silent on this matter for now and savour the great taste of the sandwich Molly prepared for his train ride.
Just in the moment when Ron decided to stay still on this matter, they saw Draco passing by through the corridor of the train, so he added:
“Well I guess that adds to the speculation…”
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“So I was already thinking about this and it makes sense that all the 8th year students share one common room together, since there aren’t that many students left and the space of the normal Houses is pretty limited to the years 1 to 7.” Hermione let the others know. “And actually it might do good for House Unity. Don‘t look like that, Ron, not like you have to share your room!” she added. This school year they all had their own room, not having to share with other students.
Ron, wearing a very unpleased expression on his face, murmured something but instead of adding any further to the matter, decided to pout.
Their common room had elements of all houses combined. Each corner of the room had different themes in the colors red, blue, green and yellow. The different colors were found in the chairs, small carpets, and in the frames of the countless pictures hanging on the wall with moving people inside of them. It was a very cozy common room with a lot of small plants standing in the corners, hanging from the roof and even ivy covering some places of the walls. The carpets were antique-looking with interesting patterns and elements of gold, which went along well with the colors of the four houses. The room had big windows with windowsills that seemed to be almost designed for sitting there while looking out of the window having a deep talk with friends. Harry already could picture himself spending some time with his friends here in the evening.
Harry was thinking the same as Hermione. He really didn’t want any drama in his life anymore and decided it would be better to just accept and get along with everyone. He just wanted life to be normal.
Though since his arrival at Hogwarts, students kept flocking onto him to say their thanks and show their gratitude by shaking his hand. This was far away from normal, but he was happy that everything seemed to calm down in some sense, and he was sure that it would get quieter in this aspect too after some time.
Especially the youngest students treated him like some kind of celebrity. But he made sure to show his surroundings the biggest welcoming smile he had and socialized with everyone he had the chance to. After all, he was the saviour – and even if he didn’t have the obligation anymore to save the world, he wanted to add something positive into the life of others. Spreading positivity made him feel some sense of accomplishment.
So he decided this would be a blast of a year and make the best of it – finally have time to party, hang out with friends, no fighting for his life, and maybe even figuring out who he really was.
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After a few days, the three friends took part in their first classes of their 8th year, and it was a really nice feeling to have some sense of normality in their lives again.The first lesson of their Potions class, though, had the students dropping their jaws.
„No, he can’t do that!!” Finnegan shouted in disbelief.
“Come on, students, calm down. I think a little bit of House Unity is exactly what we all need right now!” Professor Slughorn said calmly.
„Since we will be working on a bunch of different projects this year, some of them will be a bit more time-consuming, so I think it’s best to assign you all into pairs of two to ensure fair grading. I will tell you now your Potions partners, so listen carefully, students.”
There was a loud sigh spreading through the room, students clasping their hands in defeat over their heads and faces. But some didn’t seem too bothered by the announcement of their partners.Of course, Hermione was mature enough to be open-minded and accept her partner – Pansy Parkinson.
She had her arms crossed in front of her body and gave Ron a cutting gaze filled with expectations, raising one brow. Ron protested loudly – he was paired with Blaise Zabini. But after he saw who Harry was paired with, he instantly seemed to be more than happy with his own partner.
“You’re paired with bloody Draco Malfoy, my condolences, mate.”
Harry seemed a bit reluctant. After all, he and Draco hadn’t particularly started on the best terms. But on the other hand, he knew it would be the right thing to do – set an example for the other students. He should act mature.
But he wasn’t mature—
While the other students were still occupied with being unhappy about their partners and discussing it with their friends, Harry ran to the front of the class to Professor Slughorn and asked:“Professor Slughorn, is there really no way we can choose our own partner, of course of another house—”
He was interrupted quickly.
“Listen, Harry, as much as I would love to say yes, I think fair treatment is important – and even more so with you being you. You must set an example for the other students. I well knowingly chose you as Draco’s partner. This will set the best example of House Unity! Give it a try, you might even find a new friend. Even more, Mr. Malfoy is a really talented student when it comes to potion brewing – this might benefit you too.”
After answering Harry and after the other students got over their initial disbelief, all the students found themselves in place with their assigned partners.
Harry slowly walked in the direction of Draco.
If he just walked slowly enough, maybe... okay, doesn’t change anything though.
So he decided to face his fate yet again.
Draco was already standing at the cauldron, looking concentrated at the ingredient list of the potion book. As Harry was walking closer to Draco, the boy still seemed to be immersed in the book, his body looking a bit stiff and tense.
Right before Harry reached the table, Draco raised his head and one eyebrow slightly, saying in a neutral tone:“Well, seems like we’ll be stuck together for this year, Potter.”
Harry was surprised by his indifference regarding their situation. Why wasn’t he even upset?
“Yeah, seems like it. Let’s make the best out of it.” Harry responded.
And he really thought so – at least now. Okay, actually it was more like he really wanted to try, at least. Professor Slughorn was right, he needed to set a good example for House Unity. And what he preached to Ron – he should at least try to follow that too. He didn’t need to become close friends with him, though. But he really didn’t want to have any drama this year – he wanted to be with everyone at least on a neutral base.
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Their first project would be the brewing of Dreamless Sleep Potions.
“What a great choice,” Harry thought to himself.
He had been suffering under severe nightmares for quite a long time now. He had hoped that after the war, they would get better – but the truth is that since then, he just got another kind of nightmare. Nightmares of his loved ones being hurt or killed.He barely dreamed of Voldemort anymore.
Harry was lost in his thoughts but came back into reality just as Professor Slughorn asked the class a question.
„Can anyone tell me a few facts about the Dreamless Sleep Potion?”
He hadn’t even finished his sentence when Hermione’s hand shot into the air, eager to answer.“Yes, Ms. Granger,” said Professor Slughorn, waiting for her explanation.
“Sir, the Dreamless Sleep Potion, as the name already implies, is a potion which helps people suffering from nightmares. It enables the person drinking it to go one night – or one sleep – without having to see any dreams at all. The brewing process is indeed a bit tricky and takes some time into account. One really important matter to remember though is that you shouldn’t take the potion for too long a period, as the side effects can be quite grave after some time.” Hermione responded with a sparkle in her eyes, happy to share knowledge again.
“Thank you, Ms. Granger. Excellent – ten points to Gryffindor. One should never take Dreamless Sleep Potions too long. There are many different ways to deal with nightmares; I recommend you read about it in the book if you want to know more about it.”
Draco was listening carefully to what Hermione and Slughorn were talking about.
Harry was wondering why Draco particularly seemed so interested in this topic.
On the other hand, Draco was indeed a talented student in Potions, so maybe it was normal for him to listen attentively in class to a subject he was interested in.
“So what do we need to add first?” Harry asked Draco, trying to break down the silence between them.
“You can give me the ingredients, and I will do the stirring and cutting – as I assume that we both want to have a good grade at the end,” Draco announced to Harry with a bit of a cocky smile.
“Oh come on, Malfoy, I’m really not that bad—” Harry pouted in reply, a bit hurt in his pride.
Actually, it unlocked his competitive side.
“Well, if you’re so confident in your skills, then let’s work together. But everything under my guidance.” Draco replied with a slightly doubtful look in his eyes.
After the two of them figured out their differences and started working in harmony on the potion together, Harry started cutting the valerian root.
Harry, a bit lost in his thoughts, missed the root with his knife, so one piece sprang into the air slightly.
Slightly embarrassed, Harry picked up the root and started cutting again, now more focused.
He really hoped Draco wouldn’t comment on that.
“Cutting, Potter – not letting it fly around,” Draco said with an amused but slightly scrutinizing look in his eyes.
The rest of the brewing process went really well, no further incidents, and after some time of cooking, the color of the brew turned into a dark blue with a tint of violet.
Most of the students were able to brew the potion, though some of them had encountered some trouble.
Especially Neville’s team had a rather hard time – their potion smelled awful, and there was weird smoke forming above his cauldron. The color was dark brown.
Professor Slughorn passed by the cauldron of Harry and Draco and commented,“Good job, boys – exactly what the potion should look like!”
On his way to the front of the class, he saw Neville’s cauldron and had a worried look on his face, slightly shaking his head in disbelief.
He then announced,“Good job today, everyone! Each team can take one vial of their potion and decide which of you will get to keep it.”
“I must say, apart from the small incident with the valerian root, you actually did a pretty good job today.
Well, maybe I don’t have to fear retaking this class now because of the unfortunate fate of you being my partner,” Draco let Harry know with a little mischievous smile.
Wait... did he just compliment Harry’s skills?
Well, a bit of a hidden compliment, but it is Malfoy we’re talking about...Well, after all, the war might have changed him too, Harry thought to himself.
So he replied,“You’ll be surprised by my variety of skills if you keep on being my partner,” with a big grin.
Draco’s lips curved up, a small sparkle in his eyes, but he seemingly tried to avoid Harry’s gaze, clearing his throat and saying,“Well yeah, nothing else to expect from the Boy Who Lived Twice, I guess – extraordinary abilities in all kinds of fields of life.”
It was only then that Harry noticed that his own sentence had an ambiguous flair to it.It really wasn’t his intention to create a flirty vibe.
But he quickly shook off that feeling and asked Draco,“So what should we do about that vial?”
“You can keep it. I assume you might need it more,” Draco said indifferently.
“Okay, if you don’t need it, then I will take it,” Harry said, letting Draco know his decision.
At the end of the lesson, Professor Slughorn made one last announcement:“Please do keep in mind that you have two weeks' time for your first assignment, and I expect you all to work on your project and essay regarding the topic outside of the lessons. So please meet up with your partner for this and the future projects by yourselves and make sure to take enough time into account for it.”
“So... what are we going to do about that?” Harry asked Draco, with a bit of an unsure feeling about how their future collaboration might work out.
“I would suggest that we just split the assignment in half. I’ll write the first half, you the second one.
Wouldn’t want to waste the precious time of the saviour by meeting up for a group project, right?” Draco said, his arms crossed in front of his body, smirking a bit.
Harry really couldn’t figure Draco out. He could sometimes actually be a bit sweet, but in the end, he would blurt out sentences like these?
He wasn’t really sure how this whole project thing would turn out.
A bit annoyed with Draco, he then decided to answer, “Okay, then you’ll cover the pages 297 to 315 and I’ll take the rest.”
“Alright. I’ll give you my finished part on Saturday then, and you can finish the rest,” Draco replied dryly.
In Draco’s eyes, there was a tint of longing.
“At least it isn’t necessary that we have to meet up in our free time,” Harry thought.
Well... that was before he knew what was about to come.