Starting Point

  The following morning came sooner than either of them would’ve wanted, embraced in the warmth of each other's skin, they were rudely woken by the loud alarm Potter had set the night before. Harry could never really wake up with a kiss to a forehead or a slight nudge, Aunt Petunia had made sure her knocking and vacuuming in the mornings would be as loud as possible – except now it just defeated the nicer ways of waking in the mornings.

The two shuffled out of bed taking their turns in the shower, leaving yesterday's canoodling to night drunkenness. Seven-thirty hit and they were sitting besides each other on the counter eating a proper English breakfast – Harry being the chef. Draco was far too posh to have any cooking skills besides heating a meal to which he doesn’t see the point of if he could eat a fresh one instead.

The main hall had been transformed into an event room leaving the students to make their breakfast themselves, but they were kind enough to provide the groceries for them. The two went through their schedule and they ended up sharing the first subject– Potions, Harry sighed deeply, hating that class more than any other.

“Why the long face Potter?” Draco teased finishing his tea before putting it in the sink.

“Wash your dishes Malfoy,” Harry said ignoring the rude remark, Draco obliged by casting a wandless cleaning charm on them before returning them to their cabinets. Satchel in hand, they made their way to the Potions class. Unsurprisingly the school layout was hard to navigate, ending up misled to a random door by a passer-by.

They found themselves in a random corridor, the door they entered vanished before them and the more they walked ahead the longer the path got – likely a hypnotic spell to keep them trapped, unless they found a way out.

“Where is Hermione when you need her,” Harry sighed, looking around to see any clues – a part of him glad that he didn’t have to arrive at Potion class on time.

Draco eyed Harry up and down; perhaps the scar-head forgot that the ex-death eater behind him was actually smart, definitely comparable with Hermione. “You know Potter, I’m perfectly smart as well,” Harry cocked an eyebrow as a response and glanced back towards the walls.

Draco paused, “Did you stop to notice the more we walk we end up in the same place?” He ripped a part of the tacky wallpaper on the wall and dragged Harry to walk straight; and he was right a few steps and it was almost like they walked back to the start where the rip was.

“Maybe if we walked backwards we’ll exit this room,” Malfoy looked at him sceptically, yet followed his thought process and they both walked backwards; except they walked themselves back into a hole; they both landed with a thud, Draco landing first and Harry toppling over on top of him – face down.

It wasn’t a light fall but it didn’t hurt as much as either of them expected it to, Harry quickly getting himself off of the other muttering meaningless sorrys’, lending a hand down to help Draco up to which he scoffed at and got up himself, dusting his robe off; Harry watched perplexed as to what he was dusting off.

“Amazing idea you had Potter, time we walk up now to exit?” There was his childish condescending tone that Harry was all too familiar with, a slight laugh to the last part of his rhetorical question– or was it a joke? Harry couldn’t tell.

“And I reckon you think we summon a Pegasus to get us out, Malfoy?” Malfoy opened his mouth to say something but closed it back, scoffing in replacement.

Nevertheless both of them sat in a pensive state trying to think of how to get out of the black void they got themselves in. An idea popped up in Potter’s head, wand in hand, he cast a quick ‘Lumos’ , lighting up a clear path they could follow. Harry looked back up at Malfoy and it was almost like they shared the same idea as they began following the muddy trail, carefully tiptoeing around the hundred or so springtails on the way.

“Seriously Potter, where does the path go,” Draco questioned getting put off from all the mud that soaked into his high-end moccasin shoes, Harry simply ignored Draco’s complaining and eventually they saw the exit in the far front and Harry began to run, Draco followed suit and they both kept up with one and other, their speed proving their competent seeker background.

They entered through the door and they were back to the corridor they had initially gotten lost in, the tear mark confirming that it was the same place, Harry groaned in frustration. This time, a bright idea struck Draco instead.

“ Revelio! ” He casted with his wand, and a door appeared in the far end, he looked back at Harry and he looked frustrated that he couldn’t think of that – they both made their way slowly this time, not rushing and they were out of the endless corridor. They both stood dumbstruck that there was such a simple fix to something they over-thought for embarrassingly long, some would wonder how Harry Potter, the victor of Voldemort, managed to overlook something so simple.

Malfoy laughed, it was an annoying laugh that meant he was definitely going to get teased for this slip up, Harry elbowed Draco’s ribs, he sounded an artificial ‘ouch’ clearly in no pain at all.

They got to their class embarrassingly late and Snape stood in the far end, his neck covered in a protective possibly charmed bandage– a scar of his survival. “Potter, what a surprise to see you gracing us with your presence – very tardy. And you seemingly tagged along his adventure, have you now Malfoy? How impressive to start your first day by collectively losing 20 points.” Snape said in his classic sarcastic tone – but points? Did they not specify that houses didn’t apply anymore the two thought.

“Perhaps you’ve forgotten but there is no house point system Professor.” Potter said, seeming assured in his words,

“If you managed to be present earlier you would’ve heard that from now onwards you lose points in pairs, so ‘MP’, Malfoy-Potter sit at -20 points, congratulations.” Snape said, turning his back towards the students and continuing writing on the blackboard. Harry quickly took a seat next to Hermione telling her the details of everything that happened and she, as well, laughed at him.

“How daft were you to walk backwards before casting Revelio, Harry” Hermione whispered, shushing her laugh. "Hang on... what’s so daft about walking backwards? Seems perfectly logical to me. Besides, it’s not like Revelio is the answer to everything, right?" Ron gave them both a puzzled look, clearly not seeing the problem. Harry and Hermione shook their heads and paid their attention back to Snape. Some time into class, Snape finally introduces the potion they’d brew in today’s class.

“Had any of you bothered to pay attention in your previous years, you would already know what Amortentia is. Today, however, you will finally attempt to brew it—if, that is, you are capable.” His piercing gaze swept across the entire class. The room was filled with book spine cracking and pages fluttering as the students filtered through the new textbook to find the recipe list. “Oh– and get in your pairs,” He added and the catering of chairs and people grunting to carry their caldrons and other ingredients to other tables. Harry relocated himself next to Draco.

“Go get all the ingredients Potter,” Malfoy spoke his eyes fixed on the textbook, his brows settling in their furrow, his jawline harsh cut and that frizzed out platinum hair– Harry stared at him and his concentrated gaze, one day he hoped Draco would look at him like that, entranced in him as much as he was in the book. Malfoy turned his head back to Potter, pulling him out of his daydream, “Making Amortentia in your daydream now Potter? Go fetch the ingredients.” A smirk crept onto his face, proud of his jab at Harry.

Harry however, felt blood rush to his face as he quickly went to the new oak shelf which had each ingredient carefully placed and labelled, easy to spot through the glass door hinged to it. Scurrying back he carefully placed all the ingredients on the table, “What do we do now Malfoy?” Malfoy looked back at him and shifted closer, closer and closer Harry felt his body freeze up and Malfoy’s arm instead reached across to his side– grabbing Harry’s potions book and turning to the page they were doing and giving it to Potter. He stood dumbfounded, “What? Can't read a book now Potter?” Harry clocked his brain back in, “Funny coming from you, Malfoy. I thought you were the one who needed a reading lesson.”

However as they began combining the ingredients, he kept looking back at Draco who subtly started going slower to let Harry copy off of him. Ron and Blaise in front of them had probably screwed up as small fireworks started going off at their cauldron, both their faces blown with smoke and ashes, a burnt smell exuding from the two dimwits– Snape gave them a proper scolding before sending the two to get checked in the infirmary. Hermione sat looking back at Ron exiting before Pansy slapped her shoulder, her face looking like a punched puppy as she returned her focus to help the viper next to her.

“Bravo Potter, the brew is looking exceptional if only you weren’t blatantly copying off of Draco,” Snape’s tone dripping with condescension, “Pairs are meant to help each other aren't they?” Harry retorted before bringing his focus back to the work at hand, beginning to  obviously copy Malfoy’s steps, leaning his head to his side and practically facing him at this point; Malfoy said nothing, a small smile made its way on his face. 

Eventually their brews were done and for their assignment they had to write the notes of smell from their brew and find the person that scent belonged to, an easy task for the couples yet an impossible for those in denial or not having an interest. Hermione wandered over to Harry and Draco– specifically Harry, “What does yours smell off?” Harry leaned his head down to get a sniff he pulled back with his face scrunched up, Hermione’s intense gaze a way to make out what Harry smelt by expression alone; Draco turning his focus to Harry as well.

“Frosted pine– Cold metal? And–” Harry leaned back down and again with the scrunch, “And Dragon’s blood. Who on earth could that possibly be?” Hermione face-palmed herself “It’s basically spelled out for you,” She dragged her gaze to Draco– who looked completely unaffected, “And what does yours smell of Malfoy?” Hermione looked at both of them with an almost calculative look.

Malfoy took a spoon of the mix and brought it to his nose, “Treacle tart,” He said so fast barely letting either of them process it, “Obnoxiously strong smell of treacle tart at that,” He elaborated, “What's wrong with that?” Harry questioned. Hermione withholding a smile from seeing the exchange between the two. “Everything.” Draco replied, smelling the brew again, “Vanilla and dust, a hell of a combination that is,” Draco sighed, knowing this was going to be a tough assignment.

Hermione was so going to tell Ron all the inside scoop between the two unsuspecting victims, she strolled over back to Pansy, “Draco’s Amortentia smells like Potter doesn’t it?” Pansy spoke, Hermione surprised by the friendliness of her voice, “Yeah so does Harry’s, I definitely bet they’ll stay oblivious until end of the year,” “I’m betting 1 Galleon there'll be misunderstandings between the two,” Pansy added, “I’ll bet two Galleons they snog each other drunk,” Hermione replied, “Smart, I should’ve thought of that.” Pansy said, packing her things; with that their betting concluded the class alongside it and the students rushed for the exit as if Snape would hex them if they lingered. 

Lunch arrived later than any of them wanted, the golden trio sitting huddled together on the row, Neville across from him looked gaunt– “Neville! Everything okay mate?” Ron exclaimed, making Neville jitter in his seat more, “Oh look what you’ve done Ron,” Hermione teased, Neville’s cries getting louder. Seamus next to him began patting his back sort of roughly until he coughed out a glass bottle with a note in it, “What I was trying to say was that Transfiguration went horribly wrong, I was supposed to Apparate this into my bag but it ended up lodged somewhere down my throat instead,” The group shared glances between them to what was the appropriate response to that, “It really didn’t sound like you tried saying any of those words Neville,” Harry spoke, “Oh!” Hermione suddenly yelled, slamming her book shut before whispering the shenanigans that went down in Potions to Ron who was in the infirmary evidently he was completely fine.

Ron’s expression changed to that of shock, his head turning to Harry and then to Draco who sat at a table behind theirs, “Seriously Hermione?” He said still chewing his food, Harry looked at them suspiciously, before opening a small notebook with anyone who could’ve been the smell of the brew his mind suddenly returning to the first night’s mistake and he randomly blurted, “Malfoy and I slept together,” The whole group around them flipped out before Harry realise the alternate meaning those words had, “Wait! Not like that, it was like– there was only one bed okay? And well, you know? We just slept in the same bed,” Harry said his words in a hurry as well as getting quieter the more he spoke, realising he was a wizard and probably could have transfigured something to turn into a proper bed instead of sharing the embarrassing moment.

“To think Malfoy and Potter were rivals, seriously, ”