Chapter 2
Potions was horrible, nothing weird there, even though Snape wasn't specifically being horrible to Harry for once.
Now he was just being horrible to everyone, something seemed to have ruined his day,
"Now…" Shape was rather agitatedly explaining the makings of love potions. "Most of these steps should have been common knowledge, had you been paying attention the past six years. Unfortunately, no one seems to have done so." Hermione sputtered a little in disbelief.
But Snape's burn of the potion class ended there, as his face suddenly lit up.
"Except for Miss Granger," He beamed, as the rest of the class slowly grew confused at the lack of sarcasm in his words to Hermione. "She has been positively delightful, not a single missed assignment, nor a single failed potion, she harbors such a passion."
His facial expression seemed to radiate…
Affection??
This might be the first time this expression had ever tainted Snape's features, and none new what to make of it.
Harry and Ron gaped at Hermione, who was awkwardly shifting in her chair, having trouble deciding between feeling embarrassed or confused. "Did you slip him a love potion or something?" Ron asked her, mostly to distract himself from his second-hand embarrassment.
"That's preposterous, Ron!" Hermione gasped, holding her hand on her chest in shock.
"You know…" Shape continued, a pink haze spreading across his face, "You've all been doing so great, why don't you take this as a free period."
Though still shocked at his unusual glee, the students didn't waste any time getting their stuff together and dashing out of the dreaded dungeons.
Back in the hallway, a safe distance from Snape's sharp ears, some of the Gryffindors huddled up in an emergency meeting.
"Ron, I'm starting to think you might have been guessing in the right direction." Hermione spoke up. "The effects were rather reminiscent of the early symptoms of amortentia, but how has Shape come into contact with something like that?."
"Seems pretty obvious, right?" Seamus said, shrugging, "Clearly a prank."
"At least it made him a little less horrible," Ron said, his face suddenly receiving a touch of pink.
He slowly turned to talk to Harry. "Especially for you, you deserve to be treated better." His face melted into what might have been a heartwarming smile, but came across a little creepy.
He shuffled closer to Harry, as the others watched upon the unfolding events in awe. He draped his hands across Harry's shoulders, his fingers delicately stroking his shirt. "I can treat you better." He whispered.
Harry leaned back as far away from Ron as possible, his face contorted in horror. He was about to push him off when his face flushed pink as well. He kept his hands on Ron's chest as his face lit up in a grin that stretched from ear to ear.
They leaned in closer to each other as they fluttered their eyelids closed. Their lips almost met before Hermione decided to take action and pull them apart.
"Hermione," Harry sighed, "we were having a moment." But Hermione wasn't having any of it.
"You can explore your love for each other when the love potion has worn off." She pointed her finger sternly, looking around at the others for help, but they seemed to be interested to see where it would have gone.
"We have to find out who started this." Hermione said, rubbing the bridge of her nose in between her fingers. Meanwhile Harry and Ron continued gazing into each other's eyes, their hands intertwined.
Past the potions classroom, down the hall to the Slytherin common room, Draco and his entourage made their way through the cold stone tunnels.
"He noticed Granger before me!?" Pansy exclaimed in horror. "What has she even got going for her…"
Draco blocked out the rest of Pansy's tirade, not in the mood for her antics.
He had to admit he was just as shocked at Snape's sudden change of heart, but he wasn't stupid. Clearly some form of potion or spell was at play here.
He doubted Granger had something to do with it. The attention didn't seem all that appreciated.
But what did he care about Granger's feelings?
He shook his head aggressively, rudely interrupted when he bumped into something solid and fell to the ground.
He ran a hand across his lower back, where he had impacted with the stone floor. Looking up he gazed across the expanse of Crabbe's broad back.
The latter turned around and stuck out a helpful hand to get his boss off the ground. Draco took his hand and got to his feet.
Even though draco was already standing, Crabbe's bulky hand was still covering Draco's, a lot longer than situationally appropriate. Additionally, he was coming quite close to invading Draco's personal space, and, as Draco noticed after having dusted off his robes, Crabbe was gazing into Draco's eyes with an uncomfortable passion.
"Are you okay?" He asked softly, slowly bringing his pink, flushed face down, closer to Draco's, without breaking eye contact. His warm breath moistened Draco's face, finally making him realize how close their faces really were.
"No, no. No way." Draco broke their eye contact, already putting down any chance of ever having eye contact again. He shuffled out of Crabbe's hold, which he luckily let go.
Crabbe looked at the ground, acting rather defeated, before Goyle turned him around by his shoulders. "Don't mind him, he isn't right for you." Goyle whispered.
Their eyes met, and electricity entered Crabbe's shoulders through Goyle's fingertips. Their lips meshed together and they closed their eyes as they deepened the kiss.
The other Slytherins gaped at the events unfolding. Draco and some of the others made a run for it, when a clear glimpse of wet, intertwined tongues met their eyes.
They didn't know where they were running, but they just wanted to stay safe from whatever was happening there.