Drarry Eighth Year

Partners

"Welcome to the first potions class of your eighth year, Gryffindors and Slytherins!" Professor Slughorn greeted heartily while his potions class was arriving. "If you would kindly draw your attention to the board, you'll see that I've instructed you all to choose a partner and set up at a table while I go over the syllabus. Choose wisely, as you will be partners for the remainder of the school year."

Harry Potter settled in and shifted uncomfortably on his feet when an image of Professor Snape teaching in this very room sprang into his mind. A pang of grief hit in and rattled through his chest like a pinball springing through its machine.  He saught out his two best friends, Ron and Hermione, but saw they were distracted by each other. Following the war, they had become an official couple and the subject of Witch Weekly's "Most Unlikely Soulmates" articles which made them have to constantly avoid more requests from reporters. He caught the eye of Hermione and she mouthed a "sorry" with sincere eyes. He had no clue what she had to be sorry for until he looked towards the writing on the board and groaned when he saw that he had to pick a year-long partner.  He usually worked with Ron, and Hermione had evidently taken him. He took a quick scan of the handful of students in the room that had come back to complete their schooling and decided to take potions. Seamus was with Dean and Pansy was with Blaise, as per usual. This left one blonde boy sitting alone looking painfully distant.

Draco Malfoy had returned to Hogwarts looking and wanting to be completely different from his time involved in the war. He kept his now long platinum hair tied back in a low man bun, a more relaxed look. In fact, everything about him seemed more relaxed. There was a space between him and the rest of Hogwarts, like he was only a poor reflection of what he was. The whole school was also a bit different; it had a slight veil of sadness draped over it. Everyone needed time to grieve.

So, Harry took his only option and bitterly sat next to Malfoy.

"Why are you sitting here, Potter?" He spat out when he saw the other boy shoving his bag down.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Malfoy, we're the only ones without partners," Harry said back even more harshly.

"Dear Merlin, this is for the entire year," Draco sighed dramatically, "You better not ruin any potions because I need an O in this class."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Harry said sarcastically, "In fact, I was going to wrec-"

"Can we not bicker the entire time?" Draco interrupted angrily, "It's already becoming quite annoying."

Harry was dumbfounded by his mature response but found himself feeling a slight bit of admiration. This was not the Malfoy that he knew and hated. Right about now, he should've been plotting a way to make his potion explode or calling him an overly-confident imbecile with the hair of a shaggy black dog.  Malfoy had uncharacteristically taken the higher ground and decided to be nicer. Well, somewhat nicer.

"Er, okay. I suppose it'll be a terrible year if we don't." Harry replied and nodded jerkily in agreeance.

"Anyway, the chalkboard says we will be making Siren Solution. Did you read the introduction on it in our holiday reading book?"

"Well, not exactly...," Harry said avoiding eye contact, "...but that doesn't matter. All we have to do is mix the ingredients and follow the directions."

"I suppose that's how it would work for you, but for me, I like to know the background of the potion. Siren solution, when drunk, will ward off any mermaids or sirens in the area. It's usually used for sailors or researchers at sea."

"Right, sure," Harry started, "You can set up our table and I'll go get the ingredients. It says here that we'll need five Nymphoides palladium's leaves, two liters of saltwater, the feather of a Platalea water bird, dragonfly wing, and a murtlap tentacle. We also need to do a bit of chopping, dicing, stirring, and the usual so I'll grab the ladle, knife, and a cutting board."