Harry wasn't sure how he managed to get out of bed the morning after Draco's Halloween party, especially after Severus had seen the manuscript and left in a hurry. Nevertheless, he forced himself out of there, and swallowed the pain medication before joining Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco for breakfast, which was delicious. He was introduced properly to Narcissa, Draco's mother, who was an extremely well put-together woman, especially given that her soon-to-be ex-husband was in prison awaiting trial.
Harry returned home later on that morning after Sirius and Remus picked him up, giving as short answers as possible to how his time at the party had gone. He could hardly tell his carers that he had literally thrown himself at his own social worker, and that they'd spent the night together to boot. Even though the age of consent was sixteen, Severus was still in a position of authority over him, so it wasn't as if they could do anything until Harry had aged out of the care system, if Severus was still interested, that is.
Come Monday, Harry said goodbye to Sirius and Remus and hopped into Draco's car, making small talk with his four new friends. Draco dropped off Ginny and Hermione first, and Harry pretended to be looking at the architecture of the nearby buildings around the City of London School for Girls as two snogging sessions took place around him—Draco and Ginny in the front of the car, and Ron and Hermione just beside him. Finally, when school was just around the corner from beginning, Harry cleared his throat uncomfortably, and Ginny and Hermione said their farewells, before Harry was invited up into the front of the car, and they sped off in the direction of their own school.
Harry, Ron, and Draco immediately headed to physics once Draco's car was placed in its reserved space in the car park, and Mr. Quirrell was already letting students into the lab classroom. Harry and Ron took their typical seats together, while Draco sat at the next table with another close friend of his, Blaise. Harry and Ron quickly took out their physics textbook, the second edition of Modern Physics: For Scientists and Engineers by John R. Taylor, Chris D. Zafiratos, Michael A. Dubson, and Harry wondered how three men could work together on one subject to produce a textbook.
"Good morning, gentlemen," said Mr. Quirrell as he made his way to the front of the class, his lecture notes already written on the chalkboard. "Today we'll be discussing time dilation, which can be classified as the difference in elapsed time measured by two clocks, either due to them having a velocity relative to each other, or by there being a gravitational potential difference between there locations. As such," he continued, "I've decided to shake things up a bit, with this new topic, which we will be discussing until our first term ends. The shake-up, as I just mentioned, will involve people swapping partners. For example, Mr. Longbottom will now be pairing up with Mr. Finnigan, and Mr. Thomas will be paired with Mr. McLaggen. I shall continued to list off the new groups. Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley; Mr. Macmillan and Mr. Smith; Mr. Finch-Fletchley and Mr. Boot; Mr. Corner and Mr. Goldstein; Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Crabbe; Mr. Goyle and Mr. Entwhistle; Mr. Nott and Mr. Malone; Mr. Cornfoot and Mr. Rivers; and Mr. Zabini and Mr. Potter. Any questions?"
When no questions were forthcoming from the male teenagers, Mr. Quirrell encouraged them to move tables so that they were sitting with their new partners. Not one to be chastised for not obeying authority figures, Harry immediately grabbed his things and swapped places with Draco, and smiled at Blaise. On the few occasions they'd talked, Blaise had been nothing but polite to Harry, and Draco had told him of his aptitude in physics, which wouldn't hurt Harry, as it was likely his weakest subject.
"Guess we're partners now," Blaise said.
Harry laughed, and was relieved when Blaise joined him. "Guess so."
"Spend the first quarter hour getting acquainted with your new partner to ensure that the pair of you will work well together," Mr. Quirrell said from the front of the classroom. "After that, we will be discussing the lecture topic for the rest of class. Don't hesitate to share contact information with your new partner, as you will be working on your mid-term assignments together for this class."
YOU ARE READING
Good For Everything
FanfictionHarry Potter, seventeen, abused and broken but determined not to show it, has been in the care system since he was ten, and about to age out in the next ten months. He needs all the help he can get, if only he would be willing to accept it. Severus...
