Changes and Secrets

Chapter 12 - Talk

"Harry, you need to wake up," Remus said, gently shaking his mate's shoulder. A small growl emanated from Harry's throat, surprising the Beta. He took in Harry's disheveled appearance. His young mate had fallen asleep at the coffee table, attempting to finish his Potions essay. Judging by the amount of crumpled parchment, broken quills, and ink on Harry's hands, the young werewolf had struggled quite a bit. However, it did look like a completed essay lay on the corner of the table, far away from the chaos. 

Harry's hair lay sprawled out on the table, falling in front of Harry's eyes. The Alpha's glasses were still on his face and looked uncomfortable cutting into the bridge of his nose. A small frown was on his lips – clearly he was slightly awake and annoyed at being disturbed. Remus put a hand on Harry's shoulder and rubbed the muscles there. A quiet growl that had started to form transformed into a sound almost like a purr. Remus smiled. 

"You need to get up, Harry," Remus whispered in his mate's ear. Harry sighed heavily. 

"Why?" he asked, voice rough with sleep. 

"Because Professor Snape would not take kindly to you being late to class," Remus replied. Harry shot up, startling the older werewolf. 

"SHIT!" he said. "It is Tuesday, isn't it?" he continued as he jumped up from the chair and began frantically searching for a clean set of robes. Remus smirked and aimed his wand at the robes Harry was wearing. 

"Lavaropas," he muttered. Harry jumped in shock as the spell hit. When the white mist disappeared, his robes were spotlessly clean and incredibly soft. Harry stared at Remus in jaw-dropped shock. Remus simply sent a smile back. Harry rolled his eyes. 

"You're going to have to teach me that," he said as he gathered his school books. Remus rolled up the essay and handed it to Harry. "Thanks," the raven-haired wizard replied. Remus smiled at him and gently pushed him towards the door. 

"Hurry now. I don't want to hear about a detention because you were late," Remus teased. Harry rolled his eyes again, but smiled at his mate. 

"I make no promises I can't keep," Harry teased back. The older werewolf snorted and rolled his eyes. 

"Have a good day," he said as his young mate went out the door. 

"You too," Harry called over his shoulder before walking briskly to Potions. When he arrived in the dungeons, it was five seconds before Snape swooped in like the dungeon bat he is. 

Harry jumped towards the wall and stood perfectly still as the man glided through. Harry's eyes scanned the crowd of students, pausing briefly when the met with a pair of bright blue eyes under ginger hair. The raven-haired wizard looked away quickly so he wouldn't have to see Ron's accusatory glare any longer than he already had. He filed silently into the classroom with the rest of the Gryffindors. 

"Looks like the dynamic duo is broken up," a sneering voice said behind Harry. Harry sighed and rolled his eyes, not even giving Malfoy the satisfaction of a response. He really didn't feel like dealing with the bloody wanker today. 

"Today, you will be working individually," Snape began. "As NEWT level students, you must be able to experiment successfully and safely with potions. You will have full access to all ingredients and materials. You will use your knowledge of ingredients and their reactions with one another to prevent disastrous results. I do not want to send anyone to the Hospital Wing today. You may leave when you finish." He raised a delicate eyebrow and ignored Hermione's raised hand. "Begin." 

Harry smiled to himself and began gathering small quantities of all available ingredients. He laid them out in alphabetical order, mostly to help him distinguish between monkshood and wormwood. They looked quite similar but had very different effects. When mixed up, there could be some rather...unpleasant reactions.