When Enemies Interact

Chapter 1: Potions Class.

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Wednesday: one of Draco Malfoy's favourite days at Hogwarts. He could never explain why, but he always liked the days he had Potions with the Gryffindors. Maybe it was the fact he was Professor Snape, the Potions Master's favourite student, but he, unlike many others, enjoyed Potions, even if it was with the Gryffindors. Today he would have double Potions and to his great delight, they would start brewing up the Polyjuice Potion, a potion, which allows you to take another person's form.

Taking his seat near the end of the Slytherin table, Draco had a look around at the magnificent Great Hall, with its four long tables packed with students, all wearing the same black school robes. He was in his seventh and last year here and not until now had he taken much notice in the castles beauty or realised how much he would miss it when he left.

As he continued to gaze around, the back of a rather bushy head caught his eye, this head belonging to Hermione Granger, a Gryffindor in the same year as him. Hermione was Head Girl and awfully clever and smart and ever since fifth year, Draco had wanted more then anything just to beat her in one class, minus Potions, he envied her of her brilliance and perfect grades, never had he known her to fail something, but what got him was the fact she was Muggle-born and his father had always told him that Muggle-borns, or as he called them, Mudbloods, were always hopeless in the Wizarding world, yet she was the top of the year, every year.

Staring at the back of Hermione's head, Draco noticed she had her Defence Against the Dark Arts book propped up against a jug of pumpkin juice in front of her, reading from it as she ate. Her best friends Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were sitting opposite her and going by the way Harry was moving his hands, they were deep in a conversation about Quidditch, the wizard sport. He then turned his gaze to the Ravenclaw table where a large group of people were laughing heartily and he noticed Terry Boot was amongst them. Draco had had a grudge on Boot since the beginning of the school year when he learnt the Boot had beaten him to Head Boy.

Turning his gaze back to the Slytherin table, he saw how separate they were from the other houses, most looked glum, eating their breakfasts in silence or having small conversations with friends, with no smiling, no laughter, just glum-looking faces all around. As he looked at the sight, he felt a strong need to find some company in others, not just from his own house. He had Potions and Care of Magical Creatures with the Gryffindors, but he had never gotten along with them and probably never would; he had Herbology with the Ravenclaws, and again he had never really gotten along with them, but it was slightly possible, and the Hufflepuffs weren't even worth thinking about, he honestly didn't want to get along with any of them (A/N. I am not insulting the Hufflepuff house in any way! I just don't think Draco would be the type to make friends with them). He might as well just stick with his own house with Crabbe and Goyle, his boulder-sized best friends.

Grabbing a couple of slices of buttered toast from the centre of the table, Draco decided to head off to his first class: Arithmancy.

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"Here you go class," Professor Vector said to her class, as she walked around the room, handing each student a piece of parchment with a large amount of problems they had to calculate and put onto charts (A/N. I have no clue what Arithmancy really is or what is included, so I made some things up!). "I would like you to finish it for homework if you don't today in class."

Draco looked down at the piece of parchment she had handed him. He had only started Arithmancy the year before, but he had caught up with the others in his class -which included students of his year from all the houses- quickly and found it rather easy, in fact, he highly enjoyed the art of Arithmancy. Taking out a quill and a bottle of ink, he set to work and wasn't interrupted until he felt someone hastily sit in the empty seat beside him. It was Hermione.

"Granger, what do you think you're doing?" Draco hissed at her. It wasn't an unknown fact that they loathed each other and he honestly didn't want her sitting next to him.

"Sitting," she replied shortly before getting out a quill and ink and starting on her own work.

Can't you sit somewhere else?" Draco sneered, "I really don't want you so close or a Mudblood sliming all over me for that matter."

"Look, Malfoy," Hermione retorted rather calmly, "I came in late and this was the only seat left. I had no choice but to sit here. I honestly didn't want to sit next to you, either." She turned back to her work.

Draco glared at her fiercely, before turning back to his own work, knowing it wasn't worth pressing the subject any more.

The bell to signal end of class rang from somewhere in the castle and Draco slowly packed his bag before going up to Professor Vector's desk and handing in his work, which he had managed to finish.

"Thank-you Mr. Malfoy,' the professor said with a warm smile. Draco nodded and turned, only to bump into Hermione, who had also come up to hand her work in.

"Sorry," Draco muttered, before walking around her and out the door, feeling Hermione's glare burning into his retreating back.

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"As I told you last lesson," Snape said in his deadly voice as the class sat down in their seats, "We will start to make the Polyjuice Potion today and continue making it until it is finished, which will be in a few weeks." He looked around at his students before continuing. "I have assigned each of you partners, when I call your name, go sit with the person I tell you to work with." He picked up a small piece of parchment from his desk. "Potter, with Goyle; Longbottom, you're with Crabbe ..." The class slowly made their way into pairs as Snape told them, then, finally, "... Malfoy, you go with Granger."

Draco went even paler than usual and looked over at Hermione, who was sitting at the other end of the dungeon, staring at Snape with a mixture of deep disbelief and loathing. Slowly, she grabbed her bag, stood up and walked over, muttering to herself as she went and sat in the seat beside Draco.

"I swear, Malfoy, if you ruin my grade, I'll have your head!" Hermione snapped as she got out a bottle of scarlet ink and fresh piece of parchment.

"Why would I want to ruin your grade when it's my grade as well, Granger?" Draco sneered. Hermione ignored him and started writing stuff down on the parchment. From what Draco could see of it, she had written a heading that said The Polyjuice Potion along the top in a neat scrawl and was getting ready to write notes. Snape stood up from his desk and cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.

"You and your partners will be making a poster with all the information you find on this potion for homework and in our single lessons. The double lessons will be dedicated to the making of the Potion," Snape informed them. "When your potion is ready, you will each test it by placing a strand of you partner's hair in your potion and if all goes well, you will transform into your partner for an hour. Any questions?" Draco put his hand up. "Yes, Malfoy?"

"What if Granger takes a peek down my pants when she's in my form?" he asked with a smirk in Hermione's direction.

"And why exactly, would I want to take a peek at you, Malfoy?" Hermione asked snappily, going red. "My eyes would probably burn out at the sight!" The Gryffindors howled with laughter at this.

"Silence!" Snape snarled. "I will make sure Granger doesn't take a look at 'you', Malfoy. I unfortunately had to put you two together with the odd number of males and females in this class." He gave Hermione a look of dislike as if it were her fault, before instructing each pair to get a cauldron.

"I really hate you, Malfoy!" Hermione snapped as she dropped a couple of bundles of knotgrass into their cauldron fifteen minutes later. "You know I wouldn't take a look, but you still had to be an evil bastard and embarrass me and make me sound like a filthy pervert."

"Evil bastard am I?" Draco asked, his grey eyes twinkling. "I honestly didn't think you had it in you to call someone that. It might cost you your Head Girl badge." He grinned evilly when he saw some anger building up in her.

"You're just jealous," she retorted, "because I got such an honour." Draco's grin disappeared and anger began to build up in him as well. "It's not an unknown fact about your newly found grudge against Terry. Everyone knows you desperately wanted the job of Head Boy, but you didn't get it because you're an insufferable, selfish bastard with a heart colder than ice!' The whole class was staring at them both now. Draco's face had been reddening with anger at every word that came out of her mouth.

"Oh yeah, well at least I'm better than you, a worthless, filthy, good-for-nothing Mudblood with a head that resembles a dead bush!" Draco snarled. The words had just come out of his mouth and he had put no thought in them at all, but they had had the effect he had wanted. Hermione's face had gone a deep shade of magenta with anger and the Gryffindors looked outright furious.

"Why you -!" Ron had come forward and launched himself at Draco, who copped a strong punch in the nose.

"Enough is enough!" Snape said, stepping forward to break it up as Draco went to return a punch. "How did all this start?"

"Granger started going off her head at me, Professor," Draco replied, "calling me an evil bas-"

"Yeah, well it was your fault!" Hermione said back dryly, "If you hadn't asked that very immature question earlier and made me look like a -"

"Alright, alright. Malfoy, hospital wing, now; Granger - Weasley, detention, see me after class and I'll organise it and forty points from Gryffindor for your childish and violent behaviour," Snape said. "Now, get back to your potions. All of you."

Draco walked silently out of the dungeon, his hand nursing a heavy blood nose. Thoughts were running around his head uncontrollably. Like, why did Hermione react so badly to something he thought was rather...simple? She seemed really upset (really, why wouldn't she?), either that or she just wanted to have her feelings about him heard.

"Must be that time of the month," Draco muttered with a smirk, as he began to make his way up the marble staircase in the Entrance hall towards the hospital wing.