Potions Assortment

Chapter 4: Wildfire Potion

Again at dinnertime, the Great Hall was buzzing with excitement as Professor Trelawney's prophesy spread through the Hall like wildfire.

"Did you hear?"

"Yeah! I can't believe that Malfoy's in love with Hermione Granger!"

Even the house-elves were into all of the new news even if it didn't concern them because this was the news of the week, even fortnight! Draco Malfoy was in love with a muggle-born witch! No one could believe it! It was about as believable at first as Snape being nice to Harry!

Hermione had taken to isolation in her dormitory during meals, having Harry and Ron bring food for her instead, to avoid the speculations from the rest of the students. It was absolute torture for Hermione not being able to spend hours upon hours in the library because other students would hide behind the tall shelves and gossip and giggle at her, ruining Hermione's concentration. Hermione was now forced to spend all of her time out of classes in the Gryffindor Common Room where her fellow Gryffindors knew better than to spread more gossip about their brightest classmate.

Draco, on the other hand, was being even more short-tempered than usual, hexing anyone that gossiped about him in his presence. He was finally given detention from Professor Flitwick after hexing two Hufflepuffs, five Ravenclaws and three Gryffindors on his way to lunch one day (one of the Hufflepuffs had to spend a weekend in the hospital wing after turning into a puddle when Draco hexed all of her bones out of her body and had to regrow them all again). His punishment was to clean out the students' cupboard in the potions dungeon on Wednesday night.

"And I don't want you hexing anyone else, Mister Malfoy," Professor Flitwick warned in his squeaky little voice before entering the Great Hall for lunch.

When Wednesday night rolled around, Draco found himself in the potions dungeon with Professor Snape who was staying up late to mark some assignments from the seventh-years.

Draco went grudgingly over to the students' cupboard to clean out the mess the other students had made there.

"Draco," Snape called out.

"Yes, Professor?" Draco came out of the students' cupboard holding a jar of sliced mandrake that he was cleaning.

"Sit down."

Draco sat down on a chair in the first row and put the jar on the desk in front of him.

"I know that things must have been hard on you for the past few days, but that's no excuse to go hexing everyone in sight," Snape said, walking over to Draco. "I know that you must feel very confused about what's going on and I don't blame you. Coming from a family of your background, it's certainly strange why you chose a muggle-born witch over a pureblood."

"No," Draco replied. "Potter actually explained it to me why I chose Granger over all the other girls."

Snape raised an eyebrow. Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter had a civilized conversation?

"And what was his explanation?" Snape asked.

"Millicent Bulstrode's just far from perfect, those two annoying Gryffindor girls, Lavender and Parvati, are too gossipy and don't take anything seriously and Pansy's just incompetent."

"And that left Ms. Granger?"

"Basically."

"So what are you going to tell your parents because they'll want to know why you chose Hermione Granger over Pansy Parkinson."

"Um...that I was under the influence of a very powerful potion and I had no control over my own doings?"

"Mister Malfoy, if you were your parents, would you buy that excuse?" Snape asked.

"No sir," Draco replied, bowing down his head.

"So what are we going to do?"

"We?" Draco's head jerked up in surprise.

"Draco," Snape said in a caring-fatherly way that was completely new to him. "I've known your father for a very long time. Before you were born even. I'm not letting you go through with this on your own."

Draco was still gaping up at his potions professor in surprise. It took a while for Snape to realize why his student wasn't saying anything.

"What?! I can be nice once in a blue moon!"

"Uh, professor, did you get your potions crossed or something?"

"Do you want my help or not?"

"Yes! Yes, of course I do!"

"Well, I think that you need to send an owl to your father immediately, then we'll see how he responds."

Draco nodded in agreement, not knowing anything else to do.

"I suggest that you start writing now," Snape pointed out.

"What about my detention?"

Snape picked up a small glass vial from his desk and threw it into the students' cupboard. After all the smoke had cleared, Draco saw that the cupboard was sparkling clean.

"Why don't you just make up a whole heap of that potion to clean everything?" Draco asked.

"Because I like to torture the students," Snape replied with a malevolent smirk on his face. "And the potion is harder to make that those damn Kissing Potions. Didn't you have a letter to write?"

Draco went over to Snape's desk where a piece of parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink lay.

Hours and ten drafts later, Malfoy and Snape were at the owlery sending off their letter to Malfoy Manor.

"Do you want to marry Pansy Parkinson?" Snape asked, as they were walking back to the Slytherin Common Room.

Draco thought about this fro a while before answering.

"No," he said truthfully. "I thought that I did because that was what was expected of me. But now, my thoughts keep turning to Granger."

"That does happen sometimes. You're constantly wondering why you thought that they were the most perfect. It's enough to drive a man insane."

"Have you ever drunk the potion?"

Snape stopped walking and looked around where they were.

"Why don't we go into my office instead?" Snape suggested. "When I was in your year, there was a girl in the same year that I liked. She was also in Gryffindor."

Snape got out a bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky and poured out a glass for himself and after a moments thought, poured one for Draco too.

The two had drunk three glasses of the ridiculously potent alcohol before Snape resumed his story.

"Her name was Orphelia. Orphelia Kilborn. She came from one of the oldest wizarding families. Maybe as old as the Hogwarts Founders even. She was the best in our year level. I thought that she was perfect.

"One day during breakfast, Sirius Black and James Potter found out that I liked her. They teased me endlessly about it. We had potions straight after breakfast and were learning about Kissing Potions. Black thought it would be funny if I drank the Perfect Kiss Potion."

"What happened then?"

"I kissed Orphelia but she slapped me excruciatingly hard across the face. The next week, she transferred to Beauxbatons."

"Uh, Professor, that's a cute tale and everything but what's it got to do with me?"

"Nothing at all, really. I just had to get it off my chest."

"Oh. So what about my situation?"

"I think that you need to figure out why you kissed Miss Granger before you can get any piece of mind. Now, you say that Potter explained it to you? What exactly did he say?"

"He said that Granger's the best in the class, almost like a pureblood witch. I probably found her perfect because she was the smartest or something."