Allo! I've had this story for a while but never posted it. Obviously, I recently chose otherwise XD Please enjoy!

Disclaimer applies for entire story: I do not own Harry Potter. I wish, I wish upon a star~

"And so," Slughorn concluded, "you will be working in partners today. Your partner is the person sitting next to you."

I looked towards Blaise sitting to my right. He, instead, was making a pleading motion toward his best friend Draco Malfoy. He nodded in consent and headed toward us.

"Thanks so much, man!" Blaise whispered with relief and walked toward the seat next to Pansy Parkinson. She had always been against me for some reason I never knew.

I turned to Malfoy, my new partner. "Having second thoughts about me, are we now?"

He scoffed, "Keep dreaming, Granger, and one day you may be lucky enough to find a muggle boy half as amazing as me." He lowered his voice and muttered with a devious smile, "Plus, Blaise runs the Slytherin butterbeer stock."

"Why did Blaise put you up to this? With Pansy, the best grade he'll get is still failing."

"Are you truly daft enough not to see?" he asked, gesturing towards the two, "He likes her."

Needless to say, I was a tad surprised at the thought of Malfoy helping out a friend. "Malfoy has a heart?" I gasped dramatically.

"Believe it or not, yes. I can do favors for friends." Just the way he said 'friends' told me the true meaning: 'If they pass my standards.'

I was skeptical to say the least. "Are you sure you're not just tired of her doting after you?"

"Granger, you never tire of that. As I'm sure you would know if you'd ever had someone like you."

I shot him a dirty look just as Slughorn finished writing on the board.

"Today you will be brewing Amortentia." He paused, as if waiting. Finally he sighed, "Doesn't anyone in this incompetent class see the problem with that?"

"The fact that we're doing it again?" someone who sounded like Ron asked. Not that I could blame him after the Romilda Vane chocolate incident.

That's when I noticed the problem with this assignment. I shot my hand up as the class was snickering.

"Yes, Granger?" Slughorn sighed hopefully.

"We're in partners. The potion wouldn't work if used on someone when more than one person made it." I leaned in to Malfoy and whispered, "I don't want to fail. I'll do it." He scowled back in agreement.

"The other," Slughorn continued, "will be testing it."

A chorus of muttered swears came from the room as people played miniature duels to decide who the victim would be.

"So," Malfoy started, "I'll make the potion if you test it." He said it as if it were the best offer I would ever get.

"Professor," I said, raising my hand to get his attention, "Professor Snape said that it was too dangerous to test Amortentia without a properly brewed counterserum."

"Well I'm not Professor Snape, am I?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow and smirking. "This is where the second person's grade comes in. Tomorrow there is a full moon which is needed to properly brew the counterserum without side effects. It's a rather lengthy process so I suggest getting ingredients prepared today. You will need to brew a successful counterserum while under the effects of Amortentia."

"And what if we can't?" Pansy piped in.

Slughorn chucled. "Then I suppose you'll have to wait until it wears off, hmm?" And with that he resumed reading his newest book, Liar!: Immunity to Veritaserum.

"I'll make it if you test." Malfoy offered again, no... more like demanded.

"Nice try. We already agreed I would."

"Miniature duel?" He offered hopefully.

"Fine!"

"Vegrandis alio!" We both said, wands in hand. I saw him flick his wand and whisper to himself "Duro."

But before his miniature could comply with his demand, I flicked my wand and miniature-Hermione said "Petrificus totalus!"

Miniature Malfoy was frozen in place. Just for fun I flicked my wand again and Hermione pushed Mini-Malfoy over like a plank of wood. Malfoy waved his miniature away with a swear just as I high-fived mine and did the same.

"How did you make it move without telling it to?" Seeing my amusement and silence he added, "Let me guess, a book."

I just smiled, "It really should have been in the restricted section." I stood up to go prepare ingredients. "I suggest you prepare some ingredients. Unless, that is, you'd like to be hopelessly in love with a mud-blood forever."

He'd obviously never thought of that as an option. "Damnit, Granger," he muttered. "Oi, Blaise! You so owe me two crates of butterbeer for this!"

Blaise smiled back, seemingly drunk on love. "I would've given you three!"

The moment I smelled old parchment and saw the light mother of pearl colour, I knew my Amortentia was perfect. I repeated the little poem in my head:

'Amortentia- love dementia.'

I stepped in toward it. The smell was lovely. I sniffed and recognized old parchment, wisteria and candlewax. Harry currently had Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Ron was in the room so I walked over. It smelled of sulfur, trying and failing to be covered up by orchids.

"What did you do this time, Ron?" I asked with mock exasperation.

"I don't know! I may have forgotten to crush a few things, but that shouldn't make a difference!" Seeing my smile and roll of the eyes he clarified, "Right?"

"You're an idiot." I said with a smile, leaning against him. "Luckily, I know a small trick. Put some of yours in a vial."

"That's why we call you the smart one, 'Mione," he chuckled.

I went to my cauldron, grabbing a vial on the way. Spooning in a bit of the mixture, I walked back to Ron's table. As he was putting the cork on the vial I checked to see that Slughorn wasn't looking. I placed both vials lying down on the black tables.

"If you put something dark behind it, you can check the mother of pearl sheen. You see how you have almost none?" Ron nodded, "So you have to add a few more Ashwinder eggs."

"Dang," he said, but did just that. The sheen noticeably increased and the sulfuric smell even lightened up a bit.

"Now hold it up to the light. The color is too light and the consistency is off. You must have forgotten to grind the flobberworm. All you have to do is add a smidge more graphorn powder and grind up a little flobberworm to add."

After complying, the sulfur smell became the freshly cut grass I loved and the orchid became parchment.

"Bloody..." he trailed off, not wanting to get nagged again for his language. "How did you know that 'Mione?"

"'Common Misbrews and How to Avoid Them.' You could benefit from that one."

Ron chucled, "Thanks. I can't stand failing potions when I can't use Snape as an excuse."

"Well it isn't perfect. The swirls of steam aren't there and it will wear off faster tha-"

"Granger," Malfoy started, walking up to us, "while I'm aware of your hopeless infatuation with Weasley, would you please come help your partner?"

"Jealous, are we?" I shot back and went to finish with Ron.

Malfoy stalked back to our table and grabbed one of the ingredients. Stubbornly, he muttered, "Then I guess crushing it couldn't hurt. It all ends up in the same place, anyway."