The Dark Lord's Bride (Draco X OC)

Portions Class

Ariana's POV

Sauntering through the castle with my grand plan from Dumbledore in mind, I stumbled upon Harry and Ron in the corridor.

"Hey, Aria! Where are you off to? Aren't you supposed to be in Potions right now?" Harry asked, furrowing his brow.

"Nah, didn't sign up for the Chemistry show this year," I nonchalantly replied, prompting a bewildered glance from Ron.

"Why? You were acing Potions! You practically had Snape eating out of your cauldron," Ron exclaimed.

"Oh, I fucking HATE Potions. The only reason I took the class was for the sheer joy of witnessing Snape's charm," I confessed, much to their disbelief.

"You hate Potions?! What the hell?! You were the top in our class! Even beating Hermione to it," Harry exclaimed in surprise, his glasses almost slipping off.

"Oh that? I mastered all I needed during my delightful detentions with Snape," I replied with a mischievous grin.

Their eyes widened, and in perfect unison, they grabbed my wrist. "What?! What do you want now?!" I asked surprised.

"Okay, come with us," Harry declared, both of them practically yanking me way away from my original path.

"Wait-what the hell?! No! I'm busy,"I protested, but they were like magnets, and resistance was futile.

Soon enough, we found ourselves in a classroom, and my heart sank-Potions. I had a fleeting desire to yeet away, but Harry's vice-like grip kept me grounded.

"Attention to detail in preparation is the prerequisite of all plans---," intoned Slughorn, only to be interrupted by our unceremonious entrance.

"Harry, Ariana, my dear, I've been beginning to worry. You brought someone with you, I see," Slughorn observed eyeing Ron.

"Ron Weasley, sir. But I'm dead awful at Potions. A menace, actually, so I'm probably just gonna-" Ron began, but Harry and I swiftly clamped hands over his mouth.

"You dragged me into this mess, where the fuck do you think you're going?" I snapped at Ron, annoyance etched across my face.

"Nonsense, we'll sort you out. Any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine. Get your books out," Slughorn declared, seemingly unfazed.

"I'm sorry, sir, I haven't actually got my book yet, and nor has Ron, and Aria," Harry confessed, throwing us all under the bus.

And so began an unexpected Potions adventure, with me contemplating whether a Vanishing Spell for awkward situations existed.

"Not to worry, get what you want from the cupboard," He reassured us, and off we went. Ron and Harry, however, engaged in a brief skirmish over new versus old Potions books.

When we get to the cupboard, we have to grab the only two remaining textbooks from the cabinet so they can follow along with the others.

"Ah.., the hazards of adding a class late." I sighed.

They fight over who gets the only nicest, newish-looking one left.
Harry loses and ends up with a pretty old and ganky-looking book.

'Serves him right! Is it just me, or has Ron been working out over the summer?'

Ron emerged victorious with a shiny new tome, while Harry wielded the battle-scarred veteran and he gave Ron a gentle whack for good measure.

I, on the other hand, peered into the cupboard with growing dismay.

"Professor Slughorn, there's no book for me," I whined, triggering a chorus of appreciative whispers about my apparent cuteness and prettiness.

'Ah...fuck!'