Anyway, I wanna say thanks to Brian, Alex, and Shadow (Ack! I lost your email addy! Write me!) These wonderful people put up with my ranting and absurdity and weirdness! Arigato!

And thanks to Foxy77, who pointed out that I forgot charms on Harry's schedule. Well, I kick myself for forgetting it, but oh well, as of now Harry doesn't have to take charms!! After all, doesn't that seem like a huge schedule anyway? Maybe if I let him drop divination. . . nah. Who would predict his death constantly?? Also: No one pointed out that I spelled Zabini wrong! Bad reviewers! ((Or maybe you just didn't catch it like I did. ::sheepish grin::))

Ooooh. Peoples are so nice, aren't you? You'd be so kind as to simple put a *tiny* review on 'Mistress Mary'?? Please? That's one of my favorite stories, and I'm going to work on it after I finish 'Chatroom'. I'm going to work on it whether people like it or not, I'd just prefer knowing they liked it. :)

Warnings: Harry/Draco romance. Not gonna call it slash, because the word is beginning to bug me. Just like yaoi. Can't stand that word anymore. Now it's shounen-ai and romance. :) Anyway, past my small rant, umm, that's all the warnings I can think of.

Disclaimer, Short and sweet: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. I'm a poor girl saving up for a laptop.

Also, the beta readers/sounding board/random friend offer still stands. I'm a people person, people! I like talking!! Talk to me! ([email protected]) Wow. This is a really loooong opening rant thingy! I should get to the story!!

      Working on the assignment with Draco wasn't so bad, if it weren't for thier conflicting schedules. And personalities. Silver Ink had suggested that they work on the assignment on Saturday, the one day both boys had all day free and Harry jumped at the chance. He had secretly been working on the research himself, although Ghodz knows why. Maybe his inner child sought to impress Malfoy. Who knew.
      Saturday morning found both boys in the library after breakfast. They muttered something about 'getting the stupid assignment done with and one with thier lives' and got straight to work. Apparently Draco had done the same thing as Harry, so when they went to start actually writing the essay, both knew enough to not have to read out of the books they found.
     "Felinious Potion makes the user a cat Animagus for one day," Harry said. "But the difference between this and a regular Animagus, aside from the time limit is that Animagus only have 2 forms, the animal and the human-"
     "While the Felinious potion user is able to shift from cat, to human to halfling." Draco finished Harry's sentence.
     Harry glared. "Yes. And in halfling form, the person has cat ears, tail, and claws. How are we supposed to write 2 feet on that?"
     "And how are we supposed to make the stupid potion? It takes three hairs from a cat, and the only cat I know is Ms. Norris."
     Both boys shuddered. "I'd rather ask McGonagall for one of her cat hairs. And that'd probably screw the spell up. Remember to put in there that the Felinious potion users aren't considered unregistered Animagi, because it is temporary."
     Draco nodded and started another paragraph. "Yeah, but if you do something stupid while in that form, like trying to rob Gringotts, the punishment is not Azkaban, but being stuck as a cat for life. And cats live alot shorter lives then humans, despite the nine life issue."
     "I wonder if Snape has some cat hair. Knowing him, he'll probably make us get it from Ms. Norris with our bare hands. And are we supposed to test the potion ourselves?"
     Draco shrugged. "I'll be able to get us out of it. You know Professor Snape favors me like Dumbledore favors you, Golden Boy."
     Harry growled. "Damn you Malfoy, we were having such a civil conversation too."
     "What's not civil about it now?"
     Harry sighed and shook his head. He didn't want to start fighting with Draco now, when they had been getting along just short of splendedly. "I'm sick of this. Let's go outside for a bit or something. The dust in here is driving me batty."
     Draco nodded and brushed his hair back up from his eyes. Then he stood up and streched, relieving tension in his lower back that had accumulated there after a morning of being bent over books and parchment. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry watched him with a sense of morbid fascination. Then he, too, stood and piled the books back on the shelf. "We should go outside and get some fresh air. Wanna go for a walk or something?"
     "Why not. When we get back, it's your turn to write, on the ingredients for the potion."
     Harry shrugged and together, they walked out of the library, Harry carrying the scroll in his bag, and leaving the books on the table.
     "See!" A low voice whispered. "I told you they were acting all funny. Not fighting and all."
     Goyle's head poked out from behind a bookshelf, followed by Hermione, Neville, Crabbe, and Ron's heads. The five came out from behind the shelf where they had been hiding for the past half hour, and a walked over to the table like it was a viper, poised to strike.
     They had ditched Pansy Parkinson earlier, when Hermione and Crabbe had come up to her and Ron, and Neville and Goyle. They said they had something astounding to show them about the potion. Then they had gone on a wild goose chase til Pansy had gotten bored and stalked off. Once she was gone, they had gone to the library to spy on Harry and Draco, whom they had seen get along for at least half an hour and probably longer.
     "Did Potter hit his head or something in Quiddich practice? I thougth he and Draco never got along." Crabbe said, in slight amazement.
     "The same could be said of Malfoy, ya know." Ron shot back. "He hasn't made life too easy for Harry, either. It's probably just the stupid assignment. It's the reason we're semi-getting along right now, too."
     "Good point. At least we sat down and came to the conclusion that if we were stuck together all year as partners, we might as well be civil to each other, at least in private." Goyle replied.
     "But this goes past civil, at least for Harry and Draco," Neville spoke up. "They went for a bloody walk together. At least that's how it sounded."
     "Should we follow?" Hermione asked.
     All 4 boys nodded. They wouldn't miss this for the world.