I Beg Your Pardon, Potter?

Chapter 45

"I don't think I can eat anything," Hermione said at breakfast on Wednesday. She looked faintly green. Harry was nervous too, but he was gamely forcing down some toast. Ron, as always, had covered his plate with sausages, beans and toast and was wolfing them down.

"What do you think you might see?" Seamus asked. He was sitting across from Harry, playing with his food more than eating it. Ron shrugged.

"Dunno," he said through a mouthful of sausages. "Hopefully what job I'll have after school. Then I'll know if I took the right subjects for my N.E.W.T.s." Harry nodded absently. He was hoping he might see the outcome of his fighting Voldemort, but at the same time, he was worried that it would show him a future where he had died.

"Remember," Hermione said. "The potion doesn't show the absolute future. It shows one possible future that could happen, and also it shows you your partner's future. So Ron, you'll have to ask Pansy what your job is as you'll be seeing what might happen to her."

"Right," Ron said. "Yes, of course."

"Really?" Seamus asked, making a face. "I mean, Daphne is fine, but I don't overly care what her future shows." He slumped against the table, resting his chin on his hand. "Oh no," he said. "What if I'm boring in the future?" At this, even Hermione laughed.

"I don't think you could ever be boring, Seamus," Harry said. Seamus shot him a grateful smile.

...

"You alright?" Harry asked as he slid into the seat next to Draco's in the Potion's classroom. Draco was pale and there were pronounced shadows under his eyes. The blond shrugged.

"Mm fine," he mumbled. "Didn't sleep well."

"Nervous?"

"Very." Harry slid his leg over until their feet were touching. It was the least he could do, and at the same time it was the most he could do in the public setting of the classroom.

"It'll be fine," Harry said. He was trying to reassure himself as well as Draco.

"What if I see you die?" Draco hissed. "I don't think I could fucking take it."

"Hermione said we'll see a possible future. Not necessarily one that will happen."

"That doesn't help me if you die and I lose it," Draco muttered. "Oh, Circe, you don't think we're going to have to drink it in front of everyone, do you?" The thought hadn't occurred to Harry. He was now even more nervous than he had been a moment ago.

Before he could say anythings else, however, Professors Slughorn and Snape walked into the room. Professor Slughorn was smiling; Snape looked like he had just swallowed a lemon. Harry wondered if this was the face Snape made when he was worried.

"Settle down, settle down," Slughorn said. "The much anticipated day is here." He clasped his hands in front of his chest. "Professor Snape and I have inspected all of your potions and have deemed them all safe to try."

"Yes, Longbottom," Snape said. "Even yours." Harry glanced back at Neville and saw a small on his face.

"You will wait for us in your private pods," Slughorn continued. "And we will stop by one group at a time. I would recommend that you use the spare time to study up on the potion we will be starting on Friday - the Polyjuice potion." There were a few gasps from the class. Harry glanced over at Ron and shot him a small thumbs up. Ron grinned.

"What's that about?" Draco whispered.

"Tell you in a second," Harry whispered back as Slughorn continued speaking.