Harry opens his eyes.

The first thing he notices is the absence of people in the room, and with a start, he realizes he's late for classes.

The second thing he realizes is that a piece of paper and a small brown owl are at the foot of his bed.

Harry frowns, picking up the paper and reading it.

"An Amnesiac's Poem:
'Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
...
......'"
-Unknown

Harry reads the poem three times. Then he folds it up and shoves it under his pillow before getting up and getting dressed as quickly as he can.

By the time he stumbles into the Potions room, he's a half-hour late, and there's only another half-hour of class left.

A man smiles at Harry from the front of the classroom.

"Harry, my boy! Thank you for joining us! I'm afraid this is the only time you'll be granted leniency for tardiness, because of your... situation." He winks at Harry like it's their little secret, although Harry is sure everyone in this room, possibly even the entire school, knows about what happened to him.

"Take a seat, take a seat! We're brewing Memory Potions, funny enough! You'll be with Mr. Malfoy, and now we've got a nice even number! Run along, Harry, much to learn."

Harry frowns at the brightness of the man, but sits next to Draco, meeting Dean's eye across the room. Dean mouths I'm sorry, but Harry just shrugs.

"What's his name?" Harry whispers to Draco, pointing at their professor.

Draco looks up as though he's startled that Harry is talking to him, and stares at him for a long moment, eyes darting down to Harry's lips and then back up before he speaks in a slightly hoarse voice.

"Professor Slughorn."

"What a strange name," Harry murmurs.

"You don't think mine is strange?" Draco seems to be waiting for something, leaning forward slightly in his seat.

"Yours reminds me of dragons."

Draco makes a small noise, coughing slightly and standing up. "I'm gonna- um- I'm gonna get some- uh- ingredients."

He stands up and darts off, and Harry decides not to comment on the fact that he leaves for ten minutes and comes back with no ingredients.

Draco refuses to speak to him for the rest of class, his eyes trained on the potion in front of him, and when Professor Slughorn announces to the class that they've got the best one, Harry notices his own bright, proud smile doesn't match the miserable look on Draco's face.