Post by caladwen on Dec 20, 2007 3:06:24 GMT -5
Heylo and welcome back to Autumn for a third time. Update is slightly late this time, only because Azure has had a serious case of Dead Muse as of late. But don't fret, it's revived now. Actually, it's sitting on my couch eating chips... Yo! Azure's Muse! Get back to work!
Ahem.
Anyway, this chapter is written in large part by Risa; Azure only contributed slightly because she is the Queen of Potions (Thanks to the Lexicon, heh) and in the middle. Yay Risa!
On to the Chapter! But first! Disclaimer time!
Okay, people. This is going to be a universal disclaimer, for I don't like adding them and neither does Risa. We don't own Harry Potter or any of the themes therein. We make no profit from the writing of this story. Enjoy!
"There's... so many... stairs," Mercy wheezed, leaning against the wall, her bag swinging off one shoulder.
"Yes," Tabitha replied, a little better off, but also breathing rather heavily. "I found that out... earlier today... our dorms are on top... of a tower."
"Unlucky you," Mercy replied. "Damn... why did breakfast... have to be so... disturbed? I'm hungry... damn."
"Oh you should get used to that," Diana replied, looking unfazed by all the climbing. "Thousands of stairs a day will have you fit as a horse."
"More of this?" Mercy groaned. "Every day?"
"Pretty much," Diana smiled cheekily. "Don't worry, we'll look after you."
Mercy rolled her eyes, and Tabitha sighed.
"How much further?" Tabitha asked.
"What do we have again?" Mercy continued.
"Charms, and only a floor to go now," Diana said.
Maggie was already halfway up the next staircase, following the vanishing herd of Slytherins and Ravenclaws, Diana was close behind, with Tabitha walking just beside Mercy. The two were on friendly terms, and had decided to stick together as much as possible, being the two transfers and all. They figured that they might as well discover Hogwarts together, since both of them knew next to nothing except what was told in myths and such.
It turned out that Charms was taught by a short little wizard called Professor Flitwick. When they entered the classroom by the large doors in the Charms Corridor on the third floor, they were met by the sight of a tiny man balanced on top of a pile of books that looked dangerously close to falling over. Tabitha, repressing a laugh, scouted out seats for the four of them. Mercy sat on one side, while Maggie and Diana were on the other.
They didn't seem to like each other... Maggie and Diana seemed to think that since Mercy was a Slytherin, no good could come from having her as a friend. Tabitha rolled her eyes at this; she didn't understand the hatred that everyone seemed to be showing for Slytherins. She figured that at some point, she'd have to have Diana explain it to her, however, class was calling her attention now.
"Welcome to sixth year Charms," the professor squeaked. "You have all achieved at least an A on your OWLs, although I hope most of you have surpassed this mark! I will now take the roll, so I'll ask for complete silence."
He began to call the names, and Mercy looked at Tabitha, utterly confused and a little worried. When the other brunette looked at her, Mercy mouthed 'OWLs?'. Tabitha looked equally confused, and was running her left thumb over her right in a continual cycle. The American girl shrugged at Mercy, and turned her attention to the front to await her name. Mercy did the same as hers was called, and the class in general glanced in her direction.
"Ah, one of the new girls," the professor smiled. "Welcome to Hogwarts, I am Professor Flitwick."
Mercy swallowed, "Thanks, I... Uh..."
The class sniggered at her, and she clenched her fist tight enough to make her palm bleed. She closed her eyes briefly, then looked at her professor and tried to make a better impression. "I'm happy to be here," she said, offering a small smile, before dropping her eyes. Professor Flitwick nodded at her, before continuing down the roll sheet.
Tabitha winced as her name was called. It sounded so... American. And she was sure that they would find her accent laughable.
"Another new girl," he said, " Welcome to Howarts as well."
"Thank you, sir..." Tabitha hesitated, before falling silent. Once again the class sniggered in her general direction, and she scowled at the desktop. This was not going well at all. So much for accepting her in with open arms. Well, she thought challengingly as the professor put away the scroll, I'll just have to prove myself to them, won't I?
"So, I trust that all of you are looking into one of the many career fields that involve Charmwork?" the professor started in again, "Either that or you just got good marks on the Charms OWL."
Tabitha raised an eyebrow at Mercy, before raising her hand. "Excuse me, sir. Not meaning to be disrespectful or anything, but what are OWLs?"
The classroom fell silent for a second time, and Tabitha had the feeling that many of her classmates were trying not to laugh. She rolled her eyes at them.
"Oh dear... you haven't heard of OWLs?"
Biting back a retort, she nodded.
"Ordinary Wizarding Levels, tests that are taken at the end of the fifth year of schooling. Certain classes will only accept students back if they get certain grades and are proficient enough to attempt the difficulty level. Also, certain careers require a certain number of OWLs in certain subjects."
"Oh! I get it!" Tabitha said, "They're like WPs. What we had at Salem's, that is... Wizarding Proficiencies."
At the same time, Mercy spoke up. "Like the MSC!"
The class laughed openly at the two, and Mercy lifted her chin, glaring down her nose at one of the Slytherin boys who was looking directly at her while doing so. She resisted the urge to draw her wand based purely on the knowledge that she wasn't a good duelist.
Tabitha glared down at the tabletop. Not exactly a wonderful start to the day... reminding herself that she still had four classes to get through today, she watched the professor try to get the students to settle down.
"All right," he said when finally the room was silent again, "Today will be a fairly easy day, I think. We're just going to recap on the OWL Charms, to get you warmed up for this year. First thing is, of course, the Summoning Charm."
The class paired off and started working, summoning giant pillows from across the room. From there, they moved on to Color-Changing Charms. Tabitha amused herself for a good ten minutes with changing her hair eight different colors, before waving Professor Flitwick over to ask how to remove it. As the bell rang and the class started to gather their things, the professor called that there would be no homework.
"Well, that was... interesting," Tabitha said to Mercy on the way to their next class.
"Yeah... interesting," Mercy muttered, her eyes on the floor. 'Even within my own House...'
"Hey... You..." Tabitha stopped. "You know what we have next?"
"Uh... I have Potions..." Mercy replied, blinking and fumbling with her timetable. "What about you?"
"Um... Oh, ick! Herbology," Tabitha wrinkled her nose. "I hate Herbology."
"I guess we're separating then," Mercy sighed. "I'll try to find someone to follow... Good luck."
"Yeah, thanks," Tabitha smiled, then turned. "Hey! Maggie! Diana! What have you got?"
Mercy glanced down the corridor, seeking a flash of green amongst the multitude of black and blue. She bit her lip, and stumbled as someone pushed her from the side. She was reminded of that morning, when Philomena had introduced herself. Speaking of Philomena...
"Hey! Harper!"
The girl turned carefully, schooling her expression and posture, she cocked an eyebrow. "Dwyer?"
"Do you have potions?" Mercy asked, jogging to catch up to Philomena.
"Yes."
"Could I walk with you? I don't know the way..." she trailed off.
Philomena looked at her critically for a moment, her eyes hard. "If you must."
She turned gracefully, auburn hair flicking out behind her. Her eyes, a sharp hazel, lingered on Mercy for a moment as she did so, and Mercy took this as her 'cue' to follow. She couldn't help but feel awkward, watching the way that Philomena walked; she was like an elf, or a fairy from a Muggle story, impossibly light and graceful. The brunette had opened and closed her mouth several times to ask about this before they reached the dungeon room where her next lesson was to be held, and it was only as they joined the messy and segregated line that she finally did.
"Philomena," she asked cautiously, first exercising the use of the other girl's first name.
"Yes?" Philomena asked, her tone crisp and cool.
"I... Uh..." suddenly Mercy decided it wasn't exactly the best question to ask, and so she cast around for a better one. "What's the teacher like?"
"He's the Head of Slytherin House," she replied without missing a beat, or looking at Mercy. "He likes fame, so if you turn out to be more than competent at potion brewing, he'll likely invite you to join his... club."
"Club?" Mercy asked curiously, noting the pause.
"The Slug Club," Philomena elaborated. "It's for good potioneers, and anyone with famous family, or anyone who has a particular talent in another subject. He has a good eye for the 'special' kids, the ones that'll go far. See him?" she pointed to a dark-haired boy with a rather large nose who was standing to the side of the group. "That's Severus Snape; he's not popular, usually he's the scapegoat for the Marauder's pranks. He's very good with potions, best in the year, other than Lily Evans. That's her there," Philomena pointed to a pretty red-head standing with a group of Gryffindor girls. "She's good with potions and charms, and she doesn't really go with the House prejudices; she has friends in all the Houses, I think."
Mercy may have been forced to think of a reply, but luckily, their teacher appeared. She realised, belatedly, that it was the man who had taken her to her House common room, and therefore her Head of House, which Philomena had already mentioned. She shuffled in after the others, ignoring the suffocating closeness of the other students, she never really did like being so close to so many people; she hated crowds.
"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts," her Head of House boomed merrily once they were seated. "For our transfer student, I am Professor Slughorn, the potions professor here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Tell me, Miss Dwyer, are you of any relation to William Dwyer?"
"Uh..." she fiddled with the sleeve of her robe. "I... don't think so."
"Ah, pity, he was a great alchemist," Slughorn shook his head. "Anyway, I'm getting off topic. This year, we will quickly revise the OWL material, then move on to this years curriculum. However, today, I have several potions to show you."
The portly man hurried over to one of the alcoves, and pulled out a tray. Upon this tray were several small cauldrons, and already Mercy could smell the mixed scent wafting across the room. Slughorn was levitating the tray towards the empty desk at the front.
"Gather 'round, class," he ordered, looking excited.
The class did so with minimal fussing, and Mercy could see the same group of boys from that morning, though they were once again a trio. The pale, peaky boy with the sandy hair was there, but the plumper boy was gone. But her attention was drawn away from them, and to the simmering potion in one of the cauldrons. She felt a dreamy, fuzzy layer overtake her mind as she drew in the scent of something she couldn't name.
"Can anyone tell me what this is?" Slughorn asked, gesturing to the pinkish potion Mercy had inhaled.
Three or four hands were raised, including the two Philomena had pointed out earlier, and-
"Miss Malfoy?" Slughorn asked.
"Amortentia, the most powerful love potion," Catilina replied smoothly.
"Excellent, five points to Slytherin," Slughorn beamed. "Now, what about this one?"
He was pointing to a clear, scentless potion. "Mr. Snape?"
"Veritaserum," he replied, just shy of eagerly. "It's a colourless, odorless potion that compels the drinker to tell the truth. However, it forces the drinker to speak the truth he believes, not necessarily the truth as it is. For example, if you told a colour-blind man that the walls of a blue room were green, he could say that while under the influence of Veritaserum, because it was what he believed."
"A very good description, Mr. Snape, ten points!" Slughorn beamed. "Very in depth!"
Someone coughed near the back, it sounded suspiciously like 'teacher's pet'. Snape, who had been verging on smiling, turned a vivid shade of red, and scowled. Mercy glanced back, and saw the red-head, Lily, glaring at the messy-haired boy from that morning, the one with the truly unruly hair and the hazel eyes. She turned back to the front moments later, as Lily began to answer about the third potion, a golden potion that Snape had his black eyes fixed on almost hungrily.
"Felix Felicis," she said excitedly, her emerald eyes fixed on the metallic potion. "It's a luck potion; it's said that the drinker will have the best of luck in all his endeavors for the first few hours after drinking it. If taken in excess, though, it causes recklessness and dangerous overconfidence."
"Thank you, Miss Evans, five points to Gryffindor," Slughorn was already moving onto the next potion. "And our last potion. Ah, yes, thank you Mr. Lupin!"
"Polyjuice potion," Lupin, the sandy haired boy, said quietly. "It is effectively a shapeshifting potion that allows the drinker to take the form of another person for an hour at a time. If brewed incorrectly, the results can be lethal or permanent. Human-to-animal transformations are dangerous, and are considered impossible."
"An accurate description, Mr. Lupin," Slughorn noted. "Five points. Throughout the year, I will be awarding hard work and good scores with a bottle of this," he held up a small vial of the Felix Felicis. "Now, we have to get back to work, first the roll."
The roll was called swiftly, and Slughorn decided to pair them up for the lesson, and it seemed that he wanted to increase inter-House relations, as he'd paired Meri with Lily Evans, a Gryffindor. She was not the only one, Lupin (whose first name was Remus, she'd learned) had been sent to sit with Severus Snape.
As she walked down the corridor between the tables, she was forced to stop short near the table where Philomena and a boy called James Potter sat. James had stuck his leg out to stop her in her tracks, hazel eyes meeting her brown ones.
"Hey, you, new girl, so much as twitch a wand in Evans' direction, and I'll make you wish you never transfered," he said cockily, smirking up at her.
'Ah, finally, ground I can work with,' she thought, then shot her reply. "Oi, you, lion-boy, threaten me again and I'll hex you into next week."
"I hope you've got the skills to back that up, Dwyer," he sneered. "Watch your back."
"Likewise, Potter," she smirked, bending down to look him in the eye. "Careful, you've just given a potential enemy a very valuable weapon. Miss Evans had best watch her pretty neck."
"Miss Dwyer, please take your seat," Slughorn said sternly from the front, interrupting James' furious retort.
"Sorry, Professor," she ducked her head, hurrying to the desk where Lily Evans sat, which was, thankfully, quite far from James Potter.
"I hope Potter didn't give you too much trouble," Lily smiled, moving her belongings to make room for Mercy. "I'm Lily Evans... which you probably already knew from being told to sit with me. I hope you've enjoyed your stay at Hogwarts so far."
'What? Getting my hair turned pink?' she wondered bitterly. Luckily for her, the Colour Changing charms had returned it to its natural colour. "I think it'll take some getting used to, I mean, it's a big change 'nd all."
"Yes, you transfered from Australia... right?" Lily asked cheerfully.
"Mmhm," Mercy nodded, she was quickly seeing why Lily was popular in all the Houses. "Is the Potter boy your boyfriend?"
Lily's pleasant expression melted into one somewhere between horrified and sickened. "No. What gave you that idea?"
'Oh, now this I can use,' she was smirking internally. "He was just very protective, he said something about making me wish I hadn't transfered."
The red-head looked furious. "Oh he did, did he?"
"Sorry, I shouldn't assume," she apologised.
"It's alright," Lily was glaring at James' back by this point. "Don't get the wrong idea, most Gryffindors are quite pleasant if you give them the chance, they just need to do the same for Slytherins."
"Why do Gryffindors hate Slytherins so much?" Mercy asked, honestly curious this time.
"Gryffindor and Slytherin are traditionally rivals," Lily sighed. "I'm not too certain what started the whole thing, but it probably started with the Founders, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin. They disagreed over blood purity, Slytherin was very pro-pure, while Gryffindor thought that it shouldn't matter, in the end it drove Slytherin out of the castle."
"Wow..." Mercy blinked, looking a little dazed. "That long, huh?"
"Yeah..." Lily replied. "It's just always been that way."
It was then that something occurred to the Slytherin girl. "Sorry, I've been rude. My name is Mercy Dwyer, but call me Meri."
"I will."
"Would you all open your copies of Advanced Potion Making to page ten, so we can look over the information on the Draught of Living Death?"
Yay! Canon characters? Aren't you proud of us? Wouldn't you like to tell us how proud you are? Azure, stop wiggling your eyebrows at them. You'll scare them away.
Risa and Azure
Ahem.
Anyway, this chapter is written in large part by Risa; Azure only contributed slightly because she is the Queen of Potions (Thanks to the Lexicon, heh) and in the middle. Yay Risa!
On to the Chapter! But first! Disclaimer time!
Okay, people. This is going to be a universal disclaimer, for I don't like adding them and neither does Risa. We don't own Harry Potter or any of the themes therein. We make no profit from the writing of this story. Enjoy!
"There's... so many... stairs," Mercy wheezed, leaning against the wall, her bag swinging off one shoulder.
"Yes," Tabitha replied, a little better off, but also breathing rather heavily. "I found that out... earlier today... our dorms are on top... of a tower."
"Unlucky you," Mercy replied. "Damn... why did breakfast... have to be so... disturbed? I'm hungry... damn."
"Oh you should get used to that," Diana replied, looking unfazed by all the climbing. "Thousands of stairs a day will have you fit as a horse."
"More of this?" Mercy groaned. "Every day?"
"Pretty much," Diana smiled cheekily. "Don't worry, we'll look after you."
Mercy rolled her eyes, and Tabitha sighed.
"How much further?" Tabitha asked.
"What do we have again?" Mercy continued.
"Charms, and only a floor to go now," Diana said.
Maggie was already halfway up the next staircase, following the vanishing herd of Slytherins and Ravenclaws, Diana was close behind, with Tabitha walking just beside Mercy. The two were on friendly terms, and had decided to stick together as much as possible, being the two transfers and all. They figured that they might as well discover Hogwarts together, since both of them knew next to nothing except what was told in myths and such.
It turned out that Charms was taught by a short little wizard called Professor Flitwick. When they entered the classroom by the large doors in the Charms Corridor on the third floor, they were met by the sight of a tiny man balanced on top of a pile of books that looked dangerously close to falling over. Tabitha, repressing a laugh, scouted out seats for the four of them. Mercy sat on one side, while Maggie and Diana were on the other.
They didn't seem to like each other... Maggie and Diana seemed to think that since Mercy was a Slytherin, no good could come from having her as a friend. Tabitha rolled her eyes at this; she didn't understand the hatred that everyone seemed to be showing for Slytherins. She figured that at some point, she'd have to have Diana explain it to her, however, class was calling her attention now.
"Welcome to sixth year Charms," the professor squeaked. "You have all achieved at least an A on your OWLs, although I hope most of you have surpassed this mark! I will now take the roll, so I'll ask for complete silence."
He began to call the names, and Mercy looked at Tabitha, utterly confused and a little worried. When the other brunette looked at her, Mercy mouthed 'OWLs?'. Tabitha looked equally confused, and was running her left thumb over her right in a continual cycle. The American girl shrugged at Mercy, and turned her attention to the front to await her name. Mercy did the same as hers was called, and the class in general glanced in her direction.
"Ah, one of the new girls," the professor smiled. "Welcome to Hogwarts, I am Professor Flitwick."
Mercy swallowed, "Thanks, I... Uh..."
The class sniggered at her, and she clenched her fist tight enough to make her palm bleed. She closed her eyes briefly, then looked at her professor and tried to make a better impression. "I'm happy to be here," she said, offering a small smile, before dropping her eyes. Professor Flitwick nodded at her, before continuing down the roll sheet.
Tabitha winced as her name was called. It sounded so... American. And she was sure that they would find her accent laughable.
"Another new girl," he said, " Welcome to Howarts as well."
"Thank you, sir..." Tabitha hesitated, before falling silent. Once again the class sniggered in her general direction, and she scowled at the desktop. This was not going well at all. So much for accepting her in with open arms. Well, she thought challengingly as the professor put away the scroll, I'll just have to prove myself to them, won't I?
"So, I trust that all of you are looking into one of the many career fields that involve Charmwork?" the professor started in again, "Either that or you just got good marks on the Charms OWL."
Tabitha raised an eyebrow at Mercy, before raising her hand. "Excuse me, sir. Not meaning to be disrespectful or anything, but what are OWLs?"
The classroom fell silent for a second time, and Tabitha had the feeling that many of her classmates were trying not to laugh. She rolled her eyes at them.
"Oh dear... you haven't heard of OWLs?"
Biting back a retort, she nodded.
"Ordinary Wizarding Levels, tests that are taken at the end of the fifth year of schooling. Certain classes will only accept students back if they get certain grades and are proficient enough to attempt the difficulty level. Also, certain careers require a certain number of OWLs in certain subjects."
"Oh! I get it!" Tabitha said, "They're like WPs. What we had at Salem's, that is... Wizarding Proficiencies."
At the same time, Mercy spoke up. "Like the MSC!"
The class laughed openly at the two, and Mercy lifted her chin, glaring down her nose at one of the Slytherin boys who was looking directly at her while doing so. She resisted the urge to draw her wand based purely on the knowledge that she wasn't a good duelist.
Tabitha glared down at the tabletop. Not exactly a wonderful start to the day... reminding herself that she still had four classes to get through today, she watched the professor try to get the students to settle down.
"All right," he said when finally the room was silent again, "Today will be a fairly easy day, I think. We're just going to recap on the OWL Charms, to get you warmed up for this year. First thing is, of course, the Summoning Charm."
The class paired off and started working, summoning giant pillows from across the room. From there, they moved on to Color-Changing Charms. Tabitha amused herself for a good ten minutes with changing her hair eight different colors, before waving Professor Flitwick over to ask how to remove it. As the bell rang and the class started to gather their things, the professor called that there would be no homework.
"Well, that was... interesting," Tabitha said to Mercy on the way to their next class.
"Yeah... interesting," Mercy muttered, her eyes on the floor. 'Even within my own House...'
"Hey... You..." Tabitha stopped. "You know what we have next?"
"Uh... I have Potions..." Mercy replied, blinking and fumbling with her timetable. "What about you?"
"Um... Oh, ick! Herbology," Tabitha wrinkled her nose. "I hate Herbology."
"I guess we're separating then," Mercy sighed. "I'll try to find someone to follow... Good luck."
"Yeah, thanks," Tabitha smiled, then turned. "Hey! Maggie! Diana! What have you got?"
Mercy glanced down the corridor, seeking a flash of green amongst the multitude of black and blue. She bit her lip, and stumbled as someone pushed her from the side. She was reminded of that morning, when Philomena had introduced herself. Speaking of Philomena...
"Hey! Harper!"
The girl turned carefully, schooling her expression and posture, she cocked an eyebrow. "Dwyer?"
"Do you have potions?" Mercy asked, jogging to catch up to Philomena.
"Yes."
"Could I walk with you? I don't know the way..." she trailed off.
Philomena looked at her critically for a moment, her eyes hard. "If you must."
She turned gracefully, auburn hair flicking out behind her. Her eyes, a sharp hazel, lingered on Mercy for a moment as she did so, and Mercy took this as her 'cue' to follow. She couldn't help but feel awkward, watching the way that Philomena walked; she was like an elf, or a fairy from a Muggle story, impossibly light and graceful. The brunette had opened and closed her mouth several times to ask about this before they reached the dungeon room where her next lesson was to be held, and it was only as they joined the messy and segregated line that she finally did.
"Philomena," she asked cautiously, first exercising the use of the other girl's first name.
"Yes?" Philomena asked, her tone crisp and cool.
"I... Uh..." suddenly Mercy decided it wasn't exactly the best question to ask, and so she cast around for a better one. "What's the teacher like?"
"He's the Head of Slytherin House," she replied without missing a beat, or looking at Mercy. "He likes fame, so if you turn out to be more than competent at potion brewing, he'll likely invite you to join his... club."
"Club?" Mercy asked curiously, noting the pause.
"The Slug Club," Philomena elaborated. "It's for good potioneers, and anyone with famous family, or anyone who has a particular talent in another subject. He has a good eye for the 'special' kids, the ones that'll go far. See him?" she pointed to a dark-haired boy with a rather large nose who was standing to the side of the group. "That's Severus Snape; he's not popular, usually he's the scapegoat for the Marauder's pranks. He's very good with potions, best in the year, other than Lily Evans. That's her there," Philomena pointed to a pretty red-head standing with a group of Gryffindor girls. "She's good with potions and charms, and she doesn't really go with the House prejudices; she has friends in all the Houses, I think."
Mercy may have been forced to think of a reply, but luckily, their teacher appeared. She realised, belatedly, that it was the man who had taken her to her House common room, and therefore her Head of House, which Philomena had already mentioned. She shuffled in after the others, ignoring the suffocating closeness of the other students, she never really did like being so close to so many people; she hated crowds.
"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts," her Head of House boomed merrily once they were seated. "For our transfer student, I am Professor Slughorn, the potions professor here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Tell me, Miss Dwyer, are you of any relation to William Dwyer?"
"Uh..." she fiddled with the sleeve of her robe. "I... don't think so."
"Ah, pity, he was a great alchemist," Slughorn shook his head. "Anyway, I'm getting off topic. This year, we will quickly revise the OWL material, then move on to this years curriculum. However, today, I have several potions to show you."
The portly man hurried over to one of the alcoves, and pulled out a tray. Upon this tray were several small cauldrons, and already Mercy could smell the mixed scent wafting across the room. Slughorn was levitating the tray towards the empty desk at the front.
"Gather 'round, class," he ordered, looking excited.
The class did so with minimal fussing, and Mercy could see the same group of boys from that morning, though they were once again a trio. The pale, peaky boy with the sandy hair was there, but the plumper boy was gone. But her attention was drawn away from them, and to the simmering potion in one of the cauldrons. She felt a dreamy, fuzzy layer overtake her mind as she drew in the scent of something she couldn't name.
"Can anyone tell me what this is?" Slughorn asked, gesturing to the pinkish potion Mercy had inhaled.
Three or four hands were raised, including the two Philomena had pointed out earlier, and-
"Miss Malfoy?" Slughorn asked.
"Amortentia, the most powerful love potion," Catilina replied smoothly.
"Excellent, five points to Slytherin," Slughorn beamed. "Now, what about this one?"
He was pointing to a clear, scentless potion. "Mr. Snape?"
"Veritaserum," he replied, just shy of eagerly. "It's a colourless, odorless potion that compels the drinker to tell the truth. However, it forces the drinker to speak the truth he believes, not necessarily the truth as it is. For example, if you told a colour-blind man that the walls of a blue room were green, he could say that while under the influence of Veritaserum, because it was what he believed."
"A very good description, Mr. Snape, ten points!" Slughorn beamed. "Very in depth!"
Someone coughed near the back, it sounded suspiciously like 'teacher's pet'. Snape, who had been verging on smiling, turned a vivid shade of red, and scowled. Mercy glanced back, and saw the red-head, Lily, glaring at the messy-haired boy from that morning, the one with the truly unruly hair and the hazel eyes. She turned back to the front moments later, as Lily began to answer about the third potion, a golden potion that Snape had his black eyes fixed on almost hungrily.
"Felix Felicis," she said excitedly, her emerald eyes fixed on the metallic potion. "It's a luck potion; it's said that the drinker will have the best of luck in all his endeavors for the first few hours after drinking it. If taken in excess, though, it causes recklessness and dangerous overconfidence."
"Thank you, Miss Evans, five points to Gryffindor," Slughorn was already moving onto the next potion. "And our last potion. Ah, yes, thank you Mr. Lupin!"
"Polyjuice potion," Lupin, the sandy haired boy, said quietly. "It is effectively a shapeshifting potion that allows the drinker to take the form of another person for an hour at a time. If brewed incorrectly, the results can be lethal or permanent. Human-to-animal transformations are dangerous, and are considered impossible."
"An accurate description, Mr. Lupin," Slughorn noted. "Five points. Throughout the year, I will be awarding hard work and good scores with a bottle of this," he held up a small vial of the Felix Felicis. "Now, we have to get back to work, first the roll."
The roll was called swiftly, and Slughorn decided to pair them up for the lesson, and it seemed that he wanted to increase inter-House relations, as he'd paired Meri with Lily Evans, a Gryffindor. She was not the only one, Lupin (whose first name was Remus, she'd learned) had been sent to sit with Severus Snape.
As she walked down the corridor between the tables, she was forced to stop short near the table where Philomena and a boy called James Potter sat. James had stuck his leg out to stop her in her tracks, hazel eyes meeting her brown ones.
"Hey, you, new girl, so much as twitch a wand in Evans' direction, and I'll make you wish you never transfered," he said cockily, smirking up at her.
'Ah, finally, ground I can work with,' she thought, then shot her reply. "Oi, you, lion-boy, threaten me again and I'll hex you into next week."
"I hope you've got the skills to back that up, Dwyer," he sneered. "Watch your back."
"Likewise, Potter," she smirked, bending down to look him in the eye. "Careful, you've just given a potential enemy a very valuable weapon. Miss Evans had best watch her pretty neck."
"Miss Dwyer, please take your seat," Slughorn said sternly from the front, interrupting James' furious retort.
"Sorry, Professor," she ducked her head, hurrying to the desk where Lily Evans sat, which was, thankfully, quite far from James Potter.
"I hope Potter didn't give you too much trouble," Lily smiled, moving her belongings to make room for Mercy. "I'm Lily Evans... which you probably already knew from being told to sit with me. I hope you've enjoyed your stay at Hogwarts so far."
'What? Getting my hair turned pink?' she wondered bitterly. Luckily for her, the Colour Changing charms had returned it to its natural colour. "I think it'll take some getting used to, I mean, it's a big change 'nd all."
"Yes, you transfered from Australia... right?" Lily asked cheerfully.
"Mmhm," Mercy nodded, she was quickly seeing why Lily was popular in all the Houses. "Is the Potter boy your boyfriend?"
Lily's pleasant expression melted into one somewhere between horrified and sickened. "No. What gave you that idea?"
'Oh, now this I can use,' she was smirking internally. "He was just very protective, he said something about making me wish I hadn't transfered."
The red-head looked furious. "Oh he did, did he?"
"Sorry, I shouldn't assume," she apologised.
"It's alright," Lily was glaring at James' back by this point. "Don't get the wrong idea, most Gryffindors are quite pleasant if you give them the chance, they just need to do the same for Slytherins."
"Why do Gryffindors hate Slytherins so much?" Mercy asked, honestly curious this time.
"Gryffindor and Slytherin are traditionally rivals," Lily sighed. "I'm not too certain what started the whole thing, but it probably started with the Founders, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin. They disagreed over blood purity, Slytherin was very pro-pure, while Gryffindor thought that it shouldn't matter, in the end it drove Slytherin out of the castle."
"Wow..." Mercy blinked, looking a little dazed. "That long, huh?"
"Yeah..." Lily replied. "It's just always been that way."
It was then that something occurred to the Slytherin girl. "Sorry, I've been rude. My name is Mercy Dwyer, but call me Meri."
"I will."
"Would you all open your copies of Advanced Potion Making to page ten, so we can look over the information on the Draught of Living Death?"
Yay! Canon characters? Aren't you proud of us? Wouldn't you like to tell us how proud you are? Azure, stop wiggling your eyebrows at them. You'll scare them away.
Risa and Azure
