AN: I'd like to thank eldestwand on Tumblr for giving me the idea for the story. I hope you like it.
Laughter filled the hallways as Bensabiel Prince and three other boys strolled through the front doors of the potion dungeon. They began to settle down as they took their seats in the dungeon, but Ben sobered completely when he saw who they were sitting near.
Perched upon her high-legged chair like it was a throne was Jayden Connolly. Just looking at her made Ben's blood boil. She was cunning, ambitious, and cutthroat. She made Ben want to scream and tear out his dark red hair.
She glanced his way, and he looked down, not wanting to see her stupid smirk. For some reason she seemed to take joy out of tormenting him- he hated it. He hated her.
"Take a seat, you insipid fools. I will take points if I see one person not in their seat!"
Ben rolled his eyes as Snape's booming monotone rang out in the classroom and he pulled open his notebook and dipped his quill in ink. The bat-like figure of Snape burst through the door of his office, looking a little more irritated than usual.
Then again, most of the teachers are, Ben thought ruefully. Who wouldn't be with that Umbridge bat around?
"Today you will be brewing a Peace-Inducing Draught," Snape declared. "Now begin- you only have the hour to finish your draught, and I will give it an OWL grade!"
Ben practically ran for the ingredients cabinet, and only glanced at the board once. Just as his hand closed around a unicorn horn, it almost got yanked from his hand. He tried to yank back, and glanced at his opponent.
Connolly- great, he thought, and he tried to yank it out of her hands, when she let go for a moment. Before he could get up, however, her painted talons dug into his hands and he yelped, dropping the horn. Jayden smirked and scooped up the horn before it could hit the floor, and she scurried away to her cauldron.
Ben internally groaned and scoured the cabin for another one, and began on his potion, five mines behind. He quickly chopped up the right amounts of each ingredient, and began hurrying along with his potion.
Checking the clock obsessively, he knew he had to get this right, and in the right amount of time- he couldn't afford to screw up another practice OWL potion. His father had sent him endless owls about only getting an E on the last one and Ben suspected his father would send a Howler if he screwed up again.
He looked over to his cutting board and realized his moonlace was missing. He looked over to Jayden's table in a moment of intuition. A growl rose in his throat when he realized the tiny Slytherin girl had stolen his moonlace. Her too-innocent expression confirmed it.
"Give me my moonlace," he growled.
"What?" she asked, looking deceptively bewildered, but Ben wouldn't fall for her stupid tricks.
"I know you took it," he snarled.
"I don't take anything," she retorted. "I actually worked to get to the top, unlike you, little rich boy. Now go away- I can't afford to not make an O on this!"
"Neither can I!" Ben cried in desperation.
"Oh come on," Jayden said, rolling her eyes as she stirred her potion. "You can rely on Daddy's money- who cares if you flunk everything. You can live out your entire life on a bloody golden throne, never work a day in your life!"
"You don't know a thing about me!" Ben shouted, seeing red in his eyes. "I've worked just as hard as you and you know nothing about what's expected for me!"
"You're just a pureblood snot who can't take responsibility for anything!" she shouted back. "And I didn't steal your moonlace- you already added it, you dunderhead!"
"Oh," was all Ben could say. He turned around and forced himself to stir his brew. He managed to calm down a little as he stared at the periwinkle potion and smelled something alike to lavender.
He glanced at the textbook, then at the clock. He clearly had made it correctly, and didn't have a lot of time to spare. He bottled the Peace-Inducing Draught into a flask and hurried along the aisle.
Ben felt something hit his side, and then he tripped, comically, skidding along the row and finally, it ended with him dropping the flask. Laughter filled the dungeon, a foreign sound in the room of doom and gloom, and all Ben felt was rage. He knew who had done it, and he ran to her, seeing red.
She was laughing, practically cackling and didn't see him coming until it was too late. He shoved her, dunking her head in the cauldron- instantly regretting it as her draught splattered all over the floor. He grabbed her long blond curls and pulled her back out. Instead of being peaceful, being dunked in the Peace-Inducing Draught appeared to have the opposite effect.
Spluttering and angry, her talons dug into his robes, and Ben feared for his life.
"Connolly! PRINCE! TWENTY POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR AND DETENTION FOR BOTH OF YOU!" Snape bellowed.
Ben's stomach felt like it was in free-fall. What was his father going to say when he heard his son had gotten detention? And worse, hadn't finished a potions assignment?
He was irritated, to see the least, when Jayden began the crocodile tears.
"B-But, Professor Snape," she whined. "I-I was the one dunked into the c-cauldron- you should punish him, not me!"
"Don't pretend I didn't see your Tripping Hex or your attempt to strangle Mr. Prince, Miss Connolly," Snape said coldly. "Detention is at six, you will be cleaning my classroom for a week. I will not have bumbling idiots rough housing in my classroom!"
Ben sighed, slightly ashamed of himself. Then again, it did feel good to get one on Jayden Connolly. He shuffled up the stairs, knowing that he'd have to figure out a good explanation for this to his father.
