A/N First chapter upload since the Easer holidays have ended, don't worry I did write a couple on holiday.
Halfway through double Potions Draco swaggered in, that was the most pompous word I could think of to describe him. His right arm was covered in unnecessary bandages and bound in a sling.
Pansy simpered. "How is it, Draco? Does it hurt much?"
Draco grimaced. "Yeah." As Pansy turned away he winked at Vince and Greg. I may... dislike Pansy, but he shouldn't mistreat her.
Sev said idly. "Settle down, settle down."
We were working separately on Shrinking Solutions. Seamus and Dean were on either side of me trying to copy what I was doing, I didn't mind, I wished them luck in trying to copy something done so quickly.
Draco called. "Sir, sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm –"
Without looking up Sev said. "Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him."
I looked down my page, I'd juice the Shrivelfigs, diced the daisy roots, added the caterpillars and wormwood...
Draco drawled and interrupted my thinking. "Professor, Wealsey's mutilating my roots, sir."
Sev walked over to them. "Change roots with Malfoy, Weasley."
"But sir-"
"Now." Sev said dangerously.
Shrivelfigs – done, daisy roots – done, caterpillars and wormwood – done and done, leeches – done-
"And sir, I'll need this Shrivelfig skinned." Draco said.
I growled.
"Potter, you can skin Malfoy's Shrivelfig." Sev said.
I muttered. "Shrivelfigs, daisy roots, caterpillars, wormwood, leeches, rat spleen and cowbane."
The cowbane! That's what I needed to add, a splash of cowbane. I did just that, stirred it slowly and increased the heat.
"How are you already done?" Dean hissed.
I smirked. "Talent, and I have to wave my wand still."
"At least yours in green, mine's pink!" Seamus moaned.
"Slice a caterpillar and put it in." I mumbled.
He did that, it stayed pink.
"Now let it simmer on the heat." I said.
He didn't look convinced but did so anyway.
Sev ladled up some of Nev's potion. "Orange, Longbottom. Orange. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one rat spleen was needed? Didn't I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?"
I quickly wrote down.
'More Shrivelfig, let simmer until purple,
4 rat spleens + miced daisy roots until green,
5 drops of leech juice + Shrivelfig until pink,
One sliced caterpillar + let simmer until green.'
I passed it to Hermione who muttered the instructions to him.
Seamus turned around. "Hey, Harry, have you heard? Daily Prophet this morning – they reckon Sirius Black's been sighted."
"Where?" Harry and Ron said quickly.
"Not too far from here. It was a Muggle who saw him. 'Course, she didn't really understand. The Muggles think he's just an ordinary criminal, don't they? So she 'phoned the telephone hotline. By the time the Ministry of Magic got there, he was gone." Seamus said.
Ron said "Not too far from here... What, Malfoy? Need something else skinning?"
"Thinking of trying to catch Black single-handed, Potter?" He said, eyes shining malevolently.
Harry said curtly. "Yeah, that's right."
"Of course, if it was me. I'd have done something before now. I wouldn't be staying at school like a good boy, I'd be out there looking for him." Draco said meanly.
"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" Ron said in a surly tone.
"Don't you know, Potter?" I think Draco was about to laugh.
"Know what?" Harry said.
I choked and grasped Seamus' wrist. "He doesn't know."
Oh Merlin. He doesn't know. He doesn't know that Black betrayed – Black is the reason his parent's aren't alive, that he's an orphan.
"Maybe you'd rather not risk your neck. Want to leave it to the Dementors, do you? But if it was me, I'd want revenge. I'd hunt him down myself." Draco sneered.
"What are you talking about?" Harry said angrily.
Sev called. "You should have finished adding your ingredients by now. This potion needs to stew before it can be drunk; clear away while it simmers and then we'll test Longbottoms..."
I turned back around to me desk, waved a wand over my potion and hurriedly started to tidy away.
He shouldn't hear it from me; I'm not the right person. I'm not sure who is but it bloody well isn't me. And he should definitely not hear it from Draco.
As the lesson drew to a close Sev strode over to Nev who cowered by his cauldron.
"Everyone gather round, and watch Longbottom's toad. If he has managed to produce a Shrinking Solution, it will shrink to a tadpole. If, as I don't doubt, he has done it wrong, his toad is likely to be poisoned." Sev said smirking.
Sev picked up Trevor in his left and dipped a small spoon into Nev's cauldron, filled with a green potion. He trickled a few drops down Trevor's throat.
There was silence and a small pop, Trevor the tadpole was wriggling in Sev's hand. Sev looked sour, he pulled a bottle from his robes and poured a few drops on Trevor who then returned fully grown.
"Five points from Gryffindor. I told you not to help him, Miss Granger. Class Dismissed." He said bitterly.
"Oh, and Miss Malfoy, Professor Lupin has been looking for you." He sneered.
I ran to the teacher's office to find him.
"Ah, Miss Malfoy, I just wanted an explanation of why you ran out of my class the other day. Please, try and make it quick I've got a lesson with Gryffindor now." Lupin said.
"Er, well, we were doing Boggarts." He nodded. "And I'm not sure what I fear, I have some idea, I know it's a person..."
"Any other clues?" He said calmly.
"I don't think I should, well, there's three choices, one of them's You-Know-Who."
"I've really got to go, come and see me later, okay? In my office."
I ran off to Herbology, and made my excuses to Professor Sprout.
"You-Know-Who, why?" Lupin asked.
"He ruined my family." I said plainly.
"The other two?"
I took a deep breath. "Can you promise not to tell anyone what I say."
"Nothing will leave this room." He said seriously.
"You know how Bellatrix Lestrange tortured the Longbottoms into insanity." I said.
He nodded. "She's my aunt, I love her, but... when I passed out on the train, I was remembering it, I was there. My aunt, she scares me, I love her, but she scares me."
Lupin looked very white. "T-the, the third?" He asked, quite shocked.
"Nothing will leave this room?" I asked again.
"Nothing will leave this room." He said.
"My father." I said feeling sick. "He performed the Cruciatus curse on me when I was disowned." I said trembling.
"So Professor McGonagall said your training to become an Animagi? Is that right?" Lupin asked, I think he took pity on me, we'd had several chats in his office.
I nodded. "It's very interesting."
"You know it takes quite a long time, McGonagall took a year or two, and she's very skilled." He said.
"Yep, but I've got acceptable marks, well, according to my friends they're excellent, but Mother taught me since I could talk." I said, the past pulling at my feelings.
"So when are you aiming to be done by? Fifth year? Sixth year?"
"End of this year, maybe fourth." Lupin spat out the tea he was drinking.
"High hopes then." He laughed and waved his wand to clear the mess.
I nodded. "Professor?" I asked.
"Yes?" Lupin said.
"Harry doesn't know." He stared at me blankly. "He doesn't know what Black did. I don't think that I'm the right person to tell him."
"Too right you aren't, no one should, he'd go after Black. Now, I think it's time you go now, goodbye now Miss Malfoy." Lupin said pushing me out the door.
"Bloody werewolf." I muttered.
Lupin opened the door. "What was that?"
"Well, it's obvious, isn't it? Getting ill every month, at the same time, coincidently when there's a full moon?" I said smirking.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't go spreading it around let's just hope you're the only one with enough logic to figure it out." He said cheerfully.
"Goodbye Professor Lupin." I laughed, his name was so ironic! Lupine means to be wolfish!
