Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the wonderful wizarding world and all credit must be given to Ms. JK Rowling, however, anything unrecognisable is of my own creation.
Chapter 14: Felix Felicis
I couldn't stomach more than a piece of toast for breakfast this morning, because I'd eaten so much at the welcome feast last night. McGonagall has just started to hand out timetables, meaning our conversation switched to this years' classes: Dorcas spoke.
'I heard NEWTs Potions is hard... the first class is Draught of the Living Death.' I could hear Dorcas was worried about Potions class this year: Remus also seemed a little worried when he commented on the Draught of the Living Death. Sirius shrugged.
'Can't be that hard?' Dorcas scoffed.
'You would say that... you're a Black.' I laughed at Sirius's childish imitation of Dorcas, before continuing the conversation.
'Dorcas, you'll be fine... me and Lily will help you with Potions.' Dorcas smirked.
'... or Lily can just sweet talk Slughorn at Slug Club: after all, she's teacher's pet.' Lily frowned.
'I am not... and anyway, Professor Slughorn's invited Hermione to Slug Club.' There were suddenly six sets of eyes looking at me: I flushed red.
'Yes, well, Slughorn invited me over the summer.' Sirius spoke.
'You're not going?!' I smirked, answering Sirius.
'I told Lily I would... and you're coming with me, Siri.' Sirius frowned.
'Never.' I chuckled, and as I did McGonagall handed out our timetables. I could immediately tell which class we had first, because Lily's expression brightened, Remus looked to be contemplating head butting the table, and Dorcas groaned. We've got double Potions this morning, meaning once breakfast was finished, we returned to Gryffindor Tower to collect our Potions books, and then made the long trek down to the dungeons. Entering the Potions classroom, we found Professor Slughorn stood at the front, behind two cauldrons. He looked up as the class entered.
'Ah... gather round, gather round.' We gathered around the three cauldrons at the front of the classroom, and I could now see that along with the cauldrons were two vials. Slughorn continued speaking. 'Welcome everyone to your first NEWTs Potions class...' As per usual, the class consisted of Gryffindor and Slytherin, though it seems that the Gryffindors now out number the Slytherin students. '... I have prepared a few concoctions this morning, as a little appetizer, before we commence with the lesson.' I watched Slughorn walk over to the first vial, before speaking. 'Anyone hazard a guess what is in this vial?' The vial contained vertiaserum, and as mine, Lily's, and Snape's hand flew into the air, Slughorn asked Snape to speak.
'Vertiaserum. It's a powerful truth serum, the drinker is compelled to tell only the truth... however, there are cases of resistance to this specific serum amongst old magical families.' Slughorn smiled.
'Very good, Mr. Snape. Vertiaserum is a tricky little potion to brew correctly... and as Mr. Snape pointed out, there are instances of old magical families whom have required resistance... and as I believe it, there's a student in this very room, who could drink this whole vial and not sing like a canary.' Slughorn then swiftly moved on to the first of the cauldrons, this time asking Lily to name the contents.
'That's a Draught of the Living Death; it's a very potent sleeping draught. It's use must be monitored carefully, because over dosing can result in a permanent state of sleep. The Wiggenweld Potion is the only potion known to counter the effects of the Draught of the Living Death.' Slughorn confirmed that Lily was quite correct with her answer, before moving on to the next vial. Sirius blurted out that this vial contained liquid luck; or Felix Felicis. I think Slughorn was surprised by Sirius's sudden involvement, because normally Sirius doesn't get involved in class.
After a moments pause, most likely due to Sirius's studious outburst, Slughorn moved onto the last concoction.
'Miss. Granger, will you please identify this potion?' I stepped forward to peer into the cauldron, taking a deep breath as a very satisfying aroma hit me.
'Amortentia...' I sounded dazed, which was probably a side effect from breathing in the Amortentia. '... It's the worlds most powerful love potion: it's rumored to smell differently to each person according to what attracts them... for example I smell... spearmint, tea-tree oil, and licorice.' I then flushed red, before quickly returning to Sirius's side. Sirius whispered.
'Is that what I smell like?' I could feel myself turning a deeper shade of red, as I nodded: Sirius chuckled. Slughorn went on to explain that Amortentia doesn't create actual love, just powerful illusions of infatuation and obsession. I whispered back to Sirius.
'What could you smell?' Sirius smirked.
'Cinnamon, my Mynee's hair, broomsticks, and motorbike oil.' I smirked: I'm glad to see that I made it into the same league as Sirius's Quidditch and motorbike obsessions. The remainder of Potions class was relatively uneventful: Slughorn promised to give the vial of Felix Felicis as a reward, to any student who brewed a perfect Draught of the Living Death. The competition for the Felix Felicis came down to Lily and Snape, who both presented crystal clear draughts at the end of the 2 hours. We watched Slughorn examine and test each draught, before speaking.
'Mr. Snape, you're draught needed a little more Sopophorous bean's juice... whereas, Miss. Evans, your draught is perfect.' I watched Snape sneer, as Slughorn presented Lily with the vial of Felix Felicis. I knew that Lily was secretly thrilled to have beaten Snape, even if she seemed modest on the outside. Slughorn then dismissed the class, and we wondered up to lunch. I held Sirius's hand as we walked: he spoke.
'That Felix Felicis is a waste on you, Evans.' Lily, who was holding James' hand, stuck her tongue out at Sirius.
'... and in your hands it would've been a disaster, Black.' Sirius disagreed.
'No, because I'd already decided what I'd use it for.' James quizzically glanced towards Sirius at this point: though, Dorcas interrupted before Sirius could speak.
'How are you going to use it, Lil?' Lily seemed thoughtful for a moment, before shrugging.
'Haven't thought about it, I'll probably just save it until I have a reason to use it.' I knew Lily would be sensible with the Felix Felicis, or she'd use it to persuade James to take her to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, which would be amusing. The rest of the day went by rather quickly: our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher; Professor Callaghan, was a nervous sort of bloke, whom Sirius made jump with a strategically placed Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Firework. Professor Callaghan had just brushed off the disruption, and proceeded to teach us about the theory behind non-verbal magic. I suppose Professor Callaghan was a suitable DADA professor; he knew his defensive theory and seemed capable of putting it into practice, though he'd have to improve his nervous temperament if he hoped to get through the year and survive teaching James and Sirius.
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Thanks to my reviewers from the last chapter. I'm glad to hear that I portrayed Gilderoy well in the last chapter, because I wasn't sure if I'd done him justice. Next chapter will be Sirius's birthday, and then after that I've got planned 4 more chapters before Hermione tells Sirius the truth. Love RoxannetheLaugh x.
