In the time that I've been AWOL on this story, I've been getting more into the Harry Potter archive and I'm currently writing a short Dramione fic so if you're a Dramione shipper or love all things Harry Potter, then go ahead and check it out.

Brewing Plans

To get Penny's attention, Abby had written the other girl a letter asking her to meet in the Artefact Room. Abby had already gotten the appropriate ingredients ready after raiding the Potions Classroom when Snape was trying to appease Dumbledore after their DADA professor bailed on them. If Penny didn't show up, then Abby was prepared to make the Sleeping Draught on her own even if it was a little too advanced for her. As time ticked by and Penny failed to show, Abby was beginning to prepare herself to make the potion on her own. That was until the door opened and Penny walked in.

"Hi, Abby," Penny greeted her with a smile. "You said that you wanted to meet me in here about something important?"

"Yes, I do," Abby nodded. "I require your potion making abilities, Penny. I need to brew a Sleeping Draught and that's not exactly something that I feel confident in making on my own."

"Why do you need to brew a Sleeping Draught?" Penny wondered.

"If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone about it?" Abby asked.

Penny shrugged, "I guess."

"Okay, well, it's a bit secretive so nobody can know about it," Abby said in a low voice before telling Penny her plan. "Basically, I need to brew a Sleeping Draught so that I can give it to Mrs Norris so that she'll fall asleep and I can sneak into the corridor on the West Towers."

"How exciting! And don't worry, Abby. I won't tell anyone about what we're doing. It's refreshing to be acknowledged for my potion making skills rather than my popularity," Penny smiled.

"That's exactly why I wanted you to be the person for this job, Penny. Because I trust you to do your best and keep this between you and me," Abby reassured her.

"Then why don't I teach you a thing or two about potions?" Penny grinned.

That's exactly what Penny did, since the next hour or so was spent brewing the Sleeping Draught. For the most part, Abby made it herself while Penny took her through the steps. It was hard not to notice the difference between Penny's way of instructing things in comparison to Professor Snape's. Penny was quick to correct Abby on anything she did wrong without a fuss while Snape always berated students whenever they messed up in class.

When the potion was ready, Abby took out a flask and put the contents into it so that it could be used on Mrs Norris. Abby used to take a small dose of Sleeping Draught when she was younger since she always had trouble sleeping, but Abby didn't plan on having any of it now since it was only for Mrs Norris.

"Well done, Abby," Penny praised her work. "You could knock a Romanian Longhorn on its tail with that batch of Sleeping Draught."

"Thanks, Penny. I really do appreciate the help," Abby said.

"You're very welcome, Abby. I can't wait to hear how this all turns out!" Penny grinned.

"Actually, you might not have to hear how it turns out…" Abby trailed off before making her offer. "If you come with Rowan and I to the corridor."

"You want me to come with you?" Penny gasped. "Why?"

"Because you know your way around the castle with the gossip and you're good at potions so Rowan and I could use another set of skills with us, especially since I don't even have that many friends to help me," Abby replied.

"You consider us friends?" Penny asked.

Abby shrugged, "Acquaintances at least. You're one of the few people who don't shoot me dirty looks or spread rumours about me. I trust you, Penny and my trust is hard to come by."

"Well, that trust certainly won't be broken, Abby. You can count on me," Penny promised. "But can we count on your plan though? I want to help, but I don't want to get in trouble."

"Don't worry, Penny. As far as I've planned, this plan is foolproof unless the unlikely event of something going wrong happens," Abby reassured her. "And if we get caught, I will take the blame without any fuss. I'll make sure that you and Rowan don't get in trouble. In fact, I already have a pre-prepared lie to sue if I need to."

"If you're a Slytherin you must be good at lying then," Penny remarked. "If you believe in this plan, then I believe in it too. Just let me know when to meet and I'll be there."

Satisfied that she had Penny on board and that she could be trusted, Abby told Penny the full details of her plan and that only made Penny even more ready for it. In fact, Abby would go as far to say that Penny was excited about what they were going to do despite the potential risks. And if things did get too risky, then Abby was fully prepared to take the hit if she had to.

~*•°•*~

When it was time for Flying Class to begin, Abby scouted out Ben on the Training Grounds to see if he was ready to face his fear. He did seem nervous, but not nervous to the extent where he looked like he was going to be sick or anything, so Abby took that as a good sign.

"Hey, Ben," Abby greeted him. "Are you ready to face your fear of flying?"

"I think so. I'm still anxious, but I couldn't have come this far without you," Ben smiled. "I can't believe I'm not afraid of flying!"

"Well, let's see if you can show me what you can do," Abby said.

Madam Hooch's loud voice caught their attention so everyone got into their positions and the lesson began. When it came to Flying Class, Abby never really put that much thought into it. She didn't really care for flying, since it wasn't one of the lessons that she enjoyed. Out of the seven classes that Abby took, her least favourite were History of Magic and Flying. Abby might've liked History of Magic a little more if their professor wasn't a complete snooze fest. Everyone took that class and used it to do whatever they wanted to since Professor Binns always bored himself to sleep.

As for her other classes, Abby didn't really care that much for Herbology or Defence Against the Dark Arts. Abby just didn't like messing around with the plants and she found it quite boring as well, but a first-year Hufflepuff named Nymphadora Tonks always made it fun, just like she did for History of Magic. Defence Against the Dark Arts wouldn't be ranked so low on Abby's list if their first professor wasn't so incompetent and useless. Abby hadn't even bothered to learn their name, she just knew that it was a middle-aged man who had some kind of lisp which made listening to his lectures almost unbearable. Even Snape would've done a better job than him with his drawled out voice.

The other classes that she took didn't really bother Abby at all. Potions was a middle-tier one, since Professor Snape often made it difficult to learn with his teaching methods, but Abby knew that she was coping better than some of the other people in her class were. At least Merula hadn't tried sabotaging her again. Transfiguration and Charms were two of Abby's best subjects, since she seemed to have Jacob's ability to pick things up in Charms and had managed to impress Professor McGonagall with her quick wit. Astronomy was easily her favourite subject though, since Abby loved studying the stars every Wednesday. Sometimes she and Jacob would sit together in his room and they would watch the stars and give them their own names. Those were some of Abby's fondest memories in her rather dismal childhood.

"Alright, everyone! Let's get ready to fly!" Madam Hooch called out, snapping Abby out of her thoughts. She then went over to Ben, only to see that he was a complete mess of nerves now.

"I take it back, Abby. I'm still afraid of flying…" Ben stammered.

"You can do it, Ben. If you can handle being suspended in the air by a measly wand, then you can handle flying on a broom. At least this way you'll have control over yourself," Abby reassured him. "And don't you want to live up to your houses expectations? Any Gryffindor would be able to sore through those skies with no problem. You wouldn't want to disappoint your house mates."

"You're right," Ben sighed. "I'll never be a true Gryffindor if I don't get over my fear of flying. Besides, it's not like it's something I can avoid forever."

"There's the spirit," Abby smirked.

"It's time I took to the skies and made your time with me worth it," Ben murmured.

"You can do it, Ben!" Rowan exclaimed as she approached them.

"Here goes nothing…" Ben trailed off.

Within seconds, Ben had summoned his broom into his hand and was preparing to mount it. After a moment of hesitation, the timid Gryffindor soared into the skies.

"I bet he crashes into the window," Rowan remarked.

Abby rolled her eyes, "Oh, have a little more faith in him, Rowan."

Their tutoring seemed to pay off since despite a few slip-ups along the way, Ben managed to make it through the sky without letting anything horrible happen to him. When he landed, Abby was quick to go over to him to see how he was doing and to her surprise, Ben didn't seemed to be that spazzed out anymore.

"You did it, Ben. You lived up to your Gryffindor house. You did well," Abby congratulated him.

"Thanks, Abby," Ben smiled before his face fell. "But I think I can feel my lunch coming back up."

"Then I better take a few steps back," Abby said as Madam Hooch approached them.

"I must say, Mr Cooper, you surprised me with your abilities today. Where did you get this sudden burst of talent from?" Madam Hooch asked.

"Abby's been helping me get over my fear of flying, Madam Hooch, and her plan worked brilliantly. I wouldn't have been able to fly like I did today without her," Ben grinned.

"Don't forget to give yourself a little credit too, Ben. You were the one who had to overcome your fear. I just helped you along the way," Abby said.

"You've certainly proven yourself to have a knack for helping out your classmates, Miss Selwyn. If only you had the same ambitions for flying like your brother did… He was an excellent Chaser, one of the best that Slytherin had had in years. Had he not been expelled, he very likely could've been captain," Madam Hooch recalled.

"Jacob always did love Quidditch," Abby murmured. Jacob would always recount his Quidditch matches to Abby when they saw each other and even though Abby didn't care about the sport at all, she still listened with her attention fully on him.

"Ten points to Slytherin for your efforts in helping Mr Cooper and ten points to Gryffindor for Mr Cooper overcoming his fear. I hope to see more of this from the both of you," Madam Hooch said before walking off.

"Thanks for that, Abby. I wouldn't have been able to get those House Points without your help," Ben smiled.

"I should be thanking you as well. I wouldn't have been able to get mine without helping you," Abby remarked.

"Well, if you ever need my help in anything, just let me know. It's the least I can do after how you've helped me," Ben offered.

"I'll keep that in mind," Abby said.

Now that her plan with Ben had been a success, all Abby had to do was succeed in getting down that corridor and into that room. It would soon be time for Abby to put her plan into action, and for her sake, Abby was hoping that the plan would go off without a hitch.

So this chapter turned out shorter than I had anticipated. I'd originally planned to get the plan going by the end of it, but I decided to save that for the next chapter where it'll all go down, so that's something to look forward to. In the meantime, check out my Dramione fic titled Making Amends and I'll see you guys next chapter.