Disclaimer: All ideas are based on characters and events belonging to J.K. Rowling.

Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 26: Potion's Disaster

After the strange Care of Magical Creatures class, the day passed quickly until dinner. Olivia had been debating with herself all day whether or not she should mention Regulus' odd behavior to Sirius. They hadn't talked much about his brother and she wasn't positive how bad the feelings were between them. Finally, she decided she would only mention it if Regulus kept acting strange toward her.

She and Kiley had beaten the guys into the Great Hall and took their usual seats, beginning to pile food onto their plates. Olivia hadn't seen Sirius since that morning and was anxiously glancing toward the door, waiting for him to appear. It didn't take long for them to show up. The four of them came strolling into the Great Hall as if they didn't have a care in the world. She smiled but as Sirius got closer, the smile quickly slipped.

"What happened to your face? You guys didn't pick another fight with the Slytherins, did you?"

Sirius sat down next to her and quickly nuzzled his face into her neck before sitting up straight and gathering his own food, trying to think of an easy way to tell her that it was her brother that tried to smash his face in.

James sat down across from her and saved Sirius the trouble. "I hit him."

Olivia paused, her fork half way to her mouth, not positive that she had heard correctly. After she determined she had, she had to figure out if James was being serious or not. She looked to Sirius, who just shrugged a shoulder and went back to his food, then turned her attention back to James. "Why?"

James fiddled with his food for a few minutes before deciding he would try to avert the subject. "So, quidditch tryouts are next week. You're going to be there, right?"

Olivia started at him with an expression that clearly read 'are you serious?'. "James."

"We had to reach...an understanding, ok?"

She pointed to Sirius' face, "Was this because of last night?"

Sirius took her hand in his and tried to calm her while at the same time trying to stay out of the way of the two siblings' argument.

"Yea, but…" He didn't have time to voice anything else as Olivia stood from her seat, grabbed her bag, and quickly left the Great Hall.

Kiley stood up to follow her but Sirius stopped her. "Do you mind if I take this one?"

Kiley thought a minute before nodding and sitting back down beside Remus. Sirius thanked her with a nod of his head quickly before turning and quickly making his way out of the Great Hall. Once he hit the entrance hall he paused. He really had no idea where she was. He wandered the halls aimlessly for a while, looking in random places he thought she might be, including the common room and he even asked a first year to go check her dorm room but it was all to no avail. Finally, when he was about to give up and just wait for her in the common room it hit him.

He took long strides up the many sets of stairs until he found his way to the top of the astronomy tower where he found Olivia sitting against the wall, her head turned up, looking at the stars. She didn't hear him and he took the moment to really look at her. A smile made its way onto his face, how had he gotten so lucky as to win her heart? After several minutes that Sirius stood there simply content with staring at her, she noticed him and smiled.

"How long have you been standing there?"

He crossed the length of the tower and took a seat beside her, remembering the last time they had been up here together. "A little while."

"Why didn't you say anything, silly?"

He reached his hand up and stroked her cheek. "I was enjoying the view." He relished in the slight blush that crossed her lightly freckled cheeks but frowned as the smile slipped from her face. "What's wrong, love?"

"I'm sorry James hit you."

Sirius chuckled and pulled her sideways onto his lap. "I'm perfectly fine, love. If the situation had been reversed, I can't say that I wouldn't have done exactly the same thing. Like he said, though, we came to an understanding."

"It doesn't excuse his actions. He shouldn't have butted in."

Sirius pushed her hair out of her face and behind her ears. "Don't be too hard on him, he has only good intentions in mind."

Olivia thought about it before agreeing that he was more than likely correct. She brought her hand up and traced the bruise that outlined his eye and part of one cheek. "Does it hurt?"

He unconsciously grimaced. "A little bit. It's not like I haven't had a whole lot worse done to me." Olivia frowned, remembering the night he showed up at her house, bloody and barely conscious. "That look does nothing for you, love, smile." Though she tried to fight it, she couldn't stop a small smile from creeping its way onto her face. "See? Much better, though you are the most beautiful person I've ever seen, even when you're frowning."

Instead of replying, she leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, letting them linger there momentarily. "We should probably be heading to the common room soon, if we get caught up here, we'll have detention for sure."

"It's not like either of us have never had detention before." Winking at her he pulled her tight against him and they just sat there, staring at the stars and enjoying each other's company.

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The rest of the week passed in a blur. Olivia had, of course, forgiven James for hitting Sirius though his black eye still hadn't completely faded. The whole school was full of rumors as to how he got it. All the Marauders had taken advantage of the rumor mill and every time somebody asked them they would spin wilder tales as to what had happened. The latest thing that Olivia had heard was that he got in a fight with the Dumbledore over a lemon drop and Dumbledore had punched him out. She had even heard tales of him getting in a fight with the Giant Squid.

Olivia hurried on her way to the dungeons, they had just finished breakfast and the boys had went off to their class while Olivia and Kiley, regrettably, rushed to Double Potions. It was awkward for Olivia as she walked into the dank classroom and took her seat next to Regulus. She hadn't seen or talked to him since last weeks' Care of Magical Creatures class. She still hadn't been able to come up with an explanation for his actions but had definitely decided not to mention it if he didn't.

He nodded his head in acknowledgement but didn't engage her in conversation. They sat in silence and listened to Slughorn drone about Befuddlement Draughts. It didn't sound like a complicated potion in theory but Olivia sighed in resignation as it came time for them to actually brew it. Regulus stood and Olivia started to follow him to the cupboard but he stopped her.

"I'll gather the ingredients if you'll be setting us up a cauldron. That way we both don't have to fight the mess."

Olivia looked at where he gestured and saw that over half of the class was gathered trying to get their supplies. She nodded mutely and started setting up their station while Regulus made his way through the mass of students.

She had a flame going under their cauldron, along with her book propped open to the appropriate page when Regulus returned, along with an arm full of supplies. Looking back at the cupboard she was slightly awed at how fast he had returned but put it out of her mind as she tried to concentrate on what she was supposed to do.

Regulus handed her the sneezewort. "Be sure to chop this very fine or it won't be absorbed correctly."

Olivia took it obediently, glad that Regulus was taking charge. It wasn't exactly a secret how bad she was at the subject. She finished her chopping as Regulus started slicing the lovage with a look of concentration. She picked the sneezewort up without thinking and went ahead, dropping it into the already brewing potion. Regulus looked up in alarm before the potion started to bubble faster than it had been a few second previously. Olivia's eyes widened before Regulus grabbed her, pulling her across the room quickly before there was a loud pop and their failed potion covered everything within a three foot radius.

Regulus sighed and ran a hand through his hair, very much like she was used to seeing Sirius do. "Did you not read your book at all? You weren't supposed to add that until the very end."

Olivia looked away, trying to keep her composure. She felt so embarrassed she could barely stand it. "I'm sorry, Regulus."

Slughorn made his way over, causing their potion to disappear with a flick of his wand. "Potter, Black, what happened?"

Regulus was the first to find his voice. "It was an accident sir."

Olivia frowned, not wanting Regulus to make it seem like it was jointly their fault, that wasn't fair to him. "It was my fault sir. I added the sneezewort too soon."

Slughorn looked at her with a look of both understanding and pity. "After class, I want a word." He started to make his way back to the front of the room but turned back to add, "With the both of you."

Regulus turned to her. "Are you alright?"

She deftly nodded before he walked back and took a seat in front of their now pointless cauldron, starting to pack it up. She awkwardly followed him, not knowing what to say. Finally, she settled with trying to help him pack everything away as partners all around them continued their potion making. "I am sorry, Regulus. I didn't do it on purpose."

She could have sworn a small smile crossed his face. "I know you didn't, Potter. It's not your fault you're horrid at the subject."

Wow, that made her feel better. Once the class was over, all the other students gathered their things to leave the dreary room. Kiley's eyes caught Olivia's as she walked out, sending her a sympathetic look. Once, she walked out it left only Olivia, Regulus, and Professor Slughorn.

Slughorn looked up from the essays he was grading and called them up to his desk. "Now, Ms. Potter, how many potions does that make you've single handedly messed up?"

Olivia stood there, slightly dumbfounded. "Umm…I'm not sure Professor. Quite a few."

"Hmm…yes." He nodded and looked at Olivia with an odd look. "Now, as it is your OWL year, I believe something needs to be done about this. I think it in everyone's best interest if I assign you a tutor."

"A tutor sir?"

"Yes, and I believe Regulus here would be a good contestant for the job. What do you think about it dear boy?"

She glanced at Regulus quickly, not wanting to meet his eye. This was so embarrassing. "Yes sir, that would be fine."

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Author's Note: Wow. Thirteen reviews for chapter 25. I am sincerely grateful to each and every one of you. I usually answer each review individually at the end of chapters but considering they are growing with each chapter, it is taking up an immense amount of room at the bottoms of the pages and I'm afraid it will start getting on peoples' nerves. So, I do believe I'm going to just start answering reviews privately.

I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you think of it and how you think its going so far. I enjoy each and every review and take each one seriously so if you have any ideas to throw in feel free to do so knowing that I will give it serious consideration.

Sorry for the delay, I've been trying to update for a couple days but for some reason hasn't liked me and kept showing an error message. :(