Chapter 7: The perfect plan – Part 1

Riley stood up from the bathtub and put her clothes on very quickly. She started to walk away when she let one of her shoes fall to the ground. She glanced at Sarah who was now staring at her.

"Potter." She said, grinning.

Riley stood there, staring at her but didn't say a thing.

"Just the girl I wanted to see." Her grin grew wider.

"What do you want?"

"Oh, I think you know!" Suddenly her grin turned into a frown.

"I really don't." Riley said, trying not to let any emotion peek through her expression. However, it annoyed Sarah even more.

"I should hex you! I should turn you into a creepy little rat!" She hissed, narrowing her eyes. "Or maybe, I should humiliate you in front of all students. Do you prefer to be naked in front of them or that I shave your hair?"

"It wasn't me, Sarah." Riley said, in a calm voice.

"You don't say."

"Think about it, all I asked you was to stay away from Claire, and apparently you did. I know it, because Claire told me that you've been oddly nicer to her lately." Selwyn grimaced. "So, why in earth would I tell him? This was my only advantage against you."

Sarah Selwyn considered it for a moment, looking doubtfully at Riley.

"Flint didn't believe me, but I've always thought you to be smarter than him." She added cautiously.

Sarah glanced at her friend, who shrugged in response, and then back at Riley.

"Well Potter, I don't know if what you're saying is true, all I know is that, you knew about it, and now Jason knows about it. And even if you didn't tell him, maybe you told another person."

Riley lowered her eyes to the floor. Sarah wasn't wrong, Riley was a little responsible for it. She did tell Adrian after all, and she was careless enough to let Cora know.

"But, you know, I'm feeling kind of generous, Potter." Riley lifted her eyes back to Sarah's face. "I'll give you a chance to make it up to me." Riley frowned, this couldn't be any good.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to convince Marcus to talk to me again. If you do that, everything will be forgotten, if you don't, well…"

"How am I supposed to do it? He hates me! You are not choosing the right person for the job."

"Well, one of the players told me that you convinced him not to do anything against you, and I have to admit, it's very impressive. Marcus never lets anyone tell him what to do."

"Yes, I threatened him. That's the reason why he hates me." Her voice came in an anguished breath.

"In this case, threaten him if you have to, I don't care, as long as he talks to me again. You have two weeks." With that, Sarah and her Friend left the bathroom leaving a stunned Riley behind.

Riley caught her breath, trying to understand what had just happened. She had no idea Sarah was so in love with Marcus. She first thought that Sarah was only doing it for fun, because she was one of those kind of girls who liked to prove they could have anyone. But she wasn't, she wanted him, and only him. However, Flint didn't seem to want her in that way. So, she started dating Fletcher. This was so messed up. How was she supposed to convince Flint to talk to Sarah, if he wasn't talking to her either?

Riley entered the Slytherin common room that evening, thinking about a way to convince Flint to talk to Sarah again. It was almost impossible, she wondered if she could add this "little" request in her threat. But she didn't want to risk crumbling everything down. She needed another plan. What if she got Marcus drunk? Drunk people tends to talk too much, don't they? Then, she remembered that it would be impossible to her to buy firewhisky, leaving alone getting it into the school. Shoving that last thought away, she decided to go to bed, maybe a good night of sleep was all she needed.

"Riley, can I talk to you?" A voice broke her out of her thoughts. It was Adrian.

"What do you want?" She asked sharply.

"I wanted to apologize to you. I know I was a jerk." Riley studied him for a short moment. He looked sincere.

"Apologies accepted." His face brightened up.

"Does that mean we're friends again?"

"No." His small smile was quickly turned into a puzzled expression.

"No?"

"Look Adrian, I'm doing you a favour. You're right, I'm not like the other Slytherins, and I don't want to be like them. You already have Montague and your other roommates you don't need me. And if it's just you feeling guilty, well don't, cause I'm fine."

"Maybe I just want to be your friend." He made a clumsy hand gesture, as if he wanted to touch her shoulder, but changed his mind. Instead he put his hand on the back of his head.

"Why would you want that?" She said. He dropped his arms in exasperation.

"I don't know… I feel like I can talk to you, you know… without being judged."

"That's because I'm a nice person, unlike your friends."

"I know…" He said, with his head lowered.

"You clearly don't know what you want. I'm sorry but I can be friends with someone that could stab me in the back at any time."

He was about to retort, but she cut him off with her hand. Riley knew, she was being hard on him. But she didn't need this kind of friendship in her life. She needed people she could trust.

The next day, Riley was with Fred in the corridor. At first she didn't want to tell him her newest problem. But after his constant insistence, she finally told him everything. It was very sweet of him, to care for her like that. She felt very grateful to have him as a friend.

"…and now she wants me to play cupid for her!"

"Maybe you should try a love potion!" Fred laughed aloud.

"This isn't funny Fred!"

"Well, I'm trying to help you. Are you really going to do that?"

"I was thinking that I was going to ask a sixth year girl I know for help."

"Hold this…" Fred handed her a wand "Yeah, you could do that."

"Err… Who's wand is this?"

"Warrington, that boy in Slytherin. He's right there." She looked over where he was pointing at. But she saw Warrington holding a wand.

"He's holding his wand, Fred." She stated, raising an eyebrow.

"Just watch." Fred grinned.

Suddenly, Warrington tried to use his wand to jinx one Gryffindor who was passing by him, but instead his wand turned into a carrot, and rabbit's ears appeared on his head, making all the students who were watching the scene laugh.

"Carrot wand." Fred's grin grew wider.

"You're mental Fred Weasley." She chortled.

"My insanity is very sane, thank you very much."

Meanwhile, Marcus Flint was in the Slytherin common room, lying on the leather couch alone. He was trying to do his Charms homework, but couldn't focus. He had been feeling extremely sulky, lately. His best friend wasn't speaking with him anymore. Sarah was always following him around, even if he acted like a jerk to her. He felt a little guilty for pushing her away from his life like that, but it wasn't going to help Jason talk to him again. Worst of all, he had been threatened by a little girl. That little girl Potter, who does she think she is? A first year girl, threatening him, Marcus Flint. The thought of her made him unconsciously clench his fists. He thought about the possibility that she's been bluffing. But he couldn't risk losing Quidditch.

By the time he wrote the fourth line of his essay, his other friend, Magnus Hoover, entered the common room. He was a skinny boy, not very tall who always had a grumpy expression on his face.

"Hey. I was just with Jason." Ever since Jason discovered the truth, Magnus had been divided between his two friends. Magnus was fine, a little boring for Marcus' taste, which was fine when they were all together but when there were only the two of them, it wasn't very entertaining.

"Still mad?" Marcus asked without taking his eyes from his piece of parchment.

"Yes." Magnus sat on the couch opposite to where Marcus was. "But Sarah asked for you, like repeatedly." Marcus couldn't help but to roll his eyes.

"She has to stop! This is the only way Jason will speak to any of us again."

"I don't think she cares."

"Well, I do!"

"You know, I think that she really likes you."

"I told her, from the beginning that I didn't want a girlfriend, she knew it before she started dating Jason."

"Why did you do this anyway?" Marcus didn't answer, instead he pretended to be focusing on his essay.

"Charms homework used to be so simple, now Flitwick is just like McGonagall."

"Marcus!"

"I don't know ok?" Marcus answered raising his voice. "I wanted a girl who wouldn't want anything serious. So a girl who was already in a relationship would be ideal, at least I thought so."

"But you could've chosen any girl, why your mate's girlfriend?"

"Because. Because she was there, willing to do it." Marcus answered, massaging his forehead.

"Well, it was really stupid." His friend said, not realising that Marcus was fighting with all his strength not to punch someone. "Anyway can I borrow your Quidditch gloves?"

Marcus stared at his friend incredulous, but at that moment he would do anything to get Magnus away from him.

After Herbology class, Riley was walking back to the castle alone. In her way back, she spotted Sarah Selwyn along with her friend arguing with Claire Ackers and Tonks. Riley approached the girls slowly.

"You know, I saw your boyfriend, that Weasley boy the other day, flirting with another girl. I guess he's already tired of you." That goes without saying that since Jason found out the truth, Sarah had come back to her usual spiteful self, and Claire was being her favourite target, once again.

"You mean, like your boyfriend? Or the other boy you've been snugging with." Claire retorted. Sarah narrowed her eyes.

"Watch your tongue Ackers, or something really bad might happen."

"Was that a threat? Because If it was, I'll be just glad to put you on detention." Claire said, in a very firm voice. Sarah gave her a nasty grin and walked away with her friend. Once the two girls were sufficiently far away, Riley approached the two Hufflepuffs.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey little girl." Tonks smiled at her.

"Hey Riley." Claire only gave her a half-smile.

"Is everything ok? I saw you two with Selwyn."

"Yes, well, It's just Selwyn being Selwyn. She was bearable for a while but now it seems like she found her old self again."

"Maybe she was just sick." Tonks mused.

"No, she wasn't." Riley said making the two girls cast their eyes in her direction. "She was being nice because I asked her to."

"You what?" Tonks looked at her with an incredulous face drawn on her face, and Riley explained what happened to them.

"Oh, Riley, you didn't have to do it!" Claire smiled uncomfortable at her, giving her a hug.

"Don't worry."

"And now you're in trouble. I feel really bad! But she's threatened you, I can give her detention if you want to."

"Unless you put her inside a pit for the whole school year, I don't think that it will help me."

"I don't know what we can do. She asked you to ensure that Flint talks to her again. That's twisted, as if you could do that."

"A love potion?" Riley joked, in an attempt to lighten the mood, remembering what Fred said. Claire laughed, but Tonks's eyes widened.

"That's actually not a bad idea!"

"What?" The two other girls asked in unison.

"What are you talking about, Tonks?" Claire asked, with a puzzled face.

"Think about it, you give Flint a love potion, he'll obviously talk to Sarah again, she'll be happy, and by the time the potion's effects goes off, she'll think that Flint changed his mind, so it will be her fault, not yours." Riley pondered for a moment, it was actually not a bad idea, but there was still something bothering her about this plan.

"But love potions are too obvious, Sarah will know that something is wrong."

"Not necessarily, you just have to make a weaker love potion, so, he'll not fall deeply in love with her, but he'll appreciate her enough to want to talk to her again."

"Do you think it will work?" Riley asked, still sceptical.

"I think this is the best chance you have kid."

Later that day, Riley was in the library trying to find a potion book with the instructions for a love potion. She told Fred about the plan, hoping he would talk her off it. But instead he said it was brilliant, actually he said he was brilliant for finding this plan, in the first place. Consequently, she was determined to go forward with it. She finally grabbed the "Most extraordinary and powerful potions".

Amortentia

Amortentia, also known as Potion Love, will make the drinker hold an obsession

for the person who gave it to him/her. It is a powerful and highly

dangerous potion. However, Amortentia does not create

true love, only a simple imitation.

The effects of Amortentia are limited in time. Therefore, it is essential that

the drinker takes the potion at least every 24 hours. The effect

degree will depend on the weight of the drinker

and also on the appearance of the brewer.

Ingredients:

Rose thorns

Essence of red rose

Pearl dust

Moonstone

Peppermint

Brewer's Strand of hair

Instructions:

-Set water to boil

smash and add 7 rose thorns per pound of the drinker

add 8 drops of essence of red rose per pound of the drinker

after 15 minutes, reduce heat slightly

add a teaspoon per pound of the drinker of Pearl dust five times every 4 minutes

add one tablespoon per pound of the drinker of powdered Moonstone

reduce heat once more

add a half teaspoon per pound of the drinker of Peppermint

let it rest for seven days

add your strand of hair

Riley read the instructions, it didn't seem that hard, comparing to the sleeping Potion she had been brewing for the last couples of months. She decided then, to take a shot. All she had to do was to find the ingredients and a place for doing it. Concerning the ingredients, she had no choice but to take them from Snape's cupboard, the only time she could do it was during her "detentions" while she was brewing her Sleeping potion. She would also be needing a strand of hair from Sarah. But it shouldn't be that hard to get, she could find some on her clothes, she knew where her dorm was so it would be easy.

Friday afternoon, Riley was in the potions classroom brewing her Sleeping potion. She had asked Fred to create a diversion, so he and George let off some Dungbombs in front of the door, forcing Snape to go outside of the classroom to try to catch whoever was responsible for it and put this person in detention for at least one month. Riley took this opportunity to put the love potion's ingredients in her bag.

"Did you catch who did this?" Riley asked once he had come back inside of the classroom.

"No." He snapped. "However, I know who it was." He added, looking straight at her.

Riley quickly diverted her eyes from his, as if she was preventing him from reading her mind. It was nice of Fred to risk himself trying to help her. But when she had asked him to do it, he didn't seem reluctant at all. In fact, he felt thrilled. He instantaneously told George, and both of them felt extremely glad to have an opportunity to prank Snape.

"Are you going to do something with them?" Riley asked, trying to hide her concern.

"I need proof before I do anything. But I can guarantee you that the minute I catch them in the act, they'll wish they had never come to this school."

Riley swallowed hard and made a mental note to warn the twins to be careful around Snape.

After the love potion was ready, Riley filled some chocolates with it, put them inside a heart-shaped box, and wrote a note that said "To the hottest boy in school". She knew that a boy like Flint liked to be flattered. Riley waited until there was no one left in the common room and went to the Boys' dorm. But when she arrived in the fourth years' dorm she realised that she didn't know which bed was Marcus'. So, she looked around searching for hints, and saw a pair of Quidditch gloves upon one of the beds. Marcus was the only fourth year who played Quidditch in Slytherin, therefore she put the chocolate box on that bed.

She exited the common room very fast, she was already late for Charms class.

"Sorry Professor." Riley said entering the Charms classroom.

"Oh, Miss Potter, you scared me!" Professor Flitwick jumped with a start. "Please take a seat, and five points from Slytherin for being late. Now, as I was saying…"

Riley sat on the only chair available, and unfortunately for her, it was behind Montague and Adrian.

"Well played Potter!" Montague spat sarcastically.

"Leave her alone Graham." Adrian said, receiving a puzzled look from his friend and from Riley. But Adrian didn't look back at them, he was busy copying what Flitwick was writing on the board. Montague scowled at Riley one more time and started to copy the lesson as well.

Riley glanced at Fred. He was sitting next to George and Lee. When their eyes met, she smiled and nodded slightly. He smiled back and winked at her. Thinking about it, it was a stupid plan. Of course Sarah would see that something was wrong with Flint. But after all, she did tell Riley to use any way possible to make him talk to her again.

When Charms class was over. Riley left the classroom with Fred, George and Lee, who still didn't like Riley. Fred, on the other hand, was spending more and more time with her. It was nice, especially as she didn't have any friends in Slytherin anymore.

"So are you going to the Slytherin common room now? To see if it worked?" Fred asked her.

"Now?" He nodded, excited.

"I'd come with you but I can go in there." He shrugged. "But I can wait outside if you want to."

"Would you do that?"

"Of course. George?"

"Definitely."

With the two boys waiting outside, Riley entered the common room. She had just entered the passage when she heard loud voices coming from the main room. She approached the scene and saw some students in there, she recognized among them, Sarah Selwyn, Jason Fletcher, and a fourth year boy she didn't know the name. She looked around and saw Marcus Flint watching the scene from far away.

The boy had a weird expression on his face, as he stared at Sarah.

"Sarah, I love you, I really do! Let's not hide our love. Not anymore." The boy said loudly enough to hold the attention of everyone in there.

Riley froze, her eyes wide. Uh-oh!

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