Girl Talk

I added an extra scoop of eggs to Brianna's plate and accepted the quick kiss on the cheek. After two week, I still felt tingles race down my spine every time she kissed me. We were at the very end of the table, having run late leaving the dungeon for breakfast. She had wanted to finish the day's reading before we ate. Her dedication to learning more had not flagged in the slightest and it pleased me that she had even gotten up early on a Saturday to work on it. At this rate, we should be able to begin lab work by the end of the month. A flash of red, and Lily was sitting across the table from us. Her smile was brilliant, green eyes warm. I drank in her beauty. "Hi, Severus, Brianna."

Brianna set down her fork with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Interesting. She needn't act the jealous girlfriend just yet. It wouldn't make either of us look good. "It's Lily, right? Severus told me you two are close."

"We've been friends since before school." She dimpled, "Would you like to go into Hogsmeade with me this afternoon, Brianna? Girls only."

Brianna glanced at me and I gave her a small shrug. "Sure. What's the plan?"

"Shopping, talking, eating. The usual."

Her smile came more easily, "That sounds fun. Do you mind, Severus?"

"Of course not. I will manage without you for an afternoon." Potter and Black glared from their table. How much more upset would they be when they find out their precious Lily is going to be spending the afternoon with Brianna?

She kissed my cheek then smiled at Lily, "When do we leave?"

"As soon as you finish eating."

"I'll hurry then." she replied before setting herself to the task of finishing a plate full of food.

Lily watched with raised brows for a moment before returning her attention to me, "You don't really mind if I steal her away for the afternoon, do you?"

"Of course not. I am perfectly able to entertain myself." I had my first private tutoring session with Professor Slughorn after breakfast and would be suitably entertained.

"Next time we should double."

"Who are you seeing?"

She shrugged carelessly, "No one at the moment, but I'm sure I could drum up a date for an afternoon if I needed to."

"Or we could go out together." Her brows lifted again and I realized my blunder, "The three of us. There is no reason to go to all that trouble to spend time with friends, is there?"

She dimpled, "You're right, Severus, as always."

Potter was nearly gnashing his teeth while she sat talking with us. It was all the entertainment I needed for the day. "You will bring her back in one piece?"

"Sure. It's just shopping and girl talk."

Brianna set down her fork, "Let me grab my bag. I'll be just a minute." She gave the bench a disgusted look as she struggled over it. Her fingertips skated over my shoulder before she disappeared from the hall.

Lily returned her attention to me. "Don't fret if your ears start ringing, we're going to be talking about you."

"Why?"

"I want to be sure she's a good match for you. I can't have my dearest friend letting some tart get her claws into him."

"She is not a tart. And she does not have her claws into me."

"I'll be the judge of that." A smile ruined her attempt at a serious expression, "I don't really think that of her. I just want to get to know your girlfriend is all and that's more easily done outside these walls." She shot an annoyed look at where Potter, Black, and Pettigrew sat alternating between watching her and conferencing. Interestingly, Lupin was ignoring them in favor of a textbook. "I do wish those three would show a little maturity."

"I do not believe they are capable of such an achievement."

"Sometimes I worry you're right."

Brianna came back with a bag slung across her torso. "All set." She leaned down and brushed a kiss across my cheek, "See you later."

"Be safe."

Her hand caught mine, "You know I always am. Would you like a full accounting when I return?"

"Probably not."

"Coward." Lily laughed before catching Brianna's arm and tugging her away. She was the only person that could say that to me and I did not mind. Perhaps because it was so obvious she meant it in jest. The looks of stunned disbelief on Potter's and Black's faces were enough to make my whole day. I finished my breakfast at a leisurely pace and headed for Professor Slughorn's office.

"Good morning, Severus. Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes, sir."

"Are there any potions covered in the fifth year text you have questions on?"

"No, sir. I have brewed several and they have all come out perfectly."

"Shall we try a Draught of Living Death then? That is from the sixth year text."

"Can you tell me a more effective way to make it than is listed in the textbook? I have brewed it and it came out correctly."

"You are a year ahead of your class?" He shook his head, clearly impressed. "Try a single clockwise stir after every seventh counterclockwise stir." he said with the air of one giving away a secret.

Delighted with this bit of information, I set up a cauldron and collected my ingredients. When I pressed the sopophorous beans with the flat of my silver dagger, he stopped me, "Why did you do it that way instead of cutting it?"

"It says to squeeze the juice out, not mangle it." I replied as I carefully crushed the beans.

"Very good, Severus."

I glanced at him through my hair, "It is not that impressive, sir, that I can read and follow directions correctly."

He chuckled, "That is not at all what I meant. Nearly every student cuts their beans and tries to squeeze the juice out that way. The only ones that crush are the ones that are chefs on the side."

"I am not a chef but I have read several books on food preparation to see if they would aid in brewing. Certain techniques do appear to yield better results that the general instructions found in most textbooks."

"They cater to the simplest procedure. True masters understand the nuances of preparation and work accordingly."

"That was my thinking, Professor."

"Tell me, Severus, in what ways have you worked to improve your brewing to its current level? Obviously, you have studied far more than the average student of your age, but what else do you do?"

"I spend a lot of time systematically brewing individual potions incorrectly to see what result one would get from each possible misstep."

"That is a well thought out approach. Can you tell me what is wrong with an Invigoration Draught when it is orange-red in color?"

I thought for a moment. It had been nearly a year since I had mastered that particular potion. "You added cinnamon before the Dragon's blood."

"Very good, my boy."

"Thank you." He continued to ask questions while I worked on the potion. I was able to answer more than half of them reasonably well. The ones I could not, I listened closely to the explanation and filed it away for later experimentation. The first step of improvement was to do it as he said to see how it helped and the next step was to improve upon that. Would that I had enough money to purchase all the potions ingredients I wished, it would take so much less time. As it was, I hunted through the apothecary shops and catalogues for clearances and sales. One had to be cautious of these because sometimes the ingredients were almost too old to work well. It would throw my results if a potion did something simply because I added an ingredient that was past its useful life. Of course, there were times when I did that intentionally, but I only wanted it to be intentional.

When the potion was complete he studied my cauldron closely, "Very nice, Severus. It is perfect."

"Thank you, Professor." We said our goodbyes and I headed down to the dungeons to write up notes on the session and add my own thoughts. I was reading an advanced potion text when a knock sounded on my door. I opened it to find Brianna grinning up at me, "Lily wants to talk to you. She's waiting near the main hall."

"What about?"

"I didn't ask. Who cares? She wants to talk to you."

"You did not give her the impression you had your claws into me, did you?"

She finger combed my hair, setting a few strands in front of my shoulders. "Of course not. She has to like me at least a little initially. Go talk to her and tell me everything when you get back."

"Everything?"

Her hands straightened my robes with quick motions. "Everything. I need to know where to improve in order to do this well. Who better to tell us than your dream girl up there? I like her quite a lot, actually. I wasn't sure I would, but she's very kind. A good match for you."

"You have decided this after knowing me for a week and her for a day?"

"I'm an excellent judge of character." She smacked my arm, "Now get up there!"

I pushed my hair back and she brought it forward again, "It looks nice like that. Leave it be."

"Lily does not care how I look."

She waved me off, "Fine, fine. Just go."

I went upstairs, nodding to the few Slytherins that met my gaze. It seemed more of them did so in the last week than ever before. Lily was waiting near the front door, red hair glinting in the late afternoon sunshine. As always, her beauty took my breath away. "Hello, Lily."

She tucked her hand into the crook of my elbow, "Hello, Severus. Would you like to go for a walk?"

"If you like." She guided us toward the lake, taking a roundabout path.

"Did you have a good first week back?"

"I did. You?"

"It was nice to see all my friends again. Charms should be a lot of fun this year." I had never been overly fond of charms but made agreeable noises nonetheless. "Are you going to ask?"

"Ask what?"

"How our trip was?"

"I assume it went well since neither you or Brianna have said anything to the contrary." The breeze shifted and the soft scent of her perfume surrounded me. I rested a hand on hers, "Is there something specific you wish to tell me?"

"I was fully prepared not to like her. She's a little rough around the edges, but she's not a tart. And I didn't see any claws."

"As I said."

Lily grinned up at me, green eyes warm and teasing, "Yes, well, men can't always be trusted to look past a pretty face."

"I do not care about her face."

She paused, "Really?"

"Yes. Her looks do not matter in the slightest."

"Then what caught your eye?"

"Nothing."

"So literal." she teased, "Your attention, then."

What had caught my attention? She had come bursting into my car and asked for my assistance. Had she not done that, would we have ever spoken more than superficially? Girls like her did not often deign to make so much as eye contact with me, let alone begin conversations. And yet, she had sought me out. That was clear from the memory she had shared. She had sensed something about me and had searched until she found me. In the last two weeks, we had spoken of many things, not all of them potions. One need only ask and she would speak, sometimes at enthusiastic length, of whatever subject was presented. Find a subject she was particularly fond of and you would be treated to a tangle of slang, complete disregard for the language, and a flurry of motion as she started emphasizing her many points with her hands. "She is . . . different from most people."

"Yes, she is. I'm not certain if it is in a good way or not, but she appears to be a good choice. She wanted to go into the Hog's Head today. Said the customers looked interesting."

"Did she? Well, she does have a rather different take on what makes a person interesting."

"I caught you smiling at something she said yesterday. It was good to see." She began walking again, "What did you do while we were gone?"

"I had a private tutoring session with Professor Slughorn."

Her surprise was clear, "You, Severus? Your potions grades are always the highest in class. Is she a complete distraction? You should tell her you need some time."

"No, Lily. He is tutoring me above our class."

"You're so advanced the professor has decided to give you private lessons?" She hugged me enthusiastically. "I am so pleased for you! And so proud."

Her approval warmed me. "Thank you."

We returned to walking, "How did you get so good?"

"Practice."

"That must get expensive."

"Somewhat, but it is the price that must be paid."

"Have you considered brewing specialty potions and selling them to the students?"

I considered it. There were many things I could brew that were useful; however, I had no wish to deal with the student body at large. "Perhaps. I do not have the affiliations necessary to sell enough to make it worthwhile."

"I know a lot of people. I would help sell if you would give me potions at cost."

She knew many, many people, in every house. Interesting. "You would?"

"Of course."

It was not a bad idea. With her dealing with the public, I could brew in peace and she could make them happy. "What kind of potions would you want to buy?"

"Me, personally, or the public at large?"

"Is there a difference?"

"Yes. I am less gullible that most. You could probably make a fortune on silly things like love potions and beauty potions and study aids."

"Why would I waste time making silly potions like that?"

"To pay for the ingredients you want to use." she replied immediately.

The thought of having all the potions ingredients I wished to experiment with was tantalizing indeed. "I will consider it."

"Good." She turned her face to the dying light. "I'm going to miss the sun."

"It will be back."

"Yes, but it will be so long before it is."

"No longer than usual." We turned back when the sun touched the mountains. She rested her head on my shoulder as we walked under the light of the setting sun. It stayed warm long after I left her at the base of the stairs to Gryffindor Tower.