Disclaimer: Neither Kagumi nor Bridget own anything related to the Harry Potter series other than the stuff they've bought and the ideas they come up with. Original characters and most of the situations presented, however, they do own.
Chapter Twenty:
Open Doors
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning. But anyone can start today and make a new ending. ~ Maria Robinson.
"I hate this."
"Remus," Bridget addressed the pacing boy calmly, her eyes still on her book, "hon, you need to calm down."
"I can't!" he said loud enough for it to nearly be a yell. His eyes searched each of the group's faces and, once he caught sight of the amused look Bridget was giving him over her book, he sighed. He pivoted neatly so his back was to her, ready for another round of pacing. "I hate her," he declared in a confident voice.
"Oh, no, you don't," Sirius said, winking at Jet.
She shrugged in agreeable exasperation; this was getting to be a bit too much. The metaphorical door was open and she wasn't sure why he was so hesitant to walk through, other than the fears he generally had about being a werewolf in a relationship; she couldn't wait until the dual articles were published next week concerning Richard Lionel and his lovely, devoted wife.
"I don't think that's hate you're feeling there, Moons," James contributed. He looked up from the complicated Quidditch diagram he was making for that Friday's first practice (they had two practices a day: flying drills in the morning and actual practice in the evening; the team had voted on a motion to officially hate their captain but James didn't care). Remus didn't deign to reply.
There were several moments of tense silence while Remus glared at them all and pretended not to understand what they meant. They just stared back, looking slightly fearful and more amused than was fair.
"Moony, are you all right?" Peter finally asked, sounding rather small.
"No, I am bloody well not all right! Do I look all right to you, Wormtail?" Remus's voice was cuttingly sarcastic and Peter winced. He quickly retreated back to the book Bridget had suggested would help with his Charms essay. This was a battle better suited to the others' quicker wits and thicker skins; though he was getting better, he didn't think he was ready to deal with an irritated werewolf and three brilliant minds just yet.
"Remus," Jet said in a firm voice that simultaneously reminded Remus of his mother and McGonagall. He looked anxiously at her and she calmly pointed to the chair across from her. "Sit down."
He reluctantly dropped into the chair, fully understanding that with that tone it was best to follow the girl's directions, and kicked his feet up on the ottoman; he was obviously sulking. "What?" he asked, sounding very much like a petulant child.
Bridget leveled a stern glare at him. "What is wrong with you?"
"That bloody-minded Irish wench and whatever it is that she's done to me!" Remus said, crossing his arms.
"Irish wench? I take it you mean Gumi?" Jet asked drolly. She crossed one leg elegantly over the other, briefly distracting Sirius from the situation at hand.
"Yes, her," he spat. "I can't sleep, I can't read, I can't even concentrate on anything without thinking of her. Even when she's not around, I can still hear her voice in the back of my head, making snide little comments, or interjecting odd thoughts."
"Hearing voices?" Sirius drawled. "You know, I'm sure Pomfrey knows someone at St. Mungo's, Moons. Should we get you to Dangerous Dai's ward?"
Remus flipped him a rude hand gesture before Jet snapped her fingers, attracting all of the boys' attention once again.
"Okay, so she's grown on you. What exactly is the problem with that? I've grown on you, although, no offense, I sincerely hope it's not in the same fashion."
"She hasn't grown on me. She has not grown on me." Remus refused to look at anyone; he seemed to be concentrating on the end of his nose, making him look rather cross-eyed, and Bridget was torn between exasperation and glee.
"…Who are you trying to convince here, Rem?" James asked, not bothering to hide his amusement as he tried to block out the obviously moping boy and the snickers coming from Sirius.
He paused, finally uncrossing his eyes. "Okay, she might have grown on me."
Jet, Sirius and James rolled their eyes as one.
"Jet, I'm so… she's gone and bewitched me somehow," he murmured, dropping his head into his hands. "She's so violent (and I can't even find a way to detest that anymore; it suits her or something), and she's intoxicating and every time I speak with her, it seems there's something more to understand. I can't get her out of my mind, and I'm so damned confused about everything. I can't sleep without seeing her, can't look at her without thinking of wildly inappropriate things and–" he cut himself off, blushing.
"You have no idea how hard I'm trying to not laugh at you right now," Bridget said. Remus was pretty sure he did; he could still hear the laughter in her voice, even if she wasn't literally doing so.
"It's not funny," he whined and it seemed rather pathetic, even to his own ears.
"Of course not," she soothed. "But, Rem, hon, it's quite simple." Jet's lips curled up into a smirk that was easily reminiscent of either Sirius or James at their most devious. "You are in lust. I believe the vernacular terminology is that you want to jump her and, to use one of the less crude phrases, do the horizontal tango."
"Are you serious?" Severus asked Kagumi, who was laughing uproariously about what she'd just said; all he could do was stare with the strangest feeling that she was an evil mastermind.
"Yes, completely." She gasped for air. "He is so bewildered by me that I can't help but tease him. It's too much fun not to do it. Good Lord, you should've seen him when I touched his leg by accident; he just stared at me." She mimed the blank, dull-eyed stare and Snape's eyes widened. "And he looks at me when he thinks I won't notice. If I weren't used to it, it would be strange."
"And you're the reason he claims not to be sleeping well, according to the illustrious Sirius Black?"
Kagumi just smirked, readjusting her position leaning against him; she did whatever she wanted regardless of his feelings about it and he'd learned early on to just deal with it (since she usually just socked him if he complained).
"You're…" Severus searched for a word in his rather extensive vocabulary but failed to find one. "You're mean."
"I know," she said simply, wiping her streaming eyes. "I am mean; I am an horrid, terrible person." That wicked smile bloomed again. "But then again, I don't hear anyone complaining about it."
"You would just tune them out regardless," Severus muttered, adjusting the laces on his shoe.
He hadn't realized that shoes could do so much. Even if they didn't look any different, they felt quite different than his old ones, and he reflected on how he felt in recent days as compared to last year. Neither he nor the idiot Gryffindors had caused so much as a scuffle and their competition in class had simmered down to something almost civil. The lack of tension had improved the morale of the entire school, including him. As a whole, he felt better than he had in months.
Of course, had a certain endearingly-obnoxious witch not decided to take his wardrobe into her own hands, he wouldn't have to break in new shoes. Upon seeing his raggedy old ones, Kagumi had been absolutely horrified ("Severus Snape, how long have you had those things? There's more lace than shoe!") and Flooed Gladrag's Wizard Wear in Hogsmeade and bought him two brand new sets of shoes. She'd been about to place another order, he hadn't bothered to ask what for, when she looked askance at him, saw his humiliated expression and closed the Floo after the package arrived. She hadn't spoken to him about the purchase and with his mind having brought it up, he had to know.
"Why did you stop at two pairs?" he asked suddenly; though the incident occurred a couple of weeks ago, it had been nagging at his mind. His eyes were still trained on the laces of the shoe, and after a plausible amount of time, he began fiddling with the edges of his long robe. He couldn't meet her steady gaze, which he knew was centered on him, as it so often was when they were together.
For the first time in his life, Severus Snape was afraid of what might lie in someone's eyes. He'd been unable to get an accurate read on her since he met her in the courtyard. And, more troubling, he found that the more time he spent with her, the more… he wanted to her to think well of him.
"Severus," she began; he just cut her off.
"I mean, what kind of person spends decent, hard-earned gold on a practical stranger?" he asked, studying the nice black 'trainers' from the order. This was a side of him he'd rarely shown anyone, and didn't know how to not show her; it galled him, just a little, to be at her mercy. "That order cost quite a bit, you know, and I don't have much in the way of –"
"Sev." Kagumi made him look at her; he found no pity in her green eyes, only an understanding so deep it nearly frightened him. He could at once appreciate why Black was attached to her, why Potter found it difficult to get along with her and why several members of Hogwarts were busy buzzing about the two transfer students; they were all-encompassing.
"Yes, Pheonix?" His voice was small, and lacking in the sneer that had made him notorious amongst his peers; without it, he sounded small and uncertain.
"Sev, everyone needs a little pride." She smiled at him, a serene smile that unnerved Severus slightly. "But you have an excess of it. That's not always a terrible thing; I have my own issues with pride. But having a similar problem as you, I know how it feels to have your pride defeated. To feel worthless. Beaten. And I know, when I ordered those shoes, you felt that way. I could see it on your face, mate, so I bought you what you needed, and left it at that."
"But…" he faltered. "What?"
"Severus, I don't just want to be your tutoring student." Kagumi threaded her fingers through his and he found that it was… pleasant. Not as abhorrent as he'd have imagined. "I want to be your friend."
"Only my friend?" he asked, a little concerned about her way of wording that sentence. As much as he enjoyed her company (though he'd rather be tortured than admit that to anyone, especially her) she was no Lily Evans, and though Kagumi's fancies lay elsewhere, he had to make sure. He'd been used too many times by females claiming 'friendship,' even if Potter and Black seemed to think him impotent.
"Only your friend." He saw in her expression trust and fondness, a little smirk that told him she knew exactly what he was worried about and found it amusing; he was unsure whether to be offended by her amusement or not.
"Besides," she shoved him very gently, and smiled as he relaxed just a little more around her. "You know what none of the others except Jet knows."
"Remus, for the last time, will you stop babbling? Or I will throw something exceptionally heavy at your head and I guarantee that I will not miss."
"She won't!" James added cheerily.
After a sharp look at the still-hopeful Quidditch captain, Jet closed her book with a snap. Remus looked at her in astonishment; she had been the one to tell him to say what he thought. He suspected he may have been ranting for a bit too long and it amazed him how sheepish that made him feel.
"What's wrong?"
"Look, Remus, I'm going to say this as nicely as I can. Are you listening carefully?"
Reluctantly, he nodded.
"Good. You have to either go after her like you obviously want to, or just keep wanking on your own, but leave me out of it. There are seriously some things I just don't need to know about and you lusting after my very good friend is one of them." With that, Jet returned to her book, leaving all four boys completely dumbstruck.
Cordan stared at the Mirror in horror.
Raminus began to snicker into his sleeve.
"How does she even know what wanking is?" Cor asked wildly, flipping through the pages of parchment that detailed their notes. "It's not in here that she should know what that is! My baby cousin should not know what wanking is!"
"She is a growing woman, Cor," Raminus said, very carefully not meeting Cordan's frantic gaze. "And she's not as naïve as you seem to think."
"But she should not know what wanking is!" Cordan wailed melodramatically; he threw his arms over the now-disorganized pile of notes and sighed gustily.
"Cordan, if you don't grow up, I swear, I'll --" Raminus trailed off, his eyes catching a warning flash from the Mirror to his right; their "office" had been covered with Mirrors since they'd been given grudging permission for this universe. "Cordan…" Raminus trailed off, looking intently at the other Mirror, the one that centered usually on the Dark forces of 1977. "You should see this, mate."
"No, really, she should not know what that is. It's… how does she know that?"
Cordan stopped talking as he realized that Raminus wasn't paying attention to his rant, and followed his friend's gaze to the Mirror. A black-haired witch was waving her arm in sharp motions, her curly hair moving with every emphatic gesture. Before her were tables set in a lush, dark toned room; scrolls, pieces of parchment and old books were stacked helter-skelter as several people in black robes rushed about. Most of the people, however, were gathered around her tables, watching almost rapturously as she explained something. It looked as if it could be a scene showing a particularly interesting university lesson.
Except that the woman directing hadn't been a student of anything except Darkness for a good long while.
"What does that mean?" Cordan asked, his worries about Bridget and her secret knowledge of male activities disappearing in the light of these new going-ons.
"I think it could be problematic," Raminus answered somberly.
Kagumi's hands worked diligently, slowly corkscrewing the little trowel into the rich, dark soil of the greenhouse. It felt good to use her entire body this way, not in quite the way that Quidditch felt good, or the semi-distant history of dancing felt good, but it was a contentment she'd only experienced in the kitchen or else, in her family's land during the summer harvests that were only a blurry memory. The table moved slightly, effectively pulling her from the reverie she'd been indulging in as she planted. Peter had leaned against the table holding little seedlings, which were quivering slightly in the moist heat, jolting the table.
"Is that good Peter?" she asked, wiping her brow. It felt good to work up a slight sweat, but the cold outside was going to be unpleasant in contrast.
There was no answer.
Kagumi turned around. "Peter?" He was there, still leaning, but his gaze was focused far away, towards the other greenhouse, which was barely visible through the layers of foggy glass separating them. Frowning, she silently walked up behind the table and squinted over his shoulder. There, really only a vague outline, a golden-haired silhouette was visible, patiently rearranging a darker figure's grasp on a plant's roots.
Comprehension hit her.
Of course. Peter, the Marauders had claimed, had only shown an interest in Herbology the past two years. But he'd skyrocketed from the bottom of the class to the number two student. And the boys couldn't figure it out. But Kagumi had her own suspicions; countless and often miniscule and easily overlooked incidents that had all shed a little light on his actions. And it had started, for her, with that first Charms class. She knew that Bridget was being tutored at roughly the same time, in another greenhouse. And she knew who was tutoring her friend.
It was Holly.
Holland Wells Harper, the Ravenclaw whom Peter obviously had a crush on.
Oh, this was just too good.
Plans that Kagumi didn't even know she had formed fell into place with minimal effort from her. Jet was going to absolutely die of the irony. Peter had a thing for Holly, Holly seemed to have a thing for Peter, and neither of them knew about the other.
"Pete!" she said. He jumped and turned over one of the bags of extra soil, blushing. Kagumi snickered, even as she helped scoop the spilled potting mix back into the bag. He wouldn't meet her eyes and kept his back to the view of Holly and Bridget; the pink tinge on his cheeks belied where his thoughts still lay.
"Yes, Gumi?" Peter was trying desperately to look as though he hadn't been daydreaming, and it didn't work well. "Sorry, I was...off in my own world."
"I know, my friend," she said softly, laying her hand over his. "I understand." And she did. She knew exactly what it was to have your thoughts so irrevocably centered on one person there was no room for hardly anything else. It changed you, shaped you, infiltrated your every sense, permeated your entire being with awareness of their existence, as if a part of you had been sleeping and had suddenly awoken. And yet somehow, she thought, as he sneaked a look over his shoulder, somehow they all managed to get on. Even Sirius, who was head over heels for Bridget.
"But then the Aurors came around the back here and… and…" Sirius trailed off. Bridget was staring up at him with wide, adoring eyes; it made her look more like the girls who'd sought after him. It was what he'd been hoping for, but it was a little… strange. He felt his cheeks heat up. "And they surrounded and captured most of Grindlewald's forces, crippling him enough for Dumbledore to be able to duel him fairly."
"What was the… reasoning behind this particular raid?" she asked. She turned her eyes back down to the copy of A History of Magic they'd somehow filled with notes during their History lesson. "That other one—the headquarters farther north seemed just as viable."
She sidled closer to him, pressing against his side so she could point out the headquarters she was talking about. Sirius couldn't remember what she'd asked him; his mind had gone pleasantly blank. "What?"
"Why'd they choose that headquarters? Strategically?"
"Um…"
"They'd had a tip from one of Grindlewald's conspirers," a familiar voice said from the door.
Regulus was leaning against the door, smirking at them. He straightened up and strolled over to their table, looking entirely too pleased about interrupting them. Sirius tightened his grip on Bridget's shoulders, just managing not to growl possessively at his baby brother. There was no way Regulus could ever steal a girl from him… probably; Bridget could be different in this just as she was in everything else.
"A tip?" Her voice was interested; she arched an eyebrow, her lips quirking up in that way they did when she was amused by something. "How do you know about this, Reg? It's not in any text I've read."
"Because," Regulus smirked triumphantly, "it was our grandfather. He disagreed with Grindlewald's methods, if not his beliefs. So… the Ministry knew where there would be more people."
Sirius frowned. "I didn't know about this."
"Of course not," he said coolly. "You never listened to Mother when she spoke of our family history. It's of no matter now, Sirius. I'm afraid I need to steal away Miss Griffins for a few moments. There's something we need to discuss immediately."
"It's Bridget, Regulus, and you know it. Stop being a prat." Bridget closed her book and kissed Sirius on the cheek before getting up. "I'll see you later. Adios."
"Bye." Bridget left the brothers alone. Regulus continued to smirk at Sirius, arms crossed smugly over his chest. "What?"
"You couldn't remember what she'd asked you, could you?"
"Of course I could."
"You're going to have to deal with that sooner or later." He shrugged. "I don't need to tell you that you won't get very far if you can't think when she's just sitting next to you, not even paying you any attention. It's a little pathetic."
"Begone, dear brother, before I do something you'd regret."
Regulus bowed slightly to his brother, a mocking grin on his face; he looked a lot like Sirius. "Of course, dear brother."
"What is it?"
"Hm?" Bridget gave him a stern look and Regulus caved. He would've told her anyways; despite the fact that they'd been walking pretty much aimlessly, she could feel the tension vibrating him like a tightly strung wire. "I thought I should inform you of the rumors spreading throughout our illustrious halls of education."
Jet rolled her eyes, huffing softly. "Love, I already know about what they seem to think James and I do in the spare closets around here. I swear, you get caught leaving a broom closet with a boy once and all people can think about is sex, sex, sex. It's all so very unimaginative."
"What were you—?" Regulus, wisely, decided not to pursue that train of thought. If it involved one of his brother's friends, he probably didn't want to know anyways. "Nevermind. This one has nothing to do with Potter, not very much, at least."
"Oh?" Her eyebrows raised imperiously and Regulus was struck, once again, with how well she fit in with the pureblood society for an American witch with next to no experience in the wizarding world (he wasn't stupid after all; he knew they were keeping something from their Slytherin friends). "Whose bed am I occupying now? I'm afraid I can't keep track of all my secret liaisons. I should probably hire an assistant for that. It's a shame Peter's busy with James and Sirius."
"They're currently under the impression that my favorite brother and I are fighting over you behind Potter's back. Kagumi's heartbroken, of course."
Bridget nodded solemnly, but her eyes were bright with amusement. "Of course. And poor James, he's been betrayed by his best friend over a girl. However will he cope?"
"If things keep going in the direction they seem to, Kagumi will probably soothe his broken heart." Yeah right, Bridget thought to herself. She'd be more likely to snog—oh, ew, not going there; for indeed the images now twining through her mind of Sirius and Kagumi locked in an embrace that was anything but friendly perturbed her. Regulus's voice brought her back, thankfully; she shook the last image out of her head to focus on his words.
"But, that's only if you happen to throw over the love of your life—which is Potter, of course, being from a respectable family with no Dark connections—for the disreputable, but undeniably charming elder Black, or the possibly evil, but devilishly handsome younger, smarter Black."
"Ah… of course." She tried to frown, but the situation was entirely too funny and she couldn't manage even the slightest hint of displeasure. "I don't know how I'll choose."
"Coin toss?" he suggested dryly.
Bridget giggled and immediately covered her mouth with her hand. They continued walking for several more minutes, going nowhere in particular.
"But," Regulus continued, suddenly serious, "there might be some unanticipated complications. Whatever they've done, Sirius and Potter have always had their admirers, and… your reputation…"
"You did not just do that," she said flatly. "My reputation's been shot for quite some time, Regulus. I'm only really friends with boys. And Kagumi and Lily, but people often forget them in light of the bigger scandal."
He sighed and caught himself before he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Bridget, you are a respectable witch with obvious power and intelligence as well as the grace to go along with it; any proper pureblood family would be ecstatic to have you. Nevertheless, if you allow these rumors to continue, it will greatly diminish your standing. You'd likely only be considered for Potter, Sirius, or myself, if only so they do not anger our families. I'm doing the best I can to subdue the rumors, but I can only accomplish so much."
She stared at him for a long while before finally saying, "If you say one more thing suggesting that my only worth is that of a wife and mother, I shall hex you into next Tuesday. Am I understood?" He nodded. "Very good. Besides," she gave him a sweet smile; Regulus completely understood why the entire school thought she had ensnared him, Sirius, and Potter, "I really don't think being limited to you three is that bad of a thing at all."
He had done what he had intended—he had warned her—and he'd mention something to Potter or Lupin so they could watch out for her as well, but he'd not had much hope that she'd take it serious to begin with. She may act and sound like she came from his world on most days, but she most definitely had a Muggle perspective.
"Very well. May I escort you to your dormitory?"
Bridget smiled again. "You're not supposed to know where the Gryffindor dorms are," she accused without much heat. In fact, she sounded amused.
He arched an eyebrow. "I am not an idiot, Miss Griffins. Everyone knows where the entrance to Gryffindor Tower is." He smirked. "The Slytherin dungeons, on the other hand…"
"Are located, obviously, in the dungeons," she interrupted with a voice full of suppressed laughter. "The simplest way to get to them is to use the hidden staircase near the far left hall off of the Great Hall. Go down the stairs, take the first right, pass three more halls before you take a left and it's the blank wall between that horrid painting of a swamp and the suit of armor with the red plume. Password's currently 'serpentine,' which is just lame, to be frank, Mister Black." Bridget gave him a sweet, innocent smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and turned around.
If she hadn't already fallen for his brother, Regulus was pretty sure he'd be in love right now.
"Gumi!" Sirius strode through the Gryffindor Common Room as though he owned it; going from the alternating admiring looks thrown his way and the death glares being thrown Gumi's direction, it was a fair assumption. "I do not understand women," he declared heavily as he commandeered an armchair from a rather frightened-looking second year girl.
"And you thought you did?" Kagumi inquired, giving him a horribly pleased look over the thin glasses perched on her nose. "What's Jet done now?" Sirius debated asking how she knew it was Bridget-related but decided against it; it was pretty obvious at any rate.
"I… don't really know."
She quirked an eyebrow, setting the glasses down on the table before turning back to him. "What were you doing?"
"We were just studying," he muttered. He ran a hand through his hair (causing a girl in the far corner to swoon) and sighed. Kagumi was finding this whole thing entirely too amusing; she doubted Sirius often talked to girls who liked studying.
"Studying what?"
"History!" he burst out as if he'd just been waiting for the proper cue. "I mean, Defense I understand, and even Transfigurations or Charms or Potions makes some sense, but History? Remus falls asleep in History of Magic. We once caught Evans dozing off!"
"Hey! I'd just dozed off for a second." Lily called, coming down the stairs from the Gryffindor girls' third-year dorms; apparently, there had been some mishap with the beds becoming animated and trying to eat one of the girls. "I was studying late for a test," she continued, giving Kagumi a mock glare at the other girl's giggles.
Kagumi barely managed to stop grinning before turning back to Sirius. "Bridget likes history," she tried to explain. "She believes that knowing about history will help with making decisions in the present."
"But she was…"
"Looking at you like you could save the world?" At Sirius's confused nod, Kagumi let her grin melt into a pleased smile. "Bridget likes brains. She knew you were smart before, but now she knows you can think outside of how you're going to pull your next prank. This is good."
"Good?"
"Yes, good."
There was a moment of companionable silence before something sparked in Sirius's eyes and a slow grin spread across his face. "Wait… does this mean that she does like me?"
Double Potions was always a trying class. Whether you enjoyed it or not, brewing potions was always a trial in patience. The tension between the Slytherins and Gryffindors was felt here like nowhere else, even if the rivalry had settled a bit. One side of the room was filled with lion-crested Gryffindors, eagle-crested Ravenclaws and badger-crested Hufflepuffs. The other side was pure Slytherin.
Kagumi was sitting beside Bridget, who was sitting at the same table as Sirius and James; Gumi's table included Remus and Severus. Professor Slughorn had broken from the traditional "pair" work to move on into group work of trios. Or so he said. Therefore, the classroom was set up for trios more than pairs. He had a list he kept making additions to, looking up with bright eyes and a nature suspicious enough that everyone dreaded who they'd get teamed with.
"Why is it," Kagumi leaned towards Bridget, "that no respectable Gryffindor wants to sit on the Slytherin side, and likewise? Has no one ever considered that perhaps the Slytherins are Slytherinesque because they're only limited and exposed to Slytherin culture rather than the school as a whole?"
Before Bridget could open her mouth to respond to the smart-arsed comment, Slughorn looked up from the stack of parchment he was perpetually writing on. "Oh dear, did I spend that much time on – Good Heavens, what time is it?" After a quick look at the watch donning his corpulent wrist, he sighed. "I'm terribly sorry, class. I got a bit carried away." With a flourish of his wand, writing began appearing on the chalkboard; ingredients, order thereof, and notes.
"Today, we're studying an off-shoot of the Healer tonic used to restrain a spell-sensitive and dangerous patient. It's referred to as the Dreznil Distilled Tongue-Stiller, or just the Dreznil. Can anyone tell me where the name came from?"
Slughorn looked around but no one ventured a guess. Severus kept his eyes firmly trained on the Advanced Potions Making in front of him, and the other star Potions student, Lily, was busy copying down the board. He sighed.
"Sir?" a timid voice spoke up from the third table on the right. Peter Pettigrew raised his hand slowly, much to the class's surprise. And to his own, from the panicked look on his face.
Silently, Kagumi and Bridget shared a glance, both of them reading the same thing in the other's expression: encouragement. Go, Pete, Kagumi thought.
C'mon, Peter, I know you know this. We discussed this when you were studying Charms. You had the Healing charms down pat, Bridget silently cheered.
"Yes, Peter, m'boy?" Slughorn looked expectantly at the mousy boy.
"The – the n-name Dreznil comes from the G-Germanic Healer who was courted and turned to the D-D-Dark Forces Council of Munich in 1944."
"Go Pete!" Kagumi reached over Bridget to high-five the trembling Gryffindor. "Knew you could do it," she said, lightly tapping his shoulder. He offered her a shaky, if genuine, smile.
"Jet's been helping me study."
"Peter's quite right," Slughorn's opening lecture interrupted, and Kagumi realized A, how uncomfortable Jet must be, mashed into the table, and B, how precarious her balance was; she was close to falling off her chair. "We'll be researching a notorious spin-off of the more common Healing tonic. A poison like the Dreznil has become very popular with Dark wizards and evil-doers of all sorts in recent years; it has several effects, many of which are quite dangerous to the average witch or wizard. But in order to understand the complexity of the poison, first we must understand the complexity of its creator.
"Dreznil was born Adelbert Dreznil, in a little Muggle village outside Nurnberg, Germany. As he aged, and grew into his magical talents, he discovered a talent for Healing. Growing up in a predominantly Muggle village, young Adelbert encountered all manner of disease in the poor community.
"Dreznil had applied to medical school before becoming aware of his latent Magical tendencies, and when rejected, became enamored with the idea of magically curing the ills. He then went on to seek out teacher after teacher to learn magic, creating several useful Healing Charms along the way, including the ever-popular broken nose healer Episkey. When Dreznil began experimenting with Potions, he found…"
Kagumi faded in and out, before Severus's sharp elbow in her ribs made her snarl. "He's getting to the actual potion; wake up, Pheonix. Lupin and I have already set up the rest while you were dozing."
She struggled back to wakefulness, with Severus's baleful gaze on her, tuning into Slughorn's jovial, warm voice as he described the potion steps. Everyone else was already holding a syringe in hand, copying Slughorn's stance.
"Now this poison is quite fast to make, but complicated in both its steps and theory. The Dreznil's first ingredient is the extracted Dragon femur marrow, preferably that of the Romanian Longhorn although any but the Welsh Green will do. Take your syringe (such a delightful extraction tool; a Muggleborn brought me those from her mother's 'labradory.' How sweet.) and place the pointy bit squarely inside the center of the bone, push the air out slowly, so as not to waste the marrow; after all, it's quite expensive. Then with your hand steadying both bone and syringe, pull the stopper back. Then remove the syringe and cautiously push the air out with the plunger. Be careful not to excrete any of the marrow itself; it works better if you tap it lightly against the table at intervals."
Several students groaned in disgust at the example.
"Yes! Look at that beautiful marrow. Be grateful that this is fresh bone, shipped just this morning. Preserved via magic, which will be nulled by one of the other ingredients; dry marrow smells much different. Now then, transfer your syringe to your dominant hand, and turn to the cauldron. Already resting inside is three pints cold spring water. Take the provided container of hellebore-laced hot water, and add a thin drip of marrow while slowly pouring the hot liquid into the mixture. Be very careful not to breathe fumes."
"Dude," Jet muttered, "this reminds me of high school chem."
"I know," Kagumi shot back.
"Good thing the ends of the bone have been sawed off; I don't fancy trying to get marrow with a syringe otherwise."
Kagumi looked at the other girl. "Ooh, that would be unpleasant."
"It wouldn't be unpleasant; it would be nearly impossible."
"Now then, have we all got it added in?" Various murmurs of agreement followed the professor's question. "Righto. Next step, anyone?"
"Adding in the Tiger Lily extract," Lily piped up from her table with Peter and Kamal.
"And how, precisely is it to be prepared, Lily?"
"Stamen shredded length-wise, and then pulverized into a rough ball shape. Dropped quickly into the potion once it reaches a rolling boil."
"Perfect!" He clasped his hands, beaming at her. "Now then, everyone begin shredding the stamen, but please, be careful. Cut away the head of the stamen, and clean your knife before continuing; adding even the smallest speck of pollen could take out the next two dungeons and the classroom above us in a spectacular explosion."
"Now then, it's minute ten of the twelve minute simmering time. Please, anyone tell me if their potion has a light blue or opalescent sheen; we will all then duck accordingly." Several chuckles followed this.
"What is she doing?" Severus asked, drawing Gumi's attention from their potion.
"Who?"
"Griffins."
"I don't know. What is she doing?"
"I don't know."
"I'm confused," Remus said from the cauldron where he was carefully stirring.
"That's not a surprise, Lupin," Severus huffed.
"And… take your cauldrons off the fire!" Slughorn called; there was a collective hiss as a multitude of cauldrons were set into the water-cooled baths next to the counters. "While that cools, we'll discuss homework, and homework teams."
"Teams?" Kamal muttered.
"Yeah. I think we're working in rotating trios from here out," Sirius said. "That's what seems to be happening, at any rate."
"Long as I don't get stuck with Griffins," Severus said grumpily.
"Sev!" Gumi sighed. "You're her tutor. You've got to work with her anyway."
"Work?" Severus repeated, loud enough to be heard across the room. Several heads turned their way. "You expect me to work with her?"
"Her who?" Bridget asked cheerily.
"Her you," James said lowly.
"Me? Well it's mutual, then, because I don't wish to work with you, either. Your logic is inherently flawed, Severus, and I'm relatively amazed you haven't managed to destroy the classroom yet." Bridget's eyes flashed; everyone winced. This was going to turn into yet another Logic vs. Practice debate.
"Ooh," Lily said, sidling over by Kagumi, who had her arms crossed. "That was a good one, but it was a tad early for that sort of snark."
"I'd give her a point for just getting Severus to shut up for a bit," Gumi said dryly.
"Fair enough; he does tend to ramble about Potions, doesn't he?" As one, the pair turned back to the quickly-escalating argument. Everyone's eyes were trained on the insults flying back and forth; even Slughorn, who seemed to be taking notes on his ledger.
"You, Griffins, are truly a primary exhibit of typical Gryffindor arrogance and lackadaisical work ethic," Snape snarled.
"Do tell how so," Jet shot right back, arms crossed.
"I saw that cheap little shortcut you took with the bergamot grinding. And when you were cutting the Glumbumble ichor."
"So he's calling her out? Does that deserve a point?" Lily asked.
"I don't think so. While it was quick, it's got too much of the 'righteous indignation' feel to it; not enough bite. Half point for speed," Gumi said.
"Really now?" Bridget said. "Funny how you're the one who taught me said shortcuts in our last tutor session."
"Och. Nice bite there," Gumi said.
"The student equals the master," Slughorn drawled cryptically. When Severus turned to look at him disbelievingly, he shrugged. "My niece enjoys Muggle movies. She's very persuasive."
"Griffins, if you have to rely on my tricks, then you truly have an astounding lack of Potioneering talent," Severus said, crossing his arms.
Jet blinked, and then laughed. "'Astounding lack of Potioneering talent?' Dear, you need better insults."
"Nice cut down there," Lily observed; she and Gumi had begun marking down the scores. "Very effective. See how he's faltering?"
"Oh, indeed. At least a point for that."
"You know," Severus said triumphantly, "these seem to be working quite well enough. They've gotten a rise out of you, for instance."
"Interesting, interesting," Gumi murmured, reviewing the tallies.
"You have any clue what they're doing?" James asked, brows furrowed.
"Not a one, Prongs, old man. Not a one," Sirius said, head following the rapid-fire row.
"It seems that the girls are scoring Snape and Bridget based on wit, speed and originality of the insult," Remus said, packing his books into his bag. "They're about evenly matched at this point."
"You just keep trying with those, then," Jet snorted lightly. "See if one eventually works."
"Now you two shall make quite a team," Professor Slughorn interrupted with a beaming smile.
"What?" Both Severus and Bridget whirled around to face the Professor. With a hand on each of their shoulders, he beamed proudly.
"I simply cannot wait to see what marvelous antidote you two shall concoct together." At their blank stares, he cleared his throat and raised his voice, addressing the entire class. "That's the homework. A three week trio project, research, detail and concoct a fully effective antidote for the Dreznil. To be handed in three double periods from now."
"But sir—"
"How do we—"
Slughorn shook his head at the protests and complaints. "The trio partners have been posted outside this classroom; you can look at them on your way out."
Sirius and James stared at Bridget, who was staring at Snape; the crackling in the air was almost palpable. "Sassy, isn't she?" James offered, rubbing a hand along the line of his mouth; it didn't quite erase the smile.
"Well, Sniv— Snape deserved it."
"You guys do know that they weren't terribly serious, right?" Peter asked. When they all turned to look at him, he shrugged. "Neither of their stances were really angry; I think this was a mutual test."
"Hey Gumi, did you see something fly out the window?" Lily asked, walking with the other girl. Gumi twisted around, looking one last time at Severus, who yelped as he perused the list.
"What?! Griffins and Black?" he roared incredulously. "I refuse to work with Sirius Black!"
"Yep," Kagumi agreed. "I think it was Sev's pride."
The room was spinning. James blinked up at the ceiling, wondering whose brilliant idea this had been. It certainly couldn't have been his because he normally knew that it was a bad idea to let an untrained, powerful witch attempt to disarm you. He closed his eyes, wishing that everything would just stay still; hopefully if the room stopped spinning long enough, the sea-sick feeling in the pit of his stomach would go away.
"James?" a worried voice called. Bridget slid to a stop next to him. "James, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he said in a pained voice as he sat up, ignoring the bruise blossoming across his shoulder blades. "Perfectly fine. You did that brilliantly."
She frowned at him as she tried to figure out if he was lying to her or not. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it would be that… violent."
"It normally isn't." James smiled brightly at her horrified look. "Nevermind that now. I think that's enough practical work for now."
Bridget continued to frown at him skeptically, but she nodded. "All right."
"As I said, don't fret. Now then, we'll pick back -- " As James's head turned towards an owl that flew by, something clicked in his head; it wasn't as surprising as it could've been. Kagumi often referred to James as having the attention span of a dazzled toddler in a toy store. "Did I tell you about your mail?"
"My… my mail?" Bridget asked, brows furrowing. "No. Nothing about any mail. Just the usual complaints, the complimentary newspapers and the begging and attempted bribes (by the way, the 1001 Historical Battles No One Knows About edition was a nice touch) asking me to take Hamilton's place again."
"Well, I heard from Mr. Longbottom. He says that there are a few letters he'd like you to reply to if you have the time." James grinned. "It seems you've become rather popular. People are actually listening to you."
"Really?" she replied, sounding surprised. "I thought I'd be more… reviled than effective."
"Well, yes," he admitted reluctantly, "there are those, but Frank's dad takes care of his writers and you are most definitely considered one of his now. I'm relatively sure he'll start courting you for the Prophet sooner or later." Before she could let the worry he saw in her expression take root, he moved on. "Anyways, I have the letters. If you don't want to do it, I can."
"No, no… I can do it."
"You might want some help." Bridget tilted her head to the side, eyes wide and curious. "There are over a hundred of them."
"What?"
Kagumi had introduced her to the articles, and the girl had been right: they were good. But, if Gumi knew about it, then chances were that Bridget did, too, and Lily wanted to see what someone else thought about the most recent article. It had detailed the life of a Muggle woman named Corriana Sadia, whose status as a magical (even if Dark) creature was setting centuries of magical classification theory upside down.
Lily sat down next to the other girl and patiently waited for her to finish her essay—Transfiguration, it looked like—before she interrupted. "Have you read these werewolf articles in the Prophet?" she asked, pulling out the latest.
The scratching from Bridget's quill paused for a moment before she continued writing. "Yes," she said hesitantly. "I've read them. Why?"
"I was just wondering what you thought of the last article. Or any of them, really. It's… good. I didn't think anyone could humanize—pardon the poor terminology— werewolves to the public like this. They're entirely too hated by the general community. I'd like to—"
"Lily," Bridget interrupted in a pained voice. "Can we not talk about this, please?" Lily looked up. The other girl was staring at her book and bright red.
"…Why not?"
"Because, well, I… the articles are… werewolves…" She sighed and dropped her quill before looking up at Lily. "I wrote them."
"You… what?" She couldn't have heard that right. There was no way she had heard that right.
"I… wrote the articles?" Bridget's dark eyes were tired-looking, and there was a definite pink tinge to her cheeks. At Lily's blank look, Jet blundered on to stumble out an explanation. "I wrote them. James had this idea that if someone could humanize them to the public then maybe—"
"Wait. Not only are you saying that you wrote the articles, but you're telling me James bloody Potter, the egotist of the century, had a humane and noble thought in his head?" The scorn and— somewhat faint— hope lingered in her eyes for a moment.
"Yes," Bridget continued. "He's a good guy." Seeing the war waging within Lily's heart play out on her face, Bridget put her hand tentatively on the other girl's. "He's getting better, you know. I mean, he'll always be cocky and arrogant, but he's not really that bad; it's just part of his nature, and I can say from experience that his father is pretty much the same way. I like him and I probably would've been more likely to punch him than laugh with the boy I understand he used to be; I have very little tolerance for bullying. But," she continued, determined to move off of the topic of James, "it was sort of his idea. He got me contact with the werewolves, and I asked the questions and took the notes and wrote the articles."
Lily was silent for a long moment. "Does Gumi and the rest of the merry band know about this?"
"No!" Bridget's hand jerked. "No, Gumi doesn't know. Just James and Sirius. She can't know yet."
James stumbled to a halt, wondering why he was carrying the letters instead of using magic. He dropped the letters onto the table in the room he'd found for him and Bridget to use and dropped into the chair, using his wand to direct the rest of the letters behind him. He'd almost forgotten what tutoring could be like, how utterly exhausting it could be, and especially with a powerful and incurably inquisitive student like Bridget. Answering her questions had been like taking O.W.L.s again; they were trickily worded and well-planned and she was as persistently hyperactive as a three year old (or, according to Remus, him and Sirius).
He heard the door open, just as he let himself rest for a few seconds. Between Quidditch, school, helping Bridget, his Head duties, and Remus's lycanthropy (the last full moon, the previous week, had gone pretty well; if by well one could say horrible. Moony had completely destroyed the top floor of the Shrieking Shack, raging and panting all the time: Sirius had suggested, and James privately agreed, that it was like watching an animal in rut), he didn't have a lot of time for sleep. Bridget was one of the few people who didn't expect him to be… strong all the time; she mothered him just as much as she did everyone else… well, except for Sirius, but that was expected.
He waved her in. "Just give me a few seconds and I'll be ready."
"That's fine, James," she replied as she smoothed down his hair; the action soothed them both. "Take as much time as you need. I brought Lily, by the way."
James jerked to wakefulness, his feet sliding off the table with a dull thump. He fixed the glasses he'd knocked askew by his abruptness and stared at the nervously grinning Bridget; he'd gone from relaxed to… awkward faster than he could ever recall doing. Lily was standing hesitantly near the door and though Bridget now had her back to him, he could sense her amusement.
If it had involved anyone else, he would've been proud of her deviousness.
"Uh," he started, gesturing at the chair Lily was closest to. "Do you want to sit—?"
"Was it really your idea?"
He blinked, feeling like a particularly slow child. "What?"
"Bridget's articles. Were they really your idea?" Lily's eyes were intense on his and, though some distant portion of his brain had registered the fact that it was the longest she'd ever looked him in the eyes without flinching or turning away, there were conflictions lurking in her gaze.
"Her… articles?" She nodded and James turned to give Bridget a stern look. "You told her?"
"Um… yeah," she responded sheepishly. His look darkened and she almost faltered, backing away towards the door. "I'm under a lot of pressure! She wanted to talk about them."
He sighed, running fingers through his perpetually messy hair. "No. It was Bridget's. Much too brilliant for my ideas; and there was the fact that it worked."
"It was not!" The genius in question whacked him lightly upside his head. "Stop being modest; it doesn't suit you. I'll concede that we came up with the idea together, but you are the one who made it happen. I didn't come up with the how and that's nearly as important as the what."
"I—" he stopped and crossed his arms over his chest, doing something very close to pouting. Lily might not ever admit it, but it was kind of cute. "I give up."
"That's new," Bridget huffed slightly, arms crossed.
"You know I'm not—" James dropped off midsentence again. Instead of Lily's normal look of disapproval, she was smiling at him. And not a grimace, or a wince, or a look of disgust. An honest-to-Merlin smile, with her lips quirked upwards and the faintest trace of teeth showing. The glow extended all the way up into her eyes, and suddenly James forgot about arguing with Bridget, who no longer lurked by his chair.
There was a soft click as the door to the classroom opened and shut again, but James was too preoccupied to properly care. After all, Lily had smiled at him. Really smiled.
And that was new.
Author's Notes: Guys, I'm so sorry it has taken this long to get another chapter out. Life has been absolutely crazy, both for me and for Jet, and so our work slowed down. I battled a nasty bout of writer's block for a while and moved back home to Wisconsin; Biddy has been dealing with NaNoWriMo, her own issues, male troubles (*rolls eyes* and we all know how consuming that can be, right?) and university work.
Also, the job market is absolutely dreadful.
BUT here it is, chapter Twenty. Lots of goody action, and I promise we'll try our best to get the next chapter out there faster.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted, or fav'd us; we love you guys!
~Gumi
Next Time, in DIN:
Lily glared at Bridget like she wished she could make her spontaneously explode. "Potter is an overconfident, bully and I can't stand the—"
"Ahem," Kagumi interrupted pointedly; it was obvious that she was still tense, "while you boy-crazed chickies talk, lemme see your essays. I'll do a quick grammar check."
She held out her hand, apparently unaware of the large, vaguely Australia-shaped splotch of ink on her nose. As the other three rolls wound up in her hands, she read over them, making minor notations.
Until she got to Bridget's.
"Bids. Why do you have RJL and a heart at the top of your essay?" she asked.
"Um," Bridget frowned at the bundle of papers, "as you can… see, my essay clearly relates the transfiguration of insects into inanimate objects. But I also believe that we need… um… love to deal with… pests, at least at first. Therefore, it stands for— for— um…"
"Rapidly jumping locusts," Holly said suddenly, her quick grin being lost on the other two girls. "Those buggers can be hard to catch, but they can be calmed with a loving touch."
"Rapidly… jumping… locusts?" Lily asked slowly, arms crossed.
"Yes," Bridget said, hiding her glee. "Rapidly jumping locusts. Nasty little things. Much better to make them into forks. Once you get them calm, of course." She gave them a quick grin. "All you need is love."