(1) Lux Brumalis (R. Weasley)

Chapter Fifteen

Pansy reads from her potion textbook, a cauldron bubbling away in front of her as Pixie crushes up some snake fangs with a pestle and mortar. Snape moves around the room, watching them as they all work on a cure for boils potion. Pixie then makes some notes in her notebook, listening to Pansy reading out the instructions.

"No, go back" Pixie stops her and turns slightly. "Off the heat?" She asks, Pansy hums and nods, her eyes on the book.

"Yes," Pansy answers. "Off the heat and then add the quills" She repeats, Pixie nods and makes a few more notes. Her eyes then flickering around the room to see where the other students are at with their potions. Malfoy is about as far along as Pixie is. So is Hermione. The rest appear to be struggling. Ron is frowning down at his textbook as Harry attempts to ready the ingredients. Snape approaches Pixie and Pansy's desk, peers into Pixie's cauldron and then nods.

"Good," He tells her. Pixie smirks down at her notes.

..........

As Pixie is about to take her cauldron off of the fire, clouds of green smoke and a loud hissing noise fills the room. Neville Longbottom has somehow managed to melt Seamus Finnigan's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion is seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class are up, standing on their stools whilst Neville, who had been drenched in the potion, collapses, moaning in agony.

"Idiot boy" Snape snarls, clearing the spilt potion away with a wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?" Neville whimpers as boils start to appear all over his nose. "Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape tells Seamus, then rounded on Harry and Ron who had been working next to Neville. "You – Potter – why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost Gryffindor" Harry opens his mouth to argue but a firm kick from Ron stops him.

"Don't push it" Ron warns Harry. "I've heard Snape can turn nasty" Even Pixie has to admit that Snape's being a little unfair on Harry.

.........

Pixie walks into the Great Hall for dinner, she'd spent her free afternoon in the library doing her transfiguration homework. She doesn't head for the Slytherin table though, she makes her way to the Gryffindor one and to where Harry and Ron are sat together.

"How's Longbottom?" Pixie asks Harry and Ron as they both turn to look at her.

"Seamus says he's okay" Harry answers. "He's more upset about getting it wrong" She hums a little. "Hey, did your mom write back?" Harry asks her, she hums and nods.

"Yeah, she says she didn't tell me about the tech thing because she didn't want to take away my excitement" She offers and then shrugs. "I'm still upset there is no tech, but...I get it" She then smirks. "I have a plan anyway..." She then taps her nose and winks at Harry who smirks. She waves her fingers at the two of them and then heads to the Slytherin table.

"What are you doing talking to them?" Draco asks her when she reaches the table.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware I needed your permission to talk to people" Pixie counters as she sits at the table.

"Where is your house loyalty?" Draco scolds her.

"My loyalty lies where I decide" Pixie argues. "Not where you or anyone else says...." She stops him with a glare, he clenches his jaw to glare back at her. "That's the beauty of free will" She adds and grabs an apple from the bowl.

.............

Pixie rolls her eyes listening to Draco going on about Harry again, she looks over the noticeboard in the Slytherin common room to read the same notice. He wasn't lying about flying lessons. They are going to have those classes with the Gryffindors. That's going to be fun. Not. Draco gets on her last nerve at the best of times, let alone when they are around other houses.

"At least we get to do some flying" Pansy comments at her side. "Excited?"

"No" Pixie admits. "I'm not really bothered about it, to be honest" She looks at Pansy.

"I suppose riding a broom isn't exciting when your muggle dad can fly without one" Pansy comments, Pixie smirks and nods a little.

"No, that is true" Pixie agrees and folds her arms over her chest. "It might be a little fun to watch Draco fall from a great, great height...." Pansy snorts a little. Pixie then lets out a breath. "I'm going to get started on that transfiguration homework" She admits. "I'll see you at dinner?" Pansy nods in agreement, watching Pixie then walk away, heading out of the common room.