Genetics • Sirius Black

Chapter Forty: Right On Top Of Each Other.

"Spit it out." Sirius Black stood impatiently before Freya Grey.

A touch of sweat gleamed on her temples since she had been running around the lab like a headless chicken for nearly three hours now. Stiff as a board, her gaze dropped slightly, and she held the vile in her hand more tightly. Hardening up her expression, she grasped a little at Narcissa's cool face, but it was not quite the same. "The potion doesn't work."

A crease formed between his brows. "What?"

"It's meant to be dark brown, and it's bright bloody yellow." She set the vile on the counter next to her and ran her hands through the top of her hair, then held the edge of the metal counter. Biting her lip, she tilted her head at the boiling cauldron and her attention shifted inward, before saying, "I need more Wolfsbane."

"Can you set up another meeting with Mundungus?" He asked, pulling a stool next to her and taking a seat. Her dark eyes flicked at him, expecting him to shout or at least be an arse about it, but he seemed relatively indifferent about it. His grey eyes met hers, and she nodded. He mimicked the nod and then stood up. "It's nearly one in the morning, work on it later."

"I need to know where I went wrong." She shook her head, fixing her attention to the closed vile on the table in front of her.

"You've messed up before. It's not that big of a deal."

Again, she shook her head. "I have to run some more tests." More often than not, she could quickly correct her mistakes, having a mind for problem-solving, or at least figure out where she had gone wrong. But in this case, she had absolutely no clue. In the blink of an eye, the vile resting right in front of her was gone. She turned to him bewildered. "Sirius."

For some strange reason, his body had overtaken his mind with the action, and he found himself grasping for another explanation for what he had done.

"Work on it tomorrow, after you've slept." He replied, holding the vile in his hands. She glared at him, then raised her hand to grab it. Quickly he moved it out of her reach. Again, she attempted this time with a small jump, and he held it high over his head. Even on her tiptoes, she could not reach it, and her gaze became determined.

Face inches away from his, she glared at him. "Give. It. Back."

He matched it; his minty breath fanned over her face. "Make. Me."

Back in one of the Gryffindor dorms, two boys sat on James Potter's bed with the curtains drawn close. Peter Pettigrew's wand illuminated the small space and the map resting on the mattress as he sat cross-legged next to James.

"I thought they were talking." Squinting, James looked at the two names on the map as they slowly got closer together.

Head tilted to one side, Peter watched as Freya's banner and Sirius's banner become almost conjoined. "They're right on top of each other."

After a moment, their noses wrinkled. and in unison, they both said. "Ew."

Despite the assumptions about them being wrong, Freya was indeed practically on top of Sirius Black as she pulled the vile out of his hands. Quickly, she pulled it close to her chest, now very protective of it.

Sighing, Sirius straightened out his shirt. "Fine. But, I'm staying."

"I expected as much." She panted a little, trying to seem less wild as she tucked the vile in her skirt pocket, then muttered. "Stubborn arse."

"I thought you liked my arse?" He grinned, and she rolled her eyes as she took position behind the cauldron.

"I was drunk off of firewhiskey; I probably would have said I adored Lily's singing."