Their magical spell || BSD × Hogwarts AU

Chapter IX

More mysteries than one
__________________________________

 
   “Ranpo, will you be so dear and tell me how is the Polyjuice potion doing?” Poe asked the other boy that has just entered the tower. “You see, I can't really turn around right now-” he explained, not shifting his eyes away from his own business.

  Ranpo walked up to a cauldron they hid in an empty cabinet, just in case someone wanted to pay an unexpected visit. He lifted the pot-lid to see unpleasantly looking matter; not to mention smelling.
  “It's bubbling-?” he said, making a disgusted face as he hurried to put the lid back.

  “I see. Is it a good sign?” Poe asked, still facing opposite direction of Ranpo.

  “It is...?” Ranpo replied unsure, waving his hand in front of his face to push away the smell.

  “Correct, ten points for Ravenclaw. It is pretty much ready to use in this state.” his mentor mocked the professors approach. “Also, toss me some more water, please. It's in the carafe.” he said, pointing behind him.

  “I'm your student, not a servant.” Ranpo complained, but followed the order regardless.
  When he got closer to the busy table where Poe was so focused performing whatever was stopping him from turning around for one second, he saw yet another cauldron, this time smaller with intensively smoking liquid boiling inside of it and all sorts of herbs either laying around or drenched in individual bowls.
  Ranpo handed Poe the carafe, from which the latter poured just a small measured amount in the cauldron, following by throwing in chopped leaves of some plan Ranpo didn't really recognize.
 
  “And what in God's name are you crafting over here?” he asked, fixing his rectangular glasses, trying to see better what the liquid was supposed to be.

  “You don't remember? Did it really leave such a fleeting impression on you, even after I gave you modified instructions? I'm feeling hurt.” Poe remarked with undertone Ranpo failed to identify as either genuinely disappointment or fake and exaggerated.

  “What 'instructions' and 'fleeting impressions' are you talking about?” he still didn't understand. As the matter of fact, if anything - beside trains - was giving a genius like him trouble to figure out, it were references to past; better yet, if the other party didn't exactly mention which event they referred to.

  “Draught of living dead. The potion that brought us into this whole tutoring session as a result of you failing miserably to prepare it.” Poe refreshed Ranpo's memory.
  Beside helping the latter remember, he made him realize just how much he was using the term 'fail miserably' in reference to his apprentice's performance in potion preparation.

  “Well now I remember... And why are you making it? To poison me because of my 'miserable failure'?” Ranpo half joked and half actually expected Poe to nod and go for his throat right there and then.

  “Oh no, I would never. I need it to get extra credit in my finals, that's all.” Poe shrugged.

  “What?! Aren't you like a genius with hundred percent secured pass or something? Or do you plan on poisoning them in case you somehow did mess up?” Ranpo scoffed.

  “Well... It's not like I could go return home with anything but perfect score.” Poe sighed, turning the flame under the cauldron down as he added the last chopped herbs and weird-looking liquids before putting on the lid.
  After that, he crumbled down on a chair with his hair falling out of his face for once, finally glancing at Ranpo, who now looked confused.
  “What? Did I say something wrong?”