A Circle of Flame- Sirius Black x OC

Chapter 17

It wouldn't be until the next morning that Liza heard the news from the Slytherin Common Room. Rosier had walked out of bed with the burned imprint of a snake about his throat, having been forced to sever a precious chain from his flesh.

"Don't think I owe you anything." Liza flopped a stack of textbooks on the Potions table she shared with Sirius. "Just because you defend me once—"

"DEFEND?" Sirius clutched at his chest in horror, his eyes wide with outrage. "I conquered a most savage beast in your honor."

Setting down their scale carefully so as not to disturb the ingredients, Liza shook her head. "You spend far too much time with James."

"PRONGSIE!"

The boy in question lifted his head from the next aisle, where he had been busy ogling Lily Evans. "Yes, dearest?"

Sirius stuck an accusing finger at Liza. "Prewett wants to break us up!"

By now, the boy's outburst had acquired the attention of the entire classroom. Liza wanted to bury her face in her hands. Surely busying herself with sorting the potions ingredients was enough to make her innocence evident.

Collapsing on his stool, James tossed his glasses upon his desk. The frames scraped painfully upon the wooden cutting board. "I knew she would come between us."

"Oh, shove off and get working." Liza eyed the recipe for Veritaserum. The brew was incredibly complicated, and she wasn't looking forward to walking Sirius through the process. She was beginning to have the sneaking suspicion that the eldest Black knew more than he let on. He was just a lazy pain in the arse.

"Oi, Slugmate!"

The potions professor didn't bother to fully turn from where he was reexamining the instructions on the board. A bushy eyebrow arched over his right eye. It reminded Liza of a fuzzy caterpillar slouching over a trunk. "Yes, Mr. Black?"

"Is it safe to put such a—developed potion in the hands of the student body?" Sirius's silver gaze was wide with mock innocence. "I know a fair few lasses who," at this, several Gryffindor girls sent him not-so-friendly glances, "may use it for interrogation."

Liza bit back a snort. Of course, the only time the boy offered his contribution was in self-defense.

Slughorn seemed entirely unbothered and patted the chalk dust from his robes with a flick of his wand. "A matter of unconcern, Mr. Black. Potions brewed in class never leave the room. If I recall," he sent James and Sirius a keen look, "it is only your crowd that have ever disregarded those rules."

James and Sirius remained unaffected while Remus buried his head beneath his cauldron.

Muttering to herself, Liza refocused on the task before her. Her red hair was already beginning to frizz from the steam.

"What product do you use?"

She turned her head to see Sirius observing her with a disdainful expression.

"What of what?"

"Product." Sirius brushed a hand through his wavy locks and emphasizing the syllables as though she were a small toddler. "I use a bit of Fleamont's old brew with a tonic specially ordered from the backrooms of Diagon Alley. I can pass on the article I found in Witch's Weekly."

For a long moment, Liza just stared at the Gryffindor. She blinked. "I'd rather not, thanks."

Sirius shrugged. "Just trying to help. Your hair looks like the bottom of my broom after your beaters ravaged it."

Remembering the moment clearly, Liza pulled her lips in disgust. Ignoring Sirius was certainly the best policy. She tapped a few more ingredients into the cauldron, making sure to stir counterclockwise after each. One wrong movement and the entire batch would be ruined.

"Baby P!" Sirius popped the 'p' sound. When she had no response, he did it again. And again. And—

"For the love of Merlin!"

Liza's outburst startled the whole class. Alice Fortescue's cauldron spurted a firework of golden flame, and the girl turned a bright red. Liza narrowly resisted from shooting the Gryffindor an apologetic look.

"Professor." Liza turned to Slughorn with a desperate grimace. The steam from the potion was doing little to soothe her nerves. "Can I trade partners?"

The Potion's master looked up from where he was helping Alice correct her brew. Or at least pretending to. Liza strongly suspected that teaching was his least favourite part of the profession.

Slughorn's lips tightened as he looked Sirius over. The Gryffindor was currently scrawling his initials into his Potions textbook. "I'm afraid I assigned you a rather impossible task, my dear. Why don't you pair with Severus?"

Liza's face drained of colour. Meanwhile, Sirius's expression beamed as though Christmas had come early.

"Yes, Prewett." Sirius smiled widely. The top three buttons of his shirt were unfastened, exposing the edge of a dark line of chest hair. Liza narrowly resisted the urge to jinx the boy's collar shut. If it choked him, would anyone really miss the eldest Black?

"Why don't you help out ol' Sniv—Severus," he quickly corrected at Slughorn's glance.

The Potion's master shook his head. "You misunderstand me, Mr. Black. If Miss Prewett's help alone is not beneficial, I am providing you with two highly-talented partners."

It was Liza's turn to grin. She turned her head over to the left, where Severus sat staring Slughorn down. His mouth was upturned, as though he had just swallowed a particularly rotten flavor of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

"Oh, Miss Prewett and Mr. Snape," Slughorn dipped his head, making the tassel on his cap shiver with excitement. "I would further like to invite you to my Christmas Party. It will be truly marvelous this year!" He beamed, his cheeks a ruddy pink. Then he glanced over to the right of the room. "Oh, and you as well, Mr. Potter. I owe your father a huge debt."

James appeared slightly disconcerted over the lack of recognition, but he quickly turned back to tying Remus's tie to the back of his chair. The Gryffindor was far too busy beginning his potion to notice.

As they shuffled together their supplies, Liza fought the urge to tread on Sirius's toes. "I hope you realize what you got both of us into," she hissed, feeling none too generous. "Snape hates me."

"Join the club," Sirius replied sourly.

In unison, they craned their necks to observe their new groupmate.

Severus's lips curled into a slow smile.

"We're fucke—"

This time, Liza really did stomp on Sirius's toes.