A Circle of Flame- Sirius Black x OC

Chapter 36

"Miss Prewett," Slughorn beamed at her from where he stood over her shoulder. Liza tried not to let her nerves show. The professor was making her bloody nervous.

"How is it coming along?"

"Fine," Liza replied, trying to keep the impatience from her voice. Amortentia was not easy to brew, and her hair was frizzing in distracting puffs from the fumes. It was barely manageable in its current state. "About to add the third series of stirs."

The Potions professor leaned closer, nearly tipping a tray from the Ravenclaw beside her in the process. "Ah! Brilliant colour. Keep using a firm wrist with the stir pattern." Slughorn gave an affirming nod to himself, as though pleased with his instructions.

"Interesting man."

Liza refrained from rolling her eyes. This year, the Slytherins had been paired with the Ravenclaws during Potions. A change she had welcomed until Pandora Wormwood had sat beside her. The white-haired girl rarely stopped muttering. It was impossible to tell when she was speaking to Liza or herself.

"Yes," Liza replied stiffly, figuring that the brief response would suffice. She used the pewter ladle to stir counterclockwise, the curved shape helping to sift through the thicker dregs.

"He buries his loneliness with jokes and parties." Pandora continued, her own brew forgotten as it simmered on the burner before her. Her gaze remained on Slughorn's plaid-clad back. "Really, he desires friends and settles for the company of his students."

There was a brief pause as Liza set down her ladle, thankful that she needed to give the cauldron a few minutes to boil. That would be enough time for her to handle the constant interruptions. "Pandora," she tried to aim for a gentle tone. It was not in her nature. "I would discuss this with you at any other time, but please try to keep quiet for the rest of class. I'm finding it difficult to focus."

"But why do you need Amortentia?" Pandora's lilac eyes were wide, the unique colour adding to her whimsical flair. "It is obvious who you love."

Liza choked and nearly dropped a lacewing into her cauldron. "What—"

"You and Sirius Black," Pandora shrugged as if she were imparting a bit of old news. "Always sneaking around the castle last year?"

A panicked fear clenched Liza's chest. The Amortentia remained forgotten as she focused her full attention on her seatmate. "Did anyone see us?"

The Ravenclaw laughed, a light sound that barely escaped her throat. "Only I am odd enough to wander about the more forgotten rooms of the castle. Your secret is safe."

Mumbling to herself, Liza returned to her cauldron and stared into its rapidly thickening texture. She really needed to move seats. She crushed a pile of rose thorns with her pestle far more aggressively than normal.

"Don't you have your own potion to brew?"

Pandora continued to observe her movements with a curious stare. "I'm making a brew of my own design. To adapt the properties of a Metamorphagus." At Liza's exasperated expression, she beamed, "I've always wanted to dye my hair!"

"Use Madame Silkhorn's," Liza peered over into the depths of Pandora's cauldron. It certainly did not resemble Amortentia. Large chunks of butterfly wing floated at the top of a purple brew. "Isn't Slughorn going to fail you for this?"

"I think he's just glad to see me working," Pandora shrugged and pushed back a lock of hair, revealing dangling earrings in the shape of carrots. "Had a bit of trouble focusing in first year. Never saw a point in making a potion I didn't find useful."

Liza shook her head and measured a bit of the powdered thorns on her scale. It needed to be allotted in just the right amount to achieve maximum potency. "And you don't find a whirlwind romance useful?"