The Marauders: Year Five #Wattys2017

Remedial Potions

Remedial Potions

"Here, cut them this way," Lily reached over and guided Sirius's hand over the cutting board as he worked at cutting up a palmful of figs for the potion they were working on. She took hold of his wrist and moved it in smooth slicing cuts across the fig, "See? Carefully, so you don't crush the juice out 'til you're ready." She looked up at him as he nodded and she released his wrist so he could do it on his own.

Sirius was biting his lower lip in concentration, his forehead puckered.

Lily glanced up toward the front of the room and saw Slughorn was half asleep, dozing in his chair, his head nodding against his chest as he fought the urge to fall completely asleep. She turned back to Sirius. "How have you been feeling? Any better since our little talk in the library?"

Sirius shrugged.

"I've been worried about you."

Sirius's finger slipped and the knife caught the tip of his finger and it burst blood instantly. "Fuck!" He dropped the knife to the table and clutched the hand he'd cut to his chest, cursing loudly. Slughorn spluttered but didn't wake up. "Fuckfuckfuckfuck," whined Sirius.

"Let me see," Lily said, taking out her wand.

"No, it hurts," Sirius said, holding it close to his chest.

"Let me see!" Lily insisted, grabbing for his hand.

Sirius struggled away.

"Sirius Orion Black," Lily snapped. She gave him The Look and held out her palm. He slowly lowered his hand into hers and unfurled his fingers so she could see the cut. His palm was covered with smeared blood from the cut, but it was a relatively tiny cut, really, and not very deep at all. Lily cast a quick charm and it was sealed up instantly. "All that shouting over that!" she said in a scolding tone.

"It hurt," Sirius replied.

"Yes I'm sure it did, but you don't need to be holding it all in like that! You thought it helped but it didn't, did it?" Lily's green eyes were very bright as she stared up at him. "It's better now that I've helped you, isn't it?" she asked pointedly.

Sirius nodded slowly.

Lily sighed and turned to clean up the mess he'd made with the knife and the tabletop, sweeping away the affected fig into the trash and getting a new one out of the ingredients kit. When she looked back up, Sirius was staring at her. "What is it?" she asked, putting the fig down on the table and holding up the little knife again. "Here. Be more careful or I'll get you a butter knife to do this with."

Sirius took the knife and concentrated on the fig again. His eyes were funny, though, she could see him thinking as he moved.

"What're you thinking on?"

Sirius shook his head.

Lily flipped the page of the Potions book to the next sheet of instructions and got the ingredients they'd need for the steps following the figs. She was turned back-to him, rooting through the kit, when he said, "It was James."

"What was James?" she asked.

"The person I heard Regulus talking to about Snape."

Lily paused in her search and looked over her shoulder. "Oh?"

"Yeah. He... He sort of talked to Regulus after I'd told him not to and that's why we've been fighting." Sirius stared down at the figs. He'd finished the first and was now cutting a second one carefully, and very slowly. "You saw Reg's patronus?"