YOU DIDN'T MEAN TO • PANSMIONE

( TWELVE ! )

"Welcome back to potions, students. I trust that you all had a good weekend - anything exciting?" Slughorn beamed merrily at his class, who were staring at him glumly, fingering his robes in a self-satisfied manner that made Pansy want to punch him. He was just fishing for information about someone's rich relative, no doubt.

"He makes this speech every Tuesday," Pansy muttered to Hermione, who was seated next to her. "He never gets anything out of it, but he doesn't stop. Why, oh why, won't he stop?" Hermione just motioned for her to be quiet, muttering something to herself under her breath, and twisting her slender fingers restlessly under the desk. Noticing her agitation, Pansy clamped her mouth closed, though she was dying to say something bitter about their teacher again. Some people had to be worth a little bit of cruelty, surely?

"Now, class, today is the deadline for your completed potions portfolio - " Hermione had already laid it out neatly on their desk, "- and also your chance to create the potions described within it. You will have two hours for this, and I expect all work to be complete by the end of the lesson. Are there any questions?" He was answered by dull silence, which he seemed to mistake for fear. "Don't worry about it! It's only an exam. Just think - two hours and it will be over."

"And we will have all failed," Hermione groaned, her head in her hands.

"No, we won't," Pansy reprimanded her, "I wrote the assignment!" A weak smile was her only response, but any smile from Hermione was a glorious reward to her. She craved attention like a flower craves sunlight. Once it was cast on her, she could not stop blooming.

"You may talk quietly in your pairs, but there is to be no conferring between groups," Slughorn continued. He flicked his wand, conjuring great gold numbers in the air. "Is everyone ready? Very well - your time starts...now!" And the timer began.

There was a rush like a breaking wave as every student raced towards the supplies cupboard. Pansy stayed behind; she and Hermione had planned for this, and she was to get everything ready whilst her girlfriend - how she thrilled to think that (although it hadn't quite settled in her head yet) - scrambled to get the ingredients they needed. First, they needed to make a simple sleeping draught, and then whip up the potions that would be used to first create nightmares, and the other, which would remedy them. Pansy was strangely excited to do work, for the first time - ugh, who was she? But she had put work in for the first time in her life, and she was eager for it to all come together.

"Okay, I think I've got everything," Hermione whispered, dumping an armful of bottles and twists of herbs on the table. Her hair was starting to become frizzy already, and she wiped a beat of sweat from her forehead.

"How can you be hot?" Pansy hissed. "It's bloody freezing in here!"

"It's nothing," Hermione snapped. "Now, help me make this potion, for Merlin's sake." Ducking her head to hide her amusement, Pansy flicked open her book to the instructions, and passed Hermione the first ingredient. "Only a pinch of that. Oh, and a tablespoon of this - NO WAIT!" For this they received a pointed glare from Slughorn. "Sorry, only half a tablespoon."

They proceeded in this manner for the next two hours, until they had three bubbling cauldrons, spitting with flecks of magic. Hermione sighed. "The hue of that one looks a little off..."

"Oh, hush," Pansy scoffed. "They look great."

"Yes, but is great good enough?" Hermione wrung her hands, stress creasing her face. "It needs to be good enough."

"I'm sure its fine," Pansy huffed, exasperated. "Just - don't worry about it. We did it together, didn't we?"

"Yes..." Hermione trailed off uncertainly. "I'm just worried about it, that's all."