DROWN • Sirius Black

Caution with Potions

"Shit...shit...shit...shit..."

"Can you quit pacing around, James? You're giving me a headache," Sirius groaned.

"How daft can you be, mate? I'm starting to get medically concerned," Remus remarked, rubbing the back of his head.

"This is Esme Royelle for the record, pretty certain she knew how to brew the Draught of Living Dead before she could walk," Peter muttered.

Sirius couldn't hold his tongue any longer. "That's a myth that I can disclaim. Merlin! I spent the earliest years of my childhood with her. Believe me when I tell you there is nothing spectacular about her. If anything she's a fraud."

Peter rolled his eyes, "You only say that because you're peeved that she's the only student in this school with a bigger fan club than you."

"All you see is status, Peter, it gets tiresome," Sirius sighed.

"Shut up and stop dodging the real issue, Sirius," Peter quipped at this.

Remus sighed, "Pete's right, unfortunately you lost a bet, a bet which places you in the hands of Royelle, defenseless to her devices."

James perked up at this and for the first time that evening spoke words that weren't a string of curses.

"Unless, he wasn't defenseless."

"Whatever do you mean, James?"

"See, what did Sirius reveal to us about the witch?" James muttered, his mind racing a mile a minute.

"That she's on to us?"

"Precisely," James let out a short laugh, startling his mates, "why would she be on to us in the first place? Why is she so curious?"

"Because Esme loves secrets," Sirius sighed, "When we were kids she devised a game, Devil's Ear she called it. We would each independently listen in on the meetings of the Sacred 29 and whoever gathered the most information won. We were flogged on the occasions we were caught of course, but that made the game all the more fun for her, the element of danger."

James nodded, "Esme has this insatiable desire for secrets and fundamental truth, so what is the one potion that will grant her access to precisely that?"

"Veritaserum," Remus answered.

"Yes! Veritaserum!" James exclaimed, "and which exact words did she use to describe her potion to Slughorn first day of class?"

"Anti-Veritaserum," Sirius realized wide-eyed.

"If you ingest her potion first, it will induce you to lie so that when you ingest Veritaserum before the first potion has worn off you will be immune!" James explained prancing around the room with a wild glint in his eyes.

"Wait, wait-" Remus interrupted, "your theory is completely unfounded, we don't even know the technicalities of this potion. Furthermore, ingesting two potions is a rookie mistake, we have no way of predicting the reaction. It could be life-threatening."

"Pish posh, Remmy!" James disregarded Remus's valid concerns. "This is Sirius we're talking about, he has a liver made of steel. We have experienced too many drunken nights together to even budge denying that."

"Honestly, Sirius how did you ever lose that bet?"

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"So you drugged my cousin?!" Andromeda exclaimed, her voice seemingly ricocheting off of the book-clad walls of the library.

"Sshhhh," hushed Esme, wide-eyed. "Stop being so dramatic,  he never established any rules opposing it."