Chasing The Keeper

Lori's Big Idea

I sighed, looking around the library. It was after school, and June and I sat in the library studying. For once, Sarah wasn't with us, as she had prefect duties to attend to.

Fog rolled over the castle grounds, and little light escaped through its shield and through the windows. Having just come from lunch, I could still feel the after taste of pumpkin juice on my tongue. Nearly every library table had a group of stressed-out looking fifth years murmuring to themselves various incantations and spells to memorize for the owls. Despite it being only the end of November, I could already spot a fifth year with their nose in their books at almost every corner of the school. I shuddered remembering my countless hours spent studying for the O.W.L's not wishing to relive that experience.

Instead, my mind turned to more pleasant things. My upcoming date with Vincent. After he had popped the question and I accepted, I was swarmed by his fangirls for days. That of course didn't matter, because I was to meet him at Hogsmeade the very first Saturday of December. He was to meet me in the Hog's Head.

June grumbled, tearing out another page from her tattered notebook.

"Bad streak of art block?" I chuckled, absentmindedly turning another page in my potions textbook.

"You know me too well." June grimaced, shaking her now neon orange shag mullet.

"Maybe you should take a break from writing," I suggested, "Maybe study for the stupid potions midterms with me."

"No thanks, I'll pass." June shook her head with a look of pure disgust on her features. "I must be allergic to that shit because every time I try my eyes start tearing up."

I audibly snorted trying to hold back laughter and shut my textbook. "Look I know you're going to be an accomplished author and all, but maybe you should at least put a little more effort into school."

"I do put effort into school." June huffed. "Just not potions."

I sighed, pinching my temples.

"Especially not with a teacher like Snape." She added on defensively. "That grease ball makes me want to hurl myself out of a window."

"Talking about Snape?" Lori asked, plopping her book bag down on the table next to me.

"Oh, it's you," June grumbled unenthusiastically and I shot her a dirty look.

"Yeah, we were." I turned back to Lori, who seemed not to notice June's hostility, and was cheerily opening her potions textbook. "June over here hates him with a burning passion."

"Who doesn't?" Lori nodded empathetically. "Unless you're a pureblood Slytherin it's hard to get on his good side if one even exists."

"Aren't you one?" June sneered.

"I'm a halfblood actually." Lori shrugged. "Not to mention he creeps on all the upperclassman ginger girls."

"Really?" I cocked my eyebrows.

"Yeah." She scrunched her nose in disgust. "He's crept on Cher, one of my friends, while we were in class together!"

"What do you mean?" June asked, clearly intrigued, her snarl fully disappearing.

"He randomly stares at her in class, and always asks for her to stay after class to help him with something. Little things, but enough to make her uncomfortable." Lori explained, her eyebrows furrowed at the thought.

"If only we could somehow ridicule Snape in front of the whole school-" June sighed dreamily.

Lori paused looking over at June, and her eyes sparkled deviously.

"Actually..." A grin spread across her rosy cheeks. "We can."

"How?" June and I asked in unison.

I was intrigued with the idea of jabbing back at Snape. He was always mean, and although I was never on his blacklist, June was. This was reason enough for me to dislike him.

"Look here," Lori said, flipping over to a page in the Potions textbook.

Polyjuice Potion

I recalled learning about it in a brief unit in my fourth year.

"Isn't it that potion that transfigures you into someone else for a little bit?" I asked incredulously, not catching on to Lori's thought process. "What has that got to do with anything, not to mention how would polyjuice do anything to Snape?"

"I was about to ask the same thing." June chuckled.

"Can't you see," Lori grinned even harder, her blue eyes twinkling. "We can brew it!"

"Why would we do that, and how would we get the ingredients?" June said, her voice uncertain.

"So we can fill the great hall with Snapes." Lori laughed, and suddenly it made sense to me. "The ingredients are easily stolen from Snape's cupboard."

"Lori you're a genius!" I exclaimed.

"I know." Lori giggled.

"Wait so you're suggesting we brew this potion over the course of the next," June looked over the page again, "month?"

"Well it might take us a little longer because we need to acquire all the ingredients, and we can't steal them all at once," Lori stated matter of factly.

"And then," June's brain started to visibly turn, as her face lit up.

"We slip it into the drinks of a bunch of kids in the great hall during breakfast," Lori concluded, a satisfied grin on her face.

"Oh my fucking Godric." June whisper shouted.

"I say we get it done before the first day of O.W.L testing and slip it into people's drinks that very morning," I said, smirking. "I think that would be a good thing to cheer up the stressed fifth years."

"Sounds good." Lori nodded in agreement.

"What are you girls talking about?" Elio said as he came up behind Lori, and wrapped his arms around her waist, sweetly kissing her neck.

"Potions." She answered, batting her long doll-like eyelashes.

"I'm dating such a nerd." Elio chuckled, placing another kiss on her cheek.

"Get a room." I jested, mocking a look of disgust.

"Like you and Ford?" Elio chuckled. "I still can't believe you didn't tell any of us.

"We're not dating so there's nothing to tell," I said, fiddling with the small silver broomstick on my finger.

"Oh please," Elio dramatically rolled his eyes. "The man went out of his way to watch your first game of the season to ask you on a date. You're practically married as far as I'm concerned."

I looked over at June for some help and backup but she just shook her head with laughter.

"He's right you know." She snorted.

"You all suck." I huffed.

"Hey I didn't say anything!" Lori mewled defensively.

I was enjoying this moment of mindless banter. It was as if all problems took a seat to the side, and everything was perfect. I saw someone dash past our table. Oliver Wood. We hadn't talked all week, which was weird because we usually would have a dispute about who's turn it is on the field, but what did I care. Oliver Wood was nothing important. Still, it felt weird not bickering with him, and not getting mad at his stupid grin. I made a mental note to get in an argument with him the next chance I got, and my mind quickly wandered back to my conversation.