The Stag and The Doe

New Beginnings

Self-Control. It took a lot of self-control not to argue or glare at him. Lily felt like her head was going to explode from the amount of pressure she was putting on it. She compared this feeling to withdrawal symptoms, but instead of withdrawing from drugs, she was withdrawing from hating James. An action she believed to be impossible.

"Alright there Evans?" he asked, clearly amused by her struggle "Maybe you should take a deep breath before you explode."

"Is it really that obvious?" she murmured to herself.

"Yes, you look constipated." he said with a shrug. She stiffened at his response He wasn't supposed to hear that! As if like a reflex, she snapped her head to glare at him and then internally cursed herself for losing her self-control. Her face softened back into a neutral gaze and she turned to look at Slughorn again. However every fiber of her body could feel James's penetrating eyes watching her amusingly.

Apparently it never occurred to him that staring is rude she huffed inside her head.

"The reason I brought out these potions today is to introduce a new chapter." said Professor Slughorn, "we'll be focusing more on Elixirs and how they contribute to everyday life, especially the Everlasting Elixirs. Today, I want you all to work on two Everlasting Elixirs. You won't be able to finish but you should be at least half way through the first one by the end of class today. The instructions are on page 35 as well as on the board. You may begin. "

There was a lot of rushing to the Potions cabinet as students scrambled for ingredients and flasks. She waited patiently for the rush of people to subside before going in to grab what she needed. Small amounts of ingredients were left over by the time she got to the cabinet. She had hoped for a little more to work with but seeing as she excelled in this class, it wasn't exactly a bother. Gathering up whatever was left, she turned around only to bump into James and drop everything on the floor.

A groan left her lips before she could hold it back and she bent down to pick everything up. "You're a klutz Evans." she heard him say before he bent down to help her. She looked at him "And you're an eyesore but you don't see me complaining."

He rolled his eyes and continued to pick things up "It's not my fault you're as blind as a bat." Lily stopped to gape at him "I'm not blind," she seethed "and it is completely your fault. You're the one that stood right behind me and caused me to drop everything."

"Well I can't make a potion without ingredients. I needed to grab some from the cabinet."

She shook her head "But you could've waited like a sensible person.

"Yeah," he stated in irritation "and you could've stopped being as blind as a bat."

She opened her mouth to start an argument but after taking one look around, she decided against it. A classroom of students was not the place to begin bickering with James. They had a million school hallways and the Gryffindor Common Room for that. She shut her mouth quickly and took all the ingredients back to her table.

James seemed to understand why she remained mute and followed in her pursuit.

The two of them worked in silence after that. The only form of communication they had was when James asked to borrow her ingredients in which she replied with a curt nod. Lily slowly chopped up roots into even proportions as she gazed at her potions book.

Add the roots into the cauldron and then stir three times, counterclockwise. After you've stirred, heat the potion for three minutes. You should have blue fumes coming from your cauldron once it's done.

She was so absorbed on the instruction while cutting roots, that she didn't notice how close the blade was to her hand, until it was too late.

"OW!" she cried out and dropped the knife in haste as a stinging pain enveloped her thumb. When she examined her finger, she found to her horror that a cut about an inch long ran in a diagonal line halfway through her thumb. Blood was rapidly pooling out of it while greatly nauseating her. She held back her gag reflex as she gingerly set her hand down. From the corner of her eye, Lily caught James staring at her "Evans that looks bad."