we made history | s.b. (1)

Chapter Five

Potions class was always slightly chaotic when you first walked in. Juniper strolled through the classroom in a much better mood than she woke up in.

Professor Slughorn was sitting at his desk, stirring up a mixture in a cauldron. Juniper assumed it was an example for today's lesson. Slughorn always did hands on experiments. That was why Juniper loved his class so much.

She walked over to the two person table that she sat at every year for three years now. Sirius was already sitting down, his back turned to Slughorn's desk. He was focused on his friends, who sat directly behind him. She gently placed her bag on the floor and her textbook on the table, careful not to disturb the conversation the boys were having.

Sirius, though, had stopped speaking for a moment when she sat down. He smiled to himself before continuing from where he was in his story. He raised his voice slightly, letting Juniper hear his every word.

"And then she said, "You should take me to the Three Broomsticks for butter beer" after she insulted me! Can you believe that?"

"Women," James scoffed. "They just can't take a hint, can they?"

Remus scoffed while shaking his head. Sirius let out a laugh.

"Try taking your own advice sometimes, Potter," he grinned. James shot him a confused look.

"How is everyone doing this fine morning?" Professor asked with a smile. A few people muttered "good", but Juniper stayed quiet. She shifted awkwardly next to Sirius as she felt his eyes graze over her softly.

"Wonderful," he stated, clapping his hands together. "If you flipped to the page on the board, I'm sure you would have seen what well be mixing up today."

Sirius quickly glanced up at the board and flipped to the page in his book. Slughorn noticed and smirked lightly.

"The Befuddlement Draught is a quite simple potion to make, I don't think you'll have much trouble with it. Witches and wizards alike use this potion several times in their battles against enemies. It's a very simple mixture that twists the mind of your opponent and confuses them for a brief forty minutes. This gives you enough time to make your striking move. Of course, it hasn't always been used for fighting. I've known many students in my day that take the concoction and use it as a silly prank on their peers." Slughorn chuckled, sending a subtle glance at the Marauders. "Although, I would not recommend using it for this activity, seeing as the teachers wouldn't be too happy with you."

James shot a smug glance over at Remus, who just smirked knowingly.

"Let's make this a little more interesting, shall we?" Slughorn asked with a smile. "How about whoever makes the best draught gets a week without homework?"

The students cheered happily, already starting to get their caldrons ready.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go" Slughorn announced.

Juniper kept her eyes on her book while Sirius fiddled with the cutting knife placed on the table. He glanced over at her quickly. He didn't look away when he realized she wasnt looking back.

"We should probably..."

"Yeah," Juniper nodded shyly.

"Um, do you want to do the cutting and measuring? Or you can read out the directions," Sirius suggested. "Whichever works best."

Juniper was confused as to why he asked. For the past few years, it had always been her reading and him cutting. It was like an unspoken agreement.

"I can read," she said. "You cut."