Headdesking - Remus Lupin/OC

Chapter 9: Assistance in Potions

Hazel was trying her darndest to get her cauldron to the correct temperature. It seemed that no matter how big or small she made the flame that heated it, the liquid inside still wouldn't turn luminescent like the professor had told her it was supposed to.

At another table, Sirius was complaining to his mates.

"I'm so tired of having this leaf in my mouth." He said as he dug his tongue against the inside of his cheek, fiddling with it.

"Just a couple of weeks left." Peter reminded him.

"Isn't there something we can do to speed the process along?" He pressed while leaning his hand against the handle of his chopping-knife with the blade digging lightly into the table.

"Why don't you ask Hazel? She's right over there." Peter glanced discreetly at the girl and pointed briefly with his own knife.

"There's nothing we can do." James insisted. "Unless you can physically pull the moon forward, we just have to wait."

Sirius swayed in his chair while thinking. His eyes were on Remus, who was unsurprisingly not paying much attention to this particular topic, instead focusing it all on finely chopping the last bit of ingredients for his potion.

Sirius suddenly stilled his chair and stuck the knife fully into the table. "I'm bored of waiting." he declared.

Remus peered up under his eyebrows at Sirius, who resolutely stood up and made his way over to Hazel Pembroke. He shook his head and stirred the liquid inside his cauldron, while James and Peter both watched the boy go.

When Sirius neared Hazel, James couldn't just stand by and watch anymore, he had to stop his friend from acting a fool. He offhandedly spelled his ladle to keep stirring the pot and left to join Sirius at Hazel's table, soon followed by a nosy Peter.

"Say Hazel." Sirius opened when he came up behind her, with only her brown hair in sight so far. "You don't suppose there's any way that we can speed this leafy business along, do you?"

Hazel turned and Sirius pointed at his cheek to indicate what he was referring to. This of course did not stop Hazel from looking puzzled.

"No. I mean, I don't know how we'd even go about that. We can't speed up the moon's cycle." she explained while mindlessly stirring.

Over at the other table Remus was stirring his freshly chopped ingredients into his potion, but his eyes were glued on Sirius and Hazel and his mates approaching her.

I should go over there.

I should stay here.

I should go over there.

I should stay here.

He let go of the ladle and leaned his hands against the table. "I should probably go over there..." he muttered to himself one last time and left to go and join them, thinking that he didn't want Hazel to think that he was still freezing her out.

James arrived at the table, looking apologetically between Hazel and his friend. "Is he getting on your nerves? He has a tendency to do that."

"No, it's completely fine." she assured them. "But I don't think there's much that we can do. If there was, someone would have thought of it by now. The mandrake leaf has been a torturous experience for centuries of witches and wizards attempting the transformation."

"Is there something we can do while waiting at least?" Peter inquired once he had joined the party. "So that we're at least being productive while waiting?"

Hazel let go of the ladle, which clanged against the edge of her cauldron. "Sure there is!" she said excitedly. "For example, we need to acquire a silver teaspoon."