Phoenix

Chapter Three

"Miss Phoenix, name one ingredient you would need to brew Draught of Living Death," Snape's voice echoed through the room as he walked into the dark potions classroom. I sat up straighter as I bit on my bottom lip allowing myself to think of every ingredient I could think of.

"Um, valerian root," I said.

"Good, five points to Slytherin," he said and I inwardly smiled to myself. Potions was one of my best classes and I loved being noticed for the hard work I always put in studying and practicing. "Now, Mr. Silver, one ingredient needed for Garrotting Gas."

"Oh for fucks sake," Atlas groaned, running his fingers through his dark hair. "I know that it can kill somebody by basically strangulating them by its smell."

"Ingredient, Mr. Silver," Snape repeated himself. I chuckled as I watched Atlas struggle. I, myself, couldn't recall ever learning about the ingredients of Garrotting Gas, just that the smell alone could kill somebody. "Mr. Malfoy, ingredient?" Snape turned his gaze to the blonde boy sitting in front of me and I watched as he confidently crossed his arms over his chest and mumbled out something that I couldn't make out.

"Mr. Malfoy, if you won't take class seriously you can join me for detention later," Snape said through yellowed teeth.

"No sir," Draco sighed, sitting up straighter. "I'm not sure of the ingredients," he admitted and Snape dramatically spun on the spot and walked to the front of his classroom where a large blackboard was. He began to scribble down ingredients as he droned on about the effects of the gas and how deadly the potion could be. I noticed that throughout most of the lesson he continually would look at the four of us in the back corner of his classroom almost as if he was making sure we were paying attention because we would need this for later on.

After Snape dismissed class there was a loud clambering of chairs being pushed back into their homes under the desks and people scrambling to grab their textbooks for their next classes.

"What do you have next?" I questioned the boys as we made our way out into the hall. The dungeon hallways were just a little bit darker than the rest of the school and a shiver ran up my spine.

"Dark Arts," Blaise and Draco said in unison as Atlas told us he had Charms. I sucked in a breath as I realized I was about to make the long haul to the seventh floor for divination all by myself.

"Well, I'll see you all later if I don't have a heart attack climbing all these stairs. I have divination."

"Why aren't we all together? I thought we were supposed to be given the same schedule," Blaise mumbled as we came to the bottom of the stairwell I needed to take. I shrugged my shoulders and promised them I'd meet them all in the Great Hall for lunch after class.

It was hard to take in just how massive Hogwarts was when most of the time you stayed in the same small area of the giant castle, but as I walked up the fifth flight of steps, my heart pounding deeply in my chest, I was reminded of how big the castle actually was. By the time I reached the bottom of the sixth staircase I was sure my lungs were going to squeeze themselves dry with the lack of air I was receiving.

Seven staircases. It took seven staircases plus a tiny one that I didn't count to get from the dungeons to the divination classroom. Who in their right mind made my schedule and thought it a good idea to give me potions followed by divination? By the end of the year I'd either be dead because of lack of oxygen, or I was going to be the strongest girl in Hogwarts just from the hundreds of stair workouts I was going to receive.

"Alena!" I heard someone call my name from the top of the staircase and I looked up to see Pansy standing there, a large smile on her face.

"Hang on, Pans, I'm coming. I might die before I make it to you though," I chuckled and her laughter floated lightly down to me. When I finally reached the top I heaved out a large breath and dramatically threw my hand over my chest. "I just came from potions! That was too many stairs!"