Siriusly

Chapter 1

'I don't get it, Cate, I really don't. You could have any guy you wanted. Hell, all the guys want you. Why don't you just pick one?'. Hecate Davenport rolled her eyes at her best friend, Lily's outburst, whilst simultaneously avoiding the flirty remarks of the Slytherins they'd just passed. Their eyes followed them as they walked away. They dodged quickly along the narrow corridor, almost running in their attempt to get to Potions on time.

'Because, I don't want any of them. They're all boring and shallow anyway.'. Lily laughed bleakly at her friends answer. Five years as best friends, and the pair couldn't be more different.

'Come on...' Lily whined. 'Hurry up or Slughorn will kill us.'.

'Me, you mean. You know he loves you.' Cate corrected. She sighed, but didn't argue; they'd had this conversation before. Lily was practically sprinting now, desperate not to be late on the first day of our Sixth Year. Cate felt a pang of guilt; they'd have been early if she hadn't had to change her robes. Then again, she wouldn't have had to change her robes if somebody hadn't poured milk down them.

After dodging a large group of giggling First Years (seriously, just move), they reached the final stairs to reach Potions. 'Come on.' Lily hissed sharply, taking the stairs three at a time. Cate followed slowly. Slughorn clearly hated her, there was no point in trying to make him like her now. Before entering the room, Lily took time to straighten out her hair and robes. 'How do I look?' she whispered. Cate rolled my eyes. Lily had suddenly become obsessed with looking nice, specifically in the lesson they shared with the rest of Gryffindor. 'You look gorgeous. Now let's go. I thought you didn't want to be late.'.

Slughorn was part way through partnering the class up when they entered the Potions Dungeons. Slughorn stopped, flashed Lily an enormous grin, then turned to glower at Cate. She fought the urge to pull a face back. 'Ah, girls, you're just in time! We were just finishing the partnerships for this terms project.'. They slid into they're usual seats, an unspoken agreement that we were working together. 'Black, Potter, don't think for a second that you two will be working together. Especially after that fiasco at the end of last year.'. Several of the class chuckled, remembering the scene. Amortentia everywhere. Couples practically sleeping together in the Potions dungeon. Seven pupils had to be locked up until the effects wore off. Lily andCate were lucky to be at the back off the class when their cauldron exploded. James and Sirius had tried to protest their innocence but it didn't stick. They weren't even brewing Amortentia that day. It earned them three days expulsion and immortality as Hogwarts pranking legends.

'But, Sir...' Sirius began to complain, snapping her back to the present. Slughorn silenced him with a look. 'Right, well since you two ladies were last to get here, you will have to split up.'. A look of horror swam across Lily's face. It took Cate a second to realise why. Neither of them could afford to have their Potions grade messed up by the Hogwarts Super Pranking Duo, especially now that life after Hogwarts had come into question.

'Now, Lily and James, you can have the front desk here. Sirius and Hecate, you can work over there.'. He pointed to a desk in the far corner of the classroom. Lily shot Cate a desperate look. 'But, Sir, Lily and I-'. Slughorn interrupted her swiftly. 'No, Miss Davenport, you and Lily do not need to work together. It will do you good to work with other people.'. Wow. That was the harshest anyone had ever heard Slughorn speak to Lily. Cate grabbed her school bag, careful not to pull the handle away from the fraying fabric. She really could not afford a new bag right now. 'See you in a bit.' She said to Lily, offering a small smile, then flounced off to sit next to Sirius.

'Hello, Hecate. Such a shame you were late this morning.'. God, how she hated him. 'Well, you know. I would have been early but some tosser thought he was funny. Can't imagine why, 'cause everyone knows he's failing all his lessons.'. The couple on the next table giggled, whilst Sirius sat there in a stony silence and Cate got my things out of my bag. 'As I was saying,' Slughorn began, 'This term will be very important, as we will be brewing Polyjuice Potion, which will count towards your final grade.'. Her heart sank. She was never going to pass. 'Got a problem, Davenport?'. Cate gritted her teeth. 'Of course not, Black. I'm excellent.'. She could feel him frowning at me as she hid behind her hair.

'Now, it will take about a month for the potion to be prepared. Today, I would like you to research the potion, and work the amount of each ingredient needed. You also need to factor in the risks and-'. Slughorn was abruptly cut off by a loud crash, and a yell of 'Ow!'. Cate was now sprawled across the floor, her chair having miraculously tipped up. 'Is there a problem, Miss Davenport?'. Slughorn leant over the desk, examining her very flustered state. 'I'm fine.' She snapped, jumping to her feet and righting the chair. Sirius's face, meanwhile, was the picture of innocence. 'Who's the failure, now?' he asked smugly.

'Still you.' Cate replied, resolving to ignore him for the rest of the lesson. Hell, she'd ignore him for the rest of eternity.

The rest of the lesson passed without anyone else falling off of chairs. Sirius insist he knew more about Polyjuice potions, so he should research them, leaving Cate with nothing to do. A quick glance at Lily proved that she was loving spending time with James. As they filed out of lesson to lunch, Slughorn was keen to remind them that the Potion was a key part of their NEWT grades, and that it was VERY important to commit. He still managed to find time to talk to Lily, leaving Cate to hover, friendless, outside the classroom.

Cate stood in front of the mirror Lily had checked herself in earlier, trying her hardest to block out the dull conversation Lily and Slughorn were having. Jesus, who cared if there was a shortage of the rare Appalachian mountain root. That's why it was freaking rare.

She turned towards the mirror, examining the shabby uniform that hung off my frame. The skirt was two inches too short, and the jumper and blouse were way to small. She knew she'd be in trouble for dressing provocatively, but she honestly couldn't afford to buy new things that year. Cate examined the rest of herself in the mirror, trying not to compare myself to Lily. When she'd stood in front of the mirror earlier, Lily had looked beautiful and radiant, her skin and smile shining. Her pale face seemed to complement her striking orange hair, as did her large, green eyes. Meanwhile, Cate looked tired and worn out. Her skin was ghostly white, with large, ink like splodges below my eyes. She's lost weight over the summer, making her cheekbones more prominent. Long, dark curls spilled around her shoulders, brushing the middle of her back (She hadn't cut it in two years. Consider it an act of rebellion). The only thing that she found vaguely beautiful about herself were her eyes. Unlike the rest of her family, who all had mundane grey eyes, she had bright eyes that were neither blue not green, but an intense colour in between, almost like violet. It was another thing her Mother considered a shame on my family; looking unusual, not mundane and boring was something she found particularly disgusting.

'Are you ready to go?'. Cate jumped as Lily appeared beside me in the mirror. 'Yeah, I've been ready to go for ages. Come on, then. I'm starving.'. Lily regarded her. 'You look it.'. She ignored her. Lily worried a lot about Cate, but she was desperate not to drag her into her world. No-one else understood it, and she wanted to keep it that way.