In a world ravaged by good and evil, those toeing the line find solace in nothing. Blood runs thicker than water, but is risking your life and livelihood for a war you never wanted a part in worth it? Is becoming a monster in the eyes of some, and a...
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"I have a task for you all," Professor Slughorn had a gleam in his eye that made Maeve wary, "each and every one of you will have a chance at gaining an Outstanding on one major assessment this year."
Maeve and Theo glanced at each other out of the corners of their eyes.
"You will each have until Christmas break to brew me a potion from Advanced Potions. There will be quite a lot of breaks in our schedule this year as the potions you will be learning are truly complicated and require a great deal of time for practical experience. Because of this, you may replace one mark, or simply skip an assessment and replace it with an Outstanding. All you have to do is brew one potion successfully."
There was a moment of silence before the excited whispers broke out.
"Be warned!" Slughorn raised two meaty hands, "this will require quite a bit of extra time and effort. If you do not wish to partake, you are not obligated to."
Maeve's eyes absently drifted across the room to where Anthony sat with Dean Thomas and two Hufflepuff girls that looked familiar. Their eyes locked and she could tell the exact same memories were flitting through his mind. Then he turned his eyes to the bench.
It was the first day of classes and Anthony hadn't said anything to her since the night before right after they'd gotten off the train. She had an aching feeling in the pit of her gut that something horrible and awful had happened, something that made him avoid her like they hadn't been friends for nearly five years.
The rest of the class was filled with an in-depth description of how one would go about brewing a Polyjuice Potion. The previous year they'd learned the theory behind the tricky potion, but they were supposedly going to spend the next twenty-two days preparing and brewing the potion. Maeve rubbed her eyes harshly as she tried to make sense of the awkward schedule Slughorn had briefly tried to explain, before giving up entirely.
Their time each day would often be split between multiple different potions and it seemed to a recipe for disaster. A quick glance around the room confirmed that quite a few of her fellow students felt overwhelmed at the concept of their last year of potions.
Slughorn clapped his hands loudly, startling Maeve from the recesses of her subconscious, "now, we just have enough time for you to all begin stewing your Lacewing Flies."
Maeve chatted idly with Theo as they readied their already-dead flies for stewing. There was a subtle chatter around them as well, drowning out their conversation to all but them.
"I can't believe Daphne didn't bother taking potions with us," Maeve grumbled, "now I only have you for entertainment."
Theo snorted, "I don't think she qualified. Her grades were awful last term."
"Oh?" Maeve hadn't known that. Though, generally when Maeve had been studying Daphne had been the one encouraging her to stop and do something fun. Or, she'd been burrowed under a mountain of covers in her bed.
