𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 [𝐑. 𝐋𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐧]

𝐋𝐄𝐓'𝐒 𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐘 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘

"I'll go pick up the ingredients." Callisto stated, heading to the shelves in the opposite side of the classroom that was now packed with students.

"Nice hair, Claire." James sniggered, reaching to pat her hair down. The girl glared at him and he immediately removed his hand, glancing at Remus who was standing next to him.

"It was a nice prank, Jace." She complimented with a small smirk. "Rather smart how they can't punish you."

"The beauty is in the details, Callisto." Remus commented, a sense of pride filling him that someone was recognizing his role in the prank.

"That is unless somebody could claim and actually prove that they saw Jace and Black with green paint all over them after curfew. How funny would that be?"

"What are you playing at, Claire?" James inquired, frowning. Remus looked at his friend, startled by what Callisto had said.

"I have an offer that benefits us both." She began, unable to hide her amusement. "I don't rat you out and you four owe me a favor."

"Even if you can prove that we were out after curfew you'll get detention as well. If we go down we're taking you with us." Callisto rolled her eyes at how dramatic James was. He really just said that as if she hadn't thought about it already.

"She'll probably get a week with Slughorn while we'll get a month with McGonagall or even Filch." Remus interved. Callisto's eyes rested on him, taking in his clenched jaw and hard look in his eyes.

"Looks and wit? Well done, Lupin!" She praised, sounding rather impressed. "Ladies, do we have a deal?"

"We'll let you know by the end of the lesson." James huffed, taking off his glasses to clean them on his shirt. Callisto nodded, winking at Remus before she started collecting all the ingredients needed for the potion. Her eyes skimmed over the shelves, searching for the shrivelfig when she heard Slughorn's voice behind her.

"Do you need help with the ingredients, Miss Claire?" He asked kindly, a smile that reminded her of a cheshire cat on his lips. Everyone knew that the Potions classroom was one of the messiest places in Hogwarts, mostly because Slughorn avoided anything that had to do with classifying materials like the plague.

"Could you tell me where the shrivelfig is?"

He cocked his head to the side, reluctantly opening a cabinet and handed a small bag to Callisto. "It's not needed for the potion, Miss Claire."

"The root of the shrivelfig will help make the plant resistant to harsh environmental conditions." She answered, doubt still clouding the man's eyes. "I will add it when the potion is in room temperature so that the root doesn't react with heat and blows the potion up."

"Interesting approach though I guess it should be expected given your...reputation." Callisto's eyes narrowed ever so slightly and she walked back to the desk. Lily had already prepared the cauldron and had written their names on a small etiquete, sticking it to a clean, empty vial.

The two girls started working in silence, Lily's eyes frequently turning to the tall marauder sitting a few tables to their right. Callisto smirked, throwing in the peppermint extract and stirring the purple mixture three times.

"It says two times in the book." Lily noted, pointing at the recipe.

"The book is wrong." Callisto answered. As if on cue, the potion started shimmering and small fern dot appeared in the middle of the cauldron, slowly expanding to the sides. Lily's eyes averted to the already prepared potion sitting on Slughorn's desk and she turned to look at Callisto, a wide smile on her pink lips.