Harry Potter One Shots (Vol. I)

After Hours (Blaise Zabini)

"I'd sooner sit next to Goyle," I hissed, as the boys took to their seats.

"Don't overreact," Daphne insisted, making me sit at the desk. This witch was going to get a hex soon.

I went to rise from the table to go to my normal desk when Blaise crossed the classroom and sat himself in the empty seat beside me. Merlin, if I got up to leave now then I risked being rude. But I could live with that.

Snape walked into the classroom, looking around with a glare and I sighed, resigning myself to sitting in this ridiculous seat. Millicent giggled from the desk behind us and I turned slightly, glaring at her. She quietened down and I turned back to the front of the classroom where Snape told us the potion we'd need to brew and that we would be working in pairs for the lesson today.

"Why are you being so quiet Pucey?" Blaise asked as the students around us began to get to work. They crowded around the ingredients and I decided to hang back a little and wait until the crowd died down.

"Maybe I don't want to talk to you," I drawled quietly, putting my chin in my hand as I looked across the room.

"Really?" He didn't sound convinced, "Because from the way you're avoiding even looking in my direction, anyone would think that you're interested in me."

I couldn't help but scoff. "Has someone cast a confundus on you?"

I was determined to work in silence after that as I turned to the correct page in my textbook. Blaise told me that he was going to get our ingredients and I simply nodded. Lighting the flame, I placed the cauldron on top of the stand, closely monitoring the heat. Blaise returned to the desk, depositing the ingredients and we silently got to work.

He began to shred the Valerian sprigs before adding them to the cauldron, stirring it four times in a counter clockwise direction and looking out for the change in colour. Satisfied, he nodded and turned to work on the next direction. I waited the time specified in the textbook before adding our blades of Goosegrass. Waiting for the potion to turn a reddish colour, I stepped away from the table to retrieve the 'tooth of wolf' that Blaise had forgotten.

I shouldn't have left the table. I should have stayed where I was to watch Blaise reach for the Goosegrass. But I didn't get to the table in time. By the time I reached the desk, he was already throwing the Goosegrass into the cauldron.

"I've already added the Goosegrass," I protested, hurrying to his side.

I waited anxiously to see what would happen and Blaise raised an eyebrow, looking back to the cauldron.

"There doesn't seem to have been an adverse reaction," he murmured, peering into the cauldron.

I followed his lead. Looking into the cauldron, I watched the potion turn a darker shade of red as it began to bubble violently. Blaise took in a deep breath, reaching out to take my hand and pulling me away from the desk until we bumped into the table behind us. Millie's cauldron wobbled from the impact and before she could ask what was going on - our cauldron exploded.

With a shriek of surprise, I brought my hands up to shield my face. I wasn't the only one to shout at the sudden sound and once the noise died down, the classroom was deathly silent. I opened my eyes, looking hesitantly towards the front of the classroom where Snape was making his way towards us. Salazar, this was the last thing I needed.

"Miss Pucey, Mr Zabini, do you enjoy making a scene in my classroom?" Snape waved his wand, clearing the mess away quickly. "Detention tonight."

I watched as Snape walked away from our desk and frowned. From beside me, Blaise sighed and removed the shielding charm he'd cast.