"I see right through me"
"Pansy, spill." As soon as Daphne opened her eyes, she needed information, she shot up, staring at the raven-haired girl in the bed opposite her.'
Pansy raised her hand, keeping her eyes closed, "give me a minute Merlin." She groaned as she stretched out her body across the emerald bedding.
"What about you?" She turned to face her sister, "anything interesting after we went to bed?"
Astoria shook her head, she was happy to keep her romantic life private from her sister, no matter how much she usually shared contently.
Daphne rolled her eyes, "boring! Slytherin parties always have theatrics, Pansy, that's normally on you!"
Pansy threw her pillow aimlessly in Daphne's direction, "I still provided entertainment last night, it was just in private. Blaise was also good - I think..."
"Good?" Astoria raised her brows, "out of ten?"
"I am sure," she began, rubbing her eyes, "if I could remember it, it would be a ten - it always used to be."
"From Zabini? A ten!" Exclaimed Daphne, "I did not see that coming. I would expect it from the Slytherin Prince, but not Blaise or Theo."
Astoria chuckled at the nickname, it was one that had been created for Draco all those years ago during his phase of having what some might call relations, with most of the Slytherin girls. "Who has the map this morning anyway?" She changed the subject.
"Think Theo has it, since he retired the earliest!"
"Do you think he can even open his eyes this morning?" Astoria asked, still feeling nauseous from the copious amounts of fire whiskey she had drank the previous night, an amount which barely compared to Theo's several bottles drank within a much smaller time period.
"Probably not, but I'm sure Draco will have hexed him by now, especially after having to deal with putting him to bed. Now that, I would have paid to see," Pansy finally opened her eyes, smiling as she imagined the picture. She knew how annoying Theo could be on a normal day, but a drunk Theo was unimaginably irritating.
"What's the plan for today then?" Daphne sat herself up, crossing her legs, "revision?"
Astoria nodded, "yes please." She really needed to catch up on her Defence Against the Dark Arts work, she had barely been able to remember content from the last week, let alone the last two years.
"Library?"
Astoria agreed, "absolutely."
"Let's get dressed, ask the boys and probably take the map." Daphne made a metal note, counting each item off on her finger, "Pansy, you coming?"
A loud groan was enough to confirm what the Greengrass sisters already knew, Pansy burying herself back under the covers as soon as they had left the room. To no one's surprise, the common room was empty, scattered bottles and glasses dotted around the room, the only evidence that anyone had previously been inside.
Daphne made her way to the boy's dormitory door, "Theo, Blaise, Draco!" She called out to them, knocking loudly, "Astoria and I are going to study, you coming?"
Both the Greengrass sisters listened out for a response, but nothing, not even Theo shouting profanities, "they're still out of it completely."
"Well, can't say we didn't try."
Giving up, the pair made their way to the library, hand in hand, finding a seat as far away from Madame Prince as possible once they strolled through the doors.
"Right," Astoria opened up her copy of Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts, turning to the page on shield charms. "So Daphne, what kind of spells can't be blocked by shield charms?"
"Easy, Unforgivables." Daphne smiled, "harder question next time Astoria."
"Name me," she ran her finger across the textbook, "three variations."
Daphne paused, furrowing her brows. "Protego Duo, Maxima and....." She trailed off smiling at Astoria, "some help?"
"You could have had horribilis, totalum or Diabolica." She pushed the textbook towards her sister, "see," she pointed out the passage. "I don't think we've learnt about Diabolica, but I guess we need to know it exists."
"Merlin this is one we have to do non-verbally too! I can't do that!" Daphne sighed, "I might have to settle for an Acceptable for this I think..." She grimaced, "I don't think I've ever even cast a nonverbal spell properly."
Astoria's eyes widened, "never?"
"Don't be so surprised! You got the smart genes!"
"We should probably look a non nerval spells then Daphne, that's a pretty big part of the NEWT exam I think..." Astoria trailed off, flicking through the textbook for the chapter on non verbal spells. "Read this," she handed Daphne the book, "and then we can have a go."
"Astoria you know I can't learn by just reading!" Exclaimed Daphne, slamming the book shut, "teach me instead? I don't want to learn from a book."
She rolled her eyes, "right, listen in. Non verbal magic needs lots of concentration, you have to imagine that you almost have a wand yourself in your mind, you have to see the spell forming in your head. Imagine it's a spark of electricity, and you have to make it grow. Close your eyes," Astoria instructed her, "now imagine you have a small flame in your mind, picture it, control it, move that flame. Imagine the wand movement of a shield charm, the flame moving like your wand. Now," she took a breath, "imagine pressing the flame down, squeezing the life out of it, making yourself shielded from the fire."
Astoria looked up at Daphne who was deep in concentration, her face reddening. Grinning, Astoria sent a non verbal hex at her sister, Daphne not responding, still lost in her mind.
"You did it."
Daphne opened her eyes, groaning, "huh?"
"I hexed you while you were thinking."
"How rude of you," Daphne scowled, "was it at least a good hex?"
Astoria nodded, "yes, and you blocked it completely. So now, when you're trying to do a non-verbal spell, you need to concentrate that much."
"Merlin," she sighed, "how many non verbal spells do I have to do?"
Astoria paused forward the textbook, showing Daphne the page on non verbal magic, "most of them Daphne."
"Well, I can cope with an Acceptable." Daphne knew she wouldn't become a master in non-verbal magic in the next few months, she would need years to master all of the spells listen in the textbook, and she did not have years.
"You might need to learn the rest of the content to get an Acceptable," she motioned to the other hundreds of pages of their NEWT level book.
Daphne jabbed back, "don't crush my hopes and dreams." Regardless, she flicked open her own copy of the textbook and began reading a passage on shield charms.
"Morning guys!" The Greengrass sisters turned to see Blaise strolling into the library, his Potions textbook in hand. "I thought you," he eyed up Astoria, "could maybe help me with Veritaserum and the antidote?" He dropped the textbook in front of her.
Astoria took the textbook in her hand, "what don't you get?" She beckoned him to the spare seat beside her.
He grinned, taking the seat, "how does someone resist it? Why isn't it perfect? I think wizards should just make perfect Potions."
"Blaise, have you even read the textbook?"
He shook his head. "It's boring."
"Merlin..." Astoria rolled her eyes, "well people can resist Veritaserum if they've been trained to, it's a bit like Occlumency but for a potion."
"How do you resist; how would someone learn?" He questioned her, leaning in.
"If you take the antidote, or by learning Occlumency itself. One could protect their mind from the Veritaserum so it doesn't full take effect," Astoria recited from memory, almost word for word from the textbook. "And, if someone drinks Veritaserum, what they say isn't necessarily the truth-"
Blaise cut her off, "but it's a truth potion?"
"It makes people what they believe is true, not necessarily what is actually true. So, even though they believe they're correct, it's just a belief." Astoria told him.
"Why does it take so long to make?"
"It's very powerful, it needs to mature." She began, "so one could take the Veritaserum as soon as its first brewed, but it likely wouldn't work. Leaving it under the moonlight of the full moon just makes sure it works as effectively as possible."
"Does that work for other potions?"
Daphne looked up from her book, "can you two be a bit quieter?" She pleaded, "I can barely read without sound, let alone you two droning on about bloody truth serums."
"Sorry!" Astoria raised her hand at her sister apologetically.
Blaise quietened his voice dramatically, "does that work for other potions?" He repeated to her.
"I would assume so, we learnt a lot about the powers of the moon in third year Defence, considering it can turn some people into monsters, I would assume it has some kind of enhancing power." She looked up out of the window at the barely visible moon, "I assume when its full, it's stronger."
"That makes sense," Blaise nodded at her in agreement, "so what if-"
Blaise was cut off by the sound of Professor Slughorn rushing to the library.
"Apologies for the disturbance students, Headmistress McGonagall requires you all in the Great Hall," he paused, gulping, "immediately."
Astoria, Blaise and Daphne all shared a confused look.
"What does this mean?"
"What?" Astoria closed her textbook, "what does she want?"
"Who knows, probably to proclaim that we didn't actually win yesterday, and it was a fluke." Daphne rolled her eyes, packing up her book and leading the trio out of the library.
"Does she even know Hufflepuff exists?" Laughed Blaise.
"Merlin, what does she want, I was sleeping?" Theo exclaimed once he noticed the trio outside the Great Hall.
Pansy scratched her neck, "good bloody question. Let's go sit on the evil table and get ignored again." She rolled her eyes.
"Maybe someone in Gryffindor spelt their name correctly, I assume that warrants a whole school meeting..." trailed Draco once they were finally sat down.
Theo nudged Blaise, "at least they can spell."
"Oi-" Blaise shoved him back, "I could find the cure for all wizarding illnesses, and I still don't think I would even get so much as ten house points from Headmistress Gryffindor."
"Silence students!" McGonagall held her wand beneath her chin, her voice echoing across the Great Hall. "I have summoned you all here with great sadness, as I must relay deeply upsetting news. Professor Belby has been found dead this morning."