"Miss Prewett," Slughorn beamed at her from where he stood over her shoulder. Liza tried not to let her nerves show. The professor was making her bloody nervous.
"How is it coming along?"
"Fine," Liza replied, trying to keep the impatience from her voice. Amortentia was not easy to brew, and her hair was frizzing in distracting puffs from the fumes. It was barely manageable in its current state. "About to add the third series of stirs."
The Potions professor leaned closer, nearly tipping a tray from the Ravenclaw beside her in the process. "Ah! Brilliant colour. Keep using a firm wrist with the stir pattern." Slughorn gave an affirming nod to himself, as though pleased with his instructions.
"Interesting man."
Liza refrained from rolling her eyes. This year, the Slytherins had been paired with the Ravenclaws during Potions. A change she had welcomed until Pandora Wormwood had sat beside her. The white-haired girl rarely stopped muttering. It was impossible to tell when she was speaking to Liza or herself.
"Yes," Liza replied stiffly, figuring that the brief response would suffice. She used the pewter ladle to stir counterclockwise, the curved shape helping to sift through the thicker dregs.
"He buries his loneliness with jokes and parties." Pandora continued, her own brew forgotten as it simmered on the burner before her. Her gaze remained on Slughorn's plaid-clad back. "Really, he desires friends and settles for the company of his students."
There was a brief pause as Liza set down her ladle, thankful that she needed to give the cauldron a few minutes to boil. That would be enough time for her to handle the constant interruptions. "Pandora," she tried to aim for a gentle tone. It was not in her nature. "I would discuss this with you at any other time, but please try to keep quiet for the rest of class. I'm finding it difficult to focus."
"But why do you need Amortentia?" Pandora's lilac eyes were wide, the unique colour adding to her whimsical flair. "It is obvious who you love."
Liza choked and nearly dropped a lacewing into her cauldron. "What—"
"You and Sirius Black," Pandora shrugged as if she were imparting a bit of old news. "Always sneaking around the castle last year?"
A panicked fear clenched Liza's chest. The Amortentia remained forgotten as she focused her full attention on her seatmate. "Did anyone see us?"
The Ravenclaw laughed, a light sound that barely escaped her throat. "Only I am odd enough to wander about the more forgotten rooms of the castle. Your secret is safe."
Mumbling to herself, Liza returned to her cauldron and stared into its rapidly thickening texture. She really needed to move seats. She crushed a pile of rose thorns with her pestle far more aggressively than normal.
"Don't you have your own potion to brew?"
Pandora continued to observe her movements with a curious stare. "I'm making a brew of my own design. To adapt the properties of a Metamorphagus." At Liza's exasperated expression, she beamed, "I've always wanted to dye my hair!"
"Use Madame Silkhorn's," Liza peered over into the depths of Pandora's cauldron. It certainly did not resemble Amortentia. Large chunks of butterfly wing floated at the top of a purple brew. "Isn't Slughorn going to fail you for this?"
"I think he's just glad to see me working," Pandora shrugged and pushed back a lock of hair, revealing dangling earrings in the shape of carrots. "Had a bit of trouble focusing in first year. Never saw a point in making a potion I didn't find useful."
Liza shook her head and measured a bit of the powdered thorns on her scale. It needed to be allotted in just the right amount to achieve maximum potency. "And you don't find a whirlwind romance useful?"
Her attempt at a joke fell flat and Pandora stirred her cauldron seriously. "If I fall in love, I want it to be real. I don't think a person ever forgets they're pretending. No matter how much they convince themselves."
Grimacing at the memories of the times she had tried to impress the Slytherins, Liza dipped her head in agreement. She carefully dropped a trio of peppermint leaves in the left side of the cauldron. The placement symbolized the heart's position within the body.
Thankfully, Pandora remained silent the rest of the period. Evidently, the witch had grown bored of their conversation and had gone back to entertaining herself with rapid murmurs. It would take a strange partner to fall in love with Pandora.
A faint aroma rose from the cauldron. As it reached Liza's nostrils, she placed the pewter lid firmly over the rim. That was not a question she wanted answered. Just another thing to obsess about.
Turning in a sample to Professor Slughorn, Liza was fairly certain that her brew would achieve an "O". It had been one of her better batches despite Pandora's interference. She even had a bit of spare time before Transfiguration started. It would be beneficial to prepare for McGonagall's NEWT class. Her curriculum was infamous for its complexity.
"Hey, Prewett."
A sharp pang clenched her stomach and Liza looked up from where she had been scanning the corridor. Sirius walked a few paces behind her, closing the gap quickly with a pair of textbooks beneath his arms. It was a bizarre sight.
Reminding herself to forget their past, Liza pressed her lips into a sly grin. "I didn't know you could read."
Sirius just rolled his eyes. As usual, several buttons on his shirt remained open, revealing pale glimpses of skin and the dark ink of a tattoo. Liza refrained from asking its nature. The question was certainly too personal.
"James and I are entering the training program for Aurors next year. Shacklebolt and Moody run a tight ship."
The names sounded vaguely familiar. It was likely Regulus or Arthur had used them during their Ministry rants, but Liza could not recollect a face.
"Homework certainly doesn't suit you." Liza scanned the dark circles beneath Sirius's eyes. His skin, although flawless, had a rather sallow complexion. "Taking after Severus, are we?"
A hateful flare sparked in Sirius's gaze as his expression twisted into a scowl. "That git and I aren't even on the same playing field."
There was a dark silence as Liza scuffed the sole of her flat against the ground. It had been a bad idea to mention the Marauder's enemy. Clearly, Sirius hadn't forgotten the events at the Whomping Willow.
"Speaking of fields," it was Sirius who finally broke the tension between them. "Up for another Quidditch practice?"
It was becoming rapidly more difficult for Liza to ignore the memory of the last time they had played. "I quit the team. Talkalot graduated and I didn't fancy flying under Rosier. Probably would have kicked me off even if I tried to stay."
"Bastard." Sirius mirrored her steps as they headed towards McGonagall's classroom. It was one of the few classes Slytherins and Gryffindors still shared. Liza figured Dumbledore had given up on house unity at this rate.
"You should still be playing," Sirius eyed her figure carefully as though assessing whether she had remained in shape. "You're a natural."
Liza tried not to draw too much into his attention and offered a slight smile. "Thanks, Black. Think Potter will give me a shot on the team?"
"If you convince the Sorting Hat to switch your houses."
She peered up at Sirius's expression. It was always impossible to tell when the Marauders were joking. They were nearly as bad as her brothers. "Is that even possible?"
Snorting, Sirius held the door open with his hand extended near the frame. Liza was forced to duck under his arm as she entered McGonagall's classroom.
"Dumbledore's always made his own rules."
The thought of the eccentric headmaster made Liza shake her head in amusement. The night of the Great Feast, Albus had donned a taffeta robe in shades of magenta and rose. "He reminds me of someone else I know."
Sirius looked repulsed at her pointed glance. "I have much better facial hair, thanks." To prove his claim, he rubbed the darkening stubble on the edge of his chin. It looked like the beginnings of some sort of goatee.
Pausing on her way down the aisle, Liza looked for Myra. The red gleam of hair beside her friend was not surprising. Classes were about the only times that Myra and Lily could spend time together unnoticed. Most assumed that the professor had assigned them in pairs.
"You want to partner up?"
Liza looked at Sirius in surprise. The Gryffindor waved to his friends happily across the room. James was already busy analyzing the properties of changing a tortoise into a trumpet.
"Won't Potter miss his boyfriend?"
"Not so loud!" Sirius sent her a scandalized look and motioned for her to take a seat in the middle row. Liza never enjoyed sitting this close to the center of the classroom, but she supposed she would manage. "People will think you're being serious." A smirk split his concerned expression. "And I'm the only Sirius."
Liza blankly stared at the Gryffindor before her lips slowly shaped into a wide "o". "That's the stupidest—"
"FINALLY," clutching at his chest, Sirius let his textbooks fall on their desk with a thud. "I reckoned I would have to be as old as Flamel before you made the connection."
Feeling rather like an idiot, Liza tried to recall whether Sirius had made the pun before. His pranks were too countless to remember. "I'm not that daft."
Sirius's response was cut off as the doors swung upon and McGonagall strode into the room, the feather on her hat firmly secured against the brim. The class dissipated into a series of hushed murmurs. The Transfiguration professor allowed no interruptions to her lectures. Regulus had earned himself a generous helping of detentions for not heeding to the general rule.
"Today," McGonagall began sharply, perching her spectacles on the tip of her nose. "You will be transfiguring a tortoise into a trumpet. Like so."
She pointed her wand with a firm hand, sweeping it in a tight spiral. "Turbae Turillian."
The turtle (or tortoise, Liza corrected) gave a faint twitch before its arms folded together in the shape of a handle. Rapidly, the animal lost its form and morphed into the golden instrument Liza had often seen on Arthur's muggle channels.
She winced. "I always feel bad for the animals."
"McGonagall turns them back." Sirius prodded the tortoise before them with the tip of his wand. "Just wish she wouldn't make it look so ruddy simple. At least spare us a bit of shame."
Agreeing, Liza flicked to the chapter on animal transfiguration. Living organisms always required a more delicate and precise process.
"We should call Prongs over in a minute," Sirius gave the tortoise another poke, amusing himself as the creature tucked its head carefully into its shell. "He'll have it figured out before we get started."
"I doubt it." Liza was barely paying attention as she scanned the lengthy paragraph.
"Why are you always so rude to him?"
Sirius's sharp tone was an abrupt contrast from his earlier playful demeanor. Tearing her gaze away from the chapter, Liza frowned.
"He's bullied my house for nearly seven years. His hex made me lose all my hair in the second year," Liza held up two fingers, "he drew Severus and Lily apart, and he's always teasing me for the hope of my brother's approval. She held up a fist. "Should I—"
The Gryffindor beside her shook his head reluctantly. "Alright, I'll give you most of those. Just not Snivellus. That was his own doing."
Imitating McGonagall's wand movements, Liza tried to focus on the proper flick at the end of the spiral. It was the flourish that usually slowed her progress.
"Lily was Severus's first and only true friend." She sighed and set her wand aside before pinning Sirius with a firm glare. "You and Potter managed to strip away maybe the only person that could have kept him from Dark Arts. Or the Dark Lord, at least." Liza added at Sirius's skeptical grunt.
Another crease lined the space between his brows. "Why do you call him that?"
Liza snorted. "I'm in Slytherin, Black. I may hate the bastard, but I'm not daft enough to toss around his name." She tapped the book on the bottom of Sirius's stack. "Words have power, remember?"
"Only if you give it to them."
Not wanting to admit that he had a point, Liza focused back on their tortoise. She stepped back and raised her wand.
"Turbae Turillian."
The flick of her wand was completed at too sharp an angle. The tortoise's mouth parted as its head elongated, forming a misshapen trumpet head. A loud blast burst from within, and Liza jumped.
Sirius burst into a fit of sniggers. "Scared of a torpet, Prewett?" His eyes creased with glee as he carelessly tossed his hair into a loop.
Sending an apologetic glance over at a fellow Slytherin seventh-year, Liza prodded the tortoise once more and performed the incantation in reverse. This time, her attempt at untransfiguration was successful and the creature was restored in its entirety.
"A torpet?"
"You know, tortoise and trumpet?" Sirius grinned up at her as he leaned back in his chair. "Sort of like Sames."
"S—" Liza cut herself off with a disgruntled look at her partner. "Is that supposed to be a combination of you and Potter?"
The rapid click of McGonagall's boots interrupted their bickering as she peered over Sirius's shoulder. "I am disappointed to see that neither of you has made any progress."
Shooting the professor a rugged wink, Sirius pointed over at Liza. "Baby P here had a bit of a mishap. Had to transfigure it back."
Liza barely had time to scowl at the nickname before she was fixed under the full attention of McGonagall's appraisal.
"Untransfiguration is the more complicated counterpart. If what Mr. Black says is true, ten points to Slytherin house."
Sirius's expression fell as McGonagall turned away to assess James's work. The bespectacled Gryffindor was waving her over with a boyish excitement. It was safe to assume that he had been successful.
"I'll have to have Prongsie dock some points from Lestrange later."
Shoving over her textbook, Liza gestured for Sirius to get started. "That's completely against the responsibilities of Head Boy. No bias, remember?"
A dangerous smirk curled both edges of Sirius's lips. "Lestrange's always up to something nasty. It's not bias if Prongs happens to catch him at the opportune time."
"And I'm certain he looks the other way when it comes to his own house." Liza swirled her wand and gave the spell another try. This time, she was left with a trumpet the colour of a tortoise.
Honestly, why Dumbledore was allowed to select Gryffindors as both Heads of the castle, Liza still wasn't sure. Even Peter would have been a better replacement for Potter.
"Here," Sirius leaned over her shoulder. The familiar scent of pine and tobacco followed his movements. His fingers wrapped around her hand as he guided her wand into a gentle flick. "You're casting angry. Relax."
Biting her lip, Liza tried once more, letting Sirius guide the larger part of her movements.
"Turbae Turillian."
The surface of the trumpet rippled before it brightened into a pure gold.
Liza let out a sigh of relief as she levitated the object onto McGonagall's desk for inspection. The professor always kept the oak surface free of clutter. It was a start contrast from the stories she had heard of Dumbledore's office. "Thank you."
"My services don't come without a bit of payment."
She turned to see Sirius observing her with his silver gaze, a flirtatious twinkle in his eye. "I wager Marlene could fill you in."
Liza's lip curled in disgust. "You're revolting."
The smirk just deepened. "I can add that to my list of compliments."