It is imperative that the natural flow of magic in a potion be considered in the application of Stasis. The Boil Cure is a simple widdershins swirl while the Veritaserum is a complex network of interlocking figure eights...
"Heather, could you help me with this?"
Heather's head snapped up towards Anthony Pucey. "Sure," she said, putting her book aside, "what don't you get?"
"Why can't ashwinder blood be used instead of salamander blood in Strengthening Solution? Their properties are mostly the same."
"That's because there is a certain substance in ashwinder blood that has a negative reaction with scorpion tails," she replied immediately.
Frowning in confusion, Anthony looked down at his own book then back up again. "But there aren't any scorpion tails used in the potion."
"Huh?" Heather shook her head to clear it. "Oh, sorry, I meant scorpion claws." She stifled a yawn and pointed towards the library shelves. "You can read more about it in Brouer's potion guide. Ignore Foulle's, it's rubbish."
"Okay, thanks!" The younger boy paused as he stood to get the suggested book and narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you alright Heather?"
"Heather," someone called out, "I don't understand this."
Waving the boy's concerns away, she said, "Yeah, fine." She then turned to address the other person's queries.
Several more students had questions to ask her after that, so she had no chance to get back to her own book. Well, that was fine. She could just stay up later to finish it up.
She was near a breakthrough in her research into the spellballs. She had recently thought about applying the concept of stasis spells used for potions. They weren't often used as they were difficult to cast properly. Simple potions were easy enough, but they hardly required the spell anyway, seeing as they were quick to brew. Most delicate potions, on the other hand, had such complex flow of magic that applying the stasis properly would take considerable skill and experience. The caster needed to know where to apply the magic 'blocks' to freeze the potion at a certain state.
If she could just fine-tune her magic sensing to accurately detect the pattern of magic in spells, she was pretty sure she could use a modified stasis spell to suspend the spell in action and store it in an orb.
Besides this, she also had to keep up with her runic potions thesis, read more into mental links for Hadrian and reverse engineer the Marauder's Map on top of her regular NEWTs work for 8 subjects. (She had dropped Divinations, Astronomy and History of Magic after her OWLs.)
Sure, she was feeling a tad tired, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. Three hours of sleep per night was perfectly sufficient. She just made sure to only brew during the morning or afternoon so that her drowsiness didn't affect her. Potions accidents weren't anything to laugh at, especially at the level she was brewing.
Heather just wished that she had more hours in a day. It just seemed like there was so much she needed to do in so little time. Voldemort was clearly moving forward with whatever plans he had, as shown by the recent prison breakout. Yet, it seemed like the Order of the Phoenix was just reactionary; trying to block whenever Voldemort made a move and not advancing on their own.
It was abundantly clear that if she wanted Hadrian safe from that mad man, the DA was her only recourse. This was why she was so manic about the research for the DA. The members were very skilled for students, but they were only precisely that - students. There was no guarantee that in a duel against actual Deatheaters, they would win. Hence the spellball and Maruader's Map projects. She and FredGeorge had other nifty ideas in the works too.
A little bit of missed sleep was nothing when Hadrian's safety was at stake.
~~~
"Oh come on, Heather! Don't you want to go to Hogsmeade?" George cajoled.
Without looking up from her notes, Heather shook her head pointedly. "Got lots to do, Forge. If I need to buy something, I'll get it by owl order."
"Buysomething?" Fred gasped, "Our dear harpy, Hogsmeade weekends aren't simply about buying! It's the escape from school, the freedom! Take in the beautiful sights and smells of the outside world!"
"Mmhmm. The tiny village that you get to go every few weeks during school term. Perhaps they even have a new colour of ink on sale. How exciting," she deadpanned.
"How did she get to be such a dull girl, Gred?"
"I haven't a clue, Forge."
"I thought you two wanted to go to Hogsmeade." Heather cast a little Incendio, feeling for the magical currents in the spell. Hmm... They were like large upward pointing 'v' shapes. Quite similar to their wand movement, in fact. Perhaps that was a thought to consider. She quickly made a comment in her notes, underlining it boldly.
"Yeah, so why don't you just put your quill down-" Fred said, snatching it away.
"-and we'll be on our way!" George closed her book with a thud.
"Fred, George," she tried to say patiently, "I'm not going. You two can go have fun, alright?"
"Heather," they said in the same tone, "it's Valentines' Day."
Fred grabbed her hands and pulled her up. "You can't stay here casting spells-"
"-and muttering to yourself!" George exclaimed, forcing her into a twirl.
"Even your brother has a hot date."
"That's because he has a boyfriend!" she retorted, stepping out of the dizzying spins. "I don't see youtwo with girls on your arms. Or boys."
They looked pointedly at their arms wrapped around her shoulders and waist. "That's not what I meant and you know it."
Fred's tone changed to a serious one. "Heather, you've been doing an awful lot of work recently. I haven't seen you do anything fun for weeks now! You used brew something exciting at least once a week!"
"Didn't you two see me brew the anti-Veritaserum potion yesterday?"
George shook his head. "You wanted to have some on hand in case of anything. You weren't enjoying it. We don't even know when brewing ever became a chore for you. You used to smile even when you needed to make Essence of Dittany for us, which we know you can do in your sleep."
Heather frowned. "I was just a little tired. I needed to focus so I didn't screw it up." She had almost dropped some extra verbena into the cauldron, which would have caused lethal fumes to form. She had been quite wary of making any more mistakes after that. Her scowl was probably what they had seen. It had been such a basic mistake, after all.
"Precisely, Heather!"
"You're tired!"
"You need to take a break!"
"I'm perfectly fine!" she snapped, annoyed. She didn't need any more rest, damnit! "I would be even better if I could get on with my research, though!"
"You're more likely to make mistakes when you're tired anyway," George said irately.
Fred held up his hands peaceably. "You don't even have to go out. Why don't you just take a nap on the couch?"
"For the last time, guys, I don't need to rest!" They were really trying her patience. Here they were, harping at her to take a break, when they were wasting her precious time. All they were doing was delaying the time when she could rest. "You guys are being a nuisance!"
George's eyes hardened, while Fred's face fell. "Fine! Just work yourself into the ground for all we care!" George spat, dragging his brother out of the Den. Fred shot her a last concerned look before stumbling after his twin.
Heather fumed silently, sitting back down on her seat. A wave of vertigo hit her at the rapid movement and she had to grip the desk lest she fall out of her chair. She waited a few moments for it to pass before rubbing her eyes tiredly. Now that the two were gone, she could finally focus on her work.
They just couldn't see that she neededto do this. There was no time to be frolicking around in Hogsmeade or brewing fun potions or even sleeping.
The room swayed a little, or was that her? She shook her head roughly and grabbed a phial from her bag. Unstoppering it, she downed it whole, ignoring the horrid taste. Little bolts of lightning shot out of her stomach, causing her whole body to tingle. The sensation eventually faded, but the energy it brought would last her a good five hours. Unfortunately, she would feel exhausted without at least 6 hours of sleep after that, which she was obviously not going to get. She was also not idiotic enough to take Rejuvenation Potions back-to-back. Luckily for her, all she was doing later was finishing her homework. She knew all the content already anyway.
~~~
A hand on her shoulder caused her to jerk to attention. She shook her head lightly to clear the fog of exhaustion from her mind. Right, she was in the Great Hall, having breakfast. Or she had been before she dozed off, of course. She couldn't believe she had been so tired that she'd let someone sneak up behind her like that. Hopefully no one else had noticed her brief period of weakness.
"Heather, you alright there?"
She stifled a groan. Great. It was her brother. Putting on a smile, she turned around. "Morning Hadrian! What do you mean? I'm perfectly fine!"
The sceptical look sent her way made her curse inwardly.
"Right, and that wasn't you almost falling asleep in your plate of eggs."
"Just a little drowsy this morning is all. Slept a bit later than I should have last night. No problem," she lied casually. No need for Hadrian to start worrying about her as well. She thought guiltily of the way she had snapped at Fred and George a few days ago. They had only been concerned for her welfare. Perhaps she should apologise to them later.
Hadrian crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? 'Cos Fred and George told me something veryinteresting last night."
All guilty feelings flew out the window when she heard that. She shot a quick glare at the twin menaces over at their table. When they caught it, George made a face at her while Fred shook his head helplessly. Her annoyance racked up a notch. Involving Hadrian was a cheap shot and they knew it. Her brother was bound to fret over her even though she was just the slightest bit tired. And she could never say no to him.
"Heather, are you listening?" She turned her attention back to her brother. "You really should take better care of yourself. Didn't Hermione volunteer to do some of your work too? You don't have to handle everything on your own."
"I'm fine, Hadrian," she sighed. "Whatever Fred and George told you, they were exaggerating. You know how they are."
"Not when it comes to the important things. And I can see what they were talking about. I'm pretty sure you have a glamour on right now."
Damn it! Hadrian could sense spells as well as she could. She had taught him, after all. She hadn't even considered that little fact. "Okay, so I have a few pimples I want to cover up. Let a witch have some vanity."
Her brother's face scrunched up. "You don't have to lie to me, you know. I'm not stupid."
"I'm not saying you are!" she burst out. The loudness of that abruptly reminded her of where they were. She could feel the curious gazes of the other students boring into them. Letting out an explosive breath, she grabbed her brother's hand and tugged him out of the hall.
Once in a more secluded area, she tried to reassure her brother again to no avail. A sudden rush of people coming out of the doors signalled the time.
"Look, Hadrian. Class is starting soon. I have to go." Without waiting for an answer, she turned and strode towards the dungeons quickly. She had Double Potions coming up.
"Heather, wait!" her brother shouted.
She pretended not to hear.
~~~
"Hmm, I wonder if Miss Potter is feeling alright."
Minerva's musing immediately grasped his attention. As did any other mention of Heather in these days did. He subtly glanced towards the witch in question, wondering what the old cat was talking about. To his surprise and worry, he found Heather nodding off at the breakfast table, spoonful of eggs half-lifted.
He could count on one hand that number of times he had seen Heather dozing, all of them occurring in the span of the previous month. She was one of the most conscientious students he knew. No teacher had ever complained of her giving them trouble in class before. Yet, just last week, Filius had mentioned that she had had her eyes half-lidded through the entire class.
It was immensely worrying and it was technically his duty as Slytherin Head to find out what was wrong. Despite that, he also couldn't allow himself to show his concern because of the other duty he had as a spy in the Dark Lord's camp.
Perhaps it would be better if he had Minerva or even Pomona ask after her. It was the obvious choice, loathe as he was to consider it. Something told him, however, that it would reveal nothing. Heather was as tight-lipped as any other Slytherin, maybe even more so than most.
Because he was keeping his eye on her, he noticed when her brother walked up to her. He was about to look away from the conversation when their voices started getting louder. Now thatwas severely out of character for her, given her private nature. She wasn't one to broadcast any trouble she had, especially not with her brother.
What surprised him further was the livid glower she sent her two sidekicks, one of whom seemed to return the sentiment. They seemed to have had a falling out. So even Heather could fall prey to simple adolescent problems like that.
"I'm not saying you are!" she exclaimed. The volume of her statement carried all the way even to the Head Table, such that he could clearly hear every word.
Heather seemed to finally realise the very public location she was having this discussion in and dragged her brother out of the Hall. Minerva gave him a meaningful look over her cup of tea, as if he could do anything about the situation.
"Why look at me, Minerva? It seems like more a problem with your Lions. Namely, the twin miscreants and Potter Jr," he sneered.
"You know very well that there has been something going on with Miss Potter for a while now." Minerva sniffed. "The poor girl has been running on her last leg this past week. She's just too stubborn to admit it."
He grunted under the weight of her expectant stare. "I will see what I can do," he relented. He had a class with the seventh years next. He would just get her to stay behind after that under the guise of making her clean the lab up.
When he arrived at his classroom, he saw that Heather was the only student inside. That was not unusual, since there was still 20 minutes until the lesson officially began. Sitting at his desk, he surreptitiously observed her. Her face certainly gave nothing away, and he knew that to the less observant, she appeared as energetic as ever. To his keen eyes, however, she looked worn out. It was in her posture, the slight slump of her shoulders, the hunch of her neck. Despite the bright-eyed look she sported, he knew she was beyond exhausted. So much so that he suspected a glamour, since she looked preternaturally fresh-faced for one as sleep-deprived he suspected she was.
However, he could little about that at the moment, seeing as the first trickles of students had begun strolling in. He could tell how dedicated a student was to the subject by the time of their arrival to class. Inevitably, the Ravenclaws would be among the earliest to his lessons, followed by the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs. Gryffindors were the bulk of his latecomers. Of course, there were exceptions. The Weasley twins usually came early because of Heather. Not today, it seemed, due to their apparent fight. In fact, there the two redheads were right now. It was odd seeing Heather completely ignore them when they walked in. One of the twins had the same reaction, though the other (he believed it was the elder, whom he suspected was more level-headed) spared her a worried look.
He brushed aside the entire conundrum to focus on the lesson. They would be brewing Erumpent Potion today. It was mostly used as a fertiliser for certain delicate plants, but it was extremely difficult to handle and brew. Not only was the completed potion highly explosive if touched by humans, it was also as volatile during every stage of brewing. One slight misstep and it could destroy the whole room. There was a reason why he only accepted Outstanding OWLs into his NEWT class.
He charmed a piece of chalk to write out the recipe on the blackboard as he gave his students the instructions. Just for today, he allowed them to pair up to complete the potion, owing to the difficulty of this particular brew. However, as the class had an odd number of students, one of them would have to complete it on their own. This student would typically be Heather, since she was the most competent student in the class. However, Severus had his doubts on this day on whether he should leave her to her own devices. She looked far from her peak form and was liable to hurt not only herself but everyone in a 30-foot radius of her. Unfortunately, he could not assign her a partner without drawing attention from the Slytherins in his class. There was at least one student in the room that he knew for a fact reported all his movements back to his Deatheater father. He resigned himself to simply keeping a sharp eye on the witch.
The first half of the period passed without event, much to his relief. Heather seemed alert enough to brew without hindrance. Surprisingly, the rest of the class had little problem with the potion as well. That could be due to their wary handling of the entire process. It seemed Severus' warnings at the beginning of class had sunk through their thick skulls. He had only needed to step in once when Turner had almost dropped in one too many phosphate crystals.
He stopped to peer into a cauldron shared by a pair of Hufflepuffs, noting irately that the potion was much too opaque. Catching the eyes of the intimidated girls, he gestured pointedly to the aloe cubes they had forgotten to add. Fortunately, it wasn't a major mistake and could easily be fixed by mincing and adding them before the penultimate step.
Finished with his inspection, he spared a cursory glance towards Heather again and promptly went into cardiac arrest. His mind processed the image rapidly, seeing her outstretched hand holding the powdered erumpent horn over her cauldron full of ash-coloured potion. Adding the material at this stage of brewing would only end up in an explosion, no matter what modifications she might or might not have made.
He fought the urge to shout, knowing it would only startle her into dropping the powder into the potion. To his panic, he was not quick enough to even raise his wand and he could only watch, horrified, as the powder fell into the cauldron.
Heather seemed to realise what she had done as soon as she did it. Her eyes widened in terror and she raised her arms in front of her as if to protect herself. As if that would do any good. The whole room would be obliterated in seconds.
It turned out that he was wrong, however. Her arms shot out not to shield herself, but to cast a blindingly bright spell. The spell encased the cauldron, just as he saw the explosion rise. A deafening blast of sound echoed around the room, accompanying the supernova encased in the dome Heather had thrown up. Once the shield had dispersed, the area which it occupied was barely char and cinders.
Belatedly, he shouted at everyone to continue with their potions lest the same thing happen another 9 times. He could tell that everyone was unnerved by the near-miss. If they were careful with their potions before, they were absolutely paranoid now. Every single movement they made was projected and deliberate.
Storming up to the moronic wench, he prepared to tear into her for her carelessness. Before he could do so, however, she swayed distressingly on her feet and collapsed in a dead faint. Movement from the Weasley twins out of the corner of his eye had him rounding on them and warning them off. Thankfully, they were not foolhardy enough to risk another explosion in favour of rushing to their friend's aid.
Affecting severe annoyance and disgust at having to deal with Heather, he ordered his class to continue with their potions. It had hardly been necessary, seeing as they had proof of what would happen should they make a mistake. With an exaggerated scowl - which was not difficult to form, considering the extreme danger Heather had been in - he levitated her and made his way to the infirmary.
Unconscious like this, dark bags appeared under Heather's eyes and her previously healthy complexion paled dramatically. He clicked his tongue irritably at the sight. His theory of a glamour had just been confirmed. Just whathad Heather been up to?
He would definitely be having a talk with her as soon as she woke.