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LIANA sat in potions and for the first time in her life, she genuinely felt like she hated someone.
Severus Snape had taken approximately five minutes to harbor his dislike for Liana, despite the fact that her two older siblings had been his best pupils, though Snape had disregarded them too.
But Professor Snape truly seemed to hate Liana.
"What is his problem?" Asked Liana with annoyance as Snape brushed past her again, looking down his hooked nose at her.
Harry sighed "he hates everyone Liana, I wouldn't take it too personally" he pushed his glasses up his nose as he looked back down at his lime green coloured and very incorrect potion, wondering how on earth he was supposed to fix it.
"Oh but I'm taking it very personally," she grumbled and took careful time to flick a puffapod seed at the back of Snape's head. She didn't like the disrespect Snape was treating her with and she hadn't even caused any trouble yet.
Snape whirled around at once when he felt the small, sharp object come into contact with the back of his greasy head, but the second he looked around, Liana was innocently trying to help Neville with his potion and bickering loudly with Draco Malfoy who had just swaggered in.
"If you say one more foul word about Buckbeak you snake, I swear to Merlin I'm going to jinx you so hard you'll-" but she was cut off by Ron helpfully clapping a hand over her mouth.
"What was that Holly, I could barely hear you over the pure agony of my arm" smirked Malfoy at the red faced girl desperately battling Ron, who now had her in a headlock to stop her throwing herself at Malfoy.
"Liana please just act natural," Neville begged nervously under his breath as the shadow of Snape fell over them.
"Orange Longbottom?" Snape drawled as he spotted the potion that Neville had been praying he wouldn't notice.
Ron lowered his head and took to scowling at Malfoy as he was forced to cut up his ingredients for him, hissing under his breath for Malfoy to shut up about Hagrid and Sirius Black.
Meanwhile Harry's fist was clenched around his ladle so tightly Hermione had to squeal to stop him snapping it in two and submerging his hand in his potion.
"Tell me Longbottom, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours-"
Snape tossed Neville's stirring spoon down on the desk roughly and Neville flushed scarlet and looked down at his feet in shame.
"Tell me boy, what do I have to do to make you understand?" He spat at Neville who wouldn't take his eyes off the ground.
Liana, who had been foolishly released from Ron's grip turned on Snape.
"Probably you shutting up Sir. It's nearly impossible to focus on anything with you nagging in my ear," she blurted, unable to keep her mouth shut, her blue eyes narrowed at him frostily.
"Holly, I think three weeks of detention ought to suit you well" Snape told her coldly, his eyes flickering dangerously. Something about Liana Holly was reminding the sullen Professor of days at school when he was a pupil. Days he wished to forget.
"It's as if you want to spend more time with me " Liana shot back at Snape as she casually stirred her potion before she sat back down in her seat.
Snape looked down at her potion to see if he could critique her on anything else but unfortunately it was the exact shade of lilac that it was meant to be.
He gritted his teeth and rounded on Harry.
"You Potter, help Malfoy chop his shrivel figs."
Harry muttered profanities under his breath as he left Liana's side to go chop violently at Malfoy's ingredients.
"Longbottom at the end of this lesson I shall feed two drops of this potion to your toad. If the potion has been brewed incorrectly the toad is likely to be poisoned. Perhaps that will teach you to listen properly," he sneered nastily before swishing off to snap at Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan, who had added some pepper imp powder to their potion by accident.
"Help Liana-" begged Neville's pleadingly under his breath at Liana who shot Neville a look of upmost sympathy.
"Don't look at me, Hermione fixed mine" she muttered quietly "I don't know how to fix one that bad" she added as she eyed Neville's tangerine potion with suspicion, as if it were about to combust.
"I'll help you Neville, Liana help Harry- you can fix his surely," suggested Hermione, joining in the conversation as she expertly began to add things to Neville's potion, glancing up every now and then to ensure Snape wasn't near any of them.
"Oh Potter, and here I was thinking you were smart- " smiled Liana gently as she added a soft purple power to Harry's lime mixture. Harry, who had now returned from chopping shrivel figs looked down at her.
He was slightly shaken from the discussion he had just had with Malfoy over the topic of Sirius Black. What had Malfoy been talking about? Why would Harry want revenge on Sirius Black?
"For a while I thought that too, before I tried potions. It's not my best subject to be fair," Harry tried to smile but failed.
Liana laughed under her breath and dug him in the ribs slightly.
"Idiot. What's on your mind- you look like someone just killed your pet owl?" Liana added, catching the grimace on Harry's face as he thought deeply.
"I just had the strangest talk with Malfoy about Sirius Black, listen-" Harry began to whisper under his breath to Liana everything they he and Malfoy had talked about. Liana listened with a raised eyebrow and when Harry had finished talking she frowned.
"Why would you want revenge Harry? For all we know Sirius Black is just a unstable criminal?" Liana asked, finishing his potion for him.
Harry just shrugged, not certain of his answer any more.
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HERMIONE Granger had been tussling with Liana in the Gryffindor common room for the last half an hour.
"You want me to do what?" Asked Liana again, horrified.
"Just think about it, you could be amazing!" Hermione encouraged as she pestered Liana.
Liana sighed and flopped onto the sofa next to Harry, eating a few crumbs of cake the trio had brought her back from another dinner she had missed that night for her first detention with Snape.
"I would be amazing but that's irrelevant-" Liana rolled her eyes playfully as Hermione threw a crumpled piece of parchment at her.
"-I just don't want to," finished Liana, batting the paper away expertly.
"What do you want Liana to do?" Harry asked as he threw his quill down in hopelessness, brushing his divination work aside.
"I think she should commentate for the Quidditch matches!" Hermione grinned proudly. Liana just groaned as she settled herself more comfortably into her corner of the sofa.
"Can you two give it a rest for a second I'm trying to finish this-" Ron grumbled as he paused for a second, the scratching of his quill on the parchment ceasing as he glanced up at the girls.
"Let's see" Liana leaned over Ron's shoulder to read his work.
"The forgetfulness potion can make the drinker forget-" Liana read aloud.
"WOW" she crowed happily "what a revelation!"
"Shut up" Ron snickered as he snatched his homework out from under her nose and shoved it into his bag.
"I'm off to bed, Liana- this isn't over yet" Hermione grinned as she picked up her heavy school bag that looked to be splitting under the strain of all her school books.
"Yeah, yeah," nodded Harry vaguely as he stared into the fire. Ron packed up his potions essay and quietly retreated up the stairs to the boys dorm after a while, leaving Harry and Liana alone in the common room.
The only sound now being the crackle of the flames in the grate. The orange and red sparks dancing in the soft ambiance of the common room late at night.
"What's wrong?" Liana asked for the second time that day as she turned to face a rather miserable looking Harry.
"Just thinking" he shrugged as he looked into her deep eyes.
"A rather dangerous sport if you ask me," teased Liana as she tried to lift the mood. Harry gently lifted a hand to tug on her red curls of hair. Watching closely how the scarlet strand slipped through his fingers before springing back into shape.
"Sirius Black is still out there" Harry sighed as he looked back at the fire now, "and he's still after me, he's still Voldemort's deatheater"
"All true. But don't forget Harry, you're safe here- Sirius Black wouldn't dare come near the castle with Dumbledore here," Liana advised honestly, she fumbled with her hands in her lap, a strange feeling settling in her stomach.
" -Well goodnight Liana," Harry mumbled after a few minutes just listening to the silence. He brushed past Liana gently and climbed to his feet, wandering over to the staircase.
"Potter- "
Before Harry could comprehend what was happening Liana had given him a quick but warm hug, her arms tightly holding his shoulders, her head resting on his chest. Before she quickly released him and all he could hear was her jogging footsteps upstairs to her room for bed.
He felt a warm feeling spreading in his stomach.
Despite the thoughts running wild in his head, he smiled before turning and walking up to bed.
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AN
Kinda a boring chapter whoops
Comment of the day : what is your Hogwarts house ? I'm Gryffindor !
Xoxo
Edited: 9/4/19
Re-edited: 8/8/19