Elise's first lesson of the term was one she had been looking forward to since the end of the last term: Potions. Although the thought of having a new teacher made her unsure if she would continue to enjoy the lesson, she was still excited at the prospect of brewing potions.
As Elise waltzed into the Potions classroom that morning, an overwhelming smell of cherries mixed with peppermint began to waft through the air, filling her up as though it were a drink. "It smells like cherries and peppermints. Do you smell that? " She asked as she entered the classroom, finding her usual place at a desk.
"It smells like citrus fruits, not cherries Elise," Draco stated briskly. "Doesn't your nose work?"
Once Slughorn noticed the students settling into the classroom, he rose from his desk and made his way to the front of the class. "Everybody, please gather around the table! I have prepared a few concoctions for today's lesson."
She followed the Slytherin students towards the bench, staying behind the group of eager Gryffindors who stood at the front of the pack. "Who even is this teacher? I'm glad Snape finally got to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts but his replacement seems utterly incompetent." Draco raised his eyebrows at Slughorn.
"My mother has never heard of him so he mustn't be very good," Blaise added.
"As long as I can still pass this class, he and I won't have a problem."
"Oh, I'm sure he would be terrified if a sixteen-year-old threatened him Draco. Merlin, just pay attention and you'll pass the course!" Elise turned to face the front of the class, hoping Draco and Blaise would stop distracting her.
"If only you knew," Draco whispered under his breath, barely loud enough for her to hear.
"Right, does anybody know what any of these potions are?" He removed the lid from the first potion and as he did, the smell of cherries suddenly became stronger. Elise leant in, inspecting the potion as she did, finally raising her hand once she knew what the potion was.
Before she had a chance to speak, Harry and Ron stumbled into the classroom loudly, knocking over several books as they entered. "Harry m'boy! I was beginning to worry! And I see we've brought someone with us." Slughorn turned to face the pair, inspecting the boy he did not yet recognise as if waiting for him to speak.
"Ron Weasley, sir. But I'm dead awful at Potions, a menace actually, so I probably should just be going-" He started to turn around but before he could, Slughorn spoke again.
"Nonsense, we'll sort you out. Any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine. Right then, books out --"
"Um, sorry, sir, but I haven't got my book yet -- nor's Ron. You see -" Harry spoke quickly, the words barely forming in his mind before he spoke them.
"Not to worry. You can get what you need from the cupboard." Slughorn smiled whimsically at the pair, pointing them towards the open cupboard beside them. "Now, as I was saying, I've prepared a few concoctions this morning."
"Merlin, Potter always has to be the centre of attention doesn't he," Draco whispered to Blaise before pulling his copy of Advanced Potion Making from his robe pocket. Elise quickly followed suit, clutching her copy close to her chest.
"Any ideas what these might be?" He looked around the classroom for a student willing to share, eventually settling on Hermione Granger who had placed herself at the front of the class. "Yes, Miss...?"
"Granger, sir. That one there is Veritaserum. And that would be Polyjuice Potion. And that..." She leant in closer to the potion. " is Amortentia! The most powerful love potion in the world. It's rumoured to smell differently to each person, according to what attracts them. For example, I smell freshly mown grass and new parchment and spearmint toothpaste-" Once she noticed her cheeks beginning to flush an intense coral, she stopped in her tracks.
"Now Amortentia doesn't create actual love, of course. That's impossible. But it does cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. For that reason, it is probably the most dangerous potion in this room." Once he noticed students beginning to lean in closer to the potion, he quickly clanged the lid onto the potion.
"Sir, you haven't told us what's in that one." Katie Bell stepped forwards.
"Ahh yes. What you see before you, ladies and gentlemen is a curious little potion known as Felix Felicis." He glanced at the golden potion swirling in the cauldron, beginning to ladle it into a clear phial. "But it is more commonly referred to as --"
"Liquid luck." Hermione cut in.
Elise could feel the instant buzz running through the classroom. "Merlin it would be nice if you gave some of us a chance Hermione," Elise spoke just loud enough for her to hear, keeping her voice quiet enough that Slughorn wouldn't bat an eyelid. He seemed too enchanted by the potion in front of him to have any interest in any event that unfolded in the classroom.
"Yes, Miss Granger. Desperately tricky to make. Disastrous should you get it wrong. But brewed correctly, as this has been it has remarkable powers. One sip and you will find that all your endeavours succeed... at least until the effects wear off." He capped the small phial, clutching it tightly in his hand.
"But then why don't people drink it all the time?" Katie asked.
"Because taken in excess it causes giddiness, recklessness and dangerous overconfidence," Slughorn spoke as though it were obvious, which to those who had studied, it was.
"Have you ever taken it, sir?" Elise heard Blaise behind her.
Slughorn seemed more than willing to discuss, placing the phial of liquid luck into his pocket before he spoke. "Twice. Once when I was twenty-four. Once when I was fifty-seven. Two tablespoons taken at breakfast. Two perfect days..." He eyes the phial dreamily, recalling the memories those days had provided him with. "So. This is what I offer each of you today. One tiny vial of liquid luck... to the student who, in the hour that remains, manages to brew an acceptable Draught of Living Death, the recipe for which can be found on page ten of your textbook."
The buzz in the classroom suddenly grew stronger, tension beginning to spread across it.
"You should know that in all the years of my previous tenure at Hogwarts, not once did a student brew a potion of sufficient quality to claim this prize. In any event -- good luck." Slughorn took the seat at his desk, watching as the classroom unfolded into chaos.
As soon as they were allowed to begin, Elise felt Draco and Blaise dart away towards their table. She quickly followed behind them, making her way towards their usual table. Reaching under her desk, she pulled out her tray of equipment. As she pulled out her cauldron, she felt a hand grasp her wrist. "Elise. You have to win this." Draco held her tightly as he whispered to her. "You have to."
She pulled her arm away. "I very much intend to."
Elise opened up her textbook, scanning the tenth page for information of where to start. She took out her Sopophorous bean and silver dagger as she glanced around the room at those who had already started; beans were flying all over the classroom, with barely anyone able to keep their bean close to their desk. As she looked further, she saw Harry Potter pressing his blade against the bean, crushing it rather than cutting it. "Draco, crush it." She called to him as she did the same, instantly releasing the red juice all over the parchment on her desk.
"How did you know that?"
She quickly looked away from Harry and back down to her textbook. "I just guessed."
"Well keep guessing then." He said before turning back to Blaise and beginning the next step.
She lifted the parchment from her desk and began to pour the juices into the potion, watching as it instantly turned lilac. Although Elise considered herself to be skilled at Potions, making a Draught of Living Death was far beyond her comfort zone. She had never considered Harry Potter to be smarter than her, especially not at Potions, but as he sprinted ahead in the recipe, she began to doubt herself.
As inconspicuously as she could, she watched him. Every move he made, she made straight after, before feeding the information to Draco and making a note of it in the margins of her textbook. Elise had never found herself so busy in a potions lesson, she felt as though her mind was about to self destruct before they were even halfway through the ingredients.
"Elise hurry up!" She heard Draco call through gritted teeth.
"Merlin Draco it's just a potions lesson! We all want to beat Potter but you don't see me being rude about it!" She retorted.
"It's not just a potions lesson. I need this." He didn't say another word, but Elise could sense his desperation.
"I'm trying." She whispered.
Elise turned back to her potion, keeping her focus firmly on Harry who seemed to be whizzing ahead. She did her best to keep up with his pace but from across the classroom, seeing his exact actions proved harder than she thought it would be.
Despite trying to keep her attention fully on Harry, it quickly shifted once she noticed Draco wincing whilst holding a handkerchief over his finger. He tried to carry on, pouring various ingredients into his potion, but as the blood began to trickle down his hand, he knew his attempts were futile.
"Let me fix it." Elise took his hand, unwrapping the handkerchief from his finger and placing it on the table beside her. "Episkey." She whispered, causing his finger to feel awfully hot, then at once, the cut was gone. Draco gave her a nod of appreciation, she hoped, before quickly returning to his potion.
By the time Elise looked back at Harry, he was far further ahead than her, she knew she could no longer keep up with him. She glanced back at her book, searching for the step that she was on, her finger tracing under the instructions. Now that she was alone, she realised how challenging this potion was; it was something that she considered almost impossible to do alone.
In the corner of her eye, Elise watched as Professor Slughorn stopped by Harry's potion, his mouth falling open in disbelief.
"Merlin's Beard! But it's perfect. So perfect I dare say one sip would kill us all! Your mother was a dab hand at potions, but this...My, my, what can't you do, m'boy? Perhaps you will save us all in the end." All eyes turned to Harry. "Here you are then, as promised. One bottle of Felix Felicis. Use it well."
All the Slytherins surrounding Elise sighed, almost wincing in annoyance. As she looked back at Draco, she could see his expression fall, "I'm sorry."