A Vial of Trouble PV Closed

Sure, Emma should have been at the Great Hall about now, enjoying the banquet of food that had been provided to them every evening before they went off to their dormitories. She had a question for the new Potions professor, not some get-to-know-you one either. He had been at Hogwarts long enough to foresee some student to come down to his classroom. Asking a professor was the best way she could boost her grade, despite it being her least favorite thing to learn.

Her stomach pleaded for food as she made her way to the stairs, at least they were in view. She didn't mind the hollow feeling, in fact, she planned on traveling down to the Great Hall to receive any food she could find. She only ate two meals a day anyway, it wasn't that much of a big deal to her she could always go off and eat the candy she had stashed beneath her bed.

Coming from the third floor wasn't exactly as hard as she had expected. You just followed the flow of the students until it came time to break off and take your own path. Well, the basement's traffic was full. Ignoring the yelps of anger thrown towards her, she continued to stroll past the house elves that prepared the meal, and the students from Slytherin making their way up to the Great Hall.

After shoving past students, her hands still in her pockets, she spotted the half-open door, at least it wasn't shut. That was a good sign. Just before she entered, she decided to speak, "profes-" She stopped in her tracks when the Gryffindor came into her sight. There was absolutely no professor, though there was Aurelia. Just her luck. After standing for a few seconds, analyzing the room, she shook her head and managed to roll her eyes, letting out a small snicker. Mistletoe berries and water from the Lethe River. She said to herself silently.

"Hello, Aurelia. Brewing a Forgetfulness potion, are you?" She looked at the bottle of Lithe water before returning her gaze back to Aurelia. Perhaps everything she had said was true... "Do I need to ask why?" She wore a false smile. Still, her hands stayed inside of her pockets, though they did move around a bit in her presence. "Surely, it's not for extra credit. Couldn't you do it in your dormitory?" Already, she bombarded her with questions. With genuine questions.

[font=Bodoni Monotype]
Aurelia tilted the clear blue glass vial horizontally, carefully dripping two drops into the vial. She, however, jumped a little when she heard someone speaking behind her. This caused a bit more than two drops into the pot. Aurelia scowled, unpleased that she had to restart the process all over again.

Without turning around, she already knew who the voice belong to, Emma Hill. During her recent encounter with the Ravenclaw, the girl pressured her into revealing one of her secrets she never ever told anyone. Two actually, one was hat she had a dead Brother, the other that she was adopted. What was she up to now?

Aurelia sighed internally, she wanted privacy, she expected that potions classroom would be empty by now, but apparently not. Emma just had to budge in.

“No, Emma, you do not need to ask why. I don’t think my roommates would be pleased with the smell of the standard ingredient waftering under the ceiling.” She said, not bothering to turn around to acknowledge her presence and making it clear that she was ignoring her. She drained out the lithe water into the sink, and wiped it dry. No thanks to the nosy Ravenclaw, she had to start the brewing potion again.

She set the cauldron pot back on the stand, and two drops of Lithe Water were added in. Emma was still there, Aurelia rolled her eyes internally. Emma wasn’t leaving. It let Aurelia to turn towards the girl. “So, what is your purpose for being here?” she asked coldly, almost like saying ‘go away’ but in different words.

Tempted to draw her hands and cross them, she kicked the wall, with the ball of her foot, behind her softly in an attempt to distract herself. To distract herself from the blue eyes she was unfortunate to encounter last year. Still, she kept her hands put, fingering the wand inside of her pocket Ollivander had given her in the first place.

With her hand turned, Emma was tempted to walk up to her and drown her head into the cauldron. That is if she hadn't emptied it before she could make up her mind. Detention or revenge. It was a hard choice for her. There was a silence between them as she watched Aurelia recommence the brewing of the Forgetfulness Potion, both curious and shocked. Shocked to see her that is. She didn't know why the presence of her seemed so unusual to her. By now, she should have gotten used to it, but she hadn't and probably never would have.

Tapping her foot obnoxiously to remind Aurelia that she was still there made her foot almost go numb in the process. Now that she was in, there was no going back, whatsoever. Still, she felt as her feet were glued to the floor beneath her with no absolute escape... no matter how hard she regretted speaking in the first time.

"I came to ask the professor a question," she said honestly. Taking her arm out to gesture to the empty desk. As she took back her arm, it occurred to her. It hadn't been one day (which it was) that a Hogwarts professor had skipped a day, doing personal things in their classroom, like homework for instance. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case, leaving the door wide open for the Gryffindor. Or she may have magically opened the lock, but she wasn't going to just yet. She stayed, and waiting, walking around the room with an elongated pace. "Ever thought about what happens if that Forgetfulness Potion of yours goes wrong?" She asked.

[font=bodoni monotype] Emma claimed she had cake here to ask the new professor a question. It was believable, Ravenclaws were always studious and did anything to get their sky high grades. To Aurelia, sometimes how they did it was almost too obsessive.

It bothered her even more when Emma asked her if she knew the consequences of a badly brewed potion. It couldn’t be that Emma was showing a tad bit of concern towards her. Aurelia knew that the Ravenclaw didn’t like her as much as she did. Even though they’d never said a word about their dislike neither did they act on it, there was always that impenetrable tension between them. Aurelia couldn’t wrap her head around in why they had such a relationship, she only knew about the dispute in the library during her first year, but didn’t understand how it had escalated so quickly into being enemies. To be honest, it was somewhat entertaining.

“Yes, I’ve thought about it, but never had there been a bad brew when I do it.” She said with confidence. The girl briefly combed her light brown hair before twining it into a simple dutch braid and securing it in a hair tie. It fell a bit below her shoulders, but that would still keep the mess from her hair when the cauldron starts to boil and bubble later on.

Emma began to pace around the room, the heels of her shoe clicking on the floor noisily, was she doing it on purpose, so she could annoy her or was it because she was impatiently waiting for the professor. It was most likely the former. If Emma wanted to play this game then, so be it, Aurelia would play along.

“You probably came at the wrong time. Pity you weren’t around when the new Professor had an open house this afternoon. It had been interesting to explore the different kinds of potions and all. Oh, there was also this potion which was liquid but was actually soft to the touch...” A corner of her lips lifted up into a smirk. Yes, pity it was, Emma not having attended the open house and someone she disliked purposefully making her jealous.

She was done with the first step. Two drops of Lethe Water was added in, for the heating. Aurelia patted her pockets, but her eyebrows furrowed slightly when nothing we’re in them. She began rummaging through her bag, most of her textbooks were left in her dormitory to lighten the weight, still she couldn’t find what she was looking for. The matchbox was not there.

Aurelia heaved a sigh, a more irritated one than relief. She slipped her hand out from the bag, taking out her wand instead. She didn’t like incendio, not after the disasterous lock in event the crazy Professor Lear put the Gryffindor house through. Aurelia still had the burn marks that peeked out from the her shirt on the nape of her neck. Usually, these discoloured marks were hidden out of view under her hair, but with her braid to the side, it was clearly visible.

Aurelia took a deep breath and exhaled though her nose. She pointed the tip of her wand to the Bunsen burner under the stand. She pressed her lips together into a thin line, focusing on the spell, yet a part of her didn’t want to do it fearing that it would result in another failed spell like the one Anatole casted.

“Incendio,” She incantated. But no flames emitted besides a hush of warm air, which was a little comforting in the cold basements.

Yes, her words were honest, as candid as she could get while talking to her, perhaps the most honest thing she had said to her, well, besides  Almost half of their conversations had been Emma spitting out lies as they came to her head. False words she could probably never take back. Knowing Aurelia, those words were going to be used against her, no matter the situation or the accidental run-ins. From time to time, Emma regretted loads of her actions, both with Aurelia and the strangers she never had the opportunity to meet. One thing was for sure, these two did not have a proper first impression.

Things happen, you never positively knew. Imagining the consequences of an inadequate potion was disturbing. She wasn't very fond of screwing something up... on accident. Purposely was another story, but as far as she knew, she hadn't attempted to concoct a potion the wrong way. Was there even such a thing? 

Watching as the Gryffindor tied her hair into a gigantic braid, she couldn't help but go to sit on a nearby desk with a clear view of the cauldron. Oh, she had something prepared, already, it just wasn't the appropriate time. She had given most of the hatred so far, and she wasn't going to stop. Swinging her legs back and forth, she waited for both the professor and Aurelia to make her next move; heating the cauldron. Why wouldn't the professor come so that she could get what she wanted? Her question answered and the Gryffindor exposed.

Emma's expression changed (to annoyance) as Aurelia mentioned she came at the wrong time. The professor had had an open house, and of course, she was late. She hadn't even bothered to show, though she had no clue about the meet and greet the professor had organized. It almost made her feel bad that she hadn't come... but then again, Aurelia was there...

"It's liquid... not sandpaper. What did you expect?" She said defensively, hesitating a moment to separate her words unintentionally. "It molds to whatever it touches." She glanced downward on her feet, suspending from the edge with the same look of annoyance and difficulty strapped on to her face until she ran back over her words. "Besides, have you ever had a potion that wasn't liquid?" She snapped.

Her head bobbed up as she began to fumble inside of her pockets, then her bag, followed by a heavy sigh, there was obviously something missing... but there was absolutely nothing absent. All of the ingredients gather by her were there, what more could she have wanted? The professor always had spare ingredients to every potion, plus cauldrons, but she already had one. Watching as she pulled her wand from her robes, she shifted herself to the left to get a better view. As her aim adjusted to the burner beneath, she mentally shrugged; she used her wand to ignite fires anyways. She wasn't missing anything at all. What exactly was she looking for? 

Losing the look of annoyance and confusion, a small sound emerged from her mouth, though she quickly covered it up. No, she couldn't hide it. In one motion, Emma let out an elongated laugh as her head dipped down to her legs, hunched over from hysteria. After a laugh or two (four), she sat back up in her former position. "Do you need help with that?" She asked, wiping the moisture from her eyes with the hem of her robe. She looked down at her face, instantly looking away. In her vision, she spotted a burn latched on to the side of her neck. Holy crap... Was all she could think to herself even though questions flew into her head by the dozen.

[font=bodoni monotype] A smirk played on Aurelia’s lips at Emma’s tone and brought up typical Ravenclaw facts to defend her point. According to what the girl said in their last meeting, ‘it wasn’t wise to challenge (two) Ravenclaws,’ So Aurelia let it be, not giving the Ravenclaw the satisfaction of a rebutt.

Aurelia knew just how to create fire from the spell, but she also knew how not to. To cast a spell you’d have to want to do it, want to spark a flame specific. A part of Aurelia did not want to use the incendio spell to make fire for it was the exact one that had burned her in the first place. Though it had been an accident, a failed spell, Aurelia couldn’t shake of the memory of the terrible stinging on her back during the lock in.

The girl winced slightly as laughter erupted from behind her. When Aurelia though Emma was finished, she started another fit of laughing again. Aurelia didn’t turn around, Emma was just trying to mock her for not being able to cast an incendio properly. Most students if they were in her shoes would be embarrassed but Aurelia wasn’t, it was just due to a traumatising past experience that she wasn’t able to cast the spell, nothing to be embarrassed about.

Her left eyebrow raised when Emma asked if she needed help. It was true, Aurelia needed a bit of help in starting the fire. However, she wasn’t sure what was on the Ravenclaw’s mind, was she being genuine, sarcastic or planning to destroy her work with a spell? Whatever it was, Aurelia needed a fire to be lit up and she herself wasn’t going to do it and risk another round of burns.

“Yes, in fact I do. Would you mind?” she asked, the words tasted like vinegar as they left her mouth. She could believe she was asking Emma for help. She convinced herself there was nothing much to worry about as Emma wouldn’t dare destroy her potion, at least Aurelia desperately hoped she wouldn’t.

Aurelia made way for Emma, before standing a distance (more like a few tables) away from where the pot was about to be lit up, ensuring that she was safe from being burned if the spell turned out to be another disaster like the one Anatole casted. She moved herself so that she was somewhere she got a clear view of the pot and what the Ravenclaw was doing in cases she pulled out a mischievous trick.

More or less, it had shocked her when the Aurelia accepted her help. Honestly, she had expected just the opposite, but if she wanted to do something, it had to be now. As much as it pained to think about it, she didn't want to hit her with a flame, she'd definitely get in trouble for that. It wasn't like she could get into trouble for attempting to help.

It made her think hard. Surely she could cast the spell again, but for now, she pushed the thought to the back of her head though the idea was never forgotten. Sometimes, she overwhelmed even herself with questions... what was the burn on her neck, what was so bad about a brother that had died years ago? At least she had a family. It was just herself and her mother, her father was far too busy to stay at home to take care of her.

Blinking out the tears that glistened in her eyes, she drew her wand from her robes and pointed it to the cauldron. She stayed there, looking down at the cauldron as she sat, determining her move. It was act now or forever hold your peace, and she didn't have any sanity left inside of her towards the girl, making her decision extremely easy.

The Severing Charm (spell?)  was no use against the thick iron cauldron, that was one spell thrown out off her arsenal of spells. Incendio... well she had just attempted the spell. Spongify was almost perfect, but something just didn't seem right, she'd be saving the spell and never tried it out. Aurelia was practically giving her a chance to screw up her potion plus the cauldron. She had never, in her life, admired her enemy more.

"Incendio Duo," said decided with a firm voice. Taken aback by the flame that issued from her wand, she put her left hand down on the table to support her weight. It was either that or falling back down on to the table, and she didn't want to hit her head. She was not used to the spell, nor had she planned on using it inside of Hogwarts, well besides in Herbology. She wasn't that far away from the cauldron, but Aurelia sure had gotten her distance.

She wouldn't have dared to attack a student inside Hogwarts. Around the narrow, dark alleys of Cambridge? That was a different story. Still, she liked the distance given to her and Aurelia's cauldron. With a small gesture of her hand, she acknowledged the cauldron with a gaping fire crackling beneath its bottom. She slid her wand back into her pocket and with both of her hands, she began to shake them in a jazzy way. "Tadaaa."

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Keeping her hands down inside of her lap, she impatiently waited for the professor to return from dinner, or until he had had enough of the boisterous teenagers yelling over each other. Even she felt out of place not being at the Great Hall; she enjoyed the noise. It gave her something to do other than reading at the table or talking to her best friend.

Wiping her literal smoky eye, she shrugged at Aurelia's glimpse at her. If she wanted to lose her memory, that was her choice, not Emma's, but it did concern her slightly. She watched as she waved her wand above the cauldron with determination, determination she could never have knowing that she was putting her own mental health at stake. She could be cruel when she wanted, but she wasn't a monster. The Forgetfulness Potion was practically like mental suicide.

They both knew the following step. Waiting for approximately fifty minutes before proceeding to the subsequent step. Throwing her back off of her shoulder, she began to rummage through it, looking for the stash of candy she always had. You never knew when you'd get hungry, but she was prepared... as long as no one saw her consume the candy. She didn't have enough to distribute amongst the entire class and nor did she want to. 

Watching her modestly as she proceeding to sit down, she was still deadly close to the cauldron, but so was Emma.  At least, that's when it hit her. She could drop a piece of candy into the cauldron, it was simple, but stoppable unlike a spell. She was definitely willing to take the risk, there was a plan B inside of her head.

Why don’t you come over some other time?

Shaking her head honestly, she spoke. "I'd rather not walk to the table filled with professors. Besides," She spun around slightly in her sitting position, uncomfortably. "You're trying to get rid of the years that have past, aren't you? Have you ever thought about what happens when you forget every single spell you've learned in one year? Or the people... minus me," said, mumbling the last past, but her sound only seemed to bounce against the walls. Even if she wanted to whisper her thoughts, the Gryffindor would be able to hear them. 

"And what about Quidditch?" She added to her statement. Maybe that's why she wanted to destroy the potion. Why would the fifty minutes be over with?