#plus finals are next month in the boiling heat in a classroom on the top floor with no AC

[demiwitch527]

 Chapter 1

"Does it count as saving someone's life if you refrain from killing them?​​​​​​​​​​​​"

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY ~ 1975

Isabelle was sat in Professor Slughorn's Potions class, which was held in a cold and not particularly large classroom in the dungeons with walls that were lined with pickled animals in glass jars. Isabelle shivered, though she wasn't sure if it was due to the cold or the dead animals that surrounded her. Maybe both.

For the past months, Professor Slughorn had been having them brew various potions in preparation for the O.W.L. exams that they were supposed to take at the end of the year. Today was no different. However, he did have them split up into pairs for this lesson, which wasn't a usual thing he had them do. The only plus side was that they were allowed to choose their partners.

The Slytherins shared Potions with those insufferable Gryffindors. Isabelle had no idea what she would've done if she got stuck with Sirius Black. She didn't want a repeat of the absolute worst Defense Against the Dark Arts class she had ever had. Her blood boiled at just the memory of it.

If she had any other options, she would've chosen to do the potion alone. She didn't need any help when it came to Potions, that was her area of expertise, after all, but Professor Slughorn wouldn't allow her. So she needed someone remotely competent.

Her choice had been Severus Snape, a fellow Slytherin, who had a stringy, pallid look about him, like a plant kept in the dark. Isabelle didn't mind working with him much. It absolutely pained Isabelle to admit it, but Severus was pretty talented with potions—for a half-blood that is. Besides, her brother had taken Severus under his wing before he graduated. Surely there was something about him that Lucius saw was worth while.

Though, Isabelle wouldn't really know, she didn't really bother much with making friends during her years at Hogwarts. She'd always thought that her time was best spent doing something else. But don't ever mistake her for being ignorant of her surroundings.

The current potion Professor Slughorn had instructed them to brew was a Draught of Peace. A potion that was supposed to relieve anxiety and agitation. Ironically enough, it was a very difficult potion to brew. One mistake can have drastic consequences, which could take the form of a deep, irreversible sleep or an explosion.

This made her slightly appreciative of Severus's assistance. Slightly.

Severus continued to stir the potion as Isabelle added more powdered porcupine quills and continued to do so until the potion finally turned white. Once the potion started to simmer, Severus lowered the heat while Isabelle started adding the last ingredient, exactly seven drops of hellebore.

"Is that it?" She asked Severus once she was done adding the hellebore.

"Yes," he said, scanning the instructions in his textbook. "We just have to wait for it to turn a turquoise blue colour."

Surely enough, the batch began to change it's shade into that exact color. But before it was finished the liquid began to bubble. Wafts of sulfurous odoured smoke rose from the cauldron. Isabelle could already tell what was about to happen before it did.

"Duck!" She yelled.

She and Severus dove under their work table just as the cauldron exploded. There were gasps and screams coming from their classmates, followed by the sound of glass breaking and chairs toppling. Isabelle had to pull her robes up to her nose to prevent herself from inhaling any more of the putrid odour that was now spreading throughout the room.

A few moments had passed before Isabelle deemed the situation safe enough. She and Severus cautiously got out from under the worktable and at last saw the disastrous effect the sudden explosion of their potion had caused. The classroom was a mess. Broken glass and spilled potions littered the ground and tables. There were some parchments that had caught fire along with a few of the students's robes, like Severus who was frantically trying to extinguish his robe sleeve.

On the bright side, at least they didn't put anyone to sleep.

Isabelle glared accusingly at Severus. "What the bloody hell happened?" She demanded. "We followed the instructions exactly. What went wrong?"

"How am I supposed to know?" He said. "You could've miscounted the drops of hellebore, as far as I'm aware."

"Now, now let's all calm down." Professor Slughorn said, but Isabelle wasn't having any of it.

This pathetic half-blood had just caused her her grade for the day. She swore that she would throw him off the Astronomy Tower if this caused that Gryffindor mudblood, Lily Evans, to take Isabelle's place at the top of this class.

"Feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken, but it sounded as if you were blaming me for this disaster." Isabelle tried to keep her voice as level as she could.

Controlling her temper wasn't an easy task, however, she needed to take her position into account. It wouldn't look good for the newly appointed Slytherin prefect to scream at her fellow student, especially when there was a professor present.

But how dare this diluted breed accuse her of messing up the potion. This was what she gets for working with second class wizards. She most definitely learned her lesson.

Just then she heard sniggers coming from the back row of the class. She whirled toward the sound and surely enough, Sirius Black and James Potter were trying—and failing��not to laugh. Remus Lupin rolled his eyes at his friends. He was at the worktable next to Sirius and James's with Peter Pettigrew, who seemed to be trying desperately to disappear into the shadows once he saw that Isabelle had noticed his friends and was now making her way to them.

"Black, you son of a bitch." She scoffed, sending a murderous glare toward her least favourite Black. "I should have known this was your doing."

Sirius smirked, shrugging. "Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Either way, you can't prove anything, Malfoy. I wasn't anywhere near your cauldron."

There was a reason Sirius had suggested to his mates that they sat further away from Isabelle and Snivellus. He could barely contain his laughter as he watched the pair hurriedly hide under their table and the class spread out in a frenzy. And all that thanks to a little jinx he had cast on Isabelle's cauldron.

He smirked as Isabelle gave her a death glare he knew all too well. After all, he had been on the receiving end of it for the past four years.

"Ms. Malfoy, I know that you are upset, but kindly watch your language." Professor Slughorn said, before clearing his throat. "Unfortunately, Mr. Black is correct. You don't have any evidence that he had deliberately sabotaged your potion. I'm afraid I have no choice but to fail you and Mr. Snape for today's class."

Hearing himself be called Mr. Black sent a shiver down Sirius's spine. He didn't like being addressed in the same manner as his father. But even that wasn't enough to dampen his good mood. He just hit two birds with one bloody stone. He was having a perfect day.

"But—" Isabelle tried to argue.

"No buts. Better luck tomorrow, Ms. Malfoy." he said before returning to the front of the classroom. "Oh and kindly tidy up the mess."

Isabelle glared at Sirius even harder. And as soon as Slughorn was out of earshot.

"This. Isn't. Over." She threatened through gritted teeth.

Sirius just winked at her. "We'll just see about that, doll."

She turned away from him with a huff and started cleaning up the mess caused by her potion. Snivellus fixed Sirius and James with a nasty look before helping Isabelle.

Once it was only the four of them, James almost doubled over in laughter. He clasped Sirius's shoulder as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"That was ingenious, Padfoot." He said.

Sirius howled in laughter. "All in a day's work, mate."

Remus sighed in exasperation. "Idiots. Idiots is what you are."

Later that day, Isabelle laid on her bed in her dorm room at the Slytherin dungeon. She was revising for tomorrow's Potions class to make sure she wouldn't make a mistake. Thanks to Sirius, she needed a to get a perfect score tomorrow if she wanted to maintain her grades. And to top it all of, she still needed to think of the perfect revenge for Sirius. She wasn't going to let him get away with that little stunt.

Without any warning, the door to her dorm flew open as Regulus Black came rushing in, sweaty and still dressed in his green and silver Quidditch uniform. That's right, Black. Regulus was Sirius's little brother. But unlike his arrogant twat of a brother, Regulus was quite easy to get along with. He was actually like a brother to Isabelle.

Isabelle almost jumped out of her bed in surprise.

"Blimey, Regulus! Don't you know how to knock?" She chided, sending him a small glare.

Boys weren't technically allowed anywhere near the girl's dormitories, but for some reason Regulus had managed to figure out a way to get past the enchantment keeping the boys away. Which allowed him burst into Isabelle's dorm anytime he wanted, much to her frustration.

"Sorry," he said. "But I heard what happened during your Potions class today and I may just have the perfect idea on how you can get back at my brother."

Isabelle closed her book and sat up on her bed. This should be good. Regulus was a very clever wizard, he was just, more often than not, overshadowed by his infuriating brother. What Isabelle couldn't wrap her mind around, however, was how that was the case. Sirius was only more rambunctious and definitely much more of an arse than Regulus, who was quiet and more gentleman like. But when it came down to looks and smarts, Isabelle would say that the two were almost an even match.

"Well?" Isabelle prodded. "What's your brilliant idea?"

Regulus sat at the foot of her bed. He reached into his bag and brought out a box of tiny marble like things that Isabelle knew all too well.

"Hold on, are those the Prewett brother's dungbombs?" Isabelle asked.

She would never forget those horrid tiny things. In their fourth year, the Prewett brothers made their own version of the dungbombs sold at the Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop. Ordinary dungbombs always left a person's hands dirty when handled, so they gave it a thin glass like exterior. They also made it smell extra putrid.

One time, Sirius had placed one of those under the cushion of her chair during Divination class. As soon as Isabelle took a seat, the glass marble container broke under her weight and the classroom was filled with the smell of crap, which of course came from Isabelle's chair. It was absolutely mortifying. She got back at Sirius for that by using the Dancing Feet jinx on him later on, which didn't wear off for an entire day. She even heard that his legs wouldn't stop moving even as he slept.

"Yes, but with a few of my own modifications, of course." Regulus said proudly. "I replaced the potion mist inside with skunk spray. I also made the containers extra fragile, so even just the normal amount of pressure could cause them to shatter."

Isabelle took the box from him, impressed and slightly pleasantly surprised. "When did you have the time to do all this?"

Regulus rolled his grey eyes playfully. "I have a life outside of you girls, you know."

"Sure you do." Isabelle ruffled his jet black hair, causing Regulus to grab her hand and pull it away from his head.

"Will you stop doing that." He complained, still holding Isabelle's hand in his. "I'm not a little kid anymore."

"Whatever you say." Isabelle chuckled. "So what's your plan with these?"

"We were thinking of maybe planting them in Black's dorm room." Emma Vanity, one of Isabelle's roommates and probably her closest friend, said as she entered their room. Like Regulus, Emma had just come from the Slytherin team's Quidditch practice and was still in her uniform. "Sirius Black, just so were clear."

"That goes without saying, Emma." Regulus said. "I would never plant skunk bombs in my own dorm room. I'm not daft."

"Wait a minute, you're in on this?" Isabelle asked Emma, gently pulling her hand from Regulus's grip. "I thought you didn't like getting involved with my feud with Sirius."

Emma snorted as she released her choppy brown hair from her ponytail. "You weren't the only one that failed today's Potions class because of Black's prank." She glowered. "I'm fucking out for revenge."

"Anyway," Regulus said. "There's one problem, however. How are you gonna get inside the Gryffindor common room?" He asked Isabelle. "It's not like you could just knock on their door and they'd let you in."

"Imperius curse?" Emma suggested. "Lucius taught you the spell last summer, right, Belle? Use it on one of those Gryffindors. That'll save us a whole lot of trouble."

"There's no bloody way I'm using the Imperius curse for a prank, Em. It's too risky." Isabelle said. "Magic always leaves traces, especially dark magic. There's a chance that they'll follow those traces back to me, if ever they discover the spell's involvement."

"She's got a point." Regulus agreed.

"So what now?" Emma asked.

Just as Emma said those words, an idea popped into Isabelle's head. She knew how she would be getting into Gryffindor tower.

"Don't worry about it." Isabelle said. "Just leave that part to me."

Sirius lazily lounged on the floor of his dorm room. James was trying to get him to attend the Quidditch practice. But he wasn't feeling up to it today. He was never even interested in trying out for the team in the first place, but he lost a bet with James last year and the deal was that he tries out for Quidditch. He didn't know that he would actually get selected.

"Our first match is in a few weeks, mate, and it's against Slytherin, we need to be in top shape." James said.

Out of all the classes and activities in Hogwarts, Quidditch was the only thing James ever took seriously, especially after he became the team's captain. Which was why he's getting so worked up about practice. But, like Sirius had mentioned, he didn't want to play Quidditch and especially not against Slytherin. He much preferred to put them in their place in other, more unpredictable ways.

"We'll be fine, Prongs." Sirius said, placing his arms behind his head. "Tell him, Moony."

Remus looked up from his book, he was sitting on his bed as he tried to block out his arguing friends. "Don't get me involved in this."

Sirius threw a small pillow at Remus. "Coward!" He said.

He blocked the pillow with his arm. "And I'm out." Remus said as he got up from his bed. "I'll be in the library if you need me. Good luck." he told James before heading out.

After Remus was gone, that's when Sirius noticed that they were missing one Marauder.

"Where's Wormtail?" He asked.

"Hmm?" James said, apparently also just realizing Peter wasn't present. "Probably already at the pitch." He said dismissively. Then seeming to remember that they were arguing, he said. "Don't try to change the subject!"

"I'm not feeling well, Prongs." Sirius said as he attempted to feign being ill.

Sirius and James argued for a few more moments until Sirius finally agreed to attend the practice. Sirius reluctantly got up from the floor and changed into his Quidditch uniform. It was scarlet and gold, like the rest of team's, with his last name, Black, written at back above the number 5, his player number.

"I fucking hate you." He muttered dejectedly once he rejoined James.

"Chin up, Padfoot. Look at the bright side." James said. "There'll be ladies watching us practice."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Maybe you'll even get lucky and find Malfoy there." James added. "Just imagine, hexing her twice in one day. She'll surely explode."

He smirked. "Now that's a thought."

Seeing Isabelle Malfoy's infuriated face after every prank was what always made Sirius's day. It's what made Hogwarts exceptionally interesting. They've been at it for years now, yet he never gets tired of seeing her fume in anger. The fact that the more he pranked her, the more she hated him and the more likely she was not to marry him, like their parents wanted, had turned into just a bonus years ago.

However, he knew that Isabelle never really involved herself in Quidditch. The last time he saw her out in the Quidditch pitch that he could think of was back in their third year, when she went all the way down there to support Regulus when he tried out for the Seeker position on the Slytherin Quidditch team. But hey, a guy could hope.

Sirius and James made their way down the spiral staircase of Gryffindor tower to the common room, where some students were relaxing after a long day of classes. Most of the girls looked their way once they heard the two Marauders coming down the stairs.

James's hand immediately went up to his hair and he casually messed it up—well, more than it already was. A few of the girls sighed dreamily, though Sirius knew that James was really just showing off for one girl in particular.

Lily Evans.

Unfortunately for his best mate, Evans was obviously not interested in him and she seemed to always hang out with Snivellus.

Sirius bit back a laugh at his friend's failed attempts to catch Evans's attention, completely ignoring the girls staring hopefully at him. Sometimes it impressed him how persistent James was to gain Evans's attention, but most of the time it's just a bit pathetic if you asked Sirius. He couldn't even imagine how a girl could have such an effect on a guy, but he was sure that that would never happen to him. He swore it on his mother's grave.

"Bad luck, Prongs." He whispered to James as they opened the back of the Fat Lady's portrait. "Evans is still ignoring you. Face it, mate, she'll never go out with you."

"Piss off, Padfoot!" James said.

They opened the portrait door and before either of them could step out, an all black cat with green eyes rushed through the door. Sirius had to raise his left foot to prevent the cat from hitting his leg, head first.

"Meow!" The cat hissed angrily at him as it passed.

Sirius glanced over his shoulder, and saw the cat rushing up the spiral staircase leading up to the boys dormitory. Strange. He can't remember ever seeing that cat before. But he just shrugged it off before stepping out into the lavish Gryffindor landing. Maybe someone had just gotten themself a new pet. Yup, that's most definitely the case.

"Looks like we're about to have some good luck today, mate." James said as they headed toward the grand staircase, referring to the black cat that had just passed them.