How not to make a potion 101

[Riley McNeill]

Riley jerked awake with a start, crying out involuntarily against the pain which wracked her body. With a heavy groan and wincing against the lances of pain shooting up from her left hand side of her body, she pushed herself up till she was seated. She blinked sleep from her bright blue eyes and stared around her, confused to have found herself in the hospital wing. The redhead rubbed her eyes, her whole body felt stiff as her tired mind attempted to figure out the events which led to her waking up here. Her mind felt slow, as if she were trying to run through thick mud.

Slowly, her memories flickered to life. She had been in potions, one of her worst classes. Riley might have been a fantastic keeper and popular amongst her fellow students, but when it came to potions she was an infamous hazard. Even the simplest potions failed spectacularly for her. She had been adding an ingredient then, she was here. She reached the logical conclusion that whatever she had done or neglected to do caused some kind of detonation from her potion or some other reaction which left her bruised, battered and unconscious. Riley wondered now how many days she had been out of it as she wore hospital pajamas and just how many days detention she earned herself.

Given how frequently she landed up in trouble, Riley usually assumed they were coming now as a matter of course. Judging from the angle of the sun, she judged it to be evening. Now she was up, the petite redhead considered attempting to leave. However, the thought of the long trek down to her common room left her feeling sick. The idea of getting out of bed itself made her feel dizzy at the thought and she cautiously lowered herself back down onto the comfortable bed, blue eyes staring up at the ceiling as she tried to puzzle out how she wrecked yet another potion. At the rate she was going, she would find herself running out of partners for potions.

[Laguna Lestrange]

"Every flavor bean?" From beside the hospital bed, a handsome young Gryffindor was sitting, his legs propped up against the bed as if he'd been there for at least a little while. He had, in fact, been there for about half an hour. In that time he'd managed to be scorned to keep his feet off the bed at least three times, but sitting there with nothing else to do was dreadfully boring. He'd also been warned not to offer Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to any of those who were resting in the hospital wing. That was another rule he'd already broken as there was a 1st year not too far off. He'd given him some of the funnier flavors and just as he suspected it was wildly entertaining to watch the little boy eat them.

Now that Riley was awake, why not extend the rule breaking to her? "Think most of the ones left are decent flavors. Admittedly, I did give away anything that might've been vomit or bogey flavored while you were out." His blue eyes finally peered up from the candy box and met Riley. "How did you wind up in here anyway? The rumors are swirling around. You got into it with that beater in your house, you fell from your broom, you made an explosion in potions. If I were a betting bloke I'd wager it's the latter of those rumors." He smirked, looking somewhat curious as to how she'd pulled off anything more severe than the cauldron melting incident.

Despite all of his jests, he was also happy to see that she was okay. "Are you hurting? Do you need anything?" It was only a matter of time before others heard that the Slytherin keeper was awake and then some of her housemates would be flocking in to get the latest update on the whole ordeal.

[Riley McNeill]

The redhead jumped, startled by the sudden and familiar voice. This made her cry out in pain before she managed to stifle it into a small groan. Riley gritted her teeth as she sought to suppress the pain. She pushed herself up on the bed and turned herself to face him. "Yes please." She answered quietly, yet grateful. Riley wondered just how long he had been here, she coloured, what if he had been coming here each day to check up on her. She hoped she had not been in too bad of a condition, but he must have been concerned about her in order to be here when she woke up.

"Thanks, I don't want to throw up just after waking up." She smiled at him, glad he was here. His company was very welcome, even if she happened to be in a rather poor condition and feeling more than a tiny bit sorry for herself. Riley listened quietly to what Laguna had to say, before answering his questions. "You should have bet on the potions." The redhead admitted with a very weak and pained chuckle. "As for the beater, I did have an argument with him. He's jealous." She surprised herself by her own honesty. "I think he's envious of you, since we hang out a lot together." Riley felt her cheeks redden even as she confessed this to him. "Just don't go and pick a fight with him. That's what he wants." She cautioned, though part of her could not help but imagine him striding forth to defend her honour. Even if Riley was the type of girl to fight by the side of someone, rather than stand back and let others do the fight for her.

The left hand side of her body still sent lances of pain shooting up through her. "Painkillers, a week's holiday, a kiss and maybe my body weight in chocolate frogs." Riley answered quickly, almost automatically, flopping down on the bed. She winced in pain from the movement. "By Merlin, this sucks."

[Laguna Lestrange]

"Sorry, did I scare you?" Laguna asked, removing his legs from propping them up on the bed. "I should have given you more time to process where you were, huh?" He offered her the box of candy, which was probably not the best thing to eat after waking from an injury, but it was better than nothing. Besides, candy could lift the spirit. "Yeah, I don't want to throw up ever, so I can understand that," he joked.

He looked her over, just happy to know that she was awake now. That meant whatever it was probably wasn't all too bad or at least the worst part was over now. "I knew it!" He said, giving a disappointed snap. "Lost out on 5 galleons." Laguna hadn't really expected there to be real beef with the beater. That part just seemed like a rumor that some bored students started after seeing them have a chat, but he was interested to hear that she actually had an argument. "Jealous?" This was intriguing. "You think he likes you then," Laguna said, amused by this. "Well, not to compliment myself, but he certainly doesn't have my personality." Completely complimenting himself, he gave her a charming smile, "Would I ever go and pick a fight?" The answer was probably yes. At least he'd go and tease the beater about it under normal circumstances.

"That's a very specific list. Would you like me to go and fetch your beater to give you a kiss?" He teased, leaning forward now as she flopped back. "You'll have to learn to take it easy," he said, a serious side of him finally coming to light. "You don't want to hurt yourself any worse." He was obviously concerned. Naturally, he resorted back to covering that with his playfulness. "Besides if you are stuck in that bed you'll miss out on all of the fun. The star-gazing, wearing the dress your parents sent you..." He snickered lightly.

[Riley McNeill]

"No." The redhead answered quickly, an obvious attempt at a lie and she blushed brightly. "I... I mean I kinda hoped you would be here, but I was not expecting you so soon." Riley was beyond awkward as she sought to explain her reasoning for jumping. She accepted one of the beans, tossing it into her mouth before biting down. She winced with a sour expression on her face. "Lemon." She eventually said with a clearly forced swallow. "Unless it gets you out of an exam or a social obligation it is never worth it." Riley confirmed, smiling up at him.

"You only bet five on me?" She protested in mock hurt. "If you want to win a bet, you need to bet more on the game coming up, especially on how many saves I will make." Riley chuckled at her own little joke. She might be down, she might currently be injured, but she was not out yet. Her humor vanished swiftly as they returned to the issues with her team mate. "Kinda. I mean... Well all these issues started when he found out we were... You know hanging out." Riley tried to explain, flushing. It was her current theory as to why they did not like Riley and Laguna spending time together. After all, why else would a boy get jealous of her a girl, spending time together with a boy who she liked? "Aye, you'd issue a challenge to a wizard duel, or duel him muggle style." Riley informed him with a sly smirk, though she hoped he would not actually fight with him over it. She did not wish to be the cause of such trouble.

Her cheeks went scarlet at his words and she realized what she inadvertently revealed. "No, by Merlin no." Riley's pulse quickened as he leaned forward. She swallowed, suddenly wondering if he was actually going to kiss her. It was a joke, she never expected that he would. "You want me to sit still?" The redhead exclaimed as if it were the most terrible idea she ever heard. "You know that is impossible for me. I will try to not hurt myself any worse or any more." Her bright blue eyes met his. "For you."

Riley smiled at the idea of star gazing with him. "I'll be out in a couple of days then we can go star gazing and you'll still have me as a date to the ball." She gave him a sly look. "Though if I find a way to end up in here before the ball I would not need to go at all." However the way she said it made it clear it happened to be a joke. "Till then you can sneak up here to visit me."

[Laguna Lestrange]

"Oh-ho-ho! You hoped I would be here, huh?" He beamed at her, setting leaning his elbows on the side of her bed and setting his hands on his cheeks in an attempt to be cute. "Here I thought you'd be ready for a break from me by now." He went back to his original position, sitting back in his chair, feet propped up on the side of her bed. Laguna laughed as she puckered at the sour taste, "Not a fan of lemon?" He asked. She was right about it never being worth it to be sick. Although where she might want to get out of a social obligation, he would never imagine a reason to miss one.

Laguna wore a smug expression, "Well, I couldn't spend all of my galleons betting on you, now could I?" The truth of the matter is he had way more where that came from. "You know, maybe I should bet on the next match. Though I'd bet that Gryffindor takes the win.. what do you say? Care to bet on it?"

The beater she spoke of was a nasty sort. He was surprised though, that he was even nasty toward his own teammates. Perhaps it was just a jealousy thing. That made perfect sense. Riley was a cute girl, and she was a Slytherin. Maybe he felt like Laguna was overstepping his boundaries. Too bad for him that Laguna didn't really care. "Oh I'd definitely challenge him to a wizard duel. Don't get me wrong, I could win either way, but you can have so much more fun when magic is involved." He wouldn't go out of his way to find the bloke, but he wouldn't back down from a challenge should he be presented with one.

"Well, if you say so I won't go fetch him to give you a kiss." He teased, though the way she was suddenly turning red as he leaned in, Laguna was wondering if she had actually thought he was making an attempt. He quickly shifted and cleared his throat. "For me...makes me feel special." He said, through twinkling blue eyes.

Laguna nodded, "Sounds good McNeil--" he paused. "Are you...asking me to the ball?" He perked a brow, though she also seemed very eager to still miss out on the whole ordeal. "I might sneak out and save you a dance if you were stuck up here." A smile grew as he said it. "BUT just remember. If you miss the ball you're going to be missing out on a night full of excitement," he said with a playful grin.

"I am glad you're okay." He added suddenly.

[Riley McNeill]

She coloured at his words, but grinned at his attempt to look cute. Riley wished he could throw a pillow at him, but she only had the one and suspected it might hurt her to do so, regardless if she hit him or not. "You'd say the same if you were injured and I was the one eating every flavor beans nearby." The redhead countered with a smirk. "A sign of my questionable taste if you ask me." Riley chuckled at her own little joke, wincing slightly at the pain the action caused her. She shook her head. "Lemon flavored things, yes, but an actual lemon no." Every flavor beans definitely counted among the latter.

"Yeah you only have so much. Got to be careful with your investments." Riley said in agreement. She shook her head, grinning despite herself. "Maybe Gryffindor takes the snitch, but only to stop the Slytherin scoring machine. I'm thinking one fifty to the lions and make two hundred and twenty to my house. A fair prediction I think." Her blue eyes met his teasingly. "Or are you here to try and tempt me with a bribe to let in a goal or two? I'm afraid I cannot be bought for any price." She whispered teasingly. "You'll just have to play well or I'll be very unhappy if defeating your team is easy."

Riley's face warred with a mixture of alarm and affection. "Just don't go and cause fight otherwise everyone will think what he said had the ring of truth to them. Let him be jealous or bitter or whatever." She shrugged wincing. "Agh... Aye I think he's jealous why else would he be acting the way he does?" It was not like the beater caused her to be in the hospital wing, her own inability to do potions brought such a fate about. Riley was clever, very so, but give her an exam or any manner of test outside of Quidditch and she crumbled like a Gryffindor defense in a Quidditch match.

Merlin's beard is he actually going to kiss me? Riley had pressed herself as far into the mattress as she could possibly go, wondering if he fully intended to kiss her for the first time. He pulled back abruptly, and Riley exhaled a breath she had not realized she held. A part of her was disappointed, another part relieved. "You are special." She countered softly, trying to recover from the almost kissing.

She blushed. "No, I need you as the fake date slash boyfriend for the photograph. That I can send in letter you're both team captain and seeker for Gryffindor." Riley corrected, though part of her wondered if maybe she should ask him or him her. If he did, she wondered what her answer might be. It was one thing to go where they knew it meant nothing merely for a private little joke, but another thing entirely to actually go together. "I'll be able to come to the ball. I'll be out in a couple of days, hopefully tomorrow." Everything felt stiff and painful on the left hand side of her body, but nothing appeared broken. She knew what a broken done felt like, having broken more than a few during Quidditch. "Hey it beats that game last season where the Hufflepuff beater broke my arm just at the end of a game." Riley chuckled amusingly at the thought. "He apologized for the rest of term for that one, poor friendly Hufflepuffs." The chocolates had been a nice touch. "I did get some good chocolate from it though."

At his sudden words, Riley's blue eyes met his. "I'm glad that you're glad." She whispered softly.

[Laguna Lestrange]

"You're right." He paused for a moment then continued, "You do indeed have questionable taste," he concurred, though he wasn't complaining about her questionable taste if it meant he got to spend more time with her. He decided it was in both their best interests to stop teasing her so relentlessly. By the end of his visit, he'd have provoked her into further injury or she'd have grown bored of his antics. "Lemon isn't one of my favorite flavors, but I do enjoy a fresh lemonade. That's not quite the same as a straight lemon though, is it?" Laguna said with a smile.

He reached up and ran a hand through his blonde hair to push it back out of his face, though a couple of loose strands hung down in a fashion that was actually flattering. "How else will I maintain my family wealth? Old money doesn't stay old money by wagering away every galleon they have," he joked. His heart did that weird thing again as her eyes met his and he was thankful he was in the hospital wing in case something was actually wrong with him. Although he was beginning to notice that when he was around Riley it was happening. The reason was one he was still coming to terms with, though he couldn't ignore the impact she had on him. The little moment was fleeting though, as she teased him about their quidditch match. "McNeill, I may cut corners in many classes, but I would never cheat my way through a quidditch match!" He had some integrity, after all.

"Don't worry, I won't go seeking Percival out. Believe me, I'd rather not spend my free time around some miserable git." That was actually entirely genuine. Laguna did not like Percy. He found him to be foul and his personality was lacking in just about any way that it could be. In fact, there was not one quality that Laguna could see in Percy that made him even the slightest bit tolerable. He wouldn't say all of that to Riley though, as he understood that Percy was still her teammate. Somehow even the worst teammates still had some sort of loyalties to one another.

He noticed Riley exhale deeply and tilted his head, "Are you alright? Do you want me to fetch the nurse?" She seemed okay now. Maybe he was just overthinking it and she had the urge to sigh. His thoughts were turned from the deep breath as she softly spoke. His features shifted into a softer look, and a sweet smile that he didn't often show. "You are as well."

"Very well. I'm happy to be of service," he said, the soft smile shifted into an amused look. "Good. I'm eager to see you in that dress," he noted, grinning. "It does beat broken bones. Can't believe it was the Hufflepuff beat that took you out!" He couldn't help but laugh as he pictured the poor beater apologizing and following her along toward the hospital wing. "I'm not surprised. They're just so...nice." He said, shaking his head as he tried to comprehend being that nice all the time.

Again, as her eyes met his he felt his heart rate pick up. His gaze was again softer, unlike his usual demeanor. "Riley would you--" His thought was cut short as a giggling bunch of 5th year girls were making their way in now. They were likely here to visit Riley. With that, he stood up, "I'll catch you later, yeah? Let me know when you're up for ...stars...or...whatever." And with that, he started for the exit.