true loves poison • james potter

5

Early October air filled the school as two of the three girls woke up.

Melissa stood between Lorelei and Elizabeth's beds, holding a cassette tape. "I just got it in the mail." She explained.

The three girls sat on Lorelei's bed as Melissa held out a muggle invention - a cassette tape.

"My parents promised to send it to me the moment ABBA released it." She placed it in her cassette player. And slowly the room filled with music.

"That has to be magic." Liz said after a moment of the song playing.

"It's not! It works like a vinyl player." Melissa tried to explain.

Lori and Liz exchanged glances, "What is a vinyl player?"

Melissa threw her arms up, "You two don't even know what a vinyl is?"

"Should we?" Liz asked.

"Yes." Melissa sighed dramatically before flopping on her bed, "It's basically a big circle with grooves on it. The grooves tell the record player what to play. Cassette tapes are like that, but instead of a circle, it is a long strip with bumps."

Liz and Lori exchanged confused glances.

"Forget it, it's magic." Melissa said before walking over to the cassette player and turning it up.

She laughed before singing dramatically along. "There was something in the air that night, the stars were bright, Fernando!"

The three ravenclaws started their morning well.

First period breezed by, and so did the invitations to the first party of the year.

They were delivered in the hallways, each parchment containing an invitation flying to each student.

Lorelei grabbed hers out of the air, finding the charm fun.

"Of course it's the Hufflepuffs." Liz chuckled.

"They probably didn't want the gryffindors to beat them to the punch this year."

Lori listened to her friends speak as she read the invitation. "Tomorrow, seven thirty? That's still during dinner."

"How many people actually show up on time to a school party though? It's a mutual agreement to show up thirty minutes after it starts." Liz said before splitting off from Melissa and Lori to go to her own class.

"Have fun!" Melissa yelled after her friend.

"How have you been?" Lori asked as the two walked into Arithmancy.

Melissa shrugged, "Fine. Boring." They sat down at their table and Melissa turned to her, "You know, you might have a point. With your whole project thing. Your life has been a hell of a lot more interesting than mine lately."

"Ah, yes. The craving to be interesting. I'll tell you if it's all worth it during summer break."

"Well you've already snogged two people. And I can almost guarantee anyone in this school would snog you if you wanted. Hell, most of them would shag you too."

Lori grabbed her homework and placed it on the desk, "Melissa!"

"It's true!"

"Does that mean you'd snog me?" Lori batted her eyelashes dramatically.

"You're missing the point, and no. It would make your head too big."

"I honestly hope you're right." Lori said after a momentary pause.

Melissa looked up from her paper, "About?"

Lori sighed and tapped her fist on the desk, "That anyone would snog me. I've somehow got to get one of Potter's friends to do it."

"I thought you'd settled on having Lupin do it?"

Lori shrugged, "I'd be open to whoever I can get. I just don't think Lupin goes around shagging just anyone."

"Why do you have to snog one of Potter's friends again?"

Lori smiled over at her, "Because what would cause more turmoil in a young Potter's life? Snogging Lily and then snogging random people he doesn't know. Or, snogging the woman he's been pining after for years, and then snogging his close friend?"

Nodding, Melissa suggested, "Black would."

"I know he would, and I might get to him. But I have to shag Pettigrew or Lupin before him."

The two girls lowered their voices as their professor started explaining the lesson, "Oh, do explain why."

"Because Black has no shame, Lupin and Pettigrew do. If I shagged Black, Lupin wouldn't touch me for fear of hurting his feelings, and neither would Pettigrew. But if I shag Pettigrew or Lupin first, they won't have any reservations."

Glancing at their professor, who was now collecting the homework, Melissa whispered, "You think Black would be so uncaring about his friends feelings?"

"Not uncaring, he just wouldn't find an issue with it. Lupin and Pettigrew would." Lori shrugged and passed her paper to the professor muttering a quick thank you.

Melissa kept quiet until the professor was out of earshot, "What about the party?"

"What about it?"

Melissa smiled, "You could corner Lupin or Pettigrew, whichever is easier, and. You know. Work whatever charm you have that makes people want to shag you."

Lori loudly laughed, causing the professor to shush her. "That is a fantastic idea."

Melissa looked proud of herself as she looked at the new homework sheet the professor passed out.

Giving them the rest of class to finish the homework, Lori and Melissa worked together rocking it out with twelve minutes left to spare. "You know," Lori started as she put her quill away, "you would be a great professor, Melissa."

Melissa flushed, "What do you mean?"

"I mean you're so good at explaining things it's incredible. You're intelligent, well spoken, and kind. Those are like the three things they look for in a professor." Lori said, shaking her head.

Melissa gave a shy smile, "I would love to be a professor."

Happy she made her friend happy, Lori kept a small smile on her face the rest of class before the bell rang.

"You know," Melissa said as they walked down the hallway, "I think I figured out what makes you so magnetic to people."

Raising her brows, Lori asked, "You have?"

"You always know what to say to make people feel a certain way." Seeing her confused expression, Melissa elaborated, "Like with Potter, you knew talking to Longbottom after snogging Lily would anger him more than saying something to his face."

"Wow Melissa, you make me sound so manipulative." Lori chuckled.

"Manipulation isn't an outright bad thing. It's just a skill that is often used for bad reasons."

Lori bit her lip, "Do you think I manipulate people in a bad way?"

Shaking her head, Melissa frowned slightly, "No. I think you manipulate people intelligently." She looked over into her eyes, "It's something that only you could do."