The Marauders Unite (III)

The Prince's Textbook

November 2, 1975

HORACE: Alright, settle down, children! Never have I seen my students more excited for potion-making before!

In the Potions classroom, the Gryffindors are gathered for class. LILY and REMUS sit up front, while MARY, MARLENE, JAMES, SIRIUS, and PETER sit not far behind them. Everyone is chattering loudly, the elation from the Quidditch match still in the air.

HORACE: Well, ironically, today we begin Calming Draughts. Hopefully they will be enough to calm you all down to a sensible volume. Split up into pairs, now- instructions are on page 212 of your books, and I'm rewarding the winning team with five bonus points on the next exam! Work hard!

MARY: (muttering) We better ace this nonsense. I need those points to pass this class.

MARLENE: Oh, relax. Who's gonna beat us? These two?

MARLENE gestures to LILY and REMUS, who laugh.

LILY: (sarcastically) Yeah, it's not like we haven't beaten you for the past four years, Mar.

MARLENE: True. At least we won't face stiff competition from the dynamic duo-

Behind them, SIRIUS and JAMES remove their potions materials.

SIRIUS: You'll be eating your words, Mar.

JAMES: Hey- did you bring your textbook?

SIRIUS: No. I never do.

JAMES: Well, we kind of need a copy-

SIRIUS: Relax, someone left theirs behind, see? (He picks up a copy of a textbook inside the desk and opens it up) And just our luck- they're scribbled all over it, look.

JAMES: Damn. (He flips through the pages until he reaches the Calming Draught) Merlin, I can barely read this.

SIRIUS: Well, let's give it a go.

Up front, LILY and REMUS are hard at work.

REMUS: Did you get the moonstone and the hellebore?

LILY: Yeah. And we have the porcupine quills, and- is that enough unicorn horn?

REMUS: Of course. Relax, we've got this in the bag.

LILY: Okay, let's start.

SIRIUS: Okay, so we got the moonstone, now we have to stir it and add the hellebore-

JAMES: No, the book says to add the porcupine quills before the hellebore.

SIRIUS: Well, Slughorn's instructions say-

JAMES: Yeah, but look. The book says hellebore, but these scribblings say to put the quills in first.

SIRIUS: Well, who are we gonna trust, the actual textbook or some moron's scribblings?

JAMES: I mean, following the textbook has never helped us in the past. We ought to give it a try.

SIRIUS: Ok, risk-master. Go ahead.

HORACE: Ten more minutes, people!

MARLENE: Is it purple yet?

MARY: Yeah. Add more moonstone until it turns grey.

REMUS: Lily, it's turning white.

LILY: Okay, good. Add seven drops of hellebore and then it should be complete-

JAMES: Is it working?

SIRIUS: So far, so good. Whoever this is must be decent at Potions. Final step is- seven drops of hellebore?

JAMES: Eight, according to the scribble-master.

SIRIUS: Eight it is.

REMUS: How's it turning out?

LILY: Not perfect, but it should be okay-

MARLENE: Oooo, Lily might lose this one, ladies and gentlemen!

LILY: Shut it, Mar. Half of Gryffindor's points are the ones that I've earned in this class.

HORACE: Right you are, Miss Evans! I haven't seen talent in potion-making like yours in quite a long time!

LILY smiles and sticks out her tongue at MARLENE while high-fiving REMUS.

HORACE: Alright, time's... up! Let's see how we did- Miss Evans, exceeds my expectations once more... Miss McKinnon and Miss MacDonald, looks to be satisfactory... Better next time, perhaps, Mr. Pettigrew... Ah. Mr. Black and Mr. Potter. Why am I always anxious when I arrive at you two?

SIRIUS: Couldn't tell you, Professor. Give us a chance, at least. (He pushes his cauldron towards HORACE).

HORACE: Hmm. Well, let's take a look... looks adequate... more than so, I daresay... surprisingly, quite calming indeed... how remarkable! Couldn't have made it better myself! The clear winner, I say!

LILY: (dumbfounded) What?

HORACE: This Calming Draught could put a stop to a war! Excellent work, boys.

REMUS: You've got to be joking.

HORACE: Most definitely not! The bonus points go to Mr. Black and Mr. Potter. Class dismissed!

JAMES and SIRIUS high five each other and gloat proudly towards their friends.

JAMES: Better luck next time, Evans.

SIRIUS: (condescendingly) Yeah, I can tutor you if you want, Lily. I know this class can get strenuously difficult at times-

LILY: (walking out of the classroom) Oh, shut up, you two. How you managed that is beyond me-

SIRIUS smiles and places the textbook back in the desk, closing it tightly shut before leaving the classroom.