Potions Class --RESERVED--

[sohviet]

Wednesday; Simple as was lain out, written upon the wall in the Potions Master's neat scrawl. This particular lesson was a little of in the afternoon - the last lesson of the day before the students had the whole evening to themselves, perhaps to retire to Common Rooms and Dormitories to work on homework and all such related. Or perhaps not.
For this reason alone, Blaise silently reminded himself how glad he was his own common room was located coolly on this floor; just around a few corridors and completely disguised an out of sight, to keep those other dirtied blooded students of other houses far away. Whilst they had to climb staircase after staircase up spiralling banisters to all corners of the furthest tips of the castle just to retire. It was no wonder the grounds and corridors were littered with all coloured uniformed after the school day finished.

He looked back down to his cauldron, mulling over such thoughts and yet there was still so much of the lesson left. Half of him was off-white glad, for potions was one of his favourite subjects. It was easy, at the very least. Whereas, another lukewarm part of him longed to be free of work. It certainly had been a long day.
He made an odd face, peering down into the simmering contents of his black cauldron. A deep shade of purple it was, remarkably thin with a glasslike sheen over it. Somehow this didn`t strike as exactly right... And a brief sideways glance at his book propped up open on the desk confirmed concerns that he had made a mistake. It read simply --
`At this point, the potion should be a thick solution, deep maroon in colour...`
Zabini pursed his lips - and raised his head to look around the class at the people nearby.

The class about him was buzzing with murmurs of light conversation, as friends alike gossiped and laughed over various passing moments. Some were oft discussing their potions, comparing the colours and thickness of liquid; whilst others were frankly not doing what they were supposed to do, instead messing around with the ingredients. None of this quiet commotion however, striked anything unusual with the professor, or anyone else. So was ignored.
On one hand, he had another Slytherin girl on his right, pouring over her own elixir in the making. It was certainly a decent bit redder than his own; and she was busy cutting up the roots required, two steps ahead of him.
His deep hazel eyes flickered around to the girl on his other side; a Gryffindor lady he knew only by the name of Mariana- Or was it Maria? He`d never half bothered to learn her name.

[Kayla B. --//> *Mariana]

Mariana was almost done with her potion that Professor Snape had assigned the class. Normally finishing first, she would sit and read one of her favorite muggle books, as it was disguised by the potions book. A clever trick she had learned in Transfigurations.

She was rather eager to finish the potion, but got the feeling that someone was looking at her. She glanced sideways, as she noticed the Slytherin boy that sat next to her was staring at her, or so she had thought. Getting up the courage, since she barely had any at the moment. Pouring herself into any kind of work made her think solely of the task at hand, she glanced at the boy's potion.

"You're doing it wrong." Mariana said in a whisper to the boy. "You forgot to add the lacewing flies."

Being a kind person, she offered her own to him, not knowing if he would take them.

[sohviet]

The Slytherin boy was for a split second utterly bemused that she had spoken to him - and whatsmore, correcting his potion with such an obvious thing that even the most st-
He glanced down at his potion again; gaze flickering sideways to to the book lying open at the side of his cauldron. He lifted a finger, tracing along the margin with it to scan the page in search of a mention of lacewing flies.
He was disappointed to find, that sure enough... Two instructions back, it read quite clearly to add several lacewing flies after having added essence of pixie, and then stir clockwise. The liquid would soon turn the right colour, and until then he was to keep adding them slowly. He had totally missed the latter two of those steps out; how foolish of him. And, now he did glance about his desk, neat as though it was - he was missing the lacewing flies. They normally came in small boxes; but as per usual the Professor had set out large quantities at the front of the class for students to collect. However, Blaise took note that he was several desks back from the front of the class - and neither fancied people`s glancing his way, lest of all the teacher himself, as he walked as if some kind of walk of shame up to the front. Admitting aloud he had forgotten an ingredient.

His face turned back to face the girl, dressed in robes of Red and Black; and all in one instance he had forgotten prejudices in that moment of pure, polite embarrassment.
She was evidentially done with her lacewings, and so he reached out to take them, with a gratified nod of his head.
"I`m not doing it wrong..." he replied defiantly, his voice a deep lull, as his words rolled over his tongue like an unearthly creature.
Blaise pursed his lips, returning to add the lacewings to the potion, tipping a few delicately into the cauldron. They hit liquid, simmered a bright red and sure enough with a quiet hissing noise the potion thickened and definitely changed a few hues to the left.
He glanced another second or so to his left, up into the colour of her own elixir.
"...You`re just doing it differently." he took another pause.
At least he was polite.
"But I thank you." he continued with saying. Was that a smile aimed at he Gryffindor out of the corner of his mouth? A tiny glitter in those dark eyes.
Whatever it was, it did not last very long.

[Kayla B. --//> *Mariana]

Mariana giggled and went about her own business. She noticed the niceties being handed out. It was very ordinary for a Slytherin and Gryffindor to make a friendly exchange. She smiled to her self. The prejudices of what type of blood one had, was absurd, but she tried to leave the topic alone, because she knew it would somehow cause Gryffindor to lose many points.

"Let me know if you would like any help. You can share some of my ingredients, if you must." Mariana said as she finished the potion, and began to pour some into a vial for Professor Snape to collect and test.[/size]

[sohviet]

Blaise Zabini nodded again. Another way of his saying thank you; or at the very least acknowledging her offer. But once again, the smile was gone - and his face was again fixed in a stony silence, apparently in deep concentration on his potion, now a cool maroon colour as was meant. He beamed. His own work? But not exactly. Oh - he would get over the embarrassment of having been given help. It wasn`t so much a shame as not another soul in the classroom had noticed their exchange.

It seemed however, that now the Professor had skulked from his desk and would endeavour to collect those potions in that were at completion. Admittedly, there were not all that many people in the classroom who were finished. A few of the Slytherin boys at the front of the class had all finished; with various shades of red coloured potions. Obviously having point blank copied each other making the tiniest of adjustments so as not to be conceivably accused of doing so. Thus giving them the rest of the lesson to mess around doing nothing in particular. And then a one or two others, dotted about were standing, or sitting, proudly behind their cauldrons, beaming to have their vials collected.
Having said that, of course there were far many more people not at completion. Nowhere near completion indeed. It seemed however, that Blaise found himself not all that far off.

In that particular seating arrangement, the Slytherin boy found himself oddly secluded. He never really spoke to Gryffindors, save when entirely necessary, or spoken to first. And the Slytherin on his opposite side, he had never spoken to either. Just knew her face, and name no doubt. In fact, it was a peculiar seating arrangement indeed, he noted quietly to himself, glancing about the classroom again, people weren`t sitting in their particular friend groups for indubitable fault of the seating arr-
Without having realized, he`d put the wrong ingredient in his potion, and it let off a putrid smell, turning a vile orange colour.
He cursed under his breath, looking quite infuriated indeed at his own carelessness.
Apparently he really was in an absent mind at that exact moment... Tired, no doubt. And somewhat bored of the tiresome world.
He glanced back up, nothing in a look of panic on his face - but he turned to the left again; a look which surely meant he expected some kind of help - short of asking for it again.
He even resigned that he would not mind if the Gryffindor shot his metaphorical ship down and was rude of his clumsiness.

[Kayla B. --//> *Mariana]

Mariana glanced sideways once more, as she smelled the smell of rotten eggs. A disgusted face was plastered where her normally friendly face once was. She reached into her robes and pulled out her nine inch holly wand and pointed it at the boy's cauldron. She waved her wand and the smell disappeared.

Not only had the smell disappeared, but the color did as well. Though as she was just about to pull her wand away from where it was, positioned right under her table, a figure stood over her.[/size]

"Fifty points from Gryffindor, Ms. Gear for trying to sabotage another student's work." Professor Snape sounded very angry, though everything he said sounded angry with his surly tone.

"Right. Sorry, Zabini." Mariana said apologetically.[/size]

[sohviet]

All in an instance, after Snape had spoken there was a quiet eruption of taunting laughter from the other Slytherins about the right of the classroom; the long dank chamber of the dungeon that was called so; dimly lit and of sombre interior design.
Blaise did not smile however, when the others grinned in his direction, at apparently having done something good? Getting one over on a Gryffindor, and making the house loose that vast amount of points. However, the other Gryffindors certainly looked more bitter for the occasion, frowning but getting back to their cauldrons.
For a split second, the Slytherin considered correcting Snape, suggesting that it was not quite as it seemed...? But admitting in front of the class that he was being helped by a Gryffindor, and putting down to the fact they had just lost 50 points. And fifty points was a lot to have them gain back.
It was so un-characterlike of him to stand up for a Gryffindor. Gryffindors were blood traitors, and this particular young lady, although she was pretty enough - he did not even so much as know her name. The situation may just have been that edge different if he was at all acquainted previously.

He smirked, putting head down to his cauldron as if none of this was happening, uttering a quiet deep laugh. It seemed he had an aire of completely ignoring what had just happened - the fact she had just helped him out.
After a few seconds however, the class died down, getting back to whatever it was they had been doing before. Without so much as looking up, Blaise tutted twice.
"Tut, tut. Sabotaging my work.." he said in a subdued tone of voice. Still deep, and oddly clear, yet quiet enough only the people directly next to him would have heard. He shook his head as he spoke, skin that looked a shade of dark olive glittering in the low light.

It seemed, correcting the last step that had messed up so badly, and then endeavouring to complete the next two. He seemed, for the most part.. Very nearly finished.

[Kayla B. --//> *Mariana]

Mariana knew that she would pay for it later, but she smiled to herself. Knowing that Gryffindor would quickly get the fifty points back, it didn't bother her much. She wasn't really bothered by the result of getting into trouble either. It felt somewhat invigorating to her.

"I'll make it up to you, later. That is if you would like." She smirked to herself.[/size]

[sohviet]

Blaise looked up this time, not caring if he were seen or heard in conversation with the Gryffindor this time - another notion that in his mind he still referred to her as ' The Gryffindor ' he made a mental note to find out her real name. Short of asking her. He knew it started with an M.. Mari-something. And that thankyou to the Professor, her surname was Gear.
Or at the very least, he resigned himself to waiting until someone else addressed her by name first. That would make sense.

"Oh, is that a threat?" he asked amusedly. There was no denying that he had an intrigued smile upon his face this time over, handsome though it made his sombre features, usually so fixed in an emotionless sulk somewhere.
He had only asked if it were a threat, so jokingly by her expression. He liked someone who could so willingly smirk. People smiling brightly too often was irksome, at best.

For another second, he glanced back to his potion. The latest instruction read simply to keep stirring for a while.. And it would go deeper and deeper a colour till perfection. With an added colour reference in the book, interestingly so.

[Kayla B. --//> *Mariana]

Mariana couldn't help herself. The little bit of trouble she seemed to have gotten herself into today, seemed to make her feel a little bit on the edge. She turned away, and looked at her book, which if anyone happened to glance at what it was she was reading, they would see a ratty potions book.

"Meet me by the lake after dinner and you'll find out." Mariana said with another smirk, not looking away from her book.[/size]

[sohviet]

Blaise registered a note of surprise in his expression, as he raised his eyebrows slightly, smile still lingering. Too, the note appeared in his voice.
"I`ll be there.." he said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, with a resounding nod.
And then, oft he turned oncemore, back to his cauldron to continue with work. This surely would not take a few minutes more - as it so seemed, and he felt, at the rate at which others in the class were nearing completion, that he should really rather follow suit.
His mind did so wander in the next instances.. To whatever it was this Gryffindor girl wanted with him, after dinner. He was intrigued, without a shadow of prejudice or whatever anyone else would think if they saw him out with her.
It did not necessarily matter - for Blaise often slipped in and out of company without notice. He was relatively good friends with others in his year, associating himself with Draco`s group, if he would put such a label on it.. But none of them ever noticed when he was not there.