Taming the True Fire (HP)

The next weeks were quite busy, packed with classes, homework, and Quidditch practices for Sirius and James. Catherine couldn't give up on searching through the Library for even the smallest bit of information on how to become an Animagus. Unfortunately, she didn't find anything useful. The decision of somehow gaining access to the Restricted Section became clearer and clearer. 

The schoolwork was also piling on. With the revision done, the second-years now found themselves elbows deep in increasingly complicated tasks. Catherine was happy with the more challenging assignments, but she realised she was one of the very few such people. James and Sirius, besides being extremely gifted, were just interested in certain classes like DADA and they considered everything else a bother. Remus was doing fine in general, but he was not one who enjoyed being challenged, always fearful he might fail. Therefore, Catherine mostly shared her enthusiasm with Lily, who was passionate about every new thing she was learning about the Wizarding world. 

The red-headed girl was particularly skilled in Potions, and Catherine would have loved to work together with her during class. Unfortunately, this year Gryffindors had their Potions classes shared with Slytherins and Lily was usually joined by Snape at her table. This forced Catherine to sit with the boys, somehow always ending up with her trying to prevent Peter from blowing up the classroom. She wasn't exactly sure whether he wasn't paying enough attention or was unable to follow simple instructions, but the results were more or less the same.

During one particularly daunting lesson, as they were attempting to brew Wiggenweld Potion, Catherine, who was sharing her workspace with Peter and Remus that day, noticed the former preparing to add whole pieces of Wiggentree bark into the solution.

"What are you doing?"- she exclaimed, grabbing his wrist in time.

"What?" – the boy asked, appearing confused – "Professor Slughorn said we should add the bark after the gurdyroot."

"Yes, but you need to grind it into powder first." – snapped Catherine. 

"What's the difference?" – asked Peter, still confused. 

"What do you mean, what's the difference? The potion is going to start boiling immediately and probably overflow. It's still pretty strong acid at this point before you add the dittany." – shouted the girl, unable to contain her frustration, while looking at Peter's blank facial expression.

"What's going on here?" – Professor Slughorn asked, his attention caught by the noise. 

After a brief explanation and investigation, during which five points were deducted from Gryffindor due to the caused disruption and Pettigrew not following Potions safety procedures, the Potions Master decided it was best to separate the apologetic Peter and the now very angry Catherine. 

"Catherine, my girl, why don't you join Lily and Severus? You can concentrate on your potion there at peace, and you won't need to help Mr Pettigrew. Not to mention, I would love to see some healthy competition between the three of you!" – Slughorn suggested with a big smile.

Catherine obeyed without any protests. Between being constantly alert about Peter's potion disasters and tolerating Snape's snarky remarks, she felt she could give it a try with the greasy boy. 'At least Lily's also there; maybe it won't be that bad.' – she thought while carefully moving her half-made potion towards her new table. 

Lily helpfully made room for their new partner while Snape was bent over his cauldron, not even casting a glance in Catherine's direction. He was carefully stirring the potion in a peculiar pattern while Catherine, crashing her billywig wings, noticed the Slytherin boy taking out a small stone-like object from a cartoon box. 

"What do you need bezoar for?" – asked Catherine, unable to hold her curiosity. 

Snape lifted his head, casting a condescending glance at the Gryffindor girl. His black eyes were full of distaste, and his sarcastic smile, couldn't hide his not-so-even teeth. Catherine thought he looked like someone who didn't really know how to take proper care of himself, evident by his bad skin and long, greasy hair. 

"Isn't it obvious?" – answered Snape, tossing a quick look at the girl's cauldron – "I guess not. Yet, some of us can't be satisfied with merely following outdated instructions."

"If you can't give a normal answer, why do you even bother opening your mouth." – growled Catherine. She added the now powdered billywig wings to her potion, stirring it counterclockwise – "The Light knows you're an eyesore enough without listening to your grating voice for no reason."

"Said the Beauty Queen!" – barked Snape – "Don't you have mirrors in the Gryffindor Tower?"

"Would you stop already?" – intervened Lily – "No need to argue; you're both annoying."

Snape and Catherine looked at their friend speechless. At this moment, the Potions Master stopped in front of their table to check the assignment. He praised the Gryffindor girls' potions, both of which appeared completely ready, glistering in vivid blue. Then he looked at Snape's cauldron and gasped.

"Oh, Merlin, what is this, Severus?"

"I modified the basic Wiggenweld Potion by adding bezoar, Professor." – Snape said, darting a triumphant glance at Catherine – "This way, instead of a mild healing potion, this one is much stronger and, in addition, could be used as an antidote to the Draught of Living Dead."

"This is ingenious, my boy!" – exclaimed Slughorn, clapping his hands – "You certainly have a bright future as a Potions maker. Twenty points to Slytherin, and you should stop by for a cup of tea and walk me through how you came up with the idea!"

Catherine quickly collected her stuff and left the dungeons without looking back. She was furious, although she wasn't exactly certain of the reason. Was she jealous of Snape? She was indeed not used to be bested in anything, but she was certainly not against competing with someone. In fact, she found it stimulating. Or was it because of what he had said about her looks. The girl threw a quick glance at her reflection in one of the windows she was passing by. She looked pretty normal in her opinion. Irritated that she allowed the Slytherin boy to get under her skin, the young witch shook her head, as to get rid of any nasty thoughts, and entered the DADA classroom.

The second-years continued their work on defensive spells from last time, and Professor Thorne divided them into pairs to practice countering stronger hexes. During DADA classes Catherine preferred working with Remus. He was helpful, resourceful, and, unlike with Sirius and James, there was no risk of anyone getting hurt. 

"I think it's best if Mr Lupin partners with Mr Pettigrew today." – said Thorne, stepping closer to Catherine – "Since Miss McDonald is sick, you're an odd number. Don't worry, Miss Plantier; I'll assist you with the exercise. This way, I'll also be able to correct your mistakes."

'Mistakes? I haven't even made any yet, you presumptuous prat!' – thought Catherine, biting her lower lip. 

She tried to concentrate on the task, but it wasn't her day. Even though she managed to block a few hexes, she still got hit by a Leg-locker Curse, a Stinging Hex, and a Jelly-Legs Jinx. Regardless of the fact that Professor Thorne did use the respective counter-spells eventually, the girl felt he was taking his sweet time, as if he was enjoying her discomfort. 

"Let's try one more time, Miss Plantier." – said the teacher after making a brief tour around the classroom to correct the mistakes of the rest of the Gryffindors.

Catherine who had hoped the lesson was over, looked at him, frowning. 

"No point in sulking; there's a lot of room for improvement in your spells." – said the Professor and pointed his wand at the student – "Let's try something more advanced this time. Adhaerolinguo!"

Catherine felt her tongue being glued to the roof of her mouth when the Langlock Spell hit her. At this moment, she realised what he was doing, and panic began to rise. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. She heard the DADA teacher using the incantation of the Stunning Spell and saw bright red light erupting from his wand. Unable to speak, she lifter her wand and concentrated entirely on envisioning her magic forming a shield in front of her.

'Protego, Protego!' – she was shouting in her mind. 

The spell didn't hit her but instead got deflected and ended up making a hole in the Professor's desk. He looked at her with an unreadable face and removed the Langlock Spell. Catherine didn't even wait to be dismissed. She grabbed her school bag and darted out of the room. 

'What a fucking nightmare this day is!' – she swore in her mind, while chugging a glass full of orange juice at lunch. 

"Are you alright?" – she heard and saw Remus, who sat next to her and appeared quite worried. 

"How can she be alright when this fucking bastard tried to kill her." – barked Sirius, taking the seat on her other side and grabbing a plate. 

"You're exaggerating a little; it was merely a Stunning Spell." – said James just arriving with Peter and added – "But what he did was really mean."

"Mean? Come on, James, the spell was so strong it almost burnt his own desk. Not to mention he robbed her of the ability to protect herself." – Sirius argued heatedly – "Don't worry, Flame, I gave him a piece of my mind."

"More like he got you a detention." – chuckled James, patting Sirius on the back – "But you were amazing, Flame!"

"You shouldn't have done that. I don't need you to fight my battles." – Catherine reprimanded Sirius and turned to James – "If I were indeed amazing, he wouldn't have hit me with so many spells."

"What are you talking about? He's a grown wizard and very powerful on top of that, and you were holding your ground." – disagreed James – "By the way, I didn't know you could use nonverbal spells. This is mind-blowing!"

"I didn't know either." – said Catherine contemplatively – "I don't believe I can really use non-verbal spells. I think I panicked, and it was a result of the stress because I couldn't protect myself. I was trying to cast Protego, but I'm not even sure if that was what reflected Thorne's spell."

"Regardless, he'll probably think twice before trying to bully you again." – chuckled James – "He was so stunned, he forgot to give us homework."

"I'm glad I suffered for the greater good." – said Catherine sarcastically and glanced at Sirius, who was gloomily eating his pasta in silence.

The young witch sighed and moved closer to him, gently squeezing his left hand, prompting him to look at her in surprise. 

"Don't pout, Sirius. I do appreciate you're always trying to protect me. I just don't need protection." – the girl said, gave the stunned boy a quick hug, and left the Great Hall.