Green is the new Black [Mathias]

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An exasperated sigh, the wind expelled from the plumped lips sending the beautiful rays of blonde curls that had escaped from their enclosed prison upon the head floating in the air. To those around, such exasperation from the female could be put with the complex potion that gently bubble, under the intense heat of the iron cauldron. But to her and her partner, her annoyance fell to the curls that poetically bounced with each movement and framed her features gracefully. She loved her curls and took very good care of them but in cases such as perfecting this potion and defusing a bomb, they created annoyance within the young female. She had continuously stopped her task and quickly positioned her curls upon her head once more only to have strains to fall once more in her line of sight. The pink tint upon her cheeks highlighted the small dust of freckles along her cheeks and nose as her annoyance turned to frustration and then anger. But, she had to keep focused, she had to pull this task off as her partner, Mathias continued to stir the potion according to the directions on the board.

Silently, she thanked the Gods above that Professor Snape, (may he rest in peace) was not the potion professor at this current time or they would be in deep trouble. Sure, she respected the stories that were told of the heroic professor that had formatted his life on being a double agent to ensure safety to Harry Potter but his cold and sarcastic nature towards his students would only cause the small beads upon her forehead to flow more freely than what it was.

"Mathias, how many times have you stirred that? Remember, after fifty times, I need to add the crushed beetle while you stir counter-clockwise."Her beautiful eyes met the person next to her, smiling gently as another breath escaped her lips, pushing her curls from her face once more. Mathias, her partner. A unique individual that, at first, was awkward to be around for she sucked at introductions to new people. But, slowly, they found a common ground, one built on communication at the task at hand and small talk to get to know one another since they were practically stuck with each other through the remainder of the course. She had learned some things about Mathias and found what she knew fascinating for each topic that Mat spoke slightly about allowed her constricted world of "pureblood" tendencies to expand more to include the world of others. She remembered the first time she had referred to Mathias as "he" only to be corrected and informed of the proper term that they wanted to be referred to when names were not being used. She had listened, respected their viewpoint and how they wished to be acknowledged. She had asked questions and by the end of their conversation, she had looked on intrigued towards Mathias with her chin resting within the palm of her hand.

Tag:@atreyu

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Mathias slowly turned the mixing rod in the cauldron. They counted each rotation carefully, mouthing the numbers so as not to get distracted by the students counting their stirs aloud. Every few turns they had to push up their sleeves that had slid down from the movement.

Their own mind was already racing with scenarios of horrible catastrophe. They had to trust their partner to put the ingredients in the right order, on time, and prepared properly. As nice as Aemily was, Mathias didn't trust her. They could tell she was hiding something, and with the murders kicking off the year, every pure-blood was on Mathias suspect list. From what they'd heard, especially slytherins. Who knew what hid behind her facade, how much was real and how much was a front? Kindness was the best mask for malevolence, or so they had read.

They heard her speak, a musical and gentle sound reminding them of the recipe. They nodded mutely, eyes on the swirling solution. "40..." They spoke softly aloud, face full of concentration. Some of their dark hair had fallen into their face, they brushed it aside while adjusting their sleeves again. Their eyes widened as a thought dawned on them. "Are... Are you sure? I thought the effect we wanted was caused by plants, not bugs." They said concerned. A cold panic like feeling sweeping their body.

Maybe they were being paranoid, after all, hadn't the inclusion of bugs in the recipe been why Aemily was handling them? But, on the other hand, the class had been learning a lot of plant properties lately and hyacinth had very similar properties to crushed beetle. Had the teacher possibly made a mistake in the recipe, the whole class could be headed for disaster! Or could Aemily really be plotting against them, gotten wind of their personal investigation into the crimes and using this as an opportunity to put Mathias out of commission and in a vulnerable state?

Wait, what number were they on again? There should really be a programmable spell to do this for you. Mathias silently cursed their anxiety as more panic filled them.

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Their word slithered through her mind, a sudden realization hitting her square in her chest as she found the error within the professors instructions. CRAP! A trick that had been planted within the assignment to prove just who had read their assignment and who had just skimmed through the text and submitted their essay. How could she be so stupid not to notice the ingredient error that their cunning and devious professor had thrown their way? How could she not realize the main issue with the list on the board was faulty? Best yet, how could she not see that the ingredients within the cupboard for the potion did not even contain the ingredient that the potion required; ginger root?

Paling, her eyes widening as she dropped the knife upon the cutting board as she could only dive to the book that rested upon her desk, waiting to be open. But, time was not on her side. Indeed, it wasn't. The potion slowly started to fester, gurgling like her stomach as the realization had hit her full force, her hand upon the leather bound book during her mid reach as the sudden chemical reaction pulled her attention from the task to the cauldron that alerted all to how angry it had become. "Mathias, look out!" The book forgotten, her body turned, throwing herself infront of the cauldron, pushing Mathias out of the way.

The spark within the mixture ignited, going off like a bomb as the explosion erupted, regergitating the substance into the air, coating the blonde curls and robes in a thick goo that she knew would be hellatious to get out. But, she was more worried about her partner, more worried about their safety than her hair. A deep breath, her nose wrinkling at the smell that fell from her from the potion that coated her. She smelt fowl and looked like shrek. But, from the intense gaze upon Mathias on the floor, not an ounce of potion had managed to contaminate them. "Are you alright?" Not even noticing how the green toxic sludge slowly tainted her blonde curls. Strain by strain, what was once blonde turned Slytherin Green. "Argall.... Saige! Explain yourself!" A thunderous boom of their professor caused her to turn, look up upon the stirn features of the individual peering down upon them. "It is my fault professor. Mathias had nothing to do with it. I realize the error in your instructions and was too late to correct it before it exploded. I am sorry." Her eyes casted down, her hands falling to her side as she took a breath. " Very Gaulant of you Saige to take the heat of this..... mess. Go get yourself cleaned up and see the mediwitch ASAP. You and your partner will report to my classroom tonight to clean this mess up. You are lucky the potion will only turn your hair green for a while. If this was a more dangerous potion, you could have been seriously hurt, Ms. Saige." With a swirl of robes, they were left alone with their classmates watching. Carefully, she let her body turn, reaching out her hand to the figure on the floor, offering to help them up.

Tag:@atreyu

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The sound of Aemily dropping the knife pulled Mathias from their thoughts. Their stirring stilled as hazel eyes watched her race the book and hurriedly flip and scan it's pages. The solution thickened and bubbled as time went on. The girl's look of dread was so foreign to them that it brought their thoughts to a screeching halt. They were so busy reexamining their partner they they barely heard the pot gurgle, sputter, and her warning. They had just began to process it when the girl moved and shoved them to the floor.

Mathias was still stunned as the explosion coated the girls head, green goo making itself comfortable in her gentle golden curls. Well, she was off the suspect list. Especially with the concerned look she was giving them. They nodded mutely at her question, sitting safely on the floor. When the teacher spoke, they opened their mouth to shoulder the blame. After all, they were the one that had distracted Aemily and messed up the stirring. Aemily beat them to it. They stared incredulously at the girl, only looking away, up at the teacher, at the mention of detention.

Their blood boiled. This had been the teachers fault, playing a trick with such a dangerous potion and then punishing the students when it goes wrong. Mathias knew the school was dangerous, but between this and the murders who in the name of Merlin let this place stay running? They would need to be more careful in the future. Maybe keep a closer eye on this dangerous teacher too.

Mathias had an angry frown as the teacher turned and left. They tried to stare a hole into his back until Aemily offered her hand to them. They took it, but didn't use it much to stand. Who knew how that goop was affecting her head? "Thank you." They said, guilty for suspecting the girl of murder a few seconds ago. "Let me walk you to the mediwitch." They offered, still holding her hand.