lucius malfoy (loucius) wrote in disorderic, @ 2017-09-27 23:27:00 |
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If Noëlle had realised she was going to be paired with Lucius for today’s potions class, she would not have tied her hair back, despite always thinking it was safer to have your hair out of the way during potions. Lucius was a pureblood and a Malfoy, and Noëlle was beginning to discover the wonders of a perfectly timed hair twirl or flip. Still. She could make do. “There are plenty of people in this class who could do with taking this potion,” she tilted her head in the direction of the Gryffindors they shared this class with as she flicked through her textbook to find the instructions for the Wit-Sharpening Potion. “I’m glad I’m working with you and not one of them.” Lucius, however, did not share her sentiments. Noëlle was fine, and she clearly respected him, or his family's name, but he'd rather have paired up with Rabastan, especially after his encounter with Randall Abercrombie just before Potions. How could a Mudblood ever think he could talk down to him — a Malfoy? It was infuriating and he had hoped to discuss some retaliation plans with Rabastan; instead, he had to make some potion with Noëlle Shyverwretch. But he could never turn down a compliment, and he had been raised to be polite, so he nodded as he found the instructions in his own textbook. "I worked with Tierney Spinks last week. It was a disaster." “I’m surprised you didn’t end up in the hospital wing!” Noëlle replied, wrinkling her nose at the idea of working with Tierney Spinks despite not remembering which of their classmates she was. “I’m a much better partner, promise,” she added with a bright smile, putting the ingredients neatly into the order they would need to add them. “Would you like to chop or mix?” "Anyone would be better than Spinks," Lucius muttered, looking over their ingredients and then back at the directions. "I'll mix. My knife is a bit dull." “I have a good knife sharpener, if you need it later,” Noëlle offered, pulling out her own very sharp knife, slicing the ginger root with speed and precision, using the blade to push them towards him when it was done and ready to be added. He looked curiously at Noëlle. "You have a knife sharpener?" Lucius had always just ordered a new knife as soon as his old knife was worse for wear — he had never thought to actually sharpen it himself. Panic flashed briefly over Noëlle’s face. Was that the wrong thing to say? Was she now going to be the weirdo who sharpened her own knife? Did the Malfoys have a house elf designated to just that task or something? “Yes?” She replied, slow and unsure, giving herself a moment to make up something that made it sound like she didn’t sharpen her own knives out of inability to afford any other option. “I wouldn’t trust a house elf with that job, you know they’d need a punishment and end up using it to stab themselves, and then you’d need a new house elf just to clean up the mess.” "That's true…" Lucius said, considering the hypothetical situation. Merlin knew Dobby was incapable of the simplest of tasks; he shuddered to imagine how he would handle sharpening a knife. Not only would he stab himself, he'd stain the carpet, roll around on it, and insist on doing it again only to repeat the process. He was getting a headache just at the thought. "One time, my house elf left a stain on my tie and we had to lock him in a cupboard to get him to shut up about it. If he'd done his job properly, we wouldn't have had to." “Oh, that’s so awful,” Noëlle cocked her head in sympathy, as though this was something she could relate to. “Sometimes I think they’re more trouble than they’re worth.” "Only the bad ones." He wished his parents hadn't inherited Dobby, but he didn't think it was a good idea to just not have one. They weren't Weasleys. "Do you have a house elf?" Lucius began mixing in the ginger root, only distractedly paying attention to how the potion turned green before he added the armadillo bile. The potion may have been green, but it was more of an emerald green than the lime green it needed to be before the bile could be added, the potion now turning purple rather than blue. Noëlle was grateful for the mistake though, even as their cauldron started to bubble and emit a noxious smell, drawing the attention of the pairs closest by. At least it saved her from having to make up a stupid house elf name. “Let me see,” she passed him Lucius knife and nudged him away from the cauldron a little more roughly than intended, bringing one hand to cover her nose as the other started to stir the mixture in the opposite direction. “I think we need more ginger.” "I added the ginger you already cut though." He even scanned their ingredients to make sure he had, and lo and behold, there was no ginger to be found. "If we needed more ginger, why wouldn't the book specify it?" “Because we wouldn’t need more ginger if you’d added the bile at the right time,” Noëlle said, smiling through gritted teeth. “But it’s fine! If we just…,” she skimmed the text book, not stopping stirring for a second as she did. “Half? Half should work. Half the next lot of bile we add we should be able to rebalance it.” That couldn't be right, Lucius thought. He'd added the ingredients in the order they'd been displayed and he'd checked the book. To prove it, he flipped back to the directions and scanned it, only to experience a sinking feeling when he realized she was right. It was his mistake. "All right," he said, embarrassed. "Do I add it now?" She glanced over at the textbook. “The Scarab beetles first. It should go red but I don’t think it will manage more than a light pink, but then add half the bile and it should go yellow and then we’re back on track.” Maybe Tierney Spinks would have been a better partner after all, though she supposed it was a fairly easy to mistake to make and it turned out even Malfoys weren’t perfect. "I don't understand," griped Lucius, as he added the beetles, more slowly than necessary in case it caused an explosion of some sort, "why it has to be so complicated." With narrowed eyes, he watched as it turned a very pale pink. A second later, he added the bile and he held his breath as it turned yellow — it was a very light shade, but that had to count. Noëlle let out a sigh of relief when the potion turned the required yellow, straightening her shoulders as she mentally praised herself for saving their grade. “Yes, but if it was easy then even a muggle would be able to do it.” Lucius surveyed her for a moment, impressed by her point and her quick thinking in salvaging their potion. Maybe he had been wrong about Noëlle Shyverwretch. She was clearly smart and had the right sorts of ideas. "I'd have to drop Potions immediately," he declared. “Me too,” she agreed, smiling at him. “And that would be a shame because I think we work quite well together.” As their potion started changing into the color described and pictured in the textbook, Lucius couldn't help but agree. "You're much better than Tierney Spinks." |