Cherish Forever

"Well, well, well, look what we have here, Miss Austin, I really did enjoy having you on my lap. Let's do it again sometime, shall we?" Came a cold, mocking voice from behind them.

Piper and her friends turned around, all with the same expression on their face: anger.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry hissed at his enemy.

Draco smirked, "Easy, Potter! I'm not trying to steal your girlfriend! I just want to congratulate her on that spell back there."

"Well, thank you, but we have to get to lunch," Piper said through gritted teeth. She turned around and stormed to lunch, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Mojo following suit.

"Ugh, that boy really gets on my nerves!" Piper snarled as they reached the Great Hall and sat down in their spots at the Gryffindor table.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Harry agreed, knowingly.

The five sat and conversed on the new Potions teacher and the previous Defense Against the Dark Arts "lesson". When they were done, they headed down to the dungeons. They sat down in the seats near the cauldrons and waited for the Professor to give them their first instructions.

"Now then, now then, now then," said Slughorn, whose massive outline was quivering through the many shimmering vapours. "Scales out, everyone, and potion kits, and don't forget your copies of Advanced Potion-Making..."

Harry raised his hand, "Sir?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"I haven't got a book, or scales, or anything nor do Ron- we didn't realize we'd be able to do this N.E.W.T., you see-"

"Ah, yes, Professor McGonagall did mention... not to worry, my dear boy, not to worry at all. You can use ingredients from the store cupboard today, and I'm sure we can lend you some scales, and we've got a small stock of old books here, they'll do until you can write to Flourish and Blotts..."

Harry stood up and walked over to the store cupboard. He opened it, and immediately was covered in dust. He came out with two of everything. Books, scales, and ingredients. He plopped one of each in front of Ron and sat down in his own seat.

"Now then," said Slughorn, inflating his already bulging chest, so that the buttons on his waistcoat threatened to burst off. "I've prepared a few potions for you to have a look at, just out of interest, you know. These are the kind of things you ought to be able to make after completing your N.E.W.T.s. You ought to have heard of 'em, even if you haven't made 'em yet. Can anyone tell what this one is?"

He indicated the cauldron nearest the Slytherin Table. A few students raised themselves slightly in their seat and saw what looked like plain water boiling away inside it.

Piper and Hermione's hands both shot up as soon as they saw what was inside. Slughorn looked like he was playing "eenie-meenie-myni-moe" in his head. He finally decided on Piper.

"It's Veritaserum, a colourless, odourless potion that forces the drinker to tell the truth" Piper said, giving a triumphant look, earning a jealous glare from her friend.

"Excellent!" Slughorn smiled, "Now," he continued, pointing at the cauldron nearest the Ravenclaw table, "this one is pretty well-known... featured in a few Ministry leaflets lately, too... who can-?"

Once again, Piper and Hermione's hand looked like a blur as they shot up. Professor Slughorn decided on Hermione this time. Hermione gave Piper the same look Piper had given her before. "Polyjuice Potion. It allows the drinker to change into a desired object or living thing for a certain amount of time."

"Yes, that's right! Now-" Slughorn didn't even have to finish his sentence.

"That's Amortenia, sir. It's the most powerful love potion in the world!" Piper interrupted. Hermione gaped at her, but she ignored it completely.

"Yes, quite right. But I would like you to raise your hand next time, alright. May I ask of both of your names?"

"My name's Piper Austin," Piper answered.

"And I'm Hermione Granger," she glared at Piper evilly. She looked mad.

"Well you two young students can take twenty points each for outstanding Potion knowledge!"

Piper and Hermione grinned. They looked at eachother but immediately looked away. They looked pretty mad at eachother. Ron leaned over to Hermione and whispered something that Piper thought was supposed to be incoherent, but she ended up hearing it loud and clear: "Will you two please stop it? And you tell me I act childish!" Hermione ignored him and continued to listen to Slughorn, along with Piper.

"And now," Slughorn continued from where he was, "it is time for us to start work."

A boy from Ravenclaw, Ernie Macmillan, noticed something, "Sir, you haven't told us what's in this one," he pointed to a small black cauldron on Slughorn's desk. The contents were splashing about merrily. It was about the colour of a brand new Muggle loonie.

"Oho," Slughorn said, "Yes. That. Well, that one, ladies and gentlemen, is a most curious little potion called Felix Felicis. I take it," he turned, smiling, to look at Hermione, who had let out an audible gasp, "that you know what little old Felix does, Miss Granger?"

"It's liquid luck," Hermione squealed out in excitement, "It makes you lucky!"

All of a sudden, everyone gave their full attention to the Professor.

"Quite right, take another ten points for Gryffindor. Yes, it's a funny little potion, Felix Felicis. Desperately tricky to make, and disastrous to get wrong. However, if brewed correctly, as this has been, you will find that all your endeavours tend to succeed... at least until the effects wear off. And this is what I shall be offering as a prize in this lesson. One tiny bottle of this is enough for a good twelve hours' luck. All you have to do to win this, turn to page ten of Advanced Potion-Making. The best potion in about an hour, takes this home."

Everybody started quickly on the assignment. Every single soul wanted that Felix Felicis.

Piper and Hermione ignored eachother the whole class. Normally, they would be talking to eachother quietly about the assignment. But after what had happened minutes ago, there wasn't going to be any of that.

Piper stole a few glances at the nearest cauldrons to her, and saw that Hermione and her were in the lead. A few minutes later though, she noticed Harry had caught up quite fast.

"How are you doing that, mate?" Piper inquired.

"Add a clockwise stir-"

"No, no, Harry! The book says counter-clockwise!" Hermione snapped

Harry shrugged and continued what he was doing.

"Alright, times up! Everyone stop stirring!" Slughorn walked around the room and inspected everyone's potion. He briskly walked past Neville Longbottom's cauldron, which looked a pale green, and Piper felt sorry for him.He's always getting picked on, she thought to herself. Maybe someone should tutor him a little bit.

Slughorn gazed into Hermione's and Piper's cauldron and nodded his head approvingly as he moved on. As he looked into Harry's, he looked like he could do a backflip, he was so happy. "A clear winner! Congratulations!" he handed Harry the vial of gold liquid.

As everyone filed out, all except Harry looking disappointed, they asked Harry how he got his to be so good.

"Someone wrote in my book to add in a clockwise stir," he responded with a blush.

Piper saw Hermione shake her head in disapproval. "Why would you believe that Harry?"

"Are you suggesting that Harry is cheating, Hermione? Because if you are, I think that you need to get a life and don't be such a goody-goody!" Piper spat.<p>

Everyone who was around gaped, including Hermione. Never, in the whole six years Piper has been friends with Hermione, has she ever shouted at Hermione. They had always been such great friends.

Harry whispered in Piper's ear, "Calm down, Piper."

Hermione took on a hurt look. She stormed off, probably to the bathroom to cry or something.

"She deserved it," Piper muttered as her and her friends headed to the Great Hall for dinner.