𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍.
chapter five; Accidental Hellebore
" Your brother's an idiot. . . "

  MADELINE WAS EXCITED about the first trip to Hogsmeade. She, Bluebelle, and Kai had a tradition of going for butterbeer on the first weekend, for the last two years, the three were dedicated to make it a long-standing one.

  All she had to do was get through her last class on Friday, which just so happened to be Potions with the Gryffindors.

  Professor Slughorn had asked them to get into pairs so they could create a Draught of Peace for today's lesson. Madeline was glad it was a simple thing, no essays or ridiculous concoctions.

  Just a simple Draught of Peace.

  "Maddie—"

  "Hey."

  Madeline looked up from her parchment, finding Bluebelle and Nico standing directly in front of her desk, exchanging awkward glances.

  "Oh, hi—"

  "I'm gonna partner with Kai," Bluebelle announced, winking dramatically as she backed away, laughing at Madeline's blush.

  "Subtle, Belle," Nico laughed, making the blonde stick her tongue out before turning around fully. "So. . . partners?"

  "Sure," Madeline smiled.

  "I don't like that." Sirius looked up at James, who was glaring at Nico Keeler sitting beside Madeline. "At all."

  "You don't like any boy around her," Remus noted lazily from the desk behind.

  "What sort of brother would I be otherwise?"

  "So," Nico spoke up after nearly thirty minutes of awkward silence. He'd been following Madeline's instructions and pretending not to feel the glare of James Potter. "The first trip to Hogsmeade is this weekend."

  "Yeah."

  Had it been any other class, her full attention would be on the boy beside her. But this was potions. The one class Madeline felt comfortable in, among the cauldrons and towering shelves of miscellaneous ingredients, because she wasn't just good. 

  She was better than her brother.

  "Well," The boy shifted as Madeline carefully dropped the required hellebore into the cauldron. "How about we go for butterbeer?"

  "What?" Madeline looked up abruptly, a soft plunk interrupted their thoughts as the rest of the hellebore sunk into the potion. "Oh, no."

  "We can fix it, yeah?" Nico questioned, peering into the cauldron.

  "Well, not exactly. . ." Madeline tugged the boy back just as the potion began to angrily bubble over.

  Madeline's face was hot as everyone watched Professor Slughorn dispose of the mess she made. The man gave her a short explanation as what she had done, surprised one of his best students had messed up so drastically.

 "What happened?" James laughed as he spotted his sister waiting for Bluebelle and Kai. The other three Marauders were standing idly by, "Aren't you supposed to be brilliant? Being a Ravenclaw and all?"

  "Shove off, James," Madeline snapped, "I've got better bloody marks than you."

  "No clue how, when you can't even—"

  "Hey." Everyone's eyes snapped to Nico. The boy was shuffling books under his arm, a single strand of blond hair falling onto his forehead. "So. . . about this weekend. You were interrupted."

  "Oh, right, yeah," Madeline's lips twitched into a smile, "Sorry. . . about that."

  "It's alright," Nico grinned, "I get it."

  None of the boys liked how Nico was eyeing her.

  "Uh, yeah, I'd love to."

  "What would you love to do?" James questioned, stepping forward.

  "None of your business," Madeline said tightly, still smiling at Nico as she did.

  "I'm looking forward to it." Nico walked backward for a moment before turning and leaving Madeline with the wrath of her brother.

  "Maddie."

  "Don't ruin this," Madeline sighed, closing her eyes for a minute, "Please, James, just. . . don't ruin this for me."

  "Nico Keeler?" Sirius questioned, "Really?"

  "Yes, really."

  "He's. . . not a good guy, Mads." James frowned, "I don't want you going on a date with him."

  "It's not really up to you, is it?"

  "Maddie," Remus spoke up, "He's. . . not the kind of person—"

  "Look, I appreciate everyone looking out for me," Madeline sighed angrily, "But you don't get to control my life, just. . . just leave me alone!"

  James sighed, watching Madeline walk away briskly. The girl was obviously fed up with all four of them, her hair swished with every step and Remus was the only one who regretted saying anything.

  Well, aside from Peter who felt bad despite not saying a word.

  "This won't end well."

  "So, we're there for her when it happens," Sirius frowned lightly. "That's all we can do."

  "We could—"

  "We're not pulling a prank on Maddie!" James recoiled as all three of his friends shouted to him.

  "Thought you lot were my friends, not hers."

  "Trust us, this is for your benefit."

ϟ

  Kai and Bluebelle listened intently as Madeline went over the details of her potions incident. Her anger was long forgotten as she repeated Nico's words, her excited, bubbly voice filling the large common room, using hand gestures that nearly caused the loss of Kai's right eye.

  She grumbled about her brother and his friends, too, but not even they seemed to be able to ruin her mood after her longtime crush had finally asked her on a date.

  "Nico's a good guy," Bluebelle smiled, "Your brother's an idiot, but he won't let that ruin anything."

  "Obviously, Maddie's stolen the heart—"

  "I haven't stolen anyone's heart!"

  "Not yet." Kai wiggled his brows, only to be shoved away from the girl.

  "It's just one date!"

  "I'm hoping it turns into more." Madeline had never blushed harder than that moment. Nico had peeked his head into the common room, a cheeky smile on his lips, "See ya, Maddie."

  "I cannot believe that just happened," Madeline mumbled, rubbing her temples and slipping down into the armchair.

  "It was gold," Bluebelle wheezed, clutching her stomach as she laughed. Kai was smiling, though his eyes remained on the blonde.

  "Only because it didn't happen to you," Madeline groaned, hitting Bluebelle with a pillow, "When you get a boyfriend, I'll make sure to embarrass you!"

  "Hey, you do a good job of embarrassing yourself."

  "Kai!"

ϟ

  Madeline was in a blissful state under her fluffy comforter. That was until Bluebelle jumped directly on top of her.

  "Ouch!"

  "Today is a special day!" Bluebelle sang, flopping onto the mattress beside Madeline, "My baby is growing up."

  "You're barely older than me!"

  "Three months is a long time."

  "Is not!"

  "Today, you have a date," Bluebelle changed the subject, "What are you wearing?"

  "I was thinking—"

  "Great, I'll pick an outfit out!"

  "Blue," Madeline groaned, pulling herself up, "I don't want to go overboard. I was just going to wear a jumper and some jeans."

  "Oh Maddie," Bluebelle sighed, "You're so lucky to have me."

  Madeline watched the blonde wander back over to her own bed, digging through her trunk.

  ". . . Wait, what's that supposed to mean?!"

( AUTHOR'S NOTE. )
idc I love Bluebelle
but that's just me