Potions in the Making ( Amber )

Amber had her list in hand, read to stock up for the brewing spree that she had planned for the weekend. She needed a list of ingredients that was about a foot long, and she definitely needed a new cauldron. So, when she stepped into her favourite apothecary, she was ready to start shopping. It was Mr Slug who happened to be working that day, and although she preferred Mr Jigger's company, she was not one to complain, as they were both completely polite to her.

The red head had ordered her list as best she could to make it so she could simply walk down the shelves and pull down what she needed. There were a few old woven baskets, charmed to keep vials from breaking, and she took one and got started. With the hand of the basket over her forearm, and a charcoal pencil in her hand to tick what she took, she wandered down the isles of the small but vastly stocked store.

Amber was stretching for the asphodel, which was high on one of the shelves and just out of her reach, when she heard a fairly familiar voice. She turned, an eyebrow raised and a smirk on her lips as she said, "potions has always been amazing, Potter. It's just that you've only now managed to catch up." To be entirely fair, Amber knew that Albus was quite good at Potions, but she saw an opportunity to tease and she took it.

Amber had been teasing- meant out of fun- but she should have known better. It was Albus Potter, after all, and he had a lot more trouble taking a joke when directed at him than most people did. She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I don't need to 'in my blood'," she said, "I'm just good. My grade is higher than yours and you know it." Perhaps Amber wasn't the smartest student at Hogwarts, but she could have easily taken her Potions NEWT when she was a third year and passed it.

Most frustratingly, she was allowing herself to be baited by an annoying brat whom she wished had been dumped on Gryffindor rather than having to deal with him herself for the past six years. "Why, thank you for asking, Potter," she said, her voice falsely sweet and obviously sarcastic, "I have had a spectacular summer so far!"

Her expression then returned to her usual smirk, rolling her eyes once more. "Honestly, Potter, were you born this egotistical?" she asked, "or did it develop as you grew?" His question about her future plans threw her for a moment, but she answered with the slightest hint of a real smile at the thought of her chosen career, "I'm going to be a potioneer, of course. What about you?"

"A lot of things come easier when it's in your blood," she agreed, the same false niceness in her tone in spite of her far from kind smirk, "like heart disease, and a low IQ. Doesn't mean that others can't have it just the same. Unfortunately, more people have that second one than should." The last sentence wasn't exactly directed at Albus, but more so meant as a general statement. "You may be quite good on the Quidditch pitch, Potter, but one of these days that big head of yours will make you topple right off of your broom."

Amber laughed under her breath at the almost as sarcastic 'your welcome' to her very sarcastic thanks. While Albus Potter may frustrate her, he definitely made for an interesting change in routine. His following words, however, caused her to laugh aloud, and she rolled her eyes. "Any girl you wanted?" she asked, amusement clear in her tone, "really, Potter? Wow, you really do have just as many tabs on yourself as you appear to. But, I'm glad you've had a good summer."

Once again, the red head laughed, shaking her head. "Mr Charming? More like Mr Arrogant, really," she said, honestly not quite sure what so many girls in their house saw in Harry Potter's youngest son. "I assure you, you are far from my dream guy. If I didn't have to see you every day at school, I'd say you would be more likely found in my nightmares. Unfortunately for me, you happen to be in my reality."

Amber chuckled, and said, "we can't all be good at everything. You stick to being the star Quidditch player, and leave the big words to me." She actually thought he might just have a good chance at making a professional team after graduation, as he really was quite good at Quidditch. "Hopefully you'll do well with that," she said, half honest and half sarcastic. She wondering how someone could actually hold them self in such high regard, but she knew it didn't help that half of the school held him much the same.

She was a Slytherin to the core, and if there was one thing that they could agree on, it was the downfalls of Gryffindors. Of course, it was more of a highly competitive rivalry than an all-out war, but the two houses rarely saw eye to eye. "I'll agree with you on that one," she admitted, "our team has a very high chance of out doing Gryffindor this year."

"I never said you were stupid," she said quickly, her eyes narrowing slightly. Amber may be a self proclaimed asshole at times, but she was always honest when she was. And Albus wasn't necessarily stupid- he just needed to be taken down a few notches. "The inta-what?" she asked, a frustrating look of genuine confusion on her face. It must be a muggle thing that he was talking about. Her gaze sharpened a little, the reference to muggles not being bad people making her feel like he was insinuating that she had a problem with muggles. "I'll have you know, Potter," she said, genuinely angry for the first time since he'd come into the shop, "that I have no problem with muggles. My father would die before he let me go into their world or use their.. things, but I am not like him."

She knew that she'd probably overreacted to such a simple statement, but she always became defensive when people presumed that because she came from a Death Eater family, and because her father should have been locked up for the things he had done in the past, that she was prejudice herself. Which she wasn't. She had just never had the chance to actually meet any muggles, which she thought was rather unfortunate.

"No, I have never kissed anyone," she said, but rather than being offended by the comment, she was proud as she spoke her reply, "I do not need to kiss people to feel important, and I most certainly have no interest in messing around. Silly flings are too much of a distraction from what's important." It was true. Amber had never been particularly interested in boys, though she wasn't one to deny when someone was attractive. She simply didn't have the time for the meaningless relationships that seemed to blossom and die all over school.

Amber snorted in an entirely unladylike fashion and shook her head. "I wouldn't consider arrogance a good attribute," she retorted, "I pride myself more on being intelligent and patient, than on thinking I am better than anybody else."

"Girls and boys alike can be very foolish," she clarified, "some think that they're in love when they don't even know what the word means, and others think they're the best when they still have a lot to learn." Amber knew that her strength was Potions, but she still visited with Mr Jigger in order to learn more. He was much more knowledgeable and experienced than she was and she would opened admit that.

Amber considered his words, realising that despite his theatrics, he was actually being serious. "Why not both?" she asked, "Quidditch players usually retired quite young. At least if you get a degree, you'll have something to do with your time after your Quidditch career is over." Her tone wasn't exactly kind, but she wasn't being rude either. Simply honest.

"I only support Slytherin," she said, "I have no family, so there is no point in placing my loyalties elsewhere." Her entire family had been Slytherins, and she had next to no friends and her closest acquaintances were also in Slytherin house. Family comes first. She had heard those words many times in the past, but they'd never been spoken by her father, or shown in his actions. To him, money came first. Power came first. Pureblood came first. Everything else was second, and sometimes she wasn't even sure if she fit in there at all. She tried to smile, but instead grimaced slightly and said, "you're lucky to have such a close family."

Amber smirked and nodded once. "It would appear so," she agreed, "what a shock." She'd of course known Albus since their first year, but this was definitely the longest that they had spoken for. And somehow, she'd gone from vague distaste, to adamant dislike, to a strange mix of both plus a little bit of distant camaraderie.

"I wouldn't call you stupid," she said honestly, "I just think you could do much more productive things with the intelligence that you do have." He was right- her grades were better than his. She always checked to see where she ranked, and although not at the very top of that list, she was fairly high up there. But she was well aware that there were many different types of intelligence, and that they all held their own value. "So, why not go to a library?" she asked, still confused, "I know that muggles have libraries."

Amber sighed and shrugged. "I don't necessarily listen to him," she explained, "but I can't very well venture off into the muggle world on my own. I mean, I dress like a witch, act like a witch. I don't even know how I get there. They'd think I'm crazy!" Although a small part of her tried to defend her father, what came out was a 'what can I do about it' shrug. "He is stupid for his opinions, but he's so stuck in his ways that there is no getting him out of it. Where would you find an Internet to show me?"

"I can't decide what's worse," she said, "you using girls, or girls letting you use them. It's disgusting." He was right, though. They didn't have the same stresses hanging over their heads as their parents had had before them. They could really just be young and carefree. But Amber had trouble being the later. "I find myself taking a lot of things too seriously," she said, shrugging again.

The red head pulled a slightly pained look, and she said, "that's great for you. I just.. don't really do relationships. They're not really my style." And I've spent the past six year hiding the fact that I actually consume human blood, and getting too close to someone could ruin that in a moment... Of course, she wouldn't say that out loud.

"You feel compassion, but you don't care when a girl falls head over heels for you and you shatter her heart?" she asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "I have to be honest," she said, "I gave up on happy endings and fairy tales a long time ago. They really don't exist." Amber wasn't deluded into thinking that she could never be happy, per say, but she knew that it would never happen like it did in the stories.

Amber nodded, remembering reading something about the player Albus mentioned in the Daily Prophet at one stage. "There is no reason you can't," she agreed, "it's always good to have options. Maybe you won't like flying professionally and would prefer to do it just for fun."

The Slytherin waved her hand, dismissing his words. "I don't need a family," she said, though the little girl that still lingered in the back of her mind disagreed. She tilted her head with narrowed eyes at his words, her expression more so calculating than accusatory. She wondered if he was referring to herself, but he explained further and her expression relaxed again. "I hate that, too," she said, having grown up around people who really did take their families for granted.

Amber smiled, a little amused by his words, but deciding that she didn't have to dislike him to be able to have a decent debate with him. "You're not so boring to talk to yourself," she said, and then smirked and added, "once you get past the cocky attitude, of course. Besides, light arguments are considered healthy to some."

He mentioned school, and Amber's eyes brightened. "I am!" she said, "but I'm also a little sad. I've loved being at Hogwarts. It's the only real home I've got, you know? But I'm looking forward to what else is out there for me. What about you?"