``for the first time

[Gabriella Rivera]

If there was one thing Gabby absolutely hated doing, it was disappointing people. She seemed to be doing a lot more of that lately, more than ever, really. It started with Fabian, when she'd went against his warnings and gotten into trouble with Mulciber. And then with Gideon, when he found out she was still doing Paris' homework. And then her father, when he found out about...well, everything. And now, most recently, she'd disappointed one Daciana Gamp. Well, maybe disappointed wasn't the right word. She'd managed to aggravate her greatly, at the very least. And even though it technically wasn't her fault, because her father had been the one to force her to leave Hogwarts for a week, Gabby couldn't help but feel guilty because she was Daciana's partner and she had just suddenly left and she hadn't even written to her which, Gabby realised, had been a pretty crappy thing, and Daciana had already made it completely clear that she wasn't at all impressed with Gabby, so she already had an extremely negative impression of her and, honestly, she was doing absolutely nothing to improve it. So, really, Daciana couldn't be blamed at all for disliking her, or for being short with her, and it was shocking that she was being given a second chance to prove herself as the excellent partner she knew she could be. She was determined to bring everything she had to the table. It was such luck, too, that their project was for Potions class, since she happened to excel in that particular subject - more so than most others, at least, so hopefully she'd manage to prove herself to Daciana and gain a few brownie points -- in fact, on that note, she could even bake brownies! That was bound to gain Daciana's liking, wasn't it? Everyone liked brownies! Very few people disliked chocolate, surely making brownies would make Daciana like her a little more, wouldn't it? Then again, it seemed too desperate an attempt, and Gabriella figured it might be best to leave that as a last resort. It might give her time to find out what type of baked goods Daciana preferred. Maybe she'd like biscuits more than brownies. Or maybe she was lactose intolerant, like Gabby. Or maybe she would want cheesecake instead. The Hufflepuff was at a loss as to how she was supposed to subtly ask that, and she realised this would take a lot more planning because it wasn't like she could go up to her and ask "hey Daciana what do you like more biscuits or brownies, and if it's the former what type do you like, exactly, and also are you lactose intolerant or a vegan?" She doubted the Slytherin would be too enthusiastic about sharing.

Still, Gabby had been determined to make it up to all the people she'd disappointed, and Daciana was no different. If anything, Gabriella was more determined than ever to get on her good side. It was upsetting to think that she wasn't exactly liked, and the girl had made it clear the first time they had talked this year that she did not like her one bit and didn't even want to be her friend (her reaction to them being partners had been indication enough of how much Daciana did not want to be in her presence) and, even though Gabby would normally be understanding and try to get out of the way of someone who clearly wasn't fond of her, they were being force to work together, and she figured that trying her best to be likable was a step in the right direction. And, if she couldn't get Daciana to like her (she could still remember the stinging words she had written, about how she simply refused to befriend muggleborns no matter what), at the very least she should be able to up her status from "annoying mudblood" to "slightly tolerable mudblood". It would definitely make working with her a lot easier, and since they were expected to spend a few hours alone together, Gabby figured the least she could do was be tolerable. In all honestly, she was...a little nervous. Daciana kind-of...well, she was kind-of scary. Slytherins in general were known to be intimidating, but maybe it was the way that she talked, or the way that she could narrow her eyes into a glare that would make even the bravest Gryffindor want to duck for cover, or maybe Gabby was just being plain paranoid, but there was just something about her that made Gabby's fingers shake with nerves. It was why she practically ran out of her last class - Charms - the day they'd agreed to meet, shouting a hasty goodbye to Gideon over her shoulder before weaving as best as she could between the hoards of people heading towards their respective common rooms. Being early had to make a good impression, right? Of course, when she almost tripped down the stairs, she forced herself to slow down; the last thing she wanted to do was get into an accident and have to ditch Daciana again in order to go to the hospital wing and get fixed up. She had a feeling that would ruin any progress they'd made so far.

Luckily, Gabriella managed to make it before Daciana, and she took the liberty of setting up a cauldron and taking out some of the main ingredients, making them as organised as possible. She'd spoken with Professor Slughorn earlier and asked him if they could have the classroom for some extra work. He'd agreed almost immediately; it was one of the perks of being a good student, and even though Gabby might not have been good enough to be a part of his Slug Club, she was still considered a good Potions student, so after some persuading and promises not to mess anything up or use too many ingredients, she was finally granted permission. Nervously chewing on her bottom lip, Gabby stripped off her outer robes and folded them on top of her book bag neatly, and then smoothed her short skirt beneath her as she slid onto the stool and then picked at her animal sweater, gaze darting about as she waited for Daciana to show up. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait for long (because otherwise she would have become paranoid and thought that Daciana was standing her up as some sort of revenge, or that she'd forgotten - Gabby had always thought she was easily forgettable, after all - or, worse, that something bad had happened). When she heard the door creak open, Gabby immediately jumped to her feet, giving her skirt a hasty tug and then offering the Slytherin an anxious smile, still fiddling with the sleeve of her sweater. "Hey, Daciana!" she greeted, trying her best to sound chipper. "I got here early so I have everything set up already and I brought some books,"

[/color] she grabbed said materials from the desk as if to show them to her, "that I thought might help out, there's some things about the dreamless draught and stuff, so do you want to get started?"[/color] Mentally cursing herself for her lack of a filter, Gabby blushed and fiddled some more with her clothes, wondering if it was as obvious to Daciana as it was to her how much Gabby wanted to be liked. "But first, how are you? Was your day good? I hope it was."[/color] Now would be a good time to shut up, her inside voice suggested, and she took her own advice, clamping her lips shut and then offering her another, nervous smile. Dios, she was so horrifically terrible at making friends.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/color]

[Daciana Gamp]

If there was one word to describe Daciana’s life at the moment, that word would be “distracted.” Unfortunately, it was also one adjective that she absolutely should not, could not be. If she was distracted – if she became really, truly distracted in the pure definition of the word (unfocused, inattentive, absent-minded) it would mean that her self-control was slipping away. That was the difference, you know, between distraction and escape. Her escapes she had control over. She could keep tabs on the number of drinks she downed (to an extent) and she could count the pills (if she was still sober). Her life might be a mess by anyone else’s standards, but at least it was the mess she created and managed. Usually. Lately though, people had been interfering with her life, and it was screwing with her whole system. A bunch of annoyances really. There was the mundane: this essay for History of Magic and remembering that cheer for practice next week… and getting tutored in Transfiguration by perhaps the gayest kid in the entire school. Yeah, that had been interesting. And then, the was Bellamy who had messed with her head (for lack of a better phrase) and Regulus who was unnervingly observant and the Hufflepuffs. It also seemed there had been an intrusion of Hufflepuffs in her life – something she wouldn’t wish unto anyone. Vanessa Vaughn had seemed to put it upon herself to “rescue” her, if their previous conversations were any indication, and worse, Gabriella Rivera had tried being her friend. Was still trying it appeared, actually, from the way their last note conversation went. Loyal though they may be, Daciana thought “persistent” was the more accurate adjective (also “incredibly annoying”). What really put the whole ordeal over the top was their blood status (or lack thereof), which was really just the icing on the cake. And the fact that they were both extremely attractive.

Daciana froze – her arm suspended its movement of putting her potions text into her bag and her gaze was far away. She took a moment, staring intently at nothing whatsoever, before dropping the book inside and placing both hands on the library table before her to steady herself. She closed her eyes slowly taking a deep breath as she did so in order to keep herself from….from what? From falling apart? No, Daciana didn’t do that. From pounding the table with her fists? No, from being distracted, she decided. To keep herself from becoming distracted by thoughts she could not have. Thoughts she could not (but would, and did) have going through her brain more times than she’d like to admit. She…she knew it. It ate at her, but she knew what was…what she was but she didn’t accept it. She didn’t accept one bit of it, and she was convinced that it kept her going. Denial. Putting it out of her mind and refuting the suspicious. Because if not…if… She opened her eyes and slung her bag over her shoulder as if nothing happened, as if she didn’t just almost dwell on the fact that she found Gabriella Rivera and Vanessa Vaughn attractive, as if she wasn’t about to pretend to hate the mudblood who she maybe fancies a little bit and who she has to work on a rather important project with. She marched out of the library at an impressive speed, as if she was calm and confidant. As if she was not distracted.

Before she left the dormitory, she made sure to dress comfortably and ready for the unexpected (she’d already had one too many cute shirts ruined by an accidental potion explosion when working on homework) she had all her potions supplies with her, just in case they needed a range of different ingredients. They were virtually creating a potion after all, and as interesting as it sounded it was inevitably going to take a lot of hard work and trial and error. They were already behind, so Daciana was really going to need to focus. With the overly-eager-to-please Gabby as her partner, that was also easier said than done. Luckily, she had been in the library for the past hour in order to organize her potions notes and pull some information that might be useful for their good-dream-potion concept. She had looked around for some other books that could help, but didn’t end up finding much that was different from the notes she already had. It was alright though, Daciana was determined to make a good grade on this project even if she did have to do it all by herself (she was part of the Slug Club, after all). Gabby was no dolt, though, and she would help now that she was back. Which made Daciana wonder – why exactly did she leave in the first place? She remembered it had something to do with her Papi or something but she wasn’t quite sure on the real reason. She was curious; Gabby had left suddenly without warning and left Daciana thinking she was partner-less for this crucial potions grade. Well, Gabriella had made it clear she was very sorry about it, but it still bothered Daciana not that she like cared or anything.

The short Hufflepuff was already in the potions room when she arrived, standing and waiting anxiously for her appearance, or so it seemed. Well good, Daciana thought, at least Gabriella recognized that she was an important person. She was barely four steps into the classroom, however, before the other girl was babbling already. She tried not to roll her eyes but it had become such a reflex that she was pretty sure she did it unconsciously anyway. Daciana let Gabby talk at her while she set her bag down on an extra chair, opened it, and began to rummage through it, looking for the special notes she had put together earlier. Pulling them out, she looked up as Gabriella mentioned the books she brought. So that’s where all the library resources must have gone. She nodded at her, figuring she should attempt to show Gabby that she was in fact listening to her. She was about to respond about the project and her own notes when the Hufflepuff started talking again (did all Hufflepuffs really talk this much?). “How am I? You hope…what?” she asked incredulously, wondering why the hell Gabby cared when not too long ago, Daciana basically called the other girl dirt. “Ummm, I. Yeah, fine, it was fine,” she responded awkwardly with one raised eyebrow. She paused, focusing more on the books in still in Gabby’s hands before tentatively asking “…and yours?” She didn’t want Gabriella to think she was, like, being really friendly or anything. She wanted to work on the project without being distracted by, well, friendliness. Or other things that she didn’t want to think about, let alone mention. “Okay, so good, we have books and I have some notes here of info I thought might be useful.” She turned back to her bag to briefly yank out her text book and flip through to find the page on the Dreamless Drought potion, “But I think that we might want to start by figuring out the exact ingredients or properties that make the dreamless drought dreamless and maybe see if certain ones apply to all dreams or bad dreams or whatever. Then we can try to exclude whatever will prohibit the occurrence of good dreams and build from there, probably.” She looked back up from the book after finding the page she wanted. ”Does that work for a start?” She hoped so, because she wasn’t sure how else to do this – the potion or the interaction with Gabriella Rivera.

[Gabriella Rivera]

we has permission from Didi to make this into a one-paragrapher thread (:

It was hard not to be an absolute wreck of nerves around Daciana. It was just that Gabby always felt uncomfortable around people who had made it absolutely clear that they didn't like her. See, the thing was, Gabby wanted to be liked. You could say that she needed it. And, well, she kind-of wanted Daciana to like her, because it was weird, working with someone who didn't like her, and it would be like this constant cloud hanging over them, this knowledge that Daciana Gamp wants nothing to do with Gabriella Rivera, and, really Daciana might as well have been screaming it and, really, it just upset Gabby, but she tried not to think about it. If she kept thinking about it, then she would likely mess up the potion, giving Daciana more reason to dislike her (she didn't want to use the word 'hate', because it was such a strong word and it would only upset her more). It was why she was babbling, really. Because she was so nervous. Because Daciana made her nervous. She was kind of...scary, to be honest. Well, not scary per se. It wasn't like she had horns growing out of her head or particularly pointy teeth or anything, so Gabby didn't feel like Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf, but she was just...intimidating. Yes, that was the right word for it. Daciana was intimidating, and Gabby was intimidated, and she was intimidated she tended to talk. A lot. More so then usual. And sound like a complete idiot. And she could tell by Daciana's face that she thought so, too, but at least she wasn't being mean about it. See? Daciana wasn't a completely horrible person. They could be friends, if Daciana wanted to. Except, it was obvious Daciana didn't want to, and maybe it would just annoy her a lot more if Gabby kept trying to be her friend, and that was the last thing she wanted. "My day was great! Really great," she said, in a voice much too high to be normal. She blushed and distractedly sorted out her books, pretending to be looking for the right one when, in reality, she was doing everything to avoid looking at the Slytherin until she had a little more control over her tongue. As soon as Daciana got to business, Gabriella straightened up and forced herself to focus. This was Potions. This was her thing, her zone. She was most comfortable with a cauldron and ingredients than anything else.

"That's a great idea!"

[/color] Gabby explained once Daciana was done talking, nodding absently while she flipped through her potions book for the dreamless draught, having memorised the page number. "I've made the dreamless draught before, so I know the ingredients, but I'm not sure what makes it dreamless."[/color] She hesitated for a second. "We might have to test it on ourselves, and see if all goes well tonight,"[/color] she said, looking at Daciana anxiously. "Well, technically only one of us has to test it on themselves, and I'm fully willing to be the guinea pig in this situation,"[/color] she said hastily before looking down at the book again. "Okay, so the main ingredients of the dreamless draught is lavender, flobberworm mucus, valerian sprigs and couple of asphodel petals."[/color] she read out loud. "Well, I know for sure that the valerian sprigs is what makes you sleep, so I think we definitely need that in the potion,"[/color] she mused, picking the ingredient out and placing it between them. "Maybe if we add something sweet, like honeywater, it would help with the good dreams? I know honeywater is used in the Wiggenweld Potion, which is used to wake people from deep sleeps, so I wonder if we mix honeywater with valerian sprigs..."[/color] she trailed off thoughtfully, tilting her head at the ingredients, as if they'll magically come together and tell her what they should use. Remembering that she wasn't alone, she turned to Daciana and flushed a little. "I don't know, what do you think?"[/color]


[/blockquote][/blockquote][/color]

[Daciana Gamp]

Daciana liked her reputation. She liked being feared and intimidating because it meant that people would leave her alone or most likely comply with her when need be. And she was used to this, which was why when Gabby responded in a mouse-like tone, she wasn’t all too surprised. She did flinch though because wow that was a high pitch. “Great,” she drawled, it coming out more sarcastically than she intended. She almost felt bad for it too with the way Gabby was being all nervous and jerky. It was obvious she was avoiding making eye contact (which amused Daciana), but she was curiously blushing as well, which Daciana wasn’t used to. Did everyone blush when they were nervous? Or was she just embarrassed at the way she was acting around the Slytherin? Well, Gabby’s jittering was distracting, and working on this big project was going to be insufferable if it continued. But when Daciana had explained her thoughts on the basis of their potion, Gabriella had luckily calmed down and seemed to snap into a sort of potions-mode, focusing on the task at hand. ”Right,” she said, nodding along with what the Hufflepuff was saying, “Alright…I guess if you want to volunteer. We can always switch, you know, take turns,” she shrugged. She searched the notes she had brought out some more, making new notes next in the margin relating to what Gabby was saying. She stopped when the girl had trailed off and looked over at her. She was blushing again for getting ahead of herself, and Daciana couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the Hufflepuff’s digression. “Gabriella, calm yourself, I’m not going to like jinx you or anything for being smart. Not right now anyway,” she mumbled that last part mostly just for her own amusement, “and I think you’re probably right. We’ll take it one step at a time – and we’ll have to make multiple different batches. Look here though,” she pointed at one part of her notes, taking a step closer to Gabby and moving her paper so they both could see, “this Draught of Peace – it relives anxiety and it’s based around valerian as well. I’m thinking either the syrup of hellebore or the powdered unicorn horn, or both, would be of use too.” If they combined the right things, they could just maybe get this right.

[Gabriella Rivera]

Gabriella was genuinely surprised that her hands weren't trembling and she wasn't stuttering all over the place, the way she tended to do when she got exceptionally nervous or intimidated. Perhaps it was the fact that they were in the Potions classroom, and they were talking about potion-brewing that made the anxiety drain out of her body, leaving her relax and - more importantly - completely focused on the task at hand. Which was lucky for both her and Daciana; the latter would mostly benefit because her partner wouldn't be a complete deadweight and this, in turn, made Gabby feel better about herself, that she wasn't holding her back. In fact, quite the opposite. Not to toot her own horn, but Gabriella did know that one of her best subjects was Potions, and that she was particularly good at it (one of the best in her class, she was almost sure of it) and Professor Slughorn actually liked her. So, Daciana was definitely at an advantage here. And Gabby was too, it seemed, because Daciana obviously knew what she was talking about when she added her two sickles in. "Ooooh, I think that would definitely work. I don't think putting the honeywater and the valerian in the same potion would be a good idea, I'm not entirely sure it'll give the best reaction -- maybe we should put them in separate potions? How about we start with a few key ingredients from the dreamless draught as a sort of base for our potion, and then separate that into two different cauldrons and add honeywater and maybe some other ingredients to one, and then the valerian to the other. That way, each of us can test a type of potion on our selves, and that way we can get done faster! Since it's due by the end of the week and all." Inwardly, she winced at the reminder. She really couldn't have left at a more inappropriate time! She was tempted to apologise again for leaving, but she figured it wouldn't do much good to dwell on the past; better to focus on the present and try to get this potion done as soon as possible. "So, what do you think?"

[/color] she prompted, already itching to get started.


[/blockquote][/color][/blockquote]

[Daciana Gamp]

“I agree and that’s a lot of what I was thinking too,” Daciana said as Gabriella ended her spiel. It was time to get down to business; Gabby was right, they had to get this done by the time the week was over. As much as she felt she should give the Hufflepuff more grief about leaving, Daciana knew it wouldn’t get the project done. So, she centered two cauldrons on burners in front of them, and started sorting out different ingredients for the different batches. “We can start with the base in here,” she pointed to the cauldron directly in front of her, “and then just transfer half to the other so each has literally the same base.” She scanned over what they had before them, and then thought to dig out some fresh parchment from her bag. “We need to write down what we put in each, obviously, to keep track of things…” She looked over at the shorter girl, and added, ”And yeah, we’ll each test one, and then…meet up tomorrow or something to record the results and maybe change some ingredients out if we need?” Which meant that, to finish at the end of the week, they only had so many nights to try different combinations. Which was daunting, but Daciana was smart, and Gabriella was smart (for a muggleborn), and they were both good at potions, and Slughorn was fond of them both so she doubted he would fail them even if they didn’t get this project completely right. So, there was no reason to panic. But, it also wasn’t a reason to slack off or anything. ”So let’s start with these basic ingredients from the dreamless drought,” Daciana picked up a few vials and set them in between the two cauldrons, taking one of them between her fingers, verifying the label, and then pouring it into the cauldron. She then grabbed her wand and – ”incendio”- lit the burner. She glanced at her notes again, and their supplies, and back at Gabriella hesitantly; ”I can crush very effectively but this calls for a lot of chopping, which you’re probably better at so… do you mind?” Daciana gestured to the container of wormwood. They had to start somewhere.

[Gabriella Rivera]

Trying to avoid another ramble, Gabby bit her tongue and simply nodded, letting Daciana take the lead. "Writing things down sounds good," she agreed eagerly, already pulling out parchment, quill and ink. After uncorking the ink well and dipping her quill into it, she scribbled down the title of their Potion and began listing the ingredients of the base potion, nodding along to what Daciana was saying. "Yes, that sounds perfect. Tomorrow, same time, same place?"

[/color] she suggested, smiling lightly at her. She didn't bother to really reply to Daciana's question, simply nodding and reaching for the knife, already beginning with the chopping of the wormwood as soon as she had rolled up the sleeves of her jumper. She managed to get it done pretty quickly; she'd spent almost too long chopping at potion's ingredients, even when she didn't really need to. Plus, she'd loved helping out her Aunt back at home with the cooking. She almost immediately moved onto the next ingredient and, soon enough, she had the base brewing. "A few more stirs,"[/color] she told Daciana happily, much more relaxed and confident now that she was in her "zone", so to speak. Sure enough, the potion turned the correct colour - well, it seemed right from what she remembered of the last time she had tried this potion - and she used her wand to pour some of the base potion until they were equally separated. "Okay, time to work on our separate potions,"[/color] she said brightly and then, realising that her overly-perky disposition might be aggravating to someone like Daciana Gamp, she blushed and simply got to work on her potion, writing down the ingredients with their respective quantities as she added them.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/color]