It was a Hogsmeade weekend but I was still in the castle. Though my friends had begged me to come, I had just received a package from my father that morning at breakfast containing the ingredients I had requested for the Veritaserum Potion. I was so excited that I couldn't wait to get started. I ran to the dungeons with my cauldron, entered one of the practice rooms and began to work.
He loved Hogsmeade weekends. He never went to Hogsmeade, mind you, but everyone else went and he could have the dungeons all to himself. The castle seemed more alive to him in these quiet times. The soul and spirit of the school had a chance to breath and radiate, and in this enthralling time, Terrance felt truly at peace with himself. The only other time he had eve felt this sort of calm was when he had been the Slytherin Seeker. He could feel the soul and spirit of the castle grounds then. He had felt connected with nature. Then that rich pretty boy Malfoy had bought his was into the team and Terrance had been booted off. The kid was horrible though; he didn't even know how to ride a broom properly. It was a huge insult to be replaced with trash like Malfoy. His friend Adrian had been even more outraged than he had been, if that was possible. He had to convince Adrian to stay on the team, as he had threatened to quit in protest, because that way Adrian could have the chance to possibly sabotage Malfoy so that Terrance could get back on the team. That was three years ago and Malfoy was still on the team and Adrian had graduated and it was Terrance's seventh year with out his sport and his best friend.
He walked through the halls enjoying the quiet. It was nearly a perfect silence except for a distant bubbling sound. That sound interested Terrance quite a bit. The only time he had ever heard that sound was during potions class. But there were no classes today it was the weekend. And it couldn't be Professor Snape because he had told the Slytherin house that he would be out of the castle today and wouldn't be back until the dinner feast. He followed the bubbling with an extremely un-Slytherin curiosity that he had never experienced before.
When he got to the potions wing he saw that the practice room door was open a jar and could hear the bubbling coming from with in. He felt very foolish doing so, but he crept up to the door and peered through the gap. Inside the room he saw a little girl. She was quite small, but, strangely, had very nice curves. She had flawless blond hair that was pulled back into a loose pony tail and reached down to her knees. And she gave off a very radiant glow. He couldn't see her face, but thought she looked beautiful. That thought repulsed him though because clearly she must be a first year with how small she was. Then again, she could be older that he thought. Terrance couldn't really judge height fairly owing to how tall he was. At 6'3" he was easily a foot taller than most girls. But clearly this girl had to be older. You had to be in your seventh year to use the practice rooms and have Snape's permission to use then alone. But Terrance knew everyone in his year and none of them looked like this girl.
Just then the girl gracefully spun around and slipped a few ingredients into the cauldron. Terrance was in a shock to see that this was a forth year student. She was the girl who had advanced dramatically and with in a month learned three years of school by herself. He gasped when he saw how pretty she was from the front too. She had big sparkling blue eyes that looked both joyful and sad at the same time. Her skin looked like a China dolls, completely flawless and fair. He had never seen anything like her. But he couldn't gaze freely at her any more, for his gasp had been just loud enough to catch her attention and she was staring right at him.
Terrance froze where he stood. He wanted to run from the embracement of having been caught staring but his legs wouldn't move. He watched as the beautiful blond girl lifted her wand and waved it at the cauldron so that the entire potion making process froze, like it had been paused. He felt like he had been paused too, why else couldn't he move. Then the girl walked toward the door and pulled it open to look at him.
She was eye level with his chest and truly was tiny, fragile looking, yet strong at the same time.
"Is there any particular reason that you are spying on me," she asked? She had a very somber look about her now. As if she feared being hurt in some way. And that snapped him out of his stupor.
"I wasn't spying on you," he said, cursing the quaver in his voice. "I just looked in as I was passing."
"Oh. Is that so," she questioned doubtingly?
Terrance didn't say anything. He was bad liar and knew hi voice would give him away. He just nodded. There was a long silence before the girl spoke again.
"Well as it appears you are not in any hurry to get anywhere, as your haven't moved, would you like to come in? I know I'm capable of brewing this potion alone, but I wouldn't mind some company. It really is lonely with the castle so empty."
"What potion are you brewing?"
"I'm attempting the Veritaserum Potion."
If he hadn't had the pride to stop him self from doing so, his jaw would have hit the ground in shock. This girl was three years younger than him and there would be no way that he could brew that potion without at least ten years more of potions study. This girl was truly gifted if she could succeed at this challenge at the age of fourteen. He had to see this. So he agreed to come in and keep her company. He was having a very un-Slytherin day.
