Adventures At Echowick

Disclaimer: As if this needs to be stated once more, I am not the owner, creator, or rights-holder Harry Potter or any related series or franchises. The person you're looking for would be one J.K. Rowling. Sadly, I am but a fan with a few ideas of my own...

Lapses

By mid-October, Cari was so busy that she could hardly breathe. Classes were kept taking up more and more time as the homework amounts kept rising. Any spare time she had went to studying the rules of Quidditch, common moves, famous games…. It seemed like there was always something Professor Gregory brought up that she didn't know anything about.

Her lessons on Fridays had shifted from learning about Broomsmithery to focusing completely on Quidditch. The professor and both of her classmates knew an impressive amount about the sport, so they would alternate between teaching her new information and quizzing her about things she should already know. Professor Fleet had told them that the brooms wouldn't need to be checked until just before the first game. Without a stack of brooms to service, and since Asher and Ransom were both so far ahead on their final projects, there was plenty of time to study the wizarding world's favorite sport.

To make things even more stressful for Cari, Pitt had come up with another way to be irritating. Any time she was in the halls, standing, walking, entering or exiting a classroom, Pitt would be there, pretending to hold a Beater's bat. He would take aim, lining up his shot just as she had seen Muggle men do while pretending to practice a golf swing. Without a doubt, Pitt was going to be gunning for her on the day of the first game.

Until then, she wasn't going to worry about the bullying older boy. He was irritating, but she was in far more danger of failing out of Echowick than she was of being attacked by another student. How things have changed in a year… she mused. A year ago, she had scurried around the school, keeping a constant watch behind herself, wary of the bullies she had been right to fear. Now, she strode through the school with a purpose, always on the way to another class or study session. Lately, Cari had noticed people actively moving out of her way. It was an odd change, but one she kind of enjoyed.

Classes, for all of their extra work, were at least growing more interesting. True to her word, Professor Brunn did have them making potions that more thrilling than Sleeping Draughts and Pepper-Up Potions. This week, they were starting work on a new brew, Forgetfulness Potion. The students walked in the room excited. All of the prep work had been completed on the day before, so they already knew the ingredients, brewing requirements, and uses of the completed potion. As Professor Brunn had taught them to do over the past year, the class had gathered the ingredients needed to make the potion. Everything was ready for the brewing to start today.

"Ahh…" Professor Brunn sighed from the front of the room, a smile gracing her delicate features. "Students eager to learn. That sound is music to any educator's ears." The students dropped their conversations immediately so they wouldn't miss her permission to begin brewing. Brunn's smiled widened, her black eyes sparkling. "Let's jump right in, then. Go ahead and light the fires. Allow them to grow for a minute or two, then you may begin brewing."

Fortunately, Forgetfulness Potion took a relatively short amount of time to brew. Five and a half minutes, to be exact, if one had a brass cauldron like Cari's. She and Lydia were sharing a work station and built the base for the potion together, taking turns stirring the mixture until it was ready. Professor Brunn was already making her rounds to check the students' work, so they simply sat quietly, stirring the contents of the cauldron occasionally as they waited.

She had just stood to stir the calmly bubbling potion when Duncan Jones stumbled by. Duncan was Chayton's roommate, a student in the field of Magical Photography. Cari had never had a complete conversation with the boy, but knew him enough to say hi when she passed him in the halls. Extremely short for their age, Duncan was constantly in trouble for his slightly too-long robes. Fleet had warned him multiple times to have them hemmed as they were a tripping hazard. He hadn't listened, and Fleet's words turned out to be prophetic. Duncan's foot caught on the front hem of his robes and he tripped, catching himself on Cari and Lydia's station, but knocking the cauldron off balance.

The cauldron was warded with anti-burn spells of course, so when Cari caught it, there was no real damage to her hands, though most of the potion spilled out onto her clothing. Professor Brunn, attention attracted by the noise, hurried over. "Miss Romana, remove your outer robes now. Quickly!"

Though her brow crinkled questioningly, Cari obediently began to pull the black robes over her head, but slowed halfway through the motion. Why am I taking my robes off in the middle of class? Why are they wet? I can't see anything. Why am I taking my robes off in the middle of class? She lowered her robes once again, trying to ignore the dampness. Why are my robes wet?

The entire class was staring at her, including the professor. Cari blushed. "I'm sorry, did you say something Professor… Professor…" She stared at the floor, trying to remember what she had been trying to remember. Duncan, standing on the other side of the desk, was apologizing over and over. "I'm sorry," she said pleasantly. "Why are you apologizing?"

The woman with dark eyes looked concerned. "Forgetfulness Potion can be consumed or applied topically. As you can see, the effect is just as strong when the potion is spread across the skin."

"I'm sorry, the effects of what?"

"Cari!" a boy with bright blue eyes leaned across his desk, staring at her worriedly. "Is there anything you can do, Professor?" He didn't look familiar, but it was nice of the strange boy to be so worried about her.

The dark-eyed woman sighed and Cari tried to remember how she had disappointed her so badly. "Her skin obviously absorbed a great deal of the potion. I believe this is going to need some help from Doctor Combes. Miss Abrams," she said, looking at a girl with dark, curly hair standing next to Cari. "Will you please escort Miss Romana to the Hospital Building? Be sure that she doesn't get into trouble. Mr. Jones here will be happy to pack up what's left of your potion and clean your cauldron."

The girl nodded and turned to Cari expectantly. Still a little confused, Cari smiled agreeably. "I'm sorry; I don't think we've met. I'm Cari."

She looked worried, not answering. She took a firm grasp of Cari's elbow and began pulling her from the room. Cari followed obediently, staring at her surroundings. Stone walls soared upward to meet a high ceiling and it wasn't until they walked up a flight of stairs that she realized they must have been underground. After a short trip through a large room that smelled absolutely amazing, Cari and the unnamed girl were standing outside.

The air was crisp, with just a hint of chill, but the grass was still a vivid green, covering rolling hills. "Wow," she sighed, and the girl looked at her questioningly. "It's beautiful out here!" The girl led on in silence. Soon, they were standing outside of a large building made of gray stone. "This looks like an interesting place."

When they walked inside, the building was light and airy, sunshine streaming in through large windows. A man with dark hair and light eyes came walking up to her, smiling welcomingly. "Miss Romana! I was starting to think I wouldn't see you at all this year."

She smiled back. "I'm sorry, have we met before? I'm afraid I don't remember your name at the moment."

His dark brows drew together as the man said slowly, "I'm Doctor Combes."

"Doctor?" Cari looked over at the girl who had brought her. "Am I sick?"

The man took on a look of understanding. "Forgetfulness Potion?" The girl nodded and he began rummaging through a cabinet, eventually drawing out a small glass and a large brown vial. "How much did she ingest?" He began pouring even as he asked the question.

"None; that's the thing. It spilled on her and Professor Brunn said it must have absorbed straight into her skin."

The man dumped the clear, thick liquid back into the brown vial. "Well, unfortunately, there's nothing we can do until it wears off. If it was ingested, I could have given her the antidote, but there's no way of measuring how much soaked into her skin." He put the items back into the cabinet and straightened. "You may return to class, Miss Abrams. I will keep Miss Romana here until she recovers." The girl looked hesitant and he smiled soothingly. "It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours and there will be no lingering ill effects. The best thing we can do is keep her comfortable."

The girl smiled and left the building, leaving Cari with the man. "Miss Romana?" Cari looked over at him and he gave a warm smile. "All right, that's a good start. Follow me please?" He led her over to a bed, helped her remove her shoes, and settled her down, asking a series of questions all the while. When he had finished, he said, "If you want to take a nap, I'll come to wake you up in a little while."

Cari thanked him, settled down on the bed, and drifted off, only briefly wondering where she was and who this man could be.

When she was woken a short while later, Cari sat up with a start. When did I go to sleep? Am I in the Hospital Building? Who just touched me? She whipped around, searching until she found a dark-haired man sitting at her bedside. It took a moment, then... "Dad?"

"Hey, Cari."

She rubbed her forehead, searching for any hint to what could possibly be going on. "Do you know what I'm doing here? I- I can't seem to remember…"

He leaned forward. "Do you remember anything about your Potions class today?"

"Um… we were supposed to start brewing Forgetfulness Potions today." Putting the pieces together, she asked, "Is that what happened? I accidentally took some of it?"

"No, it spilled on you. Doctor Combes has been checking your memory periodically over the past few hours and says it's returning at quite a normal rate, though you might never remember the accident or the immediate aftermath."

She nodded and glanced around. "Am I free to go, then?"

"I have to go through our questions one more time, Miss Romana, and then we shall see." Cari smiled at the approaching Doctor Combes, who started off with the ever-classic, "What year is it?"

"2007," she said with confidence. He nodded and moved on. With every question she was able to answer correctly, her confidence grew.

Doctor Combes shut the file he was holding with a snap. "All right, Miss Romana. It seems your memory has made a full recovery. You may go…" he checked his watch. "Classes have actually just let out, so if you want to go find your friends before they storm my hospital, that would be wonderful." She must have looked confused, as he explained, "Several of them have been caught trying to skip class so they can come and see you. I would guess that we have less than five minutes before they descend on us all." He smiled to take the sting from his words, but Cari stood anyway.

Outside the Hospital Building, Daniel gave her a quick hug. "Since the excitement seems to be over, I'm going to go back to work for the last few hours of my shift. I'm glad you're okay, honey."

"Thanks, Dad. It was good to see you."

"Good to see you, too." He smiled wryly. "Thanks for letting me be there for this one." She laughed as he walked off toward the golf cart sitting nearby.

When she got back to the Physical Wing, she went straight to the Student lounge. Predictably, everyone was there playing Exploding Snap with the new deck of cards Kimber had gotten from her parents. "Cari!" Lydia squeaked, patting an empty cushion on the couch next to her. Cari sat down.

"Welcome back," Jael said, sitting cross-legged on the floor nearby. "We all heard what happened. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I guess," Cari said offhandedly. "Combes said I'll be fine, but I may never remember the accident or the trip to the Hospital Building. By the way," she added, turning to Lydia, "Thank you for taking me over there. Doctor Combes said you were the one who brought me."

Lydia smiled uncomfortably. "Don't mention it. Please." She cleared her throat. "It was weird, seeing you being… not yourself. You were very polite, though."

"Polite?"

Shadow burst out laughing. "You apologized after forgetting Professor Brunn's name, then asked Duncan why he was apologizing. You also introduced yourself to Lydia. It was pretty entertaining." He paused to tap the newest card, winning a decisive victory over Chayton, who sat back against the wall muttering as Willa and Fletchmeister started another round. "You missed nearly a full day of classes, though. Good job."

Chayton scowled, scooting back into the circle of people. "I like that you skip over your own horrified concern. And it's all because of that idiot Jones. He's a menace to society. For Merlin's sake, he's nearly burnt down our room a couple of times now because he thinks Incendio and Lumos are the same thing!"

Everyone laughed at this, but Cari could see that Chayton was being totally serious. "Don't be mad at Duncan on my account. It was an accident, anyone could see that."

Snorting, Chayton said, "I don't hate him because he dumped Forgetfulness Potion on you." Kimber, sitting next to him, punched him solidly on the shoulder and he flinched, rubbing the spot. "Ouch! I'm not saying it was a good thing that happened! I'm just saying that the reason I hate Duncan Jones is that he's a lazy, witless moron who doesn't work hard enough to be worth the space he takes up so much of."

"Wow, Chayton," Eric said. "Tell us, how do you get along with your roommate?"

Any developing argument was cut short by a small explosion and a string of swear words from Fletchmeister. Everyone looked at the game, which had now turned into a small pile of black ash flanked by Willa and Fletchmeister, both red under a light coating of ash. "Sorry," Fletchmeister explained. "We got a little distracted by the discussion and… well…" He trailed off and looked across the circle. "Sorry, Kimber."

Kimber shrugged, smiling. "Not a problem, but it's your turn to buy the next pack!"

Fletch groaned exaggeratedly and stood. "I guess that's fair. I'm going to wash my face and I'm going to the cafeteria. I'm starving!" In time, they all followed.

Discussion at the table was lively that night. The topic was, as was normal around this time of year, Quidditch. As one of the few second-years on a Wing Quidditch team, Shadow was talking loudly, insisting that no one else knew as much as he did. Obviously, no one accepted this as being valid.

"Shadow! Are you seriously going to keep fighting about this?" Lionel demanded. "The odds are completely stacked against the Physical team. You don't have a prayer of beating the Academics Wing."

Toby chimed in, "The physical and mathematical laws of flight, even magical flight, are against the odds of your Seeker being victorious."

Shadow waved this away. "Have you seen our Seeker? He's brilliant. We'll win for sure." He spoke loudly to be heard over the protests. "Speaking of seeing, since none of you are on any of the opposing teams, you can come watch me practice if you want. We have an open practice this Saturday from eight in the morning until noon."

All animosity was forgotten as the second-years rapidly agreed to go. None of them had ever seen a real, live Quidditch practice before, and thought it sounded fascinating. It'll be a good time for me to practice watching a game with actual players, Cari thought privately. She had been worried lately about whether she would be able to tell what was going on with fourteen people in the air. That was rather a lot of stuff for one person to watch, even if they did know all of the rules.

Just before the group headed back to the dorms for their customary pre-Astronomy nap, Professor Brunn stopped by the table. "Miss Romana, I wanted to return this to you." Cari turned to find Brunn behind her, holding the brass cauldron she had left behind that morning.

"Oh! I guess I didn't realize it was gone."

"Lingering aftereffects of the potion, I'm sure," Professor Brunn replied, waving away Cari's thanks. "While I'm here, I will go ahead and tell you and Miss Abrams that your potion received a perfect score. Which probably shouldn't be a surprise. Miss Romana, I apologize once again on Mr. Jones' behalf. It was truly and accident and I hope you don't harbor any resentment towards him."

Tactfully ignoring the loud snort from Chayton, Cari shook her head. "I have no problem with Duncan, Professor. After all, I can't even remember what happened!" She laughed and the teacher bid them a good night.

"All the same, Romana, if you decide you hate Jones and want me to beat him to pieces, all I need is an excuse and an alibi." Cari rolled her eyes at Chayton's not-entirely-joking offer and went to catch a nap.

A quarter to eight in the morning on the next Saturday found everyone walking up to the Quidditch pitch. The group was chatting among themselves, half ready to experience some of the excitement of a Quidditch game, half wanting to see Shadow embarrass himself after all of the bragging the day before.

As they walked along the path through the woods, Cari noticed a silhouette ahead, unfolding itself from where it had been leaning against a tree trunk. They neared and the silhouette gained color and texture, distinguishing itself from the dim surroundings. It was Headmistress Fleet.

"Good morning, students," she greeted. Her friendly look dropped into one of shock. "Miss Romana? What are you doing here?"

Ignoring the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, Cari said, "Shadow invited us to come and watch the open Quidditch practice today. I want to support my friend and my Wing, you know?"

"Excuse us for a moment, will you?" Professor Fleet asked the group as she pulled Cari off to one side of the path. "Miss Romana, didn't we discuss this?"

Cari racked her brain, worried that she would have once again forgotten something – though she had managed to remember everything except the accident and immediate aftermath – but could think of nothing. "I'm sorry, Professor Fleet. Did we? I don't remember us talking about anything that would be relevant here."

Fleet looked sheepish, though the expression was rare enough for her that it took Cari a moment to recognize it. "Ah. My apologies, Miss Romana, I did mean to speak to you about this before now. You cannot attend any Quidditch practices, open or secret." Cari stared blankly at the Headmistress. Professor Fleet shook her head. "I'm sorry; I wish it didn't have to be this way. With you acting as a student referee, there simply cannot be any reasons for someone to accuse you of having a bias. There are some who say that you won't be able to be unbiased. For that reason, they believe that we shouldn't have a student referee or we should have one from each Wing. You really are the perfect choice for the job, and if pressed, the school would have to cut your position completely rather than attempt to train students from other disciplines, pulling them from their studies with no relevance to their future careers." As though realizing she had started to ramble, Fleet cut off sharply.

Cari wanted to argue, but everything the Headmistress said made perfect sense, though in a very uptight way. She let her shoulders slump. "Okay, so how far do I need to stay from anything Quidditch?"

"Not extremely," the woman said with a slightly relieved look in her eyes. Apparently, she had been expecting Cari to fight. "You can still be friends with whomever, talk about the game, favorite players, what have you. The things you can't discuss are the ones that most Captains don't want their players discussing anyway: specific moves, strategies for winning, that kind of thing. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah. It just bugs me that I can't hang out with the rest of my friends."

Professor Fleet rested a gentle hand on Cari's shoulder. "It's not always fun, having responsibilities. For what it's worth, you wear yours very well."

Cari smiled at the Headmistress and walked back to her curiously waiting friends. "Sorry, guys. I guess I'm not allowed to watch the team practice. Violation of my impartiality as a referee-in-training."

There were outbursts and grumbles, but everyone seemed understanding. "Don't worry, Cari," Lydia comforted. "I'll come back with you and we can start planning out this year's Halloween party."

"No, that's okay," Cari said hastily. "I have some homework to work on before tomorrow anyway. Have fun. Mock Shadow for me!" Everyone eagerly agreed to that and Cari returned to the school alone. A day of homework by myself, followed by hours of people talking about a practice that I wasn't allowed to attend. Fantastic. At least I'm not helping Lydia plan a party. Comforted with that, Cari reached her room and dug into the work she had left to finish.

Hours later, Cari sat at the dinner table listening to everyone rave about the Quidditch practice. "Seriously, Cari," Fletchmeister exclaimed, "You should have seen it! I've been to a lot of Quidditch games in my life, but I seriously think Shadow is one of the best Chasers I've ever watched play!"

Cari nodded politely, internally praying for a change of topic, but it seemed that was unlikely to happen. "Much as I hate to admit it, Fletch is right," Chayton agreed. "Not that Shadow needs to be any cockier than he already is, but the kid is good."

Much as it sucked to not be there in support of her friend, Cari knew deep down that there was an upside to not being able to attend practices: If Shadow was as good at Quidditch as everyone said he was, it was only a matter of time before he was too cool to be around losers like them. After all, the first game of the season was less than a month away. Might as well start getting some distance now so it'll hurt less later, Cari thought resignedly.

Apparently having a rare, sensitive-to-others'-moods day, Lydia shifted in her seat next to Cari. "Okay, okay, Shadow's amazing. What do you guys think we should do for Halloween?"

Tessa shrugged. "The same thing we did last year? I had fun."

There was a general murmur of agreement, but Lydia looked horrified. "We can't do the same thing two years in a row!"

"Why not?" Eric asked. "We all had fun. A ton of the third-years have been asking me if we're doing it again and wanting to be invited. Obviously, it was a success. If it ain't broke…"

Lydia seized Eric's arm in a grip that looked painful. "Were people really asking about it?"

"Yeah, they were. Third-years, second-years, and even a few upperclassmen. Will you let go of me now?"

Turning to the group, an ecstatic look on her face, Lydia cried, "We're having another movie-costume contest party!"

"Not exactly catchy, is it?" Chayton muttered, grunting as Kimber elbowed him.

Author's Note - So, what did you think? The Forgetfulness Potion section is one of my favorite things I've ever written and I hope you enjoyed it, too! Now on to the more serious part: Sadly, my readers, it is time. For the next two weeks, I will only be posting once per week instead of twice. My apologies, but I am trying to line up at least the Christmas chapter to actual Christmas time. We're moving right along, though! Coming up to Halloween of Cari's second year, which means we're getting closer all the time to The Big Stuff. Oh, I'm so excited for you to know about it! Anyway, that's all I have for right now. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful week!