Mary Potter
Mary didn't sleep that night, she sneaked out of the dorm and made her way to the Room of Requirement, where she sat in the lone chair in the empty room, seven years of textbooks spread out over the long coffee table. Starting with simple first year spells, Mary practiced casting and mastering each and every one. Her pattern of late night studying continued for the rest of the week, sometimes leaving her so tired that she barely made it through the day without falling asleep.
The morning of November sixth dawned in darkness that made the cold morning seem more like late evening. Thick dark clouds swirled around, bringing heavy rain and gale force winds, promising an unpleasant match. The Slytherin team had become mysteriously ill the night before while the Hufflepuffs subsequently tried and failed to bow out of the competition.
Mary sat with the rest of her teammates while they picked at their breakfast, looking grim and slightly green. She caught the sight of bushy brown hair and she looked up to see Hermione sitting next to Neville with a sad frown on her face.
It had been close to a week since Mary had spoken to her best friend. The absence of her friendship felt like a gaping hole in Mary's heart, but she knew better than to confront Hermione about their argument. Ron asked her about the situation and Mary was quick to change the subject. It just wouldn't do for Hermione to apologize. She wanted her to truly trust her, and respecting her space and making sure she wasn't disturbed was the only way Mary could think of to help her out. She had even gone as far as teaching an area based Silencing Charm to Lavender and Parvati. Hoping it kept things in their dorm from grating on Hermione's nerves.
Oliver stood jerkily and slapped his palm on the table, upsetting Angelina's tea and pulling Mary from her thoughts, then leaned over to stare each of them down. "Don't show them that the weather bothers you. I don't want to see or hear any of you complaining about it. We're going out there and we're going to play until our arms freeze off or we win with at least a few hundred points."
Mary nodded along with the rest of the team, popping a sweet into her mouth to drown out the rancid taste of bile that emerged when she looked at the way the wind was ripping the leaves off of the trees.
"Let's just scare the pants off of 'em." George smirked.
Fred leaned forward and stared each of them in the eye. "What my dear brother is trying to say is, act happy about the gruesome conditions. Look at your opponent and smile widely."
"We're Gryffindors," Mary added. "Fear is our bitch. Now let's get out there so I can catch that Snitch."
She clamped a hand over her mouth as the others gaped at her in shock. Sirius would pay dearly for the innocently marked pack of sweets. And Hedwig would get a talking to for delivering them.
Fred and George exchanged smirks then laughed uproariously. Angelina, Katie, and Alicia all chuckled as they pulled Mary to her feet. Oliver shook his head, but upon seeing the Hufflepuffs staring in confusion, he let a maniacal smile spread across his face.
"Ate a Lime sweet that Sirius sent me." Mary tried to explain. "Let's bounce to this beat cause I've got to pee."
"No talking during the match, Potter," Oliver whispered to her while moving to the front of the group.
"Go get 'em." Ron patted her hard on the back.
They walked out of the Great Hall talking loudly with their heads held high. Mary could see that George was right, just because the circumstances were unappealing, it didn't mean they had to trudge through. It was all about how you viewed it. While the weather was horrible, she knew that their team was more than skilled to endure whatever the storm threw at them.
When they were in the changing room, Angelina tapped her on the shoulder with her wand. "I've learned a long lasting water proofing charm. It should keep you dry for a few hours at least."
"Thanks." Mary replied, then sighed in relief when she wasn't forced to speak a lame rhyme. "Anything we can do about the cold?"
"Illegal in all matches." Alicia grimaced. "Just stay moving and you shouldn't freeze to death."
"Lovely." Katie groaned, rubbing her hands together over the wood stove.
"It's pissing buckets out there." Angelina adjusted her gloves, trying not to stare out of the tiny window.
Mary winced, then turned and smiled at her teammates in mock happiness. "Time to smile about the cold pouring rain, girls!"
Katie opened the door and the wind slung it open with a crash. She tapped Angelina on the shoulder and chuckled. "Tag. Your it!"
Katie ran onto the pitch, laughing as she slipped and slid through the mud. Mary was hot on her heels as was Alicia, all trying to stay away from Angelina who looked like she was wanting revenge. They slid up next to the boys, brooms over their shoulders as they kicked clumps of mud at each other.
"Well it looks like the Gryffindor team hasn't gotten the owl about the weather." Lee Jordan announced from the stands. "And here comes Madame Hooch!"
Hooch walked up to the team captains with her wand held over her head, a shielding charm keeping the rain from soaking her through. "I want a good clean game."
"Nothing clean about it." Fred and George laughed, throwing mud pies at each other, ignoring Hooch's glare.
Diggory and Wood shook hands quickly, glaring at each other the way only true Quidditch fanatics could manage.
"Mount your brooms." Hooch nodded, holding her whistle to her mouth.
The Nimbus floated into the air, carrying Mary up and away from the muddy ground. Hooch blew the whistle and the teams split up. She only caught the faintest glimmer of the Snitch before the gusting winds threw it out of her view. Trying to follow the path of the wind was pointless as it changed every few seconds, almost unseating her more than once.
An hour after the match started, Mary was still circling the pitch. Hufflepuff was getting decimated by the Gryffindor chasers. And so far they hadn't scored a single goal against Wood. Gryffindor, however, was close to a hundred and seventy points in the lead.
She felt the bone aching chill in the air before she saw them. Looking up, she was momentarily distracted by the hooded figures floating high above her, hovering over the grounds like overgrown vultures. Her breath froze in front of her face and ice started building up on her hands.
"Dementors." Cedric gasped from over twenty feet below her.
Without a moment to spare, Mary let go of her broom and pulled out her wand thinking of her happiest memory."Expecto Patronum."
Mary had hoped that the large stag would burst forth in all of its shining silver glory, but instead a large shimmering shield appeared, repelling most of the foul creatures. The Dementors scattered and disappeared into the thick clouds, leaving Mary to holster her wand and resume the match.
"Hurry!" The Hufflepuff Seeker hissed at his broom, sending it into a steep dive.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the golden wings of the Snitch glinting faintly glimmering on the ground below. She stowed her wand back in its holster and maneuvered the broom to follow the older boy.
The cold air and fog pelted her skin, but the exhilaration kept a smile on her face. She spiraled the broom around a few of the Hufflepuff players and laughed when they shrieked in surprise. The ground kept coming closer and closer, but Mary made no effort to slow down.
Cedric, who had been ahead of her, tried to match her speed, but was unable to get his CleanSweep to dive like her Nimbus could. Still, he flew as fast as he could toward the Snitch.
"You're going to crash!" Cedric yelled from her left.
Mary smirked and let out a small laugh as the small glint of gold flickered below her.
"Come on." Mary growled at her Nimbus, pushing it to its limit. "Just a little more."
The Snitch hovered in the same place just ten feet off the ground. Mary held her left hand out and plucked it from the air with ease, feeling as though she was on top of the world as the crowd roared and cheered louder than the booming thunder. Her joy and glee over Gryffindor's victory was short-lived as she tried and failed to pull up the nose of her broom in time.
Mary tucked herself around her broom and braced herself just before she hit the ground. The impact was so hard that her broom shattered after she bounced off of the hard icy mud. Her left arm and leg snapped like twigs as her body skidded to a halt just below the Hufflepuff stands.
Mary lifted the Snitch into the air with her good arm and heard the crowd cheer wildly then let it drop limply to her side while trying to keep herself from shrieking in pain. Her stomach rolled threateningly and she worried that she would vomit right there in front of everyone. She closed her eyes and leaned back into the cold mud to get some relief, but none came.
"Potter!" A voice yelled out.
Mary lifted her head and opened an eye to see Diggory slipping through the mud to get to her.
"Merlin!" He hissed and knelt down beside her. "Help is on the way."
He looked down and winced in sympathy. Her broom was nothing but splinters and they were embedded into her robes and by the dark red stains, also sticking into her skin.
"Sorry I stole the Snitch," she said drowsily. "Good game though."
Her last words were muffled, a stitch of pain shooting through her back with each breath. Blood pooled in her mouth, the frothy red liquid bubbled up and started dribbling out of the corner of her lips. Diggory turned her slightly, keeping her from choking to death. The shattered broomstick handle was embedded in her stomach, causing her maroon Quidditch robes to turn an even darker shade of red. Her leg was mangled badly, turned at an odd angle and had bits of wood sticking out everywhere.
"HELP!" Diggory yelled so loudly that Mary could feel the vibrations throughout her aching body.
"Mr. Diggory!" Professor McGonagall ran up to them and gasped at the state her student was in. "My word! Severus!"
A cool weathered hand was pressed to her forehead, twinkling blue eyes staring at her in concern. "Sleep, child."
She didn't hear the incantation he used, only that all of the fight seemed to leave her in an instant, causing her limbs to go slack and the darkness to finally pull her under.
Severus Snape
Severus watched the match in complete boredom. He was dead set on making Quidditch matches a definite no on his next employment contract. There was no usefulness in the game other than causing him far more work, brewing numerous potions that would be consumed by the blithering idiots that thought the sport was fun.
The weather alone was a good reason to avoid the pitch at all costs. Drying and Heating charms only went so far to keep one comfortable when they were trapped out in the elements. And today of all days had to be the one time where the rogue guardians of Azkaban deemed it prudent to show themselves, sending both the crowd and the staff into a full out panic.
Then Potter happened. The irritating girl had surprised them all by casting a passable Patronus and driving the worst of the horde away. But her momentary victory was quickly overshadowed by the way she succeeded in sending everyone present into cardiac arrest with her downward spiral and dramatic crash into the pitch.
"Idiotic child!" Snape hissed as he jogged toward them and knelt down on her other side in the mud.
He lifted the corner of her robe and saw the broken broom handle plunged deep into the side of her stomach. He didn't know if Madam Pomfrey was equipped for such a grievous injury and made sure he loudly said so to both Albus and Minerva.
"She needs to go straight to St. Mungo's," he said quietly. "But the Floo will be too dangerous considering the magic leaking from the destroyed broom."
"She will have to stay here." Dumbledore shook his head as he conjured a stretcher and levitated Potter onto it. "I have no doubt that Poppy can fix her up. If it's needed I have a Healer friend who would not mind lending her assistance."
"Then call her, Albus," Minerva said as she walked next to the floating stretcher. "No offense to Poppy, but Potter is not in good shape."
Diggory jumped to his feet and followed, leading the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor teams into the castle behind the teachers. "Will she be okay?"
"She's in for a rough night, Cedric." Professor Sprout patted his hand and blocked the students from going further than the Great Hall doors. "We will update you as soon as we can. For now, I think it'd be best if you waited in your common rooms."
The group grumbled and shuffled away, but Potter's friends still remained.
"We'll wait outside the hospital wing," Granger said imperiously, grabbing Weasley's arm and pulling him past Pomona.
Inside the brightly lit infirmary, Poppy Pomfrey unloaded a rant worthy of an angry lioness when she saw the state of her most frequent patient. Severus and Minerva were equally shocked at the vitriol in Poppy's voice as she spoke about the game of Quidditch while getting the needed equipment set up. She'd even gone as far as to send the Headmaster out of the infirmary with high words of warning should he ever cast a sleeping spell on someone in need of medical care.
Poppy finished her initial examination and turned to him, gesturing at the curtains. "Step out for a moment, please. And pull the curtain shut behind yourself. Don't go far, we'll need your help in just a few moments."
He did as asked and stood to the side of the room. He heard Minerva's shocked gasp and Poppy's unladylike curse and wondered what had deserved such a reaction.
"Bring a pain potion, Severus," Madam Pomfrey said loud enough for him to hear. "And Pepper-Up, Blood Replenisher, Skele-Gro, and a Nerve Set Draught."
He pulled five small vials out of the cupboard and walked back to the curtained off area and pulled a panel back to step in.
He automatically averted his eyes away from the bed and it's occupant.
"It's safe," Minerva said sternly, pulling the vials from his hands.
He looked over to see Potter wearing a pair of Muggle sleep shorts and a sheet covering her chest.
"Ennervate." Poppy tapped her wand just above the Potter's heart. "Wake up, Miss Potter."
"Don't wanna." The girl grumbled.
"I hate to say it, but you're going to need to stay awake while we remove the broom fragments, child. You shouldn't sleep after a head injury," Poppy said with remorse. "We can't give you anything for the pain just yet, not with the magic leaking from the broom. It won't react well. As such I can't use magic to remove the broken pieces of your broom. I'll have to take them out the Muggle way."
"Heard this story before. Mixed magics bad." Potter cringed and looked down at where the broken broom handle stuck out of her side. "My poor broom."
"Poor broom!" Poppy scoffed. "It's your leg that you should be worrying about. Or maybe the internal organs you've likely skewered with this stunt."
"Kidney on a stick." Potter slurred and poked at the broom with a shaking hand. "Doesn't sound very good."
"I'd hope not." Minerva interjected, appalled at the macabre turn of subject.
Potter swallowed hard and gripped the bed sheet. "Now some liver with fava beans and a nice Chianti might not be so bad."
Snape choked down a laugh at the Muggle movie reference and internally berated himself for finding the injured brat's wit amusing. He blamed his momentary loss of composure on the shear stress of the situation and the fact that Silence of the Lambs had once been a gruesome but thrilling favorite of his.
Madam Pomfrey held up a pair of pliers. "This will be quite painful."
"You just had to show me your tools of torture." The girl paled at the instrument in Poppy's hand. "Are you sure I can't have a pain potion? Or maybe a vat of Firewhiskey?"
"I'm sorry, dear. But that will have to wait until we're through," Madam Pomfrey's voice softened, then she looked up at Severus and pulled him over to stand by the head of the bed. "Hold her left hand and arm down, Severus. But be careful with the forearm and shoulder, both are broken. Minerva, get the right side."
Poppy cast a silencing charm on the room and turned back to her patient. "Hold as still as you possibly can, dear."
"You do ask a lot of your victims." Potter grasped the mattress and looked as though she was going to try and run for it.
"Only when they need it," Poppy said and grimaced as she grabbed the handle of the broomstick and pulled.
"Balls!" Potter ground out, her teeth grinding together so tightly that Severus thought he heard one shatter.
"Miss Potter!" McGonagall hissed as she kept a firm hold on Potter's shoulder.
"It's okay, dear." Madam Pomfrey patted the brat's hand consolingly and looked up at McGonagall. "I daresay I've taught her a few curses of my own. She's not like the typical homesick patients that I normally deal with."
"I have to stick this gauze in the wound." Poppy held up a wad of clean cotton. "You'll feel some pressure. Squeeze Professor Snape's hand if it hurts."
"I think he may value his hand." Potter's voice shook as Poppy pushed the piece of gauze in. "How else would he write all those entertaining insults?"
Her grip was light and he could feel that she was restraining herself from gripping his hand.
"I do have a dictation quill, Potter." Severus rolled his eyes and gripped her hand tightly. "And I apparently haven't made my suggestions insulting enough if they're considered entertaining."
"Another big piece." Poppy shook her head and put the pliers to the chunk of broom. "These are going to leave some scars, child."
"Don't mind scars." Potter clenched her eyes shut as her eyes watered. "Any chance my broom can be fixed?"
"Not bloody likely!" Poppy huffed and placed another splinter into the stainless steel tray. "I can repair it enough for you to use it for sweeping."
"I am in full agreement that the broom can not be repaired." Minerva kept her eyes on Potter's face, as though she couldn't stand the sight of blood, and spoke calmly, finally realizing that the others were trying their best to distract the girl from the pain. "The magic in them is far too precise and interwoven into the very grains of the wood for it to be fixed by a single spell."
Snape looked over at a shard of the Nimbus 2000. "It seems as though the Suppression Cuff nullified the protection charms that would have normally kept the broom from breaking."
"Cheese and rice!" Potter yelped as Madam Pomfrey had to cut a piece out with a knife. "That effing hurt!"
"I will use your language as an excuse to take points in the future, Miss Potter." Snape intoned gleefully.
"So I can talk like this in class?" Her eyes brightened and tears leaked out as another long cut was made to remove a particularly large splinter from her thigh.
Snape stared at her with gleaming eyes. "Try it."
The girl's eyes began to roll into the back of her head, Potter's grip slackening.
"Blood loss finally won out." Poppy sighed. "The poor dear. Wake her back up, Minerva. I'll see what I can do about that nasty concussion and then we'll finish removing the splinters."
Severus removed his hand from Potter's grasp. "I'll go start a new batch of Blood Replenisher. It's best when fresh."
McGonagall shot him a perturbed and slightly envious glare as he walked out of the infirmary, not wanting to see or hear the brat's whining and complaining.
Mary Potter
Mary woke up later that night, to the sounds of a quiet argument going on not far from her bed.
"Mary is coming home with me!" Sirius's voice echoed through the large room. "There is no way I can trust them with her care. Not after this."
"Be reasonable," Professor Lupin said quietly. "You can't pull her from school over a Quidditch accident."
"I could have lost her, Remus." Sirius growled. "I can teach her and take better care of her at home."
Mary fumbled with her plaster bound limbs until she could sit up, but somehow she'd gotten her arm trapped under her leg and the numbing potions made it impossible to control them. She flopped face first toward the floor until her sling caught on the dresser.
"Help," she cried in defeat.
Madam Pomfrey marched toward her, her wand whipping through the air, sending Mary flying back onto her bed. "And just what do you think you're doing?"
"Escaping?" Mary squinted at her when the torches burned brighter. "Or not?"
"Not." Pomfrey scowled deeply. "Your injuries are still in a critical state and your body is completely exhausted."
"So when can I leave?" Mary asked, trailing her fingers across the sheet as though drawing out a map for the door.
"Healer Tonks recommended you stay for at least three days." Pomfrey handed her a pale blue vial of what smelled like a sleeping potion. "But your arm won't be healed for at least a week."
Mary looked at the sling as Sirius and Professor Lupin rounded the curtain. "Two days and I'll visit daily."
Pomfrey considered the offer and narrowed her eyes. "If you cooperate I'll let you out Sunday night before supper. You'll stop by after your last class of the day for the following week. But no visitors. You need your rest."
"Agreed." Mary nodded sharply.
"How are you feeling?" Sirius grasped her hand gently and sat beside her while Professor Lupin took the seat on the other side of her bed.
"Not bad." Mary shrugged.
Professor Lupin stared at her in disbelief. "Are you sure?"
"I'm horrified that I almost cost Gryffindor the match and even more appalled that I wrecked my broom. But physically, I'm fine." Mary replied honestly. "Were you at the match? I looked for you."
"By the time we returned, the match was over." Sirius replied evasively.
Mary knew that the full moon was the night before and that neither one of them would admit they were either traipsing through the Forest or sequestered in the Hospital wing.
"When did you learn the Patronus Charm?" Professor Lupin changed the subject and cut Sirius off before he could speak again.
"I've been practicing it for a while." Mary kind of lied, staring at her bedsheets so she didn't give her deception away. "Too bad it wasn't corporeal."
"Brilliant." Professor Lupin smiled softly at her. "Just like your mother."
Mary wanted to smile back, but felt ashamed, as though she had cheated.
"You want to come home?" Sirius interrupted her thought.
She gave him a confused glance. "I don't want to get behind in my classes. Believe me, I just caught up with my homework. I don't need to earn more."
"I can teach you." Sirius pleaded. "Anything you want to learn. If not I'll hire someone who can."
She squeezed his hand lightly. "I'm okay, Sirius. And I want to stay at Hogwarts."
He rubbed a hand across his face and put his head down mumbling something like. "Too many close calls."
"Professor Lupin?" Mary asked. "Is there any way you can let my teammates know that I'm okay and that I'll see them Sunday?"
"Of course." He smiled at her. "But only if you call me Remus when we're not in class."
"Thanks, Remus." Mary grinned.
"So formal." Sirius shook his head in sorrow. "He used to be your 'Moomy'."
"Moomy?" Mary quirked an eyebrow at her professor.
Remus pointed at Sirius in indignation. "She called you 'Paddy'!"
"Paddy and Moomy." Mary shook her head in disbelief. "I had an interesting beginning in this world."
Pomfrey floated a tray with three glasses of water to them. "Visiting hours will be over in five minutes."
Sirius picked his up and held the glass to his mouth. "We know."
"Visit more often?" Mary pleaded with them, hoping to make her godfather feel better. "Professor Lupin can keep you company. If you're over your denial."
Water shot out of Sirius' nose, spraying everything within a three feet radius. He coughed and sputtered as Mary laughed loudly, holding her bandaged rib cage to keep from jostling her injuries.
"It hurts!" She gasped through her giggles. "Ow!"
"What have you done?" Pomfrey stepped in looking appalled. "You haven't upset the spells have you?"
"Made... laugh." Mary sputtered, trying to reign in both her amusement and tears of pain.
"What's so funny?" Lupin asked Sirius, his glance traveling from his friend to his student.
"Not a bird, is he?" Mary sputtered, causing Sirius to growl at her.
"Are you concussed again?" Pomfrey waved her wand and prodded Mary's skull. "I swear, child. One more head injury and the damage may well become permanent."
"Ouch. Damn." Mary waved her hand to avoid Pomfrey's intrusion. "It was just an inside joke."
When Sirius and Lupin left minutes later, Mary could hear Lupin asking Sirius what was so funny about birds. Mary chuckled to herself as she snuggled under the warm covers and let the Sleeping Potion work its magic.
True to her word, Pomfrey kept Mary until the very last minute on Sunday evening. Annie left a fresh set of clothes waiting for her when she exited the infirmary's shower. Pomfrey carefully bandaged her Muggle arm and cast a few more diagnostic spells before reluctantly letting her leave.
Mary walked into the hall, charming her cast and sling to both glow in the dark and change colors randomly, not paying attention to where she was going. She tripped over someone's shoe and would have sprawled onto the floor had said person not grabbed her good arm and steadied her.
She looked up to see Malfoy grasping her arm and staring at her in a mixture of revulsion and horror. Mary shuddered and pulled her arm free from his grasp, stepping far away from the Slytherin. Their eyes met one more time and they both shuddered in disgust before darting for their house tables.
"Mary!" Ron cried out, abandoning his empty plate to rush to her.
The rest of the hall turned to stare, whispering and pointing at her. Her teammates stood and marched forward, giving her hugs and praising her for a wonderful catch, while admonishing her for getting herself hurt.
Cedric stepped forward and extended his hand to her. "Good game."
"Good game." She grinned and shook his hand.
Professor Dumbledore stood, pulling the attention away from her. "Yes, we are all very thankful that Miss Potter is once again out of the infirmary. If you are all ready, I do believe it's time to eat."
Ron whooped and ran back to his seat. Mary followed him at a slower pace and moved to sit, but a hand on her arm stopped her. Turning to the side, she saw Hermione standing there, biting her lip and staring at her with wide concerned eyes.
"Sit with me?" Hermione asked quietly.
Mary nodded and sat down beside her. Just as she was getting ready to start dishing food onto her plate, Hermione enveloped her in a hug and began to cry.
"Whoa." Mary patted her on the back. "You okay, Hermione?"
"I'm so sorry!" Hermione sobbed into her shoulder.
The rest of what she said was so muffled and quickly spoken that all Mary could do was stare and nod, trying not to yelp as Hermione crushed her bad arm.
"You forgive me?" Hermione looked up at her with red puffy eyes. "I already apologized to Lavender and Parvati."
"Of course." Mary replied honestly. "But I will hurt you if you keep me from this food a second longer. Madam Pomfrey's had me on a liquid diet since I skewered my innards."
Hermione let go of her and started heaping food onto her plate while a Hufflepuff firstie stared at Mary in horror. Mary smiled brightly, causing the little girl's eyes to widen dramatically before she turned back to her own table.
"Have you thought about which broom you're going to get?" Oliver pulled her away from the crowd when they were walking back to the Common room later that evening. "We'll start practicing next weekend. Have you been cleared by Pomfrey? Please tell me that you'll be fit to practice."
"Pomfrey will clear me if I'm well enough by Friday night." Mary assured him. "And I've already ordered a new Nimbus 2000, same look, but it's been modified with all the capability of the 2001."
Oliver's eyes widened and he seemed to phase out for a moment before coming back to himself. "Yeah, that sounds, well, bloody brilliant. You'll be unstoppable!"
Mary laughed and rubbed her injured arm. "Let's hope it's stoppable. I didn't do so well on braking last match."
"We'll work on it." Oliver nodded sharply, a gleam in his eyes. "You seem to have problems with your right hand."
"My Muggle hand." Mary glared at the appendage. "It kills the magic in my broom."
Oliver rubbed his hands across his face. "I'll add it to the training. You wear that sling to every practice and I'll make sure that you never try to use that hand during a match again."
For that first week, Mary visited Madam Pomfrey after classes, letting her fuss over her, and hand her tiny vials of Dreamless Sleep Draught. And keeping with her promise, Mary obeyed the orders to take it at curfew each night. It was going off the potion that became an issue. By the time the Matron deemed her healed, Mary was itching to get back to her late night practices. There was no way she could go any longer without doing something to prepare for the upcoming battle against Tom.
Life went back to normal after that. The Gryffindor Trio remained inseparable, but now other people began joining their group. Their year mates regularly joined them in the library. It was an odd thing to see three houses studying together in the library, but by the beginning of December, Blaise, Daphne and Tracey of Slytherin had joined their ever growing group as well.
Potions! Mary thought, late one night as she happily mastered another sixth year spell. It just wouldn't do to learn wanded magic without taking in the usefulness of potions. While her summer reading had given her a far better understanding of the way ingredients worked together in tandem with their preparation, she knew that learning to successfully brew something more complicated than what they were currently doing in class, would take time and effort.
She asked the Room for such a place to learn, and it supplied her with all of the needed equipment, but as the limits of the room showed, it either could not or would not supply her with ingredients. That would be something she would have to take care of on her own.
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