It was now lunchtime. Celeste had been in a state of numbness since the incident and hadn't been able to move. She barely remembered the last few hours and hadn't even questioned why none of the teachers had come up to find her considering she was missing lessons. She carefully picked herself up off the ground like she was a china doll. She felt very fragile and broken and was scared she might break down again if she wasn't careful. She hoped her face wasn't swollen and red from crying but just in case it was, Celeste cast a little spell on herself that would sort it out. She had learned it from her old tutor at home who thought showing emotion was weakness. Celeste thought she'd never have to use it but now she was glad she let the old bat teach it to her. She ran her fingers through her long, red hair to try and sort it out. She wanted to looked presentable. She had to keep up appearances after all. She made her way over to the door and sighed. She had to reappear at some point and she'd missed enough as it is. Cautiously, she pulled opened the old, creaking door and made her way down to the great hall where she hoped to avoid everyone.
When she arrived, the hall was filled with many busy students trying to get their food. Celeste wasn't hungry so she managed to slip through the crowd and onto a deserted end of a table near the back of the hall, all the while looking out for Darcie. She retreated into herself, to make sure she seemed as cold as possible so no one would want to sit next to her. She hoped it worked on everyone. Ten minutes passed before Celeste felt another body next to her. She turned but to her surprise, it wasn't Darcie. It was another girl from her class. She had waist length, platinum blonde hair and piercing green eyes that would strike fear into any normal person. Good thing Celeste wasn't normal. She had pale skin but not as pale as Celeste's. She had a thin, white scar curving along her jaw line. That was the only flaw on her. She sat as close to Celeste as she could get. What did she want? People tended to know not to sit next to her, well except Darcie of course. Where was Darcie? She looked around to the other tables and saw her. She was on her own but she wasn't alone. She was engrossed in sketching something. Her hand dancing across the page. Her face was the picture of concentration as she created something most likely brilliant. Darcie looked up and saw Celeste looking at her. Celeste quickly turned away, embarrassed that she had been caught staring. Her attention went back to the girl sitting next to her. She still hadn't said anything or even done anything. She would have asked why she was here but Celeste was a bit too broken at that point to hold up any conversation. They both sat together in silence until the bell rang. It was time for potions, Celeste's favourite lesson. The thought of her cold potion mistress jolted her memory. She remembered the wide awake potion lying in her desk and she remembered the staffroom cupboard. She remembered why she was here and what she had to do, tonight. She was going to get into that cupboard tonight.
When Celeste entered the frosty potions lab, she expected to be questioned about missing lessons but instead, nothing of the sort was brought up. Miss Hardbroom didn't even give her a second glance as she walked in and took her position at the back of the classroom. There were an odd number of girls in her class so it meant that she got to work on her own in potions as she was the most skilled one there. It was calming to be alone while surrounded with people. Darcie seemed quieter than normal and she half stumbled into the room, too focused on something else. Celeste watched her get up and move to her seat, her seat which was next to the blonde girl. They were partners for potions because Darcie was less than great and the blonde was better than alright. Maybe she could ask Darcie about her, if Darcie would ever speak to her again that is. Today, they were making potions based on their skill set. Miss Hardbroom had told Celeste she could make anything she wanted, as long as there were no disasters. She decided to make a persuasion potion. It would be useful for tonight and was more complicated and effective than a simple invisibility potion. This means, she could walk around at night and if she was caught, she could tell any lie she wanted and they would believe her without a second glance. It was easy for her to make. She'd made many on occasion but because of the potions strong effects, it can only be used sparingly. If you take too many in a certain amount of time, the effects would reverse and no one would believe anything you said. They would always assume the worst and it could get you into a lot of trouble. She hadn't taken one for over a month so she should be fine. She whipped up the coral coloured potion in half the lesson and spent the rest of her time reading through the complex potion book which she had been given by her tutor before she had left. A loud bang from the front made her tear her gaze away from the fascinating world of alchemy. Darcie had managed to make her potion incorrectly and had instead caused an explosion. Miss Hardbroom was less than impressed but didn't give Darcie a huge punishment as she was normally very well behaved in lessons. Her and the blonde witch were made to clean the potions lab after everyone had left. At least she wouldn't be alone. Luckily, today was a short day because it was the caretaker's birthday so when the bell rang, Celeste could make a quick escape to her room so she could prepare from tonight.
A/N - Thank you for your reviews, they really helped me get this chapter out. I hope you enjoyed it!