)(-)(
"You'll be making the Wiggenweld Potion today, Miss Potter," Snape said during the 'detention'. "Please use the instructions on the board."
It was never truly a detention when I got to do something I enjoyed. I received more Potion mentoring than the rest of my year and my grades were perfect in the class. When Snape saw my skills couldn't be improved by First year standards, he raised them to the Second.
Snape sat down as I looked from my textbook in front of me and the board.
"The potion instructions you use are different," I said. He raised an inquiring eyebrow. "From the textbook, I mean, sir."
"Yes, they are." His face didn't show any expression as he spoke. "Over my years, I have improved many potions but since their creation, I have not been allowed to publish my modifications on them. The Ministry does not like potioneers publishing modified version of safe potions."
He opened a drawer at his desk, taking out a old textbook. The edges were worn and the front cover was falling apart. He spelled it to fly over to my desk, placing a copy of Advanced Potion-Making in front of me.
"If you are curious, look through this," his tone was almost a demand as he stared at me. "This has many of my alterations that may advance your potion-making, though I strongly advise that you do not try any of these potions until your NEWT years, which I hope you take Potions as an option."
"I plan to," I paused, touching the cover of the book, running my fingers down the torn spine. "How many vials do you want me to make for this Wiggenweld Potion, Sir?"
"Fifty, if you can, Miss Potter," Snape said, dipping his quill into a red inkpot before scribbling on parchment in front of him. "If they are up to the normal standard, they can be used in the Hospital Wing if needed."
I started the potion; I added salamander blood until the potion turned red, stirred until orange and then added more until it glowed yellow. It changed colour to green, then I added more blood and turned it turquoise. It was heated and then blood was added, turning the potion indigo then pink. It was heated once again until red.
I added five lionfish spines, stirred, then added five more. I gagged when I added flobberworm mucus and turned it purple, then red when I stirred. More flobberworm mucus turned it orange, the yellow. The added Honeywater turned it back to turquoise, then I added bloom berry juice and stirred it again.
I left the potion to simmer for thirty minutes. I went through the Advanced Potion-Making textbook and added any of the alterations that could help my first and second-year potions to my own textbook. I tried to remember everything that I read.
When the thirty minutes was up, I took it away from the heat and allowed it to cool. After that, I carefully bottled around seventy-five vials, enough for Madam Pomfrey, and Snape's collection. Snape allowed me to take two successful potions each time I made them, adding them to the growing collection in my little endless pouch.
)(-)(
An hour before dinner, I made my way to McGonagall's office. If I remembered correctly, McGonagall was my parents' Head of House, so she would know who my parents were friends with. I knocked on the wooden door and waited for the 'come in' before I dared open the door.
"Good evening, Miss Potter," Professor McGonagall looked over her glasses. "Is this about the essay I assigned your class?"
"No, I have that done," I said. "I was wondering, if my maths is correct, did you teach my parents?"
She nodded. "Yes, I did. Is there a reason you are asking? My curiosity is piqued."
"As Deputy-Head, I'd assume that you know about the Mirror of Erised. I found the mirror a few days ago, then the Headmaster moved it after speaking to me about it."
"And?"
"I saw what everyone does, their heart's true desire. In mine, my parents and friends were in it," I sat in the seat in front of the desk. "Although, I saw two people who I assume are my parents' friends. I can't remember their real names, or even if they were to my parents. I know that one is my Godfather. Who are they?"
"I assume one is quite lanky and the other had slightly long hair, correct?" Mcgongall waited for my nod. "Your father was best friends with these two men, the taller one was Remus Lupin and the other was Sirius Black. Sirius Black was indeed your Godfather, but since he is in Azkaban, his duties were revoked."
"Azkaban, the Wizarding prison?" I fidgeted. "I remember reading about it. Why is he in it?"
"I am sorry to say that he had a part in killing your parents, he was apprehended and placed in Azkaban for his involvement. I could not believe it at the moment, he and your parents were best friends." McGonagall's eyes teared up the smallest bit. "But what has happened, happened. There is no use to dwell on the past if it cannot change the future."
He had a part in killing my parents? He was best friends with them.
I couldn't imagine any of my friends betraying me like that!
I just couldn't believe it!
But it made me question things now. If one of my dad's best friends, who he was with since he was eleven to his death, could cause his death, what could my friends do? We had only known each other a few months but we spent every waking moment together.
As much as I wanted to trust them, I couldn't. Not until I knew exactly where their loyaltities lay.
)(-)(
The day before term started, the rest of the first year Slytherins returned.
What was there to do but catch up?
So we did, sitting in the corner of the common room as we watched the lake's deep waters through the windows. Cups of steaming tea on the table as we chatted about what we did in the holiday.
"You wouldn't believe the food," Daphne said, fresh from a trip in Greece. "It was just so good. I loved it. I didn't want to leave but our parents let us stay an extra few days. I only got back to the UK yesterday."
"What did you do, Rebekah?"
I shrugged, "Stayed here. Nothing much happened besides for Yule, which was fun to see. Oh, and I found this mirror that lets you see whatever your heart desires. It was pretty cool to look into it. It's called the Mirror of Erised but I think Dumbledore hid it now. I haven't been able to find it since."
"Why do you think he hid it?" Draco asked.
"To stop people from wasting away in front of it," I said. "He kept mentioning that it wasn't worth looking at something you desire because you could become infantunated with it and never achieve anything."
"It still sounds interesting," Pansy nodded. "We should try to find it."
The group was curious about this mirror and thus attempted to locate it in the upcoming week. Since Dumbledore said he would hide the mirror, and well he did, we couldn't find it. We weren't too pessimistic about it, we would try later in the term when we had more time to waste. But in the meantime, we would keep an eye out for the mirror of desires.
"Potter, keep your eye on the Quaffle!" Flint yelled. I groaned as my body ached from the last two hours of practice.
"We've been out for two hours already and it's gonna rain soon," I howled over the several metres that separated us.
"We have homework to do," Bletchley said, waving an arm in the air. "Open!"
"Catch! We got a four-foot essay from Snape," Bole continued. "He'll be disappointed if we don't do it."
"Just keep practising and then I'll consider!" Flint snarled. He was starting to losehis temper slightly.
He didn't, not once, consider halting practise. Our House was Slytherin; the temporary pain and fatigue would loosen our grip on them if er continued. Snakes were known for stealth, and if one of our own couldn't stay on their broom without noise, we would practise until they could.
"Oi! Watch it, I want to keep my head," I yelled when the Bludger came too close. My eyes followed as it whizzed past, they widened in fear. "EMPEROR!"
The shadow-like feline sat on the suspended benches, he didn't pay attention to the Bludger that came his way. It swiftly shoved him off the bench, right in the shoulder. I rushed over as fast as my broom would allow. The Bludger rose again and aimed, I fluidly raised my hand and flicked it downwards with my finger against my palm, willing it to stop and drop. It did, bouncing down the stairs.
I landed on the benches, crashing to the wood before leaping to where Emperor was. I didn't care for my bruised knees because I had to get to him. He winced on his front leg, refusing to put it down. He cuddled into me as I held him.
"Watch where you aim those bloody things!" I shouted at the Beaters.
The two gave each other a look. Derrick nodded sharply to the teachers' raised benches. I glared when I saw Quirrell sitting there, mumbling once again. He disappeared as soon as we realised he was there.
This wasn't the first time Quirrell tried to harm me or mine. This wasn't even the second time. I became angry with this news, I had a little bit of revenge to havoc on him.
"I'm going to report this to Snape," Flint said as I mounted my broom with Emperor in my arms and flew over to him. "Is he alright?"
"His shoulder was hit," I told him, keeping the feline close. The rain hit heavier and heavier now, drenching us in seconds.
"Right, I think its time to stop practise," Flint nodded to himself. "We can't practise in this rain. Get your pet to Professor Kettleburn. He should know what will help."
I flew down to the Lake, finding the small bit of window glass poking out of the water. It was my room. The water around the glass peeled away, leaving enough room to allow me to touch the glass. I rushed in, leaving my broom on her bed and ran the way to my destination. Emperor didn't complain at me jostling him at all. I didn't even care that I was in my soaked Quidditch uniform.
He had chosen well.
I whacked on Snape's door firmly twice and then thrice again, my body trembled slightly as I waited for the door to open.
"What is it, Miss Potter?" Snape said, a feeble scowl on his face. This was the scowl of marking less-than-adequate papers. "Why are you soaking? And why do you seem like you're running on adrenaline?"
"I just had Quidditch practise and Emperor was on the sidelines, and Bludger came loose and went for him. Emperor keeps limping and I'm worried," I rushed my words. "I know it's almost curfew but I can't sleep until I know Emperor isn't injured. And I don't know how to contact the Care of Magical Creatures Professor, so I came to you, sir."
"Alright, Miss Potter, calm yourself. I will contact Professor Kettleburn. He should be in the Castle as it is after dinner," A large wisp of blue-hued light appeared from Snape's wand, shaping a large raven with dark orb eyes. "There. Professor Kettleburn should be here within a few minutes depending on where he is. Set your familiar onto one of the desks, he shouldn't be standing until we know if anything is injured. Dry yourself before you become ill."
I brushed the water off my clothes, letting it all dry up quickly. I couldn't sit in one of the seats for long, bouncing my knee in anxiety. I bit the tip of my thumb, standing up and then placed around.
Step, step, step, turn. Step, step, step, turn. Again and again, until Snape became frustrated and stalked away to a cupboard.
"Drink," He said, passing me a Draught of Peace, a vial of grey liquid that emitted silver vapours when opened. "This will decrease your anxiety while we wait for him to arrive."
The doors opened.
"Good evening, Severus," Silvanus Kettleburn had white hair swept back and to the side. He hoisted a mechanical arm covered with translucent skin in greeting. One eye was covered by a bandage. "Ah, is this the injured creature?"
"Emperor, he is the familiar of Miss Potter here," Snape watched on as I clutched the vial in my hand before taking it.
"As I told Professor Snape, we were at Quidditch practice-Emperor sat on the sidelines and I was in the air- a Bludger came loose and aimed itself to him, he was hit in the upper side of his chest, at the base of his shoulder. He couldn't put his paw down and now I'm worried!"
Kettleburn shifted the sleeves of his wood brown shirt up to his elbows. He used his fingers of his real hand to massage the base of the injury, his other hand waved his wand. The tip blinked a green tone over the healthy and undamaged areas, it turned a deep red at the shoulder.
"Just as I thought, he has a simple fracture in his shoulder bone. He'll be fine but it may take a while to heal," He took a long look at Emperor's face, body and tail. "He's not a Muggle feline, is he?"
"No. Emperor can change forms, growing smaller or bigger. He also had shadow qualities when I first got him," I said, stroking Emperor's ears and making him purr deeply.
"He seems to be of a Kneazle heritage but I'll have to do a few spells to verify what he actually is," Kettleburn said. "I need your permission to do the spell, Miss Potter."
I nodded frantically. "I've always wanted to know what he actually is. Is it alright, Emperor?"
Emperor laid down on the table with a huff and a groan. He looked over to me, his eyes full of acknowledgement. He huffed air out of his nose, then moved his head to lick my palm. He placed his head on top of my hand, forcing it down and against his front paws where he laid his head with a purr.
I, as observant as I was, didn't realise this exchanged was not natural, even between Familiar and Mistress, for the Professors to see. They gave each other a knowing look. Kettleburn had a vast grin, while Snape had a smirk mixed with a smile. This kind of exchange didn't happen often, no Familiar had a strong enough bond with their keeper at this stage.
)(-)(
Merlin, everyone who had a pet believed that they had a familiar.
Familiars were an extreme rarity in the Wizarding World. One out of seven hundred thousand Wizards or Witches had an established bond with them. Most of these bonds didn't manifest until the two were together for several years, sometimes going up to decades passing until they bonded.
The bond ensured that neither party would be left out of the other's life, to have someone look after them until Death came, or the bond was dissolved by both parties. Some familiars, instead of dying with their keeper, lived in and bonded with a member of their keeper's lineage.
Bonding with a familiar before even knowing about magic was an incredible miracle in itself.
But to the degree my bond with Emperor was never recorded before.
)(-)(
I used my other hand to stroke his head, in turn, causing his lower ligaments to turn onto a shadow-like mist. This surprised Kettleburn when he moved his wand over the legs and tail, the mist wrapped itself around the wand warmly before shifted the wooden away from him.
"Quite strange, very peculiar," He mumbled, placing his wand away. He snapped his fingers next to Emperor's ear, causing the feline to jump and then claw at the hand. He missed. "There you go. You've got yourself a Bakeneko, a changed cat."
"A what Neko?" I said, perplexed. I knew Neko meant cat in Japanese, but I didn't know what Bake meant.
"A cat that has turned into a Yokai, a Demon," Kettleburn said. "It's common enough, the shadow qualities are one of the abilities they can gain. Since he became your Familiar, he gained other qualities too. Though those won't show themselves until both of your bonds have strengthened some more."
"I've got a Demon cat…," I mumbled, then turned to Emperor. "And you decided not to tell me. Really, Emperor?"
Emperor grinned sheepishly, flicking one ear and then licked my hand. I just stroked his head.
"Anyway, how long will it take for him to heal? Does he need to do anything to make it heal quicker?" I asked. "I've got basic first aid training for humans and animals, but I don't know all that much."
"A few days, considering his heritage now. Just keep him off that leg and he'll heal like nothing even happened."
"Alright, I'm so grateful that you came, Professor," I took a sigh of relief. "I was so worried and scared. I didn't know what was happening. Thank you, sir."
Emperor shifted into his smallest, solid form, and allowed himself to be picked up. I took him by the scruff and chest, lifting him to place him in my Quidditch robe pockets.
"I best go, curfew has just been announced I believe," I stopped myself before she exited the classroom. "Oh, Professor Snape, I think Marcus Flint will need a word with you later. He believes that the Bludger was charmed. He's just being cautious since the thing with my broom. Have a good evening, Professors."
I exited the classroom and went into the cold hallway. The torches lit as I neared them, diminishing their flames when I was far enough that I didn't need them. Emperor purred in my pocket as I stroked his tiny, little kitten head.
It would take me ten minutes to walk to my dorm. I dragged my feet lightly as I walked. Yawning, I closed my eyes to an empty corridor with sleeping portraits. I opened my eyes to find Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form strutting down the hall.
Professor McGonagall stopped a few metres before me, transforming into her human form with a set of purple hues robes.
"Good evening, Professor McGonagall," I greeted her as she scowled in disapproval.
"Good evening, Miss Potter," She said curtly. "What do you call this time of day?"
"Sorry, Professor," I sighed. "I know it's after curfew, but I've been with Professor Snape and Kettleburn since Quidditch practise was over. Emperor had a stray Bludger hit him and he was injured. I took him to Professor Snape, who called Professor Kettleburn and he checked Emperor out. It took a little longer than I realised, so that is the reason I'm out during Curfew."
"Ok, Miss Potter, I'll confirm it with both Professors. How is young Emperor doing?" She asked, glancing to the feline in my pocket.
"A simple fracture in his shoulder, he'll be fine in a few days. I've found out that he's a Bakeneko, I believe is what Professor Kettleburn said. I didn't realise I had a demonic cat."
"Very good, Miss Potter. I am happy that he will be fine," She lifted her spectacles with one hand. "I'll escort you back to your House. We needn't have other Professors taking points away."
"Of course, Professor, thank you," I said, politely waiting for McGonagall to wave me to walk side by side.
"How is the book I recommend?" McGonagall asked, a slight knowing look in her eyes. "I hope it has been a great help with your studies."
I nodded. "It has. I've learnt so much from it. I'm still disturbed by the fact that I'll have to have a Mandrake leaf under my tongue for a month." I shuddered.
McGonagall chuckled. "Yes, that was an unpleasant experience. I suggest strong flavourful foods. Spicy, hot and tangy are the best bets from my experience. Extra spicy is the one I recommend most. Do you have a year in mind when you plan to do this?"
"Perhaps third or fourth year, maybe even next year. I haven't decided yet, but it won't be this year. I'll start the Mandrake part a month before term starts, just to get it out of the way of my lessons."
"Good, good. That would be best. It may take months, sometimes years to master that peculiar gift. I suggest you do it this summer, so you have time to master it before you are overcome by exams," McGonagall stopped outside of the Slytherin entrance, hidden by a wall. "Here you go, Miss Potter. Have a good evening."
"Thank you, Professor," I stood next to the entrance, it opened without saying a word. It was the usual now. "Have a good evening yourself."
I went through the entrance, closing shut after me in silence.
)(-)(
This was strange for McGonagall; one, anyone who wanted access needed to say the password, even the Professors who had the master password, but all Miss Potter needed to do was look at it. And two, the entrance always closed with a hiss and a thud, signifying that someone came in or left. It closed in silence.
This was not the proper way that Hogwarts Herself behaved. McGonagall would have believed that Hogwarts favoured Miss Potter, but McGonagall wasn't one to speculate about something so obscure that it could not have been true. At least, in any respect that McGonagall knew about.
She planned to speak to Severus Snape, she might as well bring up any concerns she had about Miss Potter to him. She needed to tell him what Miss Potter has planned for the upcoming years, she needn't do it all alone. Especially with Miss Potter's potential, it would be dangerous to allow her to experiment without some kind of supervision.
Allowing Miss Potter too much freedom at such a young age could cause her to not require Hogwarts in a few years, particularly at the rate she was discovering Magic.
)(-)(
