Love Potion

Random Sherbert

The front girl capered over to me and began vigorously shaking my hand. She was skinny as a rod and had abundant freckles, rabbity teeth and long hair as red as carrots. "It's simply splendid to meet you, I'm so glad you're in Snellicary, there's been a spare bed for ages, my name is Persephone, Persephone Commie Cudbert, but you can call me Perse, I'm sixteen years old, but I'm nearly seventeen, I was born in March you see-"

"Sugarlumps, Persie, leave the poor girl alone," a girl behind her scoffed, who had an upturned nose, curly hair and a ratty sort of mouth. Another girl nudged her and scolded her - this one had black hair and a round face, and dressed affluently.

"Oh-!" I sat up, flustily patting down my old uniform. "Hi... it's nice to meet you- I'm Cosmo." I gave the girl called Persephone an encouraging smile - she looked rather squashed. Immediately, she beamed toothily back, which was a wonky but lovely sight.

"Oh!" she hailed, "What a lovely name! I just know we'll get on-! Please be welcome to hang out with us, we have our own little group- it's me, Persephone, obviously, the amazing Morgaine," she gestured to the round-faced girl, who smiled politely, "Pip," a small girl with very long, peanut-brown hair whose named couldn't have suited her better, "Mollis", a chubby girl with choppy black hair and giddy eyes, "Tam - or, well, Tamsin-"

"Pleasure!" Tamsin went shortly, leaning forward to shake my hand. She gripped it firmly, and flashed me with slick eyes and canny smirk. She had very dark skin and her hair was a sheet of glossy black - she also wore a lot of jewely jewellry. "Call me Tam."

I responded with a small, uncertain smile - I didn't think I would be calling her Tam any time soon.

"And, this is Tatiana," Persephone finished. She looked sideways with a tight face at the last girl - the rat. She smiled at me but with no kindness behind it.

Oh hell! Tatiana: that was one of Killian Viper's flunkeys. He had two companions that were with him almost always, the liverish Tatiana and her love-hate boyfriend Kenzie. He was a black, hard-jawed boy with a body like a spartan and equally hard eyes.

And I have to share a bedchamber with Tatiana! 

I wonder how it will go.

"Oh!" Persephone cooed again. She was pointing a thin finger at my large hunkle of books. "You have so many books!"

"Yes!" I said, glad of Persephone's craft for conversation. "Master Spigte told me to read all of them by tomorrow - I know a lot about magic already, but I've never used it before today..." I made the decision to be fuzzy about my story.

The redhead bounced on her feet. "But I have just the thing for that!" she cheeped. She skippered to her bed, the one with many flowers and fairy lights, and took a strange pair of glasses from her bedside, where there was a stack of books bigger than mine. When she returned she gave them to me, and illustrated, "These are McGarden Glasses - they let you read, like, super fast! It's harder to concentrate, but they're really great. You can borrow them..."

"Oh..." I was rather touched. I took the thin pink glasses from her; they had runed lenses, with little wings on the edges. "Thank you..." I smiled at her honestly. She looked more chuffed than me. I decided I loved Persephone.

The girls behind her seemed to have been whispering amongst themselves. Morgaine, the smart-looking girl, stepped forward from them cleared her throat. "So... where do you come from?" she asked politely, "How did you come to Greamelts?"

I stifled a cough. "It's a long story... But I come from a voodont family... like I said, before today I've never used magic, but I've read a lot about it - not that I believed any of it. I came here half by accident... it's the castle that lets you in, after all... It was all very confusing... wasn't sure if I was a magist... and I don't think I'll see my family again... actually..." I choked up a little. Hidden, Persephone took my hand in her cold, pink fingers and gave a spur of a smile.

The small Pip girl and large Mollis girl were gaping like they were photocopied. "Wow..." Pip said. She had a small, high voice. 

"That's so depressing..." Mollis added.

"It's okay," I assured, "I won't much miss my family life..."

"Oh, I'm just the same!" Persephone comforted, "I was at an orphanage before here! I caused all such of trouble there... no one suspected I was a magist..." Behind her, Tatiana was rolling her eyes with great, unnecessary exaggeration. What a horrible girl, I thought.

"Are you enjoying it here so far?" Morgaine continued.

"Well!" I said breathlessly. "I haven't here much yet! All I've really done is seen Hwelpum and gone through the labyrinth and sent up here with these bloody books..."

"You haven't even had lunch?" Morgaine gasped.

"Well... no..."

"Ooh, wait till you have the food here..."

"Aren't you starving?"

"No..." I said, but a large gurgle from my stomach suggested otherwise. "Maybe..."

"I have forest mooncake!" exclaimed Mollis. She dug around under her bed, which was decorated with a lots of fabric and ribbons, and a guitar mounted on the wall. She dug out a battered biscuit box, and seemed very pleased to be of help. "My pap sent me them..." Inside were several powdered lumps; she proffered me the box, and I helped myself. Lo and behold, they tasted like a forest - or at least, like a very sugary pine tree.

We were sat in our little circle, munching mouthfuls of clumpy mooncake when Tamsin asked as if deeply curious, "Cosmo, what did you pick in the labyrinth?"

I swallowed a gummy clod. "Which part?"

"Just take me through it."

And so I explained my complete journey of the labyrinth. They seemed to be very consumed in my story with the sphinx, which gave me much confidence.

"Wow!" Mollis proclaimed. "You outsmarted a sphinx!"

"I wouldn't say that..." I cinched, blushing hard. I noticed Tamsin whisper something to Tatiana - Tatiana sniggered. I pursed my lips.

Persephone squealed. "That's just... insupposable!"

"Oh, shut up, Persephone," Tatiana sneered.

Morgaine was who chided in: "Tatiana!"

"It's not my fault she chews dictionaries," the nasty girl retorted. Persephone sniffed and turned her head, hurt in her eyes. I gave Tatiana a dirty look, to which she returned the grace. She definitely didn't like me now. What did I care?

I asked her, "What creature did you meet in the labyrinth?"

She showed her bottom teeth. "A nine-tailed fox. I bribed it with gold."

"Clever," I said, and grinned massively. She scoffed, hiding her confusion.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in each of our beds, them poring over fascinating-looking homework, performing the occasional spell, and me flicking with fabulous speed with the McGarden Glasses through my books. At one point in between afternoon and evening the girls went out to get some outside (apart from Tatiana and Tamsin, who went to the boy's bedchambers to see Kenzie - I don't know how.): I stayed behind to read. They came back after, and at seven there was the sudden chiming of a bell: it had been going off all day, presumably to alert the start and end of lessons, and now, for dinner. Sure enough all of the girls lopped up, and told me to come along with them to the Great Hall for dinner.

I followed suite, and it was when we all poured out into the commonroom that I saw Viper again.