Love Potion

First Fate

The class went quickly. Viper had continued to answer questions and perfectly pronounce the spell, as well as show off his very elegant wand movement. I didn't make a fool of myself by trying to be better.

Spigte wanted all of us to try the spell before the end of the lesson.

I stood awkwardly with the rest of the small class as we watched Spigte demonstrate the spell - I didn't know anyone in the room, other than Tamsin, Tatiana, Viper and Hester - if you count 'knowing' her. 

Spigte wheeled one of the dummies to the centre of the room, then positioned her thick front leg first and back slightly bent, her long, pronged wand pointed eloquently. Then she sniffed smally, whipped the wand above her head, and uttered "sufflatus!" with perfect dictation. I barely comprehended the swing of her arm before a blast of white magic burst against the dummy, and it went keeling backwards before rolling back to full height, bobbing slightly.

"That is how to perform the blowback charm," she read. "It is difficult to perfect, and will take a lot of practise. Now - Florence and Matthiene, come forward, you'll be first to have a try. Psh, just try your best, I promise they'll be worse in the class..." She gave one student a particular look.

I was pleased to see that 'Florence' said the spell at the wrong time and had to take four tries before managing to send a feeble wisp of air to the dummy (it didn't move), and that 'Matthiene' had such a poor time pronouncing the spell he was told to go back before he even produced a result. I felt much worse for them after I heard Viper give a hard laugh. Spigte took three points from Snellicary and made him go up next - to my dismay, he performed the spell perfectly in every way, hitting the dummy squarely in the stomach, just to show off, and sent it pitching and wobbling seconds after the spell was done. I was sure he got it perfectly, but Spigte still made a point he didn't bend his legs enough. At this I silently sniggered; Viper wrinkled his nose.

It was no surprise that Hester Lullaby too performed it without a flaw.

When it came to my turn I was nervous, but positive I wouldn't do worse than anyone else. Tamsin, for one, didn't get a result in ages because she couldn't say it properly (she didn't pronounce the 't').  I stood in the centre of the room, the class parted on either side of me. I exhaled, facing the dummy like my opponent. Just do it like you practised. Now. Everyone is watching. With swiftness I raised the wand above my head, the little star trinket jangling, choked, "Sufflatus!", whipped it towards my target and- and nothing happened. I had said it too early.

"Try again," Spigte said patiently.

Turning red, I repositioned myself, making sure my legs were lax, ignoring a definite snicker from the class (I could guess whose), and coughed in the dead silence before inhaling, bringing the wand above my head, and just as I brought it forward, spoke "Sufflatus!". My hands sparked, and a positive shoot of air went hurtling from the wand tip, blasted against the side of the dummy, and it swung to the side as I had hit it at an angle, and bobbed awkwardly.

"Well done, Cosmo," Spigte said coolly. "Five points to Snellicary. A definite improvement with the new wand." By 'improvement', she meant performing the right spell at all. I smiled a squiggle.

That lesson wasn't so bad. Only slightly (very) awkward when I went to squeeze through the door and accidentally wedged mine and Hester's shoulders between the frame. She only shot me a haggard look and stormed away.

We had a quick break. Persephone and Morgaine went off with Gilbert and I was left to spend a rather awkward breaktime with Mollis and Pip. I was glad when it was over.

Next, soothsaying was on the second topmost floor of the west tower. We were taught by a very, very old woman by the name of Master Clotho, so old that time that almost completely sucked the colour from her skin, she might have been a ghost if it wasn't for her solidity. Such, the wrinkly, bangle-covered forearms and jutting chin that we could see from beneath her cloak were the colour of smoke. She was always sprawled with a long, draping cloak, a musty, grey old thing breathing dust and lint that draggling by her feet so gave the illusion that she was floating. Its hood stooped so low over her face you couldn't see her eyes, and barely the long, angled nose that prodded from beneath, on which the tip of swelled a wart. She said the lack of vision helped her with her spiritual sight, she described as 'all humans can rely on to truly see'. Whether this was true, or she had x-ray vision, she managed to do the lessons well: and, with all the required mysticality.