Mistress Of Magic

22 ~

Once the door is closed I turn and face Minnie. She was still sat in the seat staring at the tree. After a minute or two of silence, I get up and take a small block of wood from the shelves that we used for the lesson last week. I walk over to the tree, turning the block into a wicker basket as I do. Reaching the branches I begin pulling off the pears and setting them into the basket, humming a random tune as I do.

Once the basket is full I set it on a nearby desk before letting the tree re-bloom. The flowers were beautiful and sweet-smelling. The perfume fills the air and Minnie is finally knocked out of her thoughts. "You are full of surprises, my dear"

"I'll take that as a compliment aunt Minnie. I like the tree in your class, makes it more you. But obviously, you still need your desk." I smile at her as I replicate the tree and place it on the other side of the platform before turning the original back into her desk. "There now you can have both".

"One of these days you Potters are going to give me a heart attack" Minnie's voice is quiet so I act as if I didn't hear her. I turn to face her and notice the saddened look in her eyes at the mention of my dad. She really did see the Marauders as her son's. My heart broke for her at that moment. Not only did she lose one, but another was accused of murdering him and sentenced to Azkaban without trial. She only had Remus left and he had to suffer each month with shifting.

I walk over to her and give her a hug. She tenses at first but soon wraps her arms around me and rests her cheek on the top of my head. "Will you tell me stories about him sometime, Auntie Minnie?" I take a step back and watch as Minnie wipes her eyes. "Of course I will my child. Why don't you head to class, for now, I'll write you a note."

She goes to her desk and writes out a note while I grab my bag and the basket of pears. She hands me the note and I offer her a pear. "Thank you, dear. I'll see you later."

"Bye Minnie" With that I head to class. I would have to stop by the kitchen later. I knock on the door twice before walking in. The whole class was in the middle of brewing a potion so I make my way to Snape's desk. "Professor McGonagall told me to give you this. Can I also keep these on your desk for class so nothing gets spilled on them?"

"Yes" He takes my note from me and I place the basket on the edge of the desk making sure it wasn't in the way or on anything important. "Sir, what potion are we brewing?"

"Drought of the living dead. When your done bottle it, add your name and place it over there" He points to a clean section on the counter sounding even more bored than usual so I leave him be and go to my desk. I place my bag under the table, not even bothering to take my potion book out. I heat up my cauldron and quickly collect all of my ingredients. "Hey Dragon" Draco smiles at his nickname before saying hello to me. I stroke Astaras head and carefully move the stool she's sleeping on out of the way.

I start on the potions going through the steps perfectly and still manage to finish before the others. I had used techniques that were different than what was expected but worked perfectly. I bottle the silvery potion into two glass vials and add on the cork stoppers before writing my name on the side of each. I put them where I was supposed to before cleaning up my station and even cleaning my cauldron.

It was a double potion lesson today so I start making a healing potions for Madam Pomfrey. I knew she had used the last of it on me since the last quidditch game used up most of her supply. I feel Snape look at me questioningly but once he sees the ingredients I'm collecting he surprises us all by standing up and joining me. He rolls up his sleeves while I grab extra for him.

We both work in silence and get the potion done just in time for the lesson to finish. Snape orders everyone to clean up and put everything away. His tone was snappy, I hold back an amused smirk as I watch the students scramble out of their seats trying not to annoy the 'scary' professor. A few even trip on the legs of their stools.

Astara wakes up when one clatters to the ground, Snape was going to yell at the student when Astara hisses loudly at the boy in displeasure at being woken up. I can feel her satisfaction when he goes pale and runs out of the room looking faint. ~Astara, that wasn't necessary~
~Meh, it was funny~ She tilts her head at an angle and I know that's her equivalent of shrugging her shoulders. I chuckle at her attitude before rubbing her head affectionately. Draco stays behind with me while the rest of the students leave. "I'll be done in a sec, Draco"

I bottle the last bits of the potion into vials while Snape finishes up his. I add the last stopper when he finally speaks up "Go, I can finish." I knew he needed to clean up the room ready for his next class after lunch, but I also knew that he wasn't at breakfast this morning. Meaning his mood was because he was hungry and I knew that if he didn't eat now there was a high chance that he would kill a student by the end of the day for something as simple as 'looking too happy'.

"No need." I wave my wand and wordlessly everything is clean and placed in the correct places leaving the potions neatly laid out in a small crate that was label 'healing potions' and could be carried to the infirmary later. "See you at lunch Professor." I grab my bag and scoop Astara into my arms. She was still tired from exploring the castle last night so I carried her instead of making her follow me. My magic instinctively warmed my clothes to keep her happy and comfortable. Draco and I leave after he says goodbye and I grab the basket. We stop at the kitchen since they were nearby.

"Hello, Bipsy." I greet my little elf as I walk in, Draco following me still shocked at finding out where the kitchen is. "Afternoon Misses. Does Misses need Bipsy for something?" I kneel down in front of her and hold up the basket.

"I collected these pears, there freshly picked. I was wondering if you and the other elves wanted to make something with them as a surprise for dessert tonight? if you need more go to Professor McGonagall's room, the trees there." A few of the other elves stepped over to me looking thrilled at the idea of having some freedom of their own in the kitchen.

"Of course Misses. Bipsy and other elves make something yummy for the others. Misses will be proud." She bounces on the spot with a childlike excitement making me smile.

"Oh, Bipsy I'm always proud of you. Now I have to go to lunch, But make sure that whatever you make with these that you make extra for you guys. I know you don't need as much food since you survive off magic, but I still don't want any of you staving." I stand up as I talk and address the rest of the elves in the kitchen. "Misses is most kind" Draco and I say goodbye. Just before the door shuts I send a pulse of magic into the kitchen to make the elves healthier. Some of them were skinny and frail looking meaning they were only being given enough magic to survive and not the amount they actually needed.

I was still healing Hogwarts but had to do it slowly for two reasons; one so no one noticed and two so I didn't wear myself out.