The Last Apothecary

Chapter 11.

"Hey, I got a question," was the first thing I said as I slid back into the Basics for Magik classroom for the second time that day.

"What is it?" Mr. Dekoran replied nonchalantly, not even looking up from whatever he was reading now.

"Can I start with the potion-making now? I finished reading the one book you gave me." I held it up for him to see.

He glanced at it, raising one mothy, grey brow in suspicion. "I gave you five books, not one, and out of them all, that's the smallest." He sighed, closing up whatever he had been doing before. "I'm assuming you must have some kind of potion in mind, for you to suddenly be so keen on the idea, because I distinctly recall you being vehemently against it not too long ago."

I thought for a moment. "I guess so. I was talking to this one girl in my science class, and she-"

"What girl? Is she a Human or Witch?" he interrupted, his eyes flicking up at my face as he instantly put the book down.

"Huh? Oh you know her. Liesel. She's in the same magik class as me. Second period?"

"Ah yes, her. Quite the bright young student she is. Go on."

"Well, she was talking about how her dog is actually sick, and it made me think about how I could probably make healing potions. That's a real thing, right?" I made sure to ask. I was pretty sure he had brought it up before. Not to mention it was in most games that I had ever played, but if I said that, I'm sure he would just make fun of them again.

"Yes, they are real, and not that bad of a starting project, from what I've seen..." I saw him look at my backpack, still stuffed with all the other books he'd given me yesterday.  He frowned a bit, seeming to mull it over. "All right. If you can promise me that you'll finish those before the weekend is over, then I'll let you begin with hands-on work starting today. Now help me get some pots."

With most magik not needing much in the way of equipment, it took a decent while to convince the cooking teacher to grudgingly hand over a few pots and personal burners. I did manage to get two, a small and a large, and bring them all the way back downstairs into the classroom. I had just managed to set them down and wipe the sweat off my forehead when I sensed Mr. Dekoran right beside me.

"So, if you did finish that book, then you should be able to tell me which ingredients we'll need to put into this, right?"

Oh geez. A pop quiz right off the bat. I tried to get my tired brain to think back to yesterday. "I think it was... yarrow, marigolds, aloe, dill, and chamomile." All of those had mentioned something or another about helping the natural processes of the body work faster. I felt like I was forgetting one, but those were all the ones that came to mind.

"Not too bad," he responded, grabbing a few bottles off the shelf behind him that I didn't remember being there from yesterday. "But marigolds are almost entirely for skin conditions, so we won't be using it. You also forgot mint." He laid out the labelled canisters in front of me.

"So is this a recipe I'm supposed to follow? How am I supposed to put my magik in this?" I asked, dipping a finger in the water he was slowly pouring into the large pot.

"There is, in fact, a whole book of ancient recipes, though they have been translated over time. As for whether they'll work or not, we'll have to find out. As for adding your magik to it..." He handed the heavy book to me, which I immediately sat on the table counter. "That I'm afraid you'll have to figure out yourself."

Well isn't that just dandy, I thought to myself. Graded on something I don't even know how to do. Looking down at the book, I squinted to make out the faded text. It was written out like a recipe, with the ingredients and amounts listed out with stars for bullet points, and after that, paragraphs of instructions on how long to boil, how much to add, and all that jazz. I might as well have been making soup. My eyes still hurt from reading so much, but I tried to ignore it as I grabbed the first item off the list: a quarter cup of chamomile. I'm going to be doing magik. Real stuff, not like the stupid leviatation I've done my whole life. I was a Witch. Doing magik was in my blood. The least I could do was be excited about it, right? But instead it felt like I was dragging myself over to the wooden shelf, swollen with water damage from the leaky walls, where the little bottles of spices lay.