sanguine | r. black

Nine

"The only reason I let you two rope me into taking this blasted Alchemy class was because I felt guilty about coaxing you into divination. Now you're changing your schedule the first day of term?" Alice was using the tip of her wand to dig up what looked like an anthill in the grass beside her. A small brown and green crablike creature scuttled out of the opening and began gnawing at the wood of Alice's wand, causing both girls to shriek.

Evangeline used the steel toe of her shoe to kick the creature away from her friend. It sailed through the air and landed unceremoniously in the downtrodden grass a few meters away. It scurried off in the opposite direction.

"Bloody chizpurfles," Alice muttered.

Pandora hadn't looked up from her book the entire time. From behind the pages of Basic Bric-a-Brac for the Brilliant British Wizard she responded, "If you'd stop digging them up, they'd leave you alone."

Alice looked to Evangeline for help, but received nothing more than a tepid shrug and a "she has a point, you know."

"After I've agreed to do the both of you a favor, you team up against me," Alice pouted, crossing her arms. She clearly wasn't ready to let the Alchemy thing go, which made Evangeline wonder if it was even worth it, especially if Alice was going to hold it against them. She still hadn't figured out who she'd convince to sign up. She had already exhausted the full list of everyone she knew. Maybe it would be for the best, she could focus on getting Os in the courses she was already taking. The more she thought about it, the more tempting it seemed, but Madam Pomfrey's assurances lingered in her mind. "It would be a great opportunity. Madam Pomfrey says I've got a natural affinity for it. I know it'll be hard work, especially since I'll have to start fresh in the classes I should have been taking since third year. But just think about it, mediwitches, healers, apothecarists: they're proper heroes."

"Did you know the term 'hero' actually comes from a woman?" Pandora mused.

"Sounds about right," said Alice smugly.

Evangeline shook her head, "I didn't know."

"It's an old Greek myth, Hero and Leander. They lived on opposite banks of the Hellespont. Hero lived by herself. She had an agreement with Aphrodite, holed herself up in her tower. Leander fell in love with her, and he had to swim across the Hellespont to get to her. She left a candle out for him every night, so he could find his way across. Except one night the wind blew it out, so he drowned."

"How depressing," said Alice, "Way to bring the mood down, Dora."

"No, I like it," said Evangeline, "classic Greek tragedy."

"That's all well and good, but back to the issue at hand." Alice moped, "Do you have to change your entire schedule? You're the only person who pays any mind to Professor Binns in History of Magic."

"I'm sorry, but I have to focus my studies if I want to succeed," Evangeline was resolute.

"You're already succeeding," said Pandora. It was a sweet compliment coming from a girl who paid little attention to academic achievement. She valued intellectual pursuits for the sake of curiosity alone, placing very little stock in her more rigid traditional studies. She was falling behind in many of her classes, but Evangeline knew better than to underestimate her. She spent so much of her spare time tinkering away at objects, spells, potions, and the like. She was a bit of a misunderstood genius, as far as Evangeline was concerned, so she took this as a compliment.

"Thanks, Pandora," she said proudly. "I'm only dropping the two, plus ancient runes which was a colossal bore. I will miss arithmancy, I can't lie. I've always liked how predictable numbers are, especially when compared to a wildly unpredictable subject like divination.

"Unpredictable? Load of rubbish is what it is," Alice said, "but it's an easy O."

"Will you be joining Care of Magical Creatures?" Pandora asked.

"Unfortunately," Evangeline lamented. She made no attempt to hide her disdain for most creatures. It wasn't that she didn't like them, they just didn't like her. She'd need a miracle to struggle through that one, "At least I'll have you to help me with that one. I can manage Muggle Studies on my own, although I'm worried it'll be full of useless drivel."

"I wouldn't be so certain of that," Alice said, "Lily mentioned during the prefect meeting that she and one of the other muggleborn prefects were going to TA the class, since Professor Montague has no practical experience. Ted Tonks used to help him out, before he graduated. I guess they thought it would be good to have students with useful information."

It sounded like a good idea, but did little to convince Evangeline the class was worth taking, especially if it meant dropping a class she really enjoyed like Arithmancy. What could Lily Evans teach her about muggle healing practices? She was beginning to question Madam Pomfrey's judgement.

"I think it's brave," Pandora added,  "you know how these lot get about anything to do with muggles. Maybe it's a good idea to learn as much as you can about them, expand your academic horizons. I can't say some of their creations don't intrigue me. Those telegraphs could be faster than sending post by owl."

"They haven't used telegraphs in ages," Alice scoffed. She considered herself a true authority on all things muggle, since her mother happened to be a muggleborn witch herself. She had spent more time amongst muggles than the other two girls combined, but that had been when she was young. She hadn't seen her mother in person since Christmas of her first year, though everyone knew better than to ask her any questions about it. Now she went out of her way to answer all questions muggle related, especially when presented with an opportunity to wield her limited knowledge against her peers in order to make herself seem smarter. "They use telephones now. It's a bit like talking through the fireplace."

"Oh I hate that," Pandora complained, "it hurts my lungs. The smoke makes me choke, and that awful acrid smell... "

Evangeline would be inclined to agree, though she had few people to talk to from far away. She made do with letters and visits to Rose whenever she was in Hogsmeade. The girls sent her a handful of letters over the summer, but not nearly as many as they sent each other. Alice had gone to visit Pandora's family in Greece for an entire month over the holiday, and Pandora was a beloved employee at her father's ice cream parlor in Diagon Alley. She was the only person who put up with his historian's recollection of the practices of medieval witch burning. They had offered to come visit Evangeline at her home, on offer she had been forced to turn down with a pang of guilt. She was sure they would enjoy the Italian villa she had grown up in, but she tried to avoid talking about her home as much as possible. The less they knew, the less she had to lie about.

"Evangeline..." Alice's voice broke through her hazy thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Evangeline mumbled.

"Right, well I was just saying I have to leave for tryouts, so I'll see you in the common room," Alice rubbed her palms together to wipe away the drying mud. She rose to her feet and grabbed her bag to go before turning back to Evangeline. "Can we go over the Charms lecture again? I swear I tried to pay attention, but Flitwick should have known better than to assign such boring wand work on the first day of classes. I could do it myself, but you're just so good at it, and seeing as you're such a great friend..."

"Of course," said Evangeline, amused by Alice's ability to forget whatever grudge she was holding as soon as she needed a favor.

Pandora—who still hadn't glanced away from her book during the entire conversation—waited until Alice had left before asking Evangeline with a knowing smirk, "Where do you go, when your mind wanders off like that? You daydream so often, I'd imagine it was a nice place to be, except you're always frowning when you do it. What could you possibly be thinking about that's so troubling?"

Evangeline's silence was the only answer she needed.