Invidiosa

Nothing like a Butterbeer

The books Attia had signed out were making no more sense than they did the day before, nor the day before that. Besides the ones detailing proper yield for many plants in potions, nothing else was making sense. She was a step no closer to knowing anything about intangible wizadry than she was before she had read the synopsis guaranteeing her a 'complete understanding'.

However, it did not mean this nonsensical book list didn't have its uses. She was finding a great success in classes thanks to them. And now, an even greater success in her sneaky little hidden bathroom on the sixth floor.

Consider it a lair of sorts. The portrait that hid the disrepaired boys bathroom in the sixth floor wing had been replaced by a blonde woman with a green apple poised in her delicate hand. Attia had stolen it away from one of Filch's hidden workspaces, behind a fake wall. She'd discovered it once the year before wandering the halls with Fred and George and throwing things about until it hit the third brick down from the ceiling above the Map of Argyllshire in the south Gryffindor tower. It folded in on itself and revealed all the disused and replacement portraits of the castle. The blonde woman was passive aggressive, rude, and constantly chewing on the infinite apple of the painting. She would demand a password to be let in (it was Catula Dilectio... roughly meaning 'puppy love'). But only after she had thoroughly judged every inched of you and always spoke in a crass voice. Attia humoursly named her 'Boss des bécosses'. Which was not what frenchmen from this side of the world thought it was, and that was as much as she would let on to the painting.

Attia's secret bathroom had been put out of order for years (wizards weren't very good plumbers, she supposed). She'd vanished the toilets in their state of disrepair, reconfigured the stalls to each have cauldrons, and had even started letting things grow in the room. Some things propagated, some things freshly planted. Each sink, which circled in the middle, held much of her stock, all drains plugged and instead used for sorting her materials. She could have made them shelves, yes, but for now she was content with this much alteration. Much supplies were of which Fred and George supplied for her continued work.

Mailing had become hard. Filch was determined to intercept every delivery, but security sensors didn't halt her, just his annoying tendencies to be suspicious. She had begun to waddle down to Hogsmeade to post potions from their office with a bag full of clinking bottles, disguised as perfume or any other glassware that was inconspicuous. Attia thought her room and business were running pretty well. She made a pretty coin even if she didn't ask for payment. It was going a little too smoothly, eerily, and so Attia had Yoona set up security measures. Touching things would hex others unless invited in here by Attia if they found out the password. The hexes were quite creative. Long, purple tongues that dragged on the floor. The feeling of onion gas stinging your eyes and causing constant watering. Turning ears to bat wings that would flap incessantly against your own head. So on. Self destruction of the potions (she couldn't let others be getting their hands on Amortentia easily... among other brewings such as the Polyjuice she was in the process of stewing lacewing flies for at the moment. Never know when it might come in handy.)

She wished she could perform the fidelity charm with it as well. Not that Umbridge was around, nor her circumstances dire, but to be done in by veritaserum or threats would be ridiculous.

She practiced her class potions in here, of course, aside from the brewing large batches of amortentia at a time. She did some studying, but it wasn't the most comfortable. It was rather dirty on the floors with planting fertilizer and soil she hadn't swept up, her household charms were lacking. Not a lot of space either, filled with tools, trinkets, jars, and materials of all kind.

Oh! The window was the best part. Before her house was invaded, Attia had begun the gruelling process of becoming an animagus. Very difficult, tedious, and definitely not for any good reason. But as up-and-coming Queen of Mischief, (such a nasty, demanding little title) she had to come up with ways of sneaking through the castle aside from her prefect duties. She hadn't a clue what she might be, as she had never successfully cast a corporeal patronus before.