Soteria

CHAPTER 16:

The next morning, Ivy sat with her hands on her head as she massaged it lightly. She had a banging headache, and not only that, she was also extremely tired. She shouldn't have stayed up that late, imagining various ways on how to murder Tom and his dogs. It would've been better if she dreamed about it; at least that way she wouldn't be feeling this tired.

"Hey!" Agnes yelled from beside her, or so she thought she did.

"Ow, Agnes." Ivy winced, "Too loud."

"Oh, sorry." In return, she whispered. She then turned and rummaged through her bag before suddenly slamming a bottle in front of Ivy, causing her to jolt. "Here!" Agnes said with a smile as she nudged the bottle closer.

Ivy held the bottle and inspected it with a raised brow. "Uh, what is this exactly?"

"Definitely not a contraceptive!" She laughed.

With a sigh, Ivy returned it. "I'm sort of not in the mood right now, Agnes. I have this banging headache that doesn't seem to go away but rather seems to only get worse."

"Ah...sorry." Agnes smiled sheepishly. She returned the bottle back into Ivy's hand, who gave her a look. Just as she was about to return it, Agnes spoke. "No, keep it! It will help with the headache! It's a pepperup potion."

"Why do you have this?"

Agnes gave a shrug. "Sometimes I get headaches after quidditch practices." Her eyes widened. "Trust me, this stuff really helps!"

Ivy hummed. "I'll take your word for it then." She uncorked the bottle and took a huge gulp before placing it down.

Agnes's eyes twinkled as she stared at Ivy. "Well?" She asked. "How do you feel?"

Ivy swallowed, her expression one of confusion. She felt light yet... heavy? But she could no longer feel her pulsating headache. "Well... I feel sort of...light. But also heavy?"

"Oh, that's normal!" Agnes waved a hand. "It'll pass!"

"IVY!" Beatrice yelled and hurried to sit next to Ivy.

"W-what's wrong, Beatrice?" Ivy looked towards Agnes, who shrugged. She returned her gaze to Beatrice and anticipated what she was to utter.

Beatrice took a swallow and exhaled, turning towards Ivy, her hazel eyes wide and sparkling. "Did you hear about the upcoming party Slughorn's hosting?"

Agnes rolled her eyes. "Of course." She kissed her teeth. "He does this like every year."

"Rarely, you mean."

"Bullshit!"

"Wha-"

"No." Ivy cut Beatrice off, causing her attention to return. "I didn't hear anything about it."

"Nor have I!" Beatrice responded. Her countenance was then one of thought as she put a finger to her chin. "Until... I heard from Septimus, who heard from Lyall, who heard from Jeremiah, who heard from-"

"Okay!" Agnes yelled. "Don't go start listing the whole year!"

"So... how do you know if it's true or not?" Ivy asked.

"Well, Slughorn always has these small get-togethers, and they're not like the meetings we have, they're sort of like parties, I guess?" Beatrice shrugged. "He always does one every year before winter break. For a Christmas celebration, I imagine?"

"And how do you know if you were invited?"

"Well-"

"He typically pairs an elegant-looking invitation with an elegant-looking owl." Without looking up, Agnes interrupted as she buttered her toast harshly. "Written in elegant writing for solely elegant people."