❝"I want to save them."
"You're just saying things that I already know, Nellie."
"You're not going to try and stop me?"
"On the contrary, my little Witch. I'm going to try and help you."❞
***
Viatorem Atramento: Ink Travellers. That was what Noell...
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At the end of November, Hufflepuff had been defeated in the Quidditch match which set the Gryffindor team up against Ravenclaw for the next term. The sky had bleached a stark white and a chill had invaded the castle, though there was a distinct presence of the Christmas cheer in the school. Flitwick had set about decorating his classroom with sparkling lights that had turned out to be real, fluttering fairies, much to Noelle's delight, and there was a lot of chatter about holiday plans.
Noelle loved everything about magic. From the hundreds of beguiling plants and potions ingredients to the thrill she felt at producing a spell with her wand, even the homework and extra-reading she did to secure her knowledge to the standard level; there was a joy set so deep in her bones that made her feel this world was just /right/. It was hers, and it was real, and she was just so in love with the idea that for weeks all anyone ever saw on Noelle's face was a smile so bright it could have competed with the opaline frost that covered the Hogwarts grounds by the end of term.
Her lessons had turned out to be better than she expected — in particular, Potions; Snape hadn't so much as sneered at her, seeming to respond to everything she said with a stunned silence as if he didn't really expect her to retain the pre-requisite reading like he'd asked. By the first session she had accurately identified all the common first-year ingredients, and managed to list the basic properties of the first-year potions after some very hard thinking. The forgetfulness potion had tripped her up a little, because she had forgotten an ingredient.
The next few sessions had been dedicated to the practical aspect, much to Noelle's delight. Chemistry and Biology had always been her favourite subjects, and for as long as she could remember she had wanted to work in the health-care sector like her mother. She wondered if it was possible for her to become a Healer as she watched Snape stir his cauldron anti-clockwise three times before adding to it a sprig of mint at his station. That day, Noelle had been working on an antidote to common poisons and was waiting for it to turn yellow before she proceeded with the next step, and eyed the ingredients on his table. (Potions was also weirdly like cooking, she'd noticed.)
"Is that Wolfsbane, Professor?"
Snape's eyes had trailed slowly upwards from his simmering cauldron to eye the Gryffindor using up his potions supplies. His lip curled upwards briefly but he had schooled his expression to indifference in a flash. Noelle guessed this meant he was waiting for an explanation — or that he was annoyed she had interrupted the silence, but elaborated anyway.
"It's just that I've noticed the monkshood on your table," she said simply with a small shrug. "I know it's an ingredient for a variety of other potions but you haven't been using the ingredients for those. From the ones I know of, anyway."
"Pay attention to your own potion, Miss Black. I can see it turning the wrong shade of yellow from here," he replied shortly, returning his gaze to his own cauldron which had started to produce a pale blue smoke. Noelle cast a startled glance at her own and realised it was perfectly fine. She scowled at him but decided to move on to the next step. She knew it was Wolfsbane; the full moon was in a week and she knew that Lupin would have to take it everyday in the coming days in order to retain his sense of self. The session had continued peacefully after that, and Snape had graded her potion as acceptable because she had apparently waited a second too long to add the mistletoe berries which made the solution a verdant green instead of ocean teal.
