Dreaming in Color

Chapter 23

The progressing weeks marched by in a seamless flurry of activity; Potions, Occlumency and duelling lessons taking up most of her time and leaving very little spare time for much else.

Today, though, Lauren had abundance of leisure time on her hands, and she found herself standing in the grand library, staring mulishly at the extensive leather-bound books lining each and every shelf.

What's the use of having all these books at my disposal when I can't find the one I'm really looking for?

Lauren was currently at a standstill with her research regarding venomous snakes – she still hadn't discovered the particular type of snake Nagini was and, therefore, could not start working on some type of antivenom – much to her growing frustration. So, as a divergence, she had decided to do some side research on the magical bond she and Severus Snape shared.

She had thought it would be a simple enough task. How wrong she was.

Lauren had searched the library in it's entirety, even enlisting the help of Blinky, but thus far they had discovered nothing on the subject. There were a vast array of books dealing with Potions and antidotes - some of which had been written by Bethany Ward herself. There were other tomes dealing with Herbology, Fantastic Beasts and where to find them, charms, defensive and offensive spells – many of which would come in handy if Lauren could only memorize them all.

The hidden treasure she had come across, though, was a book pertaining to Latin translations. She had put that one aside to peruse later on, which would prove invaluable with understanding what some spells meant and what they did exactly. Not to mention it would also help her translate some of the Slytherin dormitory passwords. Lauren had long ago suspected that Snape created these passwords, as a few months there had been one that had loosely translated into: Bane of my existence. Lauren had been quite certain that this had been a direct reference to her.

But try as they might Lauren and Blinky had found no book even remotely covering the topic of magical bonds.

I think a visit to Flourish and Blotts is in order...

That visit would be quite soon as Lauren had just recently received the results from her exams and would need to go and purchase school supplies in Diagon Alley.

Amazingly, she had done exceptionally well with most of her subjects (though History of Magic, unsurprisingly, had been her lowest mark). The real shocker had been her Potions score. Lauren had almost dropped the sheet of paper in shock when she had reviewed her mark. Even by Snape's standards, it had verged on being outstanding.

Lauren knew that Snape believed that she had a natural aptitude for the subject, but seeing the score on paper had been a confirmation of her abilities. It was oddly exhilarating to know that not only was she starting to thrive in her new world, but was also excelling for the first time in her life.

An elegant swoop of black entered the room and Artemis came gliding into her field of vision, looping lazily around the library before landing gracefully upon the back of a chair and ruffling his glossy black feathers as he settled. He then let out a sharp caw before extending his leg, revealing the letter that was attached to it.

"Tracey sent back a reply, did she?" Lauren asked, fondness seeping into her voice as she spoke to her pet.

Artemis responded with a gurgling croak, tilting his head to the side and eyeing her with those sharp, intelligent black eyes.

Lauren crossed the room and came to stand before him. As she gently stroked the silky feathers upon his head, Artemis' eyes closed in contented bliss under her ministrations. Lauren gave him one final caress and then untied the letter from his leg.