Chapter 41: Midnight Adventures (4)
The next few weeks were awkward at best. Sirius was giving Catherine the cold shoulder which she was accepting with a surprising stoic reconciliation. James preferred not to intervene in the silent fight between his friends, while Peter and Remus were genuinely confused.
To take her mind off the problems with the boys, the young witch dedicated her free time to sorting out the Animagi issue. Besides the evident downfalls of the midnight adventure in the Library, they did accomplish something. They had a much clearer idea about what was required to achieve the transformation. They also knew the spells, and the only big question mark remained the potion.
Since she couldn't find any additional information on the potion in the regular books collection, and it was far too dangerous to return to the Restricted Section, the young witch concluded that her best chance was to trick Professor Slughorn into teaching her or providing the necessary instructions.
Taking advantage of the fact that she was already on his good side, Catherine started to invest more and more efforts into her Potions classes. The only frustrating thing was that no matter how hard she tried, Snape always managed to somehow best her.
"Don't think too much about it." – Lily tried to console her after a particularly daunting lesson, during which Snape's Hair-Raising Potion was ready ten minutes before everyone else's – "You're really gifted in potions, but Severus is a true genius. I even heard Slughorn saying that to Thorne the other day."
"Wait for me, I need to ask Professor Slughorn something." – Catherine said to Lily, disregarding her praising the Slytherin boy, and swiftly returned to the classroom.
Slughorn was still there having a conversation with Snape of all people. Catherine took a seat on the top of one of the front row tables and waited for her turn.
Snape quickly spotted her and turned around in a challenging manner, but the Potions Master didn't notice and smiled broadly at his student.
"Catherine, my dear girl, splendid job today! I'm very pleased with the level of the class. You should really spend more time with Severus. Both of you can do great things together, I'm sure."
"Thank you for the kind words, Professor." – Catherine smiled charmingly, while steaming internally – "As a matter of fact, I wanted to ask you if you're planning some extracurricular activities for students who are especially interested in potions?"
"What a remarkable coincidence!" – exclaimed Slughorn happily – "We were just discussing this with Severus. He and Lily expressed their interest in such activities months ago and I finally managed to find the time to organise a trial run so to say! We'd be happy if you join us here next Thursday evening, won't we Severus?"
Catherine continued smiling and nodded enthusiastically, catching a glimpse of Snape's hideous scowl behind the teacher's back. One could tell with confidence that Severus Snape was everything but happy about his classmate's perspective attendance to their meeting.
"Now, if you excuse me, I need to quickly visit the Hospital Wing and check on the poor Sabina. It's hard to be a Head of House, especially when young ladies decide to solve their skin issues with magic." – mumbled Slughorn and winked at Catherine, then he promptly left the dungeons.
Catherine attempted to follow him, but Snape suddenly blocked her way out. His black eyes were sparkling with rage.
"What are you up to?" – he hissed through his teeth.
"I beg your pardon?" – asked Catherine completely unruffled – "I believe you don't have any sort of ownership on Slughorn, do you? Then it's perfectly normal to be willing to join an advanced potions class he organises."
"I know you way better than you think, Plantier." – the boy smiled unpleasantly – "You might be able to trick the old fool, but I'm completely aware you're up to something."
"Wow, what a glorious detective you are! You figured out the mystery of a student trying to become better at Potions." – Catherine mocked the Slytherin.
"You think you're so smart, and that just because you go around with Potter and Black, you're popular. But the sad truth is that you're their Mudblood kitten and when they grow tired of you, they won't be able to ignore your ugly personality anymore. Then they'll just throw you away – miserable and alone. Face it, you're not very likable." – said Snape with a crooked smile.
"At least, I'll always be more likeable than you." – growled Catherine, irritated that the boy's words resonated with a fear she was trying to suppress in the last weeks after her query with Sirius.
"I don't give a damn regarding your opinion on me, Plantier! I'm warning you – don't dare to show your face on Thursday or I…" – said the Slytherin taking a step towards the girl and suddenly froze due to the wand in front of his face. Catherine's jade green eyes were not even blinking, staring wildly at Snape's pale face.
"What are you waiting for?" – he panted slightly – "It's your turn today, isn't it? Potter hexed me last week; this week it's you. Do it, but don't dare ruin my time with Lily! You're not welcome!"
Catherine blinked, confused. She didn't know James had hexed Snape last week, but again she wasn't spending much time with them recently. 'Is this all because Snape wants to spend some time with Lily? Is this why he's so angry with me?' – she thought and lowered her wand.
Snape looked at her with deep hatred, took his old, shabby school bag, and left the room, mumbling all kinds of profanities. The Gryffindor girl slowly followed but decided against joining the advanced class. She knew from experience that a pissed-off Snape was a bloody unpleasant business to deal with and her goal was to put Professor Slughorn into a sufficiently good mood in order to ask him about the Animagi potion. If the sulky Slytherin was acting up, it was highly unlikely that Catherine would have any chance of success. On the other hand, her chances of being cursed by him would have increased tremendously. In the light of those revelations, Catherine chose to pursue the Potions Master's assistance on another occasion, preferably without his favourite student being around.
'I guess I'm not seeing a lot of Lily on her birthday then.' – the girl thought while heading towards the Great Hall – 'I should make sure to give her my present in the morning.'
***
Duke Edward McMahon entered the small sunroom, overlooking the garden. Adorned with a myriad of paintings, statues, and charming trinkets, every available surface in the room was claimed by an enchanting assortment of treasures. The result was a magical sanctuary resembling a forest, where fairies, pixies, and nymphs coexisted, ruling over a realm of peace and magic.
Louisa McMahon reclined on a comfortable rattan peacock chair, her golden, wavey hair cascading like a waterfall around her. Bathed in the soft hues of the fading winter sunlight, she wore a silvery silk caftan that draped elegantly over her form. From the distance, it appeared as she was emitting a fade glow. Her green eyes were fixed somewhere in the distance.
"Where are you, my beautiful nymph?" – asked the wizard, planting a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
"I'm worried about Catherine." – she sighed, standing up abruptly.
"It was just a bad dream; it doesn't need to mean anything." – said Edward rationally – "If you ask me, I'm way more concerned by what Carsilion told me regarding her burning books in the Library."
"He has no proof it was indeed her. Honestly, sometimes I think he takes his alias way too seriously." – the witch exclaimed, tossing her hair back – "I hope he realises that if his 'tough love' tactic goes too far our infamous first meeting would seem an innocent child's play, compared to what I'm going to do to him this time."
"Hah, I'm sure he's well aware, my nymph." – chuckled the Duke – "But seriously, Carsilion is positive that the ash left from the book bore traces of true fire."
"I guess we had reasons to suspect it, didn't we?" – remarked Louisa.
"I know, but we still hoped against hope." – groaned the wizard, pacing across the room and back – "It's just so overwhelming."
The Duchess grabbed her husband's hand and forced him to look at her eyes.
"I know it's overwhelming, mon amour, but we are prepared. Let's write to Dumbledore and we're going to test her for elemental magic as soon as she comes home."
Edward nodded in agreement and embraced Louisa's slender body, his hands slowly caressing the small of her back.
"I don't know about Catherine, but you, my nymph, are a true mistress of fire without being a Fire Mage." – he said huskily.
"Only with you." – the Duchess laughed and kissed her husband passionately.