NOVEL NEXT Chapter 46: Crafting Safety
After that fateful encounter with Quirrell, Cyrna made sure to keep out of his way. She sat in the back of his classes with either Daphne's or Harry's group, and was the first to book it out the room the moment his lecture ended. She left the Great Hall with throngs of student, and when she was at the library, she sat directly beside the receptionist desk where Madam Pince often stayed.
It was one of those library days when Hermione swung by her table to greet her. Initially, they would only sit together in silence, each absorbed with their own business. Then, after a few more Potions classes where they worked as partners, Hermione began to speak a bit about her other classes—mostly superficial chatter—Cyrna believed that stemmed more from her loneliness, than a genuine desire to make friends with the odd Slytherin. But Hermione kept at it, and now Cyrna didn't blink twice when Hermione approached her in the library.
"Did you need my help with something?" Cyrna asked when she noticed that Hermione was curious about the book she was reading. If Cyrna was honest, she was rather impressed that the bushy-haired Gryffindor hadn't nosed into her business till now.
The book was a compendium on plants and flowers, and it was as tall as her head. The authors bragged that it was the most extensive one, including everything from muggle plants to the exotic, rare magical plants. But they were either full of shit or the Soulflower was just that arcane. 'Soulflower' had been missing in the index page, and now she was skimming through the pictures in case the flower had been added under a different name.
"Is that for our Herbology homework?"
Cyrna shook her head. "No, it's for a personal project. I'm trying to find information about this one flower."
"Oh, which one?" asked Hermione.
"The Soulflower. Have you seen any literature on it?"
Hermione mouthed the name a couple times. "I swear I saw that somewhere."
"Really?" Cyrna's almost flew from her seat in excitement. "I've been looking for days! There was nothing in Potions, so I had just gotten started in the Herbology section—where did you see it? In the DADA section? Or was it in magical creatures?"
Hermione flushed in embarrassment. "I can't really remember. But I'll try to find it for you."
"That'd be of great help," Cyrna said sincerely.
"Ah—That's what friends are for, right?" Hermione stammered with uncharacteristic nerves.
Cyrna heard the hope in her voice, and offered her a smile more genuine than the one she usually gave to Harry and Ron. "Yeah, but don't spend too much of your time on it. I'd hate for you to fall behind because of this."
The bell for dinner chimed. Hermione huffed, shouldering her bag; Cyrna followed suit and rose from her seat. "Thanks, but I never forget what I've read," said Hermione primly. "Just give me a month. I'll get that to you."
.....
Personal project on pending, Cyrna went on to rectify her other mistake. Nicolas had given her a kit of potion ingredients and common solvents at the start of the year, and when she opened the kit, she was pleasantly surprised by the variety of potions she could brew with these ingredients. Cyrna took a page out of Hermione's book and spent some of her spare time brewing in Myrtle's bathroom on the second-floor. Once Myrtle had gotten over the novelty of her presence, she was often left undisturbed. If not, Myrtle would hover over her shoulder with commentary that Cyrna simply treated as background noise.
By the end of the week, Cyrna had used up a good chunk of her kit to create a small arsenal of potions. There was one Antidote for Uncommon Poisons, three Blood-replenishing and Wiggenweld potions, and an Incense of Somnolence that would induce fatigue when inhaled. The Flamels, after hearing of her circumstances from her letter, had also sent her a bezoar along with Nicolas' weekly Potions assignments. Cyrna doubted Quirrell would use poison, but the encounter with the unicorn, reminded her of the wisdom of having basic medical supplies on hand.
Adding the bezoar into her bag, Cyrna made her way back to the common rooms. She found Daphne and Theodore and joined them on the couch by the fireplace. "What did I miss?"
"Daphne whining like a child," Theodore deadpanned.
"You're not the one stuck in the castle." Daphne scowled. "I'm sick of staying in! I want to go out!"
Theodore bopped her on the head. "No."
....
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