Chapter 17. Mail Day

I made the walk outside to an unoccupied area, and met up with Abarrane. Crunching leaves disclosed the location of the girl I knew following me from the beginning. Giving food to an outstretched arm from the abyss, I called out to my pursuer. “You can come out, she doesn’t bite.” A few moments of silence later, Pansy came out from her hiding place not far away. “I could smell her! I am amazing at finding things!!” Val cheered as he splashed in the water, telling Abarrane of his achievements.

Pansy was cautious to say the least of the tentacles that waved through the water, some latching onto my arms and hands. I chuckled and nodded at her to reassure her as she moved closer. “I had the same feelings when I first met her too.” Abarrane’s suckers latched onto my hand, before releasing them again. Something she seemed to enjoy doing. “Abarrane, I have my friend here. Are you ok with her touching you?” I asked with the help of my wand, ringing out my feelings to help convey my message.

Abarrane continued to move normally, and I felt nothing from her that felt worried or hostile. I held out my other hand to Pansy, she looked at it with a frown, but slowly put her hand in mine. “Ok, be calm.” I told her while moving her hand to one of Abarrane’s that was attached to my other hand. Placing Pansy’s hand on top of Abarrane’s made Pansy gasp, and freeze. Abarrane then turned her suckers off of me, and began grabbing and releasing Pansy’s hand. Pansy gulped, and I watched her fear ridden face, slowly change to amusement. She giggled with an expression that stuck with me. Her face, slightly uneasy, yet cheerful.

At the end of the day, and after I had studied with Pansy in my room. I finally decided to read the parchment Dumbledore gave to me. ‘I forgot about it last night from the surprise of Pansy, but now I need to know.’ I could already feel myself changing from the overabundance of magic. My hearing grew degrees sharper, my sight could be well adjusted to the darkness, and my body warmed up. All at the cost of growing headaches the closer to the day of discharge. ‘I was lucky that no headaches happened yet, but I feel they might be worse tomorrow.’

The main reason I was checking for the room today was so I wouldn’t have to find it in a harshed state. I unfolded the parchment, and stared at the map that I had received. “Here…? I guess that works…” I mumbled under my breath while glancing at Val’s tank. ‘I’ll have to let Pansy take Val back here. I don’t know if there is a place for him in this strange place.’ I then looked back at the map, with instructions written on an empty portion of the parchment. “Just hope I don’t destroy it…”

It was the next day, and I woke up to my head aching. It wasn’t debilitating, but annoying regardless. I grunted as I got up, and readied for the day. Once I was in the Great Hall, I sat down next to Pansy. “You’re late.” She said while flipping a page of potions. Most likely the cure for boils that every first year learned to make ASAP. I sighed as food appeared before me, and I ate up a large quantity of bacon and eggs. Giving parts of the egg to Val hidden in my sleeve.

“Didn’t sleep so well.” I said while rubbing my temples to help ease the constant thumping in my head. “Well it’s a good thing that most of today's classes are boring anyway.” I nodded, already seeing our schedule for today. There was only basic bookwork that didn’t require magic to be used. Anything always became much more difficult while in this state, so knowing that only one class needed magic was lucky. However, unluckily, that one class was something I had never done before.

It wasn’t long before our first class started. All of the first year Slytherin’s following Pansy, Draco, and I. Draco was the textbook example of someone I would much rather avoid, however he stood close to Pansy and I, clearly hoping to be part of the ‘head of first year Slytherin’. (At least, that’s what most of the first years called me.) He was easy to deal with, in the fact one word of ‘inferior masses’ sent him on a tangent about how purebloods were the best. Pansy agreed on some points, but found studying a more worthwhile passage of time. The most I could say was, ‘Just because they are below us now, doesn’t mean we can sit around without trying.’ Without getting sick of the words coming from my mouth.

Once our first two classes were done, and it was lunch, my headache was growing worse, affecting my mood. “Are you ok?” Valdemar hissed worriedly. It was evident that I had become irritable, even Draco was quiet about purebloods to not push me. I just kept tapping my foot under the table to not let out my growing anger at the constant pain. ‘It keeps getting worse as I get older… I wish I could read books of my ancestors to see if they had any insight…’ I sighed before talking, my tapping becoming more aggressive. “This headache, it’s getting worse. And-”

Before I could finish, a sudden whooshing sound descended from the ceiling, showcasing all of the varying owls delivering mail. ‘Oh please…’ I thought, looking for my family’s owl. Draco’s mail was dropped in his lap. He frowned a bit while quickly tucking it away in his robes, clearly avoiding talking about his worried mother. Much like myself, except I prayed there was something else for me. Two sets of clawed feet latched themselves on my left shoulder, away from Pansy and the rest of the table.

I sighed with relief at seeing my feathered friend. A gray, great horn tailed owl. He stood elegantly with a small package in his mouth. I grabbed it from him, and gave him a ball of Val’s food in return. He happily took it, swallowing the entire ball whole as I straightened his feathers. “Thanks Howell.” He cooed in response before leaving, my relief quickly improving my mood. “What did he give you?” Draco asked with Pansy quietly watching as well.

I rattled the box, and smiled at the sound of something inside. I opened the box, and took out the small note inside, reading it while also holding the small glass vial. ‘I noticed you forgot, so I sent over some of your medicine. Love, Mom’ I was embarrassed that I forgot something I needed every month, but gratefully accepted my mother’s worrying. I uncorked the bottle of purple potion, the smell of lavender filled the air, and I took a deep breath. I let out a contented sigh, before drinking it in its entirety.

Soon, the pain in my head began to abate. I spoke in a much better mood to Pansy and Draco staring at me, along with a few other curious Slytherin’s at the table that caught a whiff of lavender. “Headache relief potion. Something my father made. I get them a lot, so this helps me from time to time.” My mind felt more clear, with all the other symptoms being reduced (Hearing, eyesight, and such), so was my headache.

Lunch soon ended, and it was time for our next class. One that I decided best to leave Valdemar in my room for. However, once he knew what the class was, he refused to leave. Disgruntled, I finally caved in letting him tag along. “Just remember, If you make too much noise, then you can’t come again.” “Yes! I’ll be quiet!!” With this class, there were no books, no wands, just broomsticks. It was time for our first flying lesson in the courtyard.