A Powwow with Pomfrey
Chapter 6
On Thursday afternoons, first-year Ravenclaws got out early and Angelina planned to take full advantage of this opportunity. This free time was a perfect occasion to explore Hogwarts’s castle and grounds without suspicion. Now, a month into the school year, there had been three Thursday afternoons that she had made use of. Angelina had previously explored the 6th floor, where she had found nothing more than a short-cut to use between Transfiguration and Charms. On her second outing she had been even less successful, only stumbling across a distraught ghost named Myrtle in the out-of-order bathroom on the second floor. On her last outing she had discovered the Prefects’ bathroom, which would almost be worth becoming a Prefect for. Luckily, Jonathan Clearwater had let the password and location slip one evening when he had been droning on about the perks of being a Prefect. It had taken her only a little while to locate the statue of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor and even less time to find the fourth door to the left of the statue, so she had soon been able to enjoy all the bubble baths she wanted.
She doubted that she would be so lucky as to find anything as good a second time, but the previous evening, while in the library researching the latest Potions assignment for Slughorn, she had overheard none other than Black and Potter discussing the possibility of a secret passage that actually led out of the castle. Angelina would rather live as a Muggle than have them find it before her. That was why this Thursday she had planned to scour the castle for clues of the passageway. The only hitch in her plan was that Emma had already made arrangements to study with some Ravenclaw boy named Shacklebolt for the Astronomy test that was coming up next Monday. Peeved, Angelina decided that obviously she’d just have to do this by herself.
However, as she made her way out of the greenhouse after her last period of the day, instead of heading back up to the gloom of the castle, Angelina spontaneously decided to explore the grounds and struck out down to the lake. It was one of those fall days that the breeze ruffling the still-green leaves carries the hint of colder days to come. The impending chill of winter only served to heighten the pleasure Angelina took from the warmth of the sun on her skin, the crisp smell in the air, and the glorious stretch of bright blue sky.
Unsure of where to explore, Angelina paused to survey the land. Out in front of her stretched the lake and the forbidden forest. It fleetingly crossed her mind to explore this out-of-bounds area, but she decided against it, as she wasn’t much into hiking, sweating, or bugs. Overall, the forest, despite the secrets she was sure it held, had little appeal. Thus she decided on sneaking off to explore the Hogsmeade Village.
Angelina had just started off when someone behind her shouted her name. She turned around, wondering if Emma had changed her mind about studying for the Astronomy exam. Instead she saw the mediwitch, Madam Pomfrey, was standing over by the entrance to a greenhouse. She beckoned to Angelina, and with some reluctance Angelina approached.
“You seem to be doing better,” the Healer observed when Angelina was standing next to her.
“Yep,” Angelina said, hoping if she agreed she’d be let off to explore.
“You know, I’ve been wanting to show you something for a while. Will you come with me?” Madam Pomfrey questioned, jerking her head in the direction of the greenhouse.
Reluctantly Angelina followed the mediwitch into the steaming glass house.
Inside they were greeted by a sweet fragrance entirely unfamiliar to Angelina. There were also a variety of exotic looking plants that she recognized as being much more dangerous than the plants found in the first-year greenhouse. As the older witch led the way through the narrow aisles between rows of wild-looking vegetation growing in ordered chaos on each side, Angelina carefully kept her hands to herself. Even with her allergy potion, she was no wiz at Herbology, and routinely had to be sent to the Hospital wing. She seemed particularly prone to poisonous plants, and had had to send away for a special pair of protective gloves.
At the end of the greenhouse stood a profusion of flowering bushes, and it was from these delicate plants that the fragrant aroma filling the greenhouse originated. The plants themselves had glossy, dark green leaves that contrasted with the white blossoms currently in full bloom.
“This,” the mediwitch announced, “is the fructum ex veneno, or by its common name, the Alchemist. Do you know what this plant does, Miss Lestrange?”
“No.”
“Without this plant we would not be able to step foot inside this greenhouse. The rest of this house’s inhabitants are highly poisonous”so much so that they are too toxic for wizards and witches to approach without heavy protection. Unless, of course, the Alchemist is present. You see, it absorbs the poisons and filters them back into the air as the delightful scent that fills this room. Many wizards and witches have tried, over the centuries, to capture its perfume, but all have failed. You see, the perfume turns back into poison and kills the wearer.”
“I see. But what does this have to do with me?” Angelina had a nasty feeling she knew where Madam Pomfrey was going with this.
“Well my dear, I thought you might find it interesting. You see, some witches and wizards are born with a skill very similar to that of the Alchemist. They too absorb things “ such as poison, or sometimes even thoughts and feelings”from their surroundings. For them, only Occlumency can stop the absorption.”
“I see.”
And with that the older witch left Angelina in the greenhouse staring at the poison-absorbing Alchemist.
After her chat with Madam Pomfrey, Angelina wasn’t much in the mood for exploring so she headed to the library to do some research instead. However, she was unable to find much on the subject of Madam Pomfrey’s revelation. The single paragraph she did find was located in a thick, dusty volume she’d unearthed in a section of the stacks she was certain no one had visited in years judging by the dust on the cover, and it wasn’t very helpful at that. In addition, all the books on Occlumency were located in the restricted section, and as a first year, she didn’t have access to them. Frustrated by the library’s lack of information on the subject, Angelina sat in the library stunning flies and ranting under her breath.
“Uhh…Could I join you? All the other tables are full.”
“No,” Angelina stated, not looking up.
“Uhh…sorry.” The person had already started to shuffle off when she finally looked up. It was Remus Lupin. She hadn’t really seen him much since their trip on the train together. The few times she had seen him he had been with Black and Potter, laughing at some pathetic joke. Of course, the whole of Gryffindor house seemed to be besotted with the wit and charm or Black and Potter. In fact, with the exception of Lily Evans, Severus Snape, and herself, it seemed everyone in the school was enamored with the prats. Potter had even picked up a sidekick, Peter Pettigrew. In Angelina’s opinion, Pettigrew wasn’t even a worthy adversary. At lest Black and Potter could defend themselves; Pettigrew would end up in a bundle of jinxes if he wasn’t careful.
Remembering the saying of “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer,” Angelina decided to invite Remus Lupin to sit with her. You never knew what he might reveal.
“Actually, I wouldn’t mind,” Angelina amended.
“You sure?” the boy asked tentatively. The stormy eyed Ravenclaw was feared throughout the school for her nasty curses. Of course, she rarely hit anyone who didn’t provoke her, but he didn’t want to even miff her slightly. He’d seen what happened to Peter Pettigrew, and the boy had only laughed at one of Potter’s jokes.
“Sure. Lupin, right? We sat together on the train.”
“Yeah,” he agreed smiling. “You’re Angelina Lestrange.”
“Call me Lena, everyone does.”
“Potter and Black call you Angel.”
“Potter and Black don’t sit at my table.” She left out the part about getting cursed instead, as she felt that might seem threatening.
“How do you like Defense Against the Dark Arts?” Remus asked, trying to change the subject and noticing the thick volume on the subject lying on the table.
Angelina shrugged. “Theoretically it’s interesting enough, but with Professor Fishback ... I swear the only monster she’s ever seen is in the mirror when she wakes up.”
Lupin couldn’t help but laugh at the girl’s description of the Dark Arts teacher. He found himself enjoying her company as they both did their homework.
“There you two are! We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Emma shouted across the library, earning a disapproving look from the librarian. Beside her was Lily Evans, the Mudblood Gryffindor.
“Hi Lily,” Lupin greeted, while picking up his books. “You ready for dinner?”
“Yeah let’s go. See you both later,” Evans said, waving good-bye to the two girls.
“I’m glad you’re making friends with Remus. Isn’t he just too sweet?”
“Yeah, sure, Emma. Where were you? I thought you’d be studying.”
“Oh, Lily and I were talking to Abe about Quidditch.”
Angelina felt a pang that Emma had gone with Lily and not her. Why? I don’t even like Emma. She’s annoying, and babbles way too much, and is not particularly skilled, and for some reason I am jealous that she picked Lily over me. For some reason I want her to think of me as her friend. Even though she’s a MUDBLOOD.
And for some reason, Angelina didn’t find herself caring very much that Emma was a Mudblood.