My big luck for the day was that the first class was potions with Snape. When I arrived in the room I noticed that Bridget had saved the seat next to her for me.
Without thinking twice I sat down, there were still a few minutes left before the arrival of our esteemed Professor.
"I found out what happened last night." – Bridget whispered worriedly beside me.
"Nothing happened, I'll just need to work as Madam Pomfrey's assistant for a month." – I replied.
The girl next to me relaxed when she heard my answer.
"I heard you were showing off shirtless in the dorm hallways." – she said with a half smile.
"Male dorm, only 10 to 20% were tempted. And you know very well that I sleep without a shirt." – I replied.
She blushed at my answer.
"What do you mean 10 to 20% were tempted?" – she asked confused.
"It's the variation in the rate of people interested in the same sex. It is not definitive, many do not act on their preferences." – I explained.
She was silent for a moment.
"That goes for girls too." – I added.
She probably started thinking about all the ambiguous scenarios she had in life.
Snape arrived to teach the class, interrupting her thoughts.
He just gave me a furious look before starting class.
One of the things I needed to think about this year was a place where I could make my potions for Jonathan.
I couldn't spend the entire school year without making money, money moves the world no matter where you are and I need to renovate my house to welcome my partners in the future, everything inside it is more than two decades old. I wanted to bring some of the comfort of the Muggle World into my home. I knew that electronic things don't work near magic, but some electrical objects still do.
The class continued with Fire Protection Potion, something I could do with my eyes closed.
I took my time to help Bridget, she was good at potions, but nothing compared to someone with thousands of years of experience with real alchemy.
I showed her how I did each step of preparing the ingredients, my preparation method was slightly different from the book.
I preferred to refine the ingredients more than the book suggested. The effect of more refined ingredients is a more stable potion, but it also requires more care when mixing them in the cauldron.
I too taught her the wand movements for a more uniform mixture than manually.
She trusted me because she knew I had spent the summer working as a Potion Maker.
Throughout the class Ginny looked at me, I responded by smiling whenever I could.
She didn't seem to like the attention I was giving Bridget, but there was nothing I could do. She thought she was in the interest stage, when in fact she was just in the curiosity stage about me.
I let Bridget finish first so Snape couldn't deny her points. In essence we made Two Perfect Master Grade Fire Protection Potions.
Bridget received ten points and I received five.
After the potions class we would have a free period, we went to one of the castle's inner courtyards to wait for the time to move on to Herbology.
Sitting on one of the stone benches, Bridget began to feel restless.
"Could you tell me exactly what happened last night, the rumors are so many I don't know what to believe." – she asked, finally giving in to her curiosity.
I laughed a little, she still couldn't feel completely comfortable with me.
"After you went to your room, I stayed in the common room and exchanged a few words with Malfoy. He tried to get me to back off with all that nonsense about 'me knowing my place', so I told him if he did anything he would call the ward his second home. He countered by using my threat because he's not smart enough to think of something original." – I started counting.
Bridget had a few reactions, mostly she seemed amused when I insulted Malfoy's intelligence.
"Then after midnight, he, Crabbe, Goyle, Flint, Artos, Bibbley and Rigsby tried to surprise me while I was sleeping." – I continued.
She seemed to get tense at that moment, even though she knew I was safe and sound in front of her.
"I knocked out the pair of gorillas at first and then closed the door in the face of our esteemed Captain Flint. I broke the fatties' hands, teeth and noses before the door was opened. When it opened, I punched Artos in the face, knocking him down, then I knocked out Bibbley and Rigsby with one punch each, leaving only Flint and Malfoy. I broke Flint's knee, knocked Malfoy to the ground and stepped on his face. Malfoy screamed like a helpless maiden." – I finished counting.
Bridget's mouth dropped open at my story.
I admit I was a little more graphic than I should have been, but she needed to know how I acted in situations like this.
"I didn't need to go into so much detail." – she said, a little scared.
Just laugh.
After a while of silence she lowered her head.
"Thanks." – she said in a whisper.
I took her hand and squeezed it with mine.
"There's no need to thank me, you're my friend." – I said, trying to reassure her.
She looked conflicted at that moment.
"Who else do you think about…" – she began, but couldn't finish.
She looked like she wanted to make a decision, but she wasn't sure what to do.
"As soon as I woke up the list was longer, today I think of just a few that I would really like to see reach the heights of magic." – I said in a thoughtful tone.
I looked closely at her so she would understand that she was one of them.
Bridget swallowed.
"Granger, Greengrass, Lovegood." – I said, listing.
She was stunned for a moment.
"You have to be dreaming." – she said laughing.
I followed her in laughter.
"I doubt you can take Granger out of the books, making Daphne talk to you is null chance, and i would love to see you trying to understanding Loony Lovegood." – she said in a challenging tone while laughing.
I gave up for now.
"But what if you don't get any of them? – she asked with a little concern.
I didn't want to lie to her, but I also didn't want her to lose trust.
"Daves, Bell, Bones, Abbot." – I replied after debating internally.
Bridget wrinkled her nose.
She probably didn't expect me to have others in mind.
I should probably add Bones to the main list due to her aunt needing to be aware of what was about to happen so she could prepare.
"You don't settle for less." – she said uncomfortable.
I gave her an awkward smile.
All this time our hands were intertwined. She seemed comfortable with it, but was still suffering from insecurities due to my lifestyle.
"I don't know why I still try. Let's change the subject?" – she asked, giving up.
I nodded and waited for her to suggest something.
"What do you think you'll need to do during your punishment with Madam Pomfrey?" – she asked curiously.
I thought quickly without finding anything very specific.
I would have to pay for my working hours in the afternoon, as today we would only have astronomy at night. Soon I would know what I would need to do and I wasn't very excited, just like potions they must specialize a lot when it comes to medicine, small things must end up needing specific spells or potions to be solved.
"We are adults, punishments were for when Hogwarts was attended by children, so I believe I need to see it more as forced labor. But getting back to the topic will probably have me taking inventory of potions and ingredients, carrying things for her, and helping deal with students." – I said without much imagination.
"But it's a chance for you to learn something new, the profession of Healer is not easy to learn, you need good grades in several subjects to just qualify." – said Bridget.
She seemed interested in the profession.
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