After having lunch in the Great Hall I made my way to the infirmary where I would begin my compensatory work.
As soon as I arrived I introduced myself to Madame Pomfrey, something almost unnecessary given the number of times I was here before waking up.
"Young man, you've done a number on your housemates, I must admit there have been few times when I've needed to use Skele-Gro because of broken bones, but you've done it." – she said in an accusatory tone.
Upon hearing her words I just lowered my head, it was not the time to argue.
She certainly disapproved of what I had done, there was no other conclusion that could be drawn about her words, but she was really impressed by the fact that I had done this without using magic.
"I want you to check all the beds in the Infirmary and change any sheets that appear used, after that I need you to check the cabinets and record everything you find in them to compare later with the last inventory report." – she said, giving me tasks.
I was sure house elves would change the sheets when the Infirmary was empty, but she was doing it on purpose to punish me.
Luckily for me, seven beds were showing signs of use, these were probably the beds that my excellent colleagues used during the night and part of the day after meeting me.
I put years of practice into action and changed the sheets perfectly, it's as if the beds had never been used in their lives.
As soon as I finished, I grabbed a notebook and started taking inventory of each of the supply cabinets. The good thing is that each one of them is numbered, making progression and organization easier when comparing with the previous report.
When I presented the differences to her, there were still two hours until dinner.
"Very well, I will fill out an order with the ingredients and potions." – she said, starting to write an official request.
I raised my hand to get her attention.
"What can I do for you, Mister Mao?" – she asked, uncomfortable with me interrupting her work.
"If you want, I can make some of the potions, I still have time before dinner." – I said suggesting.
She raised a curious eyebrow at my suggestion.
"In the past, if a second year student offered to make potions for me I would reject it immediately, but times have changed, haven't they? Why do you believe you can produce the potions that are missing from the infirmary's supply? – she asked, completely skeptical.
I gave an awkward smile.
She was completely right, comparing today's abilities with those of the past, they don't differ much, only age changes. Before a second year student would be between twelve and thirteen years old, while I am eighteen years old.
"I worked over the summer as a Potion Maker for Mr Mulpepper's Apothecary." – I explained.
She seemed surprised by my answer.
Someone of my status would be offended if someone like her judged me that way, but I've long learned from my incarnations that I need to throw my pride away in the early stages.
"Let's start with the Skele-Gro you made me use on your Housemates." - she said.
I grabbed the necessary ingredients from the cabinets and followed her to her personal potions room.
Madam Pomfrey carefully watched the entire process while I made the potion, when we reached the final stage the potion needed to cook for eight hours.
I looked at her for some sign of approval or disapproval, but all I could pick up was the fact that she was thoughtful.
"You have a real talent for potions, young man." – she said finally.
A little embarrassed, I nodded.
Talent for potions… I was the seventeenth best alchemist in the universe. Unfortunately that means nothing here.
"From tomorrow you will be responsible for making the missing potions, I believe this is a better use of your time than just making him complete unnecessary work." – declared Madam Pomfrey in a serious tone.
I nodded immediately.
It was better to use my time instead of changing clean sheets on the beds.
With a new agreement regarding my time in the infirmary I thanked Madam Pomfrey and headed towards the Great Hall.
Arriving close to the Great Hall I found Bridget, apparently she was heading towards the infirmary to look for me.
"Hi, how was your first day at work?" – she asked, surprised to see me.
"It was ok, a bit like we had talked about. She made me take inventory and change sheets on the beds. But in the end I got her to let me make potions for the infirmary." – I said.
"Better than you imagined." – she commented with relief.
I agreed immediately.
"I heard they're going to have to polish all the metal in the castle and there's a daily quota to meet." – she said, holding back a laugh.
I also couldn't imagine any of them doing something like that, least of all Malfoy.
"Let's eat something, it's been a long day and we still have Astronomy." – I said, inviting her to go to the Great Hall.
We walked along the path side by side, but she insisted on keeping a certain distance from me.
Sometimes I'm afraid of her choice. I need to confess that I became attached to her and I really consider her a friend, if she rejected me I would be down, but I know that being the way she is when rejecting me she would do everything to cut ties with me.
When we arrived at the Great Hall, a good number of people at every table stopped what they were doing to give me complicated looks.
It was now certain that what I had done had traveled through the castle. In the morning only a few looks had caught my attention. By lunch the number had increased, but now it was as if the entire Great Hall was looking at me.
Bridget and I found a free seat at the Slytherin table and the people around and in front of us made a point of moving away from us.
I just laughed at this behavior.
I stuffed my face with food for almost an hour until we had to go back to the dorm to get our Astronomy materials.
Bridget went to the girls' dorm while I headed towards my room. When I turned the hallway towards the bedrooms I came face to face with Gemma Farley.
"Sorry, I didn't see you here." – I said apologetically.
Gemma on the other hand smiled enigmatically at me and touched my arm.
"Impressive, you're still here." - she said.
Gemma continued on her way.
Her smile caught my attention, but I had been late during dinner and I didn't have time to think about it.
Astronomy was basically useless, but I had this desire to make good impressions when I needed to attend schools... I know it's crazy, but I also had to maintain my image in my own head, I'm one of the ten most powerful beings in the universe, even that now I'm just a second year student at Hogwarts, a former school for children in a magical world that no one must have ever managed to ascend.
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