HP: The Stellar Witch [OFC]

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"An impressive duel," accompanied by a few claps, the platinum-haired prefect straightened up, resting his arm on the sofa. "Slytherin believes in the rule of the strongest. I'd say this was just a normal exchange between classmates, wouldn't you?" He casually pointed to a student from a minor family. "Perhaps you could trouble yourself to escort our two 'unfortunate' classmates to the hospital wing."

The designated student nodded his willingness and levitated the two groaning, bruised students away to the infirmary.

The platinum prefect stood and left the common room. With the show over, the crowd dispersed.

Only Lys and Snape remained. Seeing Snape still stubbornly silent as ever when emotional, Lys gripped then released her wand, abandoning her prepared spell. Instead, she cast a cleaning charm on his hair, ignoring his uncertain look beneath the disheveled strands, and returned to her dormitory with Crunch.

At least Snape had kept Crunch close after it was hurt - Lys could grudgingly accept that. The real mistake was her own, entrusting Crunch to someone else. None of this would have happened if she hadn't stayed in the hospital wing.

After feeding Crunch some dried mice from her stores to help it recover, Lys sniffled and worried about its future meals. It needed better food now that it was injured.

But it was winter, and the small grove no longer had small prey to catch. Sighing, she decided to break school rules. There was a vast forest beside the school, called the Forbidden Forest due to its long-standing restricted status - a place the headmaster had explicitly forbidden first-years from approaching.

The dense vegetation there should house suitable prey. Exhausted from the earlier fight, Lys lay down to rest, remembering through her drowsiness that she still had Potions class that afternoon.

Sleepily, she went to wash her cauldron after ruining her classwork potion. Fortunately, there was still time to redo it before the class ended.

Chopping sneezewort... chopping dryncorpse...

"Unless you've got a troll living in your head, you should know these ingredients need to be ground to powder, not chopped!"

Snape reluctantly warned Lys about her technique at Evans' urging.

Lys turned to see Lily Evans watching and felt a headache coming on. She was already unwell, and if that brainless Potter took notice of her, her peaceful two months would be over. She didn't want another confrontation with those annoying pests.

She turned back without acknowledging Snape, showing both him and Lily Evans the back of her head. Snape curled his upper lip in anger and returned to stirring his cauldron.

In the end, Lys barely managed to submit a passing assignment. Professor Slughorn, examining the potion, even found undissolved sneezewort pieces floating in it.

He kept her behind to redo it in front of him, only to find undissolved root chunks this time. As a potions master, he quickly understood the underlying issue.

He marveled that this child hadn't blown up a single cauldron in two years - she must have some natural talent.

The girl always brewed by instinct rather than following his instructions on the blackboard. If she developed properly, she could become quite remarkable.

But without adequate education and financial support to develop her instincts and further research, her potions journey would likely end at "barely successful without explosions."

Looking at her clothes... even non-noble but ordinary families would dress their daughters properly in robes or decent dresses. But this child, with her uneven hair, worn clothes and improper trousers - he'd only seen such attire in frightening places like Knockturn Alley.

Deciding she wasn't worth investing in, Slughorn gave Lys two vials of magical restorative potion with some regret. Pomfrey had requested them daily during the child's hospital stay, and seeing her current weak state, she likely needed more.

After noting the dosage instructions, Lys thanked him and left for the kitchens. The potion-making had taken too long - even rushing to the Great Hall now would only leave dessert, so she might as well go directly to the kitchens for food she actually liked.

...

In the empty common room at midnight, Lys snuck out of her dormitory with Crunch draped across her shoulders. She'd learned from the corridor armor that the castle's portraits and sculptures wouldn't report students wandering at night, usually just teasing them instead.

So as long as she avoided injury and detection by patrolling teachers, her midnight trip to the Forbidden Forest to catch prey for Crunch should be fine.

Just before reaching the castle doors, Crunch nuzzled her face. Understanding immediately, Lys ducked into the shadows. Sure enough, Madam Hooch from last year's flying lessons appeared around the corner with an oil lamp. She seemed to sense something, pausing at the door to look around before heading up to the second floor, seeing nothing unusual.

Going straight from the main doors to the forest clearing would be too exposed, with Gryffindor and Ravenclaw dormitories in the towers overlooking it. Lys decided to go around the castle's side past the Black Lake - she'd still have to cross the clearing but would be less visible that way.

With careful planning, Lys raised her wand and cautiously entered the forest's edge. She had to be careful.

She still remembered seeing Remus Lupin in the hospital wing, covered in scratches and bite marks.