HP: The Stellar Witch [OFC]

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A week later, she was assigned detention - helping Professor Slughorn process potion ingredients. The professor had specifically requested her, saying "This child's technique couldn't be more efficient. While I don't wish for her to make mistakes, this certainly solves a major problem for me. Why not spend that time savoring aged Firewhisky instead?"

As for why she got detention - it was all because of Potter's gang, and just thinking about it made Lys angry.

Crunch had become somewhat picky with food lately. After noticing this, Lys tried catching all sorts of novel prey, even Doxies - common wizard household pests that had somehow found their way into the forest. She let Crunch try everything.

This meant spending longer in the Forbidden Forest, and she returned to the castle after curfew.

She encountered Potter's group near the hourglasses in the Great Hall, who were emerging from under their Invisibility Cloak to get some air, thinking no one was around. Upon seeing a Slytherin, they immediately threatened her not to tell anyone.

But then! Sirius Black, dragging Peter along, knocked over a suit of armor. In that moment, Lys felt her despair echo throughout the entire castle.

They all ran away, and Lys made it back to the Slytherin common room, feeling relieved - until Professor Slughorn brought her to his office the next morning. Those stupid Gryffindors had been caught.

Not only were they caught, but embracing the "if I'm going down, you're going down too" mentality, they'd ratted her out.

Sitting in the Potions professor's office, Lys once again lamented how Gryffindor was her bane. The Sorting Hat must have malfunctioned from age when it considered putting her in Gryffindor.

Mechanically processing fire salamander scales, she recalled the Sorting Hat's words about looking forward to exploring the outside world with young wizards.

Professor Slughorn, grateful for Lys's help, offered her a piece of candied pineapple and handed her another ingredient. "But Professor, I've only seen this ingredient in books. Could you demonstrate?"

"Of course, my oversight - this is seventh-year material. Let me show you..."

When she left, she took half a package of candied pineapple, having strongly agreed with the professor's taste by enthusiastically praising the sweet preserves.

"Oh, I'm delighted you have such good taste. Among the wizards I can find at this school who appreciate sweets so well, there's only Dumbledore and you, child."

Although recent life was filled with detention, writing essays for Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lys still regularly entered the Forbidden Forest to find things Crunch liked. She gradually figured out patterns in its pickiness.

After eating ordinary food for a few days, it wanted something exciting - magical creatures or things not typically in a snake's diet. Since Lys didn't want Crunch getting sick, she wouldn't let it eat anything too strange. Instead, she borrowed two books about magical creatures from the library to identify suitable prey.

Crunch had also developed a new hobby - it liked Lys to release prey freely in the dormitory for it to hunt.

At first, Lys felt hurt, thinking Crunch didn't like her. But after research, she learned that while Gaboon vipers are typically very lazy, avoiding movement when possible, they instinctively practice hunting skills in youth to ensure survival capability in complex wild environments.

Lys fully supported this, happy to see Crunch enjoying itself, unconcerned about mice, birds, and pests running around her dormitory.

After nearly losing Crunch on their first outing, Lys retrieved the massive "Common Spells Compendium" from the library. She'd lost interest in it last year after reading half without being able to cast anything properly.

This time, she began experimenting with spells frantically. To her delight, she could now perform all the spells she'd previously studied carefully.

The effects stabilized with practice. "Orchideous," which previously only conjured a single petal, could now produce a full bouquet.

She became absorbed in this, her room filling with conjured orchids over several days, surrounding her with a gentle fragrance.

This led Lys to wonder about her earlier questions: Where did conjured items come from? If orchids could be conjured, what about lilies or roses?

She asked Professor Flitwick, but he didn't specifically answer where things came from, saying Lys could research that herself later. However, he encouraged trying to conjure other flowers.

Since "Orchideous" was an established spell with fixed gestures and incantation, to achieve different effects...

"Beyond your own magic, you need target, emotion, and determination."

"And beyond that, we need clear knowledge of what we're conjuring. If you can manage that, you're welcome to visit my office where we can try together."

This sounded oddly familiar to Lys - Professor McGonagall had said something similar in first year.

After bidding farewell to Professor Flitwick, her next class was Herbology.

Although Professor Sprout was somewhat displeased about the stewed ginger root incident recently.

She was still enthusiastic about helping young wizards seeking assistance, especially a child looking for guidance in cultivation.