Chapter 10: El Abbott

Her roommate had returned quite late last night, making considerable noise while washing up, and Lys even heard books tumbling. Too exhausted, she couldn't summon the energy to peek through her bed curtains to investigate.

There was a Herbology class scheduled before lunch this morning. Though she made it to class on time, Lys had missed breakfast again. She sat in the common room sofa, nibbling on the now-stale bread from last night while watching tiny fish dart past in the lake. She planned to review her Herbology textbook soon - both this and the Potions text particularly intrigued her, as they contained numerous illustrations alongside the incomprehensible words.

The missing school robe from last night had mysteriously appeared at her bedpost this morning, clean and pressed, hanging with elegant drapes of deep green that complemented her fair complexion beautifully.

Lys realized there must be house-elves here - otherwise, maintaining such an enormous castle would be impossible.

While reading and checking the time, she decided to depart early to locate Greenhouse One. Herbology classes were held in the outdoor greenhouses, so she needed extra time to find it.

She noticed her previously neat robes had become quite wrinkled from lounging on the sofa. Annoyed, she brushed off the bread crumbs and attempted to smooth the creases, but to no avail. She could only hurry out of the common room.

From a distance, she spotted Lily's distinctive red hair and knew she'd found Greenhouse One. It had been incredibly difficult to locate without any statues or portraits to ask for directions.

Lys scanned the area again, instinctively seeking a corner to wait in, but unfortunately encountered an approaching group.

She spun around abruptly to walk the other way, but her sudden movement caught Potter's attention.

"Hey, Sirius, look who it is - the rat-skin!"

"Indeed," Sirius snatched the reading primer clutched to her chest, shaking it violently by its spine, "So the future Dark witch of Slytherin can't even read?"

"Hahaha!" Their laughter was absolutely grating.

Potter even ran his fingers through his hair as he laughed, noticing Lily Evans looking their way.

"Yes, I can't read. Could you please return my book?" Lys held out her hands matter-of-factly, requesting her book back. Though she didn't understand why they called her a future Dark witch, she needed that primer for her studies.

"Yes, I can't read," Sirius Black mocked, pursing his lips and squinting in an exaggerated imitation, shoving the now-disheveled book back into her arms.

"Trash belongs in the gutter - maybe you'll find some bronze Knuts there."

Lys silently collected the fallen pages, carefully tucking them back into the book, and held it close without another word.

Finding her unresponsive, Sirius Black lost interest and returned to his friend Potter.

"Hey, Evans, we need partners for Herbology. May I have the honor?" Potter squeezed next to Lily Evans.

"No," Evans held her head high, speaking to Snape, "I'm already partnering with Severus. Go find someone else."

"Oh come on, Lily! This Snivellus is a Slytherin - why do you always stand with him? Look at him, dressed like my family's house-elf!"

"You can't talk like that! Severus is my good friend!" House-elves were enslaved by wizards, not even allowed to wear clothes. Evans felt Potter had gone too far.

"That's all you can say, Potter. After all, what else can someone with spidergrass for brains do besides show off his clothes!"

Well said! Lys secretly cheered for Snape, while regretting she couldn't articulate so cleverly. She should have said something similar to Black earlier!

The confrontation was escalating, with Potter raising his wand, when Professor Sprout, who taught Herbology, arrived wearing a somewhat worn hat.

"Oh my, children, put away your books and wands - we won't need them for our first lesson."

She pulled out her keys to unlock the greenhouse door while deliberately passing between Potter and Snape.

Lys suspected the professor had done this intentionally.

Lily quickly pulled Snape into the greenhouse, choosing a central position.

From last class, Lys had noticed that Slytherin and Gryffindor didn't get along, exchanging cold glares. She shrugged - she alone seemed unwelcome by either side.

After explaining greenhouse safety rules, Professor Sprout gathered everyone around the lesson's plant specimen - writhing tendrils twisted together on the ground, secreting a slight mucus.

"Who can tell me this plant's name and characteristics?"

A poised Slytherin elegantly raised their hand: "This is Devil's Snare. It hunts by strangulation and can sense if prey is still struggling to decide whether to release them. Therefore, one must stay calm and relaxed to escape. Devil's Snare typically grows in dark places and avoids light. Its current weakened state is due to the greenhouse's brightness."

"Oh quite right, dear, very complete - five points to Slytherin. Now..."

Lys thoroughly enjoyed this lesson because she could understand everything. The earlier upset about her damaged primer was forgotten.

After class, everyone traversed the grassy slopes back to the Great Hall for lunch, with some particular Slytherins stopping at their dormitory for a shower first.

Lys found her seat at the table's end, but seeing lunch hadn't started, suddenly remembered something. She jumped up and left the Hall, approaching the four large hourglasses facing the entrance that displayed House points. Each contained different colored gems representing the Houses.

She touched her nose, checked that no one was around, and whispered to the hourglass containing Slytherin's green gems, "In Herbology this morning, Professor Sprout awarded five points." Seeing no response, she repeated herself.

While puzzling over this, a young witch emerged from around the corner.

"Don't worry, the gems were added right when the professor announced it. Quite convenient, isn't it?"

It was a curly-haired witch wearing a Hufflepuff badge. "Lunch should be starting now, but if you ask me, Hogwarts food is a bit monotonous. I wish the house-elves would take some advanced cooking classes."

Lys wasn't sure how to respond, as she felt anything was fine - after eating Coco's cooking for so many years, which was, well, rather uninspiring.

"I think it's quite good actually. Much better than what I ate before. Just wish I could take some with me, since I often oversleep," Lys wasn't sure why she was sharing this, perhaps not wanting to waste a rare chance for conversation.

"Oh! That's where your dormitory can't compare to ours - we're right next to the kitchens! We can get food anytime, and the house-elves are super friendly." The witch slowed her pace. "Some of our older students use Transfiguration to make lunchboxes so they can eat whenever, but I'm still too young to master that."

"Yes, Transfiguration is so difficult. I still can't make a complete needle, only..." Lys rummaged in her pockets, but then remembered she'd changed robes - all her transformed metal rods were in her other robe.

She drew her wand to demonstrate for the witch, but despite her perceived practice, Lys failed again - she accidentally turned the other witch's quill pin into gleaming silver!

"Merlin, that's so cool! It makes my robe look amazing!"

Lys was equally amazed - no explosion or flames this time. By Merlin, that was cool!

"I'm El Abbott from Hufflepuff - you can call me El. Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Starlys Black from Slytherin - you can call me Lys!"

Lys's delight was evident in her beaming smile, which stretched nearly ear to ear. They quickly shook hands before entering the Great Hall, as lunch was starting and the entrance was becoming increasingly crowded.