Chapter 22: Christmas (Part 2)

Clearly, without the Slytherin table, Snape wasn't comfortable sitting next to students from other houses, except for Lily Evans.

"Hey, Snape, over here! Sit here." Snape's face showed visible deliberation before he finally granted Lys the honor.

"Snape, thank you for the potions. You remembered I needed them."

"Obviously, your brain, which is practically made of sweets, wouldn't consider dental health, would it?"

Lys looked down at the half-empty box of cookies she had eaten. "Oh, Snape, you're right. I should eat less, or I might need to take medicine tomorrow."

Again, that damned feeling of frustration. "Is your brain no longer capable of understanding human language? Where's your mind?"

"It's precisely because my brain is functioning normally that I understood you were telling me eating too many sweets is bad for my teeth, Snape. What made you think my brain wasn't working properly?" Without waiting for Snape's response, she turned to the Hufflepuff students and said, "Don't mind how Snape talks. He's just like that. Just understand the meaning."

Grabbing the milk jug, Lys poured a glass for everyone within reach. Madam Pomfrey had said drinking milk helps you grow taller, and she was too short now.

Ignoring Snape's glare at the glass of milk, Lys quickly finished two sandwiches and a pudding, wiped her mouth, and left the table. Although there was still snow on the hills outside, today was a rare sunny day. Lys decided to go out and play.

Leaving the cookies on the table and taking her wand, she ran out. Stopping not far from the beech tree, Lys waved her wand like she had in Ollivander's shop. That soothing feeling fascinated her. Silver light brilliantly entwined the bare tree, delicate yet continuous. The tree looked amazing, covered in a faint, shimmering silver glow.

That wonderful feeling, as if floating, enthralled her. With no one around, she tried the sensation Professor Flitwick had described, like releasing magic from a faucet.

But she stumbled over the incantation. That "Standard Book of Spells" was still unfinished in her dormitory, and she couldn't think of a suitable spell to experiment with.

She could only crouch down and make a few snowballs, then try to recall that wonderful feeling from earlier. Though she couldn't quite recapture it, she still attempted, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The snowballs suddenly shot forward at an angle before falling freely.

One even landed on a second-year Hufflepuff who had come to watch. An inexplicable but laughter-filled snowball fight ensued until lunchtime. Lys's Levitation Charm packed quite a punch, making several would-be ambushers yelp when hit.

After lunch, exhausted Lys returned to her dormitory for a nap. Upon waking, she started reading the spell book but found it increasingly difficult to understand. She tossed it aside and picked up "Modern Magical Potion Processing Techniques," which she had been using as a pillow.

The more she read, the more excited she became, wishing she could grab a silver knife right then to cut some Sopophorous beans and see how they produced juice.

She initially wanted to rush to the kitchen to experiment on fruits and vegetables, but the house-elves were busy preparing the Christmas feast.

Although the house-elves were willing to help Lys, their intense focus on work made them anxious and uneasy. Their high-pitched voices made Lys decide to come back in a few days.

Leaving the kitchen, she decided to practice the "Orchideous" spell she had read about that afternoon before dinner. While the principle states that magic can't create food or transfigure objects into food, what about plants that could be cooked?

Moreover, Orchideous was a Summoning Charm. Couldn't other things be summoned? And after summoning, would using an Engorgement Charm make things multiply under certain conditions?

Returning to her dormitory, she tucked the little pig into her bed, wrapped herself in two cloaks, and went to the beech tree. The silver light bands from yesterday hadn't faded, shimmering like silver stars flowing between them.

After admiring her work, she began practicing with her wand. Despite constant mistakes, she managed to produce a green leaf at her wand tip before dinner. She glanced at the light bands still resembling a celestial river in the night sky, then checked her pocket watch.

Lys giggled, plucked off the leaf and tucked it into her robe pocket, then set off for the Great Hall for the Christmas feast. That afternoon, she had seen the turkey the house-elves were roasting - it was as big as a lamb.

On her first step, Lys fell face-first into the snow. Her feet hadn't felt much while standing, but once she started walking, she realized they were numb from the cold. Her left leg also hurt. In her carelessness, Lys ended up tasting snow before the feast.

"Ptui, ptui ptui." She spat out some debris and brushed the snow off her clothes. When she limped into the Great Hall, almost everyone had arrived. Glancing around, she saw people mostly sitting in the same spots as earlier, so she plopped down next to Snape.

The snow she hadn't fully brushed off began melting in the warm room. Lys felt too hot in her two cloaks and wriggled to take one off, but got stuck with her wand in hand. A nearby Hufflepuff helped her. Watching Lys giggle and thank them,

Snape inwardly sighed, wondering if this person really belonged in Slytherin.