Chapter 25: The Sweet-Toothed Dryncorpse

Walking down the corridor, Lys encountered Remus Lupin, who was carrying some candies and strange books, presumably heading to visit his good friend. Lys glanced behind him but didn't see the other two members of their quartet - Potter and Peter.

"Did you really test those two spells on yourself?" It seemed he had been standing in the corridor for quite some time.

"Yes, after all, I didn't want to kill him."

"You shouldn't have done that though. Last time's spell was just an accident. Sirius didn't expect it would turn into a mixed spell."

"Accident? Only the person at whom the wand is pointed knows the truth! When he made me relive my most painful moments over and over again, why didn't you say it was wrong? When Snape came to apologize, where was his apology?"

"I even tested the spells on myself to judge whether they would truly harm him! Listen to yourself, Remus Lupin! Do I deserve this? Get lost, stay away from me!"

Lys's good mood completely vanished. Her rapid walking made her school robes billow behind her, as if a localized windstorm had kicked up.

The incident became known throughout the school, as Sirius Black refused to leave the hospital wing until his hair turned back to black and he could control what he said.

His first action upon leaving was to warn Stalis Black to be careful, which spread like wildfire among the lower years until Professor McGonagall learned of it and issued a warning to Sirius Black.

Lys merely responded with a cold snort.

Now, besides attending classes and writing essays, Lys had to participate in Professor Flitwick's after-class tutoring and perform potion ingredients labor service from Monday to Friday.

This overwhelming schedule made Lys want to wail. Once, after seeing a Hufflepuff student from her year casting spells, she asked Professor Flitwick why that Hufflepuff, whose spellwork was worse than hers, didn't need after-class tutoring while she did.

Professor Flitwick's answer was quite acceptable: "Because that Hufflepuff's problem is low magical power and insufficient control. Your problem is normal magical power but terrifyingly low control. Their insufficient control poses no danger to others - they just need time. You, Miss Black, forgive my directness, but if you lose control, it would be disastrous for both others and yourself."

"Besides, I'm curious why you make every spell change color - Cheering Charms, mental magic - dear, everything turns colorful. That's very un-magical."

"Now, it's time to check your progress, Miss Black. What's the difference between Scourgify and Evanesco?"

Two hours later, Lys sat in the Potions professor's office, swiftly harvesting Flobberworm lives with a small silver knife. Impressed by her deft handling, Slughorn had her extract toad brain matter as well.

Although Lys completed this task adequately, the smooth, creamy texture reminded her of pumpkin juice, making her slightly nauseated. After stirring the brain matter thoroughly and sealing it for settling, Lys's labor service for the day was complete.

On her way back to the dormitory, Lys chewed on the pineapple preserves Professor Slughorn had given her, agreeing with his taste - they were deliciously sweet. If she could have these every time, she wouldn't mind doing labor service all semester.

Time passed this way. During this period, Potter had tried to corner Snape but was stopped by Lily, and Sirius Black had attempted to confront Lys.

Because of that unique Cheering Charm, he found his emotions unusually easy to satisfy for a long time, constantly breaking into silly laughter.

Potter said he was like an incompetent wizard trying to defeat a boggart with laughter, which Sirius Black found extremely embarrassing.

However, one time Lys escaped, and another time El brought Professor McGonagall, causing an exasperated Sirius Black to speak carelessly with mockery, losing 5 points.

Slughorn's previous point deduction from Lys had also caused dissatisfaction among the Slytherins. In the common room, people would mock Lys's actions - a Slytherin who was gentle and restrained even when counterattacking enemies was simply ridiculous.

"But it's strange, this year's new students are already few in number, and we have one who's so useless they can't even cast complete spells, always hanging around with those stupid badgers, and another who constantly seeks out that Gryffindor Mudblood."

"You mean that Snape? Even the name doesn't sound like it belongs to any noble family. Someone with no sense of noble pride, even if they have some talent in potions, it's wasted. Who knows how the Sorting Hat put these two in Slytherin..."

Listen, just listen, how pitiful, Lys thought. Potter was always saying Snape was an evil Slytherin and that Lily should stay away from him, not knowing that Slytherins didn't want Snape either, except during Potions class when he earned points.

As for the mentions of herself, she pretended not to hear.

By the time Lys could finally levitate a feather properly for two inches, Easter break arrived.

The holiday lasted two weeks. El once again left his piglet with Lys before going home, and he sent her loads of candies by owl.

Lys grabbed some and gave them to Snape, who called her "a sweet-toothed Dryncorpse" in response.