Taste of Youth

I enjoyed running here. In any other place I would have hated running, just like I had at the therapy house, but here it was different. Peaceful even. Fang joined me sometimes on my morning run. He’d slam through the door at six-thirty just as I was passing with a groggy looking Hagrid calling something out after him. At night I’d be completely alone with nothing more than the coos of the staff owls and the sounds of animals in the forest and lake.

I was running like that now. The sun had already left the sky, leaving an orange streak against the sky. A series of splashes came from the lake as I blasted past and the shrieking sounds of merpeople out of water met my ears. The lights in Hargrid’s hut were off and it made the trees behind it look a lot less inviting than when they were on.

I slid to a stop just before the gatehouse came into view and turned slowing to an easy jog until Hargid’s cabin came back into sight then I began walking. It was late now, everything about the school looking sinister in the moonlight. I shivered, the cool breeze of the night settling a chill over me.

The students that were coming for the training were due to arrive this afternoon. The room I had to myself and that horrifyingly empty bed across from me would be filled. Dumbledore assured me that Lily was a nice girl and he was sure we’d get along; Dr. Mallory had assured me the same thing when I’d roomed with Shannon and he was right after a while.

I sighed at her memory and slipped my hand into the front pocket of my pants. The edge of the photograph cut my finger as I pulled it out.It was a still picture taken from a Muggle camera of me and a girl with wild brown hair and red-lipped smile, Shannon. It was as hard to remember a time that I didn’t know Shannon as it was to remember a pleasant conversation I’d had with my mother. She’d been there for me when my visiting rights were revoked, she’d been there when Mallory had first started his midnight rounds on our floor. She’d saved me and I had killed for her. We were a twisted pair that much was true.

“Do you make it a habit, Ms.Rein, to run for so long?” McGonagall walked to me from the front doors her arms crossed tight, holding her robe in place.

“Yes ma’am.” I murmured stowing the picture back in my pocket.

“Be sure to remember that it will not do when school starts.”

“Of course, Professor.”

McGonagall paused looking at me carefully, “Are you alright, Ms. Rein?”

“Yes ma’am, I’m just fine.” I told her as I stepped past into the warmth of the castle.

She nodded once and turned trudging back to her courters. The paintings protested as I lit my wand to see through the thick darkness of the corridors. I ignored them for the most part, stopping only once on my way up to the seventh floor to speak to a painting of a young lady in white named Roxanne. She kept me there for a little under an hour moaning about how little her ex-husband had cared for her. I only half listened having heard this story before.

Roxanne suddenly smiled, “You know, Luciana, I think you must have loads of friends. You’re so nice, stopping here even when your tired to listen to me. Don’t you have a lot of friends?”

“No, I don’t.” I smiled a little at the girl, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Roxanne.”

“Oh, I look forward to it! Don’t let those students that are coming take you away from me now. Goodnight!” She waved excitedly and skipped out of the edge of her painting, possibly to bother the group of poker playing boys in the next corridor.

Morning came all too quickly after I had finally dragged myself to bed. The light exploded through the open windows, it’s brilliance setting fire to the room. In less than two hours I would be with Madam Pomfrey being taught about healing spells, potions and being scolded for reckless behavior. Today technically would have been my day off but what Rita Crow had said about my wand got me curious. I’d never seen healing magic in action until my first day at Hogwarts when a pot of Devil’s Snare tripped me straight back into some Fanged Geranium, it had been quite a while before I was allowed back into the greenhouses after that. Madam Pomfrey and I had been on first name basis within the weeks end, being accident prone general does that.

I rolled out of bed, tripping over one of my various book stacks and stumbling my way into getting ready. After I was finished I trudged down to the Great Hall remembering vaguely that people would be arriving today. The sense of panic that I always had when meeting new people settling into my stomach and I redirected my course to the Hospital Wing not feeling hungry anymore.

Meeting and talking and sharing pleasantries with people was not something I was good at. I never had been even before I lost contact with non-medicated people. I just didn’t mesh well. Shannon was different, outgoing, outspoken with a sense of life that I would never be able to grasp at. She helped me with my people skills, taught me how to talk without stuttering, tapered my fidgeting to a minimum. Shannon had always been good at everything I wasn’t and she had always tried to teach me how.

“Luciana!” Poppy Pomfrey looked decidedly startled when I showed up an hour early for our lesson, “You’re early. Hows that arm of yours? Not giving you trouble, I hope. Those geraniums took a good chunk out of you.”

“I’m just fine, thank you..” I smiled and headed over to where she was labeling potion bottles, “Would you like some help?”

Poppy nodded and set about pointing out to me all of the various kinds of healing potions that were laid out on the table and what they could be used for. We spent the next couple of hours like that going through everything she could think of. I learned about remaking bones and how to cure boils and I enjoyed it. I couldn’t really explain why I liked learning these things, why I liked the causes and effects of them.

“Well it seems you’re quite good at this, Luciana. I have a list of books I want you to look at, I think you can find them all in the library. If not then I’m sure they’re at Flourish & Blotts. Have you ever considered becoming a Healer, Luciana? You’d be a fine one.”

“I haven’t really thought about what I’ll be doing to be honest. I’ll think about it.” I smiled and took the list from her as the door swung open.

“Oh, Remus, good to see you again. I trust your summer was alright?” Poppy ushered a familiar looking boy to a nearby bed before she turned back to me, “Luciana, would you get me one of those blue vials we just put away before you go?”

“The dittany?” I asked my head inside the pantry like storage room.

“Yes, that’s the one.”

I plucked a vial from the shelf and ducked back out of the storage room closing the door behind me. Poppy took the bottle from me and turned to the boy chattering away about summer vacations then she suddenly stopped and looked at me and then back to the boy.

“Merlin what am I thinking? You two haven’t met yet!,” She wiped her hands on her robes and made wide gestures between us, “ Remus this is Luciana Rein. Luciana this is Remus Lupin. If I’m right you two are both Gryffindor sixth years.”

A picture clicked in my brain, “Oh! You came to get you books a month ago with your friends, I think one of them was named James something or other. It’s nice to properly meet you.”

Remus smiled and took my outstretched hand, “Nice to meet you too.”

“You two will be seeing a lot of each other I think,” Poppy shook her head and pointed at me, “This one has more brushes with death in a week than anyone I’ve ever met.”

“Accident prone?” Remus offered.

I gave shrug, “The greenhouses are out to get me.”

Remus laughed at that, “Aren’t they always.”

The clock above Poppy’s work station chimed and I blanched.

“McGonagall’s expecting me, time for me to run.” I waved over my shoulder as I trudged to the door, “Nice meeting you.”

“Nice meeting you too.” Remus waved and I walked out heading for the Transfiguration classroom.