125
Lucy
I laughed as Luke returned with the potion. Duke took the potion from Luke, and I watched him drink it then fall back asleep. I tucked the blanket around and opened my homework. Luke sat across the table from him with a cup in his hand and a deep sigh.
“Thanks,” I said. “For… looking out for us.”
His lips twitched. “How could I do anything else?”
I worked on the rest of my homework for the hour. When it was time for it to be over, a man in a suit with a stern expression came into the office looking for Duke. He looked at me.
“Miss Graves, a pleasure to meet you. I work for Alpha David.” I frowned at his voice. It sounded familiar, like that man called Knives from the other night.
“You’re… “
He nodded. “Indeed, though in the daylight I go by Thomas. It’s a pleasure to be speaking to you face to face.”
He looked down at David. “I was told that he would be sleeping for a while.”
Luke nodded and handed Thomas a small case. “A few backups to have on hand. Instructions are inside, but I wouldn’t let him have free access, for safety.”
“I’ll give them to the pack healer.”
Thomas kneeled and tapped Duke on the shoulder. He turned and blinked blearily.
“Thomas?” Duke asked.
“So, I am. It’s time to go home, Mr. Duke. Are you able to walk or should I carry you?”
He flushed. “I’m not a damsel.”
He scoffed and turned, offering Duke his back. “How about a kid? Climb on.”
Duke pouted, but even slinging his arms around Thomas’ shoulders seemed to be hard. He was asleep again by the time Thomas got him on his back. I waved them off before leaving and getting on the bus headed back to Stacy’s.
The next day, Duke and I met outside Luke's classroom. He looked a lot better, though he still seemed a little tired.
“I’ll be okay,” he said before I could even ask. “Just tired. Something about caffeine and calming potions not mixing.”
I nodded. “I’m glad to hear it.”
Duke opened the door and led me into Luke’s back room. The familiar scent of herbs and potions filled the air. The glowing fountain bubbled and soon, Luke leaned around a rack.
He eyed Duke for a moment. “You look like you can at least stay awake. We’re brewing your first potion today!”
Duke huffed and we walked round the shelf to see the table that he’d set up to brew potions. We took our places around a large table where various ingredients and tools were laid out. I didn’t recognize most of it, but I listened as Luke started to explain what the ingredients were and introduced the basics behind brewing potions.
“You’ll find that anything you buy from a supernatural seller, like hair products, was made by a potioneer. The school uses a lot of potions all the time, so look forward to brewing gigantic vats of bone-mending potions and everything else later on in the year.”
Luke offered me an apron with my name on it. “This will keep your clothes from spills and help lessen the effects of any potion that you might get splashed with. Always wear it.”
He handed another with Luke’s name on it. Then, we stared to brew. Luke put me in front of the cauldron stirring as he added things and controlled the fire beneath it. Luke was on the other side of the table, cutting things as he sat in his chair.
Finally, Luke handed me a vial.
"Lucy, I need you to add a few drops of this essence to the potion. It's a key component, so be careful. One drop per turn."
I held the vial carefully as I turned it. I tipped it expecting a drop to come out, but the whole dropper top came off. I heard myself squeal in panic as the liquid spilled out, flowing into the potion in a steady stream along with the dropper top. Luke waved his hand, sending most of the liquid floating away from the cauldron, but more of it had already gone in.
“Stir! Quickly!”
I stirred quickly, almost whipping it as it started to get thicker and thicker. Then, the thickness bubbled up and started to turn into bubbles that popped and let out glittering smoke. As the smoke filled the air, my heart raced with fear. I didn’t feel any different, and it didn’t smell or anything, but I had no idea what the smoke was.
“Luke?”
“Keep stirring! It’s not harmful,” Luke said as the smoke continued to get thicker. It was so thick that I couldn’t see anything, but I kept stirring until I didn’t feel anything in the cauldron.
“There’s nothing in there.”
He sighed. The sound sounded a little frustrated. “No saving it, hm? Don’t worry, just stop. I’ll turn on the vents.”
I heard something like whirring.
“Not bad for your first attempt,” Luke said.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know—I don’t know what happened.”
“The vial cracked. It was a small one, but it loosened the pouring top,” Luke said. “I thought it would be fine since you have a restraint, but it seems your magical strength is a little stronger. We’ll work on your control soon.”
“I’m sorry,” I said softly. “It wasn’t… It wasn’t like a health potion or anything?”
“No,” Luke chuckled. “I wouldn’t put that kind of pressure on new brewers. It was harmless and easily replaced. Nothing to worry about, so relax.”
He laughed a little more. “Though, I’m very impressed that you continued to follow instructions even as you were panicking. Good work. We’ll clean up and start again if we still have time.”
When the smoke finally dissipated, I felt a strange sensation on top of my head. I reached up and gasped as I felt the strange things top of my head. I shuddered, as they felt sensitive to touch and twitched in my hands. They felt really soft like they were covered in fur or something.
I turned to Luke, who stared at me with wide eyes. "Well… that’s unexpected."
Duke burst into laughter.
“What happened?” I asked as Duke continued laughing. “What is it?”
“I can’t!” He cackled. “You’re adorable.”
“Duke, just tell me—“
“You have cat ears,” Luke said calmly. His lips twitching in amusement.
I felt them flexing around on my head and shuddered. I flushed with embarrassment, my cheeks burning bright red.
"What do I do?"
Luke, struggling to hide a grin, stepped forward. "It seems the potion went a little sideways. It’s a transfiguration potion, but your apron protected you mostly, so you ended up with cat ears rather than in a cat body. It’s just a side effect of you being the one standing over the cauldron. Don't worry, it's temporary.”
“Temporary?” I asked, feeling the ears moving around. “And w-why aren’t they wolf ears?”
He shrugged. “Mysteries of magic. Usually I’d give you a general counter potion. We’ll give it a try and see if it helps.”
Luke retrieved a vial from a nearby shelf and handed it to me. "Add this counteragent to the cauldron, and it should neutralize the cat transformation."
Carefully, I took the vial and looked down into the cauldron. There was still a bit of liquid at the bottom. As I poured the counteragent in, the liquid began to bubble and swirl. The smoke filled the air, but I felt nothing. The ears felt like the tingled a little, but they didn’t seem to disappear.
Duke snickered. “I think they got fluffier.”
“Duke!”
Luke sighed and waved his hand over me. I felt a little tingle and warmth wash over my head.
“Is she going to start purring?”
“Duke,” I scowled at him. “It’s not funny.”
“I don’t know. You’d rock cat ears, maybe I should get you a pair for Christmas.” He threw his head back and laughed.
Luke snickered, a twinkle in his eyes. "Ah, the wonders of potion brewing. It's never a dull day in the world of magic."
He waved his head again as more smoke continued to rise around me, but shook his head.
"I'm afraid, Lucy, that due to the lingering effects of the potion, you won't be able to attend your human classes for now," Luke finally spoke, his voice laced with concern. “I’m not entirely sure how long it will take for the counter potion to work, but I’d guess a few days.”
My heart sank at the realization. “But we have a test coming up… I can’t fall behind.”
Duke waved his hand, his laughter dying down. "Lucy, don't worry. I'll take care of it. I'll make sure you receive all the coursework and materials you need. I’m sure Amy will share her notes with you… The woman writes like a typewriter, so at least you’ll be able to read it.”
“Thanks…”
“I do have a request,” Duke said with a grin. “Can I touch them?”
I huffed. “No!”
“Oh, come on! I’ve always liked cats!”
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