#17 A Sigh Profound

Kassia had seen Vairea dip into the boathouse ahead of her. The wind had picked up, and it was unpleasant. She had hoped the walk would warm her somewhat, but she figured a warm drink was all that would help now.

Kassia had never actually been in the boathouse before. She ignored the more natural parts of Hogwarts as a general rule, and didn't understand what joy anyone derived from sitting on a wooden coffin in the middle of a godforsaken lake.

However, she felt the first year had the right idea today. Besides, there were some ingredients to be found there. Mostly spider related, unpleasantly, but the faster Kassia got this kit done, the better.

She opened the door to the boathouse with some force, as the wind was blowing it closed. She opened it enough to slip into the intervening space and let it slam shut behind her.

It was dark, save for the light of Vairea's wand in the corner. Kassia could hear the sloshing of water nearby and wondered if some horrible sea creature was in there with them. She moved closer to Vairea, who appeared to be searching the cobwebs.

"Spider eggs, is it? I can help you reach them if they're too high up. You are... vertically challenged."

Saoirse had heard the door thump open, but had assumed it to be the wind tossing it open much like the wind did at her father's lighthouse. She had found some sacs full of eggs, but was unsure how to tear them open. She usually had a multitool on her, but of course this wasn't possible in Hogwarts.

As she was deep in thought, she nearly jumped out of her skin when the Slytherin suddenly appeared behind her. Saoirse whirled, wand destroying a cobweb in the process, and glared up at the older girl. Why had she followed her into here?

"What's wrong with you?" she exploded. "Since when do old farts like you actually intentionally hang around first-years?"

Saoirse sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, the air whistling. Maybe she could at least use the help for more ingredients. She jabbed her wand in the direction of some of the low-hanging egg sacs, presenting them to the Slytherin.

"I don't suppose you have something to cut these open? Or are you just here to be creepy?"

Saoirse was well-used to getting her hands dirty and working with unpleasant facts of life. Like when rats had decided to make a nest on the boat, or refilling the chum bucket. She was thusly incredibly amused to watch the pompous Slytherin struggle with the spider eggs.

'Diffindo' seemed to be a useful charm, especially with the surgical precision with which it opened the egg sac. But Saenz very nearly lost a few eggs in her desperate attempt to collect them without having to touch them. Saoirse grinned.

It seemed she was on her own for collecting her own sac, however. Saoirse didn't know how to cast that charm, so she looked around for something sharp. Easily done in an old boathouse. She spotted an old pice of scrap metal that was light enough for her to pick up. She plucked the egg sac off the web, and carefully nicked it. The sac opened enough for her to squeeze the eggs out without damaging them.

Saoirse had a napkin in her robes, and wrapped the eggs there so they didn't roll around loosely in her pockets. The light from her wand began to fade. Saoirse watched as Saenz attempted to play off her revulsion and went looking for Mercy's Lace instead.

Saoirse had intended to look for spiders, but supposed an ingredient was an ingredient. She shrugged and walked over to join the fifth-year. The faster this was done, the better. Saoirse had noticed Saenz had pointedly ignored her question. Why didn't she have other fifth-year or Slytherin friends to do this with? Why hang around with her?

Saoirse wanted to ask, but knew she would just be brushed off as she usually was by older people. She sighed and kneeled with Saenz by the docks. Saoirse couldn't resist reaching out to touch one of the boats, immediately feeling calmer for having done so.

Once that was out of the way, she re-lit her wand. "Lumos."

She then joined the older girl in looking for Mercy's Lace on the submerged planks of wood.

It seemed like an eternity that Kassia searched for Mercy's Lace. Even with both she and Vairea using Lumos to search, there was no sign of the fungus underneath the water. At least they didn't have to put their hands in the freezing water. Time ticked by, but Kassia refused to search for anything else spider-related.

She noticed the light in the window was beginning to change, and realized the Quidditch match was probably over. Even though the boathouse was warmer than outside, it was still uncomfortably cold. With a sigh, Kassia pulled away from the waterside.

She stood and walked over to were the spider egg sacs were. She could still take one. Kassia groaned and reached for her powder compact. Popping it open, she took her wand in her other hand and cast the severing charm again.

"Diffindo."

The sac cut open as cleanly as if sliced by a surgeon's scalpel. She caught the revolting eggs into the compact and snapped it shut, suppressing a shudder of disgust. She turned and looked at Vairea, still unsure what to make of their bizarre partnership.

"It was lovely to meet you, Gryffindor. Good luck with your potion endeavours."

She then dipped out of the boathouse, new ingredients in hand.

[exit]