Potions in my own time

It was the second day of school, and Godric had already claimed one of the underused potions rooms. He sat over the bubbling water, preparing his ingredients meticulously. His frame hidden behind his school robes, but his angelic face catching the rays of the fading sun. The golden locks, the eyes blue as ice. Each vial was labeled in his own cypher, just in case any nosey cousins decided to intrude on his work.

"Lavender harvested under the new moon," he recited as he placed each item in, "crystalized ginger root ground as fine as sand, one drop of water from the place you wish to dream of," with this he pulled out a vile from his pocket and gentle let a single drop roll down into the cauldron, "and finally, the blood of the recipient." He pricked his finger and allowed a few drops to fall into the boiling concoction, it's contents changing from clear liquid to a deep royal blue.

"Stir sixteen times from east, to west, to east again."

Of course Godric would take an unused potions room on the second day of school. It didn’t surprise Christy in the slightest. She knew he had always been drawn to the subject, even playing with potions as they were children. The hadn’t even attended the same school with him since they had been smaller. Before they were sent off to their respective schools. This year was different. They were going to be in the same classes, and the same country even. She wasn’t quite sure she was ready for that, but she was excited about that.

Christy heard him reciting whatever recipe he was following and quietly waited until he was finished before speaking. She didn’t want to interrupt whatever train of thought and focus he was on. Seeing him finally finish speaking, “So what kind of potion are you brewing up this time?” she asked him curiously. She was on her break between classes just before having to head to Divination and hadn’t had a chance to catch up with him since they had first boarded the train to school.

Godric smiled as his cousin spoke. He hadn't had much time to talk to her in the past two days. Hell, he hadn't even told her he was transferring until he boarded the train with her. He wanted to surprise her that day. What a mighty fine job of that he did indeed.

Sorting him into Slythrin was a no brainer, of course. Granted he almost went with Ravenclaw so he could be with Christy, but that wouldn't garner him any attention with the other side of his family.

"It's a new take on the Drought of Peace, but instead of dreamless sleep," he paused to turn around after finishing his sixteen rotations, "it allows you to scry a specific area through remote viewing." He glanced at the potion starting to lighten to a baby blue.

"At least that's the idea. I just came up with this one last night and wanted to start on it right away. I'm thinking, if it works, it will be an asset to the German Ministry." His uncle had already implemented a few of his potions and spells into the Ministry's arsenal over the years, but this one he hoped would set him apart. He needed to know that it was his abilities that got him through life, not just who he was related to.

It had been quite the surprise to see Godric at the train station saying that he was going to school with her this year. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Outside of tutors at home, she had never had any real formal schooling with him. They only lived together now over the summers when they were both home, which she really hadn’t been much over this summer. She had been spending time here in Britain, and it seemed like she was trying to make plans to move here permanently once she graduated although her father didn’t know that just yet.

“Sounds like that might actually be a nice thing if needed.” She said watching him. She was pulling her hair back, knowing he hated seeing it down when she was around any of his potions. That was a lesson she had found out when they were younger.

“Have you signed up for Quidditch try outs yet?” she quizzed him. She knew it was going to come right back around to her and she was mentally preparing herself for the questions. Especially about the Gryffindor she had been with on the train and even sitting with for part of the feast despite not sitting at her own house table for it.

"Yeah," he said a little distracted. "I'm trying for Seeker." He knew his cousin's position, but they grew up as playful rivals. He turned back to his potion after she tied her hair back up. Good he thought to himself, she remembered to tie it back.

"Okay, enough about me, what about you?" He shot her a look of knowing. He had seen her with the red clad group both on the train and at the grand hall for the feast. He didn't have the hang ups some of his fellows did. He wasn't here for school politics. He wanted to see his House win everything of course, but that was more self pride then House pride.

"Gryphondors?" He pointedly looked down at her Ravenclaw crest. "Which one has got your attention my beautiful cousin?" His smile was impish and playful. He loved teasing her, but he needed the information so he could see if the guy was worthy of his cousin. Few were, and fewer still passed the 'Delk' test.

Godric poured a bit of the potion into a small vile for later testing, he would do this every day until he was sure about it one way or another. Stoppering the vile, he slipped it into his satchel and turned to face his cousin with his undivided attention.

Christy honestly hoped Godric got the position. She knew it would make the games between their houses so much more competitive for her. They always tried to outfly the other when they were younger, so it made sense that he was trying out for the same position she held on her own team. She just had to finish building that team.

“W..what about me?” she asked him tensing up seeing that look he was giving her. She knew this was coming. She had barely been home in a year and upon her return to the school, she was with two people, one that Godric had only seen a handful of times himself over the years and the other..well the other was a boy; quite the rarity for him to see her hanging around. She could pretend she didn’t know what he was talking about, in which case it would go one of two ways. One…he would call her out on how she couldn’t play dumb with him. Or two, he would ask her in German knowing full well she would understand exactly what he meant when he did.

“You already know Sophia, so I’m assuming you’re wanting me to talk to you about Kace?” she asked looking at him almost nervously. She knew it would come out about her plans now, but the question would be how would he take it. She knew her parents wouldn’t take to it well at all. Wanting to move to a country where they had little power in, to be a professor with a pittance for a salary starting off is something they would laugh about. “I made some friends.”

Seeing him now give her his undivided attention, she knew there was no escaping it. “Ok, so we started dating at the end of the school year last year and part of why I spent the summer with Sophia and didn’t really come home might have been so I could see him.”

He nodded as she finally explained the boy he had seen her with. He couldn't really say much seeing as he had had his own dalliances during the years. But her not coming home last summer was an outright betrayal to him. They hadn't had much time together since they started school, and the fact that she had chosen a boy over him hurt more then he was willing to admit.

"So, this Kace fellow, is he your forever? Or your for now?" He knew that his cousin was prone to bouts of... shall we say obsession over things she wanted. Godric needed to make sure that she wasn't throwing her future away over a whim. More importantly, he needed to make sure she wasn't throwing her future away over a guy that just wanted a piece of tail. He was after all a guy the same age, and was more then willing to promise the world in exchange for what he wanted. It was a guy's main objective during these years after all.

"Remember, I know what guys are really after." He said with a sad smile to his cousin. "They want instant gratification for promises of a future they have no intention of fulfilling." The look he had after this was one of realization that he had used this ploy to his own benefit more then a dozen times.

She couldn't help but to laugh when he asked her these questions and gave her this pseudo-lecture of what guys were after. She very well knew what they wanted, especially from her. Christy had seen Godric become more protective over her, but this was a new experience for her. She felt like he was slightly miffed with her and she very well knew why. A part of her had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at him, if for nothing else than to save an argument. Surely Godric had known this was coming. The picture perfect princess wanting to get away from her perfect little life with all of it’s little details perfectly laid out in front of her.

“Would it be so bad if maybe he ended up being?” she asked him curiously. “Because honestly, that’s probably all that you’ll get from me about that at least. There are some things I’m starting to find I don’t want to know the answers to as much.”

Which meant one thing. She hadn’t even tried to look at tea leaves, stars, or even tea leaves about this relationship. Christabelle, who grew up knowing every little detail of her life. Although, it did make her wonder if Godric’s idea of her future was the same idea of a future her parents had laid out for her. Finish school, come home and be a dutiful daughter and most likely end up as a trophy wife for some rich wizard. She almost shuddered at the thought hoping that he would want much more than that.

“You look like you’re having to eat your own words just now.” She said seeing the realization on his face. She almost flashed him a smug grin, but somehow managed to stop herself. “So before you do your own digging around, what exactly are you wanting to know about him? Or would you rather find that out for yourself? If it’s any consolation, I think you’d like him.”

Oh come on Christabelle, just rip the damn band-aid off already. she told herself, summoning up the courage to even say what she wanted. She had already abandoned him for most of the summer, save for a few days in where she had traveled home via port-key or flooing.

“So, Delk…” she started. No one else had called him that, and she certainly didn’t anymore unless she was trying to almost butter him up, or make the sting of what she had to say hurt less.

“I’m not going back once I leave here. I’m going to stay and try to get a job teaching for next year.”

There. That wasn’t so horrible. She watched his face waiting to see how he would take the news. He would either be supportive or laugh in her face and tell her she was being blatantly stupid, but out of her family back in Germany, his opinion mattered to her the most.

When she asked what he wanted to know, his playful smirk was back, in full force. Making him look even younger then he was.

"Well dear cousin of mine, I need to know his full name, his lineage, and if you want this to be more then a mere dalliance, he needs to have at least a working plan for after graduation. I will not suffer you paying his way." His tone on the last part was inflected to insure she knew that if he thought the guy was just after an easy title and a free ride, Godric would take matters into his own hands.

"As for eating my own words, they are the words of wisdom. I'm a master at my craft." He wiggled his eyebrows in suggestion. Merlin knew why he had been allowed anywhere near the dormitories in Durmstrang. He had had his dalliances but they were just that. He was so much more then a random shag and snog. "Besides, none of them were worthy of my anyway. Well, except one, but he's of no consequence any more."

He cocked a single eyebrow at his middle name being used. No one but her got away with it. If she was using it now, he was going to hear her out. After she spoke however, his shock was enough to send him straight into full on German.
"I don't like the idea, but if that's your choice, I have no right to tell you otherwise. I would much rather see you take Deutschland by storm and take your rightful place as Minister of Magic after Uncle, but if you would rather teach then that's a call only you can make." He sighed heavily and chewed his bottom lip in concentration. He needed to talk her out of throwing away her future. A pittance for a salary, here in Britain? Away from her family. That was her ultimate goal, wasn't it? He had been so blind to think that they would have stayed close. She wanted nothing more to do with the family and there rules and restrictions. With a heavy sigh, he resigned himself to her choice. She was bull headed and willful, no one changed her mind but her, or him depending on the situation.

She sighed, knowing full well he wasn’t going to just let this go. This had been part of the reason she wanted to transfer here, to get away from all of the family interference in her life. She sighed, resigned to tell him if for no other reason than to prove he wasn’t someone just looking for a free ride. “His name is Kace Lecium, and he is planning on joining the aurors here once he graduates.” She told him calmly. It was beginning to irk her nerves a bit. She had just wanted to catch up with him and Christy felt that it was turning into a quiz session of her new boyfriend…not what she had in mind at all.

She listened to him. She knew there was something more about the boy but knew better than to press it. He wasn’t like that with her when it came to people he saw or even what he did with them. And Christy, never really seemed the need to press it because he didn’t view the world like she did. She quite literally wore her heart on her sleeve, not yet toughened up by things or people around her.

She found herself sighing. No, of course he wouldn’t be a fan of the idea. The fact that he was now speaking in German to her told her that. Hearing him talk about taking her place after her father she let out a small laugh that quickly turned into a full fit of giggles. “You really think that’s his plan for me?” she asked still laughing, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. He really hadn’t been listening much when she had been home about their family’s expectation of her.

“My father fully expects me to come home and marry someone he can control and be a good little trophy wife.” She told him honestly, “You’re being foolish if you think there is any way he would want me in control of anything. Marry into some well-off pure blood family and make my way to be his eyes and ears.” No, that wasn’t anywhere near the life that she wanted for herself. She knew she was much more than that. The question was, now that she had said it out loud seriously, did Godric know that? Worst of all, would he even care that was the fate her parents had laid out for her to follow?