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A Bouquet of New Beginnings Ch. 17 "Calendula"
Floriography - Health & Trouble
[AO3]
Summary: A month into the new school year. Professor Weasley checks in on progress, and Poppy invites Artemis for some moonlight rescue.
Below is an excerpt of the chapter; full chapter can be viewed from AO3 link above.
The beds of green slowly shifted to red, gamboge, and brown to welcome autumn. Students brought out their warm cloaks and jumpers to welcome the cooler months ahead. This particular afternoon, Artemis sat across from the redhaired Deputy Headmistress in her office. Fresh cups of earl grey wafted their elegant steam as the snow-haired girl rested her hands, right over left, in her lap.
“Miss Loreley, thank you for coming to see me so quickly.”
“It was no trouble, Professor Weasley,” responded Artemis quickly. Her palm tingled from the slight rub of her thumb against the hidden scar.
“It’s been a little over a month since you’ve come to Hogwarts, and I wished to check in on your progress. May I see your Field Guide?”
Artemis dutifully pulled out the tome from her school bag with both hands.
“How have you been adjusting?” Professor Weasley asked as she began to flip through the pages.
“Well, ma’am.”
A perfect blend of bitter and sweet swirled her mouth with her tea.
“I’m glad. I was starting to worry, since you’ve shown up to breakfast only once.”
She swallowed; the liquid felt like molten lava. Her gaze fell to the liquid surface. Reflected back was her carefully neutral façade. The additional Glamour Charm hid the increasingly darkened under eye circles.
“I eat light in the mornings, Professor.”
“I see. Well, you certainly keep yourself busy. Hospital Wing volunteering, the Briar Greenhouse, and I’ve heard you’ve taken to extra broom lessons with Miss Reyes. Nurse Blainey has also expressed that you wish to undertake the next Asclepius Record.”
A small smile stretched the Deputy Headmistress’ lips. Artemis wondered if this woman had ears in every crevice of the school.
“Collectively, all the professors of the mind that you are rapidly catching up to your classmates. You’re making great progress. Well done.”
Artemis’ gaze moved toward the desk as another sip of earl grey glided down her throat.
“Professor, may I ask a question?”
“Of course.”
“The room I stayed in my first night… did it disappear?”
No matter how many times she’d passed by that hall, the door never reappeared. Professor Weasley lifted an eyebrow before she chuckled softly.
“I’d wondered when you were going to ask me. Frankly I’m surprised it took you as long as you did.”
Artemis gave a sheepish smile. “I wanted to make sure I’d not been mistaken.”
“Hm. Very well. Nurse Blainey did mention the lack of a… what was it… a Healing mannequin? Perhaps the Room will have it.”
“The… Room, Professor?”
The professor held the Field Guide toward her. “Yes. Come, I’ll show you.”
Artemis followed the Deputy Headmistress without hesitation; her heels clicked as the clumps of students parted the halls. Professor Weasley’s overwhelming presence dulled her own as she followed in the taller woman’s shadow. The seventh-floor corridor wasn’t far, and there were no students there.
“Now, walk past this wall three times, and focus on something you need. To make it simple, how about somewhere to focus on the Asclepius Record?” Professor Weasley suggested warmly and gestured her arm toward the hall.
Artemis began. To and fro, her soft treads barely made a noise on the castle floors. Her mind, however, went broader than the Asclepius Record. She needed somewhere that could offer her all the Healing texts available, including texts in the Restricted Section, for herself, for Professor Fig, for Henry, for Anne even. Somewhere to train her Healing magic. Somewhere to go that wasn’t the Witty Pear if she were ever hurt, but couldn’t raise Nurse Blainey’s suspicion.
A… clinic.
Slowly, a dark cherry wood door unfurled itself from the middle of the greyed brick, and Professor Weasley gave a noise of awe.
“Well done! I do have to say, I’d never seen a wooden door before. Go on in,” encouraged the professor.
The door opened inward to something akin to a hexagonal conservatory. Some sort of conjured sunlight warmed the room from the kinmokusei glass mosaic on the ceiling. Half of the walls were made of clear glass, and beyond was a glade that closely resembled her mother’s glade. The solid walls were painted a pale sky blue, two of them nearly covered by the dark cherry bookshelves full of every other Healing text possible – delightfully, in both English and Japanese. Two Healing training mannequins stood in the corner, where the floor was tiled unlike the rest a light English Oak.
An overly large desk with an overhead glass cabinet stood against another wall, filled with potion vials and other equipment. Hanging baskets hung on the sides, and she was pleasantly surprised the ones already filled contained dwarf roses, lavender, and mints. There was an interesting-looking quill with a bronze ink bottle that stood on the side of the desk under the soft lamp light.
Artemis breathed out in awe. “What is this place?”
“This is the Room of Requirement,” started Professor Weasley. “It’s a room that changes to fit the seeker’s needs. I requested for a comfortable bedroom for you to rest in your first night.
Now, you’ve made quite a canvas for yourself. A rather interesting Desk of Description as well.”
“Desk of Description?”
“Yes. I’m sure you’ve come across a few things you didn’t know what they were; whenever you do, place it here and it’ll tell you what the item is.”
“So, like the Information spell?” Artemis asked.
Professor Weasley nodded. “Yes, though much more powerful. I daresay you could use this space to catch up on your other studies as well. Perhaps take one of those training mannequins to Nurse Blainey?”
“I- yes, Professor, thank you.”
“Speaking of studies… I noticed that Professor Fig has put in a few requests for outdoor excursions,” started Professor Weasley. “He marked them as introducing you to the land’s history and learning to immerse yourself into wizarding communities. Now I must ask… is any of this related to what happened with the dragon attack?”
“Not at all, Professor,” lied Artemis smoothly.
A moment passed between the two before Professor Weasley gave a small, tired smile.
“I see. Now, I shall let you get acquainted with your space – you’re free to use this space as you please, though I do ask you continue to adhere to the school rules.”
“Yes Professor. Thank you, for trusting me with this.”
“You’re welcome. I did, after all, show you this on your first night; I’m sure you would’ve figured out the secret sooner rather than later. Use it well,” said Professor Weasley warmly.
Artemis nodded as she watched the redhead leave. Once the door shut, her shoulders slumped in relief. Lying had been necessary but it left a bitter taste in her mouth. She reached into the legside bag and pulled out the mysterious palm-sized box that she’d gotten from the bottom of the Black Lake. She couldn’t believe it’d been a full month since she’d picked this up.
Inside sat three, translucent stones, fashioned into ear pierces onto their velvet bed. The moment she touched one the stone changed colour until it was an iridescent blue-green with a silvery shimmer on the inside.
<<How odd,>> gasped out Artemis before she placed the box onto the desktop near the ink and bottle. Bronze runes lifted from seemingly nowhere as they encircled the box in a flurry before they coagulated into a piece of parchment where the quill wrote at a furious speed. Once it had been completed, she read the words scrawled in bronze ink.
Secret Sharer
Mid-Tier artefact, commonly used to communicate between individuals telepathically if they are within a half-mile radius. Once attuned, the stone will change to the colour of their magical core. Resets upon return.
Artemis hummed as she picked up the Secret Sharer box, and repocketed it. She supposed, on occasion, it paid to explore the lakebed. Perhaps she’d invite Richard again when he came back. Or Nerida now that they’ve started floating practise in an enlarged bathtub.
But for now, she had Healing texts to read, and a mannequin to practise on.
Her fingertips glided across the book spines until she found Duality of Healing Arts, and began to read. She’d been going to the Restricted Section on twice a week with Sebastian, and had been chipping away at its contents slowly. Now, she had the luxury of reading it at her own pace without the constant threat of Madam Scribner, Peeves, or any myriads of ghosts. The contents were not as Dark as she would’ve thought, considering where it had been located, but it did touch on the ‘other’ side of Healing arts – necromancy. Artemis scrunched her nose in distaste.
The dead should remain dead, rest from the life they’d been living.
A particular spell, however, caught her attention. She pulled the mannequin manual and tapped her wand on the rune she needed. Suddenly, the mannequin was heavily lacerated - the chicken blood flowed freely in abundance onto the tiled ground. She pointed her wand, aglow in soft green light, and attempted in a sing-song incantation.
“Vulnera Sanentur.”
I did some HC’s For Hogwart’s Legacy Characters! Since I became obsessed with this game. ❤️
Tbh most of the professors just give off AroAce vibes.
Sebastian Sallow is Bisexual
Anne Sallow is Omnisexual & Asexual
Ominis Gaunt is Pansexual
Garrett Weasley is Pansexual
Poppy Sweeting is Pansexual
Imelda Reyes is Lesbian
Leander Prewett is Trans & Straight Ally
Everett Clopton is Gay
Amit Thakkar is Gay
Sirona Ryan is Trans & Lesbian
Victor Rookwood is Straight Ally
Theophilus Harlow is unfortunately Hetero..
Phineas Black is Straight Ally
Abraham Ronen is Gay
Aeshop Sharp is Bisexual
Bai Howin is omnisexual & Asexual
Binns is AroAce
Charles Rookwood is Straight Ally & AroAce
Chiyo Kogawa is Lesbian
Dinah Hecat is Bisexual
Eleazar Fig is AroAce
Matilda Weasley is Bisexual
Mudiwa Onai is Omnisexual & Asexual
Mirabel Garlick is Lesbian
Satyavati Shah is AroAce
Gladwin Moon is Gay
Percival Rackham is AroAce & Straight Ally
San Bakar is AroAce
Niamh Fitzgerald is Lesbian
Isidora Morganach is Lesbian