Sea and Serpent (PJO/HP)

Chapter 17. The professors are... confusing

They moved to the cupboard that held everything they needed for class, and whatever Professor Snape made for Hogwarts. Amaryllis would have found it dumb if they didn't have the potions teacher make what they needed for them.

"Can he do that?"

"He'd deduct points for talking back. I've heard he gives Slytherin's point for doing the basics for potions, like stirring properly. He also has it out for your brother apparently. I'm surprised he didn't make you do the work yourself."

Amaryllis scoffed, grabbing what she could find after reading the labels over and over again. "If he wanted me to fail because I didn't finish or brew an entirely new potion that might make someone sick for a year, then I'm glad he didn't."

"Oh, come on," Susan said, lightly shoving her as they made their way back. "You're good at potions."

"Yeah, if I got hours to brew one potions. Otherwise, I need someone to read it for me."

"We just need to find something that might help with your dyslexia."

"If that's what I have," Amaryllis reminded. She places everything down on their table and lit the cauldron.

Susan threw in the first few ingredients, reading what everything was back to her as Amaryllis followed and watched carefully. "And if it is? Might as well be prepared in case and I trust Hermione. She's brilliant and seems to know a bit about what's going on."

"You're not wrong. I would hate to go through all the trouble and it not be that, though."

"Well, we just have to do more research. We can even get Amelia too. Maybe she knows something too."

Amaryllis didn't want the disappointment. She didn't want the hope that came with the fleeting words, only to hit a wall and not get any further and return back to where she was. It had taken her years to come to terms with her not being normal that it honestly scared her.

Stirring the cauldron, Amaryllis didn't engage further on the topic. They worked together, stirring, reading, and putting in ingredients and Amaryllis felt proud to say it looked just how it should as they neared the end of class.

"Hm. Not bad, Ms. Bones. Ms. Potter. Ten points to Hufflepuff."

Amaryllis's hand froze that stirred their potion. Had she heard him right? Susan nudged her with wide eyes and she continued stirring their potion when it began to bubble more than it should have.

"Mr. Greenberg. I don't recall the instructions saying it should be silver with a hint of blue Did you stir ten times or a hundred? Twenty points from Ravenclaw."

Amaryllis stared at the scene, as did the rest of class that quickly turned away when Professor Snape moved onto the next student. They had all begun to keep a closer eye on their potions to not lose their house any points. She was glad when class was over and the majority of them passed, while a few had been called out on everything they did wrong.

With only one more class to go, Amaryllis was glad when Defense Against the Dark Arts passed quick, without Professor Quirrel seeming weirder than he already was. She had asked Susan about their Professors between classes, who thought it was weird, but shrugged it off. Their change had put her off whenever she asked why they dropped the flying lesson from her timetable.

How had that man taken care of her not flying anymore? He hadn't talked to them, that she was sure of because the Professors would have told her that, right? Everyone always had something different to say, even if it was about the same topic, and yet their reasoning was the same; it was better that way. Whatever that was supposed to mean. It was a-Amaryllis didn't know what it was anymore. Not after that man visited, telling her she couldn't go into the sky without being struck down, and then her Professors took that lesson away without much explanation.

There was only so much she could research herself, but Amaryllis was determined to do what she could before she told Harry and asked for help. She wanted something to give him before it became another imagination scenario that she knew her brother would believe; but would the others?

How willing were they to accept the weird things she saw that they didn't?

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

Determination was a fascinating thing when one put their mind to it and Amaryllis was no exception. It amazed her how willing she was to get headaches and strain her eyes when she looked through multiple books in the library to read to find some clue, only to be hit wall after wall.

Harry had even joined her with the intent help find that glittering needle in a pile of needles, because neither one knew exactly they were looking for, but they kept diving.

At the end of the week, they still had found nothing. Not only was there nothing about many witches or wizards with dyslexia, there was no spell to help them. Hermione and Amelia could only give so much, but while at Hogwarts, there seemed to be no solution to her reading. It didn't even help when what she searched for in secret had no fruition. There were no spells she could find in the regular sections of the library and as much as she wanted to know, there was a point she wouldn't pass and that was breaking into the restricted section that was roped off to younger students. Because then she would have to explain what she was searching for in there if she got caught.

There was many things Amaryllis could handle, and disappointment was one of them.

It didn't stop Hermione and Susan from continuing the search together that she had emotionally given up. And Amaryllis didn't say anything against it, even though she felt like it was a lost cause, but she couldn't tell them no when their determination was steadfast and wouldn't be knocked down by anything she said.