Lana found Penny in the Grand Staircase, staring at the painting Beatrice was in.
"Penny, hun. Are you ok?" Lana asked worriedly.
"I don't think Beatrice can hear me anymore. She can only see me some of the time. She's so afraid..." Penny mumbled, "I should've never let her out of my sight. She should've never come to Hogwarts...we should've never messed with the Cursed Vaults..." Penny sighed.
"We're going to save her, Penny." Lana said confidently.
"How can you be so sure?" Penny asked.
"Because we won't stop trying until she's safe."
"I was so worried about doing well on my Potions O.W.L's, but now I don't even care..." she continued sadly, "How can I care about anything but my sister? I don't know what I'll do if I lose her, Lana..."
Penny kept looking back up at Beatrice stuck in the painting. Lana's heart sank at the sight of her best friend so sad, and she couldn't bare it.
"You won't lose her, Pen."
"It feels like she's already gone." Penny said, close to tears.
"Let's just talk, Penny. It'll make you feel better to get it all out, and we'll work out how to save Beatrice..." Lana told her kindly.
They talked for a while, Penny letting out a few tears here and there, and they tried so hard to figure out what to do.
"Thank you for being here for me, Lana." she said eventually.
"Don't worry about it, Pen. Do you feel any better?" Lana asked.
"Yes, but I don't think I'll ever really feel right until Beatrice is safe..." Penny sighed again.
"I hate seeing you like this, Penny. There has to be something I can do to help..." Lana pleaded.
"I suppose there is something you can do. Meet me in the forest grove..." Penny said, then left.
A couple of hours later, Lana met the Hufflepuff in the forest grove, just as she'd requested.
"Thanks for coming, Lana. I appreciate you trying to make me feel better." Penny said.
"What are we doing in the forest?" Lana wondered.
"Searching for a unicorn horn."
"What? Why?"
"I only know of one way to make myself feel better while we work out how to save Beatrice. I just need the proper ingredients..." Penny explained.
"People hunt unicorns in the Forbidden Forest?" Lana asked.
"I don't think anyone would be evil enough to kill a unicorn...but they die of natural causes, and I'm sure they're sometimes eaten by beasts like trolls and acromantulas. Then again, it's probably hopeless..."
"Nothing is ever hopeless." Lana smiled reassuringly, "We just need more light to have a proper look...
Lama cast Lumos and continued searching for the unicorn horn.
"I found a unicorn horn!" Lana exclaimed.
"Well done, Lana. Meet me in the Transfiguration classroom to get the next ingredient..."
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While walking to the Transfiguration classroom, Lana bumped into Barnaby.
"Hey, Lana! Where you running to?" he asked as she rushed past him.
"Can't talk now! Love you!" she called.
"Love you too..." he sighed dreamily as he watched her.
"I'm here!" Lana said, out of breath, "What ingredient are you looking for in here?"
"Porcupine Quills. I was hoping to find a porcupine since we use them sometimes, but I don't see any...they aren't very shiny. I doubt Rakepick's Niffler will be much help..." Penny replied.
"Aw, I missed him! He's quite resourceful, and he helped find all sorts of things last year." Lana chuckled, "Now that I think of it, McGonagall taught us a spell to turn porcupines into pin cushions once...I could see if that works in reverse?" she asked.
"Yes! That would be perfect!" Penny squealed. Lana was happy to her her usual excited squeal again. She just wasn't Penny without it.
"If we can find a pin cushion, I should be able to change it back." Lana smiled.
The girls set to work finding a pin cushion. Sickleworth helped too, as the pins would be quite glittery.
"I found a pin cushion!" Lana exclaimed after a short while.
Sickleworth made some noises in protest, and Lana chuckled.
"I couldn't have done it without your help, Sickleworth." she told him, and he was much happier after that.
"Can you turn the pin cushion back into a porcupine?" Penny asked.
"I can try..." Lana replied, and she pulled out her wand.
"Reparifarge!"
Sure enough, the pin cushion changed into a porcupine, much to Penny's delight.
"You did it, Lana!" she exclaimed, and Sickleworth huffed in disagreement.
"You too, Sickleworth." she smiled at the Niffler.
"I'll collect the porcupine quills. You should try to find someone who can get us Powdered Moonstone..." she told Lana.
Lana thought she'd find Jae, as he was the best at smuggling things, or getting a hold of objects that are tricky to find. She spoke to him after they'd finished detention.
"Were you able to get the Powdered Moonstone?" Lana asked, pulling Jae aside.
"Yeah. I had to promise a couple favours to a guy I know in Knockturn Alley, but I got it." he told her.
"That's brilliant, Jae. Thank you! Can I have it?" she asked the boy.
"Yeah, course. Here." he said, pulling out the ingredient.
"Can I ask why you need it though?"
"It's for Penny. She's gathering a bunch of potion ingredients." Lana answered.
"Sounds like a lot of work. Why are you helping Penny?" Jae asked.
"Penny's my best friend. I'd do anything for her, just as I know she'd do the same for me. Her sister is trapped in a portrait in the Grand Staircase, and she said that this is the only way to make her happy whilst she waits for her sister to be freed. So obviously I'm gonna help." Lana explained.
"You're a good friend, Lana. She's lucky to have someone as great as you on her side." Jae winked.
"Thanks again for the Powdered Moonstone, Jae. I owe you one." Lana chuckled.
"My pleasure, Lana." he winked again, "Good luck helping Penny find the rest of the ingredients..."
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Penny said that the last ingredient would be in the Herbology Classroom. Lana made her way over to Herbology Class to meet her.
"Professor Sprout is covering Hellebores today. Syrup or Hellebore is the last ingredient I need for my potion." she said as Lana approached.
"Brilliant! I'll help you collect some." Lana smiled.
"Thank you, Lana. I don't know what I'd do without you." Penny smiled.
"You're my best friend, hun. I'm not going anywhere." Lana chuckled, "Sprout is about to begin the lesson. Let's get your Syrup of Hellebore..."
After class, Lana and Penny managed to get enough Syrup of Hellebore for the potion.
"I got some!" Lana exclaimed.
"Me too. Let's meet later to brew the potion..." Penny told her with a smile.
Seeing as there were a few hours before Penny wanted to brew her potion, Lana decided that she'd go and spend some time with Barnaby.
She found him mooching down the corridor, looking a bit down, so she ran over to him and hugged him.
"Hey." she smiled, squeezing him tightly.
"Hey." he chuckled softly, hugging her back.
"Are you alright?" she asked, looking up at him.
"Yeah." he smiled, but she could see right past it and she knew that something was up.
She gave him a look, implying that she knew he wasn't ok, and he sighed. He pulled away from her and looked down at the ground.
"Barny, what's up?" she asked again, voice full of concern.
"I'm just fed up..." he mumbled.
She took his hand and dragged him over to a nearby bench. They sat down and she placed a comforting hand on his knee.
"Fed up about what?" she asked kindly.
"Everyone calling me stupid..." he sighed, "Snape broke his record. He called me stupid 21 times today..."
"Listen, it's not your fault. You're not stupid! You're just...different. You might not be as intellectual as everyone else, but that's not a problem at all!" she told him.
He looked up at her and raised an eyebrow, not convinced at her words.
"Then why does everyone point it out!" he exclaimed, "If I wasn't stupid, then I wouldn't be called it all the time, Lana." he finished.
Lana didn't know what to do. She placed a hand on his cheek and turned his face to look at her.
"Everyone else thinks you're stupid, yeah. But I don't, Bill doesn't, Penny doesn't, Ben doesn't, Tonks doesn't. Also, I don't think Professor Kettleburn thinks you are, either. Or Dumbledore. And he's the most powerful wizard ever." she told him.
He sighed and kissed her forehead lovingly, before standing up and walking away.
"Barnaby!" she called after him, but he didn't turn around.
She was confused and a bit hurt. What happened? Why was he acting strange? Why did he just leave her like that without saying a word? She didn't know, but she'd worry about him later. Penny needed her.
hiya! thanks so much for reading! :)
if you liked this one, please vote or comment, it really means a lot :)
hope you're all safe and well <3
oh yeah, I'll be adding in the 'crushed' side quest soon, so if you have any suggestions for that, do let me know!
byeee <3