We were lucky that the first full moon was clear of clouds, and we put the mandrake leaf under our tongue, repeated the incantation, pointing our wands at our hearts, and then went to sleep. With my spell in effect, we both woke up with the leaf still under our tongues… although we were drooling like some kind of troll. Then came the second challenge. Breakfast.


    "This is… very bad." I groaned, looking for some milk and pastry to dunk into it. Anything that would make it so I can just slurp, chew very little, and keep my tongue from moving too much.


    "It is…" Quincy agreed with a desperate look, as eating while keeping that damned leaf in its place was a hard-fought battle in itself.


    "Shit… this is not what I expected…" I grumbled a little more before finishing breakfast and somehow managed to keep it where it should be as we headed to our next class in the greenhouses; herbology.


    "I totally forgot about eating…" Quincy moaned the same way, feeling hungry as she barely managed to get anything down her throat.


    "You need to chew on one side, tilt your head a little… It gets somewhat easier. So, this is our life for the next month, huh? Won''t this leaf melt away or something?"


    "It… it shouldn''t. I think." Quincy added, thinking about it, "It would be illogical! Then how do you keep one under your tongue? And finish the whole process?"


    "True…"


    As we talked and walked somewhat weirdly, trying our best to keep our tongues as still as possible, I felt a push and almost crashed into Quincy. Looking around, it was Draco who walked into me purposefully, shoving me into her with his elbow.


    "Oh, sorry, you almost kissed, didn''t you~?"


    "And what if we were trying to do it? Then what?" I asked angrily, as my temper was already unstable because of the Malfoys, and the mandrake leaf only added to the fire.


    "Oooo, so you like tasting shit?" He chortled, same with his new lapdogs, and I saw Quincy''s head turn from red to a deeper shade of red, switching from embarrassment to anger.


    He was already leaving, laughing in that annoying, high-pitched voice, and I was about to go after him when Quincy grabbed my arm.


    "Don''t." She said, spitting fire from her eyes, watching his back. "Any trouble, especially one that includes him, and we will be busted. Or swallow and start from the beginning… He isn''t worth it."


    "I somewhat had a guilty concise about what we did to him. I even felt happy that he survived." I whispered, listening to Quincy and stopping myself, "But not anymore."


    "Do you have another plan?" She smiled at me, and I just shrugged, shaking my head, "Not a problem… I do. But!" She raised a hand before I could ask in surprise, "First, get this animagi ritual over with! Everything can come after that! I can endure a lot… so start learning from me~!"


    "Yes, Ma''am!" I grinned, already feeling much better, following her and we joined the others in the greenhouses.


    …


    ….


    ……


    In the next two weeks, Quincy never elaborated on any kind of plan, and I knew not to ask about it. I was being patient, as she suggested… but it was getting harder and harder to maintain. As Hallowe''en was getting closer and closer, just like the next full moon, we were getting closer to finally finishing the first part. Not to mention the difficulty in keeping that soggy leaf under my tongue was a hassle; Draco and his dear father''s antics improved nothing. No… it got even worse.


    It was a struggle to stay composed, focusing on keeping my tongue locked in place. I once even used my charm on it throughout the day, refusing to eat and drinking only little sips of water… I just wanted nothing more than to be done with it. Then, that... that... well, dipshit challenged me to a duel in our most recent Dark Arts lesson.


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    I had my tongue glued to my jaw and couldn''t pronounce the spell correctly in time. I should have used wordless casting; my body wanted to do it... but I still had enough faculties active in my raging brain that I did not do that. I don''t want to give away one of my trump cards right in front of Lucius Malfoy, that bastard father of a bastard son! So… I ate Draco''s spell, got flung off from the dueling platform, skidding on the marble floor, stopping my quick advance with my skull, crashing it against the stone walls. I heard a crack, and everything went dark. When I came to, I was in the infirmary, watching the familiar ceiling from my previous year staring back at me. What… a… pain.


    Luckily, thanks to my charm, the leaf was still there, the ritual was still going on, intact, and I let out a long, relieved sigh… then I looked out towards the scenery behind the windows, which was already shrouded in darkness. I hurriedly scrambled for my wand, murmuring the incantation, hoping it was not too late. I couldn''t help but feel my stomach drop, feeling that it was… and the anger building up inside me towards Draco reached a new height. I could feel the vein on the side of my neck throbbing, which was probably visible through my skin.


    "...!"


    It was that moment when an intense headache came over me, and I let out a hurt groan, curling up on the bed, feeling like my brain wanted to burst out of my skull and run away. Then the horrible feeling started to radiate all over my body, making me sweat and shiver. Thank Merlin that I didn''t undo my tongue-tying spell, or I would have swallowed that damned leaf! I could sense that this dreadful, abnormal pain was coming from my brain, traveling through my nervous system, going up and down on my back… no, on my spine, before finally jolting straight into my eyes.


    It was a kind of pain that was only below getting hit by the Cruciatus curse… and now I experienced both. Lucky me... When it reached my eyes, I wanted to scream, but my mouth was kept shut by the spasming muscles in my face. It burnt… it was like a sizzling metal rod was being inserted into my skull, right through my eye socket. I tried grabbing at my face, but my hands were stuck to my body as I was paralyzed from head to toe. The burning sensation didn''t subside for at least ten minutes, and I could swear I saw my eyes glow in an intense light reflected in the infirmary''s windows. They were turning golden from their usual, deep purplish color, like two torches… like that of a basilisk''s.


    Or I was dreaming it all because of my head injury. I couldn''t tell because I woke up on the bed in the following morning, feeling fine. Was it a dream? I thought it wasn''t… it was too real for that. It had to be real, and when Quincy came to visit in the afternoon, I told her everything. She listened to me without interruption, but she hurriedly asked the moment I finished.


    "Did you do the incantation?"


    "I did… I just don''t know when! I woke up, and it was dark already…"


    "We should start over…"


    "No!" I protested, "We are so close… I think we are fine! I''m not starting this whole pain in the ass ritual from the beginning!"


    "We could do it in the summer!" Quincy argued, "We have time!"


    "It''s fine!" I reassured her, "It should have been still good because Madam Pomfrey wasn''t here, so she must have been at dinner!" I said it not just to calm her down but for my own sake too. It was my logical conclusion why nobody came and attended to me when I was agonizing over… whatever that was.


    "Let me see you!" She said more gently, climbing up on my bed, holding my face with her two hands, running her fingers along the side of my face as she leaned closer, looking deeply into my eyes.


    I never saw her up this close before… she was even more beautiful. Her brown eyes were like gentle lights or like sparkling gems, and I felt getting lost in her gaze. Not to mention her sweet scent… I could fall asleep quickly, snuggling up to her, smelling it… ah…


    "Stay still and stop squirming!" She grumbled while our foreheads almost knocked against each other, and I felt my face turning red like a ripe tomato. "Seems normal…" She breathed out a sigh of relief before leaning back. "It is a bit bloodshot, but I see no damage in it! And I didn''t feel any magic coming from it! No paralyzing effect, and I am not turning into stone!"


    "Are you suggesting that I am transforming into a basilisk?"


    "It is on the table!" She nodded heavily, "I see a chance for it! If not completely, I wouldn''t be surprised if you manage to transform into one at the end of our ritual; Everyone''s animal form comes from their inner self!"


    "I hope not…"


    "Why? You would be powerful!" She said, clearly surprised.


    "I couldn''t look you in the eyes anymore…" I murmured sheepishly and felt the bed tremble as she shifted back and forth before finally climbing off, clearing her throat.


    "Well… yes… that would be problematic… anyway! You look fine!" She switched topics immediately and started to tell me how the day was and what I missed, making me copy her notes.


    Not that I complained about it… It was good to sit next to her, let her lean close, and I could watch her face… I wouldn''t want to miss this experience, not even for the power to kill with a glance.