"Oh!" The voice came breathless from the panicked, wired urchin withering at the mercy of the ghostly nurse. All at once she felt utterly silly and exposed. She felt cooler air on her back when the nurse abandoned her to the counter, and pulled her hands back. Charley tucked them under her arms, feeling the chill of the examination room creeping through her bare skin now, and her muscles tensed to stave off a shudder.
"Just a potion?" That warmed her a little, but only slightly. Charley had made her fair share of potions in school, and not once had she even blown one up like others in her year. Her only year, yet despite that she found herself peering over at the nurse's work. With her hands warming her ribs she couldn't scratch now, anyway, and felt enough restraint to satisfy a calmer curiosity.
"What's it made of?" Charley picked up her foot to scratch at the other leg, intent on keeping her hands docile this time. Besides, the woman said it was on her back and hands, not her feet. The urchin leaned in, close enough to take a sniff of one of the ingredient piles. She pulled back to avoid one of her braids falling into the mixture itself. Charley was far from an expert on potion-making but even she figured that ginger hair was probably not a useful ingredient in an anti-itch potion.
Charley released her hands enough to grab the cap from the floor, arranging her braids underneath as she put it on. It felt silly to be standing there in just a cap and drawers, but right now she was too enthralled by the process to consider it. She nodded once to herself and then asked, "Oh, issat borage? We made potions at Hogwarts, my year. They didn't look nothing like this."
Or maybe it was peppermint. That was used in potions sometimes, she was pretty sure. The urchin had never seen peppermint growing by the side of the road, though, just when it was all picked or cut up. The leafy ingredient smelled like something, she just wasn't sure what it was. Charley shifted from one foot to the next, itches tormenting her back and neck, and worse than that tormenting her mind. Impatience.
"Just a potion?" That warmed her a little, but only slightly. Charley had made her fair share of potions in school, and not once had she even blown one up like others in her year. Her only year, yet despite that she found herself peering over at the nurse's work. With her hands warming her ribs she couldn't scratch now, anyway, and felt enough restraint to satisfy a calmer curiosity.
"What's it made of?" Charley picked up her foot to scratch at the other leg, intent on keeping her hands docile this time. Besides, the woman said it was on her back and hands, not her feet. The urchin leaned in, close enough to take a sniff of one of the ingredient piles. She pulled back to avoid one of her braids falling into the mixture itself. Charley was far from an expert on potion-making but even she figured that ginger hair was probably not a useful ingredient in an anti-itch potion.
Charley released her hands enough to grab the cap from the floor, arranging her braids underneath as she put it on. It felt silly to be standing there in just a cap and drawers, but right now she was too enthralled by the process to consider it. She nodded once to herself and then asked, "Oh, issat borage? We made potions at Hogwarts, my year. They didn't look nothing like this."
Or maybe it was peppermint. That was used in potions sometimes, she was pretty sure. The urchin had never seen peppermint growing by the side of the road, though, just when it was all picked or cut up. The leafy ingredient smelled like something, she just wasn't sure what it was. Charley shifted from one foot to the next, itches tormenting her back and neck, and worse than that tormenting her mind. Impatience.
![[Image: bZbZdaH.png]](https://i.imgur.com/bZbZdaH.png)