Capítulo 59: Devoted Witch Part III
"Great job today," Dr. Ballester says, shoving his wand within the folds of his cloak. I can barely hear his words over the pounding of my own heart; my lungs fighting for air on the floor of the office.
Good job? I only lasted for around 20 minutes and I never once stopped Dr. Ballester from overpowering me. Even if I could, what's to say… My mind continues to beat myself up as Dr. Ballester offers me a hand.
Taking it, I slip my windbreaker back on and pull out my notepad, 'what am I doing wrong? Why can't I do this?'
Dr. Ballester slightly winces at my words. "When we started, I noticed that your mind is very interesting. Its complexity and speed can work to confuse your attacker. This helps but it's also very organised. This makes it easier to find the information once you understand its filing system.
"When I invade your mind, you push everything you can use against me and move the information away. This scrambling can only take you so far. What I recommend is that you practice emptying your brain more. Flush out your short-term memory and temporarily seal your long-term away."
As we ascend up the latter and through the mouth of the briefcase, a crisp smoky smell drifts from upstairs. Focusing on the kitchen, my ears pick up the unmistakable crackling of a roast. It's almost lunch, already?
"How'd the lesson go?" Father greets, pushing himself up from the couch and setting his book down.
"She's doing great! Her progress has been quicker than expected," at Dr. Ballester's words, Father beams at me.
Just before I can respond, the air between us collapses in on itself as Cimsy apparates
in with a pop. "Cimsy came to inform Master, oh, and Miss," Cimsy says once she notices me, "that lunch is almost ready."
"I appreciate the message Cimsy," Father thanks, patting her on the head.
Looking up at Dr. Ballester, an idea pops up, *Father? Would it be fine for Dr. Ballester to stay for lunch?*
"I don't see anything wrong with that. Rodrigo, you care to join us for lunch?"
At Father's question, Dr. Ballester's eyes widen, "Oh, I couldn't possibly intrude like that."
"Nonsense! It's the least we could do," Father waves away as I nod in agreement.
"Alrighty." Even before Dr. Ballester could give in, Cimsy smiles and jumps up to Disapparite away. "I guess I'm joining then."
Entering the living area, the popping fire of the stove joins the uncomfortable heat slithering through the walls. Even the whirling of the ceiling fan or the cool breeze of open windows doesn't do much to combat this heat.
I look over at the kitchen to see Professor, sorry, Ms. Bathsheda leaning against the counter and talking to Cimsy. Bright green Gnostic runes run down her arms and legs, shining against her almond brown skin. A thin shawl hangs off her stick frame, barely covering a blue, sleeveless, shirt tucked into a pair of, high-waisted, black shorts. With every slight shift of her body, the little white dots on her black shawl twinkle.
As she glances over at us, her emerald eyes twinkle with delight. "Afternoon! Catlyn, Rodrigo, I trust lessons went well. Garrick, once again thank you for having me over for lunch!"
"And thank you for cooking. It smells wonderful," Father retorts, rubbing his hands together.
"It wasn't all me." Ms. Bathsheda smiles at Cimsy, patting her head, "speaking of which, it should almost be ready."
*You guys can go sit, I can bring the roast over,* I offer, a little uncomfortable just standing there, watching her and Father flirt.
"Are you sure?" Ms. Bathsheda asks.
*Although I don't look it, my vampire side makes me well equipped to carry heavy objects,* even without hearing it, you could feel a subtle coldness to my words.
"Even so, Cimsy, help her bring it over," Father buts in as they move to the table, "even if you can handle its weight, it's a wide pot."
I give a nod in response. Father gives a smile back as he joins the table, leaving me to stand there with Cimsy as we wait for the timer to tick down to zero. It's not that I don't like Ms. Bathsheda. She's not a bad person or anything. It just feels a little weird to see Father being like that with someone. I'm probably just being selfish.
The beep of the timer saves me from my thoughts as Cimsy and I carry the pot to the table. Just as Father said, it would be a bit difficult for me to have carried it all.
Setting it in the middle of the table, I take a seat beside Father, sitting at the head of the table, and Dr. Ballester as Crimsy sits next to Ms. Bathsheda. I wonder if Cimsy knows it's not normal for Wizards to let House-elves sit at the same table?
As Ms. Bathsheda takes the lid off the pot, she starts a conversation, "Rodrigo, Garrick mentioned that you've been using your office to teach Catlyn, is that right?"
"Yes it is," Dr. Ballester answers as he puts some meat and veggies on his plate.
"If it isn't too inconvenient, could you lend it to me on the day of the Gathering?" My brow furrows at Ms. Bathsheda's request.
"What are you thinking?" Father asks, puzzled as he cuts apart a piece of meat.
Ms. Bathsheda directs her sing-songy voice at me, "Well I was thinking, if you're okay with it, that I could do your hair and make-up for the Gathering. Without the trace in the way, I could teach you some hair spells and magic beauty products? I'll already be there and need to get ready too so it wouldn't be out of the way for me."
My stomach twists slightly at her words. There are magic spells for doing your hair! So every morning at Hogwarts, instead of wasting my time straightening my hair, I could have just been magicing it! What does she mean already be there? Did Dad already invite her to be his plus one? I know they've been getting closer and closer together but he hasn't even asked her on a date yet. I can tell he feels something for her but is still holding onto Morgen. Would this be their first date?
*Sure,* I respond, still spinning from the implications. Wanting to distract myself, I take a sip of blood and move to another question that's been lingering in the back of my mind, 'How do you all know each other anyway?'
Silence meets my question as glances exchange between the three. The wooshing of the fan, the soft breeze, and all of the small sounds from the street grow louder in the tense air.
"Well, when I got you, I needed some help understanding your rune. So I went to Sheda for help."
'But how did you know her? She would have just been out of Hogwarts, or just started teaching,' I ask, poking holes in Father's explanation as sweat starts to form on Dr. Ballester's forehead. They're hiding something.
"Dumbledore told him about me," Ms. Bathsheda chimes in quickly as if she just came up with it.
"Exactly. I asked Dumbledore if he knew anything or anyone who knew about Runes and he pointed me to the new Runes Professor; Sheda. From there she helped me understand and taught me BSL."
Knowing his lying abilities, Dr. Ballester finishes off his plate and leaves his mouth full. Forcing Ms. Bathsheda to explain the rest, "Right. And after knowing each other for a while, Garrick met Rodrigo through me. We were friends through Hogwarts and remained so as Professors."
"Everyone finished?" Father collects their plates as they all nod quickly, "I'll start with the dishes."
"I'll join you," Dr. Ballester says quickly, even with his slow voice. Oblivious to the lying and the tension, Cimsy pops over to help Father.
Just what are they hiding? It looks like Dr. Ballester is the weak link. Deciding to interrogate Dr. Ballester later, I turn to Ms. Bathsheda before she's able to join them, *Can I ask you something?*
"Sure," Ms. Bathsheda says hesitantly, as the buzzing of water begins running.
*I know there's no way of deactivating my rune, or else you would have done so. I was wondering if you could explain why.*
Ms. Bathsheda relaxes slightly, now that the topic's more comfortable for her, as she clears her throat, "As you know, the rune is half the reason you have to rely on the Mana Potion. The rune uses magic- I mean Mana. Merlin, I better get that straight before I confuse my students during Spell Theory. The rune uses your Mana to both activate and protect itself. The only two ways you could get rid of it are by healing it or altering it so that it's ineffective.
"When you were younger, we tried to heal it but it only singed itself back. Even if we found a way to manipulate the rune, the rune is very well made. It was made centuries ago by extremely crafty wizards to silence prisoners and slaves. I researched and researched but I could never find a way to alter the rune so in a way that the rune didn't account for."
*What if we, what if we cut off Mana from the rune; starve it,* I suggest, only to meet the disgusting look of pity on Ms. Bathsheda's face.
"The rune draws Mana directly from your soul. The only way that would happen is if you died," Ms. Bathsheda's words come out heavy and clunky as if the weight of the words was physical. Warm hope starts to grow in me as I think of something.
*What if we did, kill me that is. Then bring me back.* Even I could feel the desperation in my words as the topic of killing me causes Ms. Bathsheda to squirm.
"I don't mean just die for a few seconds and come back die, your soul would have to leave your body. Even then the rune would last for a week," Ms. Bathsheda's voice comes out apologetic as my face grows whiter than usual. Just as quickly as it grew, the hope dies.
*Ok,* is all I could muster as I got up from my seat, leaving my cup of blood half-finished.
"Catlyn!" Ms. Bathsheda calls but I don't respond, don't even hear her.
*I'm going out for a walk,* I sign out of the corner of Father's eye, not even bothering to make sure he sees.
"Make sure to be home before dark!" Father calls as I slip on my mask and head out the door.
Even when I found out about my Mana deficiency, there was always a workaround. Some way that I could fight or work through the problem. Even the creation of a new potion never felt impossible. My vampiric urges, my panic attacks, all of it feels workable. Not this time though. Every solution has been thought of, tested, and failed. Nothing has felt this weight, this hopelessness, besides when I was kept in that room, pain day after day.
Waves of heat blast at me as I exit the shop and join the noisy street. Even with the blaring sun, the sticky moisture in the air, and the windbreaker trapping the already unbearable heat, the cold hollowness still remains.
I'll never be able to say a simple hello or um to get someone's attention. Never scream, cry or laugh. What does my voice sound like? I was kept in Germany, am part German, and learned it but I was rarely around any German people. Would it be sing-songy like Sheda's? Posh like Dad's? Or maybe even sleepy like Ballester's.
As my thoughts run deeper and deeper, a haze begins to cloud my mind as strength leaves my legs. When did I get to a plaza? Looking around, I shakily lower myself down on a bench.
"Why can't we Mum?" a little girl whines at her Mother, tugging on the arm she holds tightly across the semi-busy plaza. I fight back from letting the salty water break the dam of my eyes.
My kids will never hear my voice comfort them when they scrape their knees or scold them for breaking a lamp. I've never thought about wanting them because the question of, "can I even do that" always loomed over it. My husband or wife will never get to hear me say "I do". I'll never, never…
Through the watery gaze of my eyes, a weird sight passes by. Rubbing them clear, I close my eyes to look back only for it to still be there. Water slashes down a fountain in the middle of the plaza. A chocolate brown girl my age taps her foot impatiently on the edge of the fountain. Ripped jeans and a black tank top hug her athletic build.
Sweat drips down her toned legs and biceps as her callused hands' fiddle with a short blade. Long black hair braids itself in cornrows, flowing down her back and leaving her face unobstructed.
Her strong jawline sits tightly as waves of yellow and grey energy surround her. A Mana signature isn't new or even unusual but the thing is, I wasn't trying to see it. I never connected to the Mana around me or opened myself up to it. No one else around had their Mana signature visible and although I can see her Mana signature, I don't feel it.
My stare seemed to have been noticed, as her eyes locked with mine; one grey and one yellow. For a moment, we both just sit there with our eyes locked. I twitch to get up but she's quicker, jumping into a sprint. Getting up to do the same, my vampiric strength funnels into my legs as I give chase.
But even with the unnatural power fueling the muscles in my legs, her long legs prevent me from gaining significant ground as we weave through the crowd. Dashing into a building, I follow her. Through racks of clothes, past jars of mystical objects, and back out on the street. As time goes on, the streets become less and less familiar. Have I ever been this far into Diagon Alley?
Rounding a store made almost entirely out of a fish tank, I meet a wall. Where did she go? She couldn't have just disappeared. Invisibility cloak? Apparition? Reaching out, I open myself to Mana only to feel nothing expected, except.
Walking forward, I reach out to touch the wall, only to feel nothing. I'm going to lose her! Pushing past the wall, I'm greeted by a normal Muggle street. A normal Muggle street with normal buildings, normal Muggles walking down the sidewalk, normal cars passing through, and a normal park. There's another exit to Diagon Alley? Searching around, my eyes meet with those grey and yellow eyes between the cars as they pass, watching me with a smirk.
Watching the cars, I gauge their distance and speed. Jumping down the road, I race past the traffic as horns whale, and rubber screeches. Her smirk fades as I cross the street and we resume our chase into the park. Instantly the surroundings grow cooler as the leaves block and absorb the heat.
Racing through, I follow further and further until she jumps off the path and onto a dirt trail. No time for second-guessing, I do the same. Branches whip past me as I'm careful to not trip over roots. The canopy of leaves grows denser, blocking the sun more and more as the path begins to grow wider.
As the path continues, little bits of metal and planks from an old train track grow less and less damaged. Slowly but surely, I gradually gain ground. Just as I'm able to catch up, the path opens into a clearing. Sliding to a halt, my vampiric eyes take a moment to adjust. Vampires and sunshine, not the best pairing.
The tracks continue to a mineshaft in the middle of the clearing, all rusted and run down. Where did she go? Having a bad feeling, I draw my wand and look around the boulders and overturned minecarts. I've studied the chalk mines and this one isn't on any of the maps or databases. Looking around a bolder, I decide to use a new approach.
Opening up to Mana, I push my Mana out as far as I can, only to be restricted. Did I pass through a Muggle warding barrier and not even notice? Feeling closer, my Mana pushes against another; she's right behind me.
Moving too slow, I'm only just able to see her bounce off the rock and slip past me. A cold metal pressure pinches at my throat as my left arm is pinned behind my back. I look down to see the pinch coming from a knife.
"Who are you?"
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
Clueless59
Clueless59 And just like that, the Devoted Witch parts are over. You guys are so close to the goal, only a hundred collections to go! I noticed a few people mentioning it so I thought I should address this, Catlyn's rune will never be fixed. My philosophy for the damage that is done to Catlyn is to never fix it, only to manage or compensate it with a prosthetic. The Mana Potion doesn't fix Catlyn's Mana deficiency, it only acts as a prosthetic for her underproducing soul. Learning nonverbal didn't fix the problem of her rune, it merely acts like brail. Her Vampire urges, panic attacks, and pain are all being managed and could eventually be healed with time, but never just fixed. it's not like she won't make progress in overcoming her psychological ailments, but they will never completely go away either. There will always be a scar or some echo of it, but the scar won't always be as bright and the echo won't always be as loud.
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