Page 11 of The Witch & the Tiger

The professor fidgeted with her chalk, coating her left hand in chalk dust. “A most intriguing request, child. You’re not one of my students, are you?” She squinted, hobbling a little closer. “Ah, but your features look familiar.”

“I believe you taught my mother. I’m Willow Colson.”

“Ah, a Colson. I’ve had three generations of you Colsons in my lessons. Not you, though. A shame.” She smiled, showing oddly pointed teeth. “And why do you want such a potion? They don’t always come cheap, mind.”

“I, uh, have reason to suspect a friend of mine may be under an enchantment. People don’t take him seriously; they think he is… grieving. But I think that if there’s proof he is enchanted, they might take him more seriously.”

The professor pressed her wrinkled lips together, forming deeper crags all around her mouth. “That’s reason enough for me. I have a few of those potions lying around. Living in such a place, you have to be prepared for all the ways magic can be employed. Does this friend attend the school?”

“He used to. He dropped out recently.”

“Ah.” Her eyes glinted. “I believe I know who you’re talking about. That boy has been a topic of some interest among the teachers. However, we teachers are usually pretty diligent in picking up if someone is enchanted. We would be poor ones not to notice.”

Willow glanced at Chloe, not sure how to answer. Chloe stepped in instead.

“I think it’s a bit more subtle,” she said. “I had a friend who was enchanted, but the effect was a bit more noticeable. This person is supposed to be grieving, and he’s not been around any of the teachers long enough for them to notice anything is off.”

“True.” Professor Valgrur shrugged before fishing out a dull gray vial. “Fifty dollars. It’ll take me a day to replenish this one.”

It seemed Professor Valgrur was money-wise on top of being ancient and talented at potions.

“You should inform Professor Z’Hana and Professor Umber of this, however. Both of them were teaching the boy before he left, and both of them would wish to see him back in classes. They won’t shut up about it at times,” the professor muttered, handing over the vial to them after Willow produced the money, the same money she was planning to spend on a fun evening out at a nightclub with her friends.

Oh well. So much for those plans. Maybe she could persuade Harrow or Chloe to pay her way in instead.

“I will let the professors know,” Willow said. “Thanks for your help.”

The scritching noises started up again as the professor turned back to the board.

“I guess…” Chloe whispered, “We’ll just show ourselves out.” They left the smelly classroom, and outside in the corridor, the air felt a million times fresher.

“That was something.” Chloe examined the gray liquid. “I’d hate to swallow something like this; it looks disgusting.”

“My mother always said good medicine tastes awful. That’s how you know it’s good medicine.”

“Sounds like an elaborate con to make you take medicine.”

“Probably.” Chloe had a good point, actually. She’d have to ask her mother about it sometime. For now, though, they had the vial of viscous gray liquid. Next came messaging Eva and the professors, and then, finally, Martin.

However, she was warned that some enchanted people reacted badly when told they were enchanted – and multiple people had advised her not to tell Martin about the potion. But Willow arranged to meet him in the lunch hall anyway and even offered to pay for his meal.

Guilt made her insides squirm at the thought of feeding him the potion without him knowing. That wasn’t something you did to someone you wanted as a friend or someone you cared about. But Z’Hana, Umber, her mother, Chloe – all of them said telling him was too risky, which was why she ordered some drinks a few moments before Martin arrived and poured the liquid from the little vial into the drink. She stirred the drink vigorously, and the gray faded into yellow, making the drink appear normal.

When Martin arrived, he beamed as she handed him the drink, and she felt like an absolute monster.

Even though she was doing the right thing, it didn’t mean she liked it. But it made sense. She couldn’t help but notice Professor Umber sliding into the dining hall and glancing over them, then slowly going for lunch, deliberately not looking at them again.

Suspicious professor…

Martin didn’t seem to notice anything, and he gulped down the liquid without showing any indication that it tasted funny. They got lunch – the favored leek and potato pasta bake, which tended to sell out early due to its cheddar cheese top layer – and sat down together, with Martin draining the rest of his drink.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten here,” Martin said. “I’ve missed the atmosphere, to be honest. Thanks for inviting me.”

“Happy to do so,” she said. “I was looking forward to seeing you again.”

He tucked into the food, practically inhaling it. She didn’t even attempt to try and keep up. “Jeez, you were hungry! Did you starve yourself before coming here?”

“Mmf – it’s just – really – mmf!” Somehow, he managed to get it all down neatly while all she could do was stare, not sure whether to be impressed or horrified.

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