Draught of Living Death

I Just Fell [DISCONTINUED]

When she got into potions, Dahyun was greeted by a terrible scent. It made her drowsy at first whiff. Who had made the Draught of Living Death? Or rather, who had made a mistake?

Wrinkling her nose, she sat down beside Jihyo. 

“How was yesterday? She didn’t make things weird again?” Jihyo’s voice was hushed, but her glance at the Slytherin side of the room was very obvious. The person in question wasn’t even there. 

“Fine,” she replied. “Found some lost first years, those. We lost two points.” 

That earned her a smile. “You softie.”

Dahyun shrugged. When she’d gotten back to the common room, Yuqi had been asleep, but Shuhua’s head was buried in the Percy Jackson book. 

“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” she asked. 

“I can’t,” she whispered. 

Dahyun went to sit with her. 

“Aren’t you tired?” the first year asked. 

I try not to be, she thought. “Not tonight, but getting a bit of sleep is always important. What if you fall asleep in class tomorrow?” She’d done that a few times. “The teachers will think you’re bored!”

“I love my classes,” she muttered. 

“Then tell me what helps you sleep,” she tugged the book away, “I have a voice that’ll put you right to sleep. Or, if you’re too into the book, I’ll read an essay of mine.”

The girl’s laugh was soft. “I’ll be too interested there too.” With her eyes dry, she sat straight, without much warmth on her face, except in her eyes. 

“Let me try,” she took out the scroll, “I’ll be stopping every now and then to correct things.” It was History of Magic. If Shuhua was like 98% of the student population, she’d be out. 

She made sure to read like Professor Binns, drawing out the words slowly and in a low voice. Sure enough, after she’d read the introduction, corrected the hell out of it, and moved on to evaluating the state of wizards when the industrial revolution hit, Shuhua was snoring softly on her arm. 

Dahyun waited half an hour before carrying both to bed. They barely stirred. 

“Sweet dreams” she whispered to Shuhua. She tried to put real meaning there. She hoped desperately for the words to stick, either through magic or in her subconscious. No child—no person—should have such nightmares that make then afraid of sleeping. She knew how destructive those could be. 

“I caught a couple.” Jihyo rolled her eyes. “On their way back. So at least they weren’t incredibly frustrated when I took off ten points.”

She just shook her head. “Our house?” 

“Thank Merlin no, a Gryffindor and a Ravenclaw.” 

She didn’t say who and Dahyun didn’t ask why. Even if it was just for a few minutes, she appreciated the lack of gossip, even if it wasn’t about her. She’d had enough of that. 

Her eyes began to droop. She straightened, trying to blink away the sudden fatigue. That should have been impossible. If the fumes of a poison didn’t kill you, then those of this failed potion shouldn’t have made her tired. Maybe she had lowered her tolerance to it? Was that possible?

The sound of a chair moving broke her from her daze. 

“Hey Tzuyu,” Jihyo smiled. 

The tall Slytherin nodded as she sat down. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the people in her house, Dahyun had noted. She didn’t exactly know why she came, because Tzuyu didn’t like to talk about herself much. Even so, she always came around to their table. She was a steady presence and the type that, when you got her to smile, made you feel hugely successful. 

“Hi,” she said. “Sleep well?” It was a running topic for them after Jihyo and Tzuyu had fallen asleep in class, getting their potion all over their uniforms. They’d at least been making an antidote, so they didn’t accidentally fall into a poison. That had been last year when they were all preparing for O.W.Ls, and all of them had chosen Potions at N.E.W.Ts. 

“Yep.” Jihyo grinned. 

“Same here,” Dahyun lied. “Did you sleep?” 

“Nope.” She left it at that, so the two didn’t pry. 

Taking out her things, she thought she felt eyes on her. When she looked up, no one was looking. Maybe she was imagining things. Might have actually been the residue of the failed potion kicking in. She’d have to look into that.

“Good morning everyone,” Professor Destin called. They replied in kind. He began to go into discussing the Wiggenweld potion. “Simple potion. You learned it in first year, but it can cure the Sleeping Draught and Draught of Living Death immediately. Though giving it to the person can be rather difficult,” he said, a smile playing on his lips. “For obvious reasons.”

Then the door flew open. A very disheveled Sana rushed in. 

“Glad you could join us, Ms. Minatozaki,” he said kindly. 

“Sorry I’m late.” She made a movement, almost as if to bow, but didn’t. She didn’t need to in this country. Instead she went to the nearest chair, the one beside Tzuyu. At the Hufflepuff table. Technically. Even Tzuyu looked surprised. 

“We’re discussing a potion that might have proved useful to you, so listen well,” he chuckled, “kidding. Continued consumption of it isn’t healthy. You can look at muggle studies on sleep schedules and why they ought to be kept natural and not manipulated.” The mention of muggle knowledge made some scoff, Slytherins and Hufflepuffs alike. 

Today and yesterday were starting to feel like personal attacks on her. At least she’d made changes to her version of the Wiggenweld potion. It didn’t make sleep feel unnatural, when she was able to get it. The first batches she'd made gave her the strangest of dreams. Not nightmares, but still nothing she wanted to go through again. 

Eyes on her again. This time, the feeling was actually right. She saw Sana drop her gaze, but not fast enough. Dahyun wondered if someone had actually been looking at her earlier. 

They all stood to gather supplies. She was the first to return to her seat. It gave her a small amount of satisfaction that weeks of research had gotten the ingredients ingrained in her memory. She still checked her book just in case she missed something. She kept doing the movement as she mixed the potion. It was more to avoid people thinking she was smarter than she actually was, but also to avoid anyone thinking she had a lot of experience with the potion. Because she had. Too much. 

“Your tie is wrong,” she heard Tzuyu say, “so are the buttons.” 

“Bet I still pull it off.” 

Jihyo scoffed beside her. Dahyun couldn’t help but look up. The buttons weren’t off by one, but two. The green tie looked like it had just been gotten out of the washing machine. For a pureblood, that was impossible. Had she really overslept so severely? She felt a pang of guilt that the girl had been that tired. Maybe she should have been more insistent that Sana skip patrol .She would be lying if she didn’t find being completely alone better than uncomfortable silences and even worse conversations. 

Then again, she wouldn’t have seen the Slytherin comfort Shuhua as she had. It was something she’d never thought she’d see from the other girl. But she had. 

Said girl glanced her way, but looked away as soon as she caught her eye. 

“And where your badges?” Lisa chuckled. “Never thought I’d see that.”

“Don’t need to show people if they already know.” Sana winked. 

Dahyun fought a sigh. As quickly as it had appeared, the Sana of yesterday had been replaced by this Sana, one who also wasn’t the humblest, and always looked for an excuse to flirt with you. She looked away. 

The potion was looking good, its scent overpowering that of the weird sleeping draught. She sprinkled in the boom berry juice from the brush she’d dipped in it. That was one thing that made a crucial difference. Adding it too quickly meant a jittery feeling, or at least contributed to it if you hadn’t added the rest of the ingredients right. There was already too much Salamander blood, but that was what the instructions said she had to do. This wasn’t going to be a potion she ever used. Maybe she should leave it for Destin to keep. That might help her case the next time she bombarded him with potions questions. 

“Perfect colour, Ms. Kim!” he exclaimed. “It’s ready.” Then he took a sample out with his wand, murmuring a spell. The drop of potion turned red, green, and then turquoise again. Dahyun tried to commit the movement he’d made to memory, as well as the pronunciation. “Sparing a bit on the ingredients, huh?” He raised an eyebrow at her board, the leftover needles in a small pile. 

She just nodded, hoping desperately that no one was listening to closely. Especially not Jihyo. She should have just taken her time and paid closer attention to the instructions. Exactly as they were. 

“I guess I misread, ah, mis-measured.” She let out a small chuckle. 

He shrugged. “Still worked out.” Then he walked off. 

She snuck a glance at her fellow Hufflepuff. She was humming softly, but her eyes were glued to the flobberworm mucous. It was something that burned immensely if it touched you, so she probably hadn’t heard much. Dahyun hoped so at least. Someone had their eyes on her again, but she didn’t look this time. It probably didn’t matter. 

“If you’re finished, start the Draught of Living Death. Then mix a bit from both.” 

She did, this time doing exactly what was asked of her, even if there were excess ingredients. The colour of the two together turned yellow and then a pearly white. The smell made her feel sick. She was sensitive to the sleeping potion. That wasn’t good. 

Bottling both, she started cleaning, her mind feeling very clear now, despite the nausea. That was the beauty of potions. She could tune everything out and now one thought she was being distant, just focused. 

“Want to leave early?” Destin asked. “Or start the assignment." He was staring at the vials she’d given him. 

She chose the assignment, returning to her desk. The smell of the sleeping draughts around her was closing in, the combination making her stomach turn even more. 

“Help me out here,” Jihyo muttered. “How the hell can I get just the juice?” She was trying to crush Sopophorous beans in the mortar and pestle. 

“Do it gently,” she said. “And try peeling them.” 

“It doesn’t say that here.” Tzuyu was frowning at her now black potion. Too much asphodel. 

“It works,” Sana said simply. The skin of the first bean was on her tray. “Thanks.” Her eyes held a question, but she didn’t ask it. Just kept working on the second bean. 

When class ended, Destin called her over. 

“Be honest, have you brewed these in your spare time?”

Her face warmed. Busted. 

“Not this summer, but yeah," she admitted. "The Wiggenweld at least.”

“But you managed Living Death very well too.” He looked at it. “Maybe too much bean juice,” he grinned, “never saw that mistake.” Then he levelled his gaze at her. “You do know that experimenting like that isn’t always the best idea. Even if the potion is pretty harmless.”

That she did. “Yes.” Her neck also felt warm. 

“I’m not interrogating you, Kim, but do run your versions by me. Maybe I can tell you if it’s healthy.” His eyebrow twitched upwards. To her relief, he was joking. 

Dahyun smiled. “Any time.” 

Jihyo was waiting when she got out. 

“Praised for your genius?” she asked. 

“She rolled her eyes. “Let’s go. We’ll be late.” Transfiguration was one of the most interesting classes for her, even if she struggled with each new spell. 

The older girls gave her a look. “Everything okay?”

“I’m good.” She really was. Just with a little help. The nausea hadn’t faded yet. 

 

She’d felt off the entire day. She almost considered asking Jihyo to switch shifts. But the girl was currently panicking about the spontaneous Charms test tomorrow morning, as well as an unfinished DADA essay. Dahyun would do the shift today. She’d be able to relax when she was done with it. Thanks to the early revision time this morning with a particular first year, she was done with History of Magic, and had finished Ancient Runes this morning. It just needed an emergency read-through tonight. That would probably take an hour. 

As she ate dinner, a sick feeling grew in . It was a draining type of feeling. Really weird. 

They talked about the latest news in the Prophet. Chaeyoung stopping by halfway through to tell them of the latest Ravenclaw gossip: Moonbyul was dating the Gryffindor, Yongsun, or Solar. Jihyo had smiled as she had, but wasn’t surprised. Dahyun was. She’d known the two were close, but somehow she’d missed the other signs. Maybe she’d just not been looking closely. It wasn’t something for her to worry about. 

“Why aren’t you shocked?” Chaeyoung asked. “This is the big revelation for us. For me at least.”

“I was surprised yesterday.”

The girl’s eyes went wide. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope,” she waggled her eyebrows, “I see everything.”

Then the Ravenclaw’s gaze were drawn away. Dahyun followed it to the Slytherin table. Or more, towards the most reserved green-clad girl Dahyun had ever seen. 

“Liking her headband?”

“It’s new,” she muttered. Then her eyes widened. “I did not say that.” 

“You did.” They laughed. 

“Shut up!” She stood up. “I’m going, see you tomorrow.” Turning away, she all but flew at the dessert that had just appeared. 

“Cute.” Dahyun smiled. 

“More like shy,” Lisa muttered. “They’ll never happen at this rate.” She clutched her heart. “It’s my one wish for the year.” 

“Never give up!” Joshua laughed. “Who are we talking about?”

“People,” Dahyun replied. He gave her a look, but she just shrugged. 

Then it was time to go. She had a smile on her face. The food had helped with her nausea and she always enjoyed those lighter moments with her friends. However, she still felt really heavy. Looking around, she dug in her bag for a vial. Checking it was the right one, she sipped on the pastel blue liquid. The energy rush was small. Her stomach churned. She frowned. This batch was just two days old. 

“Kim—I mean, Dahyun.” 

She turned. Sana had straightened out her clothes, but her face was flushed. If she wasn’t imagining things, her makeup was a little off. Was it the lipstick?

“I can’t do today, sorry,” she said. “I have—“

“No problem.” She didn’t need to hear some excuse. Didn’t really want to hear it. 

She looked taken aback. “You’re fine with it?”

“Of course. No need to explain.” If she was tired, busy, or just fed up, Dahyun didn’t mind. “Night.” She turned away. There was a silence for three seconds. Then she heard Sana start to go back down the stairs. 

The walk went by with no students out of bed, but something felt off. She was still feeling sick, but it wasn’t even the weird feeling she’d usually gotten when the wakefulness draught went wrong. There she’d felt jittery, once she’d actually thrown up. But this weirdness was unbearable. It wasn't a bile-filled nausea or a complete fatigue. It didn’t make any sense. The bad sleeping draught should have worn off by now.

As she headed down the stairs, she felt like she was being watched again. She didn’t look around. It was probably one of the portraits. Their sleep schedule was sometimes even weirder than her own. 

She reached the stairs between two and three when the nausea spiked. Her energy plummeted.

The ground went out from under one of her feet. Pain erupted in her ankle, then her knee, arm, chest. She couldn't scream. She was falling so fast. Her arm was trapped underneath her and it broke in that moment. Then her head came into contact with something. She didn’t feel the pain. 

________

Author's Note

The accident in question has happened. Before that, we had an interesting potions class, which may or may not have been the reason for Dahyun feeling so weird... If there was anything unclear throughout it, she did indeed experiment with the Wiggenweld potion, one that both heals and energises you, and has her own version of it in her bag. 

Also, I was able to slip in a little Michaeng here, but also a small Saida moment. From the start, I felt like there are two slow-burn ships to be had here, although Michaeng might actually have a headstart. Saida, on the other hand, feels ambiguous for me! What do you think? Is there an element of something brewing between them, or is it just getting started? I know where they're going from here, but where they started feels odd to me, even though it seems to work when I'm writing it? 

Expect the next update sometime in the next few days, it might be Friday, though I'm not yet sure. I've got at least two or three other chapters that I wrote in a notebook, so it's just a matter of getting them in a document and editing that! 

Can't wait to hear (technically read) what you think in the comments. I'll see you in the next chapter!

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Thank you!
hblake44
Link to Chapter 17 if the other update didn't come through either.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vH6Xdi9Ow9ITnxwWY0VGuNYrEz_zc19ZMpeeZcbrwkc/edit?usp=sharing

Comments

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A_B_J_Ch #1
Chapter 28: I'm just going to take the last chapter as a happy ending. May as well add the "and they lived happily ever after" :)
I read in the comments below who was the culprit. And to be honest I had my suspicions with him.
With that being said, another great story. And even if it's discontinued, it's quality is better than most other on this portal.
gnpunpun
#2
oh man, i'm so sad this is discontinued. it's the first and only saida au based on harry potter i've found. thank you for the chapters, i see it's been two years? but i'll still subscribe if you ever decide to finish it.
----------------____
#3
Chapter 28: One of my fave Saida Hogwarts story!
Asianfanficreader1 #4
Chapter 28: I finally decided to read this chapter. When I received the update and I read it, I was very sad so I didn't want to read it. But now I'm here, with this pain and ending this.
Tysm
Asianfanficreader1 #5
Chapter 28: Is Sana? haha
37michaeng29
#6
Chapter 28: I'm a little sad "I just fell" was also discontinued.. but that's alright :] I hope you're healthy and having some rest time from school!
Btopinkforever
#7
Chapter 28: I haven’t been on aff for some time now and I’m glad I came back to see this last bit of one of my favorite stories. I just want to thank you for even coming up with a Twice Harry Potter story. Like my favorite book series and favorite group put together was amazing to read about. Also thank you to come back to explain why you’re discontinuing the story when you didn’t have to. Can I say one thing? Please don’t erase any of your stories or deactivate your account because what I see id your story is like a book/real life. A book that lets us the readers continue the story on our own. What I mean by real life is even if we die our stories will be continued by our children and their children and so on. So I hope you don’t feel bad for leaving this as it is. Now about who did everything to them... well I feel like it would be someone that is close to them because it’s usually like that in stories haha.
-XaRie- #8
Chapter 28: Thank you for giving us that closure. Not a lot of stories has me constantly checking for updates, but this one sure did. It was such a good read!

Since you ended it at that point, if you ever feel up to it, you could totally make a sequel for this. Even if you revealed where you want the story to go, I'm sure everyone in this comment section would still love to see it unfold.

(Also would like to know who)
gay4pineapples
#9
Chapter 28: this story was really cool but i understand..... have fun dawg :^))) i’ll check out ur other story, thanks for letting us know tho!!!!!

(also... who? i thought about it a couple days ago but i couldn’t put my finger on it lol)