Chapter 2- Potions and Memories
After dinner and the dishes had been washed, dried, and put back into their respectable cupboards, Nema ascended the stairs, daydreaming of the sleep that she longed to get. Serrenia had gone into the living room and was attempting to develop Sapphire�s potion skills even more than they had been. She knew that watching would be quite boring for her, so she had planned on getting a good night�s sleep for once. Opening her door and shutting it behind her, she made her way over to her bed and flopped down, her face landing in her pillow. She normally didn�t sleep in her clothes, but she was too exhausted to even think about changing. Flipping over onto her back, she sighed and yawned widely, her eyes already growing heavy. Soon her breathing had calmed, and she headed off to the valley of dreams.
Back down stairs, Serrenia was attempting to teach Sapphire how to make a complex healing potion that supposedly could bring someone on the edge of death to complete health in under a half-hour� if it was made right.
�Good, now add the asphir root powder,� Serrenia instructed, watching as her student carefully measured out the crushed root. Already a step ahead, Sapphire now took out the last ingredient, a pinch of Bhunitt leaves, and mixed it in. A puff of green smoke rose up towards the ceiling and slowly disappeared.
�Very good!� Serrenia praised, coming over and examining it. �Now that wasn�t that hard, now was it?� She shook her head, a small blush coming over her. Serrenia only gave out praise when someone truly deserved it.
�Now for a treat, I�ll let you pick the next one we do,� she promised Sapphire. �Except love potions, of course, as I�ve already told you before. Any ideas on what you�d like to try?� Slowly the room grew quiet. Sapphire was deep in thought. She knew which one she�d like to say, but if she did say it, she might get herself into things she didn�t want to be in. How would she be able to get herself out of trouble if she said that she wanted to learn a remembrance potion? She looked up at Serrenia who was deep in her own thoughts� or so it appeared. As she watched, she frowned and then gave her a weird look. Sapphire knew that look. She�d been aura reading. And not just any aura, but hers. However, she could tell that she was surprised that she couldn�t get at the things she wanted to. Sapphire mentally smiled. So Nema was right, there were blocks that could be put up when need be that could keep even Serrenia out.
�Or you know what, let�s call it quits today. You�ll need a good nights� rest for school tomorrow,� Serrenia announced, changing her mind.
�Ok,� Sapphire agreed, although she did not voice how much she didn�t want to go back the next day. They cleaned up the small mess that had been made and cleared everything from the small table.
�We�ll start a new potion tomorrow,� Serrenia promised. �Goodnight.� �Goodnight,� Sapphire echoed, stifling a yawn. She made her way over to stairs and clambered up them, tripping on her feet every three steps or so. Wow, she hadn�t realized she�d been this tired. Finally reaching the top, she opened her door to her room, went inside, shut the door quietly behind her, and tip toed her way over to her bed, being careful not to be too loud. She lay down and shut her eyes almost at once, entering the world of dreams.
Back down stairs, Serrenia was sitting on the couch in the living room, deep in thought. The things that had gone on that day were etched in her mind and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn�t seem to be able to take her thought away from them. Nothing had gone right that day, from work to home to her adopted family. And to top it all off, she was on call 24-7. And then there was the part no one knew except her.
Quietly, she stood up and listened for any noises from the bedrooms. Hearing nothing, she deemed it safe and crossed the room to the bookshelf.
�Three left� two up� tap five times� and pull�� she recited in her mind. Following the directions and starting at the second shelf down from the right side, she found a medium sized book with a blue-green cover. She tapped it five times and pulled towards her, closing her eyes. There was a large �SWOOSH� and when she reopened her eyes, she found that she was on the other side of the bookcase. Smiling slightly at her delight in remembering the correct combination, she looked around. She was in her old study, the one she had used before the end of the Dark Lord. Larger than probably the whole house, it had been enchanted to fit into a small space. Once upon a time it had been filled with potions of every kind, spell books, strange objects, and many other things she had used to try and bring about His fall.
She shuddered, remembering all the lives that had been lost during that time. So many innocent lives and all had been used as pawns to get what He�d truly desired. And in the end, she had been powerless to stop Him. Being only half-immortal, she could still be killed. And although she lived far longer than normal, she had almost died at His hands.
Shaking her head, she wandered past an old case of glass that had once held the Book of Forbiddens in search of the small key she�d hidden long ago. Or at least, it seemed so very long ago. She remembered suddenly where she had put it, and walking briskly over to a table of old potion bottles, she quickly mixed the only two bottles full of liquid together in a small bowl, leaving a good deal of their respectable potions still in their containers. She then reached into the bowl and pulled out a small silver key. Snapping her fingers, the mess quickly disappeared, leaving no trace of them being disturbed.
She then made her way to a bare patch in the wall. Her keen, grey eyes searching closely for the keyhole, she found it after some time of searching. She was just about to put the key in when she felt a strange presence in the room with her. She spun around, on her guard to face any attacker.
Yet no attack came. Instead, it just hovered around the room, waiting for something. Serrenia was puzzled. There were definitely two separate beings there, yet there was only one soul, one main aura. Wait, she�d seen this before. She suddenly recognized the presence, the presence of a half-soul pair. Yet such things were impossible. There were no half-souls living in AP, not one. And on Earth, there were only three pairs. Two of those were infants still and would have no idea of their other half dwelling within them for at least a few more years. The other pair was about to die of old age and had not the energy to make it to AP from there. AP and Earth were the only two worlds known to be able to have and support a pair of half-souls.
And not only that, for some reason she recognized the one that was in the room with her. But from where? Where had she felt this presence before?
Frowning, she turned once more to the keyhole and slipped it inside. Turning it to the right, a soft �click� could be heard, and a door suddenly became outlined against the once solid wall. Looking behind her once more, she tried to discover the intentions of the two beings, but was unable to do so. Willing, though, to take the chance, she whispered the password and the door swung inwards. Deeming that those to whom the aura belonged would not cause any harm, she drifted in to the small room. The insides were bare, with the exception of a small solid stand made of black obsidian in the center of the room. A blue light fell on the top of it from the ceiling, giving light to the two small objects that lay on its surface. Beneath each of these, names were initialed: �NMB� and �SMG�.
Examining the two pink objects with glee, Serrenia smiled at her own simple brilliance. They were still intact. Someday, when perhaps Nema and Sapphire were ready, she would share these with them. The memories� owners had truly known both girls� parents very well, considering everything that had occurred to say the least. She was still surprised that they still had remembered their names with all the things they had been through during their lives. Stepping back slightly, she recalled how much fun she had had making those memory containers.
They had been formed by a mix of complex spells and potions, creating a memory base within these strange objects that fed off of the memories that were created as they had lived their lives. Not only had it taken all their memories from all of their lives, but it had also collected them up until and including their deaths.
Feeling the presence move toward her once more, she stiffened, turning around to face it. She stood there, gazing out into the darkness behind her, trying to make out a shape. Suddenly it came forwards, passing her on her right. It stopped next to the stand, apparently staring at the memory containers. Serrenia suddenly noticed a change in the aura before her. It seemed to be� almost sad, like mourning for or about something. Something hit her memory like a brick against glass, and she recalled where she�d felt that aura. But that was impossible, both of them had died. There was no way that they could return; their particles were floating among the different worlds, gone forever.
The air from where the half-soul pair was standing shimmered, and suddenly two outlines appeared, very faint and distant, as if it was a struggle to bring even a slight shape to their form. Serrenia gasped and took a step away. As used to the strangeness of life as she was, nothing could have prepared her for this. It truly was them, the pair that she�d known and been friends with during their lives.
A pair of dark blue eyes lifted themselves to look at her, and she couldn�t help but tremble in fear. She�d know those eyes anywhere, so dark and mysterious. She saw a pair not so unlike those every day. Another pair leveled their eyes with her, and she couldn�t help but remember how happy the two had been. But now their eyes seemed to be filled with sadness and grief.
This wasn�t possible; she must be seeing things. She shook her head and shut her eyes. There was no way that this pair could be who she thought they were, both had died a long time ago. But as she looked back to where they had been standing, both half-souls had disappeared.

On to Chapter 3!