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“White Lily Cookie?” Pure Vanilla Cookie opened the door to their secret greenhouse, brushing past the ivy that trailed up the walls and quietly closing it behind him. He spotted his friend at the other end of the room.
White Lily Cookie, stirring some slightly purple liquid, didn't look up as he approached. She was muttering to herself, numbers and ingredient names he guessed were for calculations.
“Hey Pure Vanilla Cookie.” She finally broke the silence after a few seconds, turning and looking at him. Her eyes were underscored with deep circles, hair unbraided and tangled. He guessed she'd been up nearly the whole night and part of the day.
“Um, it's lunch time. I thought I'd come see if you were here, given I haven't seen you at all in class today.” He frowned. “We had a really fun class in Magic App today. You should have been there. We got to practice shields and all sorts of defensive and offensive magic!”
White Lily Cookie seemed unbothered by this information. Pure Vanilla Cookie knew she would have very much enjoyed the class, but she was in one of her famous focus spells. Nothing would deter her until whatever she was doing had reached its completion.
Speaking of which…
“What are you working on?” Pure Vanilla Cookie asked, leaning forward. The slightly purple liquid had now turned pinkish.
“Something… something I need your help with.” White Lily Cookie said vaguely. She was looking at Pure Vanilla Cookie oddly. He didn't like the curious gleam in her eyes.
“Oh? What help do you need?” Was it potion ingredients or some sort of spell or-
“I need you to keep my behavior in check after I drink this potion.” She said matter of factly.
Pindrop silence.
“...What?” Pure Vanilla Cookie asked her, lost for words.
She smiled and laughed a little. “I guess you need more explanation than just that… I’m experimenting with love potions and-”
“Love potions!?” What on Earth was White Lily Cookie dabbling with love potions for? Everyone knew they were extremely illegal. Even making one could net you a hefty fine.
“I’m just curious. All the books I’ve read denounce love potions for being unethical, every text telling us to never use them, but none speak of how they feel. How fabricated love truly feels.” She smiled. “I just want to know, that’s all.”
Pure Vanilla Cookie felt his objections melting away faced with that smile. He shook himself, getting a grip on his mind.
“If anything goes wrong, we’ll be in some serious trouble. We’re already banned from the library for a week! I don’t want to get expelled…”
“Well, I guess we’ll have to take the risk. It’s already practically done.” She thought for a second. “Will they really get mad at us if we’re furthering our academic achievements and knowledge? It’s what we’re here at school to do!”
Pure Vanilla Cookie sighed in defeat. “That’s not it, Lily.”
She shrugged, then quickly turned and stirred the liquid more. Pure Vanilla Cookie had an idea of what it was now.
After a few minutes, and a lot of stirring, the potion was ready. It was a bright neon pink, smelling like nothing and yet everything. White Lily Cookie carefully poured it through a sieve into a beaker and held it up to her face. Light filtered through the potion, casting a pink tint on her face.
“It's perfect.” She said, a note of satisfaction in her voice.
White Lily Cookie walked over to the table in the center of the room and beckoned Pure Vanilla Cookie over.
“Okay, so.” She started. “I'll just have a tiny sip and we'll see what happens!”
She started lifting it to her lips, but Pure Vanilla Cookie stopped her. Something he should have realized sooner was dawning on him.
“This is a love potion.” He stated.
White Lily Cookie was a little confused. “Yes? I told you that already.”
“Love potions make you fall in love with whoever you see first.”
“Well yeah, that's kind of the concept, Pure Vanilla Cookie.” She said impatiently, eager to try it out.
Pure Vanilla Cookie stared at her, a blush creeping onto his face. “I'm the only one else here, White Lily Cookie.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, of course! Who else would I trust with this? You're not going to tell on me to a teacher, and you'll keep me from doing anything stupid!”
“But White Lily Cookie…” He didn't even know why he was acting like this. She was his best friend. Why did her being in love with him matter, especially since it was only temporary?
Actually, what was he doing? He shouldn't be letting her do stuff like this! She had literally just told him she trusted him to stop her from doing stupid things! This definitely counted as stupid!
He opened his mouth to voice this, but White Lily Cookie guessed what he was about to say. Quick as lightning she took a large gulp of the potion and set the beaker hard down on the table. The remaining liquid sloshed inside from the force of the action.
They stared at each other.
“...weren't you only supposed to take a sip?” He asked her.
She cursed, then grimaced.
“What's wrong!?” Pure Vanilla Cookie asked. He was already mentally calculating the distance from here to the infirmary. He was probably strong enough to drag her there, but it would depend if she resisted him or not-
“Potion had a weird aftertaste. So sickly sweet and yet horribly bitter at the end.” She looked around the room. “Witches, I need some water…”
“Here, I'll get some for you. Sit down.” Pure Vanilla Cookie hunted around for a bottle of water. They usually had some on hand, in case they stayed up late or missed meals. He found it and turned back around to see White Lily Cookie staring at him.
She wasn't looking at him expectantly or impatiently. She was looking at him as if she'd seen the moon and stars for the first time. Entranced, enamored.
“Hey White Lily Cookie… here you go.” He handed her the bottle. She looked at it, then at him, and smiled so brilliantly Pure Vanilla Cookie was sure his heart skipped a beat.
“Thank you Pure Vanilla Cookie.” She said softly. His name was whispered by her reverently.
Pure Vanilla Cookie didn't know how to feel. “Uh, White Lily Cookie, how are you feeling?”
“Completely fine!” She said cheerily. “Especially now that you're here.”
“But… but I just got here.”
“No no, I don't mean like that! I mean when you walked in to come check on me! Oh by the way, thank you for always coming to check on me. It makes me so happy to know you care about me so much! You're always coming here at all hours of the day, always knowing that I'm here. It's like we're telepathically linked or something! Is telepathic the right word? Doesn't that mean I can hear your thoughts? Oh that would be so wonderful, to listen to how you think! But then you'd hear mine… that would be so embarrassing!”
Her cheeks were turning tomato red. She was avoiding all eye contact, going as far as turning away from him. Pure Vanilla Cookie felt completely lost. He'd never in a million years think White Lily Cookie could act this way.
A thought crossed his mind. How long would she stay like this? She'd not taken a controlled amount, and he had no clue what the recipe she'd used was. If he could see that, he could maybe gain back a feeling of control.
“Hey, where's the book you used to make this potion?” He tried to ask casually.
She didn't notice his awkwardness. She laughed and pointed to the place where she'd been stirring the potion. He noticed an open spellbook sitting not too far from it.
“Thanks.” He walked over.
“Anything for you!” White Lily Cookie twirled a small strand of hair around her finger, smiling uncontrollably.
The page had a recipe, handwritten in small neat letters. Underneath was writing in a different hand.
“Love potion. DO NOT MAKE. Will result in severe infatuation of any nearby cookie after ingestion. Unethical and dangerous, not to mention highly forbidden. Not recommended for children.” Pure Vanilla Cookie read out loud. He sighed. “You just skipped right over the warnings, didn't you White Lily Cookie?”
“What?” Her voice asked from very close behind him. He gasped and spun around, surprised to see she'd snuck up behind him.
“Oh, sorry!” She said apologetically. “I was wondering what you were doing.”
“Just trying to figure out how long this will last.” Pure Vanilla Cookie told her.
White Lily Cookie waved a hand and laughed. “Oh silly! Don't you know? This is always how I've felt for you! I just needed the potion to give me some courage!”
Pure Vanilla Cookie blinked. “White Lily Cookie, do you not remember why you took the love potion in the first place?”
She stared at him blankly. “I gave you my reason already.”
“Yeah, but that's not the reason! You wanted to try out and see what love feels like! It wasn't specifically for me, it was so that you could expand your horizons or something!” He frowned, concern twisting in his heart. “Do you not remember?”
She seemed to hesitate for a second, a small flicker of something in her eyes, before she quickly snapped back to her lovesick state. “No, that's not it. It's fate! It was written in the stars! Or maybe the ground, because no stars we've observed have ever spelled out anything… Or our dough! Words engraved on our hearts! How cool would that be?”
Pure Vanilla Cookie sighed and turned back to the book, letting his friend ramble on and on. He searched the page for more information, but couldn't find anything. He flipped to the next.
“Don't take more than a few sips in one go, or else the effects of the magic may concentrate with time. Effects should last anywhere from two to five hours, depending on other factors and the type of cookie ingesting it. Works best when combined with some other type of food or drink.”
That last line wasn't morally dubious at all. It was like love potions were banned for a good reason. Crazy to think about.
Pure Vanilla Cookie couldn't stop worrying about the first line. White Lily Cookie had had much more than a few sips. She was quite fragile as well, which would surely exacerbate the effects.
He turned back to her. White Lily Cookie had gone to the other side of the room and was writing in her lab notebook. She had started humming a tune, however it was sung much like a seesaw moves, pitching up and down. Pure Vanilla Cookie looked back at the page for a third time.
“Note: Excessive ingestion or over-concentration may lead to consequences. If the potion drinker starts acting stranger than normal, or starts exhibiting symptoms similar to magical exhaustion (headache, fatigue, coughing up jam, fever, etc.), seek help immediately.”
Well, moldy crumbs.
Pure Vanilla Cookie walked over to White Lily Cookie. He saw that she was drawing hearts all across the page of her notebook, in rhythm with the song she was humming. Words were written on the page as well. It started as a normal journal entry, detailing the process of making the potion, but then devolved into scribbles unable to be understood. Obviously White Lily Cookie had been planning to document meticulously the effects of the potion. Pure Vanilla Cookie could imagine how mad she'd be when she regained her senses and realized she hadn't written anything productive.
That is, if she regained her senses.
“Hey Pure Vanilla Cookie!” She said, drawing out every syllable. She smiled goofily at him, eyes not exactly focused.
He stared at his friend, brought to this state by her own recklessness. A plan formed in his mind: get White Lily Cookie to the infirmary before something terrible happens.
“Hey White Lily Cookie! Why don't we go for a walk? You've been in this greenhouse for so long! Let's get some fresh air.”
She happily agreed and the two made their way towards the infirmary, White Lily Cookie completely oblivious to what was happening. She stumbled and laughed, acting like she was intoxicated on berry juice more than under the effect of a love potion. Pure Vanilla Cookie hoped he could spin their story to the teachers as a case of curious juice drinking rather than illegal potion making.
It was lunch, and students were roaming the grounds. They sent looks at the duo as they passed, which wasn't unnatural. While Pure Vanilla Cookie did have a few friends other than White Lily Cookie, she was practically a recluse. Many only knew her as the quiet student who aced every exam, ruined every grading curve, and never spoke to anyone except Pure Vanilla Cookie. Whenever the two interacted, many cookies watched to see how White Lily Cookie acted with someone who was closer to her.
“Hey, you look tense. Are you okay?” White Lily Cookie asked him, snapping Pure Vanilla Cookie out of his thoughts. He turned to White Lily Cookie, nodding. Her hand in his was warm, too warm.
Just a little bit more.
“Where are we going? I thought you said you wanted fresh air?” She questioned him as they stepped inside the Academy building. The infirmary was only down the hallway and to the left from there.
“Oh, um, I got a little cold. It's quite chilly out there, isn't it?” Pure Vanilla Cookie hoped she wouldn't question him. It was nearly summer, and the sun was shining bright and hot in the sky. Not his best lie, but he was extremely anxious at the moment.
“Yeah…” She suddenly stopped, causing Pure Vanilla Cookie to stumble a bit as she held him back from walking further.
“Pure Vanilla Cookie… I love you.” She said it so simply. Words meant to be said with so much weight, light as the spring breeze that blew through the gardens outside. Pure Vanilla Cookie wondered why anyone used love potions. Why settle for this false, disingenuous affection? Why, when real love was so much more rewarding and beautiful?
“You don't mean that, White Lily Cookie. You're under a spell, and we're going to get you some help to fix it.” He told her gently.
She frowned, tears starting to brim in her eyes. “But I do! I love you with all my heart! I love you more than the sea loves the moon, more than the wind loves the fire, more than truth loves freedom! How could these feelings be false? How could… how… I-”
White Lily Cookie pitched forward. Pure Vanilla Cookie caught her and barely managed to gently set her on the ground. She shuddered in his arms, eyes closed yet with an iron grip on his hand.
“White Lily Cookie! White Lily Cookie!” He shouted her name over and over again, but to no avail.
What was he supposed to do? Heal her? Get help? Call someone? Yes, call someone!
“Help! HELP!” He shouted down the corridor, hoping his voice would reach the infirmary. He tried dragging White Lily Cookie toward it, but could only manage a few inches before he had to take a rest. Tears brimmed in his eyes. Why was he so useless? Why couldn't he have stopped her earlier, when she was just about to take a drink? If only he'd come just a bit earlier, maybe he could've talked her out of it. If only…
By the time the healer came, rushing at the sound of someone calling for help, Pure Vanilla Cookie was barely coherent. He couldn't answer the healer’s questions of what had happened. He was overcome with worry at whether White Lily Cookie would be all right or not.
After that it was all a blur. White Lily Cookie was set down on one of the beds in the infirmary, and the healer ran a check on her. Pure Vanilla Cookie gripped onto her hand tightly, hoping that everything would turn out right.
As he watched her, something in his mind clicked into place. They would one hundred percent be in extreme trouble if the healer found the love potion in her system. They faced suspension, even expulsion for this. Their futures would be irrevocably ruined.
Unless…
He was a third-year student learning healing magic. He wasn't that far into his training, and currently he was not that great at it. But, if he could somehow direct some healing magic towards her, making her appear healthier or somehow hiding the extra magic in her, they could avoid consequences.
His heart rate picked up. His hands grew clammy. Doing this, tampering with his friend while she was receiving help, could have way more consequences than if he stayed quiet. It would be highly suspicious. Maybe they'd get off with a warning, or only a week's suspension. Maybe the healer wouldn't detect the potion. Maybe everything would turn out right.
But that was too many maybes for his liking.
He gripped White Lily Cookie’s hand tightly, feeling the power in him flow from his arm to his hand and away into White Lily Cookie’s dough. He was using just the barest trace of magic, enough to hide the effects of the potion behind a facade of health. Even this small action was quickly tiring him out however, and he anxiously looked at the healer to see if they'd noticed anything.
They frowned, tilting their head slightly as their magic passed over White Lily Cookie once more.
Pure Vanilla Cookie held his breath.
The healer stepped away from the two, going to the store of medicinal supplies and picking out one. They came back with a small bottle that Pure Vanilla Cookie recognized as sleep medication.
“She'll be fine, don't worry. It seems she had a pretty bad fever, but getting plenty of rest should do the trick.” The healer looked at Pure Vanilla Cookie dead in the eyes. “I know you two are friends. Please, make sure she rests even after she's healthy enough to leave. I don't want her to relapse.”
Pure Vanilla Cookie nodded. By the time White Lily Cookie woke up, the effects of the potion should’ve worn off.
He settled into the chair he'd placed by her bedside. It was going to be a long wait, but he didn't mind. In the meantime, he was going to plan an entire lecture for White Lily Cookie on why she shouldn't mess with dangerous potions and magic. It likely wouldn't stop her at all, but he hoped this experience would come back to her before she decided to do something like this again.