I'm alive! What great news, right?
I said I had plans for a fourth book, and although I still do, it isn't completely ready for publication yet. I want to be respectful of my fantastic readers (that's you!), so I don't want to start releasing chapters before I can do so consistently.
However, I don't want to bore you, either—so I'm giving you a sneak peek of the next installment! This is the first half of the first chapter, where you'll meet some new faces as well as familiar ones. I plan to start releasing the rest of the book in mid-August, so I hope you can hang on until then! Thanks for being such great readers!
The wind whistled gently through the abandoned street, the dripping clouds hanging over Godric's Hollow like a drenched tent flap. Muggles and wizards alike were walking briskly through the town, intent on getting home before the dusk could settle into total darkness. Most of the neighborhood stores were empty, and a few shopkeepers poked their heads outside to stare at the misty sky. After a single drop of rain fell onto one of the shop owners' noses, he stepped outside to face his storefront and pulled on the overhead awning, making it collapse with a clatter.
Crossing rapidly over the wet cobblestones, the pattering footsteps of the passersby signaled both the visible activity of the street and the invisible alike, for James Potter and Sirius Black were currently draped underneath the former's Invisibility Cloak as they rushed to the local flower shop. Both boys had grown several centimeters during the summer months, and the Cloak had gotten a little more cramped than before; however, if their pacing feet ever happened to slip out from the Cloak's cover, none of the other pedestrians took heed as they shielded their heads from the sprinkling rain.
After a few minutes, James and Sirius reached the flower shop and ducked inside while a bell jingled above their heads, the premises empty save for a petite witch dressed in a pale pink kimono. Dozens of flower arrangements lined the walls, the flora as crisp as the moist air outside, and James fought back a sneeze as a dozen different pollens hit his nose at once. Hearing the boys' entrance, the witch looked up from behind the front desk and watched as James and Sirius pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, shivering as they adjusted to the warmth of the cozy building.
"You should have waited until we went into the back," the witch admonished them in a high, monotone voice, taking a sip of the tea in her wrinkled hands.
"No one's out at this hour," Sirius scoffed, shaking out the Cloak before handing it to James, who quickly pocketed it. "It's not like anyone's going to see us."
Shrugging, the witch stood as James shook out his wild black hair and turned to her. "Is he here yet, Ms. Xu?"
"He's looting my supplies in the back," Ms. Xu replied shortly, beginning an unhurried pace to the curtain separating the Muggle-friendly section of the store from the back room.
After sharing a look, James and Sirius followed her behind the periwinkle curtain, soon spotting a squat, bandy-legged man where he was examining a green bottle that had once sat on one of the room's many shelves. Although Ms. Xu did not so much as open her mouth to reprimand him, the short wizard turned and disposed of the bottle so quickly that James wondered if he had ever in fact been holding it. The man had the lightest features of everyone in the room, his red hair distinctly brighter than the jet black heads of Ms. Xu and the boys, but nothing about his demeanor suggested friendliness. As with their last few meetings, James caught the distinct scent of tobacco and whiskey, which had been unnoticeable in the previous room's flowery aroma.
"Ah, you're here!" the wizard wheezed as if he had not been expecting James and Sirius, and his brown eyes darted around the room. "You have the money, don't ya?"
Reaching into their pockets without a word, James and Sirius each produced a handful of gold Galleons and dropped the coins into the wizard's waiting grasp.
"There you are, Mr. Fletcher," James announced unsmilingly.
"Oh, I've told you before to call me Mundungus," the short-legged man told him with a wave of his free hand, licking his lips as he fingered the gold. Breaking into a smile, he replaced the Galleons in his palm with a small, corked bottle and offered it to the boys. "Your death's-head hawkmoth chrysalis, as promised."
After grabbing the bottle, James carefully pulled off the top and examined the delicate insect pupa inside. Next to him, Sirius frowned and faced Mundungus.
"What about the Mandrake leaves?"
"Well, the market's going through some hard times," Mundungus told him, shrugging with an upturned smile. "It's difficult to find rare specimens at a time like this."
"Merlin's foot!" Sirius spat. "You should only get half of what we gave you!"
"The other ingredients will come, lads!" Mundungus insisted, his eyes bulging slightly. "Just be patient, now!"
"Sirius is right! You promised that you'd have the Mandrake leaves by now!" James agreed, putting the chrysalis aside. "I want our money back!"
"Now, hold on!" Mundungus pleaded, raising his hands. "I'll get the rest to you in no time at all! Consider the money a down payment on the rest of the delivery."
"Now, listen here, you old miser," Sirius growled, "you give us our money back, or we'll—"
"Keep it out of the shop, lads," Ms. Xu interrupted, watching the exchange with her arms crossed.
"If you don't give us our money back, we'll take you outside and square off there," Sirius corrected.
"All right, all right, there's no need to grow nasty!" Mundungus sniveled, taking a few Galleons out of his pocket and returning them to the boys, who counted them carefully.
"You're still not excused from the rest of the deal," James reminded Mundungus, narrowing his eyes.
"I would assume not, as long as you still agree to my pay," he grumbled, and the boys glared at him until he looked away. "Well, miss," Mundungus addressed Ms. Xu, "is there anything I can interest you in today?"
"If you still don't have anything better than a bag of eggplant seeds and a couple of Flobberworm caps, then you can stop thieving my shop," she told him, and he waddled towards the curtain with a small shrug. On his way out, Sirius grabbed Mundungus before he could jerk away, using their height difference to pull him close; even at fourteen, Sirius was a few centimeters taller than the grubby wizard.
"How much longer, then?" Sirius hissed. "A month?"
"At least two, Mr. Black!" Mundungus insisted with a voice like a greasy cog. "Give me until November, will you? Times are hard."
Shoving him away, Sirius allowed Mundungus to slink through the curtain as Ms. Xu stared after him.
"How can you stand him?" James demanded of the witch, gesturing towards the still-flapping fabric. "He's about the smarmiest fellow you can get!"
"You need a few keen-eyed contacts to run a place like this," she replied, motioning towards the shelves packed to overflowing with herbs, assorted animal parts, and other potion ingredients. "Unfortunately, Mundungus happens to be one of the keenest. Now, what do you have there?" she inquired, leaning over while James gave her the hawkmoth chrysalis. After examining the specimen closely, she turned and stashed the bottle on a shelf behind her. "Unfortunately, this is only useful in the last stage of brewing the potion. You still need the Mandrake leaves in order to start the process."
"Mundungus said that he should have them by November," James interjected. "If he does, we can start as soon as we come back for the holidays!"
"Perhaps," Ms. Xu said with her usual amount of disinterest, though a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth when she saw James' excitement. "I'm sorry there's not any more I can do. Now make sure you get to your homes in time for dinner, or you'll be missed. We'll discuss my payment when the time comes for brewing."
"Thanks, Ms. Xu!" James and Sirius answered on their way through the curtain, waving as Ms. Xu levitated a broom with a wave of her hand and made it dance across the floor.