Without Water

For lack of a better phrase; Potter's cottage was sickeningly picturesque.

Draco didn't believe places like this should literally exist outside of fairy tale illustrations of the most saccharine kind. For the most part it was the sort of place featured in paintings of quaint little hamlets who's only redeeming quality was looking nice in pictures of quaint little hamlets. The unusual nature of the front entrance and tower only made it more sugar-laden and merely spoke of a magical inhabitant rather than a Muggle one. Were Draco a child the sight might have made him gag, but he was far too mature to display those things outwardly anymore. He could, however, continue to placate himself with them mentally.

From the gate path there was absolutely no mistaking that the main entrance and only tower was a gigantic tree trunk just over twenty feet in diameter, especially when some of the branches had been left as-is. The trunk was free of bark from top to bottom and expertly lacquered in a way that only allowed the wood's natural beauty through. The branches that had been left held lanterns, string-hung multicolored bottles of potions that required sunlight to set properly, the occasional potted plant that draped flowers like fireworks, herbs and creature bits that had been put out to dry, and the sign to Potter's business by the door. As the trunk rose it got progressively thinner, though it was still large enough to have a comfortable room at the top story. As if to illustrate that Potter hadn't killed the tree himself there was a long black scar in it that was obviously caused by a lightning strike and must have been the tree's undoing. The scar actually served as a sort of decoration in and of itself.

The rest of the structure to the side of the trunk was square with a solid stone foundation and half-timber from there up, both of which were dwarfed by the tree, which raised another story above it. The roof was thatched and looked very new as if it had just been redone to prepare for winter. A large bay window graced the front of the building just between the trunk and a large and angled chimney that formed the corner. In the window was a pretty display of products offered in eye-catching arrangements. The chimney had shimmering teal smoke coming out of it that smelled of pine and myrrh, and Draco immediately knew Potter must be brewing his own version of Amortentia – famed for the ability to make one merely aware of their existing feeling for someone and lower awareness of others without impeding judgement. A sort of True Love potion.

As a slight breeze went by Draco could smell the herb gardens and flower beds in the back and hear the buzzing insects and multi-colored potion bottles hung on strings to dry after being washed tinkling against each other like chimes.

It was definitely NOT the sort of place a celebrated Potioneer should live, nor did it look like any decent Apothecary Draco had ever been to; those had all been dark and dreary and full of smelly jars containing bits of no longer (if they were very lucky) living animals. THIS looked like an elderly witch's Divination and Flower Shop. If he didn't know any better Draco would expect to open the door and be mobbed by overly affectionate cats; each of which with a unique name and personality that their owner would talk to you about at agonizing length over heavily sweetened lemonade.

Draco had never been here before; he had never had cause to be. Once he heard of Potter's mad business venture he made it a point to avoid his shop at all costs and hired only those whose work he was familiar with and trusted. Unfortunately Potter had turned out to be exceptionally skilled at his new craft when he put his mind to it, blast him, and Draco was forced here upon his mother's insistence that Malfoys only hired the absolute best. After he had purged a rather large lake of deliberate poisoning on the grounds near a Muggle village in the spa of a day, making memory charms exceedingly easy for the ministry who only had to make it seem as if the Muggles had merely forgotten the date, Potter had proven himself the best.

If only Draco had been able to pursue his chosen career after the war it would have saved him the humiliation of buying potions from someone he used to throw bits of bat spleen at in class. However the world is not perfect and Lucius's nervous breakdown just after their exoneration had left him unable to perform all of the duties the family head was responsible for. Draco had been forced to accept it all: running the Manor and grounds, handling their rental properties, delegating tasks for the businesses, the wineries, philanthropy, hosting political events; all of it. The accounting alone was a full-time job and left Draco no time whatsoever for training in anything else he might want to do. He had to drop everything and take care of his family and home.

Thus he had no choice. No other profession in the world knew how to deal with his problem better than Potioneers, who needed the purest water possible to brew even the most basic of things. Potter was the best Potioneer in Europe (that didn't deal in anything Dark, and was known to hex anyone that asked him to viciously comedic effect), and Potioneers were the best at purifying water, so it stood to reason there was no one better to hire for this job

He took a deep, suffering breath and walked through the door.

The first thing that hit him was the wonderfully familiar scents and sounds of a truly exceptional apothecary. He could hear live and healthy animals in the rooms beyond, but did not smell any of the unpleasant odors that generally accompanied poorly-kept stock. Herbs, pollens, syrups, and mineral scents wafted toward the area to fill in what little of the heavily scented air that had been let outside by Draco's opening the door. The ringing of the shop's bell was light and unobtrusive as it was made of silver and not iron or heavy brass. Even though it was Potter's voice that said it the friendly, "Be with you in a moment!" was a polite and welcome sound to Draco's ears after the week he'd had researching his problem.

Perhaps he had been mistaken in so hastily judging the outside. The fact that something looks sickeningly sweet does not necessarily indicate fault in functionality.

Only after he came down off that short high did he notice he was standing inside the hollowed-out tree, which had been carved out to be the main lobby of the shop for the lowermost floor. Shelves and hooks near the entrance for customers to put their cloaks upon entering were within easy reach. Draco saw that they were clean enough for even his standards and hung his slate grey cloak. To his right was a wonderful staircase and beautifully detailed railing that had been carved in one solid piece out of the tree and spiraled gently up the sides to the two floors above, though the entrance had been gated. Potter obviously lived upstairs and kept shop on the ground level. A bit of the core of the tree had been kept whole, standing through the center like a pole. It was as tall as the tower and provided a spiral-shelved display of the crystals and gems, salts and minerals, herbs and flowers, bits of animals, and miscellaneous resins that were the most common ingredients. Higher up faceted crystals had been hung on pegs in a way that meant there would always be rainbows dancing around the whole room if the sun shown at all.

Even Draco had to admit it was attractive once you got in the place.

Being schooled in such things, Draco momentarily spotted a House Elf that popped very quickly out of his view while tending a display. Were they at work in the Manor that would have been punished – never being seen was important. The house was supposed to appear as if it looked after itself.

After a moment of browsing Draco noticed a dark coiled shape in a small opening above the counter displays. He leapt back a little before realizing, a bit too late to save face, that it was not an adder: it was a smooth snake that merely resembled one.

Draco frowned and grumbled at it. "Are you the theft alarm, then?"

"No, she's a bloody nuisance. That's where I normally display rock salts." Draco turned toward the cut-out counter where Potter was regarding him lazily. "I don't even know how she got in here, but she's a protected species and not dangerous, so I'm not really allowed to chase her out until after she's finished her pregnancy." He looked to the snake and she tipped her head toward him, flicking her tongue at him in what Draco could have sworn was a baiting gesture. He frowned and hissed at her in parseltongue. "It wouldn't be so annoying if she wasn't so bloody rude. I'm just glad none of my customers can understand what she's saying. Anyway, what can I help you with, Malfoy?"

Turning away from the snake, Draco faced his old rival the way he would any other business owner. "I have a very large commission for you, Potter. The aquifer under Malfoy Manor grounds has been contaminated by Muggle pollution; factory runoff if I'm not mistaken." Though he was trying not to, Draco could still hear venom in his voice as he spoke of the problem. He was so incensed he wasn't really paying attention to Potter himself, just the solution he represented. "Though the source is many miles away it has had significant time to reach us through joined flows in the rock. It has made everyone ill and we have been forced to import water from other sources. I need to know if you can purify the aquifer and devise some way of either sealing it from any further contamination or purify it regularly from now on."

Potter winced and nodded. He set his current project down and wiped his gloved hands on a towel. "That IS a big problem. I'll need a sample of the water-"

"Please," Draco snorted derisively and presented the bottle he had brought with him.

Rather than take offense Potter merely took it with a nod. "And I'll need to know the depth and extent of the aquifer, along with what symptoms everyone has been experiencing."

Draco handed over the aquifer map he had contracted be drawn up prior to coming here and the pertinent records from their Healer. "Anything else, Potter?"

As he reviewed the physician's documents, Potter began to frown. "This doesn't sound like anything chemical. Are you sure it isn't a biological contaminate?"

"St. Mungoes tested the water and all of us for that already; no viruses or bacteria sufficient to cause our symptoms were found. Something they couldn't identify was, though, and it turned all of their vials black. If it isn't a disease what else could it be?" he asked.

Potter carefully took the stopper off the bottle of sample water and inhaled gently, then ducked under his counter to retrieve something and poured a small amount into a flat container. To that he added two drops of something green, which went clear.

Potter looked pointedly at Draco and carefully took in his appearance. Draco didn't bother trying to look aloof or sturdy – that would have worked against him in this particular situation.

After a bit, Potter motioned Draco to follow him back into the shop. A wave of his wand and the door that led beyond the counter was unlocked. "Not pollution. Though I should probably see if I can seal for that anyway as a preventative measure, your water sources ought to be too far away from Muggle industrial areas for that to be a significant problem given the size of the estate, and Muggle laws are getting more stringent as time goes by on contaminating water sources anyway. If your water was effected it would certainly alert the Muggles too if the aquifers were connected, and the Muggle Minister would be legally required to alert you to the risk."

Draco complied and walked through the trunk into the deeper areas of the shop, following Potter past his assortment of stock. It was nicely arranged; clean, organized properly, and had clarifying incense burning in every corner to try and minimize the overpowering smells. Even though he lived in a magical family in a magical house, even he had to admit the whole effect was above his usual level of obvious. It was all very witchy and pleasantly exotic. Not many Apothecaries were designed for both function and aesthetics, but Potter had done it well, or at least hired someone else to do it for him.

"So it's a mystery, then."

"Come back into the kitchen, Malfoy." Potter said as he plucked a few things off his shelves and began to toss them into a fine mesh bag.

"Why?"

"Because the symptoms obviously haven't faded much yet and you look like you could use some tea," Potter answered easily. He motioned to a room further down the hall and Draco agreed hesitantly. It only took a moment for Potter to steep what he had concocted in the little bag and pass it over to his customer, though he had waved his wand over it as well and muttered something Draco hadn't heard clearly.

Draco inhaled carefully before accepting the dark and earthy brew. He reluctantly agreed that Potter did indeed make good tea as well. He tasted cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and ginger in perfectly balanced amounts and it did seem to ease his stomach almost immediately, which the herbs could not have done on their own. "Do you have an estimate for your work?"

Potter shook his head thoughtfully. "I can't do that accurately without first discovering the actual problem and what time and resources it will take me to solve it. Do you mind giving me a few days to test the water thoroughly?"

"If you need to," Draco agreed. "I must say you've surprised me, Potter. You've been oddly civil with me; especially given you currently have no other customers to witness your manners."

And then Potter laughed, and it didn't sound mocking at all. "I'd like to think I've grown up in the past three years since we've met. Besides, I was ready for a distraction. I usually brew on Fridays, so I wasn't expecting any customers-"

"I wasn't aware," Draco said sincerely. "I apologize for the interruption, then."

Potter waved the apology off politely. "You clearly didn't know, so I don't mind. This sounds pretty serious anyway, so I wouldn't mind even if you did know. In any case I'll be sending a week's worth of that tea home with you for your family. Consider it complimentary for such a big order. Were your House-Elves affected?"

Draco hesitated. He hadn't thought to ask, and the silly things always hid their illnesses incredibly well, like cats. "I'm not certain, but they do drink the same water we do."

"And your tenants on nearby properties?"

"They have other water sources. The aquifer is exclusively for the Manor and surrounding farmland."

If Potter was annoyed that Draco hadn't thought to inquire as to the elves' health he didn't show it. "How long have you been drinking imported water and not the aquifer water?"

"A week or so."

Potter's brow furrowed and Draco was beginning to wonder if he shouldn't take his family back to hospital. "And the symptoms haven't faded?"

"No, but they haven't worsened since we stopped drinking that water either."

"Good," Potter nodded. "Let me know if either happens immediately; to anyone. Now, how many House-Elves are there?"

Draco did know the answer to that one, though he wouldn't if he hadn't been in charge of keeping the records now. "There are twenty-three in all. Though two have died recently they were old and it was quite sudden, and the others informed me they might have had either heart attacks or strokes. I've no reason to suspect anything other than natural causes."

Potter ticked off something on his fingers and went to his shelves. While Draco finished his tea Potter gathered, packed and sorted. He came back with two boxes of loose tea. "This box is for you and your parents, and this is for the elves. Make sure everyone has two cups of it every day – one at dawn and another at dusk. It helps purge contaminants from the body, so it might have the effect of diarrhea-"

"Thanks for telling me that after I drank it," Draco hissed sourly and pushed the empty cup away.

Potter paid him no mind. As he spoke he had a quick quotes quill scribbling his instructions down on parchment. "Use two tablespoons of the tea for each of you and two teaspoons for the elves. I'll send more if your symptoms get worse. If this isn't from natural, chemical, viral, or bacterial causes, I'll have to consider magical."

Draco let his eyes narrow dangerously. "You think it may be deliberate."

"I can't rule it out yet," Potter said darkly. "If I find anything to confirm it I'll contact the Aurors and let you know immediately. Don't use the aquifer for anything whatsoever until I know what's going on. Don't even eat or sell what it's been used to water in the fields. I'll get back to you the moment I have more information."

Draco stood and nodded curtly to him, deciding to use his proper title this time. "Thank you, Potioneer Potter."

"You're welcome, Lord Malfoy," he answered in kind, though there was a slight smirk in his tone. "You should probably get home now. Quickly."

Draco only allowed a small glare before he apparated with the boxes.