The next morning, Albus woke to the noise of a tapping on the window on his bedside. Waking up, h saw that there was a bird on his window. However this was not an owl as he was used to, but rather a golden brown plumaged eagle. Albus thought "These people sure have their regalities sorted."
The eagle was almost the same size as an owl, but there were differences. Firstly, instead of the usual dark brown or hazel speckled eyes, this creature had strikingly blue eyes. Also, he wore a simple yet elegant looking collar made of some purple cloth. He had never seen an owl with a collar and it looked strange to him. Thirdly was the way in which the bird carried itself. Far from the proud bearing of an owl, it held itself with ease, yet looked deadly, like the bird of prey it truly was.
Albus called the bird to him and noticed that it had a scroll tied to its leg. Retrieving the scroll, Albus raised his hand to awkwardly pat the bird. He seemed to like it and leaned back into his touch, giving a soft hoot of pleasure.
Albus searched through his bag of something to give the bird. He found an owl treat and gave it to the bird, which seemed to like it and after finishing it off, nibbled his fingers appreciatively before soaring out of the window.
Albus opened the scroll after carefully breaking the seal. In it, he saw written in a stylized script,
My greetings to you, Mr. Potter
I take this opportunity to welcome you to our country and my home. I trust your journey from England had been pleasant. The journey from Jaisalmer to Sreenagar will take all of three days, but I am sure that you will not find your journey tedious. Your transport has been provided with all necessities, and should you need anything at all, please ask your escort Mansoor, for it will be a pleasure for him to serve you.
I would also like to take this opportunity to give you a brief Introduction to the event you have come to attend. The Jashn-e-Ulema is a gathering of eminent scholars and artists from all over the world. It aims at diversifying magic and creating a friendly and erudite environment for mutual interchange. It is a humble effort from the Indian Magical Community to be more engaging and enthusiastic towards the developed of better international magic cooperation, and I personally believe that England could not have chosen a better Ambassador for itself. Your work is well known among the highest magical literary circles of the world, where it is being celebrated as some of the greatest work done by any modern scholar, and your presence has filled our hearts with immense joy. Your presence will elevate the standard of our humble endeavor to even greater glory.
All in all, I would like to welcome you to our country. It is a great privilege for us to have you here and I hope that you will be able to reap all the benefits we have envisioned for us in the days in to come.
Until we meet again,
His Royal Highness,
Maharajah Ranvijeet Singh.
Below the letter, he saw the official seal of the Indian Magical Federation, along with the signature of the King.
Albus sat down and penned a short reply to the king, thanking him for his courtesy, and assuring him that his stay has so far been very comfortable.
After sealing the letter, he went down, where he saw that Mansoor was already up and about, bustling to get his breakfast ready.
"Good Morning Mr. Potter. I trust you slept well last night"
"Quite well, Thank you, Mr. Ali."
"We shall be crossing over the famous fields of Punjab, Mr. Potter. By nightfall, we will have crossed the five rivers, and will be on the way to Ladakh, after which we will reach Sreenagar."
"I see. Is there anything else that might interest me?"
"Punjab is famously known as the Land of the Five Rivers. These rivers, the Jhelum, Sutlej, Ravi, Beas and the Chenab have watered the fields of Punjab for eons. The region is famous for its golden wheat and Mustard fields and is known as The Granary of India."
"Fascinating. Do these rivers hold any magical significance to India?
"Oh yes, indeed. These rivers also hold a vast deposit of precious herbs like Asphodel, Chervil, Water Chestnut and one of the most important magical Herbs in Indian Healing Practices. Known as Manikah, or The Jewel Herb, it acts as a potent restorative agent in many Indian Healing Potions and salves. It is harvested from a type of fern that grows only in the base of the Sutlej River. It is greatly prized as an ingredient in restorative draughts and can be lethal in the improper doses."
Albus was intrigued "How is it harvested?"
"It can only be harvested on the nights of the full moon and on the New moon day. However, both of these have different properties. The full moon herb, called the Purnima Manikah, is more commonly new moon variety or as it is locally known, The Amawasya Manikah is not that easily found, as it is difficult to collect it. You see, it is destroyed if it comes in contact with Artificial Light, be it magical even in Nisakhi light forms like LED and Torches. Hence it is difficult to harvest. Also, it is generally found near the homes of water dwellers, who don't like to be disturbed when they rest and encounters always turn out to be very nasty indeed."
"Nisakhi?"
"The term used for non-magic people. I assume they are referred to as something else in your country"
"Yes, we call them Muggles"
That got him a weird look by the Indian man, who shook his head, muttering something to himself.
Leaving the Indian to his thoughts, Albus walked through the apartment, thinking about what he just heard. This jewel herb seemed to be something that was highly priced in the country.
His work as a magic researcher had made him come across many strange things. This certainly looked like one of them.
Moving to the study, he saw that there was a large bookshelf on the side. He walked up to it, saw a book on medicinal herbs, and began reading.
"Manikah or Manikya is the name given to the precious herb found in the depths of the Sutlej and Beas. Fused with amazing restorative properties, it has the amazing ability to restore even the most fatal of injuries. However, in large doses, it can cause Paralysis and even death"
Hmm... interesting. He thought this thing's properties resembled that of Wolfsbane, Incredibly useful for brewing potions for Werewolves, but simultaneously lethal to them as well.
He thought about his initial years as a Potioneer. His biggest success was creating a tastier and more effective variety of the Blood-Replenishing Potion. In fact, if it were not of his other interests, he would have surely found a calling as a healer, but many things happened, chiefly, Renelle.
He met her when they both had taken up Summer Internships at a popular Apothecary in Hogsmeade . She was his lab partner, and one of his closest companions. She was fun to be with, and knew about her stuff well. It was only for the fact that she died after an accident that still scarred Albus, both literally and figuratively.
"Could you please hand me the bottle of Ashwinder Dust, Al?"
"Sure. However, would you like to tell me what on earth are you working on, Ms. Severus-snape-the-second?" he teased.
"Nah, and anyway, YOU are hardly in a position to talk, Mr. Albus Potter. When was the last time you went on a date?"
"Touché, my friend." He agreed.
"Seriously, we're a fine pair, aren't we? At this rate, we'll both march our ways right into Bachelors for Life Anonymous, eh Al? Fancy the title of being Fair, Fat, and Forty?" she supplied with a grin as she continued to measure her ingredients while watching the simmering potion in the cauldron. Multitasking, he thought with a grin. Leave it to the women.
"I don't think we're over the hill yet, Nell. We're both barely in our twenties, and still dating has never been a priority for us, has it?"
"Nope.", she said, chuckling heartily.
Al wasn't quite sure what happened after that. He turned around, was about to pick up a ladle when his world exploded.
He was thrown about 50 feet away, where stood he saw a pile of brown ash and the silhouette of what was once his best friend.
It still hurt him every time he thought of it. Renelle was in many ways his closest companion, and he felt responsible for her death. Even though, the fire, by no means was his mistake, but he still felt Guilty, as he felt that was him who supposed to die that day.
It was her death that made him join The Department of Mysteries. He wanted to know whether it was him or fate that caused her death, and even though he made peace with it, it still hurt, like an old wound that refused to heal, festering away.
Albus thought of his work at the ministry. His father was obviously very subtle and discreet, for he never for a second assumed that he was being watched Also, his work required a lot of solitary time, which he assumed was not completely solitary but he had expected that. He worked with ancient documents and manuscripts, and always expected that here would be someone around to help pick up the pieces if something went terribly wrong. In fact, Gamberworth told him that there was special security around the Atrium, as mishaps keep occurring"(Mishaps my arse ",he snorted.)
But nothing ever happened. Albus Potter was a wizard of great caliber, and in a few months managed to prove that he was no blundering fool, that he knew the implications of any errors, however marginal. He knew what his job entailed, it was what he had to do and people discovered that he was very good at it. This earned him the respect of his seniors, his peers, and his Boss, who always deferred from assigning him menial tasks, a great leap in his book.
Slowly, the sun set on another day, and as Albus made his way under his Covers, he thought "One day gone only 29 to go.."