Dogweed and Deathcap
Every couple of hours, James put up with the acid-like medicine that Madam Pomfrey applied to his chest, wishing that he could join his teammates on the Quidditch pitch instead. Stuck in the hospital wing for all but a few minutes per day, he took short walks up and down the hallway to exercise his legs while staring out at the windy school grounds and watching his teammates practice. Once the weekend had passed and classes began again, Sirius and Peter gave James their notes so he could keep up with homework while still bed-ridden, and the distraction helped keep his mind off of the recent Quidditch match. However, more importantly, Sirius and Peter would sneak James information about Animagi that they had discovered without him. Due to the public nature of the hospital wing, they could not discuss their findings openly, especially when Madam Pomfrey was present, but they managed to sneak in a few hushed conversations when the matron disappeared in the back room.
"I found an excerpt on Mandrakes in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi," Sirius whispered to James during one of his visits, slipping him the textbook. Opening it, James flipped through the book until he found the marked page.
"Their leaves are supposed to be used in the Animagus Potion," Peter explained, "but they're really rare. I've never seen any Mandrakes in Diagon Alley before."
"Hogsmeade is sure to have them!" James assured the others. "There are dozens of wizarding shops there."
"Just like Diagon Alley," Sirius pointed out under his breath, but James shook his head.
"We'll find what we need, I'm sure of it!" he promised. "The trip is this weekend, and Madam Pomfrey says that I'll be out by then. Before Saturday, you should double-check that you've written down all the potion ingredients."
"I don't see why you can't do any of the work!" Sirius complained when James shoved the book back into his arms. "You've been sitting in bed all day!"
"It hurts to read," James grunted, clutching his stomach and giving an exaggerated moan. After sharing an unenthused look with Peter, Sirius dumped One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi back onto the cot and turned around.
"Ouch! Hey!" James exclaimed when the book fell on his bruised ribs, but his roommates were already running towards the door of the hospital wing.
Shoving the book aside with a glare, James decided to put off his assignment until nightfall, when he could read without the fear of Madam Pomfrey questioning him. By the next morning, Remus had returned, but Sirius and Peter said that he was still weak from the full moon and now had a dozen or more assignments to catch up on, prohibiting him from visiting James. Early on Saturday morning, however, all three of James' roommates arrived to witness his release from the hospital wing just in time for the trip to Hogsmeade.
Brow furrowed, Remus was the first to reach James' bedside, where Madam Pomfrey was examining his ribs on last time. "Are you all right?" Remus asked, glancing down at James' bandages.
"Don't let these fool you," James told him, standing still as the school matron prodded him with her wand. "Madam Pomfrey says I'm all better now. She was just about to take these off. In fact, I should be asking how you're doing."
"I'm all right," Remus replied with a wan smile, and Madam Pomfrey vanished James' bandages with a flick of her wrist. Quickly pulling his shirt on, James started for the door with his roommates.
"I don't want to see you in here again on account of a little rain," Madam Pomfrey warned him, and he waved a thank-you over his shoulder.
"It's a shame about the match," Remus said as he and the others rounded the corner. "I know a spell that might have helped to make your glasses waterproof."
"If only you had been there to help," James moaned. "You'll have to teach it to me before my next match. I'd rather take detention with Professor Slughorn than go through that again."
"You'll have to thank me for not telling Morgan when you'd get out," Sirius told him. "If she knew that you had recovered, she might have called off the trip to Hogsmeade to practice."
"Yeah, we can't have that happen, can we?" James responded, winking as he nudged Sirius in the side.
Although Remus frowned in their direction, he seemed to forget his confusion when they met Filch at the door to the castle and handed him their permission forms for examination. While Remus was distracted, Sirius prodded James and pulled out a thin sheet of shimmering fabric from his robes' pocket, displaying the Invisibility Cloak; grinning, James gave him a thumbs-up before showing Filch his form with an innocent beam.
Teeming with wild bushes after the previous weekend's heavy rain, the road to Hogsmeade was scattered with students making their way to the wizarding town, and James noted with interest the occasional jack-o'-lantern sitting on the path for the approaching Halloween celebration. As he and his friends neared Hogsmeade, the decorations became more and more concentrated; flame-resistant candles, glowing crucifixes, and even a live ghoul could be seen lurking between the shop windows. Moreover, the entire ghostly population of Hogwarts seemed to be visiting for the weekend, and James spotted the Bloody Baron as he swooped down from a dark rooftop and scared a young boy on the street.
"I don't remember it being nearly this dark the last time we visited," Sirius remarked to James as the boys strolled down the main street. "The streets seem smaller this way."
"What do you mean, 'the last time you visited?'" Remus asked him. "This is the first time any of us have been here. Isn't it?" he eventually added, narrowing his eyes.
"Er—of course," Sirius corrected, he and James sharing a quick glance. "Oh, look over there! It's Honeydukes!" he exclaimed when Remus continued to eye them, and he took off running down the street.
When the others had caught up, the vast selection of Halloween-themed candy distracted Remus from any further questions, and the four roommates spent the next several minutes searching through glass containers full of sweets. When they finally emerged from the store a half-hour later carrying their purchases, Sirius opened a box of Chocolate Cauldrons and tossed the lid onto the ground, clearing this throat.
"So, you're going to show us the Shrieking Shack, right?" he asked Remus through a mouthful of chocolate.
Not having expected the question, Remus almost dropped the Bat Pop he was sucking on when he opened his mouth to reply. "No, why would I do that?"
"But we want to see it!" James pleaded, and even Peter nodded fervently in agreement.
"We can't even get into it from Hogsmeade," Remus told them, and they all slouched. "Besides, there's not much to see."
"All right—you can just take us into the Whomping Willow later," Sirius suggested, but Remus shook his head.
"It would be too dangerous if someone saw us," he disagreed. "You aren't even supposed to know how to get in."
"Then we'll do it at night," James insisted.
"I'm not about to sneak out after hours just so you can see where I transform," Remus admonished. "Like I told you, there's really nothing to see."
Deciding that he would not change his mind, the others did not protest as they continued down the street and glanced at the different buildings. Gesturing at a particularly spooky exterior with a pair of wax vampires guarding the door, James turned to the others. "This place doesn't look so bad. Want to stop and check it out?"
The others voiced their agreement, and they were soon greeted with the jingling bell and a blast of warm air from a crackling fireplace. Tables covered the single room, each occupied by a merry circle of students with mugs of frothy liquid in their hands. Meant to mimic the haunting decorations outside, the ceiling was lighted only by a few floating lanterns, all painted with simple, horror-stricken faces. To the left, a curvy witch with a pair of cauldron earrings looked up at them from behind the bar as she polished a glass.
"It's a bit crowded in here," Remus noted, speaking loudly to be heard over the chattering of the patrons. After glancing around for a moment, James pointed at a round table near the back of the room with four empty chairs.
"There's room over there," he pointed out, but a pair of wizards sat down as he spoke, taking up half of the table. Turning to the others, James shrugged. "I'll tell you what: Sirius and I will grab the other seats and wait for them to leave. One of us will come and get you when it's empty."
"All right," Remus agreed. "I think I saw a bookstore on the way here, anyway. I'd like to take a look at it."
"And while you're gone, Peter," James added, "you might want to stop by the apothecary to . . . scout out a few things, all right?"
Out of Remus' sight, James slipped Peter the list of ingredients for the Animagus Potion, and Peter sputtered for a moment before accepting it with a sigh and following Remus out. Left alone as the bell above the doorway jingled again, James and Sirius approached the rosy-cheeked witch at the bar and waited as she nodded at them.
"Welcome to the Three Broomsticks Inn," she greeted. "What can I get for you?"
"Two glasses of Firewhiskey and an extra bottle," Sirius answered, nodding at the display behind her.
Throwing her head back, the barmaid laughed. "I think you're a mite too young for that, eh?"
"It was worth a shot," Sirius sighed, shrugging.
"Try the butterbeer," she suggested, moving towards the back wall and extracting two mugs. "There's no better drink in town."
"Could you make that four?" James asked her. "We're waiting for some friends."
Nodding, the barmaid pulled out another two mugs and started mixing together different bottles of liquid, topping each mug with foam in turn.
As she worked, James studied her and chewed his bottom lip. "I think I saw you through the window the last time we were here," he eventually spoke up, and she gave him a sideways glance.
"Really?" she asked. "I don't seem to recall seeing you before, and I think I would have remembered meeting two lads as entertaining as you."
"We were invisible," James responded, and she laughed.
"Well, don't make a habit of it: I want to see you again," she advised them, topping off the last of the butterbeers and pushing them across the counter. After they dropped some coins onto the counter, she reached into a drawer and handed them four toffees.
"On the house," she told them with a smile. "Tell your friends that Madam Rosmerta said hello."
Grinning, James and Sirius each took two of the butterbeers and headed for the table in the back of the room as Madam Rosmerta continued polishing used glasses. Squeezing between the tables, they made it to their destination and seated themselves across from the two wizards, neither of who acknowledged the newcomers as they continued conversing seriously.
"I like her," Sirius commented, nodding back at Madam Rosmerta as he popped a toffee into his mouth. "If only Honeydukes handed out free samples like that. I'd never have to sneak Chocolate Frogs off of Regulus aga—"
Just then, one of he wizards next to them threw out his arm, and Sirius had to jerk back to avoid getting hit in the head. Throwing the oblivious man a glare, he chewed on his toffee silently while the wizard gave an involuntary gasp.
"Twen'y fousand—" Breaking off from his exclamation, he leaned towards his companion and corrected his volume. "O—of course! Wot's the date you want to sign?"
Something about the man's shockingly purple top hat seemed to jog James' memory, and he wondered where he might have seen the wizard before as his partner responded. "I'll sign it as soon as you're ready to relinquish the property," he stated with a nonchalance bordering on indifference. Significantly taller and larger than the hatted wizard, he leaned back in his chair and lazily traced curlicues in the air with his cigar. The sheer width of his body strained against his black robes, and James thought that he might break the chair with his bulk.
"And the dough?" the slighter man asked after a slight hesitation, his hands quickly turning purple as he wrung them.
Taking in a long puff from his cigar, the larger man exhaled a wispy rendition of a bull, which charged out of the smoke with a roar before transforming into a small calf and disintegrating into mist. "The first payment will get to you by the end of the month."
Beaming, the purple-clad wizard clapped his hands. "Smashin'! You don't know 'ow much of a blessin' you is, Grayson—I 'as tried to sell Dogweed and Deathcap for close to a year now, but the clients would all skive off the ol' bread and 'oney, do you know wha' I mean?"
"That won't be a problem," the tall wizard, apparently called Grayson, answered, and he stood with a loud creak from his chair. Casually extending his massive hand, he completely enveloped the other wizard's in his grasp and shook it.
"Pleasure doin' business wif—oi!" the smaller man yelped, jerking his fingers free and massaging his palm. Turning away, Grayson blew a leaping tiger with another whiff from his cigar and glanced at James and Sirius briefly before shouldering on his coat.
"Why 'Ogsmeade of all places, anyway?" the hatted wizard asked his companion, pinching one eye shut as he continued to rub his hand.
"Family business," Grayson replied gruffly before striding towards the exit.
"See you later, Abraham!" Madam Rosmerta called after him as he opened the door and stepped into the street. As soon as the bell jingled, the purple-clad wizard snapped upright and huffed.
"Family business, me 'at," he said. "As if 'e'd 'ave any family other den a cat—and an ol' barn tom, at tha'." Suddenly breaking into a gurgled laugh, he clapped his hands and stomped his feet before grabbing his cloak from his chair and rushing towards the door after Grayson.
As the wizard bustled away, Sirius stared after him and took a sip of his butterbeer. "Fancy seeing him again. I guess Remus was right about him being a shopkeeper."
At once, James remembered meeting the excited wizard on the Hogwarts Express, and he snapped his fingers at the realization. "That's who he is! I guess he finally found someone to buy his store."
After his response, the bell to the inn jingled again, and Remus and Peter slipped into the warm interior of the Three Broomsticks and quickly joined James and Sirius at the table. When they had seated themselves, James passed them each a butterbeer.
"That was awfully quick," Sirius noted.
"Remus finished with Tomes and Scrolls, but the apothecary wasn't open," Peter told them, downing a gulp of his warm drink.
"It wasn't?" James asked, a jolt of alarm going down his spine as he shared a glance with Sirius. If they could not get the ingredients for the Animagus Potion in Hogsmeade, where else would they be able to look?
"The sign said that it was closed for renovations or something like that," Peter told them. "It wasn't even decorated for Halloween like the rest of Hogsmeade."
"Why do you want to go to Dogweed and Deathcap, anyway?" Remus inquired.
"Did you say Dogweed and Deathcap?" Sirius demanded, jolting upright.
"That's what the apothecary's called," Remus answered.
"But that must mean that it'll be closed until that other wizard buys the place!" James exclaimed, turning to Sirius.
"And who knows how long that'll be!" Sirius added. "It could be closed for another few months!"
At the others' confused expressions, James explained, "We just saw the wizard from the Hogwarts Express. He was selling the apothecary."
"Maybe we can convince him to let us look around the store quickly," Sirius suggested. "After all, it's not officially sold yet. I bet that the owner hasn't gone far."
"Good idea!" James agreed, and they pushed up from the table while Remus and Peter stared at them in bewilderment.
"Why do you need to visit the apothecary so badly?" Remus protested, but they were already edging their way through the crowd.
"Stay there, okay?" James called over his shoulder, and Peter and Remus looked at each other. "We'll be back soon!"
Once outside, James and Sirius glanced around the street and ignored Nearly-Headless Nick as he floated past them, looking slightly miffed when the boys did not respond to his greeting. Above their heads, a raven cawed loudly from a rooftop, and Sirius pointed to the right.
"He's over there!"
Following Sirius' directions, James hurried to catch up to the purple-clad wizard, who was whistling an upbeat melody to himself as he strutted along. Unaware of the boys tracking him, he stumbled a little when James and Sirius stopped him, and his smile fell immediately.
"Wot's all dis?" he demanded, glancing between James and Sirius with a frown.
"Excuse me, sir," James started, "but weren't you selling Dogweed and Deathcap?"
Still flummoxed, the wizard adjusted his top hat and pulled on his collar. "Tha's righ'—Barnaby Bucklot, proprie'or of over for'y-one different enterprises in Great Bri'ain. Tha's me, 'e is."
"Right," Sirius replied. "We were wondering if we could look around your apothecary for some rare plants."
"Tha's quite impossible," Bucklot told him, shaking his head. "It's closed, you see—needs furder renovations."
"But we really need to find some Mandrake leaves," James insisted. "We wouldn't be a bother. We'd be in and out before you knew it!"
"Sorry, me good lads," Bucklot interjected, turning away with his chin in the air. "I can't be bovered wif givin' you a butcher's when I is in the middle of a transaction. Those is the brass, dey is. You 'as to wait until the store opens."
"But we only—"
"Can't 'old me back now: I 'as got a business mee'ing to get to," Bucklot insisted, pulling out his brass pocket-watch and glancing at its glassy face.
"Weren't you just talking with your buyer?" Sirius pointed out.
"Wha'?" Bucklot demanded, snapping upright suddenly and staring at Sirius. "No, tha's a completely different mat'er altogever! Completely separate! Nofing in common!"
Studying Bucklot's rapidly darting eyes, James pursed his lips. "Right . . . Still, can't you open the store for a few minutes so we can look around? We could even browse the shop after your meeting—we can wait."
"I'm afraid it'll do no good," Bucklot recovered, straightening his collar. "Got fings to do, and it ain't in me policies to open a proper'y in the middle of a sale. Bet'er luck elsewhere, lads."
"But—" James and Sirius protested.
"Cheerio!" Bucklot interrupted, waving over his shoulder without a backwards glance. Deflated, James and Sirius watched him as he set off down the street, warbling cheerfully.
Glancing at his roommate, James asked, "You wouldn't think we'd be able to find that Grayson fellow, would we?"
"Looks like he had places to go," Sirius answered. "Who knows where he is by now?"
"I guess he wouldn't even have the key, anyway," James agreed, sighing.
After a moment's thought, Sirius suggested, "We could always break in."
"And do what? Do you think the supplies are labeled?"
"There's no harm in trying," Sirius countered. "There's only one more trip to Hogsmeade this year, and it isn't until a couple of months after Christmas. This could be our only chance."
"Let's go check it out before Remus and Peter join us," James agreed, and they began jogging down the town's main street until ducking down an adjoining alley. Pulling out James' Invisibility Cloak, Sirius swung it over the both of them so that they could continue unseen.
At the directions of a few street signs, they turned several corners and continued down a narrow road, dotted with a few residences amid a few small businesses. About halfway down the street, they stopped in front of a musty old building, barely high enough to contain two stories. Like Peter had described, it was the only store not decorated for Halloween, apart from a couple of ravens perched on the rooftop. However, despite the lack of eerie pumpkin-heads and simmering cauldrons, the store somehow looked even darker than the surrounding buildings; James supposed this was due to the lack of light from inside the windows, which were boarded up with large planks of wood. The door, similarly, was nailed shut from the outside.
"Dogweed and Deathcap: closed until further renovations," Sirius read from an overhead sign in a whisper.
Eyeing the wooden boards, James pulled off the Invisibility Cloak to get a better look. "This is going to be a problem. I don't think wood will crumble with the help of a few Unlocking Charms."
Stepping up to the nearest window as he removed the Cloak from his shoulders, Sirius cupped his hands over his eyes and peered through a crack in the boards, the ravens eyeing him with their heads cocked. "I can't see anything," he finally gave up, stepping back. "Do you know any good spells for chopping wood?"
"Even if I did, I'm pretty sure that the neighbors would hear it," James answered, pointing at the other buildings. Feeling his heart drop, he sighed as he glanced at the roof. "As much as I hate to admit it, I think we'll have to try again later."
"I guess you're right," Sirius replied, slumping. As he stepped away to join James, one of the ravens let out a loud caw and jumped into the air, leaving the store looking even lonelier than before.
Together the two boys dragged their feet towards the Three Broomsticks, the Invisibility Cloak stuffed into James' pocket. When they finally made it back to the main street, they found Remus and Peter waiting outside of the inn for them, dripping with what looked like golden water.
"Wilkes and his friends came by our table, so we had to move," Peter explained before the others could ask what had happened.
"You just let them have your spot?" Sirius demanded, immediately bristling.
"Of course not," Remus answered. "I told them that they'd have to wait until we were gone, but they insisted on making a scene. I'm afraid that the butterbeer got a bit . . . dispersed in the process, and Madam Rosmerta kicked us all out."
"Where are they now?" James asked.
"They said something about finding a better inn," he replied, shrugging as he rung out his sleeve. "I'm sorry about your drinks."
"Eh, don't worry about it," James answered. "I'm just glad they got what they deserved, though I still would have liked to have dumped the butterbeer on them myself."
"Don't worry: they got the worst of the spill," Remus told him, smirking slightly. "It was magnificent, really, the way Peter flipped the table."
"It was an accident," Peter explained, blushing. "I jumped when Avery pulled out his wand, and it fell on top of him."
Sirius let out a barking laugh at the image before speaking. "Where to next?"
"I still want to take a look at Zonko's," James piped up.
"But I still haven't seen the Shrieking Shack from the outside," Peter protested, and they all turned to stare at Remus.
"After all that excitement, I'm feeling a bit knackered," he told them all sheepishly, itching the back of his neck. "I think that I'll call it a day and head back."
"You can't just leave in the middle of the day!" James argued. "There's still so much to do!"
"I'm still feeling a bit tired from . . . you know," Remus replied, staring at the ground and scuffing the grass with his toe.
Although his heart fell, James nodded. "All right," he relented. "We might as well all go back, then."
"But—" Sirius and Peter began.
"I don't really need to go to Zonko's after all," James interrupted, slinging his arm around Remus' shoulders and starting down the street. "I already have half a dozen Stink Pellets and a package of Flaring Firecrackers in our room. Besides, it wouldn't be half as fun without you there."
"Really?" Remus asked, smiling.
"Really!" James replied. "You wouldn't believe how bored we all were last week when you were gone. Breaking rules isn't nearly as fun when you're not there telling us not to do it."
"Don't tell me that your ribs weren't the worst thing to happen to you while I was gone," Remus joked as they continued walking.
"Well, you know, I thought that Madam Pomfrey was going to do me in with her medicine," James responded. "Those were about the worst few days of my life . . ."
Glancing at each other, Sirius and Peter suppressed a sigh before trudging after the others loyally. Several minutes later, the four had returned to the castle, entering to find it unusually empty for the afternoon. Even the Gryffindor common room was devoid of students, and Remus and Peter stayed behind for a few moments to hang their wet coats by the fire.
When James entered their room, a furious pattering at the window drew his attention to Hardwin, who was locked outside with a letter grasped in his beak. Rushing to let him inside, James passed Mussmug where she was snoring softly on his four-poster and yanked open the windowpane, allowing his disgruntled Screech owl inside. Ruffling unhappily, Hardwin spat the envelope into James' chest and flapped away towards Sirius, landing on his shoulder.
"What's that you've got there?" Sirius asked James, scratching Hardwin's head.
"A letter from my parents, by the looks of it," James answered, opening it. "I don't know what could be so urgent."
Frowning, he picked a stray raven feather off of his shirt as he read the letter and tossed it onto his four-poster. Jumping up suddenly, Mussmug let out a hiss and leaped off of the mattress, and James turned around to see Remus entering through the doorway just in front of Peter.
"What's that?" Remus inquired, pointing at the letter in James' hand.
"My mum says that you're all going to visit us on Christmas Day!" James announced. "They already cleared it with your parents!"
"Great!" Peter exclaimed, clapping, and Remus smiled at his roommates' grins.
"It's still two months away," he reminded the others, and James shot him a frown.
"We can't help it if we're excited! This is the first Christmas we're all going to spend together!"
"As long as we can go to Oldeman's Candy Store, I'll be happy," Sirius announced, nudging Remus. "Don't worry, there's plenty of chocolate there."
Shaking his head as the others laughed, Remus asked, "Why does everyone think that I'm obsessed with chocolate?"
"Because you are," Sirius responded, and Hardwin took flight again to avoid the pillow that sailed towards Sirius' head. In mere seconds, the other boys had all grabbed their pillows, and the room quickly transformed into a battle ground as they pummeled each other amid their animals' annoyed screeches.
