Brief Lesson: The Antidote to Common Poisons should be stocked in any good Potioneer's basic supplies! It is a good first pass at an antidote, especially when the exact poison is unknown. It has four basic ingredients and is fairly simple to make, although long incubation times mean it still takes about two hours to brew. The ingredients are 1 bezoar, 2 measures of standard ingredient, 1 pinch of unicorn horn, and 2 mistletoe berries.

Task Chosen: Unicorn Horn- Write about a child losing their innocence.

He Must Never Know

1)

"He must never know," I hear my mother whisper to my father one night after a dinner party.

"I know Walla, I know," he replies in an equally quiet voice.

By the low pitch of their voices, I know whatever they are speaking about is serious, not meant to be overheard by anyone or anything. I find it odd, being that we're the only ones in the house and Regulus and I (although I am not) are in our rooms. I wonder who the 'he' is and what my parents are hiding.

There's a brief silence and I strain my ears so I am able to hear what is said next. But before another word can be said, by stomach rumbles startled by the loud noise, I run back to my room before I am discovered.

2)

There's a tension that my parents are almost successfully hiding. I guess I notice it because I was, unknowing to them, privy to part of an intense conversation that they shared. Regulus, of course, has no clue and I feel it's my duty to keep him oblivious to whatever is happening in our home.

Late at night though, after we're sent to our rooms, I creep downstairs, hoping to find out what exactly that my parents are hiding and more importantly, who are they hiding it from. Sometimes I am caught by one or both of my parents, or by Kreacher. When I am, I tell them I am downstairs because I want a snack or a potion for a stomachache or I have a question that can't wait until morning.

In response, Kreacher (how I hate that elf) makes sure that Regulus and I have plenty to eat at dinner yet make sure I don't overeat so I won't need a stomach soother potion. In approximately ninety minutes after the last meal of the day, Mother or Father brings us chocolate chip biscuits or finger sandwiches and during this evening late night snack, answer any questions that Regulus and I can think of.

It's my parents' actions that I find suspicious and it increases my determination to discover their secret.

3)

"Sirius suspects something."

The voice is my mother's and of course she would be the one to determine between my brother and myself, that I would be the one to pick up on the strange undercurrents in the house.

"Do you think we should sit down and explain it to Siri and Reggie?"

There's a moment of silence and I can feel my mother judging, weighing and coming to a final decision. However, before another word can be said, the Floo chimes and I can hear my father's footsteps walking to the fireplace to let someone into our home after proper visiting hours.

I hear unfamiliar footsteps upon the Floo room floor and I wonder who it is.

"My Lord," my mother and father intones in unison and although I can't see it, I somehow know that they have bowed to this unseen person.

"Shall we go to the sitting room, My Lord," my mother asks and there's this deference and an underlying sound of fear that I've never until now heard in my mother's voice.

I panic, because I am in the sitting room. There's no way for me to escape the room without them seeing me and without asking (and there is no way I am going to) Kreacher for help. So I quickly go to a nearby hidden room, hoping that I finally receive the answers I have been seeking.

4)

I wish that I have never left my bedroom.

Others joins my parents. Some of the witches and wizards I know. They're various family members and business associates. They are high-ranking members of the ministry. They're people that you wouldn't expect to be secretly meeting to discuss overthrowing the current government.

And they are all showing deference to this one man.

This Lord Voldemort looks, at first glance, harmless. Yet his eyes tells a different story. They're cold and I see more than one person rub their arms or fidget in some other manner when his gaze lingers on them for more than three seconds. This self styled Lord doesn't gives any particular details this night, but it is what is unsaid that causes an underlying fear in the room.

After gaining some vows of support, the group of witches and wizards dispersed as quickly as they appeared and the last ones in the room are my parents and this 'Lord' Voldemort.

"Have you given my proposal any thought," he hisses and a shiver crawls down my spine. I hear my mother gasp and I think I hear a low growl in my father's throat.

"We have not really had the chance to discuss it, my Lord," my usually unflappable mother simpers and it's in this instance I start to hate this man. I hate that he has made my mother feel afraid in her own home.

"See that you take the time to do so soon. It's always a lost when the roots of a great house is torn asunder. It's even a bigger tragedy when even the offshoots dies," the self styled Lord responds and the whoosh of the fireplace signals his departure.

5)

"He's threatened the very existence of this House," my mother weakly exclaims.

"Yes, he has," my father replies and from the sound of his voice, I can tell how the heavy mantle of being Lord Black is weighing on him."

"We must find a way to appease Him without -"

"I know Walla, I know."

"I won't do it," my mother exclaims. I won't sacrifice my legacy. Promise me, promise me . . ." Her words ends in a choked sob and it takes everything that I am to not go to her so I can comfort her.

"He's a budding Gryffindor. If he would find out, Siri would fling himself into danger in order to protect Reggie and the girls, although I am pretty sure that Trixie would insist that she would protect the girls, Siri and Reggie herself.

"We will figure something out," my mother responds and I am glad to hear that her voice sounds stronger. "Just promise me that until we find a solution -"

"He will never know," my father reassures my mother and I hear the two of them walk up the stairs to their bedroom.

But I do.