Chapter 4.
"Perfume and poison in small bottles"
Jules Scamander was trying to make a good impression, which was one of the things her mother had made a point of teaching her and Rolf, and then Chris. That was why she had gone back to her flat after the swift visit to the crime scene.
In her apartment, Rolf had fixed the door like the good big brother he was. She showered and changed her clothes, ready to have breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron before going shopping. Jules even made a list of ingredients she was leaking of, with beetles being a particular highlight.
For the first time in days the mirror showed her a fairly pleasant image, similar to the one Juliette had once been. She ran her hand through the groomed fringes, shorter now than usual. The flesh in her cheek had gone soft, especially after using the burn-healing paste for a few hours. It still hurt if she tried to smile or open her mouth too wide but Jules had a high enough tolerance for pain that it didn't make a difference at all.
She adjusted the babydoll collar of the white blouse, before grabbing the grey cardigan and pulling it on. The black dress trousers were out of her comfort zone but fit well enough for Juliette to slip into them without complaint.
The witch carefully pinned up a few strands of hair on the left side back, drawing attention to the pearly hooks instead to the new marks in her skin. If anyone else asked her what had happened she would lose her head and not in a good way.
She was just about to leave when there was a sound at the window. A caburé owl, whom Jules quickly recognised as Buttercup, was flying on the balcony. She quickly opened it for the animal, who flew around her in greeting before handing her the letter as she reached out her hand.
Buttercup perched on the edge of the window to let Jules read.
"Hello, pretty boy," Jules murmured, stroking his head in an affectionate gesture. He hooted softly. "I think I have some sweets, wait here."
She hurried to fetch the sweet jar for Crisalida, her own owl, which she had left on the mantelpiece. Pulling one out, she took it to the animal along with the jar of water before opening the letter with her name on the envelope.
It was from Christine of course. The witch inspected it quickly to see if there was anything of an urgent nature in it, but her younger sister seemed simply content to tell her about Muggle school and other details.
"You can go," Jules told the owl, "I'll send my reply later."
The owl shook its head a little, but after an extra caress from Juliette it took off again.
Leaving the letter on the table, she made a fleeting check that everyone in the suitcase was all right before heading to the Leaky Cauldron. The fact that it was so close to the flat block was proving to be a real boon, especially as he would have a fixed place to eat if he didn't feel like cooking. The place was, for a change, moderately full.
Jules ate in record time and took that moment to add that she should take a look around Gringotts before anything else. When she had turned twenty-one, Rolf had set up a personal account for her in the British bank and placed her share of the inheritance there.
The barkeep at the Leaky Cauldron, who she remembered was called Tom, greeted her by name as he collected her bill, going personally to the table where Juliette was to give her his condolences for her parents as well. How the man even remembered her was a real mystery, but Jules had learned that those who ask the least questions get in the way the least.
"Is Pippin's shop still there?" Jules asked.
Tom, with his stubby nose and grey hair, nodded carefully.
"The only closed apothecary in Diagon is Mr. Mulpepper's, but there's a new one in its place. Mulpepper kept the Knockturn location, though the shop is run by his son instead of him."
"Mr. Mulpepper selled his shop? Why?"
"Probably money. It was hard to maintain two businesses after the war. Who knows?" Tom looked at her for a moment. "It's quite strange how much like your mother you are, Miss Scamander.
"Yes, I know," she left the exact amount of galleons for the food and a small change for the blonde waitress who had waited on her. "Well, the shopping isn't going to take care of itself. I'm glad you're well."
"Likewise. Have a nice day. Hannah, pick up the check!"
And the man left quickly.
Jules settled her purse, taking a deep breath before counting the bricks to touch the right one with the tip of her wand. She was almost expecting her wand to hiss at any moment, although she chalked it up to stress and not because it was going to happen again.
Diagon Alley was quite busy. People sitting in the shops that had little tables outside, colourful umbrellas over their heads. Most of them were older witches and wizards or children under eleven.
The witch went straight to Gringotts, then stopped fleetingly at Flourish and Blotts to buy the latest edition of Most Macabre Monstrosities. Jules had read the book only once, and she wasn't sure where - probably Ilvermorny - but she was sure she'd find at least a little information there about the poisons of creatures she didn't remember.
"It's about beasts," she explained.
"The only books we have on beasts are ..." She didn't know the man attending her, a young one. He conjured up a scroll and began to inspect it. "Folio Bruti, Fantastic beasts and where to find them, The monster book of monsters, gadding with ghouls and the rest of Lockhart's collection. Oh, and we recently got Fleeting Meetings with Magical Creatures."
Jules rolled her eyes. The fact that he was having the gall to want to sell her her own book was almost admirable, or very stupid.
"No, I'm talking about a book with ghoulish creatures in it."
"I don't think we've got it. But I could try it on commission. Just let me have your name and I'll order it if possible."
"Astra Newton," she said simply, which made the man look at her almost automatically. She was sure that nowhere in the book did her full name appear, so it seemed a convenient cover. The last time she had been in a magical bookstore, the clerk had made her sign at least two dozen copies.
The man nodded and began to scribble his name on another piece of parchment.
"What was the name of the book, Miss Newton?"
"Most Macabre Monstrosities."
"Author?"
"I don't know."
"Very well. If you leave me an address I can send an owl in case we find it."
"Yes, where shall I write it down for you? He pointed to a space on a clean piece of parchment. Jules took the quill he offered her and wrote down her address.
"Thank you. If you find something similar, I could use that, too."
The man nodded.
Jules found, on a short walk, a shop called Mulligrubs Materia Medica, which she entered out of curiosity and as a first stop to buy supplements. Getting the burn-healing paste along with some dittany, essence of murtlap and a book on magical plants that looked interesting enough. Maybe she could find some poisonous ones that could affect the blood by ingesting them or something.
She stuffed everything into her bag deciding that the first thing she would do was to compare the qualities of the places, buying one from each and leaving them specially in her bags so that she could label them later and not get them mixed up. Then, once she got home, she would decide which one to check out.
Jules visited Tut's Nuts to buy some nuts as gifts for the creatures, and then decided finally to stop at J. Pippin's Potions, where Mr. Pippin waited on her calmly, and Jules stocked up on nearly half a dozen potions; going on to another near that one but located in Horizon Alley, and also passing through Slug & Jiggers Apothecary. He hadn't even spent an hour shopping when he began to tire, finally deciding to go into The Black Daffodil as the wizard had recommended.
At least the burn-healing paste had been good, because it had taken effect quickly and efficiently.
The inside of the shop told him one thing very clearly from the start, that whoever was serving him enjoyed order. The sample potions were on shelves with specific nameplates that spelled out the names and there was even what looked like a potions catalogue on a coffee table with armchairs around it.
Dark brown tones predominated, matching the dim lighting. There was an end-to-end counter a foot or so from the door that probably led to the pantry and no one behind it.
Juliette approached the counter, almost noiselessly. Being around Magical Creatures constantly had made her develop the incredible ability to go unnoticed.
She rang the bell with the tip of her wand as instructed and automatically a piano tone sounded in what she thought was the pantry. It was barely two seconds before a dark-haired man emerged, plastering a salesman's smile on his face and closing the door behind him.
"Good morning. How can I help you?"
She was sure the salesman would be about her age, even if Jules herself usually looked younger than she was. The man was tall, with high cheekbones and close-cropped black hair.
The witch pulled out the list to make sure she wouldn't forget anything.
"I need one vial of burn-healing paste, one antidote for common poisons, antidote for uncommon poisons, one of draught of peace, one of vitamix potion, one of Grand Pepperup potion."
"All right. Give me a minute."
Juliette nodded and leaned over the counter a little to flick through the catalogue that was also there. She saw that they sold girding potion, which she hadn't seen in all the apothecaries for example, and there were even tiny vials of felix felicis.
Jules wasn't too happy about that last option, thinking of the occamys and their eggs, but then, she knew that the shells eventually turned to rubbish once the young were born.
-Here's everything," the man returned with what she had asked for. Seeing Jules' hand for the first time, he quickly seemed willing to sell her more things. "I could recommend this too, let me."
She moved her hand from the catalogue to allow him to turn the pages.
On the paper appeared a moss-green potion, which from the photograph looked similar to the paste she had bought. However, the letters that moved and appeared in view began to explain that it was a skin regenerator with its main ingredients being dittany dragon liver, fanged geranium, among others. It promised to heal wounds within hours, as well as keeping it disinfected, and would be useful for cuts and other wounds.
Jules resisted the urge to ask about the other ingredients, since it was obvious she wouldn't be told.
Then she spotted something interesting, not in the catalogue but on one of the shelves behind the counter. A set of four test tubes with symbols on them.
"What are those symbols?" the witch asked, pointing directly behind the man. He turned so he could see what she was pointing at.
"I couldn't tell. Miss. They're not potions for sale, I don't even know what they're doing there. Thanks for pointing it out so I can keep it."
"Then I guess I'll take a vial of this too," she looked slowly at the paste, deciding it was a good litmus test. "When did the shop open? I don't remember it being here before.
"Less than a year ago," said the man. "The accent is American, isn't it?"
Jules nodded. "I arrived a few days ago, but I was born here."
"How long has it been since you've been here?"
She began to pull out her purse to give him the right amount of galleons.
"Diagon Alley? Probably since '95. I came because the place was recommended to me."
The man looked rather surprised at that, raising an eyebrow.
"Who?"
"Eh... Nott? I think it was his name."
"Are you familiar with Theo?"
"Not exactly," Jules admitted. "How much would it be?"
He quickly brought the potion called wound-off paste and did the math.
"Forty-seven galleons."
Jules handed him the money quickly. But before leaving she decided to find out a little more.
"lf it's not intrusive. Do you buy your ingredients directly from the producers? "
"It depends on who's asking."
She smiled as if she were the model for the next issue of Witch Weekly.
"Jules" she reached out to shake the man's hand. "I'm a magizoologist, you can imagine I have some ingredients I don't intend to use, all first hand; I could bring them in for your potioner to see."
"What ingredients would we be talking about?"
"Jobberknoll feathers, glumbumble treacle in a few days, occamy eggshell when the hatchlings are born. I have to sort the rest but I should have billywig sting and wings, and even demiguise hair."
"I can talk to our potioner to see if he's interested."
"Perfect."
[/]
Even though she did her best, there was little Jules and her short potions experience could do about the blood in the days that followed. In the blink of an eye Wednesday and Thursday had slipped away.
Aodh shifted gingerly, rolling over on his stomach and huffing, bumping the coffee table Jules had moved to put her potions material on top of it. The silver cauldron, the brass scales, some vials, and parchment to write down whatever it was she would get.
Nott had drawn almost an entire vial of blood for her after Granger and Potter had authorised it, and Juliette applied the necessary spells to preserve it so the poison wouldn't melt.
The day before, Thursday, Jules had started with the main thing: making a list of all the creatures she could think of that could have poisoned a wizard. After that she had the good idea to ration the blood, using just a drop to test the reaction with each apothecary's antidotes. None of them seemed to work, however, as the blood had the same colouring and her wand warned her of the danger every time she brought it near the cured drops.
That quickly eliminated the doxys, all types of spiders excluding acromantulas, mackled malaclaw, lionfish, streelers, and at least a dozen others.
However, she did not want to spend what was left of the blood lightly.
Asking people she knew about the apothecary at The Black Daffodil, Hermione Granger had almost automatically replied to the letter saying that no one knew exactly who the potioner behind it was but that she had her suspicions although she hadn't shared them in writing. For his part at dinner the day before, Rolf had told her that the dark-haired man's name was Blaise Zabini, but he didn't seem to know any more than that either.
Potter seemed a little lost in life because he didn't tell her anything at all and instead asked Jules if she had found out something about the blood.
As it was Friday Juliette ran her hand over her face, by ten o'clock in the morning she had made her rounds in the suitcase and was still trying to figure out which creature could insert its venom without leaving a mark. Having slept only five hours in the night, without Aodh with her so as not to repeat Wednesday morning's disaster, she was terribly tired.
"What are you doing?" Juliette had almost forgotten about the Talgoose, although the animal seemed keen to talk to her. Rolf had given it to her as a smoke screen, though her Augurey study was supposed to be one; the Ministry had stumbled across it a few days ago and still couldn't find a location to set it up, so they'd chosen to keep it.
Tallie, as the creature had called itself, looked exactly like a non-maj mongoose, and was probably some sort of cousin of the jarvey, but this one didn't seem to be in the mood for pure insult.
"Nothing, work. Are you sure you don't want to go with the others to the suitcase?"
"No, have you seen the Augureys down there?" Tallie pretended to shudder and her brown hair stood up.
"They're not going to do anything to you, they're fed."
"You say that."
"I could even promise. If you stay where you are, you'll see that none of them come near you. There are two or three jarves you could make friends with."
"Are there any snakes?"
"Nope, none. Maybe an ashwinder, but let me know if you see one."
"What do you do now?"
Well, Jules could conclude that the creature was of average intelligence. She watched Tallie, who was moving back and forth around her; she had told her very specifically not to get on the table and at least the creature was obeying that. Aodh didn't seem very enthusiastic about the company, because Juliette heard him snort a second time and stir.
"Same as two minutes ago, work."
"And what do you do for work?"
"Knowing creatures."
"But you're not meeting anyone now."
"I'm making an inquiry."
"But-
The talgoose was suddenly interrupted by three knocks on the front door. Juliette, startled, rose in her seat.
"Don't touch anything," she asked the creature, who actually seemed keen to know who had arrived. From Aodh's nonchalant attitude, Jules could tell it was someone he already knew.
"Who is it?"
"Dudhald."
Jules hurried to open the door, meeting the man on the other side.
"Has something happened?"
"We need answers.
"I'm on it, but...""
"I think we should do as you asked and visit a potionsmith, whom I hope you have chosen. After The Prophet's note people are not happy."
"The Prophet's note?" she moved away from the door to let him come in. Dudhald looked a little intimidated at first but entered, his gaze shifting between the talgoose and the bulgae.
"Uh, is this your partner?"
"Tallie, into the suitcase," Jules glanced at her wristwatch. "I'm going to have to leave in a moment and I want you to stay downstairs."
"But-
"Aodh is going, too."
The creature raised its head at the mention of his name and for the third time that day snorted.
"Is it a jarvey?"
"A talgoose," Juliette corrected, picking it up to put it in the suitcase and signalling clearly to Aodh for him to get in as well. "Take her to the Jarvey's and keep her in her place."
The creature replied with a gentle nod to her hip.
Dudhald was looking over her work at the coffee table, not touching anything. His burgundy hair was slicked back, and he was dressed that day in a polo shirt and work trousers, in addition to the coat he held on his arm.
"What's all this?"
"The discarded creatures. I tried the antidote for common poisons and the one for uncommon poisons in the blood, but it's still the same."
"And how do you know? Maybe it doesn't change the colouring but the composition."
Jules shook his head, taking her wand and holding it up to one of the samples displayed in the vials. When placed in the nozzle, the wand automatically emitted a small hissing sound.
Dudhald looked amazed.
"But how?"
"Horned snake horn as a core," Juliette explained. "It warns its owner of danger."
"I didn't know that could be done."
"Magic, Dudhald, it's magic. The point is, it did the same thing to all of them, so the poison probably lingers, which is why, theoretically, it couldn't be poison to any of these creatures," she passed him the parchment. "What note did the prophet publish?"
"About Higgs, and it mentions the two previous ones. They don't say any of the theories but it's got people a lot more upset, some people think we have a magical jack the ripper, and others think there's some werewolf on the loose attacking. You'd think people would be scared out of their wits but they're not."
"As long as they don't mention me..." Jules began to put away the implements she had been using, in case any creature came out of the case - though she had left it locked.
She'd been in the magizoology column of The Prophet several times, and half the time it was Rita calling her a "whimsical adult with parental issues" because of her refusal to give notes.
"Did you fill out the papers?"
"I didn't get the potioner yet."
"Are you serious?"
"I'm evaluating the options we have."
"Well, I'm sorry to inform you that you have two minutes to choose one and fill out the form, because we have to figure this out now."
"Shit," she muttered.
Apparently there wasn't going to be time to play with the cards.
Juliette sighed, picking up the papers and looking at them.
Dudhald, looking at her with a grimace on his face, simply put a hand on her shoulder and patted her.
"One day. I'm going to tell the Minister. Just go to the nearest apothecary and talk to a potion maker, I don't think anyone would refuse to participate with the Ministry."
"Are you sure?"
"No-one wants to look guilty. It would be odd to refuse, wouldn't it?"
She nodded a little uncertainty.
"Send me an owl as soon as you can. And let me know if you discover anything with your experiments."
Dudhald left after another brief exchange, and Jules settled everything before deciding to go to the apothecary. Everyone had given a good opinion all things considered.
She changed into two pairs of sheer tights, and a brown babydoll dress with long sleeves. The large garment slightly concealed the amount of weight she had lost in the previous months, and Jules simply grabbed her things and a coat before heading down Diagon Alley.
Recalling well the path to The Black Daffodil, she didn't miss a step as she walked as confidently as she could.
Get in, ask, get out. Carefully she thought about how she might speak. And even whilst Jules thought of a few useful excuses she decided to go with the truth, or something like that.
Otherwise the witch would take it upon herself to find another apothecary, or let Potter choose one if they were in such a hurry.
She rubbed her eyes as she reached the shop door, anxious.
The bell rang as the door was opened, stroking a nerve in her.
Inside, Blaise was talking to a customer in a low tone, and a second customer was sitting in one of the armchairs. Juliette was quick to recognise the customer at the counter as the healer that recommended to her the shop in the first place.
His hair, light brown under the dim light, was tamed and combed to the side. He was wearing a rich lime green robe, the healer robes; and Nott recognized her just as fast, an easy smile appeared in his lips.
"I see you took my advice" Nott said "Are your wounds better?"
"Good day" Jules approached the counter " Like it was no damage done. Thanks for the advice."
"Did you forget to buy anything?" it was Zabini who asked.
The woman felt a little uncomfortable with the attention. Two good-looking men playing niceties with her would be nice on other occasion, not when she was on the edge of a mental breakdown.
"No. I'm sorry. I wanted to talk to you about a... uh... work-related matter."
"Work-related?"
Jules nodded "Actually, I'd like to speak to the potioner myself, it's a - a kind of offer."
From the look Nott gave her she thought he obviously knew what she was coming to, however the man merely leaned against the counter and watched the scene unfold.
"Not going to be possible, sorry."
"I write books" she was a lousy liar, and she was sure she sounded frustrated ". And I'm studying some creature poisons, therefore I'd like an opinion on antidotes."
"You write? I thought that was your grandfather's job, I feel sorry for the next generations at Hogwarts."
She definitely didn't enjoy the attention, and Nott was making it a hell of a lot more obvious than she liked.
"The joke's on you, sir. Ilvermorny implemented it this year" Jules turned her attention back to Zabini "It's an urgent investigation, could you at least leave my address for your Potioner to write to me? The Ministry is also interested and involved."
It wasn't entirely a lie.
Half-truths, every good lie has a bit of truth in it.
"I don't think he's interested in the job, miss…"
Jules thought for a second that maybe she needed the last name letter, though her brother's voice telling her to keep a low profile echoed in her head.
"Scamander," she reached out to shake hands with Blaise, who seemed to recognise it as they shook hands, "I'm sorry. Just could you tell him? If you contact me I can give you the rest of the details. The MCR is interested in getting this resolved as soon as possible and they gave me the green light to get assistance."
"I'll-"
"I'm going to leave you my information" Jules pulled the already written sheet out of her notebook and dropped it on the counter "here's all of it."
"Tell me, Scamander" Theodore Nott spoke to him once more, catching his attention "how long did it take for the burn-healing paste to take effect?"
"The burn on the hand just disappeared overnight, the ones on the face only a few hours, though it left a soft feeling and burned a little" she smiled at him as best she could ", does that complete the medical report?"
"Absolutely."
"Very well. Then I have to get back to work" she looked at her wrist watch and then at Zabini "Tell him to write to me please."
After a few short goodbyes Jules decided to walk down the alley a bit, to see if she could get any more books. However she kept thinking all morning about the murmur she had heard as she had left the shop:
"It's like seeing a ghost".