The Farther Shore: Part II – Wolfsbane
This will explain more about the Wolfsbane Potion: how it was invented and why.
A little bit of violence, but not too dreadful.
Oh, and a disclaimer. Some of the characters are mine, but everything else belongs to J K Rowling.
~
'Andrea, there's a chap here to see you. Shall I show him up?' Becky Roberts, one of the receptionists, was standing in the doorway. Andrea glanced up from the complicated distillation devices and bubbling liquids.
'It's not ready yet,' she replied.
'Oh, he's not here to collect this, I don't think. He's called Fenris Baron. He says it's not urgent, and he'll wait if you want.' Her voice lowered conspiratorially. 'He's awfully good-looking. Is he a friend?'
A shadow crossed Andrea's face. 'In a manner of speaking. Where is he?'
'In the Green Room.'
'Fine, I'll come down when this is done – say about twenty minutes?'
'Okay.' Becky closed the door.
Fenris Baron, back again. Andrea could scarcely suppress a shiver. She did not want to see him, ever.
The black mixture in the small cauldron began to sizzle, and she hastily lifted it from the rack and poured in into the larger beaker. For the next few minutes her entire concentration was on the alchemical apparatus. She watched it intently, slowly stirring and adding drops from strange bottles. Then the potion was finished. She decanted it into a slender brown bottle and wrote the label. Wolfsbane Potion. Someone from the League was coming to collect it this evening. She hoped it would not be the person it was destined for.
Andrea went downstairs through the pungent-smelling corridors of the Halls of Healing, pausing to speak to a nurse who was hurrying by with a tray full of healing potions. She knew all the people who worked for her, and many of them had known her since she had been a first-year student here. They had watched her meteoric rise with approval, for Andrea truly was a gifted Healer. And so, when old Madam Officinalis had announced her retirement last month, the vote for Andrea to replace her as Head had been unanimous.
She opened the door to the Green Room apprehensively, remembering her last conversation with Fenris. He was standing at the window, looking out. When she entered, he turned.
'Hello, Andrea, darling.' He strode across the room to her in his old, confident way.
'Hello.' Her voice was unenthusiastic.
'How are you? I haven't seen much of you lately. The Halls getting on well?'
'Fine, thanks.' She wondered why Fenris was speaking as if their last conversation had not happened, as though everything was perfectly normal.
'Interested in coming out for dinner tonight?' He gave her a wide-toothed smile.
'I'm busy.' She looked away. 'Sorry.'
'Oh, that's a shame. Tomorrow, then?'
Andrea took a deep breath. 'Look, Fenris, I don't really want to go out to dinner with you any time.'
His eyes narrowed. Then a look of comprehension crossed his face. 'Oh, Andrea, baby, are you still upset about what I told you?' His voice sounded so caring, but Andrea was not going to fall for that again. 'I know I should have told you at once, but – you know, it didn't seem to matter. It doesn't change what I feel about you.' His hand wandered out and reached around her waist.
'It's not just that…' she began, backing away.
'Come on, sit down and we'll talk about it.' He sank onto the sofa, seeming quite at home. Andrea perched uncertainly beside him.
'I know you're upset, sweetheart. It must have been terribly shocking for you to find out that.' He pulled her towards him gently. 'But you know I would never hurt you.' Andrea found herself sinking into his embrace. Perhaps it would be all right, perhaps she had misjudged him. 'Come on, love, give me a chance.' He reached up and stroked her cheek with hot fingers. She tensed a little. His hand ran downwards.
She sprang away. 'Don't touch me like that!'
Fenris stared at her. 'I didn't mean …' he began lamely, but Andrea cut him off.
'It's not only that you're – that you're a werewolf, Fenris. Every time I come near you, you try the same old thing on. You sweet-talk me until I come close to you, then touch me up! Well, I'm not going to put up with it any more. Leave me alone!'
Fenris' face changed from a look of sweet concern to rage in a second. He also leapt to his feet.
'You wait!' he snarled. 'I'll give you "leave me alone". You're just like the rest of them!' He started towards her, and Andrea ducked back fearfully. There was an enraged glint in his eye beyond any reason. She tried to remember what they had told her in medical school about diffusing tense situations, but nothing seemed to cover this particular instance. For a second they stared at each other. Andrea stepped back from the ferocity of his glare.
The door opened. 'Is that Dr Wood?' said a new voice. Both Andrea and Fenris turned to look at the man in the doorway, and Andrea saw him glance from Fenris' face, distorted with anger, to her. 'Shall I come back later?' he asked carefully. Andrea vaguely remembered his face from the meeting last week.
'No … Sirius Black, is it?' Please, don't let him be the werewolf, she thought.
'That's right. Dumbledore sent me to fetch the Potion.'
'Right – yes – it's upstairs.' She took a hopeful step towards the door.
'Oh, that's right, yes, go off with him, never mind me,' snarled Fenris. Sirius Black looked at him with raised eyebrows.
'Excuse me a moment,' said Andrea, trying to steady her voice. 'Fenris, I don't want you to come back.'
Ignoring Sirius Black, Fenris stood still, glaring at her.
'Is that all you have to say to me, Dr Andrea Wood?' His voice rose wildly. 'Four months of stringing me along, and that's it, is it? You'll regret this, you – you – ' He lunged at her with raised fists, his eyes mad. In a second of blind terror, Andrea stood frozen.
Suddenly Sirius Black was between them, and he had pinned Fenris' arms to his sides.
'Get out!' he snapped dangerously. Fenris struggled with him for a moment, and then Sirius was pushing him to the door, disgust in his eyes.
Andrea was still trembling when he came back. 'Thank you,' she gasped. He looked her over sharply.
'Here, sit down.' His arm was under hers, steering her to a chair. She buried her face in her hands, trying to recover some self-command.
'Are you – I mean – is the Potion for you?' she asked after a moment.
Sirius laughed. It was a welcome sound in the tense air of the room. 'No, no, it's for one of my friends. I daresay you'll meet him in time.' Andrea took a deep breath, knowing that sooner or later she would, and hating the thought. After a moment, she recovered herself.
'I'm sorry you had to see that,' she said, standing up. 'If you'll come with me, I'll give you the Potion and the instructions.'
Sirius nodded and followed her from the room, still looking concernedly at her, but too good-mannered to ask about Fenris.
'In here.' Andrea led him into the laboratory. Sirius looked in surprise at the room full of bottles and the shiny maze of glass tubes.
'Amazing. I couldn't even begin to tell you what all this is for,' he commented, eyes darting about curiously.
'This is the Wolfsbane Potion. There's enough for this month in here.' She set the dark-tinted bottle on the bench. Sirius picked it up.
'I think this really is one of the most incredible inventions I've seen. How did you make it? It's good to meet someone who doesn't hate werewolves.'
Andrea bit her lip. After Fenris, she never wanted to think about werewolves again in her life.
'It was completely by chance,' she said dully. 'I was working on a Lunacy Potion, and it didn't work out quite as planned. I was going to throw it away, but one of the – the people it was tested on happened to be a – werewolf, and he reported this effect. In fact, it was the man – downstairs.' Sirius nodded understandingly. 'But anyway, I felt I had to keep working on it.'
Sirius nodded. 'Well, I think it's great. I know my friend appreciates it a lot.' Andrea didn't want to think about that either.
'Well, tell him to take it every evening for the week before the full moon. I think –' she reached out to look at the calendar on the wall '- yes, it's not until the end of the month. And he'll keep his mind when he transforms.'
'Great. Well, I'll take this along, then. Thank you.'
Sirius Black went from the laboratory, leaving Andrea staring at the equipment unseeingly. She was very glad to be rid of Fenris. It had felt so nice, to have someone who really seemed to care about her. So she had put up with his insalubrious habits and his lustful urges for the compliments he gave and the way he seemed to listen when she spoke. Then she had found out that he was a werewolf, when he volunteered to test her experimental potion and told her of its unexpected side effect, and the idea had filled her with horror. And now he was gone, and she felt very relieved. She hoped she would never have to deal with another werewolf again. But with this blasted invention, there didn't seem to be much hope of that.
I know this was short. The next part will be longer, and there'll be a lot more about the other characters. And the Wolfsbane Potion in action! Title – Metamorphoses. I hope you like it so far. Please review!
Thank you.
Blaise.
7th February 2000