Chapter Twenty
Leanan
Jennifer had marked all the Items projects a week early, only telling them that they would have a special guest speaker that next week, smiling mysteriously and not giving them any hints on who it was. Even during Dabbler's that morning Corey had not succeeded in getting one hint, not even to why they were meeting in the Potion's Lab. So he was as pleasantly surprised as the rest of the class when he stepped into the lab where a huge cauldron of a clear, sweet, syrupy liquid burped up gigantic, elastic bubbles. A plump, rosy faced, cheerful looking man stood beside Jennifer, greeting them warmly as they came in.
"I thought it'd be nice to start your season off with a bit of a pre-holiday treat," Jennifer said, eyes twinkling. "Class, I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Bertie Botts Jr.. He's going to give us some insight to magic candy making." An excited chatter developed in the class. Jennifer let it go a moment to Bertie's protests and thank-yous for the warm reception, finally quieting the class a moment later.
"It was quite kind of Professor Dumbledore to ask, and it is an honor to address such a talented bunch of Physical Arts students," he said, bowing slightly with a smile. "Today, I am going to show you something very seldom seen by the outside world… how we extract the flavors for our beans, and at the same time, I will introduce you to three of the new flavors coming out next year," he said, getting another round of appreciation from the students. He tapped the bubbling cauldron in front of them.
"Now the mixture you see in front of you is the base we use for every single bean. The exact formula of it is a family secret, but I assure you it's mainly sugar and syrup and nothing unwholesome despite the flavors that are mixed with it. Of course, in the factory, we'd be using a cauldron a hundred times this size, but for purposes of this demonstration, this will be more than enough," he said as Jennifer helped him scoop out the thick, hot mixture into three even smaller cauldrons.
"For the first flavor, I need a volunteer familiar. Might anyone here have a toad?" he asked hopefully. Ian Young from Ravenclaw sheepishly brought out his toad Boris, who looked completely disinterested at being volunteered for anything. "Ah, well done! Congratulations, you have just ascended to the honor of being used for a Bertie Botts bean flavor! Now, now, don't panic young man, your familiar will not be hurt in the slightest," he assured Ian, putting the frog on the table and taking out a long thin vial with a strangely spiraled top. "Now, all I need to do is use a spell to harvest the essence of flavor and put it in the phial like so…" he demonstrated twirling his wand in circles above the frog. "Deguno Eximo!"
As he twisted his wand, a pale white vapor appeared to be following it, following its lead like a string of airy cotton candy until he twisted it up like spaghetti and popped it into the phial. "The phial is designed to keep the essence within it as long as it's upright," he said, steadily carrying it over to the first cauldron. "And of course, it's a fairly simple spell, but unless you have the proper ingredients in, it won't do you any good to try it," he said, as if slightly worried that someone would try.
"Now, all I need to do then is to make a hole in the mixture, and then fold it lightly in," he explained, carefully letting the wisp drain out and quickly covering it with the sticky liquid with a long spoon. "And then just a couple more turns, and a little color," he said, tapping the cauldron with his wand, causing the substance to turn a dark, earthy green, "and there you are, the first of my new additions, Live Toad flavor!" Jennifer clapped heartily for him and the students reluctantly followed. Corey wondered if he'd ever be brave enough to eat the green ones ever again. Bertie picked up a spoonful of it, offering it first to Jennifer.
"Ah, no thanks, perhaps I'll wait for the next one," she said with an apologetic smile.
"Quite alright, I'll test it," Bertie said, and happily did so, obviously enjoying himself as he took a taste of the mixture, beaming. "Absolutely perfect!" he said cheerfully, smacking his lips while the class stared at him. "My father always says that every taste in the world was a taste of life, and I've never experienced a taste I didn't like," he smiled at them. "But perhaps something everyone can enjoy this time?"
Jennifer grinned at him then turned to a tray that none of the students noticed before and picked up a tall butterbeer topped with banana ice cream.
"One Snitch in the Mud, coming right up," Jennifer said. "Rosmerta will be thrilled." Just like before, he put the drink on the table and cast the same spell with a clean phial, using the second cauldron to draw up the mixture, which turned to a golden brown. As Jennifer took a taste the rest of the class looked eager to test it as well, so much that she chuckled. "You'll have a chance later, I promise," she said.
"We have one more flavor to prepare," Bertie smiled, "Then you will all have your chance at a small bit of the secret formula and adding your own flavors to it, and then I'll show you how to form them into beans," he said. The third flavor turned out to be icicle, which tasted to Jennifer like light mineral water, but she was sure it probably tasted better at room temperature than warm.
It was then time to let the class loose, and Jennifer couldn't help but make one of her own as they scattered about looking for things to turn into flavors. Danny still had some licorice in her pocket and used that as the safest bet, while most of the class looked through the ingredients on the shelves having some idea of which ones were palatable. Mr. Botts was very happy to test every one, recognizing quite a number of them immediately; from catmint to saffron, and even the more exotic choices of hemlock and foxglove (Jennifer gave Amadeus and Roger dirty looks but didn't say anything) and all of them were quickly identified by the cheerful candy maker. He beamed when he tried Corey's rusty door hinge, deciding to put that on his list of possible flavors for the next year's choices, but he was completely enthralled by Jennifer's, looking curiously at the pink substance.
"What a sweet and yet hearty flavor! Why I've never tasted anything quite like it, what is it?" he asked.
"The flavor of porridge from Dagda's Cauldron," Jennifer grinned.
"Really? It's very unique," Bertie said, quite impressed. "Might I use this?"
"Be my guest," Jennifer chuckled, as Bertie tasted another spoonful.
"I shall definitely have to take a phial of this with me," he said, thanking her.
Large cloth tubes were brought out and they were allowed to turn off the liquids, hurriedly pouring the contents of their cauldrons in the tubes and dabbing bits of candy on wax paper. By the time they were done ,they had enough to give each classmate a couple of beans of their flavors and still have a separate bag filled with the flavor they had made, cheerfully heading out of the rooms and conspiring as to who to talk into trying the live toad beans.
After the two of them cleaned up the cauldrons, Dumbledore came down to see him, and Jennifer cheerfully thanked them and went to the staff room to wait for Severus' class to get out before dinner. Anna was sitting at the end of the table, buried in paperwork.
"Want some freshly made Bertie Botts beans? I even have one or two that actually turned out pretty decent," Jennifer offered, putting the two bags on the table and eating one out of her porridge batch.
"No, with my luck I'll get the wrong one and I'll get nauseous again," Anna said tiredly.
"Anything I can help you with?" Jennifer asked her.
"I really doubt it. I know Muggle Studies is hardly your area," she sighed. "Between Sirius being called away to deal with magic failures and the Ministry having me run around all the time. I haven't had much time to get caught up on schoolwork. So, I'm going to stay the night tonight so I can get the last of these tests written up and essays marked."
"I hate watching you push yourself so hard," Jennifer said in concern wishing there were something she could do. Anna smirked at her slightly.
"I've been watching you push yourself 'too hard' for the last three years, and I'm sure you'll be doing it again before this is done. No offense and I was quite glad to help, but I will be relieved when you have your own baby back again. Sagittari thinks she more than any reason is why my nausea hasn't let up yet."
"Four more days, and she'll be back," Jennifer said with a wistful sigh. "I didn't even know she was there when I was poisoned and yet I miss her all the same."
"And then we can both drive our husbands completely crazy worrying about us," Anna said. Jennifer chuckled lightly.
"Too late, I think. I swear the way Severus has been behaving lately he's quite sure that the entire world is after me."
"Well, they still have no suspects, so you can't really blame him, can you?" Anna asked. "At least there haven't been any more Imp invasions lately."
"I almost wish there was one," Jennifer said, getting a surprised look from Anna. "Well, we haven't gotten much clue to who specifically it is so far, maybe one of them will trip up. After all, any of us are more than a match for an Imp."
"Yes, as long as there aren't any lakes around," said a curt voice behind them and Jennifer winced slightly. Severus wasn't about to let her down on 'forgetting' to tell him about that one anytime soon. "The two of you have enough to worry about without any plotting. I suggest you leave that to me," Severus said, sitting down beside Jennifer. Anna gave him a dirty look.
"Well, that makes me feel reassured," Anna said sarcastically. "At least I know Sirius doesn't have the time to help you with whatever scheme you're thinking up at the moment."
"If it's all right with everyone, I really just want a nice quiet holiday," Jennifer protested, instantly silencing whatever it was that Severus was about to say.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere until I get these papers in order," Anna swore to herself, bending back over her papers.
"You're lucky I can't slip you a Subtle Slumber right now," Severus told her, glancing at his watch and standing back up "Are we going to dinner, or not?"
"You go on, I really have too much to do," Anna sighed, gathering up her papers. "I think I'll eat in my office."
"Do you want me to get you some porridge?" Jennifer inquired with concern.
"Thanks, but no thanks," Anna chuckled. "I try to stay away from anything that looks like pink oatmeal. I'll just send Sirius out for burgers and chips when he comes to check up on me." Jennifer took out a small phial, putting it on the table in front of her.
"Take that beforehand, it's safe, and it'll prevent you from getting a devil of a heartburn afterwards," Jennifer recommended. Anna couldn't help but think that calcium tablets would be better for the babies than whatever it was that was in that concoction, but she took it, thanking them as they walked toward the hall. Picking up the last of her things, Anna headed out towards the back stair and up towards her office, contemplating breaking her own rule about caffeine by laying into the coffee. She had a feeling it was going to be a long night.
Sirius didn't stay very long when he did show, stopping only to share a quick meal with her and bring her up to date. Harry, it seemed, was getting ready to go on a trip somewhere with Ron over the holidays, apparently along with Aunt Viviane, although Harry hadn't had time to tell him about it in any detail. They had been too busy attempting to secure the council chamber, to make sure that it wouldn't suddenly appear when they held assembly next month, although Sirius couldn't help but admit that showing up would drive the severity of the problems at large home to those inside. Anna doubted that any of them didn't know how serious things were, but she had long accepted the fact that Sirius had very little trust in any part of the government, at least any that didn't involve her or Harry directly.
Soon Sirius had kissed her goodnight, grabbed his jacket, and hurried back out. Anna was left to contemplate getting paperwork done, regretting that she hadn't taken that heartburn potion Jennifer gave her.
She was not the only one hard at work that late evening, of course. Far upstairs in an unused room near the top floor, Francis Pyther was carefully cleaning another painting. Several others had been taken down and lined up around him, patiently waiting their turn for some much needed attention. They were keeping him company by telling him some stories of their histories as he worked, and most of them were quite fascinating indeed. The more paintings he met at the school, the more impressed by the collection he was. Every one of them had a story to tell, and Pyther became of the opinion that a student could learn quite a bit without touching one book, just going about and asking the paintings about things.
An unusually strong wind burst open the long double window at the far end of the room, and Pyther had to get up and fix it before the snowy blustery air damaged any of the paintings. It settled as quickly as it came, and Pyther was able to latch the windows shut, pulling a tiny gold claw to lock them. He threw a couple more logs on the fire before turning back to his work, and was quite surprised to see a tall, dark haired woman with a timeless and beautiful face, looking over the paintings with gently pursed lips.
"Who are you?" he asked with surprise. In a way she reminded him of Jennifer, and in another way of Anna… rather, she sort of reminded him of every woman he had ever been eager to paint.
"An admirer," she said coyly, smiling softly. "But none of these are original! I so hoped to see some of your own work. Won't you paint for me?" she asked, her gaze sending a curious wave of emotions through him.
"What would you like me to paint?" he asked. "Might I paint your portrait? I rather think you would look good on canvas…"
"No, no, you need not paint me, you've already painted me," she said enigmatically, standing beside him with unbelievably deep, sincere eyes. "Do you always paint what you see and only what you see? Or have you ever painted something you can only see here?" she asked, touching his chest with one finger. "Perhaps you don't know how," she added, her lilting voice almost challenging.
"Reflection, personal or otherwise, is not something that comes easy to me, my lady," Pyther said gently.
"Have you not ever wanted to paint just to free your imagination and your soul? You would be the best painter alive, if you did that," she said, quite close to him now as she took out one of this empty canvases and set it on an easel in front of him, putting the painting he was working on aside. "Come, let's unleash that creativity of yours. A man does not live even a half life for almost six hundred years without something to say, something to give… let us see what's inside of you." Her voice was soft and compelling, and something in him awoke that he couldn't quite explain. But whatever it was, Pyther couldn't help but be tempted, seeing so very clearly how much she wanted to know what rested within. Gazing at the colors in front of him, Pyther took the brush from her milky white hand and began to mix a brilliant blue.
Anna was ready to call it quits for the night. She had gotten caught up on all but the last day of tests, the essays were all marked, and she was quite sure she could easily finish the rest at lunch the next day. It was so late now, and her room was so far away. In fact, she was half tempted to curl up in her office rather than leave it.
Suddenly an odd sensation came over her and she noticed she was glowing, but she wasn't quite sure why at first. There was a presence… a presence in the castle that shouldn't be there, she realized. Instantly she was alert and on her feet, trying to locate what it was she was feeling. Whatever it was, it was strong; it definitely wasn't an Imp, but it was very wild and was calling out to someone. It was then that she noticed that every single painting in the hall was sleeping fitfully, and she knew that something unnatural was causing it. Running faster and wishing not for the last time that Hogwarts didn't have quite so many stairs, she hurried up to where she heard a soft, curious humming and a strange echo in the corridors, stepping into the room it was coming from. There she saw the strange woman, standing behind Pyther with her hands resting on him as she coaxed him to keep painting. Dozens of strangely colored paintings littered the room, discarded as if they were no longer important as he began the next, and Pyther's face looked lost, as if caught in a trance.
Anna felt a surge of anger welled up inside her. How dare anyone try to do anything to Pyther like this! Who did she think she was trying to get this close to him, stealing the very essence of what he was? A burst of energy caused by her fury and strange jealousy lashed out at the woman. She turned in surprise, her green eyes suddenly turning red.
"Keep painting, my darling, it won't be long now," the creature said. Pyther did as he was told, apparently not even aware that Anna was there. But Anna wasn't about to let what was happening continue, and a burst of fire erupted around the painting that Pyther had been working on.
Yelping in fear and surprise, Pyther ran away from it and stood against the far wall, trying to figure out what was going on as the woman's form suddenly grew ghostlike, doubling in size as it stood over Anna. She screamed with hatred and unleashed a volley of prismatic beams of light at Anna, but the dark magic went right through Anna as if it hadn't touched her. Anna stood between the creature and Pyther, not quite sure how to kill the creature but not about to let it near him again.
Suddenly there was movement by the door as Aurora Sinistra and Sibyl Trelawney came running in to see what was going on. Aurora quickly took out her wand, pointing it at the creature.
"Abhorratum Descendale!"
Dark tendrils came out of Aurora's wand and grabbed the creature. The Leanan attempted to fight it off, but the spell dragged her downward into a puddle of blackness, the Banishing Spell finally transporting her away.
"I knew the Sidhe would be coming," Sibyl said in the silence that followed. "It won't be long now," she added somberly, turning and walking back to the tower.
"Someone really needs to commit that woman," Sinistra said, still panting after her mad dash down from her tower. "Are you all right, Anna? Here, Pyther, let me help you up," she said, trying to steady the trembling painter.
"That… that other woman was…" he stammered.
"That was no woman. That was one of the Leanan Sidhe, Dark Fae muses that devour the souls of artists, living off the energy they inspire," Aurora explained. "They were supposed to be extinct, but apparently the major Faerie races are beginning to appear again as well."
"Then she could have… she would have…" Pyther stammered, looking as if he was about to faint again. Anna somehow managed to help catch him from the other side before he could. "Well, I've been behaving like a perfect idiot, haven't I?" he acknowledged, wondering what in the world he must have been thinking to trust a strange woman wandering around Hogwarts in the middle of the night.
Anna reassured him immediately, feeling a bit uncomfortable and foolish for the weird emotions she had experienced during the encounter.
"Come on, let's get you down to the hospital wing, Pyther, and then we'd better go wake Dumbledore," Sinistra said. "I'm sure he's going to want to hear about this."
"Honestly, Aurora, I don't feel all that well myself," Anna admitted.
Aurora turned around, immediately concerned. In fact, Anna's stomach was churning quite steadily now, her heartburn increased tenfold. After a very long climb, the three of them stumbled into the hospital wing, and Anna didn't argue with Pomfrey when she insisted on getting into a bed, falling to sleep not long afterwards.
