The Elixir of Chance
The news of Alex's potion spread like wildfire in the wind. Within a day, Alex had become a human magnet answering questions of all sorts about the potion. Some even offered to buy the potion, which Alex declined profusely. Not only the student body are interested in the potion, the teachers themselves were interested, since the rise of Lord Voldemort had been rumoured last year. Alex could be seen entering a classroom with Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore in the morning, and only out of the room in the evening, and always reading an extremely thick volume on Herbs. Despite all of that, she managed to do all the homework her teachers gave to her, with help from Hermione, Harry and Ron. And among all of that, she managed to squeeze in Quidditch practice during the weekends. Harry and Ron sometimes wondered if Alex was human.
A fortnight later, Professor Dumbledore called Alex, Hermione, Harry and Ron to his office.
"What for?" Ron asked. Alex simply smiled.
"Alex, are you hiding something?" Harry questioned. Alex smiled again, and nodded. Hermione didn't bother to ask. She was reading up on the Three Essences. The four of them arrived at the large eagle-shaped gargoyle that stood beneath the office. Alex turned to Harry.
"Try guessing the password."
Harry thought for a moment. His past experiences with Dumbledore's passwords told him that they are usually related to sweets.
"Erm. Ton-Tongue Toffee?" There was no reaction. Harry and Ron began reciting a list of sweets that they ever heard off, right down to the Blood Lollipops. After about twenty minutes, they shook their head in resignation.
"I give up."
Alex stepped forward and called out. "Voldemort!" The gargoyle sprang to life, slowing turning upwards to reveal a rotating staircase. The four of them jumped up onto the staircase and stood still as they were slowly being brought up to the office.
"Voldemort?" Harry looked at Alex. She smiled.
"Professor said that it will remind him of the dangers lurking ahead," Alex replied, at the same time, reaching for her wand. She then reached into her pocket and fished out a handful of small objects.
"Engorgio." Alex muttered, and before their eyes, the small objects, which were smaller than one of Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans began expanding before their eyes. Soon, Alex was holding up five to six volumes of books on Botany, Potions, Magical Stones and so on. She levitated the books in air with another flick of her wand, and controlled them steadily towards Professor Dumbledore's desk before removing the levitation spell.
"Good afternoon Professor," Alex greeted. The trio echoed promptly, and Fawks, Professor Dumbledore's phoenix flew down to the four teens and landed on Harry's arm.
"Hello Fawks," Harry mumbled as he stroked the bird's smooth feathers.
"Good afternoon to you all. Now, take a seat. We have a lot to do today," Professor Dumbledore said, and instantly, four chairs appeared behind them. They sat down, and Fawks perched on Harry's shoulder.
"Now, I guess by now all of you knew about Alex's potion, and its effects?" Professor Dumbledore asked. They nodded.
"Good. Now, I have a job for the four of you. You three are to assist Alex in getting the ingredients for the Miracle Draughts. We will have to mass produce this potion, and distribute them to every single student in Hogwarts. And of course, the teachers."
Harry, Hermione and Ron exchanged glances. "Which means we will need to find the Silver Pollen, the Cobra and Four Diamonds?" Hermione asked.
Professor Dumbledore smiled. "Alex here had a large supply of Four Diamonds, much to our surprise. Alex, can you show them?" Alex took out a small pouch and took out four stones.
"Wow." Harry breathed. In front of his eyes were the most beautiful stones he had ever saw. He had seen garnet, aquamarine, topaz and diamond from his Aunt Petunia, who made it a habit in showing off a new piece of jewellery to their neighbours every other month. But what lay before his eyes would make those jewelleries Aunt Petunia owned look like plastic. Harry resisted an urge in taking them, and could also see Ron and Hermione doing the same action; lacing his fingers together.
"Alex had kindly given us this," Professor Dumbledore pulled out another larger pouch that looked about the size of a Bludger, which looked extremely heavy. "For the making of the potion."
"Professor. are those the stones?" Hermione asked. Professor Dumbledore nodded. Her jaw dropped.
"Alex, how did you get those?"
Alex grinned. "My mother's family were fishermen. Ever since I was young, my grandfather had been passing me these stones. Even when I was in Hogwarts, my aunt and uncle continued sending them to me, thinking that I like collecting these."
"Wow." the three of them marvelled in unison.
"All we are missing in the potion is the Silver Pollen and the Amber Cobra. Alex also has an abundant supply of Three Essences, as the plants were found in large numbers in China. Alex will tell you where to get the Amber Cobra, but not the Silver Pollen."
"I'm not very sure of the fields in Europe." Alex explained. "But I do have a sample here." She pulled out a small flower. It looked extremely like a sunflower, except that it is a lot smaller; and the pollen is a shiny silver colour. Ron exclaimed and jumped upon seeing the flower.
"There are lots of these near the paddock! I saw them in clusters near the far end of the field."
Harry jumped as well at the news. "Wow! We can get your mother to pick them for us! Are there a lot?"
"Loads! I always water them during the summer. My mom made me do it. She says that it's good to keep the field 'healthy'."
"That's perfect! So that settles the flowers, what about the cobras?" Hermione asked.
"This is how an Amber Cobra looks like," Alex showed them a picture. The cobra was extremely huge. Its body was amber in colour, just as the name suggests. Like all cobras, its neck was broader than any part of the body. A strange red coloured pattern swirled around the body of the cobra, giving it a mystical feeling. Its eyes, however, were quite disturbing, as it was larger than any normal cobra eyes, and its eyes were a shocking blue, except for its iris, which was a contrasting white.
"Creepy eyes." Harry commented. Ron nodded his agreement.
"The Amber Cobra is only found in the wizarding world. It, for some reason, feared the Muggles, even though its venom was strong enough to kill a human in fifteen minutes."
The three of them swallowed involuntarily. Alex continued. "And another thing wonderful about this cobra is that it has a total of three gall bladders! That means we'll only need five of these cobras to make a year's supply of potion for the whole school!"
"A year's supply?!" Hermione exclaimed. Alex nodded.
"From my own information, our dear friend, Firenze had seen a few of these cobras in the Dark Forest. I hope that the four of you could catch five of these cobras within a week. We've been starting on the Miracle Draught for two weeks. If you can get the bile of the cobra by the end of this week, we can finish the potion by the end of September," Professor Dumbledore said.
Excitement and fear began rippling past Harry's spine. He had only gone camping once, but that was at the Quidditch World Cup with Bill, Charlie and Mr Weasley looking out for him. This time is different. Camping alone with only his friends and no adults seemed to be the greatest adventure of his life. He could sense the same excitement and fear alike from Hermione. The last time he went there, he and Ron almost became main course for about hundred spiders.
"Camp.camping. in the. Dark. For.Forest?" Ron stammered. His face had gone relatively like that of a cucumber, except greener, if possible. "With. the spiders?" At the word 'spiders', Ron's face made snow look grey.
Harry patted Ron on the back. "Come on Ron, we'll be with you. I promise!"
"We'll stick together!" Hermione promised. Alex smiled encouragingly.
"Before I dismiss you, I need the three of you come up with a name for this potion."
Harry and Hermione started thinking, while Ron was beginning to look human again. Alex bit her lips and her browed knitted with concentration.
"Elixir of Life? No. that's already a known name." Hermione muttered. Harry suddenly widened his eyes.
"Elixir of Chance! It's gives chance for survival!" Harry snapped his fingers. Alex, Hermione and Ron nodded in agreement.
"Elixir of Chance it shall be!" Professor Dumbledore smiled at them and dismissed them.
* * *
That night.
Harry rummaged through his trunk and took out his pocketknife. Sirius had given it to him on his thirteenth birthday, and it not only has the normal uses a pocket knife has, it is also able to sense if any danger is coming by vibrating. It would be a useful tool to take to the Dark Forest. He rummaged through his trunk again and pulled out a few shirts. He folded them nicely and placed them in the haversack sitting in front of him. He slipped his pocketknife into the side pocket and zipped his haversack up. Ron seemed to be doing the same thing as he swung the haversack onto his shoulder. He fed bits of toast to Hedwig, who had come to look for him and was looking extremely forlorn.
"I'll be back soon, Hedwig. Alright?" Hedwig hooted sadly. Harry patted the owl and it nipped his fingers. Then it turned and soared into the air, heading back to the Owlery.
"Harry, you done?"
Harry lifted the haversack up and nodded. "Let's go to the common room." Ron nodded. There they saw Alex checking a series of bottles in a small box. She was explaining something to Hermione, who nodded every few seconds.
"Alex, what are those?" Harry asked, eyeing the small bottles containing an assortment of coloured solution. There were a clear blue solution, clear red, clear yellow, opaque green and translucent. There were six bottles of each colour.
"The clear blue solution is the Elixir of Chance, red is the neutraliser for Amber Cobra poison, yellow is the neutraliser for ordinary poison, green is a medicine for ordinary wounds and translucent is medicine for internal wounds."
"Wow. how did you get those?" Ron asked, his eyes round in awe.
"I made the first three. The medicine I got from Madam Pomfrey." Alex took out a bottle of clear red solution and put it in her pocket. "It's better to have a bottle of these when you are hunting for Amber Cobra. Their venom works so fast you wouldn't have much strength to stand, much less to look for a box in a haversack and take it out." Alex then waved her wand and three identical bottles zoomed to her. She handed each to Harry, Ron and Hermione, who pocketed it in their jeans.
"Ready?" They nodded. Alex stood up and carried her haversack. "Let's go."
The four of them walked briskly out of the castle, guided by the thin beam of light from their wands. They reached Hagrid's hut, and tiptoed silently pass. Once they were in the Dark Forest, Alex stopped.
"Ferula." A slim but long wooden rod appeared in Alex's hands. "Incendio." The wood immediately caught fire and the surroundings glowed brighter. The rest did the same.
"It's a lot better than this," Alex explained, holding her wand up. "And the fire may keep the cobras away from us."
"I think we guys better pair up with you girls," Harry suggested. Ron agreed, and edged towards Hermione.
"I hope you're not afraid of spiders. That's the only thing I'm scared of," he whispered. Hermione giggled slightly and nodded. Harry stepped up to Alex and the four of them inched darker and darker into the forest. Surprisingly, the wood remained the same length despite burning for a long time. Harry took a look at his watch and realized that they had been in the Forest for almost two hours. He reported this to Ron and Hermione.
"I think it's time to set up camp," Alex suggested. The rest of the group agreed and Hermione went to Alex for their tent. The tents took a surprisingly short time to set up, and the girls shared a tent away from the guys. Alex had stuck their fire sticks in front of them as a protection against any wild animals. Soon, a gentle snoring filled the tents.
The next morning, the group awoke much later than they expected. When they climbed out of their tents they saw two pure white unicorns were kneeling down in front of the girls' tent while two silver unicorns with shorter horns knelt down in front of the boys' tent. Alex sat beside one of the unicorn while Hermione stroked and fed the other with some bread. Alex stroked the mane on the unicorn and gently reached for its horn. The unicorn neighed slightly the moment Alex touches his horn.
"Aiya hath sheen phin selyn thee has shin croon shy hasshin?" [Do you understand what I am saying?] She crooned. Harry, Ron and Hermione turned to her in surprise. Their surprise deepened when the unicorn neighed back in the same language.
"Phrin Delythin shroon neth creen?" [Yes, but why do you know our language?] Alex smiled.
"Freen Shyrinth Min Shree Lasree. Hereeth Hesshinth Rin Larith Rithe Cran Shreen?"[I learned it before. Can I ask a question?] Harry, Hermione and Ron were sitting there dumbstruck as the conversation between Alex and the unicorn continued.
"Hyreeth Seth Cree," [Go ahead] the unicorn edged towards Alex.
"Areth Thrith Hyrath Amberous Cobriuos Orund Phree Thring?" [Can you tell us where we can find Amber Cobras?] she asked.
"Shree Cree Hashrill Phree Krithe Hyashree Freeith Proon Cree Asth Eroth. Shillth Hashrin Creen Phree Asree Croo Hoshith Freyath Shree." [These creatures live in a cave in the deepest part of the forest. We can take you there]
Alex grinned widely. "Yareth Free Furoon Therith." [Thank you very much.] She turned to the others, whose jaws looked extremely like an open window. The unicorn neighed to the other three.
"Let's go! The unicorns are willing to bring us to where the Amber Cobras are living!"
"Erm. Alex? You speak Urican?" Ron asked incredulously. Alex nodded.
"Just like Harry speaks Parseltongue," Alex shrugged. With a wave of her wand, the tent folded itself. Hermione did the same to the boys' tent and they packed up quickly. The adult unicorns knelt down for Hermione and Alex to climb on, while the younger ones did the same for the boys. The moment Harry was on the unicorn, he felt a strange, comforting warmth from the animal. The mane looked even more beautiful up close. He stroked the mane softly, and the unicorn neighed happily. In front the unicorn was speaking softly to Alex.
"It's a half-day's journey to the cave! Better get comfortable!" Alex announced. With that, the four unicorns galloped off. Harry was worried that he would slide off the unicorn, but Alex assured that unicorns would not let their riders slide off.
The Dark Forest looked less frightening under the bright daylight. However, as the foursome ventured deeper and deeper into the woods, the surroundings grew darker. Harry stayed close to Alex, while Ron stayed close to Hermione. After what seemed like ten hours, Alex called for a break.
"We've been riding for four hours only?!" Ron exclaimed. "How much longer do we have to go?"
"We've covered about ten miles. There's still about another twenty more to go." Alex trailed off, counting off her fingers. The foursome poured out some water for their unicorns, which they accepted with happy neighs. About half an hour later, and a quick lunch of toast, the foursome climbed on the unicorns again and they galloped off. Alex called for another break. By this time, Harry's bones felt like lead. Even Alex looked extremely worn out. Ron was cracking his bones, while Hermione did some stretching. They had a quick dinner, which consists of sandwiches and water, before setting off again. Harry had a good mind to walk, but his mind told him that it was plain suicide.
By the time the unicorns stopped, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Alex had fallen asleep on the back of the unicorns. It was not until the unicorns picked them off their backs with their teeth before they woke up. The unicorns neighed their goodbyes as they galloped away from them. The foursome shouted goodbyes. By then, it was almost midnight, and Alex called for camp.
"I don't think I have the energy to battle cobras now," she moaned. Hermione nodded her agreement. Thus, the foursome set up camp again and fell asleep the moment they hit the sleeping bag.
* * *
Harry opened his eyes, his heart pounding so heart he was afraid that it would burst. He heard something, something that he had not heard for almost three years. The last time he heard it, a giant snake came after him.
"Shiya Sah Hassin Seth Hassa Shiithin." [I smell intruders.] Harry's ears caught a sentence that sound faintly like this. His heart leapt to his throat. He climbed out of the tent, careful not to disturb Ron and the girls. He held his fire stick up and pulled out his wand. In a low voice, he called out.
"Shihas Sa Heshi Lythin Seth?" [Is someone there?]
"Has Shee Syahas Seehath Sithia?" [What are you doing here?] a faint hissing voice spoke. Harry turned, his heart pounding. But there was no one.
"Shiith Sa Hussin Seth Serpon Shia Lythin?" [Are you an Amber Cobra?]
"Sahath Shee." [Yes] Harry stepped back, but the hissing sound edged closer.
"Has Shee Syahas Seehath Sithia." [What are you doing here?] Harry stepped back and snapped a twig. The slight cracking alerted Alex, Ron and Hermione.
"What is it?" Ron whispered. Harry gestured him and the others to keep quiet.
"Hath Sheeheth Sely Hiyasath Sheehin?" [There's more of you?]
"There's a cobra near us," Harry whispered.
"Shiya Has Seeheth Selythin Sa Hash? Hassa Sheheth Syathin Hess?" [Have you come to capture my kind? What are you?] The cobra hissed.
"Syath Seelythim Hassar." [I'm a human] Harry replied, his grip tightening on his wand. "Hyath Seethin Has Shee Hith Sar Harsin Thelin Shee Hihath Selythin." [We need your kind for a potion to resist Voldemort]
"Syeth Hisshi Syathshi Hethith Sa Selythin Shihasa? Shehith Syahath Seeyath Hasshi Selythin, Syath Hissar Seath See!" [Are you an enemy of the heir of Slytherin? Enemies of the heir of Slytherin will have to die here!] With that, a loud hissing could be heard from all directions. The four of them edged closer to each other, until they were back to back.
"Syath hath Harry Potter," [I'm Harry Potter] Harry tried again, but he stopped when he saw the sight before him. Hundreds of Amber Cobras stared back at him with their bright blue eyes. Harry felt his spine freezing and he shivered. The surroundings seemed to have chilled since the snakes appeared.
"This is few?" Ron whispered. "Whoever Firenze was, he definitely needs spectacles!"
"Know any good spells?" Harry whispered to Hermione.
"Harry Potter? Syath hath Hethith Sa Selythin Heeath Syaheth Sa? Haath Sheyeth Shee Yath Hashee!" [Harry Potter? The boy who had almost killed the heir of Slytherin? All the more you should die here!] The snake hissed loudly and jumped at Harry. He quickly Banished the snake back.
"Hit their eyes! Repnia Exime!" Alex shouted over the angry hissing. Harry shouted the same charm, and he blasted three snakes away.
"Sheeyath Shee Hayethee!" [Attack the girls first!] Harry heard over the loud hissing.
"Ron! Stay close to Hermione!" Harry shouted. Ron and Hermione stood shoulder-to-shoulder Harry felt his shoulder touched Alex's and continued repeating the same charm.
"All of you shout Deflectio Repnia! One, two, three!" At 'three', the four of them chorused the charm. To their pleasant surprise, a foggy forcefield surrounded them and the snakes bounced back from them. None of the snakes could get any closer than three feet away.
"The Deflecting Shield can only last for a few minutes! Let's go!" Alex cried. "Leave the tents! Accio bag!" Her bag flew into her hands, and she caught it. Harry and the others did the same and they ran as fast as they could. A few minutes later, the forcefield disappeared. Harry turned and saw about six snakes close at their heels. All of them jumped and aimed at Alex. Without thinking, he jumped in front of Alex, and used his left arm to swat the snake away. He felt a sharp stinging pain from his left arm as the cobra sank its teeth into his flesh. He felt another stinging pain from the same arm as he caught sight of six snakes dangling from his arm. A dull chilly numbness was spreading rapidly, and as he raised his wand, he felt the numbness overtaking his entire left side.
"REPNIA EXIME!" he yelled, and the six snakes lay on the ground, half dead. Harry grabbed his arm and collapsed on his knees. Alex quickly tilted his head and poured some liquid into his mouth. By then, he could not feel his limbs anymore. He felt the liquid sending bits of warmth into his organs. His vision started fogging and he saw Alex pouring more liquid into his mouth. He dropped numbly on the ground, and the last thing he saw was nothing but darkness. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Please give some comments on the Parseltongue and Urican! Author's note: Repnia Exime is something I made up. it's taken from the movie when Harry used 'Arania Exime' on the spiders. =)
The news of Alex's potion spread like wildfire in the wind. Within a day, Alex had become a human magnet answering questions of all sorts about the potion. Some even offered to buy the potion, which Alex declined profusely. Not only the student body are interested in the potion, the teachers themselves were interested, since the rise of Lord Voldemort had been rumoured last year. Alex could be seen entering a classroom with Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore in the morning, and only out of the room in the evening, and always reading an extremely thick volume on Herbs. Despite all of that, she managed to do all the homework her teachers gave to her, with help from Hermione, Harry and Ron. And among all of that, she managed to squeeze in Quidditch practice during the weekends. Harry and Ron sometimes wondered if Alex was human.
A fortnight later, Professor Dumbledore called Alex, Hermione, Harry and Ron to his office.
"What for?" Ron asked. Alex simply smiled.
"Alex, are you hiding something?" Harry questioned. Alex smiled again, and nodded. Hermione didn't bother to ask. She was reading up on the Three Essences. The four of them arrived at the large eagle-shaped gargoyle that stood beneath the office. Alex turned to Harry.
"Try guessing the password."
Harry thought for a moment. His past experiences with Dumbledore's passwords told him that they are usually related to sweets.
"Erm. Ton-Tongue Toffee?" There was no reaction. Harry and Ron began reciting a list of sweets that they ever heard off, right down to the Blood Lollipops. After about twenty minutes, they shook their head in resignation.
"I give up."
Alex stepped forward and called out. "Voldemort!" The gargoyle sprang to life, slowing turning upwards to reveal a rotating staircase. The four of them jumped up onto the staircase and stood still as they were slowly being brought up to the office.
"Voldemort?" Harry looked at Alex. She smiled.
"Professor said that it will remind him of the dangers lurking ahead," Alex replied, at the same time, reaching for her wand. She then reached into her pocket and fished out a handful of small objects.
"Engorgio." Alex muttered, and before their eyes, the small objects, which were smaller than one of Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans began expanding before their eyes. Soon, Alex was holding up five to six volumes of books on Botany, Potions, Magical Stones and so on. She levitated the books in air with another flick of her wand, and controlled them steadily towards Professor Dumbledore's desk before removing the levitation spell.
"Good afternoon Professor," Alex greeted. The trio echoed promptly, and Fawks, Professor Dumbledore's phoenix flew down to the four teens and landed on Harry's arm.
"Hello Fawks," Harry mumbled as he stroked the bird's smooth feathers.
"Good afternoon to you all. Now, take a seat. We have a lot to do today," Professor Dumbledore said, and instantly, four chairs appeared behind them. They sat down, and Fawks perched on Harry's shoulder.
"Now, I guess by now all of you knew about Alex's potion, and its effects?" Professor Dumbledore asked. They nodded.
"Good. Now, I have a job for the four of you. You three are to assist Alex in getting the ingredients for the Miracle Draughts. We will have to mass produce this potion, and distribute them to every single student in Hogwarts. And of course, the teachers."
Harry, Hermione and Ron exchanged glances. "Which means we will need to find the Silver Pollen, the Cobra and Four Diamonds?" Hermione asked.
Professor Dumbledore smiled. "Alex here had a large supply of Four Diamonds, much to our surprise. Alex, can you show them?" Alex took out a small pouch and took out four stones.
"Wow." Harry breathed. In front of his eyes were the most beautiful stones he had ever saw. He had seen garnet, aquamarine, topaz and diamond from his Aunt Petunia, who made it a habit in showing off a new piece of jewellery to their neighbours every other month. But what lay before his eyes would make those jewelleries Aunt Petunia owned look like plastic. Harry resisted an urge in taking them, and could also see Ron and Hermione doing the same action; lacing his fingers together.
"Alex had kindly given us this," Professor Dumbledore pulled out another larger pouch that looked about the size of a Bludger, which looked extremely heavy. "For the making of the potion."
"Professor. are those the stones?" Hermione asked. Professor Dumbledore nodded. Her jaw dropped.
"Alex, how did you get those?"
Alex grinned. "My mother's family were fishermen. Ever since I was young, my grandfather had been passing me these stones. Even when I was in Hogwarts, my aunt and uncle continued sending them to me, thinking that I like collecting these."
"Wow." the three of them marvelled in unison.
"All we are missing in the potion is the Silver Pollen and the Amber Cobra. Alex also has an abundant supply of Three Essences, as the plants were found in large numbers in China. Alex will tell you where to get the Amber Cobra, but not the Silver Pollen."
"I'm not very sure of the fields in Europe." Alex explained. "But I do have a sample here." She pulled out a small flower. It looked extremely like a sunflower, except that it is a lot smaller; and the pollen is a shiny silver colour. Ron exclaimed and jumped upon seeing the flower.
"There are lots of these near the paddock! I saw them in clusters near the far end of the field."
Harry jumped as well at the news. "Wow! We can get your mother to pick them for us! Are there a lot?"
"Loads! I always water them during the summer. My mom made me do it. She says that it's good to keep the field 'healthy'."
"That's perfect! So that settles the flowers, what about the cobras?" Hermione asked.
"This is how an Amber Cobra looks like," Alex showed them a picture. The cobra was extremely huge. Its body was amber in colour, just as the name suggests. Like all cobras, its neck was broader than any part of the body. A strange red coloured pattern swirled around the body of the cobra, giving it a mystical feeling. Its eyes, however, were quite disturbing, as it was larger than any normal cobra eyes, and its eyes were a shocking blue, except for its iris, which was a contrasting white.
"Creepy eyes." Harry commented. Ron nodded his agreement.
"The Amber Cobra is only found in the wizarding world. It, for some reason, feared the Muggles, even though its venom was strong enough to kill a human in fifteen minutes."
The three of them swallowed involuntarily. Alex continued. "And another thing wonderful about this cobra is that it has a total of three gall bladders! That means we'll only need five of these cobras to make a year's supply of potion for the whole school!"
"A year's supply?!" Hermione exclaimed. Alex nodded.
"From my own information, our dear friend, Firenze had seen a few of these cobras in the Dark Forest. I hope that the four of you could catch five of these cobras within a week. We've been starting on the Miracle Draught for two weeks. If you can get the bile of the cobra by the end of this week, we can finish the potion by the end of September," Professor Dumbledore said.
Excitement and fear began rippling past Harry's spine. He had only gone camping once, but that was at the Quidditch World Cup with Bill, Charlie and Mr Weasley looking out for him. This time is different. Camping alone with only his friends and no adults seemed to be the greatest adventure of his life. He could sense the same excitement and fear alike from Hermione. The last time he went there, he and Ron almost became main course for about hundred spiders.
"Camp.camping. in the. Dark. For.Forest?" Ron stammered. His face had gone relatively like that of a cucumber, except greener, if possible. "With. the spiders?" At the word 'spiders', Ron's face made snow look grey.
Harry patted Ron on the back. "Come on Ron, we'll be with you. I promise!"
"We'll stick together!" Hermione promised. Alex smiled encouragingly.
"Before I dismiss you, I need the three of you come up with a name for this potion."
Harry and Hermione started thinking, while Ron was beginning to look human again. Alex bit her lips and her browed knitted with concentration.
"Elixir of Life? No. that's already a known name." Hermione muttered. Harry suddenly widened his eyes.
"Elixir of Chance! It's gives chance for survival!" Harry snapped his fingers. Alex, Hermione and Ron nodded in agreement.
"Elixir of Chance it shall be!" Professor Dumbledore smiled at them and dismissed them.
* * *
That night.
Harry rummaged through his trunk and took out his pocketknife. Sirius had given it to him on his thirteenth birthday, and it not only has the normal uses a pocket knife has, it is also able to sense if any danger is coming by vibrating. It would be a useful tool to take to the Dark Forest. He rummaged through his trunk again and pulled out a few shirts. He folded them nicely and placed them in the haversack sitting in front of him. He slipped his pocketknife into the side pocket and zipped his haversack up. Ron seemed to be doing the same thing as he swung the haversack onto his shoulder. He fed bits of toast to Hedwig, who had come to look for him and was looking extremely forlorn.
"I'll be back soon, Hedwig. Alright?" Hedwig hooted sadly. Harry patted the owl and it nipped his fingers. Then it turned and soared into the air, heading back to the Owlery.
"Harry, you done?"
Harry lifted the haversack up and nodded. "Let's go to the common room." Ron nodded. There they saw Alex checking a series of bottles in a small box. She was explaining something to Hermione, who nodded every few seconds.
"Alex, what are those?" Harry asked, eyeing the small bottles containing an assortment of coloured solution. There were a clear blue solution, clear red, clear yellow, opaque green and translucent. There were six bottles of each colour.
"The clear blue solution is the Elixir of Chance, red is the neutraliser for Amber Cobra poison, yellow is the neutraliser for ordinary poison, green is a medicine for ordinary wounds and translucent is medicine for internal wounds."
"Wow. how did you get those?" Ron asked, his eyes round in awe.
"I made the first three. The medicine I got from Madam Pomfrey." Alex took out a bottle of clear red solution and put it in her pocket. "It's better to have a bottle of these when you are hunting for Amber Cobra. Their venom works so fast you wouldn't have much strength to stand, much less to look for a box in a haversack and take it out." Alex then waved her wand and three identical bottles zoomed to her. She handed each to Harry, Ron and Hermione, who pocketed it in their jeans.
"Ready?" They nodded. Alex stood up and carried her haversack. "Let's go."
The four of them walked briskly out of the castle, guided by the thin beam of light from their wands. They reached Hagrid's hut, and tiptoed silently pass. Once they were in the Dark Forest, Alex stopped.
"Ferula." A slim but long wooden rod appeared in Alex's hands. "Incendio." The wood immediately caught fire and the surroundings glowed brighter. The rest did the same.
"It's a lot better than this," Alex explained, holding her wand up. "And the fire may keep the cobras away from us."
"I think we guys better pair up with you girls," Harry suggested. Ron agreed, and edged towards Hermione.
"I hope you're not afraid of spiders. That's the only thing I'm scared of," he whispered. Hermione giggled slightly and nodded. Harry stepped up to Alex and the four of them inched darker and darker into the forest. Surprisingly, the wood remained the same length despite burning for a long time. Harry took a look at his watch and realized that they had been in the Forest for almost two hours. He reported this to Ron and Hermione.
"I think it's time to set up camp," Alex suggested. The rest of the group agreed and Hermione went to Alex for their tent. The tents took a surprisingly short time to set up, and the girls shared a tent away from the guys. Alex had stuck their fire sticks in front of them as a protection against any wild animals. Soon, a gentle snoring filled the tents.
The next morning, the group awoke much later than they expected. When they climbed out of their tents they saw two pure white unicorns were kneeling down in front of the girls' tent while two silver unicorns with shorter horns knelt down in front of the boys' tent. Alex sat beside one of the unicorn while Hermione stroked and fed the other with some bread. Alex stroked the mane on the unicorn and gently reached for its horn. The unicorn neighed slightly the moment Alex touches his horn.
"Aiya hath sheen phin selyn thee has shin croon shy hasshin?" [Do you understand what I am saying?] She crooned. Harry, Ron and Hermione turned to her in surprise. Their surprise deepened when the unicorn neighed back in the same language.
"Phrin Delythin shroon neth creen?" [Yes, but why do you know our language?] Alex smiled.
"Freen Shyrinth Min Shree Lasree. Hereeth Hesshinth Rin Larith Rithe Cran Shreen?"[I learned it before. Can I ask a question?] Harry, Hermione and Ron were sitting there dumbstruck as the conversation between Alex and the unicorn continued.
"Hyreeth Seth Cree," [Go ahead] the unicorn edged towards Alex.
"Areth Thrith Hyrath Amberous Cobriuos Orund Phree Thring?" [Can you tell us where we can find Amber Cobras?] she asked.
"Shree Cree Hashrill Phree Krithe Hyashree Freeith Proon Cree Asth Eroth. Shillth Hashrin Creen Phree Asree Croo Hoshith Freyath Shree." [These creatures live in a cave in the deepest part of the forest. We can take you there]
Alex grinned widely. "Yareth Free Furoon Therith." [Thank you very much.] She turned to the others, whose jaws looked extremely like an open window. The unicorn neighed to the other three.
"Let's go! The unicorns are willing to bring us to where the Amber Cobras are living!"
"Erm. Alex? You speak Urican?" Ron asked incredulously. Alex nodded.
"Just like Harry speaks Parseltongue," Alex shrugged. With a wave of her wand, the tent folded itself. Hermione did the same to the boys' tent and they packed up quickly. The adult unicorns knelt down for Hermione and Alex to climb on, while the younger ones did the same for the boys. The moment Harry was on the unicorn, he felt a strange, comforting warmth from the animal. The mane looked even more beautiful up close. He stroked the mane softly, and the unicorn neighed happily. In front the unicorn was speaking softly to Alex.
"It's a half-day's journey to the cave! Better get comfortable!" Alex announced. With that, the four unicorns galloped off. Harry was worried that he would slide off the unicorn, but Alex assured that unicorns would not let their riders slide off.
The Dark Forest looked less frightening under the bright daylight. However, as the foursome ventured deeper and deeper into the woods, the surroundings grew darker. Harry stayed close to Alex, while Ron stayed close to Hermione. After what seemed like ten hours, Alex called for a break.
"We've been riding for four hours only?!" Ron exclaimed. "How much longer do we have to go?"
"We've covered about ten miles. There's still about another twenty more to go." Alex trailed off, counting off her fingers. The foursome poured out some water for their unicorns, which they accepted with happy neighs. About half an hour later, and a quick lunch of toast, the foursome climbed on the unicorns again and they galloped off. Alex called for another break. By this time, Harry's bones felt like lead. Even Alex looked extremely worn out. Ron was cracking his bones, while Hermione did some stretching. They had a quick dinner, which consists of sandwiches and water, before setting off again. Harry had a good mind to walk, but his mind told him that it was plain suicide.
By the time the unicorns stopped, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Alex had fallen asleep on the back of the unicorns. It was not until the unicorns picked them off their backs with their teeth before they woke up. The unicorns neighed their goodbyes as they galloped away from them. The foursome shouted goodbyes. By then, it was almost midnight, and Alex called for camp.
"I don't think I have the energy to battle cobras now," she moaned. Hermione nodded her agreement. Thus, the foursome set up camp again and fell asleep the moment they hit the sleeping bag.
* * *
Harry opened his eyes, his heart pounding so heart he was afraid that it would burst. He heard something, something that he had not heard for almost three years. The last time he heard it, a giant snake came after him.
"Shiya Sah Hassin Seth Hassa Shiithin." [I smell intruders.] Harry's ears caught a sentence that sound faintly like this. His heart leapt to his throat. He climbed out of the tent, careful not to disturb Ron and the girls. He held his fire stick up and pulled out his wand. In a low voice, he called out.
"Shihas Sa Heshi Lythin Seth?" [Is someone there?]
"Has Shee Syahas Seehath Sithia?" [What are you doing here?] a faint hissing voice spoke. Harry turned, his heart pounding. But there was no one.
"Shiith Sa Hussin Seth Serpon Shia Lythin?" [Are you an Amber Cobra?]
"Sahath Shee." [Yes] Harry stepped back, but the hissing sound edged closer.
"Has Shee Syahas Seehath Sithia." [What are you doing here?] Harry stepped back and snapped a twig. The slight cracking alerted Alex, Ron and Hermione.
"What is it?" Ron whispered. Harry gestured him and the others to keep quiet.
"Hath Sheeheth Sely Hiyasath Sheehin?" [There's more of you?]
"There's a cobra near us," Harry whispered.
"Shiya Has Seeheth Selythin Sa Hash? Hassa Sheheth Syathin Hess?" [Have you come to capture my kind? What are you?] The cobra hissed.
"Syath Seelythim Hassar." [I'm a human] Harry replied, his grip tightening on his wand. "Hyath Seethin Has Shee Hith Sar Harsin Thelin Shee Hihath Selythin." [We need your kind for a potion to resist Voldemort]
"Syeth Hisshi Syathshi Hethith Sa Selythin Shihasa? Shehith Syahath Seeyath Hasshi Selythin, Syath Hissar Seath See!" [Are you an enemy of the heir of Slytherin? Enemies of the heir of Slytherin will have to die here!] With that, a loud hissing could be heard from all directions. The four of them edged closer to each other, until they were back to back.
"Syath hath Harry Potter," [I'm Harry Potter] Harry tried again, but he stopped when he saw the sight before him. Hundreds of Amber Cobras stared back at him with their bright blue eyes. Harry felt his spine freezing and he shivered. The surroundings seemed to have chilled since the snakes appeared.
"This is few?" Ron whispered. "Whoever Firenze was, he definitely needs spectacles!"
"Know any good spells?" Harry whispered to Hermione.
"Harry Potter? Syath hath Hethith Sa Selythin Heeath Syaheth Sa? Haath Sheyeth Shee Yath Hashee!" [Harry Potter? The boy who had almost killed the heir of Slytherin? All the more you should die here!] The snake hissed loudly and jumped at Harry. He quickly Banished the snake back.
"Hit their eyes! Repnia Exime!" Alex shouted over the angry hissing. Harry shouted the same charm, and he blasted three snakes away.
"Sheeyath Shee Hayethee!" [Attack the girls first!] Harry heard over the loud hissing.
"Ron! Stay close to Hermione!" Harry shouted. Ron and Hermione stood shoulder-to-shoulder Harry felt his shoulder touched Alex's and continued repeating the same charm.
"All of you shout Deflectio Repnia! One, two, three!" At 'three', the four of them chorused the charm. To their pleasant surprise, a foggy forcefield surrounded them and the snakes bounced back from them. None of the snakes could get any closer than three feet away.
"The Deflecting Shield can only last for a few minutes! Let's go!" Alex cried. "Leave the tents! Accio bag!" Her bag flew into her hands, and she caught it. Harry and the others did the same and they ran as fast as they could. A few minutes later, the forcefield disappeared. Harry turned and saw about six snakes close at their heels. All of them jumped and aimed at Alex. Without thinking, he jumped in front of Alex, and used his left arm to swat the snake away. He felt a sharp stinging pain from his left arm as the cobra sank its teeth into his flesh. He felt another stinging pain from the same arm as he caught sight of six snakes dangling from his arm. A dull chilly numbness was spreading rapidly, and as he raised his wand, he felt the numbness overtaking his entire left side.
"REPNIA EXIME!" he yelled, and the six snakes lay on the ground, half dead. Harry grabbed his arm and collapsed on his knees. Alex quickly tilted his head and poured some liquid into his mouth. By then, he could not feel his limbs anymore. He felt the liquid sending bits of warmth into his organs. His vision started fogging and he saw Alex pouring more liquid into his mouth. He dropped numbly on the ground, and the last thing he saw was nothing but darkness. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Please give some comments on the Parseltongue and Urican! Author's note: Repnia Exime is something I made up. it's taken from the movie when Harry used 'Arania Exime' on the spiders. =)