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"I
just hope to sleep, and never awaken;
Nothing left in this world
could replace what you have taken..."
--Sandy
Cheney
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"We can't go to Pomfrey, how many times must I tell you that?" snapped Remus irritatedly for what seemed the eighth time that morning. "And not to Slughorn, either."
"But why the hell not?" whined Peter.
"You heard James," said Sirius, scowling slightly. "He doesn't want Lily to be implicated in this business. He's so bloody diluted sometimes. Argh! His life has been turned upside down, and all he cares about is whether Miss Delicate Evans is safe from trouble! And he kept muttering such strange things during detention yesterday…"
"Like what?" asked Remus immediately.
Sirius shrugged. "Strange things, strange things. Like…'It's not the potion, it's me'…'Lily must never know'…'No one can help'…. I asked him about it several times, but he just wouldn't answer! Do love-potions make you lose your sanity, do you think?"
Remus shook his head despondently, and continued wading through the pages of the dull, musty book in front of him.
"If only we could've laid a hand on Most Potente Potions," said Remus, "I would never have had to ask my Dad for this Encyclopedia of Potions. It's too huge for comfort. And Dad was so very suspicious. I'm sure he's going to grill me like anything when the holidays roll around."
"Snape's got that book, the one you mentioned. Most Potente Potions," said Peter, and Sirus stiffened like a rod. 'I saw it in Snape's hands in the library. I wonder what he needs it for; probably a new kind of poison to—"
"Can we get to the issue at hand, please?" snapped Remus. "Let me remind you both, that we are currently looking for a cure against Amortentia, and not deducing—"
"Hey, check this one over here," said Sirius suddenly, his eyes gleaming. "The Renascence Potion, a potion for lovesickness, Page 189462."
The three boys huddled closer for a better look.
THE
RENASCENCE DRAUGHT
This potion is meant to reverse the effects of the Love Potion that the victim has drunk unsuspectingly and wants to be freed from.
The ingredients include:
1.Withered
hide of a dragon
This
works to subdue the feelings of desire and provides the lover with
inner resilience to overcome them.
2.Melancholy-inducing
treacle secretion of the Glumbumble
This
serves as an antidote to the hysteria induced by the lover's
cravings-- a common effect of Love Potions.
3.
Alihotsy Leaves
These
provide insulation against the charms of the person that the victim
has fallen hopelessly in love with.
4.
Nettles of the briar-rose
These
cause the victim to think that love is a futile, meaningless venture,
and helps him/her to release self from the suffocating bonds of love.
5.Water
from the fountain of Lethe
This
stirs amnesia within the victim, so that he/she may forget the
incident that has changed his/her life, and consequently to forget
the person his/her heart is set upon.
This
ingredient is extremely expensive, but extremely important. It can be
bought from the nearest Ministry of Healing (MOH) shop.
It
may be also brewed by boiling a black Caribbean Rose in the juice of
the purple Peloponnesus flower on a low green flame.
6.
Lacewing Flies stewed for twenty-one days in the blood of an
armadillo
These
are important so as to foment bitterness and hatred against the
beloved of the victim (whom the victim loves).
7.
Shredded root of a lily
This
frees the victim's mind from the taint of lust, guilt of neglecting
his/her duty, and restores the victim's mind to its original purity.
The potion must be boiled in an earthen vessel in a simmering water bath for seven hours and then frozen to ice form. The potion must be drunk along with strong black tea. The victim will indeed be thankful.
One advice, however. This potion will be useless against the Amortentia that has been drunk at midnight. If the victim fails to conform to such an exception, he will find that the potion has been ineffective and a sheer wastage of money, time and effort...
(Here the writing had faded out.)
"I knew that my father didn't work in the Department of Lotions & Potions for nothing!" said Remus, a satisfied expression on his face.
"It's going to be really tricky, this one," said Sirius, feeling a curious mixture of both hope and despair. "I hope we don't mess up while making this potion. It could go horribly wrong."
"Wouldn't it be better if we asked Lily to make this potion?" asked Peter uncertainly. "I mean, this potion seems terribly complicated, and Lily is Slughorn's protégée in Potioneering."
"Do you ever pay attention in Slughorn's classes, Peter?" demanded Remus testily. "You should know by now that antidotes to love-potions must always be made by a separate third party, and never by the subjects themselves. Otherwise, the antidote never works."
"Why are you so irritable today, Remus?" asked Peter in reply, his round eyes sparkling with tears. "You aren't the only one who's worried about Prongs, you know."
Silence.
"I think we'll have to raid Slughorn's dungeon, as soon as possible," said Sirius.
None of them had noticed the warning at the base of the page, the warning which claimed that the Renascence Potion was useless against Amortentia.
Worries do make us a bit shortsighted at times.
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FOOTNOTES:
For my pals—
Anaela-loves-who,
Good wishes to you!
Mei,
Lets hope you have much fun this May!
Playgroundlove,
Your praise makes me soar so high above.
Finally, this chapter has been redefined, and I'm posting it up. I'm so very sorry for the delay, and I hope the chapter's not too short. But longer chapters mean longer procrastination from studies—something which I must get rid of.
Do show me your teeth. In a laugh or in a bark.