And I'm back! College has been busy so far, but here we are with another chapter and another review reply time.
Love . Fiction . 2017 - Thanks!
lilly2587 - if you're looking for fluff, angst, mystery and Old Voldy's origin story, you're in the right place. And I don't really envision anyone as Kate - never really thought of it.
Invention is tedious work.
Tom started off Boxing Day with breakfast and ideas buzzing as to how the antidote was being brewed - Veritaserum was a necessary evil, because there was a finite amount of energy he could expend in reading people's minds before his began to tire.
Kate hadn't appeared for breakfast, so naturally he assumed that she would be in the dungeons. And in the dungeons she was.
"Oh, come in," she beckoned at the seat beside her, waving her hand at the cauldron in front of her. "I've just added the dragon blood, but I'm not sure if the results will come out right. To be honest, I have no idea what the result even should be. I've been testing it with half-finished Veritaserum cauldrons," she jutted a thumb at the many student concoctions lying around.
He peered into the cauldron she was working on, and like his colleague, had no idea of what they were doing. "Care to tell me the entire list of ingredients used so far?" She pushed a sheet of parchment towards him, listing the so-far successful ingredients and methods.
Three drops of dragon blood - that should counteract the moonstone in Veritaserum, but will overpower other ingredients like the powdered bicorn, rendering it ineffective.
"Make the drops of dragon blood two in the previous step, then check for efficacy with a forty percent brewed solution." She rose from her seat, first clearing her cauldron and then replacing it with a vial of the previous step's sample, multiplying the amount to fit the cauldron. The potion bubbled as the two drops were added, the deep violet shade settling into a pale lilac, Kate taking out a couple of drops into a small phial. With a few drops from a forty percent solution, all colour vanished from the cauldron - they could see the bottom of the vessel.
She took out a few drops from the cauldron, dropping them on the wooden bench, then sniffing after nothing happened. "Smells like water." He leaned down, dipping a corner of his kerchief in the small puddle - when nothing happened, Tom ran a finger through it, placing the drop on the tip of his tongue.
"Water."
Kate dragged her hands across her face, sighing in relief. "Oh, thank Merlin." She stared at the now-empty cauldron, face drawn in concentration.
"We can use Salamander tails to cancel the Adder's Fork."
"But the amount required will be egregious," she muttered, pacing across the length of the table. "One Adder's Fork will be rightly balanced out by six full-grown salamander tails, and then there is the matter of time - it will take more than eight days just for the tails to properly mix."
"Let this cool till tomorrow and check the library for now." She nodded, the two heading towards the aforementioned, where Kate gave a hasty greeting to the librarian before diving into one of the stacks.
Four hours into his religious reading and note-making of Practical Potioneering and Invention, there was a tap on his shoulder. "Psst, Tom." He raised his eyebrows at her, and she tugged at his sleeve. "Come on, let's leave, or Dearborn will throw me out."
"So you found it?" He crossed his arms across his chest, and she nodded enthusiastically, robe sleeves flapping around.
"Moke spleens - you only need one, and its compatibility with the other ingredients is very high."
"Isn't it quite weak when combined with bicorn?"
"Yes, but the Styx river water acts as a strengthening agent, so - oh come on, let's just leave, I've thoroughly annoyed her as is." A sharp tug, and she dragged him out of the library and onto a staircase.
"What has come into you?" Kate grinned as she practically bounded down the stairs, ponytail bouncing along.
"A deluxe sugar quill and three cups of coffee I swiped from the Great Hall in a charmed phial." Upon hearing, Tom took a deep sigh and massaged the bridge of his nose - caffeine and sugar; may Merlin have mercy on me. "But I still haven't figured out the final ingredient. It's been three months, and I haven't come up with even a theoretical alternative."
"For that, my good lady, I have an answer." She crossed her arms, eyes narrowed at him as they stood at the bottom of the staircase, her foot tapping impatiently upon the stone floor. "Just add a gobletful of aconite extract once the penultimate solution cools down, and you will have completed your antidote." Kate smiled, and for a moment, stood with a rather amused look on her face. "What?"
"Just that there are some things I wouldn't do drunk on firewhisky."
"Such as?"
"Meet me at the pitch after lunch."
I just hope no bones get broken in this endeavour.
"So taking a complete novice flying is your idea of things you would never do drunk? Well, you do have your priorities right." He surveyed the empty pitch, the sun shining through the overcast sky as they walked towards the grounds.
"You're not going to break any bones, and you certainly are not going to die. Just sit behind me, or if you find that too emasculating, take a broom and ride alongside me."
"What makes you think I might find it emasculating?"
"Because should I mention this alternative to some other boy, the most likely answer would be a guffaw and a stubborn shake of the head."
"I don't wish to perish without passing my NEWTS."
"And that you will achieve - just sit down behind me and keep your hands firmly around my torso at all times." He looks at her - windswept hair and bright pink cheeks, wrapped up in her green and silver scarf and dressed in Quidditch robes. "Or just sit in the stands. I need to practice for the coming semi-final anyways." Kate mounted the broom, shooting off the ground while he studied Charms.
Tom routinely looks up from his book to ensure that a repeat of that Quidditch match will not be required, but she is completely in control of the broom and the situation.
Thirty minutes later, a strong gust blows his hair and scarf violently off his face and his book to the side, and he finds her hovering beside him, beckoning to the broom. "Just once, Tom. You never venture, you never gain." Dogged determination certainly is her strong suit.
"I'll come down to the pitch." A bright smile, and she shoots off to the ground, wind displacing his scarf off its restored position.
"Now, mount it, and do as I said before." He does as told, gingerly seating himself on the broom.
"And how will I be rewarded for this adventure of yours?"
"You will," she grins as they reach a considerable height, "soon." And she zips off higher, and Tom has to restrain himself from making any sound, squeezing his eyes shut. "Come on, open your eyes - the sight is worth it." She is right.
Hogwarts looks different at this height - he can see the shining peaks of the towers and the snow covered buildings, the filtered sunlight illuminating them with a white halo. "It is beautiful up here."
"I know - now, hold the broom tightly with both hands." He raises an eyebrow and she looks at him skeptically. "Just do as I say." As soon as he has adjusted his hold on the wood, she slides off the broom and it shakes violently for a second as she remounts it, facing him now.
"Do you want me to list exactly how many things were insane out of all that you just did?" His voice is tight and breathless, because I had taken it for a certainty that this crazy woman was going to murder me midair.
"You can, but after this," and she pulls his face closer, cold chapped lips flooding with warmth as she kisses him. They are suspended midair and the sun's rays are shining on their faces, and of all the times Tom has ever kissed a person, this is the most unique and exhilarating of them all. "You were saying?" She asks with a soft smile and he shakes his head, wrapping an arm around her waist.
"You are objectively crazy."
"And isn't that the best part?" This time, he leans in, Kate smiling as he presses his lips against hers.
Trying to recruit her to his causecertainly has its perks.
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