One hundred and seven. That was the number of students who were affected by the contaminated apple cider. There were so many drunken students that Harriette had to resort to turning a nearby classroom into a designated triage room. Sirius Black and the Headmistress made quick work of turning the desks into beds while she administered pain potions, crackers, and buckets to the overflow of students who were then ordered to sleep it off. Nothing else could really be done. To say that Professor McGonagall was livid was an understatement.

After they had rounded up all the affected students, Sirius floo'd to the potion shop in Hogsmeade to pick up a case of antebrius elixir. Harriette was only able to give herself and nineteen fifth years a dose of the elixir she had on hand but once he had returned, every student was able to get their dose and there were two vials leftover. It took a few hours but the partygoers made full recoveries. She kept them overnight just to make sure they were completely sober and ready for a mass scolding in the Great Hall by the headmistress.

Harriette was glad when the last student finally left the morning after Halloween. The testing seasons from Ilvermorny were never this crazy. She felt like she was dealing with a bunch of bumbling, babbling, band of baboons as McGonagall once said. She was so exhausted that she couldn't even smile at the memory. She was also covered in vomit. How she maintained her composure throughout the ordeal, she didn't know. What Harriette needed was a long soak in a tub filled with floral scented oils and bubbles as tall as the highest castle tower. It sounded heavenly.

She gathered her clothes and toiletries and made her way one floor up to the staff bathroom. She was passing the stone gargoyles guarding the staff lounge when they turned their heads to watch her. She paused and looked back at them. One had a lopsided grin and the other was trying to stifle a laugh.

"Care to tell me what you two find so hilarious?"

"Oh nothing." said the gargoyle on the left. He picked up his claw, pretending to examine his nails.

"Seems like the night for a bath, eh?" the other gargoyle chuckled. This left her confused but then again, the gargoyles were known for their sassiness, crassness, and downright annoyance. Harriette rolled her eyes and continued on to the bathroom.

She came upon a marble statue of a beautiful maiden. To most, she seemed like a completely normal woman, unless you studied ancient Greek history and mythology then you would know the statue was of Medusa in her human form before Athena cursed her. Legend had it that Athena was jealous of Medusa but in reality, the goddess gave her a powerful tool that would protect her from hungry men that would violate her body. Medusa stood watch over the staff bathroom and required a correctly answered riddle to permit entry. If you gave the wrong answer, she was enchanted to change into her cursed form and scare you away. She witnessed this only once before in her sixth year and Cormac McLaggen was scared so badly he went into shock. Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall gave him more than an earful.

"This very thing you were born with pleases us all. It is even capable of making men fall. While only experienced by few, it is treasured by all. What is it?" The statue's silky voice slipped from her stone lips. It didn't take very long for Harriette to figure the riddle out but the marble woman's voice held her in a trance. After a moment she snapped out of the reverie and said "Beauty." The polished oak door that led to the bathroom sprung open revealing a grand entryway that led to a giant tub further into the room. It was very similar to the prefect's bathroom on the fifth floor with marble tiling, gold trimming, and the shiniest gems and jewels adorning the faucets. The candle-lit chandeliers hung above the swimming pool-like bathtub which was already filled to the brim with bubbles and…..

"Mr. Black!" Harriette dropped her belongings as she brought her hands up to cover her mouth. There in the bath was Sirius Black who was only visible from the waist up. She followed the sudsy water lingering in the trail of hair from his hardened chest to the surface of the water. The sight of him slippery and soapy caused her cheeks to burn and before he could say anything, she turned around and ran back through the bathroom entryway, leaving her things forgotten on the tile floor. Mortified didn't even come close to how she felt.

"You could have warned me that the bathroom was occupied!" She shouted at the gargoyles as she hurriedly passed by.

"Well, where is the fun in that?"

She could still hear the statues laughing as she took the stairs down to the first floor where the medical wing was located. She did not expect to find a naked man in the tub, let alone Sirius of all people. She also didn't expect him to look so good. She stopped to lean against the corridor wall as she remembered the way his tattooed body glistened with water drops under the candle light. She could feel a warm pool of moisture settle between her thighs and she snapped them together, squeezing tightly as to force her body from reacting this way, but the effort proved in vain and instead the friction from the movement caused her own pleasure to radiate throughout her core. This can not be happening!

She finally made it to her room in the infirmary and she slammed the door shut, graciously leaning against the solid wood. She was so weak in the knees she didn't trust herself to stand unassisted. She willed her racing heart to slow, and wished even harder for the images in her head to disappear but no matter how tightly she squeezed her eyes shut, she couldn't stop picturing Sirius in all his naked glory. Harriette let out a small moan; the sliver between her hot folds began to throb and pulse with need. She thrust both hands between her legs to stop the ache. Bad mistake. She moaned again. The images of Sirius flashed through her mind and her fingers quickened their pace. His hardened body, her hip thrusts; another moan. Faster! Soap, water, tattoos; she bit her lip. Burning. Building. Desire. She threw her head back against the door and her passion escaped her lips so suddenly that hot tears rolled down her cheeks.

Harriette sank to the floor as her heartbeat slowed to a more regular pace. Every nerve in her body felt as if they were on fire, yet cooled by a tranquility she could not explain. While she satisfied her sexual appetite for now, she was still wanton. She definitely needed to visit Mickey for Thanksgiving.

The third week of November found Harriette lying on her bed surrounded by more Daily Prophet articles. Aside from a few Death Eater roundups and Arthur Weasley being promoted, there wasn't any news of Bellatrix or Sirius' return. She was delighted at Arthur's promotion though. The article mentioned that because of his efforts of smoothing things over with the members of the Muggle Liaison office in the muggle world in the aftermath of the war, he was elected to be the new Head of the Muggle Liaison Department in the Ministry of Magic. She waved her wand and the newspapers folded and stacked themselves neatly on the edge of the bed.

A large leather tote sat neatly packed waiting on the chair by the fireplace for her to floo to the Leaky Cauldron. Naos had already left for London to spend the weekend with the Goldstein's for which she was grateful. She wasn't quite ready for him to go to Harry's, Ron's, or Remus' houses yet. She was confident in her concealment charm but still very paranoid. She still had a few hours to spare before she would leave for London and she needed to find something to do. Krishna yawned, stretching on the pillow next to Harriette.

"Are you bored too?" She pet the feline behind the ears. She could hear the soft purring coming from her cat; her ears were her favorite part to be scratched and the vocal appreciation let Harriette know she was hitting it just right. "You behave while I am gone. Don't get into too much trouble with Crookshanks and absolutely do not attack Mrs. Norris anymore." Krishna blinked.

She sighed, standing up from the bed. The thought of a calming tea sounded wonderful and it was a perfect moment to use the herbs Neville had gifted to her for the Snakewood stems. She walked to the little table near her window and opened up a wooden box which had plant and herb pressings engraved into the cherrywood. Inside it was divided into little sections, and each section had a different labeled herb. On the right side of the box there was a longer section that housed a long silver spoon, a much smaller silver spoon, and a little silver infuser. It was a complete herbal tea set. On The inside of the lid there was beautiful calligraphy that read: Neville's Herbal Teas. A note sat atop of the herbs with her name scribbled across.

Harriette,

I wanted to thank you for trusting me with the opportunity to propagate and grow such a treasured plant. To show my appreciation, I have given you the first of my herbal tea sets which I will start to sell in the coming new year. I have worked hard on growing, harvesting, and drying each herb, making sure they are the best for your enjoyment. And I do hope you enjoy them. Please let me know what you think!

-N.L.

P.S. The Snakewood stems have successfully propagated and I will transfer them to pots soon. Wish me good luck?

The note brought a smile to Harriette's lips. His thoughtfulness really touched her and to hear how well the stems were doing was great news. She picked up the smaller spoon, scooping up a bit of chamomile, slipping it into the infuser. She then gathered a bit of lavender as well and a pinch of lemon balm; she chose these herbs for their calming effects. Grabbing her favorite ceramic mug from the table she cast the aguamenti spell and a stream of water slipped from the tip of her wand into the cup. Using her magic, the liquid came to a soft boil and she dropped the infuser into it. All she had to do was wait. She watched the amber ribbons swirl in her cup and before long the floral and earthy aromas were hypnotizing her sense of smell. Perfection.

A knock on her window stopped her just before she took her first sip. Sighing, she stepped to the window to unlatch it, and as soon as she did an impatient barn owl swooped in, landing next to her box of herbs. It dropped an envelope from its beak and proceeded to peck at the dried herbs.

"Oh no you don't" Harriette shooed the bird from the box causing a bit of her tea to spill down her front. It hooted seemingly annoyed and flew back out of the open window. "Silly bird."

She recognized the handwriting on the letter instantly. It had been a long time since she had seen it and the moment she did, her heart began to beat rather fast. She slid her finger under the wax seal and slipped the letter from the envelope, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"H. J. Dahl,

Forgive me for this letter. I know you have your reasons for keeping your distance and for not writing. I went through my husband's things. I shouldn't have but I know he already sent a letter to you and I desperately needed to write you. You need to understand how he is feeling, how they both are feeling. I will not name names for your sake of security. You should be able to guess whom I am referring to with that clever brain of yours. They are aching, H. They need you. There is so much you have missed out on and so much we don't want you to miss. You should have been at the platform when our children left for school. You should have been here for their births and so much more! Merlin, H! I understand, I do, but you are needed. Please come home.

-G."

Ginny. Her very best girl friend. She was right. She missed so many important things in her friends' lives. Moments she had always dreamed of being there for. Weddings, births, birthdays, other celebrations and standing on platform Nine and Three Quarters to see their children off every year for school. The reminder made her feel so low, but with the cards she had been dealt, how could she have been there? If she didn't need her calming tea before, she definitely did now.

She walked to her bookshelf and pulled out the children's book where she kept her secrets. With tears rolling down her face, she slipped the letter into the book with the rest of the letter and pictures she kept hidden from the world. Her keepsake stash. Just as she was putting the book back on the shelf, she paused. Out of the corner of her eye, she had thought she had seen a face in the fireplace, but when she looked, the fire appeared normal. She placed the book back in the empty spot and began to get ready to go with the eerie sense of being watched stuck in the back of her mind.