As if he somehow knew what Gwydion planned, Manannan didn't leave the Keep for the next three days, spending all his time in his study, pulling out books to mutter over them before scrubbing down notes and reading more books. Gwydion felt like a spring wound too tight, like any second he may explode. Fearing that somehow the wizard would know, Gwydion avoided him as much as possible. Finally, three days later, the wizard announced he was going to be gone at dawn. This was Gwydion's chance. Before dawn, he was up and waiting tensely behind the his closed bedroom door for the tell tale crack of the wizard leaving. As the sun broke over the horizon, the loud CRACK echoed through the Keep, startling Gwydion despite that fact he had been waiting for it.
In an instance he was downstairs. He forced himself to do the chores left for him, trying to calm himself. He was a mess of excitement and fear, butterflies the size of horses flapping away in his stomach.
Once done with he chores, he made his way down the cellar with his bag full of gathered ingredients, Letholdus watching from stairs. Some of the the things, like the mistletoe, where for potions which he was still missing other ingredients, and couldn't make yet, or only understood part of the recipe. For now, he would stick to the ones he understood totally.
Gwydion decided to make the least important (and probably the easiest) potion first, so he could get a hang of it. To be able to fly would be wonderful, but if it failed he could try again after everything was over.
In the cellar he had found three sad looking saffron treads in a stopped vial. He knew of course, that if Manannan checked he would notice one of the threads missing. The book said a single thread at least a fingernail in length, was needed. The more saffron added, the longer the potion would last. Gwydion planned to use all three. He set up the fire, and the smallest golden cauldron. Slowly, he heated the rose petal essence, until it simmered slightly. He added the three treads of saffron, and stripped the eagle feathers barbs and before it cooled chanted three times, "Oh winged spirits, set me free,
Of earthly bindings, just like thee.
In this essence, behold the might
To grant the precious gift of flight."
On the last flight, he waved the wand in a complex sideways figure 8 three times. And watched in amazement as the previously clear liquid blossomed from each of the three saffron threads into the blue of the endless summer sky, before the threads and the feathers barbs dissolved completely. Gwydion pored the potion back into the now empty rose water vial. A sip from the vial would allow him to fly like an eagle, but he would need to be careful the first time, as he still didn't know how long it would last.
"Well done boy." Letholdus sounded actually proud of Gwydion. He felt a small spark of happiness, he had really done it! "Don't get distracted now! You till have work to do."
"Yes. Of course." Taking a deep breath, Gwydion cleaned up cauldron and started the next potion. The next was the back up potion, which if the cat cookie failed, would put Manannan to sleep. Gwydion carefully ground the acorns up while he waited for the cauldron to dry completely. Once in a fine dust, he scoped it into a bowl with a deep silver sheen. Drawing a M with straight sides and a middle which didn't go all the way down into the dust, he then carefully poured the nightshade juice into the trough, before mixing with a silver spoon clockwise twice. Gwydion then light the charcoal brazier and balanced the silver bowl on the stand. Knowing this was a critical stage, he watched as the mixture boiled, lifting the bowl off as the last of the juice evaporated. Giving one last mix with the silver spoon, Gwydion started to chant, "Acorn powder ground so fine
Nightshade juice, like bitter wine,
Silently in darkness you creep
To bring a soporific sleep."
At the last, he carefully sounded out 'soporific' drawing it out to three syllables. He just hopped that didn't affect the potion. He set the bowl aside to dry completely. The dust glittered even in the dim light of the cellar.
Next Gwydion picked up the now dry cauldron and filled it with the ocean water he had collected. Heating it over the brazier, before it started to boil he removed it and added the mud, and a pinch of toadstool powder. Felling slightly foolish, he then blew into the hot brew. Gwydion carefully then chanted between puffs of air, "Elements from the earth and sea,
Combine to set the heavens free.
When I stir this magic brew,
Great god Thor, I call on you."
And waved the wand in a lighting shaped figure like his own scar. And he did so, he felt a tingle run up and down his back, and the smell of rain filled the air. Carefully he pored the now red potion into a vial, and stopped it tightly. This potion would activate if thrown into the air while shouting 'Brew of storms, churn it up!', and Gwydion had no wish for that to happen by accident.
The next two potions were made as a pair. The first to shrink the second to enlarge. He figured that even if he couldn't think of a way to use them, he should make them as they were relatively simple. Before that, he checked on the dust and found it dry. Careful not to breath any in himself, he pored it from he bowl into an earthen clay jar with tight cork lid he that cleaned just for this. The jar had once had honey in it, but he had cleaned it carefully and hopped that wouldn't affect the potion.
Taking another bowl down from the shelves, this one a deep burnished bronze, Gwydion measured out two spoonfuls of the red dried fig seeds and then covered them in red wine. He tired them slowly while heating them over the brazier. While heating, he took down the jar of dried caterpillars and removed one. Carefully, he plucked the hairs form it tiny body. Keeping one eye on the mix, he mashed a daisy root and the hair from a red caterpillar together. He put it together was a single wormwood leaf in a jar and sealed tightly, before shaking it vigorously for 30 seconds, counting aloud. He then poured the mix into the now hot bowl and stirred counter clockwise 3 times. Pouting half of the bowl back into the jar he quickly chanted over the steaming jar waving the wand back and forth, "Reducio, Reducio, Reducio" and sealing the jar. The mix he then stirred three times clockwise and poured it into another jar, over which he chanted waving the wand back and forth, "Engorgio, Engorgio, Engorgio," and again sealing it. The first glass jar, now a lime green in colour was the shrinking solution. The second, now a ice blue in colour, was the enlarging potion.
The next was potion to turn him invisible. With a small golden knife he diced the cactus flower, before squeezing the cactus juice into the silver bowl. He mixed in the toad spittle and heated a small lump of lard over the brazier to make it runny, and then added it to the bowl. Then he mixed everything 13 times with the silver spoon alternating clockwise and counter clockwise. With the 13th stroke he chanted, "Cactus plant and horny toad
I now start down a dangerous road
Combine with fire and mist to make
Me disappear without a trace,"
And waved the wand in a diamond shape. The potion, now a thick honey like texture, tuned a colour somewhere between grey and purple, with a pearly shimmer. He carefully, slowly, pored it into the waiting vial. He wasn't sure how good it would be in a emergency situation, it was too thick to drink quickly, and also needed an environment of mist to work best.
And now there was no more putting it off, the last and most important potion. Making sure everything was clean and dry, Gwydion measured the half cup of mandrake root powder and two spoonfuls of fish oil and placed them to one side. The small ball of cat hair was untapped from the small scrap of cloth he had wrapped it in week ago. Suddenly he realised why he still had the cat fur, as Medusa had rejected it for the understanding potion as she had been unsure of the effects of having fur from a not-actually-a-cat.
He couldn't do this. He couldn't do this. He couldn't use this fur. He couldn't make the cookie. He just couldn't!
"You must." Letholdus answer made Gwydion realise he had spoken out aloud.
"I can't! The fur is from you! I can't know if it will work! It can't go wrong!"
"Calm down. Tell me the spell. I was a wizard if you remember. I will be able to tell you if it will work."
With that Gwydion read the passage aloud, including the notes written in by Manannan.
"The human form is more fluid then one would expect, and requires little to change. Unfortunately, once changed, it is in fact the reverse which is difficult. For this reason, this potion is dangerous in the wrong hands. A cat can not speak in human tongues, can not act in human ways, can not cast magic to return themselves to their true form. Then Manannan has noted, 'This will show that arsehole Letholdus'." Gwydion blushed heavily at the swearword. Letholdus simply sniffed in reply, so Gwydion continued, "Below, this potion relies on on humanoid nature of mandrake root, which represents the self, fur from the destined form, and oil to smooth transition. The true difficulties is in the bowl in which the potion must be made, for it must be of the finest gold, a metal known for its unchanging nature, and inlaid with jade, a stone know for balanced magics. Without this, the potion will still work, but after a short amount of time will loosen, causing the drinker to partially revert to human form. This revision will never be complete, and is highly likely to kill the drinker. Manannan has noted, 'Death is too easy.' Then there is a calculation I don't understand, and then the actual recipe and enchantment."
"Show me the calculation."
Gwydion held up the book for the cat sitting on the stairs to see. The calculation was filled with almost recognisable letters such as strange i's, x's and h's with a cross along its length, and t's and r's and a u with a long tail, and backwards d's and upsides triangles and horseshoes and something that looked like a handleless fork. He had seen this sort of stuff before, for example in the book on portals long along, and knew that this was complex magic in its most basic form, but he still had no hope of understanding it.
Letholdus made a sort of purr-hum noise and said, "No, this is good. Use my fur. It will bind Manannan to me, and it will mean he can't act against me. It will stop him from seeking revenge."
Gwydion hadn't even thought about that, that Manannan could try and find a way to hurt him for what he was doing. It was better then killing Manannan, but Gwydion didn't think the wizard would see it like that. But what would Letholdus do to Manannnan? What did 'binding' mean exactly? Gwydion didn't want Manannnan hurt. He looked at the black cat, "Ok, but you have to promise not to hurt him, once he is a cat."
"I will do nothing he has not done to others."
"No! You have to promise not to hurt him."
"I will promise not to do anything he has not done to you then."
Gwydion hesitated. The wizard had been good to him, mostly. He had been beaten him that first day, but hadn't been starved or hurt so much he was maimed. He knew he would have to be happy with that, as Letholdus could of course not promise at all, and Gwydion wasn't sure he had time to go find another real cat. So he nodded, "Swear."
"I, Letholdus the cat, do swear to do nothing to Manannan when he is bound to me in cat form, which has not done to Gwydion." There was a tingle in the air and a certain not quiet hear bell ring. The promise would be held up with magic.
Taking one deep calming breath, Gwydion got to work. First he put the mandrake power in a small golden bowl. Around the rim of the bowl, runes were inlaid in jade shone. Evenly, he spread the cat hairs in a circle in the powder. In the center he poured the fish oil. Starting at the edge of the bowl and spiraling in in a clockwise motion, he stirred the mix together. The mix sort of clumped together, but Gwydion just repeated it twice move until a loose dough had formed. The dough ball was only about the size of his fist, but he carefully patted it out into a roughly round shape with the back of the spoon. He then grabbed the wand and chanted, "Mandrake root and hair of cat
Mix oil of fish and give a pat
A feline from the one who eats
This appetising magic treat."
He then set the bowl over the brazier, over a low heat, drying out the biscuit. It was done. The biscuit was made. Now he just had to get Manannan to eat it.
"Finally!" Letholdus exclaimed, "Now Manannan will get what he has always deserved!"
Gwydion shook his head, "I'm not doing this for your revenge! I have to stop him from hurting someone!"
"It doesn't matter the reason, as long a Manannan is a cat by nightfall."
"I might not do it tonight. I mean, maybe he won't kidnap the Prince after all."
"You must boy! Do not tell me you are getting cold feet now! You know as well as I it is simply a matter of time before he kills you." Letholdus suddenly looked shy, "Besides, what do you think will happen to you when he finds all his ingredients missing?"
"You said he never comes down here!"
"Well maybe not never. He doesn't spend all the time he is in the study just reading."
"But! I'm not!" ready, he wanted to say. But if not now, when? How long did the little baby prince have? How long did he have? Manannan had saved him, but he couldn't face the possibility of being replaced. After all, a little voice thought, as a cat Manannan could never leave him. He told himself he was doing this for the Prince, and he pushed the thoughts about hurt rejection fear away.
"No time for second thoughts! It has to be tonight."
With a flick of its tail Letholdus made its way up the stairs. Gwydion looked at the two jars, one pot, three vials, and of course one cookie now sitting on the work bench. He wouldn't be able to carry that all at once. Looking around the room he found a belt with 10 pouches on it, big enough to put the vials and jars, but not the pot. Gwydion slipped the vials and the jars in the little pouches and was amazed when the belt didn't fell any heavier at all, the pouches not did the bulk out like he expected. He was reminded of the backpack upstairs hidden under his bed, which had a special spell to carry exactly twenty items no matter how big. He tried slipping the pot in one of the pouches and was delighted to see it fit in smoothly, as if it wasn't bigger then the opening. Looking around the room again he took the empty 'stasis jar' for the cookie. He had no idea if it mattered if the cookie was fresh, but he didn't want to take any chances. Once he was done, he realised he was still planning to turn Manannna into a cat. Shaken and unsure, Gwydion followed Letholdus upstairs.
Emerging from the cellar he was surprised how late it was. Gwydion knew Manannan would be back in just a little over two hours. Before then he had to have sort of plan to get the wizard to eat the biscuit. He carefully hid the belt with the pouches under his bed, before looking at the biscuit again. The only resemblance to a real cookie was its flat, round shape. It was hard, and had cat hair sticking out of it. Definitely non-appetizing! So how was he to get the wizard to eat it? Letholdus was sitting in his doorway, watching him with an intense stare.
"How did Manannan get you to eat this? It looks gross."
"He held me down and forced it into my throat."
"Oh." Well that option was out. Gwydion doubted very much he could hold Manannan down. Maybe he could trick the wizard into eating it? If it don't look so horrible…
That was it! He would make it look like a real cookie! The wizard never looked twice at anything Gwydion gave him to eat. A plan now in mind, Gwydion went into the kitchen and quickly started to pull the flour down from the shelf. He would have to bake the the cat cookie inside a real cookie. But wait, what effect would cooking the cat cookie have? He couldn't know for sure. Frustrated, he sighed. OK, not a cookie, but maybe something else. Something already cooked or maybe that didn't need cooking. He took the cookie out of the stasis jar and looked it again. Even now, the edge was starting to crumble slightly in his hands. Maybe, maybe he could crumble it up in something.
He looked around the kitchen. Set to one slide was the large pot he had cooked a porridge in that morning for breakfast. Gwydion felt his eyes widen as he realised that was the answer. A porridge. The oat chunks would hide the crumble and Manannan always wolfed down any bowl so quickly he would eat it all before he even started to fell the change. And even better, he had served cold porridge before and wizard hadn't even noticed. With only an hour left before sunset, Gwydion started to cook. Minutes later he had a thick rich porridge, which he set aside to cool completely. He would add the biscuit at the last moment.
The CRACK of the wizard returning echoed in the house, followed by, "Gwydion! Where is my dinner?!"
Grabbing the bowl, Gwydion crumbled the biscuit over the top, and mixed it together. Taking the bowl out to the wizard he handed it over and fled back into the kitchen to wait. He couldn't look the wizard in the eye, not now. Couldn't watch as he betray the man who had saved him from the Dursley's, who had treated better then any had before.
Seconds later he heard a startled gasp, then a strange crunching sound. Peering around the kitchen door, he watched in horror as the wizard fell backwards, his body twisting and twitching painfully. There was loud creak of bones shifting then a snow white cat popped out of the now much too large wizard robes. The white cat sort of stumbled upright, like a newborn foal. Before it could get even a foot, Letholdus jumped onto its back hissing, "Oh no Manannan, now your my little bitch!"
"Stop!" Gwydion yelled, "You swore not to hurt him!"
"I won't allow him to run, before I've had a chance to speak to him. He will have to learn what it means to be a cat."
"YOU!" the white cat hissed.
"I couldn't let you hurt the prince!"
"You fool! You think this will stop it? Its already planned for, already paid! You have betrayed me for nothing. I will see you burn! I will dest-"
Letholdus's paw hit Manannan on the back of his head, "None of that now. You will be silent unless spoken to by myself or Gwydion here." Letholdus, from his position still hunched over the white cat, turned to Gwydion, "Shut us in Manannan's old room, and get some rest. Nothing can be done tonight, and he may just have a better attitude tomorrow."
Gwydion let out a shaky breath. He hoped that Manannan was just upset and not telling the truth. He wasn't sure what he would do if the Prince was still in danger, if had done all this for nothing. "OK." He picked you the squirming white cat as soon as Letholdus shifted away and carried it upstairs with Letholdus following behind. He waited for Letholdus to enter Manannan's room and then quickly threw in the white cat and slammed the door between them. He could just make out Manannan hissing, before the room fell silent.
Exhaustion dropped down on him like a heavy coat. Gwydion turned and went to bed. He would deal with it all tomorrow.
That night he dreamt of a men who turned into a giant black dog, a stag a wolf and a rat. Together they ran in a forest with massive trees and laughed and joked, until the rat ran into the shadows, the wolf disappeared behind the tree, the dog got distracted by where the rat had run to, and the stag stood tall and alone in a cleaning filled with bright red lilies. As Gwydion watched a bright green light filled the clearing, and when he looked again all the lilies were dead, surrounding the fallen bulk of the stag. Gwydion felt a great well of sadness, before he turned an ran deep into the forest. The tree seemed to reach out and grab him, but he twisted this way and that, escaping their clutches. Suddenly he broke into a large clearing were a small pond reflected the moon high above. Breaking the quiet of the forest a babies cry cut, and Gwydion tried to find the baby but the dark of the forest confused him, until he fell away into deeper sleep.