Haja
Chapter 13
Harry sat there, frozen, as the sound was repeated, seeming to be right outside the doorway of the canvas tent. With a start, he realized that he understood what the growling scream was saying.
'''Magic man human ! Come out!'''
Harry blinked. Magic man human? He sat there waiting, listening to the chuffing and low growls as the large cat outside paced. It had to be a cat, right? If Harry could understand what it was saying, it must be a cat of some kind.
The growling scream sounded again and Harry shivered. It was a wild sound, rough and gutteral, one that was strong and compelling. He stood up and moved slowly to the door of the tent. Severus had said that he could not go outside. But perhaps he could still communicate with this creature.
He shifted to Haja and sat on his haunches on his side of the doorway. His meow sounded insignificant next to the power in the other cats voice. '''Hello?'''
Outside, the big cat halted its pacing and was silent for a moment. Then the cat grtowled again. '''Who are you and why are you in the magic man human's dwelling?'''
'''I am Haja,''' Harry answered hesitantly. '''Who are you? Do you mean Snape?'''
'''Magic man human… he has that name…'''
'''Are you his friend?''' Harry asked hesitantly. He knew that Snape had come here before on expeditions. Perhaps he had friends here in the rainforest.
'''We run together when he comes here. Sometimes we hunt together. It has been a long time since he came.''' There was a sort of plaintive note to the last sentence. The cat chuffed again at the doorway. '''Come out here.'''
'''I can't. Snape told me to stay here while he was gone.'''
The cat growled for a moment. Then came the screaming cry again, that Haja now recognized as the typical sound of the jungle cat's voice. '''Where is magic man human?'''
Harry was very uncertain about what to answer. If he answered that Snape was away from the campsite would the cat simply go away? Or would it try to get into the tent? He was uncertain what charms or wards Snape had put on the tent, but he surely had. Would the cat go off in search of Snape?
The cat screamed again, '''You come out. Let me see what makes such a puny sound. You sound less than what my kittens ever sounded like.'''
'''I told you… He gave me orders to stay inside.'''
The growling became more irritable, if that was possible and Haja shivered again with his own unease. He wished that Snape would return.
It seemed that someone must have heard that wish because he suddenly heard the voices of Snape and Draco, getting louder as they got closer to the camp. Draco was cursing.
"You've got to be kidding, Severus! That-- that plant, if you can even call it that-- reeked like --like-- well I bloody well don't know what it smelled like, but I'm NOT going near it again!"
"Yes, you will. The bloom will only last a few hours more. The stench is that of death. The plant uses it to attract the insects who will pollinate it. You will watch it and at the moment it begins to dissolve you will harvest it. A bubble head charm may be used in this case. The magic of the charm will not cause damage to the properties of the plant, since it is not magical itself."
"Well, thank Merlin for small miracles. I don't understand why you need it anyway. I can't imagine what it could ever be used for." Draco's voice was petulant.
There was silence for a long moment and Haja could envision Snape's less than patient glare at Draco before he murmured, "That is because there is quite a lot that you do not know about brewing potions. There are concoctions, the likes of which you have never imagined possible. Most of them are not even written down, and only passed along through the Potions Guild via pensieve to newly ordained Potions Masters."
There was another long silence before he continued his voice drawing closer to the tent as he spoke. "Never think that you are even close to knowing a fraction of this craft. I am still discovering more all the time. Until you make the satisfaction of those discoveries a priority, you will never become a Potions Master."
There was another pause before he finished, "Use the large mouthed jars to collect it. Use as many as you can. Take a cleaning cloth to wipe the edges before you seal each one. There should be no odor residue when you return. I expect at least a dozen jars, so do not think that you can get by with collecting only a few."
Snape entered the tent, closing the flaps firmly behind him. He sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand in a gesture of resignation that he had not allowed Draco to see. Then he looked over and noticed Haja.
Immediately, Haja began to meow, '''There was a big cat—she was just here a moment ago—looking for you!'''
Snape straightened up. "Just now? She was in the camp?"
'''Yes!'''
Snape cursed under his breath and exited the tent again. "Draco," he called. "I have decided to supervise this first collection attempt by you. Wait a few moments."
Haja heard Draco mutter some reply and Snape stepped back into the tent. Haja stared up at the man.
'''Is she dangerous? I only saw her shadow, but she sounded big…and angry…'''
"She is not dangerous to me. Until I have seen her, do not leave the tent.'''
'''She wanted me to come outside. I told her that you had given me orders not to.'''
Snape regarded him sharply. '''Those instructions still stand. I have not seen her in awhile and I need to make sure she is safe.'''
With that rather cryptic statement Snape left the tent and Haja heard him going over to Draco and begin helping the other young man gather what he needed for the collection. Haja sat on his haunches, considering what he had just heard.
Snape obviously knew the cat. He knew who Haja had been speaking of right away. He wasn't afraid for himself, but he seemed concerned about Draco going back into the jungle alone. He had told Haja again to stay in the tent until he returned.
The cat outside had said that she had run with Snape, that they had hunted together. How had that been possible?
The cat did not come back to prowl outside the tent. After awhile, Haja changed back to Harry and dug into the bags until he found the journals he had packed. He climbed up onto the top bunk and lay on his stomach, thinking and writing. The strange noises of the rainforest gradually ceased to distract him and he was lulled by the clicking of insects and the sounds of hooting and cawing of what he imagined were birds.
When Snape came back into the tent, Harry was asleep, his face turned to the side and laying atop the open pages of his journal. The muggle pen he had been using had fallen from his fingers.
Snape gently shook his shoulder. Harry raised bleary eyes and Snape said, "If you change back into Haja you may join us outside. Stay within the perimeter of the camp."
Eager to see the surroundings they were in, Harry did as told and the small black cat jumped lightly to the floor of the tent. Snape held the tent flap back and Haja hurried out, only to stop abruptly. He blinked in wonder at all the dark green. Looking up into the trees that spread thickly above them, he saw flitting shapes of color. His sharp vision homed in on the array of birds that seemed to fly and flit from branch to branch. He was easily able to match some of the sounds he had been hearing with the creatures who made them, while others remained a mystery for the moment.
Snape gently toed him out of the way so that he could completely walk out of the tent. Haja meowed apologetically and hurried to the table that was set up between the tents. There was a stack of boxes beside it at one end and he jumped up to the top one, sitting down in this vantage point before resuming his first look at the rainforest.
The butterflies were almost his undoing. The brilliantly colored insects floated tantalizingly close to him as they made their lazy way through the camp. A particularly vivid yellow and black one lighted on the edge of the box where Haja was sitting. The wings fluttered slowly open and closed as it rested. Large green spots mimicked eyes when the wings were extended. It did not serve as a deterrent to Haja and he leaped at it. The ill-conceived jump only caused him to tumble off the end of the boxes and to the ground, where he righted himself to the sound of Draco laughing. He shook himself and leaped back up to the top of the boxes, casting a baleful glare at Draco.
Draco had removed his bubble head charm and he was packing the collected jars into a padded box. Haja walked over the boxes and then the table to get closer. He wanted a look at this plant that Draco had not wanted to collect but that Snape had said was valuable.
He craned his neck to get a better look, his nose twitching. He could catch a whiff of the odor that had made Draco so opposed to getting near the plant and he agreed that what little he could smell was pretty nasty. But the cat in him also thought it was an attractive odor… He was closer and had rubbed his head on the jar in Draco's hand before he realized what he was doing.
Draco started at the cat's touch and dropped the jar. The lid flew off and the air was filled with the foul odor. With a hiss Haja had leaped back, fur raised in protest and spitting from the odor that seemed to cling to the roof of his mouth when he inhaled.
Draco was running for the edge of the camp, retching, trying to get his wand from his pocket.
Snape was already waving his own wand before Draco could get himself under enough control, casting Bubble Head charms on the two of them.
Haja ran to the tent and pushed his way inside. Once there he changed into Harry and cast the Bubble Head charm on himself. Breathing deeply, he tried to get himself under control. If he retched and vomited inside the bubble he would have to cancel the charm and then he would have to smell the horrendous odor again.
Now he had some sympathy for Draco, understanding why he had been protesting so strongly.
Outside the tent he heard Snape's muffled voice trying to further calm Draco as he vanished the spilled plant material. "Draco, be careful where you are leaning. Don't turn the whole crate over. Secure the lid and I will get you a stomach calming draught."
His voice suddenly sounded clearer and Harry knew that he had canceled his own Bubble Head charm."Draco, it's safe to remove the charm now."
Draco was cursing again, this time his target was 'that mangy cat'. "He's a menace, Severus! We could have suffocated with the odor when he broke the jar!"
"We would have done no such thing. The plant is not toxic in itself. The smell is like any other blooming flower, a way of attracting insects to cross-pollinate it."
"Well it's certainly not like any flower I've ever smelled before, and I hope to never smell it again! That is disgusting!" His own bubble had been removed and his voice was ringing loud and clear.
Snape headed back to his tent, speaking over his shoulder, "If you had done the readings I assigned you would have known to expect it. The Rafflesia is one of the plants that is only found here and only blooms for a few hours before dying. The unique odor is its trademark and must be tolerated if you are to be a successful—"
"I know, I know! I got it alright? I have to do the disgusting stuff in order to get to the good stuff…" There was more mumbling, several more curses that Harry barely heard before Snape closed the tent flap behind him and cast a privacy spell.
Snape looked at Harry and took a long-suffering breath. "You will have to be more careful where you poke your nose. That could have been a single jar of the most rare ingredient we are after."
Harry blurted, "I thought that one was rare. You said—"
"I know what you heard me say. Fortunately, we harvested much more than I expected, so the loss of one jar does not hurt so much."
Harry sighed with relief. He had been afraid that Snape would be very angry with him for causing the jar to be dropped and broken. He looked up at Snape and whispered, "I'm sorry, sir. I'll be more careful."
Snape dropped a hand onto Harry's head and gave it a quick rub. "No harm was done this time. Just be more careful and aware when the curiosity of Haja is piqued."
And that was the end of it. Harry could hardly believe it. The Snape he had known in class would have ripped him up one side and down the other for such an infraction.
Harry wanted to go back outside, but he waited until he heard Draco's voice talking to Snape and it sounded as if he was calmer. He knew that Draco was angry with Haja and he really couldn't blame him for it.
He shifted and went out cautiously. Snape was preparing supper in a tabletop cooking cauldron. At least that's what it smelled like. It was definitely a better smell than before.
Haja stayed away from where Draco was working, keeping himself to a small area right outside the tent. He began to look all around again, his sharp eyes seeing the colorful birds, and tracking the swing of the noisy monkeys. There was so much to see that he had to work hard with the human side of his brain to stay focused on seeing it and not trying to attack the attractively moving things. He was looking raptly at a group of butterflies when his eyes caught something else. Gold yes peered out at them from the dense foliage.
Haja tensed as he made out the dark body of the large cat as it blended into the shadows of dense foliage. A low growl came up his throat, part one of fear and partly a warning to Snape.
Snape was there immediately and scooped him up into his arms as he stared to where Haja was looking.
Snape stroked him as he spoke. It's a jaguar. They are sometimes found in the rainforest. She is curious about us, what we are doing. She likely does not see humans very often if at all."
Draco had moved up beside them. "Jaguar? What's that?"
Snape sneered at the blond. "Did you read anything that I assigned? There was an entire paper devoted to the lifeforms that you could expect to see here. It would have been nice if you had troubled yourself to find out which ones would put you on their prey list."
Draco went pale. "Has it come to attack us, then?"
Snape shook his head. "No. As I said, she is merely curious about us."
"Then we aren't being scouted as her next meal…" Draco sighed in relief.
"Not at this time, at any rate. However, there are other things that you should be worrying about running into. After we eat, you will ward yourself into your tent and read the material I gave you. This time I want it done correctly. Your parents will not take kindly to me allowing you to get yourself killed here."
Haja meowed a cat-like snort of amusement. But his green eyes had not left the gold ones. Between one blink and another they were gone and Haja rubbed his head against the hand on him.
'''Where did she go?'''
Snape answered, "She has not gone far I am sure."
He put Haja back down and dished out the dinner he had prepared. Draco looked at it, frowning, but at Snape's deeper frown he began to eat.
Over dinner, Snape outlines the plans for the following day. There were several insects and arachnids that he had already seen nearby. Draco was to read the information and descriptions of them so that he could collect them. Most of them would be placed in stasis jars and taken back whole. A few of them would require field dressing, as Snape called it. Haja gave his snorting meow again at the face Draco made when he heard that he would be collecting slug caterpillars and removing their spines. The spines stung like nettles if they touched the skin, so Snape had handed Draco a pair of gloves that fit like a second skin. They were impervious to the spines and would offer protection against them.
It got dark quickly on the forest floor and Snape was soon lighting a muggle lantern.
Draco asked, "Why not fairy lights?"
Snape shook his head. "This works as well. Take this one and go into your tent and read until bedtime. We get an early start."
He conjured another lantern and beckoned to Haja. "Come Haja. Into the tent you go."
Haja walked reluctantly to the tent, not wanting to leave his spot where he was still watching everything around them.
Snape followed him in after giving Draco a last warning about wardings and reading.
Once he had jumped up onto the top bunk again, Haja transformed into Harry. "Are you going out there tonight? The cat said you ran together, that sometimes you hunted together. How—"
"Yes," Snape interrupted. "I will meet with her. You will stay inside. If it is safe, I will be back quickly."
"But what—"
"Not now." Snape stopped and looked at him before continuing. "You saw plenty of new things today with your feline eyes. Why don't you write about it and then rest some more. Tomorrow, I may allow you out while we are harvesting."
Harry looked at the straight back that was now turned to him and he knew better than to try and ask more questions. Opening his journal, he slowly began writing about the days' events. Snape was correct. There was plenty to think about and write about in his journal.
Awhile later, Snape had gotten up from his chair where he had been reading. He opened the tent doorway and looked towards Draco's tent. Then he pulled his head back inside.
"I am going now. Draco is asleep. I trust that you will stay inside, no matter what you hear."
Harry nodded. He strained to listen as Snape walked away from the tent, but suddenly all the noise from outside was muffled. Snape had cast a spell to keep him from hearing what was going on. That only made Harry more curious and he jumped off the bunk to get closer to the canvas wall of the tent.
After keeping his ear pressed against the canvas for a long time he sighed and gave up. He wasn't going to be able to hear anything that Snape didn't want his to. He had to wonder just what it was that Snape was hiding though. What if the big cat was not friendly to Snape? What if she injured him and Harry would have no way of knowing that he needed help?
He laid back down on his bunk but was unable to sleep for worrying. It seemed like it had been hours before the tent flap opened and Snape stepped back inside.
He looked surprised that Harry was still awake and he said, "Tomorrow, you will be learning to hunt. Go to sleep now. I will explain it in the morning."
A/N: I am so sorry that it has been such a long time since the last post. This was a challenging chapter to start with and RL kept getting in the way of getting it done! I am still not entirely happy with it, but at least it gets rid of the unintentional cliff hanger from Ch. 12!
Once again, I hope that you will grant me leniency in placing the plants and animals that show up in this rainforest. Fiction…remember?
Thank you to everyone who has reviewed or put this on story alert. It means so much to me. I wish I had the time to respond individually like I used to do. Just know that I appreciate your readership very much!