Once again, Evergreen found himself soaring above a dark, seemingly eternal forest. Pine trees were found as far as the eye could see and the cloud cover was also dark and thick. Wind whistled between the canopy that was underfoot and there was an unsettling magic that was felt in the air. It was his dreamscape, his mind-palace, or whatever it was called. It was the place his mind went when he allowed himself to let go for even a moment.
After a few moments, he realized that the canopy was swiftly moving up to envelop him. He passed through the trees quickly and landed soundlessly on the forest floor. He was compelled to walk forward and did so. Each step was just as silent as the last. Evergreen quickly learned that while in his dreamscape, the things he did didn't really affect anything or anyone else. There were pine needles and twisting, almost black roots below his feet. Many of the trees moved in ways contrary to the wind that was blowing through the area. Perhaps they were moving of their own accord? Who knows?
His jaunt through the dark forest led him to a wooden path. Rather, it was a dirt path that was lined with thick branches that looked like they were chopped apart and not like they had just fallen. The path took him further into the forest and at some point, the whistling wind was overtaken by the sound of rushing water. Up ahead in the distance, there was a small stream and a stone bridge over it that led to a cute little forest cottage.
When he passed over the bridge and made his way toward the house, the front door opened. In the doorframe was a woman. She was old enough to be his grandparent, had on a robe of emerald green, and had hair as white and wispy as new falling snow and eyes as gray as day-old icicles. Despite appearing to be quite old, she still moved with grace and with power. She smiled gently as she looked down toward the ground. At first, he thought the old woman was looking at him, then he realized that next to him was a bright yellow hen that he had seen in a vision before. It was Billie.
"My, my. Haven't you come a long way!" the woman said to Billie.
"Only because I'm looking for Elphaba, your grace." Billie chirped, her feathers bristling slightly in the wind.
"Aren't we all? No one has seen her in many years. How do you know that she's still here or even still alive?"
"I just have a feeling. Plus, Mistress Glinda said that she would know if something happened."
"Come and sit with me and we'll talk further." The old woman commanded, and she took a seat while Billie leaped up into the seat opposite of her on the porch.
The old woman offered Billie some cornmeal which she accepted straight away. The old woman conjured a pot of tea for herself and they began talking whilst having their snack. This woman was apparently some kind of witch, then. No-Majes cannot conjure things out of thin air. Plus, No-Majes and some magic users wouldn't react well to an animal being able to reason with them and communicate with them.
"So, why are you looking for Elphaba, then, sweet chick?" the woman asked, taking a scrumptious sip of her tea.
"It's Mistress Glinda! I have found where she is and she is locked behind blood-wards, according to her. That means Elphaba is the only one who can undo them!" Billie said, cornmeal flying over her back.
"And what makes you think that, provided you find her, Elphaba would be interested in helping you? Wasn't it her that pretty much started all of this?"
"Yes, I know Mistress Locasta, but it's the only way."
"Then I wish you luck, and please stay safe." The woman, Locasta replied, giving Billie a small kiss on her head.
The chicken then leaped down from the chair and took off over the lawn, and over the bridge, disappearing into the woods. Locasta looked on with fondness, but a certain amount of sadness in her eyes. She wiped away a single tear and vanished her teacup and pot and the remainder of the cornmeal. She put her hands on her hips and sighed deeply, her full figure shuddering, likely from the cold.
"Elphaba…" Locasta sighed, "Why couldn't you just leave well enough alone?"
With that, Evergreen's eyes fluttered open to see morning sunlight pouring through his dorm room's window. The Summerhills were awake and chatting quietly as they got dressed. It seemed that Evergreen slept a little longer than he expected to.
As he prepared to leave his dorm room, he just kept thinking about his vision. Who was Locasta and what did she have to do with the Wicked Witch and Mom? What was a blood-ward and why can only Elphaba break it? Will Billie be able to track down the Wicked Witch and will she survive the trip? It kind of made his head hurt. No one really could answer most of his questions, but he figured someone could know a thing or two about a blood ward. He understood from his studies that a "ward" is a magical shield of protection meant to keep someone out, or in some cases, to keep someone in. As he pulled on his shoes, he and Seta left, heading to the commons.
At the base of the Thunderbird spiral staircase, a thought occurred to him. If anyone would know about blood wards, it would be the ex-auror in the school. He turned toward the short hallway that led to the Defense class. Once he opened the door, he made his way through the classroom, which despite having drawn blinds, had a pleasant glow about it, to the door near the far corner. Behind was Professor Woods' office and behind that was her personal quarters. He knocked three times on the door before he heard "It's open."
He and Seta made their way into the office and found Professor Woods applying some kind of lotion to her exposed arms and neck. After a few moments, she stretched her arm out to where a small sliver of sunlight was cutting through the office space. She did so hesitantly as if someone were to see how close their hand could get to a flame without getting burnt.
"Well, what do you know?" she said with a smile. "It works."
"Excuse me Professor, but what works?" Evergreen asked.
"Pop quiz, Evergreen. What are the three surefire ways to hurt a vampire, according to the text?"
He stopped and thought for a moment and then dawned on him.
"Weapons of pure silver, a wooden stake, or direct sunlight." He replied softly.
"Precisely. This is a lotion that Professor and Healer Killian have been developing. It can be used as a sunscreen for people who are too pale for the sun, or for people like me and Agatha, Witches Nox. It counteracts the burning properties of the sun, so as long as I wear it, I can now go back into the sun. I was going to go get Agatha to have breakfast with us in the commons for the first time in her life."
"That's amazing! You have your potion that sates your appetite and this lotion to help you with the sun. I'm happy for you."
"I'm happy about it too. But something else brought you in here. Penny for your thoughts?" Professor Woods asked as she let the blinds fly up, exposing her snow-white skin to the bright morning sun. There was a slight glow to her skin that was equal parts magical and creepy, Evergreen thought. "Please, walk with me."
So, they left the office as quickly as Evergreen had entered and as they made it through the classroom, Professor Woods nonverbally opened the rest of the classroom blinds, causing her skin to glow even brighter than it did in the office.
"I had a vision of someone named Locasta and blood wards were mentioned. Do you know anything about that?" Evergreen asked as they made their way through the hall.
"Locasta? Not a thing. Blood wards? Quite a bit. You understand the purpose of wards, do you not?"
Evergreen didn't expect her to know the name Locasta, but he just nodded in response to her question.
"So, blood wards are just like wards, only they can only be cast or taken down by a specific person or someone who shares their blood. Like if your mom cast a blood ward, only she or you would have any hope in taking it down."
"That makes sense, professor. I guess my mom is trapped in some blood wards set up by the Wicked Witch and she didn't have any kids, did she? So, that means only she could take them down?"
"Precisely, Evergreen. You're such a quick study. Now run along to the commons, I would like to privately visit with my best girl, if you please." She followed with her signature grin.
"Okay, no problem," Evergreen replied, blushing only slightly as Professor Woods turned toward the basement stairs and disappeared into the darkness.
When Evergreen got to the commons, he ended up somehow running into the small figure that was Caliban the theater elf. Caliban, Cal, was Professor Park's closest advisor and who helped run all things within the Shakespeare side of Ilvermorny's theater. He had not tried out for that year's play, King Lear, because of Alice in Wonderland. He had some reservations about making that change, but it was too late now.
"Excuse me." Evergreen said.
"Why if it isn't Evergreen Quandary." Cal replied evenly. "Congratulations are in order for your part in the seniors' middle-school musical. Ani misses you, but she'll take some solace in knowing you're still putting your skills to good use. Also, we can depend on you to get into Ani's talent show this year, yes?"
"Yessir, Cal." He responded to the elf.
"Good. Good day to you." Cal said, before quickly making his way to Professor Park who was seated at the teachers' table. Evergreen locked eyes with her and she smiled at him after Cal delivered some kind of message to her.
In only a few moments after Evergreen sat himself between Andie and Link, two figures made their way into the bright commons. They were both deathly pale, had perfect complexions, they had long, dark hair, and lips as red as blood. Professor Woods was guiding Miss Agatha into the commons by the hand. The latter was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses. As they stepped into the direct sunlight, their skin glowed brightly and it caught the eye of everyone in the room. They are beautiful! They may be vampires, but they look almost as if covered with fairy dust! Evergreen couldn't help but stare as Miss Agatha made her way through the morning light for the first time in hundreds of years. They ended up taking their seats which were off to the side of the teachers' table which was slightly shaded. Once they got there, their glow was subdued some. Miss Agatha kept her sunglasses on and the women started chatting with Professor Fangholder the moment they sat down. Looking over at the Killians, they were beaming with pride at how well their anti-sunlight lotion worked for the vampire women. While looking at them, Evergreen had a brief mental picture of Professor Killian dressed up as Velma and Hr Killian dressed up as Shaggy from Scooby Doo; they both had that look to them, after all. It took seeing them together to realize it.
Later that day, Evergreen found himself in Potions class. Like every year previously, they spent the first few weeks of the term studying every common ingredient they would be using that year. No potions would be brewed for the first little while, so it was a time to learn in a safer environment. They learned where each ingredient came from and also the proper care of many of the plant products that they used. It was basically a month of gardening before anything else happened. It was fine though, Evergreen actually kind of enjoyed the first month of potions for that reason. He loved being able to help things grow.
"Now, can anyone tell me what this is?" Professor Killian asked, holding a small leavy, and green-stalked plant above her head.
"That's lovage." Wolf Fairbourne of the Horned Serpents replied.
"Exactly. 5 points to your house! So, can anyone tell me its uses?" she followed.
"It's like celery and can be used in cooking, or if desired can be used to make a confusion draught." Diva piped up.
"Thank you! 5 points to your house! One of the first things we will learn this year is how to make a confusing draught. It's quite simple, but quite potent."
They continued to talk about many different leafy plants and Evergreen figured he would voice a question that he had been wondering about for a while.
"Professor Killian," he asked, "What can you tell me about mandrakes?"
The professor stood up from her table where she was pruning back the leaves on a small mulberry bush she had thereon. She then adjusted her horn-rimmed glasses and stood over Evergreen's desk. Her green robes were slightly drifting with the mountain wind blasting through the open window behind her desk. She smiled in an odd way, not in the unhinged, unsettling way Professor Graves did, but it was still kind of odd.
"Well, what can you tell me about mandrakes, Mr. Quandary?" she asked with a glint in her eye.
"Well, I know that they can be used for restorative potions, like if you've been cursed or transformed." Evergreen managed.
"Yes sir!" Professor Killian said, emphasizing the two words separately. "Plus, their roots' cries are fatal to anyone who hears them, unless they're young, in which case, it would just knock you out."
"What about the leaves? What are some of their properties?"
"They are alkaloid, meaning they are quite bitter to the taste and can cause hallucinations if eaten or smoked. I wouldn't recommend either."
The professor took Evergreen's lack of further questions as a sign that he was satisfied with the answers. She quickly returned to her mulberry bush. Bitter to the taste? Well, at least I'm supposed to carry the leaf below my tongue, so I won't be tasting it a lot. Perhaps when he buckled down to officially start the animagus process, he could find a small mandrake leaf. It didn't matter really how big the leaf, as long as the mandrake itself was mature.
He and Valerian Bonus, his good friend who traveled with him to the Land of the Banished the previous year, proceeded to look at the various plants in front of them, taking notes about their properties and how they reacted to certain outside stimuli. One little red flower, called a siren bloom glowed slightly when someone nearby sang. Evergreen hummed out a few bars of a funny song he was writing and it went from its pale red to a deep, glowing scarlet in a moment. He and Valerian both found that flower to be especially fun. Apparently, it was commonly used in silencing potions. Why someone would need a silencing potion was beyond Evergreen.
When the following Monday came, Evergreen got together with Aaron and they started on the animagus project that evening. Even though with most potions it didn't matter what phase the moon was in when one started, this potion was different. So, they chose to start the process on September 15th. The moon was full and it was prime time to start. The potion itself wasn't to be made until the next full moon. If there wasn't any clear sky during the next full moon, they would need to start over. Evergreen really hoped that wouldn't be the case.
"Okay, so the book says, first, you need to put a single mandrake leaf under your tongue on a full moon, leave it there for the next month, and then deposit it into a vial in the light of the next full moon. No removing it, no swallowing it. Are you up for that, Evergreen?" Aaron asked as he rested his back against the side of the.
"Well, I guess so. And then after that, I need to speak the incantation sunrise and sunset every day until a lightning storm, yeah?" Evergreen replied.
"Exactly, and then you say it one more time in the wake of the lightning strikes." Aaron followed.
"Any idea what he will turn into?" Seta asked Aaron.
"None. There's no way to guess. Evergreen's patronus is a peacock, right? That's a good guess, but is never a guarantee. My uncle's patronus is a Saint Bernard, but his animagus form is a lynx. Talk about opposites, right?"
They talked just a bit more about possibilities until Aaron pulled a small branch from the inner pockets of his robes. Evergreen recognized the leaves thereon as mandrake leaves. Aaron couldn't, of course, bring out a full mandrake because it could possibly be unearthed and if that happened, it would start screaming. The cry of the mature mandrake is fatal to any human being who hears it while the cry of the immature one can knock one out for several hours. It was better to be safe than sorry.
Finding the smallest leaf on the branch, Evergreen took out his wand, placed it over his heart, and said the incantation. Amato animo animato animagus. He then took the small leaf and placed it under his tongue. Immediately, his tongue was attacked by a quite bitter taste. After a few moments, the flavor lessened and Evergreen felt a sudden magical spark.
"So, that's it?" Evergreen asked.
"For now," Aaron replied. We'll regroup next month for the next step. Until then, I'll see you at rehearsal, Evergreen."
"See you then. Thanks for your help."
"Of course. You know the way I feel about these sorts of things. I'm curious to see how you'll manage this."
"Me too. Thanks again."
With that, the two friends and the bunny made their way back into the castle, leaving the snakewood tree in their wake.