Chapter 16
When I told Ron, Harry, Ginny and the Weasleys about my departure, they tried to convince me to stay. Ginny knew why I had to go, but to the others I said it was a part of my apprenticeship. I promised to write as often as possible, and that I would buy myself an owl to do so.
I decided leave Crooks behind, even though it was a hard decision for me. But he had never liked traveling much and I knew he would be in good hands with Ginny. She loved to feed him with treats. I just hoped Crooks wouldn't turn into a fat pillow by the time I got back.
Severus and I had made a plan on how to collect the ingredients. First, we would portkey to Rio de Janeiro to find the oldest Fire Seed Bush in the world. While the seeds were used against inherited diseases, its blossoms were used against strong magic in general. That was a good basis for a potion.
Next, we had the hair of a blue pegasus, of which a herd could be found in Iceland. That would be harder to retrieve since they were very shy.
Then there was a Chinese dragon's scale, a tear from a nymph, a feather from a luck dove, tree gum from an old tree in Australia, and a whale's gratitude. Although no one had ever managed to get that before. How did a whale's gratitude even look like?
Altogether, we had seven ingredients that would form the basis of the potion. And during the travels, Severus would teach me how to collect other ingredients we found on the way.
Even though during the graduation I had talking very casually to Severus, I knew better than to assume that was how it was going to be all the time. Despite the fact that we were obviously getting along quite well, I was still his apprentice, and I had to treat him with the respect he deserved.
I certainly expected the same from him.
A week after my graduation, when the castle had already turned silent from the absence of the students, I left my room with my bag slung around my shoulder. I glanced back one last time- then I shut the door. The common room was eerily quiet without the noisy first years and I felt a pang of homesickness at the thought of leaving this place for- what was going to be a while.
My feet took me to the entrance hall, where I already found Minerva and Severus waiting for me. I'd said my goodbyes to the other professors, casually told them our first stop was Madeira, and made sure not to stay in Wernin's sight for too long.
"I would have given Gryffindor ten points had I known that you could perform the Undetectable Extension Charm," sighed Minerva when her eyes fell on my bag. "Sadly, you're not a student anymore."
I had to grin. "I'm still a Gryffindor."
"And a tardy one at that," drawled Severus and strode out of the hall. "We must get going."
Pulling me into a last hug, Minerva whispered into my ear, "I'll keep the others on track about where you are."
"Thanks," I said softly and smiled when we separated. "See you soon, Minerva."
And with that, I exited the hall and stepped into the golden glow of the morning sun. As soon as it had risen, I'd returned from the lake to grab my packed bag. The earlier we could depart, the better.
Severus was waiting outside and we silently walked to the gates. My heart was thumping when I thought about what lay ahead of me. To throw the unknown kidnapper off our trail, we'd come up with a second route we'd shared with Minerva and the other professors, and only the headmistress knew our real plans.
The wizard inhaled slightly and I knew he was trying to detect anyone nearby. Then he flicked his hand and the gates slowly opened.
Once we stepped through the gates, the portkey in Severus' right hand began to glow. I grabbed his offered arm, held onto my bag with the other- and then we disapparated.
****
We would stay in a small motel at the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. I was unsure how I would react to swimming in saltwater, but surely a magical swan could cope with that. The plan was that at moonrise, Severus would keep me disillusioned until I had transformed into a swan. I couldn't do it myself because all of my spells would wash away the second my transformation began.
Then Severus would place a spell on me that would let others believe I was a coscoroba swan. That type of swan did live in Brasil, although I wasn't too sure if there were any in Rio de Janeiro. But that was the best we could do.
Our rooms in the muggle motel were right beside each other and it had taken a simple flick of my wand to conjure a door in the wall to connect our rooms. That way, we could work on our projects more easily.
Severus' lab inside his suitcase was an exact replica of his private lab at Hogwarts. It had numerous rooms filled with cauldrons, ingredients, tools- I could have stayed down there forever.
But when the sun began to set, it was time for us to leave the motel.
Dressed in muggle clothes, we began our way through the crowded streets. A delicious smell wafted through the stands, which offered many delicious-looking foods. I was dressed in a simple blue summer dress, nothing too fancy, while Severus wore black pants and a white shirt that was unbuttoned at the top.
I knew heat did not bother him, otherwise he would have been miserable in the summer evening.
There seemed to be music and lights everywhere. I had to smile when we reached a small dock at the lagoon, which was lit with lanterns. We moved into the shadows and casted several charms that would divert anyone's attention from us.
"Five minutes," said Severus and glanced up at the purple sky. I did not bother to reply. I could feel the pull of the moon grow stronger. As the seconds ticked by, I sat down on the dock and let my feet dangle above the water. It reflected the lights of the lantern like orange diamonds that had been scattered across the still surface.
A fuzzy feeling spread through me, a warmth that moved from my heart to my fingers and toes. My vision grew blurry and I closed my eyes.
When I opened them, I was disoriented for a second. I turned my head to look at the tall, dark figure beside me, who gave me a nod, signaling the spells were cast and the coast was clear. My wings opened and with a more or less graceful jump I splashed into the water. It was warm.
I decided instantly that I preferred the cool water of the black lake because this one made my webbed feet prickle in a strange way.
"Stay close to the shore," said Severus quietly. "I will find out where the Fire Seed Bush is and in the mean time- do not cause any trouble."
I gave him an indignant look and sniffed. As if I purposefully tried to get into trouble. That was Harry's specialty, not mine.
While Severus disappeared into the buzzing streets, I lazily swam around, enjoying the warm evening. One leg was draped over my side and I bent my head back to rest for a little. I kept a safe distance from the shore in case any predators approached, but stayed in the shadows.
Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. The next time I awoke was at sunrise, after which Severus and I quickly hurried back to the hotel.
"The tree is in the botanical garden," said Severus coldly once we were in the potions lab. "I shall apparate us inside. The earlier we go, the less trouble we might encounter."
He seemed- stressed, for some reason. I decided not to ask.
I nodded and headed back to my room to freshen up. I ignored the fact that every time I wanted to enter the potions lab, I had to cross into Severus' rooms. It looked exactly as mine, with a bed, a closet, a night stand and a small coffee table, and another door that lead into a bathroom. But I wasn't going to gawk around his room like an idiot.
We were in the garden at six thirty and I was instantly entranced by its beauty. Burbling lakes with water lilies lapped against the path, tall palm trees towered over us and provided shade in the early morning, and many small trails lead to secret places, such as pavilions overgrown with green plants. I kept my mind focused on the task, but could not help but admire the beauty around me.
I glanced a few times at Severus, noticing that his face had gone extremely stiff, but decided not to say anything.
Lucky for us, the tree was tucked away in a corner of the garden where barely anyone seemed to venture. High trees and shrubs surrounded the old tree, which was so large I could not have hugged its trunk.
It was old. Thick roots covered the area around it, mimicking the twisted branches that had found their way into the sky. The tree bore dark green leaves and deep red blossoms that seemed to flicker slightly in the center. I realized instantly that there was a small red fire in each of them, and wondered if the muggles could see it. Probably not.
Silently, we got to work. Since my gift was not a disease, we would not have to wait for the seeds to grow, and use the blossoms instead. I enlarged a basket from my pocket and carefully plucked the blossoms that were close to the ground. They were the most potent ones, as I knew. The fire in the blossoms made them hot and difficult to handle. Neither Severus nor I wore gloves because the tree was very sensitive to other materials, as well as magic.
My basket had a fireproof charm on it and thank Circe the blossoms did not burn each other, so soon both Severus and I had completed our task.
When the wizard turned away, not having spoken with me once since we left the hotel, I looked back one more time. New blossoms had already sprouted to replace the ones we had taken, burning silently. I did not know if the tree knew why we had come, but I silently gave it my thanks before following Severus.
Apparating with the blossoms was not a problem because they were separated from the tree. We quickly placed them in jars that would keep them alive for a while and stored them away in the lab. When I turned to leave, I glanced at Severus.
His long hair (it had grown since the start of my last school year) had been pulled back into a low ponytail, so I could see his face. His face was whiter than usual and his fists were clenched as he stared at the cauldrons, deep in thought.
"Severus?" I spoke slowly. "Are you alright?"
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he opened them and when he looked at me, his true face was revealed. His teeth elongated, his eyes darkened further, and then he spoke in his velvety voice that held an apologetic tone, "Forgive me, Miss Granger, but I need to feed."