Oleandra and Daphne stood in front of what had once been a bubbling cauldron that had been filled to the brim.
"Well, that's our starter solution done," said Daphne, wiping the sweat off her forehead.
"Say, didn't there use to be much more of this?" said Oleandra, pointing at the effervescent slime that kept altering between all the colours of the rainbow at the bottom of the cauldron.
"That's normal, it's very concentrated. Now, we only need to sample one cup of Ovid's Tincture, and add to that the rest of the ingredients one by one."
"Should be simple enough," commented Oleandra.
Daphne poured in two cups of dragon's blood, increasing the volume of the mixture to three cups. The potion took on a scarlet tint, then returned to its previous appearance.
"One tablespoon of essence of Moonlight," muttered Daphne, upending the silvery contents of a small spoon into the mix. The potion roiled and swirled, its bubbling becoming erratic with the madness of the moon.
"One fruit of the lotus," said Oleandra, gently lowering a small yellow fruit into the cauldron. Instantly, the potion that seemed ready to explode calmed down, due to the sloth factor of the fruit.
"And three Ashwinder eggs," Daphne said as she dropped the small orange eggs into the cauldron.
A dense cloud of steam was released from the potion, blocking Oleandra's sight for a few seconds.
"Please tell me this is also normal, Sister," she said, once she had glimpsed the cauldron's contents.
The three cups of potion had been reduced to barely a mouthful of what looked like limpid water. Wordlessly, Daphne added the last ingredient specific to their version of the potion: seven hairs of a Wood Nymph. Oleandra watched as the hairs sank into the puddle of clear liquid, then dissolved, leaving behind a greenish-looking potion.
"Damn Slytherin's eyes, I should have known," swore Daphne. "Of course, the potion is one portion only, if the number of servings is not mentioned!"
"We barely had enough Phoenix ashes to make the one cup of tincture, though," said Oleandra, trying to appease her sister. "It's not as if knowing that would have allowed us to make any more. And besides, one is enough. We're doing this to help Astoria, after all."
"You're right," said Daphne with a sigh. "Now, we just have to find a way to convince our little sister to drink this shady potion, without Mother or Father finding out."
Oleandra stared as Daphne scooped up the contents of the cauldron and filled a small crystalline phial with the green fluid. She could feel something ancestral within her stirring. That bottle was calling to her, her very blood wanted her to drink its contents. Sensing that Daphne was looking at her, she turned her head away. Oleandra knew it in her heart; Daphne had also felt the same call.
_
The next day was a Saturday, which meant there were no classes. Now that the potion was done, she had forgotten what she used to do in her free time, so she simply lay in bed and spaced out, staring at the ceiling. She was brought out of her reverie when someone knocked at the door. To her surprise, her mother's head peeked out from the doorway. She had forgotten her mother was coming to help Professor Sprout grow the Mandrakes faster.
"Girls, get dressed, you're going to miss breakfast. After eating, why don't we go watch the Quidditch game together?" Iris suggested.
Bleary-eyed, the two sisters put on their robes and headed down to the Great Hall for some eggs, bacon and toast. After a long night of brewing a mouthful of potion, they were both quite tired, and they didn't particularly care about the match, but it had been a while since they had seen their mother.
As they left the Great Hall for the Quidditch pitch, Oleandra and Daphne suddenly froze.
"What's the matter with you two?" asked their mother, confused. "Why are you stopping in the middle of the corridor?"
Oleandra looked at Daphne, who gave her a nod. This time, even Daphne had clearly felt the warning issued by the runes inscribed in their souls. The monster was back, and it was out for blood.
"You two go on ahead," Oleandra said. "I forgot something in the Great Hall, I'll catch up to you."
"Come, Mother," said Daphne, tugging at her mother's arm. "Let's hurry and get some good seats."
Oleandra ran back, scanning the crowd for Potter. There was no doubt in her mind that Slytherin's monster had some kind of relationship with snakes. She didn't know whether it was some sort of Tsuchinoko, Feathered Snake, Lamia, Naga, Lindworm, Hydra, Gorgon, Cockatrice or Basilisk (the last three being the most likely culprits due to their particular powers), but if it was related to a snake, then Potter, as a Parselmouth, would be able to understand them.
She finally saw him at the entrance of the Great Hall, discussing something with his friend Weasley.
"Potter!" she shouted. "Did you just feel that?"
"Did you hear —" Potter began, but his voice faltered as Weasley whispered something in his ear. His eyes narrowed.
"I'm sorry," he said coolly. "My match is starting soon. If you'll excuse me—"
The two boys left in a hurry, brushing past her.
Oleandra felt as if she had no choices left to her. It didn't matter if the monster only attacked Muggle-Borns, but even a monster could have accidents. Half of her family was here in Hogwarts; she had to know what she was up against, or risk losing everyone she cared for. A Gorgon, a Cockatrice, or a Basilisk. Which one was it?
Oleandra rushed to the library. Nearly all of the school had left to watch the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff match, so she didn't encounter anyone on the way there.
"A copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, come on!" she muttered to herself, scanning the library for the appropriate section. As she ran down a side aisle of the library, she spotted a bunch of frizzled hair she knew very well.
"Granger!" she called out. "Do you know where I could find a copy of—"
"QUIET IN THE LIBRARY!" yelled out a voice a few bookshelves away.
The girl was standing rather oddly still. Almost as if…
"Granger? Are you in there?" Oleandra asked tentatively, shaking her shoulder.
Granger fell over on her back with a dull thump. She was as stiff as a board, eyes glassy and empty.
"I'D BETTER NOT BE HEARING YOU DROPPING MY BOOKS ON THE FLOOR!" yelled Madam Pince again. The sound of footsteps and creaking wood began growing closer.
"Damn it," said Oleandra in a quiet voice. "Not again."
Oleandra quickly picked up the book Granger had been holding; it was open on the page describing Cockatrices. It also looked as though a page had been torn out, but Granger would never have damaged a book on purpose, right?
"The Cockatrice is a monster with the head of a rooster and the body of a serpent, hatched from a rooster's egg, incubated by a toad. Locking eyes with it means instant death, and its noxious breath can turn any living being to stone. It flees before the crowing of a rooster and the sight of its own reflection will kill it. That's it! That has to be it!"