Outback, Queensland, Australia, 1/22/1984, 08:49
Harry walked through the arid landscape keeping his eye out for an inland taipan or Oxyuranus microlepidotus. The most venomous snake in the world though luckily from his experience so far, one of the most docile. They only bit people when they had no other choice and had an almost timid disposition until they were angered.
When Harry conversed with a young inland taipan upon arriving last Monday he was pleased to discover these serpents were much friendlier than those asshole Mojave rattlesnakes in Arizona.
Harry could understand why Sanjay had such a fondness for the species, more than once on this trip he had gotten sidetracked having a conversation with one of the inland taipans he was attempting to harvest a venom sample from.
The last few weeks in England had been peaceful for the most part though Cassie had still been working hard to get some new policies in place.
Athena had been in a foul temper since they arrived, the air here was very dry and to make matters worse she was about to shed her skin so she was complaining about e everything. She was currently staying back at the tent where he had set up a small atmospheric charm to raise the humidity to a more comfortable level.
They had been here a week so far and he had to admit the isolation was quite welcome after the chaos he had left back in Britain. The excursion to Australia would last until early May though he would be returning home every weekend to see Bella and the twins.
Currently, Harry was walking across the black soil plains, the only thing he could see in any direction was vast expanses of cracked sun-parched earth and a bit of scrub every so often, by midday it would be so hot he would have to return to the shelter of his tent or risk a heat stroke, even with cooling charms.
This meant he had to make his collections in the early morning and late evening when the snakes came out of their burrows to hunt longhaired rats, the rest of the day he hid from the heat just like every other creature in the area.
Walking in a different direction than he did yesterday Harry began searching for holes in the ground as the snakes often used abandoned rat burrows during the day to escape from the heat.
There was a slight breeze blowing through this morning that felt quite lovely at the moment and Harry savoured the feeling as he slowly walked forward, his eyes constantly scanning the ground for any sign of the snakes.
Walking over a rolling hill Harry grinned when he caught a glimpse of a dark tan head poking out of a hole in the ground about thirty feet away, he recognized the shape without difficulty as this was one of the serpents he was searching for.
§ Hello§, Harry said when he got close enough to the snake.
§ Hello speaker, are you lost?§, The snake asked curiously as Harry came to sit on the ground in front of its burrow.
§ No, I am collecting venom from snakes such as yourself§, Harry admitted.
§ Yes, that is what humans usually want from us, what do you use it for?§, the snake asked curiously as it slithered out of its hole to coil up in front of him.
The snake looked to be about six feet in length, it was long and sleek though its body had a bit of girth to it. Its scales were a brownish yellow with specklings of black in its scales. The head was a darker brown colour than the rest of its body. More often than not the head was the only part of their body that came out of the burrow, they ould lay in wait and snap up a passing rat.
These snakes actually changed colour with the seasons, in the winter months they became a darker colour to absorb more sunlight. But as it was the summer right now the taipans were sporting their yellowish-brown summer colouring.
§Healing potions, the venom of your kind is very special§, Harry explained after the snake had gotten settled.
§ It keeps the rats from running away§, the snake agreed.
§ Would you be willing to trade some of your venom?§, Harry asked curiously.
§ You are welcome to some of my venom if you can get me a nice juicey rat,§ the snake hissed its tongue flickering as it spoke..
§ That seems like a fair trade§, Harry nodded as he waved his wand and a plump rat burst out of the ground about thirty yards away and zoomed through the air to hover in front of Harry.
§ Here you go§, Harry hissed as he floated the rat to the ground in front of the snake.
The taipan was already raised in the strike position before the rat was even on the ground, Harry watched as the snake struck out faster than the eye could track and sank its fangs into the rat's hide causing it to squeak in alarm. The taipan stayed latched onto the rat as it squirmed for a minute before it started to slow down and eventually go limp.
§You should collect my venom before I eat§, the snake hissed after releasing the rat.
Harry quickly got out his collection on equipment and guided the serpent's head over the glass funnel. These snakes didn't yield a lot of venom (about 50 mg) but the potency of this tiny amount of pinkish clear liquid was unbelievable.
When Harry had finished extracting the venom and stored his sample he got back to his feet.
§ Enjoy your meal, and get back in the cool of your burrow it will be hot soon§, Harry hissed.
§ Agreed, well met speaker§, The serpent hissed as it slithered into position and began the process of swallowing its meal.
Harry decided it was time to move on, he still hoped to make a few more collections before it got too hot to work.
Eastern Coast, Queensland, Australia, 2/8/1984, 09:59
Harry was walking through a different environment on the other side of the state of Queensland. He was looking for a much more aggressive species of taipan, the coastal taipan or Oxyuranus scutellatus. This species was larger than the inland and gave much larger venom yields meaning they also delivered much more venom when they bit.
Currently, Harry was making his way through rows of a sugarcane field near the Burdekin River, the plants towered over him casting him in cool shade.
The inland taipan was notorious for hiding in sugar cane fields which were great for pest control but unfortunately not so good for the farmers that got too close to one of these deadly serpents.
Unlike its more reserved cousin the inland taipan, the coastal taipan had many human deaths to its name and was well-known to sugar cane farmers across the region.
Their time in the outback had been mostly uneventful, they had collected one hundred and twenty-three samples of inland taipan venom before Sanjay had decided it was time to move to the next leg of their journey three days ago.
All in all, Harry was enjoying the trip to Australia so far. The only downside he had seen was that everything was poisonous here (especially the spiders!).
Harry had to go with Sanjay to Sydney yesterday to buy a special tick repellant for this part of the trip. There was actually a tick here that caused paralysis from a single bite and unfortunately, they lived in the coastal Queensland area.
He and Sanjay would be in Queensland for the foreseeable future as a large number of the snakes they were collecting venom from lived in this state. Actually, the only serpent on their list that wasn't common in Queensland was the central ranges taipan.
Back at home Cassie was still pushing her agenda to have the muggleborns register but couldn't get the votes to move forward. Harry knew if this kept up she would try going at things from another angle.
Minister Black had managed to barter an agreement with the Greek ministry to harvest some of the venoms from the creatures on the islands in exchange for reduced rates on certain exports from Britain, mainly potion ingredients and the like.
Sanjay had already informed him that they would be the ones going to the reserves to collect basilisk venom this fall. This was both good and bad as this would probably be the most lucrative harvest he and Sanjay had attempted so far but it was also the most dangerous. Basilisks were not very friendly beasts and even to parselmouths and would not barter their venom cheaply.
Harry was pulled from his thoughts as he heard the unmistakable hiss of an agitated serpent.
§Ssstay away two leeegs or feel my fangs!§ a voice from less than five feet away hissed warningly.
§I mean you no harm, serpent§, Harry said as he came to a stop as he was not sure where the snake was and had no wish to get bitten.
§Ahhh a speaker, I heard there was one in the area§, The snake hissed lazily as it slithered out of the sugar cane revealing it was every bit of eight-feet long.
§You did?§ Harry chuckled as he took a seat on the ground in front of the serpent.
§ Urs, word of a speaker in the land underneath had spread far and wide§, The ssnake hissed excitedly.
This taipan was a light solid brown colour with a very whiplike tail, it had a long spear-shaped head, and the eyes were rounded with orange iris' and a large circular black pupil. The sides of its head were almost concave leading to well-defined nostrils.
§I just need a sample of your venom§, Harry said feeling very curious as to how the snake had heatd of him.
§ You are welcome to my venom speaker, as long as you ward my lands to keep the death toad away§, The snake hissed eagerly.
§The death toad?§ Harry asked curiously.
§ Yes, they are big gat toads the move slow and would make a fine meal but they are poison if we eat them we die§, The serpent explained.
§II think I can do that§, Harry said thoughtfully as he took out his venom collection equipment and popped an empty vial in the bottom of the funnel.
§My kin will be most grateful, my venom sacs ar full§, the taipan hissed before it placed its upper jaw over the edge of the funnel exposing its very long fangs.
Harry was amazed at how much venom this snake yielded in one bite, it was over ten times as much as the inland taipans he had milked last week. The venom was as clear as water and nowhere near as potent as its cousin's but a bite from this snake had been known to kill a full-grown man in less than half an hour.
Once Harry had gotten as much venom as he could by massaging the snake's venom glands he popped the nearly full vial off of the funnel and capped it off before marking the species and time of extraction and storing it in his protective case.
Harry took out his wand and incanted, "accio cane toad!"
Harry heard the sound of leaves shifting around before a very large toad flew through the air and hovered in front of him.
§ It's a death toad!§ The snake hissed. angrily.
§I know I had to see it to be able to put up magic that will kill them§, Harry assured the snake as he committed the toad to memory.
Harry cast a spell using the tiniest bit of innate magic apparent in the toad's body as a signature for the wards, then he cast them over a five-hundred-yard section of this sugarcane field. Any of these toads that crossed the wards would literally turn to dust in a split second.
Harry knew the spell wards had been set up successfully when the toad he had hovering in front of him literally exploded into dust.
§None of these toads will be able to enter your territory, all the toads already in your territory will explode into dust just like this one§, Harry assured the serpent who was slithering around him excitedly.
§Thank you, speaker my hatchlings will be safe now§, the serpent hissed gratefully.
§You are welcome, thank you for your venom, you have my gratitude§, Harry said as he cleansed the funnel and stored his equipment back in his pocket.
§ Well met speaker, I shall spread the word of your skill to my kin§, the snake hissed before slithering back into the sugar cane.
'That was unusual,' Harry thought as he began wandering through the sugar cane in search of more coastal taipans.
The cane toad was an invasive species that some genius set loose in the sugar cane fields to keep the beetle population down, it was running rampant through the continent with no natural predators. It was highly toxic and was responsible for the death of many animals in the area and had decimated the death adder population.
This meant that Harry had no compunction about setting up wards that destroyed hundreds of the little bastards at a time.
Harry made his way back to their campsite down by the river, the wards around their camp were a lot stronger than normal as there were known to be saltwater crocodiles in the river.
Harry walked into the campsite that was hidden in the shade of a copse of trees and set his case on top of Sanjay's and sighed. Today had been one of the most productive collections he had ever made, the snakes seemed to seek him out almost eager to let him collect their venom in exchange for setting up wards to kill off the cane toads.
Harry made his way to the picnic table Sanjay brought with him on every one of these trips and slumped onto the bench.
"Good your back, did you notice anything odd about the serpents today?" Sanjay asked as he stepped out of the tent hovering a pan of raw fish.
"Yes, the snakes have been searching me out all day for toad wards," Harry sighed tiredly.
"Yes, I had a similar experience. I actually ran out of space in my case," Sanjay chuckled as he lit the grill with his wand.
"Same here, every slot is full," Harry grinned.
They didn't use expansion charms on the inside of their venom cases. This was mostly out of paranoia, but in the unlikely event that the charms were to fail, days worth of work would be lost. They usually just grabbed a fresh case filled with empty vials every morning and tried to fill it throughout the day.
"Yes the snakes seemed to be terrified of those damn cane toads," Sanjay said with a chuckle.
"I guess we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, I made more collections today than I did all of last week," Harry admitted.
"I agree, I collected fifty-five vials of coastal taipan venom today," Sanjay said as he opened the grill and used his wand to flip the fish over.
"That smells amazing," Harry grinned.
"I summoned them right out of the river," Sanjay grinned.
"So how long are we going to focus on the coastal taipan?" Harry asked.
"At the rate we're collecting, maybe three more days before we move south to collect venom from the tiger snakes," Sanjay shrugged.
"They're a bit smaller than the taipans aren't they?" Harry asked curiously.
"They are but they can be quite feisty," Sanjay grinned.
"Let's hope they are as cooperative as the snakes today," Harry said as he summoned a coke from his tent.
"I have no doubt that they will be if the cane toads are as big a problem there as they are here," Sanjay said dismissively.
"Excellent," Harry beamed as Sanjay pulled the fish off of the grill.
Peverell Beach House, Cornwall, 2/25/1984, 13:49
Harry groaned as he finished going through the previous week's Daily Prophets and sighed.
Cassie seemed to have calmed down a bit over the past month though Harry had a feeling that was because she was trying to get the ball rolling on harvesting magical substances from the Greek islands.
Harry had just put the twins down for their nap, they were starting to try and stand up on their own now and Harry was both thrilled and terrified when he saw them almost stand before plopping backwards when they lost their balance.
It wouldn't be long now before they took their first steps and he just hoped he was here when it happened.
"What's on your mind?" Bella asked as she looked up from her book, The Mudblood and Her Master by: Devi Ann Twanker.
"The twins are getting closer to walking," Harry grinned.
"I know, I think Carina will be first she seems to have better balance," Bella admitted.
"I don't know, Ignotus seems to be just about there," Harry said thoughtfully.
"I am confident Carina will get there first," Bella shrugged.
"As long as they both get there, it doesn't matter to me. I just hope it happens when I'm home," Harry admitted.
"How long are you going to be in Australia for anyway?" Bella asked as she wandered over and took a seat on his lap
"Early may, perhaps a bit longer if Sanjay decides to collect venom from the olive sea snakes," Harry shrugged.
"Then you will come home for a bit?" Bellatrix asked hopefully.
"Yeah I will have about a month before we go to Africa," Harry nodded.
"Good, we can take a vacation," Bella said excitedly.
"Where do you want to go?" Harry asked curiously.
"The Black Island," Bellatrix answered.
"In the Caribbean?" Harry asked vaguely remembering the Sirius from his timeline talking about the Black Island.
"Yes, though we will have to take one of those muggle contraptions again," Bellatrix sighed.
"It won't be so bad," Harry assured her.
"I admit it was better than the train though the food was awful and if we get stuck next to some muggle smoking again, I'll crucio him," Bella warned.
"We'll fly first class, there shouldn't be as much smoking" Harry promised.
"Good, I can't wait to see the island again," Bella gushed.
"Me either, I hope we see another bushmaster Athena will love that," Harry beamed.
"The island is owned by the Black family so there won't be a need for a bathing suit top," Bella smirked.
"Oh, I think I'm going to like this Island," Harry said with a grin.
"Yes, so will Bella," Bellatrix said with a matching grin.
"I suppose I had better make some arrangements with Lord Black," Harry muttered.
"Let me and Cissa take care of that, I rather think she will want to join us," Bella said thoughtfully.
"Then you had better invite the Tonks' as well," Harry pointed out.
"Fine, but if that mudblood of Andi's annoys me, Bella might make him disappear- Ah!" Bellatrix was cut off as Harry stood up with her in his arms and began marching up the stairs.
"Harry w-what are you doing?" Bella gasped as she was carried bridal style down the hallway.
"I told you not to use that word," Harry smirked as he pushed their bedroom door open with his foot.
"Bella apologizes for nothing," Bella smirked before Harry dropped her unceremoniously onto the bed.
"You know the punishment for saying that word" Harry growled as he flicked his wand vanishing her clothes.
Harry took a seat on the edge of the bed and Bella obediently crawled to him before laying across his lap presenting herself for punishment.
"Oh, Harry!" Bellatrix shrieked in delight as his hand made contact with her bare bottom, the 'SMACK' sound echoing through the room.
'Ah it's good to be home,' Harry grinned as he watched her bum redden before he drew his hand back to continue punishing Bella for her potty mouth.
Daintree Rainforest, Queensland, Australia , 3/1/1984 16:25
Harry sighed as he finished capping the vial of venom he had just extracted from an eastern brown snake and watched it slither on its way.
This week they were in one of the oldest rainforests on earth, the air here was just as muggy as he remembered in the Amazon. This place felt much more primal like something out of a forgotten age. It really was something else with the flowers and the ancient trees though it did remind him of the Amazon jungle a bit.
This place had one thing the Amazon did not, saltwater crocodiles. This morning he had seen a fifteen-foot crocodile sunning on the bank on the other side of the river almost directly across from their campsite. That was quite unsettling as the only thing keeping one of those modern-day dinosaurs from coming into his tent at night were Sanjay's wards.
This Eastern brown made the twenty-eighth collection he had made since he had ventured out this morning and thankfully it was his last empty vial in his case so he decided to call it a day
Harry was starting to look forward to finishing up in Australia though that might have more to do with the vacation he was planning on taking after this job was complete.
Sighing happily Harry stepped through the wards around their tent and set his case down. They had set their tents up on the banks of the river and if you sat out there long enough you could watch a crocodile swim by every once in a while.
The river here was maybe fifty feet wide with dense vegetation growing right to the edge on both sides. The little clearing they had set up their camp was about ten feet away from the water's edge and gave them a great view of the forest on the other side of the river.
Harry and Sanjay both knew that with one good rainstorm their entire camp would be washed away but Sanjay liked to hear the river at night so they had decided to risk it for the week they were staying here. They were right at the end of the rainy season and Harry was hoping their luck held out a bit longer as he really liked the location.
It seemed he was the first one back for once so he decided to start prepping the food for dinner, tonight he decided they would be eating barramundi.
Harry easily summoned a couple from the river and made quick work of scaling and gutting the catch before using his wand to fillet and debone them.
By the time Sanjay had returned to camp, the smoker was lit and Harry had the fillets cooking as well as a side of breadfruit chips that he had frying on the stove inside his tent.
"Ah good I see you've decided to cook for once," Sanjay grinned as he set his case down on top of Harry's.
"Yeah, I filled my quota early so I figured I would whip us up some fish and chips rainforest style," Harry chuckled as he hovered the fully cooked fillets onto a platter and floated it to the picnic table.
"What kind of fish is it?" Sanjay asked curiously.
"Smoked Barramundi," Harry answered before going to retrieve the chips from his tent.
"Excellent," Sanjay nodded happily before helping himself to a Coke and taking a seat.
"So I take it you filled your case as well?" Harry asked after he had set the basket of freshly cooked chips on the table between them.
"Yes, and the vials I took this morning are the last of our stock of clean ones," Sanjay replied before popping a chip in his mouth and sighing appreciatively.
"I know, I checked when I got back. I guess another trip to Sydney is in order?" Harry asked.
"Yes, we might as well send off the venom we've collected this week while we're at it," Sanjay shrugged.
"That works for me, we can head back for the weekend after we restock the vials," Harry grinned between bites of fish.
"Agreed, we already surpassed the order that was required for Eastern browns," Sanjay nodded as he summoned a lemon from his tent and squeezed the juice over his fish.
"So the death adders are next?" Harry questioned as he cut himself a slice of lemon and copied Sanjay and drizzled lemon juice over his fish.
"Yes they are, we'll be going to Magnetic Island to collect the venom and I'm hoping our luck holds out there because death adders are quite difficult to find under normal circumstances," Sanjay explained between bites of his meal.
The death adders have been hit very hard by those cane toads, we should be adle to purge the entire island of the warty little monsters," Harry pointed out.
"Agreed, the Australian ministry has been trying to wipe the things out since Dundee talked the muggle government into releasing them," Sanjay admitted.
"Dundee?" Harry asked in confusion.
"He was an Australian magizoologist who brought the cane toad back from South America, he was hoping they would be useful to the muggles but the real reason he wanted them here is because they are quite useful for potion ingredients," Sanjay explained.
"Hows that?" Harry asked in confusion.
"The toxin in their skin is useful in mind altering potions," Sanjay eshrugged.
"Alright, are the vaulable?" Harry asked.
"Not anymore, when they were imported out of Venezuela they rated right up there with boomslang skin, now there are millions of them in Australia and they export them by the ton," Sanjay shrugged.
Maybe there visit here would be more productive than he originally thought, since the visit to the coast he had been researching thr cane toad or bufo marinus.The pestilential toad was decimating the ecosystem in this part of Queensland and if he remembered his days from muggle school the problem would only get bigger in years to come. There had to be some way to purge the continent of these toads...
Harry's thoughts were interrupted by Athena slithering into camp hissing happily.
§There are lovely little rats down by the water§, Athena hissed happily as she slithered over to the spot she had claimed by the fire and coiled herself up getting comfortable.
§I take it your hunt went well?§ Harry asked.
§Yesss, I found a nice fat rat, the other snakes here are so nice to Athena§, Athens hissed happily.
§They are?§ Harry asked in surprise.
§Yesss, the other snakes say that the serpent who comes with the killer toad slayers is welcome to whatever she wishes§, Athena hissed sleepily as her head settled on the large lump in her midsection where the rat was digesting.
§Sleep Athena, we go home tomorrow§, Harry cooed.
§Goood, Athena wants to sssee the hatchlings§, Athena hissed softly.
"Alright this is starting to get a bit strange," Harry said looking at Sanjay.
"I have to agree, these snakes seem to have a deep hatred for these toads, there has to bee something more to it than the obvious", Sanjay said thoughtfully.
"If we can, we should find away to get rid of them entirely," Harry shrugged.
"Agreed, but the Australian government, both magical and muggle has been trying for decades, they breed very rapidly, hell even their tadpoles are poisonous," Sanjay said as he got up and started packing things up for when they left tomorrow.
"I'll look into it," Harry muttered as he got up to help Sanjay pack up his camp.
Magnetic Island, Australia, 3/6/1984, 13:48
Harry was making his way through a densely wooded area on the remote part of this island. Magnetic Island was known for its large population of the next snake on their list, the common death adder or canthophis antarcticus.
These snakes were almost impossible to see as they had a very good camouflage pattern on their scales. The death adder did not track their prey, they would usually lay in wait and hunted by hiding in fallen leaves or brush, using their tails to mimic a grubworm to lure in their prey.
It was because of their camouflage that people often stumbled upon them. This was unfortunate as the death adder was believed to be the fastest striking mundane snake in the world and the ninth most venomous. The death adder had lived up to its name before the invention of antivenom killing more than half of the people biten.
Harry and Sanjay had just arrived here this morning, after setting up a campsite on a remote stretch of beach he and Sanjay had ventured into the forest to see if they could make a few collections before nightfall.
They would be here for the next week or so since the death adder venom was harder to come by than some of the others on their list, the order for their venom was much larger.
From what Harry had been reading, the death adders numbers on the mainland were dwindling because of an invasive species called the cane toad. Luckily the population on Magnetic Island hadn't been affected by the toads yet which was the reason Sanjay had picked the island for the death adder venom collection.
Harry was impressed with the island so far, it was a very beautiful place and there seemed to be quite a few magical creatures here. He hadn't seen many magical creatures since coming to Australia, just a few fairies in the Daintree rainforest.
Harry had already seen a few billywigs buzzing about since he entered the woods and he could have sworn he saw a few clabberts swinging in the trees.
Sanjay had even warned him that there was a good chance they would encounter lethifolds at least once on this trip and had made sure that he was proficient with the patronus charm.
Harry continued walking through the forest taking great care to watch where he put his feet, the last thing he wanted was to step on one and get to experience the snake's venom first-hand.
Currently, Harry was walking uphill as he was making his way into the mountains wending his way around large granite boulders and keeping his eye out for the striped pattern on the snake he was looking for.
After about half an hour of walking, Harry decided to take a rest, his face was soaked in sweat and his muscles were starting to ache.
Taking a seat on a medium-sized boulder, he dug out his canteen and took a long draw of ice-cold water and looked out through a gap in the trees enjoying the ocean breeze over his sweaty face.
There was no denying the scenery here was breathtaking, he could still make out the turquoise water of the Coral sea through the trees and the bright blue sky, the sounds of the birds snd the waves crashing on the shore was quite soothing and if he wasn't on the clock he might consider taking a nap here.
§Are you the ssspeaker?§ A voice hissed from directly beside him making him jump in surprise.
Turning he saw a very girthy little snake coiled in an 's' pattern on the ground not a foot away from where he had was sitting. The snake had a triangular viper shaped head and beautiful reddish-brown coloured scales with broad-banded black stripes that blended into the shady forest floor.
§I am indeed, you are very good at hiding§, Harry complimented the little snake, it looked to be about a foot and a half long and very girthy in the middle thought the tail was much smaller than the rest of its body looking tiny in comparison.
§That isss how I catch my prey, they do not sssee me and come right to me§, The snake replied somewhat proudly.
§I see§, Harry grinned.
§Are you here for my venom?§ The little snake asked curiously.
§I am, I am willing to barter for your venom§, Harry offered.
§I will give you my venom§, The snake hissed.
§I can get you food if you wish§, Harry said surprised the snake didn't want anything in return.
§I am just pleased to meet a soeaker, most snakes go their whole life without neeting one§ The snake hissed in a calm tone.
§I am very grateful for your help§, Harry hissed as pocketed his canteen.
§ Why did you choose this island to collect venom?§ The adder asked curiously as he slithered up harry's leg
§Your species is becoming scarcer on the mainland so we had to come to your island§, Harry answered as he began removing his extraction equipment.
§Why, do the others of my kind not hide well enough?§ The snake asked curiously as he watched Harry attach a fresh vial to the bottom of the funnel.
§No tthey are very skilled at hiding, they ate bad food that killed them§, Harry explained somewhat sadly.
§Bad food?§ The snake hissed in surprise.
§Poisonous toads, if a snake eats one of these toads, they die§, Harry explained as he guided the snake's head over the funnel and began gently massaged its venom glands to begin extracting the yellowish venom.
Harry had the snake milked in less than a minute and quickly capped and labelled the vial. As far as venom yield, the death adder didn't deliver very much venom in a bite, around a hundred mg in this case, but the venom was very powerful and more than enough to kill a human.
§There we're all done§, Harry said as he stored the venom and cleaned off the funnel.
§There are more of my kin up the mountain, Fare well speaker§, the snake hissed before slithering off of his leg and disappearin into a crevice between the boulders on the side of the mountain.
§Farewell§, Harry hissed to the snake before packing his gear back into his pocket.
"Well here we go again," Harry grinned as he began making the trek up the mountain in search of more venom.
Harry stepped into the campsite a few hours later, today had been just like last week. The snakes found him and freely offered their venom for him to extract. He already had a good start on the week as he collected two dozen samples before it started getting dark and he decided to head back to camp.
Harry could smell something cooking as soon as he stepped into camp and quickly set his case on top of Sanjay's.
"How did it go?" Sanjay asked as Harry took a seat.
"Pretty well, I collected twenty-four vials," Harry grinned.
"I had similar luck though I collected twenty-six," Sanjay smirked as he turned the lamb kabobs.
"That's pretty good for half a day's work," Harry chuckled.
"It is, we still need to collect two hundred and fifty more samples by Friday but I don't see us having any trouble with that," Sanjay nodded.
By now the sun had completely set and the fire seemed to get just that much brighter, it was when he was about to summon a drink from the cooler that he saw it, a black cloak slowly floating towards them from out of the forest.
'Sanjay was right, there were lethifolds here,' Harry thought as he drew his wand and cried, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
Harry watched as his cobra patronus slithered out of the tip of his wand and flew towards the floating cloak, the patronus struck out with its ethereal fangs causing the lethifold to screech reminding Harry of the sounds of nails on a chalkboard.
"You have snakes on the brain my boy, though I can't fault the king cobra form I see them all the time at home. What marvellous creatures they are," Sanjay chuckled as he admired Harry's patronus.
"It's my wife's animagus form," Harry admitted as he directed the patronus out into the forest.
"Ah, that is very interesting," Sanjay muttered thoughtfully as he pulled the kabobs off of the grill.
"Will the wards be able to keep them out?" Harry asked as he helped himself to a kabob.
"Oh yes, I put the wards up anytime I'm in the tropics," Sanjay assured him
"Thank god, I did not want to have to sleep with one eye open all week," Harry sighed before taking a bite of the well-seasoned lamb.
"Nor I, that's the only trouble with these jobs in the tropics," Sanjay agreed before he took a bite of grilled tomato.
"That's the first time I've seen one," Harry admitted.
"And you better hope it's the last you see. They used to only attack while someone was asleep but after the invention of the protective wards they have been forced to attack whenever they see a wizard out after dark," Sanjay explained.
"So collecting venom after sundown is not an option here," Harry said with a nod.
"Absolutely not, these lethifolds are attracted to magicals and I would rather not be eaten alive by an evil bedsheet," Sanjay chuckled.
"Good to know, we can get all we need done in the daytime anyway," Harry agreed.
"Exactly, the snakes are practically lining up to have their venom milked," Sanjay chuckled.
"I have to say that I am grateful for that, the death adders are very hard to see in the brush," Harry admitted between bites.
"You have no idea how right you are, On my first trip to this island I only collected twenty-eight vials in a week," Sanjay said with a shake of his head.
§There you are§, Athena hissed as she slithered across the sand.
§Where Have you been?§ Harry asked curiously.
§Exploring, there are so many tiny snakes in the forest§, Athena hissed.
§I know there are, that's why we are here§, Harry explained.
§For such tiny little snakes?§ Athena asked sounding amused.
§They may be small but their venom is very strong§, Harry chuckled.
§They say I am welcome to whatever I wish on the island§, Athena hissed before slithering into Harry's tent.
"It looked like our reputation preceded us here, are there even toads on this island?" Harry asked.
"There are at the resort, they hold cane toad races," Sanjay snorted.
"It sounds like they are just tempting fate, bringing those toads on the island," Harry scowled.
"Yes, it is only a matter of time before they slip out and spread across the Island," Sanjay agreed.
"I think I might set up some wards around the hotel," Harry said thoughtfully.
"Just be careful, the Australian ministry will pick it up if you're not careful," Sanjay warned.
"Stealth is my middle name," Harry grinned.
Magnetic Island, Queensland , Australia, 3/13/1984, 10:29
'This was bloody amazing!' Harry thought as he swam over the never-ending coral reef. This had to be the coolest place he had searched for snakes thus far. Sanjay had decided that before they packed up and moved to the far north to try their luck at collecting sea snake venom they would take a few days to collect olive sea snake venom here.
Harry swam down a little closer to the reef when he saw a tiny clownfish swim around his face for a second before darting back into the anemone.
'Wonder what happened to his fin?' Harry thought idly as he swam about four feet over the reef looking for the next serpent on the list.
Trying to pick it out amidst the thousands of colourful fish swimming everywhere was a very difficult task indeed. There were bright colourful corals as well as beds of anemones in bright oranges and yellows all over the seafloor, and there were thousands of little crevices for the snake to hide from view.
According to the literature, this particular serpent was most likely to be found down near the coral hunting for fish hidden in these crevices and hidey holes in the coral.
The diversity of wildlife around him was staggering, fish of every shape and colour swam around the reef most of them completely unbothered by his presence. He even caught a few glances of some blacktip sharks patrolling the reef for a meal, they left the area when they spotted him much to his relief as sharks were on a growing list of animals he was wary of (though several places below spiders oddly enough).
Harry was currently scanning for any sign of the olive sea snake or aipysurus laevis. It was an extremely venomous sea snake that was known to frequent coral reefs.
They posed very little threat to people as they were more prone to flee than try to attack as a terrestrial serpent was prone to do. They were curious animals and had been known to approach divers on occasion but incidents of them biting humans were extremely rare.
Harry continued to swim through the water enjoying the experience tremendously, he had never been that comfortable in water but the Great Barrier Reef was the most beautiful place he had ever seen. He had no doubt he would visit this place again in the future.
As he swam over a bed of green coral getting closer to the drop-off, he kept a watchful eye on his dive watch, the last thing he wanted was for the gilly weed to was using wear off when he was too deep to get to the surface in time.
It was when he was swimming over a patch of yellowish-green brain coral that reminded him eerily of the room at the D.o.M, that he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking over he saw a large brownish-gold snake swimming out of a crevice n the coral about thirty feet away.
Harry quickly identified the serpent as an olive sea snake, the very snake he was searching for. It appeared to be a young adult and was probably between five and six feet long. The snake had a long powerful body but unlike a land snake, the poison glands did not extend out wider than its body. On the contrary, this snake's body looked slightly wider than its head. Its scales were a golden brown colour with its head coloured a shade or two darker than its body and its belly a soft cream colour.
The eyes were rounded and had a thin yellow iris that was very close to the colour of the scales on its head. Harry could just make out its short snout with well-defined nostrils as its oar-like tail slipped out of the crevice.
The serpent was now heading right for him hissing excitedly as it swam gracefully through the water, it was undulating its powerful body while the flipper on the end of its tail propelled it through the clear blue water with ease.
§ A Speaker has finally come to sssee me§, The snake hissed excitedly as it swam around him coiling its smooth body around his bare chest.
§Yes, I am collecting venom from the snakes of the sssea today§, Harry hissed back completely taken aback that he could speak parseltongue underwater without issue.
§And you have come to collect my venom?§ The playful serpent hissed
§I have, is there any way you would be willing to give me some of your venom§ Harry asked hopefully.
§Yesss, for a speaker I would gladly let you have some of my venom§, The snake hissed as it continued to slither around him seeming almost playful.
§I am most grateful for your help, all I need you to do is bite thisss and give me as much of your venom asss you can spare§, Harry hissed as he pulled out a hollow rubber ball about the size of a snitch from the pouch he wore around his waist.
This was one of Sanjay's creations, the ball was actually their standard venom vials transfigured into a ball made out of very thin rubber. The ball had three enchantments placed on it, one to prevent water from entering its hollow centre, another to seal itself after it was punctured, and the last one was to prevent the snake's fangs from getting stuck in the rubber after it had given its venom.
The best part of these venom balls was that a simple spell would revert the balls into the glass vials they were originally transfigured from.
This was something Sanjay had designed over decades of collecting sea snake venom. It negated the need to go all the way to shore to extract venom the normal way and made this kind of work much easier.
Harry released the semi-transparent yellow ball and watched it float in front of him for a second before the serpent lazily struck, sinking its long fangs through the rubber ball with ease.
Harry waited patiently as the snake pumped the ball full of venom before releasing the ball, the fangs seemed to slip out of the rubber without issue.
§ Thank you for your venom§, Harry said as he admired the liquid inside the rubber ball.
§ You are welcome speaker, I must hide there is a shark approaching§, The serpent hissed before slithering into a crevice in the coral, Harry watched the paddle-like tail disappear as a blacktip shark came into view.
Checking his watch Harry jumped in surprise, he had about thirty seconds before the gillyweed would start wearing off. Luckily he was only about twenty feet below the surface give or take and easily bade it to the surface before he felt the familiar pain in his neck from his temporary gills disappearing.
When he broke the surface he saw that he was a few hundred yards from the boat that Sanjay had rented and began to swim in that direction. The next time he went out he planned on bringing the goggles and snorkel he had purchased from the dive shop.
Swimming to the stern of the boat he climbed up the metal ladder shivering slightly as the breeze blew across his wet skin.
"How did it go?" Sanjay asked as Harry cast a spell over himself to vanish the water that was clinging to his skin.
"I collected one sample," Harry said as he pulled the venom ball out of the pouch on his belt.
"Excellent, sometimes those snakes are impossible to find," Sanjay said as he took the ball and tapped it with his wand reversing the transfiguration on it so he was holding a capped venom vial with about forty milligrams of olive sea serpent venom.
"You forgot to mention that parseltongue works underwater" Harry snorted.
"I figured it best you figure it out for yourself," Sanjay smirked as he placed the vial in one of their cases.
"Right, I suppose it makes sense. The language is magical so it's not affected by the barrier of water, like when I try and talk normally underwater" Harry said thoughtfully.
"Exactly though not all languages are like that, mermish, for example, can only be understood by using water as a medium," Sanjay explained.
"I have a bit of experience with merpeople, actually. Their voices sound like nails on a chalkboard on land but in the water, their voices are quite pleasant almost musical if a bit eerie," Harry said remembering the golden egg.
"Exactly, now it is your turn to mind the boat while I try my luck at collecting a few samples," Sanjay said as he stripped down revealing he was wearing a wetsuit underneath his jeans and tee shirt.
Harry wished he had thought of that, he had only been wearing a pair of board shorts and the pouch of venom balls. The water was quite warm but it was a bit unpleasant when he got out of the water and the wind had blown across his wet skin.
"Here, I'll see about having lunch ready when you come back," Harry said as he unclipped the pouch from his waist and handed it to Sanjay.
"Excellent, wish me luck," Sanjay said as he popped a dose of gilly weed into his mouth and jumped off of the side of the boat.
"Good luck, mate," Harry called to the water as he could make out Sanjay's outline swimming just under the surface through the clear water.
This part of the trip didn't feel much like work and Harry was starting to think that Sanjay had just wanted to get out on the water for a few days. Harry couldn't really complain, so far this was the highlight of the trip.
This boat was a pretty basic fishing/diving boat, they had rented it from the muggle marina for the week. It was thirty feet long and had two, one hundred and fifty horsepower engines, one on either corner of the stern with an aluminium folding dive ladder in between them.
The cockpit and seating area took up two-thirds of the boat and was covered under a cloth canopy to give the passengers a bit of shade.
The boat came with the basics safety features; a standard radio, a depth finder (which was almost a necessity when going near the reef), and a pretty well-stocked first aid kit but little else.
Luckily, there was a nice raised platform on the bow for fishing, which gave him just enough room to set up the grill. Harry took the added precaution of casting the sticking charm on the grill's legs to keep it from sliding around when the boat rocked in the waves.
Once he had the grill going, Harry summoned a few medium-sized fish, quickly cleaned them, and got them cooking. It took him a few minutes to get used to the rocking motion caused by the waves but he soon got the hang of it.
By the time Sanjay returned from his dive, Harry had their lunch ready and was just beginning to plate it up.
"How'd it go?" Harry asked curiously when he saw Sanjay climbing the ladder.
"I collected three samples, which should be enough to cover the cost of renting the boat," Sanjay grinned as he accepted the plate of fresh grilled Tuna.
"I was thinking about going again with using a bubblehead," Harry said as he tossed Sanjay a lemon and watched him deftly catch it with his offhand.
"Yes, I would like to get a few dozen samples from the olive sea snake, their venom is quite valuable," Sanjay nodded.
"The snake I met was really friendly, it didn't even try and barter for its venom," Harry chuckled as he plated his own fish before casting a spell to snuff out the charcoal.
"I've had similar experiences in the past, I love interacting with these sea snakes. They remind me of playful puppies the way they swim all around you," Sanjay grinned as he took a seat under the canopy and got himself a Coke from the cooler.
"Yeah, the snake I met was kind of clingy now that you mention it," Harry said thoughtfully as he took a seat and grabbed himself a drink.
"For some reason, these sea snakes have a friendlier disposition than their land-bound brethren, I believe the water cools off their hotheads," Sanjay chuckled.
"I guess that makes sense, how long are we going to stay out?" Harry asked between bites of his fish.
"An hour before sunset, we will have to head back in before nightfall. The lethifolds are quite active out here at night time," Sanjay said in a serious tone.
"Yeah the last thing I want is to be eaten alive by a floating blanket," Harry agreed.
"Agreed, nasty creatures," Sanjay shuddered.
"After eating they took a minute to let it settle before Harry cast the bubblehead on himself and prepared to make another attempt.
'This was shaping up to be a pretty good week,' Harry thought as he fastened the pouch of venom balls around his waist and jumped into the warm water.
Peverell Beach House, Cornwall, 4/21/1984, 00:38
Harry gently lowered Athena to the floor and watched her slither towards her imitation rainforest before he kicked off his boots. Lazily he padded up the stairs intent on catching a little more sleep.
He pushed open his bedroom door to find Bella reading one of her trashy novels. Harry caught the title and couldn't help but snort when he read, 'The Drunken Pureblood and The Naughty Mudblood', printed on the cover above a picture of a buff shirtless man with dark flowing hair holding a scantily clad blonde in a loving embrace.
"You're back a bit early," Bella smiled as she shut her book and set it on her nightstand.
"We caught the six am portkey out of Sydney, we're officially done in Australia now," Harry grinned as he stepped out of his trousers.
"Well now you're mine for a whole month," Bella purred as she pulled him to her and snuggled into him.
"And I couldn't be happier," Harry sighed as he took in her scent.
" I have missed you while you were out chasing serpents," Bella sighed as kissed his neck.
"So did I miss anything with the twins?" Harry asked as he ran his fingers through her hair.
"Yes, Iggy peed on Sirius when he was changing him yesterday," Bells giggled.
"Remind me to give him a raise in his allowance," Harry chuckled.
"Oh and Cissa has started up her own business," Bella said thoughtfully.
"Dare I ask?" Harry muttered warily.
"She has started a daycare of sorts where she teaches children the basics," Bella said with a shrug.
"What are the basics, Reading and writing?" Harry asked curiously.
"And proper etiquette," Bella added.
"Let me guess, she only accepts children from influential families?" Harry snorted.
"Ah good, you're finally learning to read my sister. She already has your younger self and Bones' niece under her care," Bella smirked.
"Oh no, I hope Sirius doesn't let me turn into s stuffy little pureblood," Harry scowled.
"He won't but it is important for them to learn how to comport themselves in proper society without embarrassing themselves or their parents," Bella shrugged.
"So the twins will be going, then?" Harry asked though he already knew the answer.
"Yes, Bella has already signed them up to begin their training on their third birthday," Bella said watching him for his reaction.
"Alright, they need to mingle with other children and this will give you some free time during the day," Harry agreed.
"Exactly, now enough talking you've been away for a week and you've gotten terribly behind in your duties," Bella purred as she fondled him under the covers.
"Y-yeah, I've been a bad husband," Harry groaned as his wife teased him.
"Auntie Bella will sort this out, why don't we start with you practising a bit of... parseltongue," Bella suggested giddily.
"Y-yes Auntie Bella," Harry groaned in disappointment as she stopped stroking him.
As Harry crawled under the covers to take care of his wife's needs he couldn't help but grin, he kind of liked it when she took charge every once in a while.
Harry was brought back to the present when she grabbed s fistful of his hair and pulled his head where she wanted him to give her some attention.
"If you do a good job licking Auntie Bella's slippery hole, she will reward you," Bella cooed as she lifted the covers to look him in the eye from his position between her parted legs.
"Yes Auntie Bella," Harry replied dutifully.
"It is so good to be home,' Harry thought with a grin before he concentrated on fulfilling 'Auntie Bella's' demands.