Chương 41: A Potion's Dark Influence
"Oh, and I had my hopes set on Madam Puddifoot's." Daphne replied. Harry looked at her in surprise, not expecting Daphne to want to go to the tea shop he had heard described as 'feminine' at the nicest and 'a version of hell on earth for every male' at the worst.
"Uh, well ok. If that's what you want to do." Harry answered. Daphne responded by starting to laugh as if she had never heard anything funnier.
"No Harry, I don't really want to go. But it's nice that you would follow me into that hellhole if I wanted to go." Harry stared at her for a moment before beginning to chuckle as well, partly from relief that he didn't have to go to Madam Puddifoot's. "The Three Broomsticks will be great." When they made it to the pub they saw that most, but not all, of the tables were already taken. Harry was able to find one close the bar and they sat down and waited for Madam Rosmerta to come take their orders. Harry and Daphne were enjoying the good food and company when their happiness was interrupted.
"So Potter, taking your tramp out for an evening on the town are you?" the always annoying voice of Draco Malfoy asked. Harry and Daphne turned to see him and Pansy Parkinson approaching their table. Draco stood on one side of the table between Harry and Daphne while Pansy stood at the opposite side.
"Why don't you just leave, Malfoy. I'd prefer not to have to curse you in front of so many witnesses." Harry replied, upset that his date had been disturbed.
"Really? I didn't think you even paid attention to rules or laws, is it just to see how many you've broken? Only an idiot would believe that you have it in you to be a dark lord, but you are a liar and cheat. I'm just glad the rest of the world seems to be coming to their senses." Malfoy responded bitterly.
"Sod off, Draco." Daphne said, breaking in to the conversation. "Besides, we both know you aren't going to do anything here. Tuck your tail between your legs and go home." Malfoy sneered at her, but inwardly was starting to get desperate. His plan called for him to get Harry angry enough to start throwing spells, but so far nothing he said was having the effect he wanted it to.
"Perhaps I won't hex Potter." Malfoy said, still trying to find a way to anger his nemesis. "I'll just take this then, hope you weren't saving it." Malfoy reached towards the table and grabbed the Canary Cream that Harry had set by his plate. A small grin came over Harry's face, wondering if he could get Malfoy to eat it.
"Give it back!" Harry demanded, knowing that the more he seemed to want it the less likely Malfoy was to give it back. Malfoy smirked, thinking he was finally starting to get under Harry's skin.
"I don't think I will." Malfoy said as he unwrapped the candy and popped it into his mouth. As soon as he swallowed the candy his eyes bulged and he knew something was terribly wrong. Feathers began sprouting up out of his skin and his nose began growing into the shape of a beak. He tried to yell out but his voice had been replaced by a strange squawking sound. Everyone in the pub turned and started laughing as he slowly turned into a giant canary. In the distraction, Pansy Parkinson saw her chance and removed a small vial from her robes. She placed a few drops of the red liquid it contained into both Harry and Daphne's drinks before hiding the vial. She smiled evilly, the distraction may not have happened as planned but this part still worked. She had completed her task and no one seemed to notice, their attentions were still focused on Malfoy.
The canary effect lasted for a little more than a minute, and when it had finished Malfoy's features had returned to normal and the feathers covering his body had fallen off. The pub's patrons were still laughing hysterically at what they had seen and Malfoy's face grew red in embarrassment and anger.
"This isn't over, Potter. Don't think for a second it is!" Malfoy yelled and turned to leave the pub with Pansy following close behind him.
"Oh Harry, that was priceless! Why couldn't I have brought a camera with me?" Daphne said between laughs. Harry was still trying to control his laughter when he reached for his Butterbeer and took a drink. As the cool liquid went down his throat he felt his mood change and his laughter abruptly died. His amusement was replaced by a strange sense of unspecific anger. Daphne noticed his change in attitude and looked at him curiously.
"Harry? You ok over there?" she asked.
"Of course I'm ok. What the bloody hell do you think?" he snapped back at her angrily. A small voice in his mind was softly asking him what he was so mad about, but it was hard to focus on with so much anger running through his head.
"What's gotten in to you?" Daphne replied, getting a bit upset herself. "One minute you were laughing and the next you're a pissed off jerk."
"I'm a jerk, am I? Well maybe Malfoy was right about you, Greengrass." Harry answered, though the voice inside him questioning his attitude seemed to be getting louder. Daphne looked ready to hex him when her faced dropped into an expression of concentration.
"Harry, give me your drink." she commanded.
"Get your own!" he said back, raising his voice even higher. Daphne reached over and took his Butterbeer anyway. She carefully raised the glass to her nose and smelled it, scowling as she set it down. She then picked up her own drink and repeated the process, a strange smell not normally found in Butterbeer was coming from both of them.
"Potter! Get a hold of yourself and settle down." Daphne said forcefully, demanding he comply. "Somehow Malfoy managed to put something in our drinks. From the way you are reacting I would guess it is the Draught of Rage. It makes you angry and prone to violence for about ten minutes. You can fight off the Imperious Curse, you can fight off this!"
Harry wanted to yell at her for telling him to settle down, but the voice in the back of his head was growing louder and agreeing with her assessment. He knew there was no real reason for him to be mad at Daphne. Malfoy though, he was the one that deserved his anger.
"Why? What was he trying to do?" Harry asked, still trying to quell the anger he could still feel boiling beneath the surface.
"He put some in my drink, too. If we had both gotten it in our systems we would probably be cursing each other by now, and then we would be in real trouble. Plans like this have worked before. Remember from History of Magic? Some dark lord snuck the Draught of Rage into his enemy's food supply and just let them kill each other. This could have been very dangerous, Harry." Daphne explained. Harry simply nodded, most of his concentration was still focused on removing the foreign thoughts and feelings from his mind. Slowly, he could feel the anger towards Daphne ebbing away. His anger towards Malfoy, however, was still present.
"Come on." Harry said, rising to his feet. "Let's go find Malfoy." Harry was walking towards the door before Daphne could even begin to protest. Once outside the pub Harry began to look around hoping to spot Malfoy.
"Harry, you're still feeling the effects of the potion." Daphne said as she caught up with him. "Let's go back inside and wait for it to wear off. If you still want to find Draco then I will help you."
"There!" Harry said, pointing towards a tree towards the outskirts of the village. Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle were all sitting by the tree watching the Three Broomsticks. Apparently they had been expecting Harry and Daphne to provide entertainment in their potion induced rage. Harry began running towards them with Daphne following close behind. Harry was still quite angry, but he could feel the effects of the potion influencing him less and less with every passing moment. Malfoy and company saw him coming and seemingly thought it would be funny to have him chase them because they had gotten up and started running away from Harry and Daphne.
"Harry, stop!" Daphne yelled. The urgency in her voice caused Harry to drop his pursuit and turn to face her. "There are Dementors that way!" Harry frowned and appeared to think about what she had said. Casting a quick glance towards where Malfoy and his friends had run to Harry closed his eyes and attempted to calm himself. Finally he was certain that the effects of the potion had worn off.
"Then we have to go." Harry answered reluctantly. "None of them can cast a Patronus, we can. As much as I'd like to curse him, I can't just let Malfoy die. Not even he deserves that."
"I've never cast a Patronus against a Dementor. I'm not sure I can." Daphne said softly, the worry clear in her voice. Harry responded by walking over to her and bringing her in to a tight hug. After a few moments, Daphne lifted her arms and returned the hug. She tried her best to ignore her worries and concentrate on the comfort Harry was providing.
"You can do it, Daphne. I know you can." he assured her. She opened her mouth to respond but was stopped when Harry leaned forward and kissed her. The kiss was brief, but somehow Daphne thought it was exactly what she needed. "Let's go." Daphne nodded and together they began running towards where they had last seen the others. Harry worried that he had lost them, a fear that only increased as he felt a cold chill travel down his spine. The Dementors were nearby. He looked towards Daphne to see that her eyes were wide open with a look of shock on them, she could obviously feel the Dementors as well.
As they came over a snowy hill Harry gasped when he saw that the Dementors had Malfoy and his friends surrounded. The four Slytherins were casting a variety of curses at the deadly creatures, but none of them worked. There were six Dementors in total, and at the moment they seemed to be toying with the children. Perhaps they were already enjoying the fear that they were provoking. Even from this distance the Dementors were able to affect Harry strong enough that he could faintly hear his mother's cries for mercy at the hands of Voldemort.
'No!' his mind screamed at him. 'I will not be afraid.' Harry gave Daphne's hand a squeeze in encouragement and they headed towards the group. As they prepared to cast their Patronuses Malfoy and Parkinson decided to run, leaving Crabbe and Goyle behind. Three of the Dementors followed the two students as Harry realized that he and Daphne were both going to have to successfully cast the charm if they were going to be able to save their classmates.
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry and Daphne yelled out simultaneously.
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