The Other Potter

Chapter 10

For once the monotony of a week at Hogwarts was broken up by the excitement of what was to come, and before long Harriet found herself hidden away with both Regulus and Barty in one of the many abandoned classrooms Hogwarts hosted on Saturday morning.

"And you're sure that this is properly brewed?" Barty asked again, eyeing the potion warily. He didn't sit with Regulus and Harriet in potions, instead he sat with Martin Davis, and although he knew Harriet had excellent grades, he was wary about drinking something not brewed by a professional.

"Yes, market standard. I triple checked."

All holding their vials, the trio sat down on their conjured pillows. When researching the potion, most said to take it when sitting down as the experience of meeting your inner animal in your mindscape can be overwhelming and lead to dizzy spells.

"Ready?" Harriet asked, receiving nods they all downed the potion. Forcing themselves to swallow the think chalky solution.

The effect was almost immediate...

Harriet found herself in her mindscape. A place she knew well from her occulmency lessons with Arcturus as a child. Harriet had based her mindscape off the gardens at Castle Black. She had always loved them and found comfort in them. Looking around she noted how it had grown, the space was twice the size it had been when she last immersed herself in her mind. Looking around Harriet felt a sense of disappointment grow, she knew there was a chance she wouldn't have an animal as not everybody did, but she had hoped. Though before she could full commit to her disappointment, she saw something from the corner of her eye. A gentle pair of wings fluttering towards her. The butterfly was primarily a brilliant green colour, the same as her eyes, with Black and white flakes and pale green slashes. She hadn't considered what animal she would have, and found herself pleased, the idea of being able to fly was one she loved. Allowing the creature to land on her, she felt her magic hum and a sense of peace enveloped her.

Regulus opened his eyes in his mindscape and blinked, his mindscape was the library from his home, Grimmauld place. It was the place he often found sanctuary growing up, and although it was open to all, it was often the place he escaped to, to be alone. Therefore, it was easy to say he knew the library well, so he was surprised when he opened his eyes and saw a new area, or rather a new aspect. Sitting in the corner where there was usually a dark purple wingback chair was a moderately sized brown bear with startlingly familiar silver eyes. Approaching the bear, Regulus felt his smile grow. He didn't know the symbolism for the animal, but it felt right. Running his hand through the bears fur, he felt whole.

One of the few things Barty's father had deemed essential to teach his son himself was occulmency, therefore his mindscape was something he had taken great pride in. His father had taken months drilling him in the delicate art, until he perfected it and then gone back to ignoring his existence. Yet Barty's mind scape was still something he was proud of, even if he no longer strove for his father's approval. It was based off his mother's cottage, a place where the two of them often escaped to over the holidays. Looking around the grounds of the place which he felt most at peace Barty almost startled when he saw something dart out. A flash of orange was what he first noticed; the fox, for he knew what It was, was small, with blue eyes and a small tuff of almost blonde fur on its head, was cute. Slowly lowering himself, he allowed it to crawl forward before he tentatively held his hand out, though once they touched, he felt a sense of contentment roll through him.

Opening her eyes, Harriet watched as the boys slowly blinked back to awareness.

"That was intense," Regulus said, standing with a stretch before offering Harriet a hand up.