Antithesis

Chapter 59: Vitaedax

"I'm so hungry it hurts I feel like i'm eating myself from the inside out whycant it juststop-"

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"No bloody way," Sirius' jaw dropped, looking absolutely amazed but also very skeptical.

"Do it!" Tonks cheered, laughing from where she was peeking around the corner of the kitchen, preparing breakfast. Half of the hash browns had already been banished, the other half was smoldering far too close to burning. Nobody minded, especially with such great entertainment that the newcomer was providing.

Newt had his bag open, pulling out various potions and objects to find his daily nutritional potion. One of the objects, a collection of vials secured in what looked like magical bubble wrap, was glowing brightly.

"What's going on?" Skylar asked, stumbling into the kitchen not at all prepared for the daily events.

"Sky! Oh, Newt here says he can tell Animagus forms!" Tonks cheered, swaying as she walked into the room curious. Sirius was obviously interested, but nothing had been successfully created for identifying unregistered Animagus. It was realistic to presume some sort of scam.

"Honestly," Newt scoffed, although he looked rather pleased and happy to share what he had. He tapped on the glowing vials lovingly, "It's venom from an Indian species of turtle. See, its prey is a tricky shapeshifter, so the venom allows it to locate hidden prey no matter the disguise. Concentrated and mixed with a root, it does a wonderful job revealing animagi."

Sirius looked at Skylar as if he didn't know how to react. The skepticism was almost tangible.

"I know you're a canine by the way," Newt offered helpfully. "You have a telling bark."

Hermione hurried down the stairs, already dressed and cradling Crookshanks in her arms. She smiled, ducking her head as Newt gave her a small wave. She was polite enough to not acknowledge Sirius' awkward flush. She didn't question the vials on the table, or how everyone seemed gob smacked.

Lutain hissed sharply, his sound cutting through the air sharply. Crookshanks tensed, tail fluffing as the kneezle hissed loudly. Skylar flinched away from the creature and paused, tensing accordingly with Lutain.

The snake was disgruntled, but still had plenty it wanted known.

Adalonda. It seemed to say, not sounding pleased. Kill her.

"We are." Skylar muttered under his breath, turning away slightly to disguise his words. "We have other things to do right now. We need to learn about it first."

Lutain's tail twitched in annoyance, whacking against Skylar's ribs pointedly. Basilisk. Adalonda. Cerestes.

"Look, I don't know what a Cerestes is." Skylar muttered under his breath, grabbing a glass filled with juice. "Wasn't that a weapon?"

"Cerestes?" Newt echoed, he must have had impressive ears for someone likely a hundred years old. Then again, Dumbledore was likely a lot older than that and still performing strong.

"Er, yeah." Skylar stumbled, mucking with his toast as Newt's eyebrows furrowed, "I mean it could be something completely irrelevant."