autumn | severus snape

forty three

The office was dimly lit, the warm glow of enchanted lanterns casting a soft light on the walls cluttered with maps, charts, and stacks of old books. Professor Brown sat behind her desk, leafing through a tattered volume, when the knock on her door startled her.

"Come in," she called, her voice calm but curious.

The door creaked open, revealing Ophelia and Teddy, both looking slightly hesitant. Brown raised an eyebrow, her gaze flickering between them.

"Miss Delisle. Mr. Bentley. What brings you here at this hour?"

"We need your help," Ophelia said, stepping forward. Her voice was firm, but there was an edge of desperation to it.

Brown leaned back in her chair, folding her hands on the desk. "With what, exactly?"

"The bond," Ophelia said, her tone heavy. "And a potion."

Brown's eyes narrowed slightly, her usual calm giving way to intrigue. "I see," she said slowly. "You've been making progress, I take it?"

"We've been trying," Teddy said, running a hand through his hair. "But everything we do, every experiment, it keeps failing. The potion won't stabilize, no matter what adjustments we make."

Ophelia reached into her bag and pulled out a notebook, placing it on Brown's desk. The pages were filled with handwritten notes, diagrams, and failed attempts. "We thought Moly and Frostshade would work together, but it wasn't enough. Then we tried adding Unicorn's Bloodroot extract, but the reaction was... violent. We thought about using Sopophorous Beans but we're not sure where to start."

Brown opened the notebook, flipping through the pages with a thoughtful expression. "And you believe this potion is the key to weakening the bond?"

"It has to be," Ophelia said, her voice rising slightly. "The bond is parasitic, it drains magic, but it has to have a conduit. If we can interrupt that connection, even for a moment, we might have a chance to break it."

Brown looked up at her, studying her closely. "You're certain about this?"

Ophelia nodded. "We don't have time to second-guess."

Brown sighed, leaning back in her chair and tapping her fingers on the desk. "You're dealing with powerful magic, Ophelia. Blood magic isn't something you can simply counter with trial and error. It's volatile, unpredictable. Dangerous."

"We know," Teddy said firmly. "But we're running out of options. If you know anything, anything at all, that could help us, we need to know."

Brown hesitated, her gaze flickering to a stack of books on a nearby shelf. Finally, she stood and crossed the room, pulling down a heavy tome bound in cracked leather. She placed it on the desk and opened it to a page marked with a frayed ribbon.

"This," she said, pointing to an ancient diagram, "is a theory I've come across before. It's risky, and it's never been tested, but it might help you stabilize the potion."

Ophelia and Teddy leaned in, their eyes scanning the intricate symbols and annotations.

"What is it?" Ophelia asked.

"A grounding agent," Brown explained. "Sopophorous Beans slow magic, but they also destabilize it. You need something to counteract that, something that will anchor the magic while still allowing it to flow."

"Like what?" Teddy asked.

"Dragon's Flame Flower extract," Brown said. "It's rare and difficult to harvest, but it has unique properties that might be exactly what you need."

Ophelia's brow furrowed. "And where are we supposed to find that?"

Brown gave her a small, wry smile. "The Forbidden Forest, of course. Deep within the eastern edge, near the marshes."