Chapter 30: The Deep-Water Draught
Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 30: The Deep-Water Draught
The next morning, Harry arrived at the library before breakfast.
He had barely slept. The recipe for the Deep-Water Draught was tucked into his pocket, and its complicated instructions had swirled through his mind all night. He needed help… and there was only one person he could ask.
Daphne was already at her usual table, a thick book open before her. She looked up as he approached, her amber eyes curious.
"Potter? You're here earlier than usual."
"I need your help," Harry said, sitting across from her. He pulled out the parchment and slid it across the table. "With a potion."
"A potion? That was definitely not in the list of homework from Professor Snape." Daphne raised an eyebrow. She picked up the parchment and read the ingredient list. Her expression shifted from mild interest to genuine surprise.
"Essence of Lily of the Valley. Powdered Merperson scales. Frozen Bicorn horn shavings." She looked at him. "These are kinda rare ingredients. Maybe even restricted. Where did you get this recipe?"
"It's a family recipe," Harry said. "From the Potters."
Daphne studied him for a long moment. "I didn't know the Potters delved into potion-making."
"We weren't," Harry admitted. "But my grandfather was… he collected things. Knowledge, mostly. This came from his collection."
It was not a lie. The grimoire had belonged to Fleamont Potter at some point, and the recipe was inside it. Daphne seemed to accept this explanation.
"And why do you need this particular potion?" she asked. "It's designed for deep underwater exploration. I presume this is related to what we talked about yesterday? You were asking about a way to dive into the Black Lake, and now… You suddenly have a recipe for it. What a coincidence."
Harry hesitated. He could not tell her everything… not yet. But he needed her trust.
"Okay, fine…" He looked around the library to make sure no one was paying attention to them. The only person at this hour was the librarian herself, and she seemed to be busy with some paperwork at her desk.
Harry turned his attention back to Daphne. "A friend of mine lost someone," he said. "A brother. The official story says he got lost in the Forbidden Forest. But I have reason to believe his body is in the lake. I promised to help find him."
Daphne's face went very still. "You… are looking for a corpse in the Black Lake?"
"Yes."
"I did not see that coming. I was not wrong about you, Potter. You are very interesting."
"Well… thanks?" Harry didn't know how to answer that.
She then went quiet for a long moment, as if she was considering something. Once she was done, her eyes shifted back to him. "Is this related to Pansy Parkinson's brother?"
Harry blinked. "How did you-"
"It wasn't hard to guess with what you told me so far. I've heard things, you know?. Also, don't forget that Pansy is my roommate...we have talked about our families." She tapped the parchment. "But even if she didn't tell me… the story about a student getting lost and dying in the Forbidden Forest is very popular. But what makes you think he died in the lake?"
"I don't just think… I know he must be in there. And he didn't get lost… he was definitely killed by someone."
Daphne's expression changed. Her playful smile from before was gone. "Potter… that is a very serious accusation. If you have any evidence, you should take it to the professors or directly to the Ministry of Magic."
"I don't trust them," Harry simply responded. "So… will you help me with this?"
Daphne looked at the ingredient list again. "These ingredients are not easy to come by. But my mother's shop in Knockturn Alley stocks them. The problem is getting them here."
"Can you write to her?"
"She's away on business… a long trip. And she took my sister with her."
"So, the shop is closed." Harry sighed. It looked like he wouldn't be solving this case any time soon.
"The shop is closed, but it's not empty. There is still someone who can help me get these ingredients to us."
"Who?"
Daphne grinned. "My family's house-elf, Kippy."
"You have a house-elf?" Harry knew about them, of course, but had yet to see one. Hogwarts had many...however, they were very sneaky and didn't let themselves be seen by the students.
"Of course I do. The Greengrass family is an ancient wizarding family. We used to be an important one too…" There was a hint of sadness in her eyes. "But anyway, I can send a letter to Kippy, and he will bring us the ingredients in no time."
"The house-elf will sneak into the school?"
Daphne shrugged. "It's the only way. I already told you that some of these ingredients may be restricted by the Ministry. That means you need special permission to buy them. If we tried to bring them via owl… they would get intercepted, and we would be punished for it. We might even be sent directly to re-education for something like that."
Harry swallowed. "I see…" He didn't think it was that serious.
"Alright, it is decided then." She lifted the piece of parchment where Harry had written the recipe. "Can I keep this? I want to study the brewing process and make sure we have all the tools we will need."
"Ehm… sure." He didn't think she would betray him with this.
"Thanks for the trust." She closed her book and stood up. "Let's go get some breakfast. I'll send the letter after that."
"If you want, you can use my owl to send it. Vesper is very fast," Harry added, hoping to give his owl something to do so it wouldn't get bored.
<><><><><><><><><><>
Two days later, the parcel arrived.
Daphne met Harry in an empty classroom on the third floor. She unwrapped the package carefully, revealing three glass vials, each filled with a different substance.
One glowed faintly green. One shimmered silver. One seemed to smoke despite being cold.
"Essence of Lily of the Valley," Daphne said, pointing to the green vial. "Powdered Merperson scales." The silver. "And frozen Bicorn horn shavings." The smoking one.
"Your house-elf came through," Harry said.
Daphne nodded. "Kippy has always been reliable." She tucked the vials into her bag. "We'll need a place to brew. The potions classroom is too public, and Snape has a habit of appearing when least wanted."
Harry smiled. "I know a place."
He would have preferred to keep the existence of the Room of Requirement a secret for a bit longer, but any other place in the school would be too risky. If they were caught brewing an illegal potion, the consequences could be catastrophic.
His encounter with Mr Filch had taught him that he needed to be more careful in the future.
The Room of Requirement had provided a small, well-equipped potions laboratory.
Stone walls, wooden benches, a cauldron already heating over a blue flame. Racks of glass phials and measuring tools lined the shelves. A single window showed the night sky, though Harry was certain the room had no windows before.
Daphne looked around, impressed. "How did you find this place?"
"It finds you," Harry said. "When you need it."
"Okay…" She accepted that without further questions.
Harry liked that about Daphne. She never tried to pry further when she noticed that it was something he didn't wish to explain in detail.
They worked side by side, following the grimoire's instructions.
Daphne took the lead, her hands steady and precise. She measured ingredients with the ease of someone who had done this many times before.
Harry did his best to assist her, as he had done many times during class... chopping, stirring, and fetching phials.
"The Bicorn horn needs to be shaved, not crushed," Daphne said, handing him a small silver file. "Thin flakes. The thickness matters."
Harry worked carefully, holding his breath between cuts. The horn was hard and cold, but the flakes came off in translucent curls.
"You're not bad at this," Daphne observed.
"I have a good teacher," Harry said, nodding at her.
Daphne's lips twitched, almost forming a smile.
They brewed for two hours. The potion changed colour three times: from clear to pale blue, then to deep green, finally settling into a shimmering silver that reminded Harry of moonlight on water.
Daphne tested a drop on her fingertip. "It's ready."
She ladled the potion into three small glass vials. The liquid swirled and glowed faintly.
"We should perform a test in a safer environment before jumping into a frozen lake. Do you want to give it a go?" she asked, holding one of the vials.
"I will," Harry said. "It's my recipe after all."
The Room of Requirement provided a deep pool for them to use.
Harry stood at the edge, the vial in his hand. Daphne watched from a safe distance, her arms crossed.
"If you don't surface in ten minutes, I'm coming in after you," she said.
Harry nodded. He uncorked the vial and drank.
The potion tasted like cold metal and salt. For a moment, nothing happened. Then a warmth spread through his chest, down his arms, across his skin. A thin, invisible barrier formed around his body – he could feel it, like a second layer of skin.
He stepped into the pool.
The water was cold, but through the barrier, he felt only a distant chill. He sank to the bottom, stood there, and breathed.
'It works,' he thought. 'It actually works.'
He stayed under for ten minutes, walking the length of the pool, testing his movements. The barrier held, and the air remained fresh. When he surfaced, the barrier dissolved like morning mist.
Daphne stared at him. "That's… a remarkable potion. You would need an extremely advanced charm to replicate those effects."
"It is!" Harry agreed.
"Okay then. There's one for you and one for me," Daphne said, holding up the two remaining vials.
"You don't have to come with me. It may be dangerous," Harry said. "I can go alone."
"You'll need someone to watch your back. The Black Lake is filled with dangerous creatures, and I presume that you don't know many spells to help you while you're down there." Daphne crossed her arms. "Besides, I've come this far. I'm not backing out now."
Harry couldn't deny that. He had just begun his journey as a wizard three months ago, and his arsenal of spells was a bit… lacking. Although he was sure that the Lumos Charm would come in handy during the deep dive.
"Thank you, Daphne," he said. "Really."
"Don't thank me yet. Thank me when we find what we're looking for."
<><><><><><><><><><>
They decided to dive the following night, when the castle would be dark and the grounds empty.
Harry walked back to the common room alone, his mind racing with plans and contingencies. The potion worked. Daphne was willing to help. And somewhere beneath the frozen lake, Alistair Parkinson's body waited to be found.
That night, he brought his diary back to his room and wrote a few more passages in it.
"The Deep-Water Draught is ready. It works perfectly. Daphne helped me brew it – she doesn't know about the ghost, only that we're searching for Alistair's body. She's braver than I expected. I think I'm doing the right thing by getting her involved in this. She seems...nice." He quickly deleted that last part.
"Tomorrow night, we dive. We'll find the cave. We'll find the truth."
"I just hope we make it back to the surface."
He closed the diary and hid it under his pillow.
Outside, the wind howled across the frozen lake. Somewhere beneath the ice, a ghost waited.
And tomorrow, Harry would finally answer its call.
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