The Prince's Tale

【14】Water of life and death

["...Narcissus root powder and wormwood are boiled in water (standard crucible) for seventeen hours at a ratio of three to five, and a powerful sleeping potion can be obtained, also known as "water of life and death". Overdose can cause death. When taking it, diluents of grade C1 (one standard solution: 99 parts of water) and grade D3 (one standard solution: nine hundred and ninety-nine parts of water) are usually used to reduce the effect of the medicine.” —— European Wizard Pharmacopoeia "(Fourth Edition, 99)]

I feel like I'm falling, falling... eventually I'm falling into a well-decorated living room.I am so familiar with this living room, I have experienced this scene thousands of times...

"Please, please," whispered the long-haired woman sitting on the sofa, "get out of here and take Alan. It's not safe here anymore. I can't let you continue to take risks here—"

"No! Mom! I don't want to go!" The boy hugged the woman's leg tightly, tears swirled in his blue eyes, stubbornly refusing to fall, "You are here, and Dad is here——I don't want to go !"

The long-haired woman hesitated, and the two old men sitting across from them also showed embarrassment.But the woman finally pulled the boy's arm away.She knelt down to look him straight.

"Mom still has important things to do. This matter is too dangerous. Mom promised Dad to protect Alan. Good boy, please be obedient? Just live with grandparents for a few days. Soon mom will put After the matter is done, Alan will be brought back—"

"You also promised Dad that you would watch me grow up instead of him! Mom, Dad is gone, don't you want to leave me too?" The boy's eyes suddenly became strange, as if standing in front of him was someone else. One, "Are those rumors true? They all say—"

The woman suddenly hugged the boy tightly.The boy couldn't see her face, couldn't see the tears running silently down her cheeks into her collar.This short hug was not enough to dispel all doubts in the 12-year-old boy's heart.

"Alan, you have to believe that my mother has difficulties." The long-haired woman said.The boy wrenched himself free from her arms.The woman didn't seem to respond.Her body seemed to have been cast with a body-binding spell, and she still kept her arms outstretched.

"So those are all true?" he asked, "They all said that you wanted to divorce your father a long time ago! They said that you had already left yourself a way out! Did you think about me when you were doing all this? What would you think!"

"Ellen, Edward and I are not what you think—"

"I have my own eyes. I can see by myself! How many times did you quarrel with Dad when I was young, do you think I don't remember? You live very easily every day, but have you ever considered him? He and I said, you are the best girl he has ever seen. Even I can see that he has always tolerated you! But what have you done for him? Now that he is gone, you don't even want to care about me, do you? "

The woman stared blankly at her son, and finally realized that any explanation for a child who was about to leave his mother was superfluous, and no matter how lofty the ideal was, it was empty talk.Her body finally stopped being stiff.She lowered her arms, stood up slowly, turned to the two old men and said, "Mary, Charlie, please take care of Ellen. I swear, I will find you soon—"

"Are you really going to do this?" Mary Jones opened her eyes wide and folded her hands, as if a little scared.

The woman nodded slightly.The boy beside her glared at him angrily, but suddenly, his gaze became dull.Mary let out an exclamation.

The white, misty liquid flowed continuously from the boy's temple, passed through the tip of the wand, and finally flowed into the crystal bottle in the woman's hand.She gripped the crystal bottle so hard that even her joints turned slightly white.

It didn't take long for the crystal bottle to fill up.The woman dropped her wand and supported the boy's limp body.She hugged the boy to the sofa, tears could no longer be controlled, and dripped down on the boy's face that was still flashing with anger just now.

"Alan, Alan—you have to remember, Mommy will always love you—Alan—" She choked up, covering her face with a handkerchief and crying softly.But she didn't allow herself to immerse herself in this sadness for too long.After half a minute, she picked up her wand and stood up again.

"Alan, please, you guys." She took a deep breath, and seemed to have finally made a decision, "When he wakes up, will he remember something—you, you just tell him—his parents have— —Yes, they are all gone. And you are avoiding the enemy, so you will—”

"We will consider it carefully." Charlie Jones said suddenly, his tone a bit cold.The long-haired woman felt the coldness in his words, and suddenly lost the momentum she had just cast the spell, and became a little timid.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

"Then, then I'll be leaving. Take care of yourself," she suddenly panicked, and glanced at Alan who was still lying on the sofa several times, "I promise, it won't be too long—I will soon I'm going to find you. We usually contact by phone. Goodbye."

Charlie, always rigid and strict, didn't point out the wrong word.As the woman was about to leave the living room, Mary stood up suddenly.

"Jane, wait!" She ran to the drawer and took out a plastic box and handed it to the woman, "This is Edward's. I think you should take it."

It took a lot of effort for the woman to raise her hand to take the plastic box, as if she was holding ten crucibles stacked on top of each other. "Thank you, Mary," she said hoarsely.

In the next second, the two women hugged each other without warning and wept bitterly.It is no longer the kind of silent tears pretending to be strong, the woman at this time is crying like a child.The old and thin Mary patted the back of the long-haired woman soothingly, as if she was relying on her.

"You're right, life is the most important thing. So, we all have to live well. Do you hear me, Jane? Don't let Alan lose his mother again!"

The woman nodded heavily with tears in her eyes, then let go of Mary and turned to leave.

...why are these scenes so real?Why does my heart ache when I see that boy?

Because that is my Alan, the son of me and Edward...

Who is Allen?Who is Edward?Why does it sound so familiar?

Have you all forgotten?Allen is your last relative in this world.

loved ones?It turns out that I still have relatives, and it turns out that I am not completely alone in this world... But where are they, and why am I still alone when I am in such a difficult time?

Edward is gone.Ellen doesn't remember me either...

he doesn't remember me...

A severe headache woke me up.I sat up abruptly from the bed, and saw the hands of the clock clearly with the dim light from the tip of my wand.

04:30 in the morning.One fluid ounce of AQUA C1 diluent only allowed me to sleep for four and a half hours.

I extinguished the light on my wand and lay down again, only to feel the wetness around my face.I had to grab my wand and cast a drying spell on the pillow.

Although I have woken up, I can feel the aftermath of the water of life and death.The intense pain neither puts me to sleep nor allows me to focus on other things.I was so dazed, I could only passively feel my thoughts bumping around like a red Quaffle.

The one just now was not just a dream, so I am not at all glad to wake up from the nightmare.Instead, that nightmare haunted me, a constant reminder of my promise to Edward and the price of my choice of side.

I never promise easily.Because the future is unknown, the promises made must be fulfilled.My thoughts were suddenly dragged back to the past——

"Jane Melania, would you marry Edward Charlie? Love him and be loyal to him, whether he is poor, sick or disabled, until death, will you?"

"I am willing."

……

At that time, would I have thought that my love and loyalty to him did not end because of his death?

I have thought of him in countless moments, and without knowing it, I will act in his style.Now, I also browse the Daily Prophet while eating fried eggs; I also use their communication tools like a Muggle; and I also do my best to protect the people I love.

——Actually, he has never left, and he has always lived in my heart.

On December 24, [-], I woke up as usual.I opened the thick curtains, and the faint morning light spilled into the bedroom in an instant.I stood quietly in front of the window, watching the sky gradually fade away from darkness, and watched the shops in Diagon Alley that were not closed open one after another.

After about an hour, the genius fully lit up.Sunshine struggled to throw a few beams of sunlight from the clouds to the earth, bringing hope to people again.

At eleven o'clock, I changed into a black robe and went downstairs to my office.A few months ago, I moved my stuff to the top floor of the pharmacy, which had been vacant until then.Now that I am alone, seeing the old scene only adds to the sadness.

At 11:30, my pharmacy ushered in an unexpected visitor.

"Dear Jane, I don't think we've seen each other for a long time." A pudgy witch in a pink dress, matching hat and gloves stood in front of me, smiling.That sweet, sugary voice made me feel sick for a while.

Dolores Umbridge - Senior Deputy Minister for Magic, Director of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission.For me, she has another identity - my classmate at Hogwarts.

Readers, I think you can finally understand why I was so resistant to going back to school back then.But that's not all.

"Dolores," I smiled, "what brought you to my corner today?"

She seemed satisfied with my promise.

"Long time no see, why don't you come to see you?" After she finished speaking, she let out a series of giggles like a little girl, and I nodded in agreement.

Without my guidance, Dolores walked up the stairs by herself, as if she owned the place.And I just followed with a smile on my face.

When she arrived at the living room, she directly explained her intentions without going around much.

"Jane, I'm sure you'll accommodate this little request of mine," she said, her eyes sparkling as if she were looking at a certain prey. "I need Veritaserum."

"Oh? I thought there would be supplies within the Ministry of Magic, and Principal Snape must be happy to help you. How can I, a little pharmacist, help?" I joked.

"Ah...you know, when we actually operate, we will inevitably exceed the regulations..." she said meaningfully.I tried my best to maintain a smile on my face, but I felt a chill in my heart.

"Of course I'd love to be at your service," I said, "but unfortunately, Dolores, we don't have any veritaserum in stock."

"I think you can last a little longer, can't you?"

"I need a lunar cycle," I said unhurriedly, "Of course, we can also omit some of the steps. But the finished product is not so perfect, and the user may have a magic riot. I am for you For safety's sake."

"You're always like this, aren't you? 'Need a moon cycle'—" She finally tore off the mask of hypocrisy and sneered, "You think you're a pure-blood, I really can't do anything to you, yeah Don't forget, you're not 'Prince' now."

"Yeah, I really regret it. Unlike you, I'm related to so many pure-blood families, and I never need a surname to prove my blood." I pretended to compliment.

"Of course." She puffed out her chest proudly, a golden locket shining on her chest. "There are very few pure-blood families that are not related to me. Prince is probably one of them." To add harshly.

I looked at her and continued to smile, but I felt that my cheeks were getting stiff.

Sooner or later, she was finally leaving.I bit the bullet and sent her to the door of the pharmacy.The beggars who had gathered in front of the door scattered when they saw Dolores Umbridge coming out, and they all pulled up their hoods to cover their faces and fled as fast as possible.Even the small merchants not far away hurriedly pushed their cars and fled the scene.

Only a young mother staggered towards me with a boy in her arms.

"Please, ma'am. Please save him—" she pleaded as she sank down on the cold stone floor, "Only you can save him—"

My heart skipped a beat.Before I could say anything, Dolores yelled, "Get out of the way! You dirty bastard!"

The young woman's body was shaking with fear, but she didn't leave like the others.She is still begging. "Please help him—"

Dolores seemed to want to kick her directly, but the two of them were far away from each other, so she missed it all at once.I watched with great interest as she turned her outstretched cock leg in the other direction to avoid embarrassment, and put on a funny look of superiority on her face.

She thought I would follow behind her as before, but this time I didn't.I knelt down and reached out to touch the little boy's forehead.His temperature was normal and he appeared to be just asleep.I couldn't figure out why this young mother would be so desperate to beg me.

At this time, I smelled a trace of blood.I slightly lifted the traveling cloak on the little boy's body, and saw a strangely shaped wound that was torn apart.

Also at this moment, Dolores turned around. "Jane, won't you go—what are you going to do?" she demanded sharply.

"I think they're my distant relatives." I babbled calmly, wrapping the little boy up in my cloak.

Dolores let out a coquettish smile, and the woman who was still sitting on the ground shuddered.

"A relative? Don't tell me it's a relative of your Muggle husband!" she said viciously.

I could no longer remain indifferent, so I approached her with a smile, and whispered in her ear: "Does your Muggle mother have no relatives? Or, your Squib brother is no longer your relative? Dorothy Lace, I don't know how much you paid Skeeter to keep her mouth shut. But I assure you, I'm not that easy to buy."

We looked at each other unwillingly.It makes me sick, but I have to.

"You shameless illegitimate daughter. You just wait!" She gave me a vicious look and spit on the ground before leaving.

I haven't heard that word in many years, and it was so familiar to me once.When I first entered Hogwarts, it was almost synonymous with me.And William always rushed to protect me whenever he was there.

For a while, I was imprisoned in the past and stood there until a cool wind blew me up.I turned my head immediately after realizing that I had been staring unconsciously at the pudgy pink figure.

"Come with me," I said softly to the woman, who looked shocked and disbelieving.

I walked into the office with the little boy in my arms and put him on the sofa.I gathered all the raw materials and tools to be used, and knelt beside the sofa to clean the little boy's wound.The young mother stood aside with a look of anxiety, hesitating to speak.

"He was bitten by a werewolf," I said, having cleaned the wound and was applying some foul-smelling green ointment. "Why don't you go to St. Mungo's? It's much better there."

The woman wrung her hands and muttered, "We...we don't have a proof of blood...Saint Mungo doesn't recognize us as wizards—but there is a portrait telling me that I can come to Diagon Alley to find you—— Mrs. Jones, I—"

A deep sense of exhaustion welled up in my heart.I raised a hand and interrupted what she was saying.

Indeed, the Death Eaters now control all official institutions of the wizarding world.St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Wounds no longer admits "non-wizard groups" without proof of blood.To make matters worse, there was a group of Death Eaters on St. Mungo's who hunted down Muggle-born wizards whose injuries required medical attention.

That's why I asked for the portrait of Doris Dewent, and asked her to quietly tell those who need help that they can come to Diagon Alley to find me.It was a risky thing to do, but given the urgency of the situation and the impossibility of the Death Eaters casting Cruciatus on a portrait, I had no choice but to take the risk.

"The wound was treated in a timely manner, but there will still be a scar on the calf," I said calmly. "I don't know if the werewolf was in wolf form when he bit him. If not, then he just left some werewolves. characteristics, and will not become a real werewolf."

"Ma'am, I—I don't think he'll turn into a werewolf." The young woman lowered her head in panic and shame.

"Fine. Now we just have to wait for him to wake up—"

"—Madam, will you really provide us with a blood certificate to prove that we are your distant relatives?" The young woman suddenly raised her head and looked at me with irrepressible longing eyes.

I frowned slightly, my eyes awe-inspiring.She seemed a little shrunken under the gaze.I said that only to find a reason under Dolores Umbridge's nose to save her son.I thought she knew.

"Sorry, I can't." I lowered my eyes.In the circle of pure-blood families, my parentage is not a secret, and they know better than me whether I have such a distant relative.Only Umbridge, a big joke in the eyes of many people, can be fooled by me.

The young woman's eyes dimmed suddenly, as if what I had just said had extinguished the flame of hope she had finally rekindled.I turned my head and stopped looking at her.

"But I can give you a sum of money to put you abroad—"

"No need, ma'am," said the young woman, which surprised me. "This is all our business, so don't worry about it."

She leaned over and picked up the little boy who was still in a coma, his body was still bitten by the werewolf.She looked down at her son with a tender, sad expression on her face.

"I'll make him a healing ointment," I said, "tell me your name. I'll send it to you."

She didn't refuse this time. "Diana Cresswell," she said softly.I froze slightly.

"Dirk Cresswell is your—"

"—he is my husband," Diana Cresswell said proudly, holding her head up, but I felt a little sad. "Thank you, Mrs. Jones, and please forgive my offense just now. You will never I don't understand how important that thing is to us." She muttered to herself.

"I think I understand." I reassured.

"No, you don't understand," she said stubbornly, "with proof of blood, my husband can still have a well-paid job and my son can go back to Hogwarts, and we won't offend them , Daniel will not be bitten..." Her body trembled with anger, tears welled up with sadness, "You won't understand."

There was a silence.The snowflakes outside the window are falling gently, so peaceful.I watched her stubbornly take out a handkerchief to wipe off the tears on her face, and then kissed the little boy on the forehead.

At least they were still together, I thought for no reason.I suddenly envied her a little.Even though she lives in poverty, even though her husband is a fugitive, I am very envious that she can hold her son, feel his body temperature, stare into his sleepy eyes, and kiss his forehead lightly.

"But I want to thank you for saving Daniel. Goodbye, Mrs. Jones." She bowed to me, gave me one last look with teary eyes, and left.