The Prince's Tale

【6】Midnight Rescue

【…Under normal circumstances, licensed pharmacists are not qualified to participate in first aid.However, in exceptional circumstances where a therapist or first aid licensed wizard is not present, a licensed pharmacist may participate in first aid without consequences. ——"British Wizarding Pharmacist Practice Guidelines (No.20 Revised Edition)"]

So much has happened in the past 24 hours that I can't digest it for a while.

First, I learned that my brother William Prince became a Death Eater, and that I had been misunderstanding him. Second, I learned that my current boyfriend, Edward Jones, joined the Order of the Phoenix.

I wrestled all night with these two amazing facts.And on the second day, there was another big news that woke me up again from my drowsiness.

My colleague Tiffany Hale and my aunt's son (this statement makes me feel a little weird) Severus Snape have long devoted themselves to the You-Know-Who, and are still in a group developing some kind of highly Secret Potion.

In one day, by chance, I learned the real identities of four people who were closely related to me.I suddenly wanted to understand a lot of things, such as my misunderstanding of William, Tiffany's absence from time to time and disappearance, and why the herbs in the pharmacy always disappeared inexplicably but the accounts were perfect.

It looks like Tiffany stuffed the Herb money into the cash drawer exactly.Death Eaters have a bit of morality.

I thought about all these people, and felt that no matter what I did, I would be in a dilemma, and the peaceful life I had always wanted would no longer be peaceful.

So in the end I decided that it would be better for me to play the deaf-mute and play it safe as I always have - it's in line with my Slytherin nature.I won't tell on Tiffany on Edward, and I won't tell on Edward on Tiffany and Severus.

As for William, since even a clerk knew that he was a Death Eater, the Order of the Phoenix must have known about it long ago.Now Jane Mel really has nothing to do with the Prince family.

Thinking about it now, I really admire myself in such a situation that I was able to calm down to drink tea and chat every day, and I also admire my ability to pretend to be deaf and dumb at that time.You might scold me, but I just love this semblance of warmth and serenity—even if it's a semblance.

It's a pity that fate always likes to fight against me.When I want to live a peaceful life, it just doesn't let me be peaceful.

One Wednesday in August, I was in the attic early.Now that the night is getting longer, I like to hide in the warm attic, while eating the plum cake just baked in the evening, while reading the novel borrowed from the second-hand bookstore next door.

Before the rapid wind chime sounded, I really felt very comfortable.But when I took my wand and walked down the attic to see Edward and another shaggy-haired boy driving a bloodied, unconscious man, my new-born, disturbed rage was instantly thrown away. The back of your mind.

As a pharmacist and what Edward calls an "emergency therapist," I couldn't just sit back and do nothing.

"Pick it up," I said curtly, exchanging quick glances with Edward.I could tell from his expression that this injury was a tough one.

I grabbed the work clothes hanging on the hanger, chanted a few disappearing spells on the blood dripping on the ground, and rushed to the attic as fast as I could in my life.

"What's the situation?" I put on my overalls and used my magic wand to direct the wooden box hidden behind the bookshelf to fall to the wounded man's feet.

"A Stinging Curse, two Cutting Curses, and a Stunning Curse reflected by the Disarming Curse..." The boy with messy hair is so rare, it reminds me of Lily Evans who always gave the name of the medicine, "At last they also sprinkled I took a medicine powder, that's why the wound became like this."

I quickly tore open the blood-soaked shirt, and immediately understood what he meant.Those wounds had turned a conspicuous orange color and had begun to fester.

"The Stinging Curse and the Cutting Curse are only traumatic and non-toxic. There are burn treatment ointment and anti-swelling potion in the box, which should be applied every four hours; the stun spell reflected by the Disarming Curse is weakened, but you can't use 'quick recovery' rashly." '..." I quickly analyzed it, and finally stumbled on the medicine powder with unknown ingredients.

"Orange, quicker festering; orange, quicker festering; orange—"

"Dude, can you stop nagging?"

"Speed ​​up festering; orange, speed up festering..."

"She likes this when she is highly concentrated." Edward explained gently to the people next to him.

I feel like an answer is on my lips.But that seems to be a sentence from a long time ago, a sentence that someone said casually, a sentence that I thought about for a long time but didn't understand——

"The high-purity babo stem block pus has a strong corrosive effect, and excessive rat gall is added to the preparation of the shrink potion to produce a distinct orange color. Do you know what effect adding sleepy beans to the two will have?"

That was at least ten years ago, when I sat around William's cauldron all day.He often asked some weird questions, and was satisfied that I couldn't answer any of them, and then told me like pouring beans.Obviously, I didn't understand anything at the time.But we all enjoy this kind of game.

"I know what to do." I caught a glimpse of the relieved smiles on their faces, but I couldn't squeeze a smile out of my own.

In the twenty-two years before that, I had never imagined that the arrogant William Prince would use his ingenuity in such a way.There are mixed feelings in my heart, from shock and anger at the beginning, to guilt and self-blame later, to a deep sense of powerlessness at the end.

An hour later, I applied the prepared milky white ointment to the wound, and the orange color disappeared immediately.I cast a few spells to tidy up the attic, then glanced at the clock.

It's twelve o'clock, and it's a new day.In just a few hours, the sun will rise again, giving people a sense of vain hope.

"James Potter." The messy-haired boy gave me a friendly smile.

"Jane," I said simply, omitting my last name on purpose.

"Thank you for saving my friend," said James Potter.

"The medical fee is one Galleon and two Sickles. You can take the rest of the ointment and apply it every twelve hours. The manual fee will be waived for you," I saw Edward's hesitation, "You are my boyfriend, so I don't need to collect your money, but if I can't even collect the money for the medicine every time, how can I still pay at the end of the month?"

I finished speaking in one breath like pouring beans, very much like William back then.William... I thought of the wound just now, and my heart ached slightly.

I appreciate that they tolerate my inexplicable aggressiveness at this time.I calmed down and poured each of them a cup of hot tea.

There was an eerie silence in the attic.None of us slept, we just waited quietly with our teacups.Every quarter of an hour James Potter would ask me when his friend would wake up.

I patiently told them that it would take at least three or four hours.In fact, I wish that person would wake up quickly so he could disappear from my attic with the Appearance.If Tiffany arrives tomorrow morning...

Tiffany is under the mysterious man.I suddenly remembered this astonishing fact, and my hair stood on end, without even a trace of drowsiness.

At 03:30, James Potter again showed that want to talk.I thought he was going to ask his friend when he would wake up again, but instead he turned to Edward.

"Why haven't I heard you say you have a girlfriend before?" He smiled narrowly, and then turned his smiling face to me, "Next week, Lily and I will have a wedding, welcome to come together."

I caught a glimpse of Edward's embarrassment and held back my inexplicable anger.My reason tells me that I have no right to blame him.

"Lily...Lily Evans?" I saw Potter nod subconsciously, and then explained unconsciously, "She came to my drugstore to refill her raw material box."

The topic of James Potter shifted to his fiancée Lily.I had a strange feeling—his friend who was still lying on the ground seemed abandoned.

I listened to his chatter and saw the bright smile on his face similar to Edward's, and I couldn't bear to interrupt.But when he said "you must come to our wedding" for the third time, I couldn't help it anymore.

"It's fine for Edward to go alone." When I turned my face away, my tone was firm, but seeing his smile gradually disappearing, I didn't know what to say next. "I'm a Slytherin." My lips moved, and finally said this sentence.

The warm and enthusiastic atmosphere before suddenly disappeared, as if it had never existed before.Edward pursed his lips tightly and stared at a certain point on the carpet with a cold expression, as if he had lost the ability to speak.

I stared at Edward and made the first impromptu decision I hadn't thought through in over 20 years.I just don't want to see him in a dilemma.I, the instigator, broke the silence of the room.

"You and Evans are getting married, and I'm very happy for you," I said, trying to be sincere, but at the same time feeling that my blessing from a Slytherin seemed phony in their eyes. It has something to do with the society. If someone on the other side makes trouble at your wedding, and you invite me, then my suspicion will never be cleared away. "

I knew intuitively that they were extremely dangerous, extremely troublesome people.I want to continue my peaceful life and don't want to get involved with this kind of person.For this kind of trouble, Edward alone is enough.

They were uncommonly silent.I watched Edward sitting in the corner, wringing his hands, looking at the ground with stern eyes.

"You already knew that, didn't you? You knew I was a Slytherin, you knew my brother was a Death Eater, you knew—"

"But I also know that you were never on their side!" Edward suddenly raised his head and said hoarsely.

I stared at him blankly, my legs suddenly lost strength, and I fell down on the bed.It turned out that he knew everything all along. "Then why are you—"

My question is not finished.For many years after this, I have been thankful for this, and I have deeply regretted it.

A series of coughing sounds.The wounded who was lying on the ground like a corpse just now finally woke up.The three of us finally had no time to care about the dispute between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and rushed to him together.

"It seems that you saved me." The handsome boy looked at me, the only stranger, and showed a grateful weak smile. "I'm Sirius Black. Thank you."

Black?Sirius Black?I stared at his face carefully, and finally found some shadows of the past.

"Jane, Jane Prince," I said, smiling, "is that Jane Prince."

Shock gradually surfaced on Blake's face. "Merlin's pants!" he murmured.

I know he gets what I mean.What I want to say is that I am the same Jane Prince who almost got engaged to him four years ago.

"Didn't you already—" James Potter also looked at me in surprise.But this surprise is not the other surprise.

"Escaped." I replied concisely and without hesitation.

It's four o'clock.Blake was awake and I knew they were going to go.I took them to the broom closet in the attic.

"Only here you can Apparate," I explained, ignoring Potter's hesitation and Black's distaste for looking at the old broom and dirty rag—I just want to get rid of them now, "Floo The net will show signs of use. Don't give me trouble."

Edward stood beside me, showing no sign of leaving.Before leaving, James Potter glanced over us and landed on Edward's face.

"Lily used to have-" He hesitated, and finally left my attic with this unfinished sentence.

I know what he's going to say.Lily Evans used to have a Slytherin friend too, and his name was Severus Snape.

But then they parted ways, just like Gryffindor and Slytherin back then.

It is a very normal thing, but if it is really said, it will be tinged with a little melancholy and sadness.

That was the last time I saw the real James Potter in front of me.I remember very clearly that the next time I saw his smile was on the front page of the "Daily Prophet" three years later.The war had just ended, and James Potter and Lily Potter had become both acclaimed heroes and fading memories that existed only entirely in photographs.