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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 59: I Can Cure You
"You heard me, Lord Pollux," James answered without missing a beat.
"Did that rascal tell you about this?"
"If you are referring to Sirius, then no. He did not tell me." He really hadn't told him about it. His letter mostly spoke about overhearing a conversation he overheard about some new Dark Lord.
"Bella, then," Pollux huffed with annoyance. "I thought that girl knew better than to divulge family secr—"
"She did not tell me either. In fact, I don't think she knew you were dying. Bella only mentioned that you were not feeling well lately." That was not exactly true on his part.
Bella may not have known for sure about the severity of her grandfather's disease, but she was well aware that it was very serious. Otherwise, she would not have made the request for James to help him.
Bella had no idea how deep James's knowledge went, but she had a feeling that if there was someone out there who could cure her grandfather, it would be him.
"Then how d—"
"Your hand told me," James interrupted him. "Your left hand, to be more specific." He pointed at it. "I saw it clearly when you reached to grab that bottle."
Pollux instinctively took hold of his left hand. Of course, he was aware of the black marks on it. They looked like veins, and they went all the way to his chest, growing larger every day.
The healers had told him that once they reached his head… he would die. And there was nothing they could do to stop the process or even slow it down.
"You have sharp eyes, Potter. But what do you know about this disease?" Pollux asked, not really expecting an answer.
"The Withering corrupts your blood and nerves. Once it reaches your lungs and heart, you will have trouble breathing and get tired very quickly. When it reaches your brain… you die," James explained. "A very rare disease." And it wasn't exactly a disease either...this was a curse.
Pollux looked truly shocked for the first time in this conversation. He had not told anyone the name of his disease. He didn't want his family to waste their time looking for cures or bringing charlatans with far-fetched promises of recovery who were truly just after his money.
'Although… I'm sure that some of them would just want me to die quicker,' Pollux thought.
His black eyes returned to James. "I'll admit, it is impressive that you could guess my ailment. But I would be grateful if you could keep it to yourself, as I have not shared that information with the rest of my family."
"And if I told you that I can cure it?" James stated.
Pollux reacted immediately. "I would tell you that you are lying, boy. Do you think I haven't already spoken with several of the best healers on this damn island?" His tone was filled with resentment and bitterness at the reminder that he was bound to die and there was nothing he could do about it.
"If you have already given up on receiving help from any of these prominent healers you mentioned, then you have nothing to lose from listening to me," James said.
"Nothing to lose… except my very limited time, mind you. Is this why you came here? To make a fool of me? If that is the case, then tell me, so I can kick you and your father out of here!"
James ignored the old man's rambling and stood up from his chair before walking away. His words were not going to convince him.
At first, Pollux thought that he had scared the boy and that he was leaving the house in a hurry. But instead of walking toward the entrance door, James went to one of the many wooden shelves containing countless precious books.
He stopped in front of them and began to rub his hands against their wooden surface.
Pollux stood there, watching in disbelief at James's erratic actions, trying to comprehend what he was trying to achieve with this.
But then James stopped in front of one particular bookcase that made him react.
"It's here, right?" James glanced at Pollux with a knowing look.
"What are you d—" Pollux stopped when he heard a 'click' noise. The bookcase moved aside, revealing his personal laboratory.
His family knew he was a Potion Master, but they were only aware of the lab in the basement. This one here was much smaller and contained his most valuable experiments and materials. This was one of his best guarded secrets and he intended to take it to his grave.
"Don't go in there!"
"Calm down. I'm not going to rob your place. I just…" James looked around the lab and was impressed with how well put together it was.
"Not bad. Some of these ingredients are worth a small fortune… You even have an adult basilisk heart and the skin of an albino nundu."
He noted that Pollux was currently working on some potion, as several beakers were filled and a cauldron was boiling.
"You better not touch anything in here!" Pollux was fuming. Not even Sirius would disobey him to this degree. They were all too scared of him in this house. But James was showing no concern at all.
"Since you don't believe in my skills, the fastest way will be to show you. I hope you don't mind if I borrow a few things from here." James grabbed several ingredients and brought them in front of an empty cauldron. "I will also need to use this."
Pollux was about to yell at him again, but then he noticed the specific ingredients that James had picked up. "What do you intend on making?"
James glanced back at him. "You already know that." He pointed at the boiling cauldron on the other side of the table. "You are brewing a batch of Serenity Elixir. No doubt it's to ease your pain a bit. So, I'm going to make another batch for you, using my own method."
"The Serenity Elixir takes two days of brewing to be completed," Pollux pointed out.
James grinned. "Give me thirty minutes."
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