Sectumsempra Spell

After setting up the cauldron, Anduin first checked the ingredients. Their quality had an important effect on the finished product. Then he began preparing them according to the recipe. One batch of Elixir to induce euphoria required two Mandrake Fruits: one left whole and unpeeled, the other peeled and cut into strips. The strips also had to be a very precise size.

Anduin had a steady hand. Before long, he had prepared all the ingredients as required. Next came the timing for adding them. He had to watch the potion's color, smoke, and boiling, then decide whether to add an ingredient or stir.

The potion-making went smoothly. When Anduin saw that the potion was reacting just as the book described, he felt reassured. But the final step was supposed to be turning off the heat and letting the potion sit. The "Half-Blood Prince," however, had written that adding peppermint could improve its effects. Anduin wanted to try it. He planned to make one batch with peppermint and one without, so he could compare them.

With that in mind, he added a peppermint to this batch of Elixir to induce euphoria. After letting it sit for a while, the potion was done.

"So, should I test it myself?" Anduin looked at the Elixir to induce euphoria he had poured into a potion bottle, feeling a little conflicted. But it looked just like the potion described in the book. Surely adding one peppermint couldn't turn it into poison. After thinking it over, Anduin took a sip.

A strange, pleasant feeling welled up inside him. It seemed the potion was working.

"Good. Looks like it's fine. Now I'll make another batch without peppermint." Seeing that the potion worked, Anduin felt relieved.

One batch of Elixir to induce euphoria made five bottles. A bottle retailed for about 15 Galleons, while Hagrid said Slug & Jiggers Apothecary would buy them for 12 Galleons each.

The profit wasn't much, but at least he wouldn't be living off his savings.

Soon, the second batch of Elixir to induce euphoria was ready. This was the original version, without peppermint. Anduin took a sip of this one, too, and felt the same pleasant rush.

"Does the peppermint make it take effect faster and produce a more intense feeling?" Anduin didn't really like such powerful emotional swings. He preferred the original version, but he figured the apothecary and its customers would probably like the more potent kind better.

"So the 'Prince' wasn't a fraud after all. The recipe really works." Once Anduin had confirmed that the Half-Blood Prince's recipe was effective, he couldn't help becoming curious about the spell written in the book.

He'd finish making the potions first. For now, Anduin pushed his curiosity aside and continued patiently brewing.

After five hours, Anduin had made two large cauldrons of potion and bottled ten portions of Elixir to induce euphoria, with plenty of Mandrake Fruit still left over.

"Looks like I'm working pretty efficiently. I'll do another batch tomorrow." Anduin put away the ingredients and tools, then packed up the potions and left them at Hagrid's. He planned to swing by the Potions Classroom tomorrow, pick up another batch of potion bottles, and come back to keep brewing.

Then it was time for Hagrid's favorite part of the day: a private feast. Anduin put the new iron pot to use, frying up a huge batch of Salt and Pepper Pork Ribs. He and Hagrid ate their fill again.

At the same time the next day, Anduin set off for Hagrid's Hut again. This time, he brought twenty bottles and borrowed Vivian's cauldron as well. He planned to brew two batches at once. After yesterday's practice, Anduin had become very skilled, and handling two cauldrons at the same time didn't make him particularly nervous.

After another afternoon of hard work, the twenty bottles of Elixir to induce euphoria were ready. Hagrid was truly rich; there was no way to gather so many Mandrake Fruits all at once elsewhere.

Thanks to Hagrid, Anduin hadn't failed even once. He had turned all those ingredients into potions perfectly.

After keeping ten bottles of Elixir to induce euphoria, Anduin asked Hagrid to help sell the rest. When Hagrid saw that Anduin had made so many potions in just two days, he was so shocked his jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Finally, it's done!" Anduin stretched. That was one thing off his mind. Then his urge to try the spell in the "Prince's" book surfaced again.

"The recipe was real, so the spell should be real too." Anduin weighed it over as he walked out of the hut.

After looking around for a target, he went to an open patch of ground and stood an unsplit log upright. Then he walked a dozen or so meters away.

"This distance should be safe enough." Anduin considered it for a moment, then decided it probably wouldn't cause any danger.

Anduin drew his wand and aimed at the distant log. "Sectumsempra!"

A nearly invisible blade shot toward the log with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, it had cleanly sliced the log in half.

At the sight, Anduin's eyes widened, and he sucked in a sharp breath.

He wasn't shocked by the spell's power. He'd seen this spell before!

On the night he'd first met Sirius, Anduin had nearly been hit by it. If not for Lily's protective amulet, he might have ended up just like that log.

"So it was you, Snape!" Anduin clearly remembered how that Snape fellow had pierced both of his Obstacle Charms with a single spell that night.

"I never would've guessed. You're the Half-Blood Prince, and not only do you love showing off, you're a Death Eater too." Anduin thought bitterly that if he ever got the chance, he wouldn't mind giving Snape a taste of this spell himself.

After thinking it over, Anduin went to the severed log to study the spell. Its cut was perfectly smooth, and he could still faintly sense traces of magic lingering along it. Then he pushed the two halves together and cast a Restoration Charm on the cut, but the log didn't react at all.

"Yikes..." Anduin was genuinely astonished. The spell's destructive power was absurd. It was fast, powerful, hard to see, and its wounds couldn't be healed?

"I wonder if there's a countercurse. If there isn't, it could practically be classed as an Unforgivable Curse. Even if there is one, it's still an extremely dangerous piece of Dark Magic." Anduin frowned as he thought. The main reason the Unforgivable Curses were unforgivable was that they had no countercurses, which meant their damage couldn't be reversed.

"No, this spell is too dangerous. I can't use it unless I absolutely have to. Anyone who isn't killed on the spot could bleed to death." Anduin decided he would try to work out a countercurse someday. For now, he didn't dare use the spell at all. If he accidentally injured himself, it would be practically the same as committing suicide.

Anduin suppressed his shock and took a few deep breaths. Then, as if nothing had happened, he returned to Hagrid's Hut and helped Hagrid prepare dinner.