Plants and the Great Sea

High spirits and firm resolve.

Harry had no shortage of either.

Thick silver-white mist poured from the tip of his wand. It billowed upward and swirled around, struggling to gather into a mass as a hazy, indistinct silhouette began to emerge.

Its head was impossible to make out.

But it had four thick, powerful legs.

And a massive body.

Snape's expression improved a little. Those weren't the legs of a stag. They looked more like the legs of some kind of predator.

Harry did his best to sustain the magic.

The mist churned in waves, but the creature within remained stubbornly shapeless, struggling back and forth between translucence and transparency. Then a question entered his mind: Why hasn't it taken shape yet?

Pop—

The corporeal form burst apart in an instant, dissolving into mist that rolled away in both directions.

It hadn't taken shape.

Harry furrowed his brow slightly. It shouldn't have been an issue with his emotions. He could feel that he was just one step away.

Something was missing.

Harry looked at Snape.

The greasy-haired professor, who had apparently washed his hair, was just about to make a sarcastic remark.

Harry understood what he was missing—that final step. It was a belief in what he wanted to protect, the clearest and most obvious thing in the name of the spell.

Witchers of the Wolf School had no shortage of that kind of belief.

He cast the spell again.

"Expecto Patronum!"

Brilliant, dazzling silver-white light burst forth, accompanied by a faint wisp of mist. Then a massive creature emerged from his wand.

A thick mane, a tail like a whip—it was a lion.

It landed lightly and stood guard in front of Harry, glaring fiercely at Snape with bared teeth and a menacing growl.

"An idiotic lion even the professor can't distinguish," Snape said, waving a hand. "Put away your spell."

Harry ignored him and gazed fondly at his Patronus.

He'd thought it would be a wolf, since the school bore a wolf as its emblem.

A lion was fine, too.

"Mr. Potter!" Snape raised his voice.

Harry flicked his wand and dismissed his Patronus. "You seem very pleased."

"Of course," Snape sneered. "Now I won't have to spend the whole night looking at your stupid face."

"Potter, don't think that conjuring a corporeal Patronus the first time you learn the Patronus Charm is anything remarkable."

He waved his wand.

A box flew over.

"You may know that quite a few Dark creatures can only be driven away with the Patronus Charm."

"Now try using your Patronus to drive this thing away."

The box opened.

Inside lay a black cloak.

Harry sensed a strong pulse of life and magic from it. It was a creature, and he quickly recalled what he knew about it.

A Lethifold.

An exceedingly rare cursed creature that lived almost exclusively in tropical regions.

"I thought you'd bring in a Dementor, Professor," Harry said softly.

"I'm profoundly grateful you didn't mistake it for an actual cloak." Snape waved his wand again. "It seems those eyeballs of yours are good for something after all."

A Confundus Charm struck the Lethifold.

It let out a squealing cry and lunged at Harry.

"Don't use anything you learned from Professor Flitwick."

"And don't pull out the Sword of Gryffindor."

"Use the Patronus Charm!"

Snape held his wand at the ready, prepared to act at any moment, but his voice was icy. "Don't worry. Before it eats you, I'll magnanimously rescue you."

It was fast.

Without a sound, it drifted in front of Harry in the blink of an eye and spread its enormous wings—revealing the small, furry body beneath them.

It was rather cute, about as cute as the old rat Ron kept, Scabbers.

At least...

It was a lot cuter than a snarling, mutated monster.

Harry flicked his wand. "Expecto Patronum."

The lion burst forth and slapped the Lethifold away. Then it swished its tail. The cursed creature didn't seem to pose much of a threat to it, but it crouched low and continued to watch Snape warily.

"Good," Snape said, nodding without expression. "It would be even better if your Patronus were a little smarter."

"Potter, write a ten-inch essay when you get back."

Harry asked, "Is that the end of today's lesson?"

"I think we could practice Occlumency a little more?"

Snape raised a hand and tossed him a notebook. "Read this book carefully when you get back. Then we can talk about Occlumency."

"Although I'd be delighted to see you panic and make a fool of yourself when someone peers into your mind,"

"I have no interest in your foul-smelling brain."

Harry caught the notebook and kept trying. "Then could we practice the Patronus Charm a little more?"

Snape waved his wand, and the office door opened. "Get out!"

"Wait, Professor, I still have some questions about Potions." Harry didn't want to waste time, so he hurried to ask.

Snape answered each question with great impatience.

Advanced Potions and the various potions used by Witchers had begun to share some common ground—quite a few required alcohol for brewing. Wood had been hoarding all that liquor to stockpile potion ingredients.

Some Witcher potions possessed powers that the potions of this world lacked.

It would be a good thing for him if he could alter the recipes and brew them himself.

He kept asking until curfew was almost upon them.

Snape finally couldn't stand having that face bobbing around in front of him any longer. He waved his wand, hoisted Harry up, and tossed him out.

As soon as the office door closed,

Harry immediately put on his Invisibility Cloak, picked the kitchen door open, and walked in. "Kro!"

With a pop, the House-elf appeared in front of Harry.

"The young wizard is here!" The House-elf puffed out his chest. "Everything the young wizard asked Kro to prepare is ready."

It snapped its fingers.

With a heavy thud, something large hit the floor.

A buffalo even bigger than the desk in Snape's office appeared out of nowhere.

Harry finally understood what the Weasley brothers meant when they said House-elves would do their best to fulfill every request. The buffalo was so enormous that it would be difficult to fit beneath the Invisibility Cloak.

"Could you take it to the edge of the Forbidden Forest without alerting anyone?" Harry asked after a moment's silence.

Kro nodded. "Of course!"

"The young wizard only needs to call Kro's name."

Outside the Forbidden Forest,

Hagrid was patrolling with Fang on a leash. After they had walked far away, Harry called softly, "Kro!"

The House-elf didn't appear.

But the buffalo appeared in front of him almost without a sound.

Harry waved his wand. Vines surged over, bound the buffalo, and lifted it into the air. He led it toward the area where Bicorns roamed.

Another fresh pile of dung.

It seemed the creature had been lingering here for quite some time.

Harry set the buffalo down, took out the Love Potion, and poured it over the animal. A faint scent of plants, mixed with the heavy smell of the sea, filled his nostrils.

It was certainly alluring.

Then he burned the Unicorn Hair and scattered the petals he'd gathered on the ground.

With a spell, he cut the buffalo's skin, and blood flowed out.