Strange Ties--Percy Jackson/Harry Potter

Chapter Twenty Three

Her eyes widened, "What do you mean by not safe?"
Hagrid looked at her with anguish, "Oi dont tell meh ye ate them too?"
Valerie nodded, looking more confused than worried.
"How long ago did ye eat em? How long ago!?"
"Yesterday, why?" Percy asked.
Hagrid's face flooded with relief, "Side effects have not shown yet. Ye need to come with me before it does!"
"Wait Audrey ate them too" Valerie reminded.
"Where is she?" Percy asked.
She shrugged, "I don't know last time I saw her she was at the dining hall talking to Malfoy"
Percy's eyes furrowed, "Malfoy?"
"Blimey, we don't have time to find her! Running out of time, we are!" Hagrid exclaimed, he didn't wait for Percy or Valerie to answer when he strutted down the hallway, "Follow meh!" he called out. Hagrid led them to his hut, where he frantically started to look through an old looking book.
"I need to find the recipe, I reckon this will take a while so ye might want to sit" he said.

After minutes of waiting for Hagrid to finish whatever he was making Percy started to grow impatient.

"Hagrid, is this really necessary?" he asked

"Necessary of course! I'm surprised ye haven't felt any side effects yet, could be dangerous ye know. I used the devil's lettuce for those Bruffles"

"The what?" Valerie asked, her face looked awfully pale.
"Do you feel okay?" Percy asked her.
"Kind of. I feel...intense" She said as she shifted in her seat.
"Ye mustn't tell anyone about this! I could be fired" Hagrid screamed from outside, he was collecting some herbs for the potion.
"I don't understand, if we ate them yesterday, how come it's affecting us today?" Percy asked Hagrid through the window.
"I added a slowing draught to em'. It causes the same thing, just slower" he replied.
"Um, what exactly does it cause?" Valerie asked, soaked in sweat.
Percy stood up, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine yeah" she uttered. However, she looked anything but fine. Her usually vibrant brown eyes were dull and her skin appeared almost gray.
"You're not fine at all" Percy murmured, "Hagrid, how much time is this going to take?"

Hagrid came inside again, holding a bunch of weird looking plants in his hands, "Blimey!" he blurted when he saw Valerie, "She looks horrible! I'll try to do it as fast as possible"
As Hagrid made the potion Valerie kept getting worse. The scent of sweet herbs lingered in the air, along with the fog coming out of the cauldron.
"Here!" Hagrid yelled, startling Valerie out of her drowsiness. Hagrid reached the potion so Valerie could take it.
"Can't" she breathed, "Can't feel my arms"
"Are you serious?" Percy asked, as he took the potion from Hagrid's hands and reached the drink to her mouth. It seemed like it tasted nice, since she chugged the whole thing in less than five seconds.
Valerie's eyes opened slightly as she leaned back over the chair, "I'm just going to take..." she yawned, "A quick nap"
Hagrid yelped, "No! You mustn't let her fall asleep, it might make things worse!"
Percy shook Valerie's head with his hand, which only made her whimper.

He looked at Hagrid for any answers of what to do but the old man just shrugged, "Well you must take her out of here before someone sees!"
"Take her out of here? How am I supposed to do that? She's passed out" Percy pointed at Valerie, who was sound asleep in the chair.
Hagrid waved his hand in dismissal "Figure it out!"
"Why cant she just stay here with you?"
Hagrid laughed, "A student?! Sleeping in my hut? You want me to be put in Azkaban!" he said as he headed towards the door, "I don't wanna pressure you but when I get back.. dont be here"  

Percy figured he was right, if someone found out that a student slept there Hagrid would be long gone. He tried to see if Valerie would stand up but no matter how much he called her name or tried to move her she was still sound asleep.

He carefully lifted her, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her onto his shoulder. As soon as he did, the smell of sweet vanilla, red berries and something else that he couldn't quite place, embraced him. It was a delicate yet powerful, unique blend that seemed to embody everything he found captivating about her. He shook his head and brushed away whatever trance he was on and focused on getting them out of there before someone saw them.