𝔇𝔢𝔳𝔦𝔩'𝔰 𝔖𝔫𝔞𝔯𝔢 (18+)

≿❈ 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔖𝔴𝔞𝔪𝔭 𝔬𝔣 𝔚𝔗𝔉 ❈≾

     I squinted at the bear, then asked, "Juniebee, that's a baby, right?"

     "Yes, outstanding call, Potter."

     "Where do you think its mother is?" I swiveled my head around, worrying that we might get ambushed if we kept standing so close to an omnivore.

     "Most black bears—or any bear for that matter—would be within rescuing distance of its young," the red-spectacled woman said.

     "Maybe we should apparate over there." I nodded at a small clearing about two hundred feet ahead.

     "We should avoid using magic as much as possible. We don't want to leave any evidence that we—" A loud crashing noise sounded a few feet behind us. The next thing I knew, she'd done as I'd suggested.

     Ankle-deep in the sludge was a massive mama bear with its arm swiping through the air.

     We ducked down behind some bushes as the bear looked around for her vanishing prey.

     "That was close." My heart was pounding in my ears, and it pumped through my hot, sweaty body, making me rock with its hammering pace.

     "I'll say."

     The bear wandered away with her cub.

     An angry voice filled the air, "What do you think you are doing here?"

     I scanned the surrounding vegetation for the owner but couldn't find him.

     Juniebee spoke up, "We are here to stop the atrocities that have been killing off this habitat."

     "Nothing is going on in this swamp, but nature!"

     "I can show you evidence to the contrary." Juniebee swiveled her head back and forth.

     "Horseradish!" The voice spat out.

     "Then why are you here, Mister? I'm sorry, I didn't catch your last name." I asked and earned a glare from Juniebee for not quietly following her lead.

     "You don't have any right to be here!"

     Juniebee pushed her red-rimmed spectacles up her nose. "We came to figure out why magical plant life is being destroyed here."

     "There's no such issue. Now leave!"

     Juniebee pointed towards where we'd seen the white black-bear. "That Ursine shouldn't be here! That's one of several animals that I noted since entering the park. And the Water Hyacinth is choking the waterways. It will cause bigger issues, possibly an epidemic, if it's left unchecked."

     "I know exactly what is happening. It's called trespassing! Now get out of here before you step on an important life form."

     Brilliant, another thing to worry over while I'm here.

     "Not until I've finished my assessment."

     Splash - splash.

     My eyes darted towards the noise and widened in shock. It was the green-scaled man we were looking for. He looked creepier than his croaking graveled voice did roaring at us.

     "It's Fawley! You're up, Potter."

     I pulled out my wand and sent a wall of vines to block his progress. The reptile-man didn't even slow as he leaped over the barrier in one bound and disappeared from view.

     Juniebee and I took off after him. Stopping on the far side of the vines, I watched Fawley drop out of sight ahead. We jumped and splashed our way through a stretch, quickly winding me. Giving up, I apparated to where he'd dropped out of sight, and froze in surprise.

     Sitting amid an alligator-infested lower bog was an old wooden outhouse, complete with a crescent moon hole carved on the door for air.

     "Well, that's not what I was expecting...at all." Juniebee looked horrified. "He shouldn't be mixing his feces with habitat is such a centralized way... it's just not—"

     "How do you think we should do this?" I didn't like the idea of seeing him doing his business, but I was ninety-nine percent sure that building was a trick of some kind.

    "Removal of the outhouse would make me feel better, so we should take it with us."

     "Probably not the most sanitary thing to do." I could just imagine explaining to Snape, why we brought Fawley back inside an outhouse.

     The rustling of plants sounded nearby. The foliage near the outhouse wrapped around it—engulfing the building in its thorny vines.

     "Hurry!" I grabbed Juniebee's hand with the intent of apparating us to the building. Nothing happened. "I can't apparate!"

     Surprise colored the hippie's face as she shook her head to let me know she couldn't do it either. "He must have a charm set on the area."

     I let go of her hand and then hopped the eight feet into the area and rolled to a standing position.

     Jenkins dropped to my side, and we started towards the building together. Sticking to the path, I sank into the muds pudding consistency, making sucking and squishing sounds in my wake.

     I nervously eyed the alligators swirling around in the water alongside the pudding path.

     Hurry," Juniebee said as she made it to the solid ground surrounding the vine engulfed outhouse.

     Flicking my wrist to make an ax, I went to take a chopping swing and just about threw my unchanged wand.

     No magic.

     Tucking my wand away, I pulled at the vines and cleared a few with Juniebee's help.

     "Ouch!" Something sharp stabbed me on the finger. I shook my hand and inspected the bloody dot that was growing larger on my middle finger.

     The humid air and wall of swamp noise seemed to be casting a spell on me. Yawning, I looked at the muddy uninviting ground, before slowly melting down to lay on its dirty, moss-covered surface.

     Jenkins' spectacled face hovered over me. I tried to tell her what had happened, but nothing was working.

     A thorny green vine towered above Jenkin's head before striking her neck like a snake. She covered her injury before she fell limp across my chest.

     As everything went dark, pressure wrapped around my ankle and dragged me towards the rickety outhouse.