almost like a telly screen, but then it grew and grew until Harry was surrounded by color and the smell of damp moss. A cool breeze touched his cheek like a soft breath. He spun around, mouth hanging open, staring at the scene. He was in the middle of a dense wood, with tall trees whose topmost branched nearly blocked out the sky. The ground underfoot was spongy, covered with dead pine needles and leaves, and a long-since fallen tree lay almost horizontal nearby.
Where was Hogwarts?
A sudden voice startled him and made him jump. 'What do you want to know?' it said.
Harry jerked around till he saw who had spoken, and his gaze came to rest on a larger version of the elephant-tiger thing, which was sitting on its haunches and gazing back at him. The creature cocked its head to the side, and – if Harry interpreted the show of teeth correctly – smiled.
'Um . . .' Harry swallowed hard and hugged his arms around his middle. Was this thing going to tell him the answer to Mrs. Weasley's question? Or was it going to try and eat him? 'Um, I'm meant to find plants for potions, sir.'
'Ahhh,' the creature said, though his mouth only moved a little, and not like he was really forming words. 'That's an easy one. How many?'
'Er . . . four?'
'Very well,' the elephant-tiger said. It stood up and stalked closer to Harry. Harry took a step back. The creature made that smile thing again, its trunk lifting and swaying slightly as it spoke. 'Be not afraid, child. I am here to help, as I have helped many children before you.'
Harry swallowed again and nodded, though he didn't really trust it to not trample him or anything. It was bigger than Dudders! 'Okay.'
'Come, look,' the elephant-tiger said, and moved its lithe body closer to a nearby shrub. The shrub was a bit taller than Harry, with tiny white flowers and very long leaves. Harry could just make out tiny purplish-black berries tucked under the leaves. 'This is the Devils' Walkingstick. See the gnarled trunk, and how it doesn't branch at all?'
Harry leaned closer and said, 'Yes, sir,' very softly.
'That's why it's called the Walkingstick, or sometimes, Hercules' Club. You may touch it, child, go on, but mind your fingers on the trunk, as it's covered in spines. When the leaves are young, you can cook and eat them like spinach. Do you like spinach, child?'
Harry nodded. 'Yes, sir.'
'Do you know what potions you might use this plant in?'
Harry shook his head. 'No, sir,' he said and knew he was a failure. Father would know. Father knew everything about potions.
'That's quite all right, child,' the elephant-tiger said, and didn't yell at Harry for being stupid, so he relaxed some. The creature leaned into the plant to nibble on some of the leaves. Still chewing, he said to Harry, 'The bark, shredded, has been used in fever reducers, and the berries when steeped, can be used in pain relief potions. You don't want to eat them raw, however. They'll upset your tummy.'
'Thank you, sir,' Harry said, and put all the information to memory, best he could.
The creature chuckled softly. 'I'm no 'sir',' it said. 'You may call me Apples.'
Harry couldn't help it, he laughed. 'Apples?'
The elephant-tiger-rhinoceros thing sighed. 'Apples, yes. Alas for me, Molly Weasley chose to name me when she was only four years old, and her children refuse to call me different.'
'I . . . I could call you different,' Harry offered shyly. 'If you want.'
With a gentle smile,
