Chapter:8 Trip(2): The Man With A Dog

Victoire, or Tory as her nickname would be from now, gathered a small pile of dried wood from the surrounding hedges and piled them into a miniature pier. Staring at the heap of wood waste, she muttered,

"Incendio!"

A tong of hot flame burst from within the sticks and twigs and a makeshift campfire was ready for the evening. 

She opened the Van's back door, withdrew two sets of foldable chairs, and positioned them at a small distance from the fire. 

Meanwhile, Hector used a 'Lumos' to light up the surroundings and send the sphere of light into the air. The sphere rose for a moment and stationed itself at a four-meter distance from the ground, lighting up the clearing they had chosen for their night's camping spot.

Tory looked at the sphere shining brightly in the sky and wondered if she could do it herself, but it appeared that she needed to at least reach level 5 to be able to do the same trick.

Feeling a bit disappointed, she left Hector at his work which was to look through the manuals and find how to change the van's tires. 

She took out the 'Enigmatic Tome: Secrets of the Eldritch Charms' and began with the potions, even if she couldn't practice brewing them, she could always try to memorize the recipe. 

[Potion Name: Dreamweaver's Elixir

Ingredients:

1. Mugwort Essence (3 drops): Enhances dreams and facilitates dream recall.

2. Chamomile Extract (1 vial): Induces a calming and peaceful state, promoting vivid dreams.

3. Valerian Root Powder (1/2 teaspoon): Facilitates deep relaxation and more profound dream experiences.

4. Honey (1 teaspoon): Sweetens dreams and adds a soothing effect.

5. Lemon Balm (a pinch): Enhances the overall flavor and encourages pleasant dreaming.

Procedure:

1. Gather and Prepare Ingredients: Collect the specified amounts of mugwort essence, chamomile extract, valerian root powder, honey, and lemon balm. Ensure they are fresh and of high quality.

2. Mixing and Brewing:

 a. In a clean cauldron or mixing vessel, combine the mugwort essence, chamomile extract, valerian root powder, honey, and a pinch of lemon balm.

 b. Stir the mixture gently in a clockwise motion to blend the ingredients while focusing on the intent of enhancing dreams.

3. Infusion and Resting:

 a. Allow the mixture to sit and infuse for 30 minutes, enabling the ingredients to meld and potentiate.

4. Straining and Bottling:

 a. After the infusion period, strain the elixir through a fine mesh or cheesecloth to remove any solid particles or residue.

 b. Carefully pour the strained elixir into a clean, sterile potion bottle, ensuring a tight seal to preserve its potency.

Effect:

- Dreamweaver's Elixir is crafted to enhance dreaming experiences, encouraging vivid dreams, dream recall, and a sense of tranquility during sleep. It promotes a deeper connection with one's dreamscape and the ability to influence dreams positively.

Usage:

- Consume a small vial (approximately 15 mL) of Dreamweaver's Elixir just before bedtime. Effects will manifest during sleep, enhancing dream experiences. Always ensure you have a restful and uninterrupted environment for optimal dreaming.]

Dreamweaver's Elixir is a particularly easy-to-refine, dream-infusing potion. She had shown it to one of the Potion-Master Veela back in the reservoir and she had said that it was a practical potion if it were a true potion at all, and that she hadn't seen anything like this recipe before. 

They had tried to brew it and had been successful in doing so. A Grade-3 Dreamweaver's Elixir feels like one is in the heavens in their dream and a Grade 4 may very well take the person there. But there was only one Grade 4 Elixir and the Veela kept it as a masterpiece, not to be used but admired. 

Anyway, she had already memorized the recipe so she might as well move on to the next one. Sighing lightly, she flipped the page.

[Potion Name: Chameleon Draught

Ingredients:

1. Chameleon Scale Powder (1 pinch): Powdered scales from a chameleon, contributing to the potion's camouflage effect.

2. Lunar Fern Extract (2 drops): Extract from the rare lunar fern, enhancing the potion's transformative properties.

3. Invisibility Beetle Essence (1 vial): Extracted essence from the invisibility beetle, adding invisibility aspects to the potion.

4. Silverwillow Bark (1/2 teaspoon): Enhances the potion's flexibility and adaptability to different environments.

5. Essence of Mist (3 drops): Adds an ephemeral quality to the potion, aiding in seamless transitions.

Procedure:

1. Gather and Prepare Ingredients: Collect the specified amounts of chameleon scale powder, lunar fern extract, invisibility beetle essence, silverwillow bark, and essence of mist. Ensure they are clean and of high quality.

2. Mixing and Brewing:

 a. Combine the chameleon scale powder, lunar fern extract, invisibility beetle essence, silverwillow bark, and essence of mist in a cauldron or mixing vessel.

 b. Stir the mixture gently in a figure-eight pattern, focusing on merging the transformative and invisibility properties.

3. Heating and Catalyzing:

 a. Apply gentle heat to the mixture, allowing it to simmer for 45 minutes. This helps catalyze the infusion of properties and achieve the desired consistency.

4. Straining and Bottling:

 a. After simmering, let the mixture cool slightly, then strain it through a fine mesh or cheesecloth to remove any remaining solid particles.

 b. Carefully pour the strained potion into a clean, sterile potion bottle, ensuring a tight seal to preserve its transformative properties.

Effect:

- Chameleon Draught grants the consumer the ability to temporarily blend into their surroundings, effectively becoming camouflaged. The potion's effect allows the individual to adapt and match the colors and patterns of nearby objects or environments, providing a form of natural camouflage.

Usage:

- Consume a small vial (approximately 20 mL) of Chameleon Draught to activate the camouflage effect. The potion's effect will manifest within a few minutes and last for approximately 1 to 2 hours, allowing the individual to move stealthily and go unnoticed.]

A hunkered-down version of an invisibility potion, easier to gather the resources, easier to make, and takes less time to brew this instead of the jolly old invisibility potion. As she was reading, a sudden scream...ish sound rang out of the forest thicket not far from their campsite. 

Hector didn't seem to have heard it, he was too busy reading through the pile of manuals. Tory sighed, grasping onto her wand, she started walking towards the source of all this ruckus, all the while wondering who was free enough to cause such commotion at this late an hour.

"Lumos!"

A lighting spell for good measures. 

Just as she stepped out of the campsite and into a trail, a pair of green and brown streaks of light blurred past her. She was nearly toppled over but managed to grab hold of a tree branch before doing so. 

"Watch where you going, bande d'aveugles!"

She couldn't help herself and a stream of angry French left her lips before she could take hold of her tongue. 

"Zoinks!"

The green blur stopped and turned around to face her, its arms folded before its face with a brown sack laden on top. 

It took her a moment to realize but she managed to make out the shape of the shivering sack. She realized that it was not a bag at all, instead, it was a dog, a great-Dane to be exact. 

Now this was a sight to remember, you don't see a dog hanging onto its master's lap often. For a moment she thought they were cosplayers, cosplaying that famous children's show about that group of teenagers traveling all over the world, but she soon realized that what was in front of her was 100% authentic. 

"Chill out Scoobs! Like it's only a kid, man. No need to worry."

The 'boy' whispered to his dog who in return cried even louder,

"Shaggy, you are not letting me down."

Her voice had frightened the chicken duo, and the boy, or rather Shaggy, had attempted to use his dog, Scooby, as a shield of sorts. 

The dog finally climbed down its friend and took a good look at her face, once satisfied that the one in front of them was indeed a kid and not some dwarf monster, he comedically wiped the sweat off his brows. 

"It's only a kid, *Phe...yuw*."

In any other circumstances it may have been amusing but right here, in the middle of a forest, the duo's known luck didn't help with her confidence. That is if they truly are the real deal.

"Why were you running so fast? And why in the world are you here in the first place?"

It was the dog who did the talking.

"Movie night, Late, Going Home, Bush, Noises, Frog, Jumped, Nose, Chase, Abandoned Truck, Armor, scary!"

Utter gibberish, but thankfully, as a former bartender she was a master of the 'Panic' version of English.

"You went out for a movie, were late, and had to walk back home. While walking, you encountered a bush that was making weird noises. Turns out it was a frog but it jumped on your nose and you chased after it. While running you found an Abandoned truck with armor(?) in it. It scared you two and therefore you were rushing back home. Right so far?"

A look of comedic gratitude appeared on them and they began staring at her with a hopeful look on their faces.

Sighing in exasperation, she waved her wand towards the campsite,

"Alright, I get it, come along."

And the duo rushed in the direction she was pointing at. Yet another sigh of exasperation left her lips.

The boy and his dog received a rather lukewarm response from Hector whose main concern now was to find a way to change the Van's tire. Shaggy, as was the boy's name, offered to fetch his friend, another teenager named Fred Jones, to help with it. Fred was an experienced Van driver seeing as according to Scooby, he drove all over the states with their group of friends.

Hector merely stared at the duo, trying to make out their intention and possibly, make slight use of Legilimency to understand their motives. As soon as he breached their mind's natural defenses, he encountered wave after wave of intense hunger. The duo's brain was filled to the brim with a desire to eat. 

Poor intentions aside, he very much doubted that the duo had enough brains to come up with a conspiracy, and his opinion of the duo has raised a notch.

Victoire watched this comedic encounter from the sidelines, on one side was the stoic-faced Hector, and on the other were the food-crazed boy and his dog. Each of them attempted to start a conversation but failed miserably in doing so. 

"Like sir, can please you lend us a flashlight."

"Yeah! Flashlight!"

Hector found the way that both of them spoke at once to be quite amusing. He walked over to the van and rummaged through the bag labeled "Muggle Item", took out a... blender, and handed it to the duo.

Shaggy and Scooby blinked and stared at the blender and scratched their heads awkwardly. Scooby stood up on his hind legs and started to rub his chin with his paws.

Now THIS was an amusing site to see, on top of that, even Hector had a strangely confused look on his face. It took everything she had not to burst out laughing at this sight. 

Finally, after some struggle, Hector managed to hand the duo a flashlight but not without handing them a heating rod, another blender, and a bottle filter. Confused, the duo walked out of the clearing and onto the road, making their way to the motel where their friends were staying.

Once they were out of earshot, Victoire started to question her father regarding some things that she had observed.

"Pa, why weren't the duo startled at seeing the Lumos hanging in the air."

Hector heard her question and smiled, putting down the pile of manuals in his hand, he walked over to the fire and sat on one of the foldable chairs.

"It has something to do with the statute of secrecy. You see, unlike France or England which harbor a single Ministry building, America has one in each state. That means each state has its own Auror department, Research Department, Unspeakables, etc. Overall, America experiences a much-heightened number of cases regarding the Statute of Secrecy.

So, the Unspeakables came up with a plan. They created multiple magical artifacts that worked together to create a system called the Veil of Secrecy. This Veil, in truth, casts a wide-scale Confundus charm on all of America, and Canada too. Because of it, the muggles see what makes maximum logic to them, like your Lumos charm, those two must have seen your wand light up and their brains, under the influence of the charm, registered that what you were holding was a torch.

Before you ask why doesn't France have one, it's because the resources required to build such a system are too much. And as to why doesn't the multiple Ministries all over Europe build it together, well, that's because of competition."

While he explained these facts, his wand movement didn't stop. The small gas stove leaped out of the van and settled at a distance from the campfire, the pot floated out and settled itself on top of the burning stove. A jet of water erupted from his wand tip and filled the pot with water and an assortment of packages walked out of the compartment and settled near the stove. An impressive display of household magic and cooking spells.

Ten minutes later, they both found themselves sitting around the campfire, a bowl of soup and several packets of bread resting on their laps. This was the first time that Victoire had eaten such... well... 'simple' meal and Hector was worried that she may not like it. But his worries were in vain, she gulped down the food as fast as she could and appeared to be quite satisfied too. 

They were about to start with dessert which was a bar of chocolate each, from the stockpile of sweets that the Veelas had gifted Victoire for her birthday. Halfway through their dessert, a rustling sound came from the nearby bushes and a group of teenagers walked into the clearing. 

Hector was on guard but upon seeing Saggy and Scooby, the foody boy and his dog as he calls them, he lowered his guard... only a bit though. 

"Hello Sir, I am Fred Jones."

A young, blond boy about sixteen or seventeen, introduced himself to Hector who in turn merely raised an eyebrow. 

"I am Daphne, Daphne Blake."

"And I am Velma, Velma Dinkley. Thanks again for lending Shaggy the flashlight."

Hector stood up and introduced himself to the group of teenagers in front of him.

"I am Hector, Hector Lefevre. This here is my daughter, Victoire Lefevre. No need to thank me, it was merely a flashlight."

He shook hands with Fred and nodded at the two girls, all the while his face held that icy cold façade he employs when talking with strangers.

"Excuse me sir, but Shaggy mentioned you needed my help regarding your van, May I ask what seems to be the problem?"

This statement seems to open up a held-back dam within Hector and he began his rueful tail of the Van and its punctured tire. 

Meanwhile, Daphne and Velma went over to where Victoire was sitting and started to talk with her. The subjects generally consisted of how old she was or where were they from and what they doing there. 

Her answers were vague or white-lies. She said she was 8 years old. They were father and daughter from France and they were on a holiday trip to Mystic Hollow. 

Surprisingly enough, they too were on their way to Mystic Hollow and had stopped so close to the Hollow because Scooby, their talking dog, wanted to see a movie. Shaggy and Scooby were coming back from the theater and had agreed to meet up with the rest of their gang in the nearby town. 

Roughly half an hour later, Fred managed to change the tire with a spare one kept in the van, Hector had stored almost twenty tires just in case he needed them. They then asked whether the father and daughter would like to join them on their way to an abandoned truck that Scooby had discovered not so long ago. 

Hector was about to refuse but Victoire's begging eyes dealt a critical strike to his heart and he reluctantly agreed to tag along.

They walked through the thicket with Hector and Fred leading the way while Daphne and Velma followed right behind them. Victoire, who knew how things usually turned out, decided to stick with Scooby and Shaggy at the end of the line.

Not much later, they reached a blue pickup truck that had a wooden crate secured in its cargo space and a knight's armor where the driver should have been.

"You're right Shaggy, this sure is strange."

Daphne began after taking a good look at the situation. 

"Yeah, what's an empty old suit of armor doing in the driver's seat." 

Fred mused at this seemingly amusing set-up. Hector, however, was quiet. He had sensed something, that much Victoire was certain of from the way his hand clenched around his wand. 

"Maybe he went out for the night. Get it?"

Shaggy joked in a rather unsuccessful attempt to lighten the mood. But Scooby did laugh at this joke.

"Very funny."

Velma chided the duo.

"I wonder who this creepy hunk of tin belongs to?"

Daphne spoke while pointing her finger at the empty suit of armor.

While looking around, Hector seems to have found a clue, he coughed to get the group's attention and said,

"There is a tag attached to the crate."

Fred went over to where Hector was pointing and rubbed the sooth-covered paper,

"Well, the name on the crate says Jameson Hyde-White, Prof. of Archeology, London, England."

"Hide-White. Are you sure it's not hide and seek."

Shaggy and Scooby sniggered at the name's pronunciation.

Velma chided them once again. They were the jokers of the group. 

Suddenly, Daphne called out to the rest of the group. She had found a slip of paper lying on the ground and was trying to read the instructions on the mud-covered paper.

"It says 'Deliver to the county museum'. So this tin can is the property of a museum."

Shaggy just had to butt in, he was certainly not liking the situation anymore now than when he was here along with Scooby.

"But what happened to our mysterious professor?"

Daphne retorted,

"If he was indeed driving this truck, then he has vanished in thin air."

Fred interjected in their conversation, he had just about enough of these two bickering on his face.

"Well gang, looks like we have another plated mystery in our hands."

They walked back to the road, leaving the pickup truck back in the thickets. Fred stated that he would call the county museum early in the morning as by now it would be closed for the day. The teenagers bid farewell to Hector and Victoire and walked back to their Van. 

Hector decided to camp in the wild, it would be a new experience according to him. Soon, he started weaving defensive enchantments around the clearing, there was one that blared like a fire alarm when someone tried to breach the defenses, one that acted like a barrier all around them, and another that repelled all sorts of insects and animals from the area. There were several more but Victoire knew nothing of them

"What was with the armor?"

Hector froze on the spot, he was surprised that his daughter noticed his slight reaction to the tin bucket. He sighed and said, 

"It's a cursed object, some sort of compulsion enchantment or the likes of it. Someone has to be greedy enough to activate the enchantment or else there wouldn't be much harm to it. Anyway, I will owl Trigony tomorrow morning regarding it." 

And with an air of finality, he rolled into his sleeping bag and fell asleep.