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The cauldron bubbled as Jonathan added the Venomous Tentacula leaf. Daphne watched with some trepidation as the liquid rose to the brim, but with a quick tap of his wand, the solution began to quiet down.
"Pity," he muttered as he surveyed the potion. "That was our last one." He turned to look at Daphne almost expectantly.
She bit her lip and looked away nervously. "I-I can get some more, but I think they know someone's been stealing from the greenhouses..."
He didn't look impressed, and she hurried to speak again. "Of course, they should be getting a new batch soon... I'll look out for it."
Finally, he smiled, and Daphne felt herself relax. But of course, it was too good to be true, as he started to scoop a cupful of the new potion.
"I must once again ask for your help, darling."
Daphne eyed the concoction with a tinge of fear. Exactly what he wanted to see.
"You adjusted the recipe, didn't you?" she asked, though she didn't need to—she'd been privy to every change he made. She was basically his personal assistant now, not only because of her skill in Herbology, but also because she was very, very easily intimidated to secrecy. "Are you sure it's... safe?"
"But how will I know it works without a test subject?" His voice was like honey. "Besides, don't you trust me?"
Daphne swallowed and finally nodded. "...Okay."
She didn't even know why she was helping him with this anymore. Well, no, she did—because she had no choice. Every little thing she'd snuck to him from the potions stores or the greenhouses piled up, till she couldn't deny helping to create his... Terror Potion, or whatever.
She was bound to him, now. There was no escaping... yet, she didn't feel much like running away.
She took a seat in front of the desk and knocked back the potion. It tasted horrid in itself, and the effect was apparent immediately. Previously, his potions took a while to induce fear, and there was a slow build up. His changes had made it ten times stronger. Her first instinct was get as far away from him as possible, but Jonathan already knew she would do that. He cast Immobulus on her, locking her in place.
He was exceptionally calm while watching Daphne's face contort into an expression of horror. She attempted to shake her head, close her eyes, anything, but with the magic binding her, she was left helpless.
"What do you see?" Jonathan asked softly. He wasn't expecting an answer—he knew, because he'd sicced a Boggart on her before. He rather liked those creatures. If he had a pet Boggart, he could use it in his experiments. Unfortunately, keeping one was a bit of a hassle.
Jonathan checked his timer. It wouldn't do to permanently break his dear assistant's mind.
When the clock sounded, he Stunned her. He hadn't yet developed an antidote to his potion; well, it would defeat the purpose of his potion to have a cure at all (though of course he'd make an antidote for himself. It just wasn't a priority). For now, knocking someone unconscious seemed to work, since they, well, stopped being conscious of their fears. The body also required some time to 'reset', he'd noted, when an early Rennervate had once left Daphne's heart beating overtime for far too long, and she had to go to the hospital wing.
He jotted down today's results into his notebook and looked at Daphne. Even unconscious her brows were still furrowed, and her body still twitched minutely.
Ten minutes later he woke her up. She blinked slowly, feeling dazed, then looked up at Jonathan. He'd charmed his face to look different while she was under the effects of the potion. Something grotesque, to 'enhance' the experience. He couldn't have Daphne getting a phobia of his face.
Speaking of... it was strange, he thought, that she continued to trust him and help him with his experiments, even though she never stopped jumping when he surprised her from behind. Even when she smiled at him, the undercurrent of fear never left her eyes.
She'd always been skittish, shy. It was why he'd picked her in the first place. She was much easier to frighten than the average person. And yet, despite months of being his guinea pig and being subjected to what altogether amounted to torture, she still remained. Sure, she was obviously scared of what he would do to her if she ratted him out. But he suspected she was more afraid of not being with him.
To get attached to him when he was treating her like a lab rat? It was stupid. But not completely unexpected.
"How was it? Did it work?" She sounded genuinely interested.
He coughed and looked away. "Of course it did."
She nodded. "If that's all..."
He caught her eye and raised an eyebrow. "And if I said I wanted to do one more run?"
She grimaced, and he smiled at her nervousness. "Just kidding. That's all for today." She paused in her motion to sit back down. So she would've just listened to him? Ha, that was cute.
Jonathan looked over his notes and started cleaning up. The potion was nearly complete. Then, he wouldn't have a need for Daphne anymore... he glanced at her, watching her gather her things.
"Wait."
She turned around and seemed to shrink as he approached her. He towered over her, so naturally she was intimidated. Afraid. Of him. Especially him.
"...Don't forget the Venomous Tentacula leaves," he said quietly. Then, on complete impulse, he reached out to adjust her glasses slightly.
She stared at him for twenty seconds before her mind seemed to register it. She nodded slowly and backed out of the room, almost forgetting to breathe.
The door closed with a click. Jonathan sighed. Maybe he should spend more time perfecting the recipe. The longer he took to finish...
The longer she'll stay.