Israel was a completely different world from dreary, old England. Blair had heard about the past and ongoing conflicts that had and were happening in Israel, but you wouldn't be able to tell that the country was in the middle of chaos. Compared to the war going on in England, this was like walking through a daisy field. The buildings were unique and colourful, focusing on royal blues and bright reds. Tapestries and woven wall hangings were sold at cute little stalls that lined the pebbled streets. Houses were of warm beige that was so different and refreshing from the brown brick structured houses back home. It wasn't as cold in Israel despite it being the same season as it is in England. It didn't snow, but it was cold enough to see the locals bundled up in stylish shawls and scarves.

It was also Christmas Day. People cheered as they passed each other in what Blair assumed was Hebrew saying Merry Christmas, but then she thought about the holiday that the Jewish faith had around this time. Maybe they were cheering the greeting of Hanukkah as it spreads over the Christmas time as well. But either way, people were happy and weren't afraid to be seen on the streets. England was much different this year.

"Who would ever want to start a war with this place?" Fred pondered as they walked through the stalls and streets. "They're so friendly."

"I heard it's something to do with the mass migration on England's part," Blair said briefly and he raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. She waved her hand dismissively as she couldn't be bothered explaining the entire history of Israel and what was once Palestine.

"So what does it say about places to look for here?" Fred asked, glancing towards the green book in Blair's hands. She took the time to open it up and reread her father's notes that had mentioned the country of Israel. A few specific countries were mentioned throughout his writing and Blair hoped that the remaining ingredients could be found in them.

"Under the word Israel, he's written some of the ingredients with question marks next to them," she explained to Fred. "Whether that means he found them here or he hoped they'd be here, I don't know. But there is a mention of a 'Umistan's Emporium'. Maybe that's an ingredients shop."

Fred started to look around for a sign with the shop's peculiar name on it while Blair continued to ogle at the street around her. The bright colours and constant bustle of people made her forget why they were here and about her sadness from leaving George behind at The Burrow. He would have loved to have come along and see the foreign place in all its liveliness. Once Christmas Day is over, he'll want Fred and Blair back home so they could be their iconic team again. Maybe then he could come along.

"That doesn't look like a non-suspicious witch at all, huh?" Fred's voice made Blair look up to see him gesturing towards the next corner. Standing at the corner of beige wall was a woman with a black shawl over her head who looked over her shoulder as she slipped behind the wall, hurrying away from the busy street and down a thin alley way.

"Witch?" Blair said in a quiet voice and Fred nodded, sending them into a brisk walk to catch up to the shawl-covered woman.

They were greeted with the nicest looking alley way they'd ever seen. Back home, the alley ways were dark and always littered with leering men that stunk of mud and wet dog. A dampness could always be smelt and they were prime places for dodgy deals and dangerous crimes. This alley way, however, had patterned tapestries hanging on the walls and local artwork that had been painted over the doors that lined the brickwork. A teal table and chairs sat against the side for those who wanted to have a quiet conversation while being close to the livelihood of the city centre. The only thing that was menacing and out of the ordinary in the alley way was the scurrying witch who held her shawl securely over her head and shoulders.

Blair took the lead and watched the woman turned to a door on the left that had purple swirls painted over the wood. A chime was heard from a bell that hung over the door as she entered before she disappeared inside, returning the alley back to its colour and quaintness. Slipping their wands into their hands for caution, Blair and Fred headed for the purple door and carefully inched the door open.

Fred grabbed Blair's shoulder and pushed her to the side, letting the woman in her black shawl scurry through the doorway and leave towards the busy street once more. She looked back at them with wide eyes of panic before threading through the crowd that could be seen climbing the elevation of street. The two looked to each other with a small shrug before heading into the place where the paranoid lady had emerged, the bell above dinging to signal their arrival.

The shop was dark and lit by candles that were suspended in the air by what could be played off to Muggles as very thin strings. Displays and tables made the walkway to the counter tight and cluttered; products in jars, bottles, boxes and packages lining the walls with layers of dust. It was a remarkable contrast to the light and colourful street just outside the purple door. The products lining the shelves were definitely magical and Blair wondered how many Muggles had accidentally wandered in here by accident as it was so close to the city centre.

"Yes? What do you want?" a voice made Blair jump and Fred's attention went from the jar of yellow eyeballs to the counter at the front. A man now sat behind it with dark grey hair and a heavily receding hairline. His face was wrinkly and he wore glasses that made his eyes appear tiny. They were thicklyimmed and circular, smaller than Harry's and looked house elf-sized compared to Professor Trelawney's.

"H-Hello," Blair greeted through her surprise. She hadn't expected the man to speak English yet his accent was so British, it reminded her of Wool's Orphanage. "We're looking for some ingredients."

"Well of course you bleeding are," the man seethed. "Why else would you be in my shop?!"

"Take it easy, mate," Fred spoke up from the back, sending him a warning look. "We just want some potions stuff and we'll be on our way."

The man mumbled something about them hurrying up before sitting low in his seat. This left Blair and Fred to wander around the shop while sticking closely together. There wasn't much room to move with how cluttered everything was and Merlin knows what could be hiding among the piles and walls of merchandise. They'd rather not be grabbed by something that hasn't touched human flesh in decades.

Coming to a wall of jars, Blair's eyes started to scan across the contents and labels that were displayed across the glass. Names of herbs were unfamiliar to her and animal parts sat pickled in jars of lime green liquids. She resisted the urge to cringe at the most likely illegal and inhumane things that sat in this cramped room and looked on for the ingredients she was looking for. The three-eyed trentic toad was native to the Middle Eastern region but is said to be hunted widely for its skin. Just like Blair's potion, the toad would need to be alive when it's moistness is extracted. This caused a mass hunt for the toads and left a near few in the wild. Those who had captured one wouldn't be boasting loudly about it and shall be keeping it close for future skinning.

"That's it there!" she cried as she spotted the jar. Fred followed her pointing finger and found an ugly looking toad blinking its three eyes down at him. His lips pulled into a grimace at the sight of the slime that was practically dripping out of its mouth and the pulsating neck that hung low under its chin. Bright red stripes covered its forest green back and the crimson colour appeared to be flourishing with a mind of its own.

"This one, please," Blair said in quiet, polite voice once she put the toad down on the counter. The man looked up from his crossed arms and eyed her through his sagging eyelids, irritated from being talked to and having to look at another human being. Fred stood close behind and held his wand down by his side, preparing to lift it to stun the man at any sign of wrong doing.

The man looked to the jar that sat on his dirty counter and looked at Blair with a menacing smile. She didn't like it at all and averted her gaze to the edging of the counter in front of her, gulping as the man typed something slowly into his register. A ding was heard every time his finger came in contact with a key before it stopped altogether, making her look back up to see the man waiting with the same anxiety-filling smile.

"One hundred and fifty galleons."

"A hundred and fifty?!" Fred repeated. "For that slimy thing?!"

"If you can't pay for it, you ain't getting it," the man went to take the jar off the counter when Blair stopped him.

"No! I-I need it. I'll pay the hundred and fifty."

"Blair," Fred tried to turn her around to face him. "You can't pay that. That's ridiculous! We can find it somewhere else."

"No, we can't," she said over her shoulder while pulling out two handfuls of galleons. She stuck her hands into her pockets four more times and put their contents on the counter. The sleazy man's grin grew as galleons piled in front of him right up until the clattering of gold stopped. Blair let out a loud breath before shifting her eyes towards the three-eyed toad that sat in its jar quietly.

The man said nothing as he pulled the galleons towards his body with his eyes lighting up at the gold reflection. His wrinkly face suddenly had a glow hue from the mass amounts of money and his customers were completely forgotten about. Fred took this opportunity to grab the jar off of the counter and take hold of Blair's arm, inching towards the door of the shop. Blair let Fred lead her through the aisle while she kept her eyes on the man who was grinning down at her money.

The purple swirls appeared in her vision and she realised that they had left the shop and were facing the door. The bustle of the street with stalls and cafes filled her ears that had toned to the eerie quietness from within the shop and she felt her tense shoulders sag at being outside again. Umistan's Emperium was certainly a place for the sleazy and not for a young potioneer who was visibly desperate for rare and expensive ingredients.

Blair turned around and saw Fred breathing a loud sigh of what she hoped was relief. She knew it was a ridiculous amount of money for a toad, but what could she do? She had never heard of anyone having a trentic toad and it had been said that it was going on extinction because of its value.

"Here's your expensive ass frog," Fred snarled while holding out the jar. "I can't believe you spent a hundred and fifty galleons on this."

"I need it. If I were to go somewhere else, the prices could've been even worse. This will probably be the most expensive thing for the potion. The rest should be at least... below a hundred and fifty."

"You'd better hope."

She took the jar from Fred and held it up to her face, looking in at the creature that cost her more than three years of book lists at Hogwarts. The toad's middle eye blinked before its surrounding eyes followed, the out-of-sync system making her feel uneasy. It was definitely a creature that churned her stomach from its freakishness and she supposed Hagrid would love the thing to death. But it was worth an expanding charm on her pockets to fit more galleons, so its creepiness and the terrifying encounter with the man in the shop had to be justified.

"Where's the next stop? Borkin and Burkes would be a holiday at this point," he ran a hand through his bright hair and looked to Blair for the next move.

"Er," she flipped open the book she ensured to keep hidden from the sleazy man and came to another location that had been written alongside a Liquid Luck recipe. "Russia!"