A/N: Neville is hopelessly horrible at Potions. Here's another Potions' mishap from our favoutie almost-Boy-Who-Lived. I had so much trouble writing this for some reason so don't kill me if it's horrible. RxR. FxF. I do not own Harry Potter.
Submission for:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments): Potions Assignment #3 - Write a humorous fic about the effect of one of Neville's potions. Prompts used: "God really?", Ribbit, no letter j, pink, light, sad
Hogwarts Fair 2014 Challenge/Competition: Niffler Lucky Dig
Represent That Character! Challenge II
It was that dreaded class once again: Potions. Neville swallowed hard as he passed through the doorway into the dark, foreboding classroom under the piercing gaze of Professor Snape. He chanced a look at his professor and saw that ever-present sneer plastered there, intensified when he noticed the young man glancing at him. Neville quickly averted his eyes and took his seat on the right side of the room.
They began the lesson, their assignment today to select a potion from chapter 9 and brew it to completion. Neville flipped quickly through his text. He would find the easiest potion he could make without making any mistakes. He had already messed up his last two potions and he couldn't take another Troll.
He selected the Calming Draught: only 4 ingredients and 5 instructions. He smiled to himself and set up his cauldron before running to the ingredients cupboard. Daffodils, Essence of North Wind, Drops of Venus, and river pebbles. Simple enough.
He threw the ingredients on his workbench, filled the cauldron with water and began. Clockwise 5 times, 3 daffodils, Anticlockwise while adding the drops, simmer for 15 minutes. Neville waited, anxiously watching the time ticking by on his pocket watch. Was he really going to do this properly?
He looked around at his classmates. Harry seemed to take his lead and chose a simple potion as well: a Pepperup Potion. Ron decided to go with some type of sleeping draught, dropping in the moth balls before running away from the pink cloud that puffed from the mouth of his cauldron. Hermione waved her hand before her face, fanning away the fumes, and said, "God really? Be more careful, Ron." Neville had no doubt she had chosen something much more complicated and was exceeding expectations. Unlike Neville.
Neville turned back his pocket watch, before he noticed something peculiar: the second hand had stopped! "No!" Neville shouted, drawing everyone's attention. Professor Snape had been insulting Seamus' potion, which was giving off noxious green fumes, and whipped around at the shout. Neville was panicking. He stared down in his cauldron to see it had overshot the intended colour of light purple went straight to hot pink. He grabbed his stirrer, repeating "No, no, no!" under his breath while frantically stirring.
No one had ever seen Professor Snape move that fast. It was as if someone were chasing him with a bottle of shampoo. "Longbottom, stop!" he shouted, pushing the young man out of the way.
The cauldron exploded, dousing Professor Snape and Neville with the pink potion. They fell back knocking into Draco's workbench, tipping his cauldron over, the murky thick solution falling onto Pansy's lap and hands. She screamed while trying to wipe the goo off, but then her hands turned green, moist and covered in large black warts. Her cries soon turned into woefully ribbits. She croaked, "Ribbit Ribbit," as the green and spotty skin climbed up her arms and up to her face, and then ran out of the classroom, ribbiting all the way.
Ron leapt from his seat away from the explosion, knocking into Harry whose cauldron fell onto Hermione, dousing her head with the incomplete Pepperup potion. "Hermione, I'm so sorry," Harry began to apologize but then tears sprung to Hermione's eyes.
"It's so sad, Harry, so very sad. Neville's potion is ruined. Pansy is a frog. The sky is falling. My stockings are torn. The mash potatoes are runny. My potions essay is incomplete and your balding. It's all so sad!"
Harry's eyes widened before he ran a hand through his black locks, ignoring Hermione's cries.
Neville looked up in the furious face of his professor. His hair was now dyed a hot pink to match Neville's potion and he was anything but calm. His eyes were shut tightly and his mouth was muttering numbers before he shouted, "Class is dismissed! Everyone get out! Ms Granger, come with me. Mr. Longbottom, detention until the end of the school year. You'll be cleaning out cauldrons until your fingers bleed."
All the other students got out as fast as they could, their cauldrons still bubbling. Neville followed behind the crying girl with his head down low, his own pink hair falling into his face. Another failing year of Potions.