DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING YOU RECOGNIZE. HARRY POTTER BELONGS TO JK ROWLING.
Chapter One: Potion Problems
"Make sure you don't add the powdered unicorn horn before the porcupine quills. If the Draught of Peace is not concocted correctly, the potion will make the drinker fall into a deep sleep that almost always is irreversible. Now, get to brewing. You have exactly thirty-eight minutes to finish before class ends," Professor Snape droned on from the front of the classroom. Of course he would give up a difficult potion for us seventh years to make the first class of the year, along with not giving us enough time to finish. "Why are you all still sitting there? Only thirty-seven minutes left now. Keep in mind that you will need every second you've to to brew this potion!"
I heaved a sigh as I stood from the table to gather the needed ingredients. Potions was a mediocre subject for me. I wasn't the best in the class; however, I also wasn't the worst. Not a single person paid me a bit of attention, but I didn't mind. I find this better than being the center of attention and having everyone in your business.
My attention is drawn across the room to a pair of mischievous brothers, Fred and George Weasley. They obviously were looking to cause trouble by the way the two were chuckling quietly to themselves. Not to mention the glances they were sending to the Slytherin boy, Graham Montague, sitting directly in front of me. They always seem to have it out for the kid, but Montague never fails to be just as nasty to them.
I look back to my potion to add the syrup of hellebore, making the hot pink liquid transform into a beautiful shade of turquoise. After a few stirs, I wait patiently for the potion to simmer to a pretty shade of lavender before tossing in the unicorn horn I had just grinded into a fine powder. I smile when it darkens to a deep red. The moonstone is added and now I only have to wait for the concoction to turn to a bright orange before adding the porcupine quills. So far things are going fantastic. When I add the quills, the brew turns into a dull gray instead of white with a shimmering silver vapor. Almost perfect, yet not quite.
Catching my attention, I peek up to see one of the Weasley twins walk back to the cupboard to fetch a forgotten ingredient. When he passed Montague though, I notice an ingredient fall into the boy's cauldron. My eyes widen as the brew began to sparkle green and a foul odor filled the room. The liquid then started to create a nasty gray foam that was overflowing before exploding all over the Slytherin. Montague then stands up in disgust and falls backwards into my table when his robes start to smoke before igniting into flames.
My hands flew out to catch my own cauldron, which the Slytherin had managed to knock down. Right as I was about to catch it, the potion spilled out of the metal pot and all over my hands. Then the cauldron hit the table with a bang and splashed me from head to toe. Shit. Snape said the Drought of Peace calmed a to almost a peaceful slumber, but if you take too much then that means…
Tiredness washed over me. My eyelids began to droop and I leaned against the desk for support since I couldn't seem to hold my own body up. I wanted to panic — to freak the fuck out — but I found an overwhelming euphoric feeling of peace and calmness flow through me. It was terrifying to have no control of my emotions.
"Charlotte?" I hear my name being called out, but I'm so out of everything that I don't respond. My body begins to sway from side to side and the last thing I remembered was hitting the floor.
xXxXxXx
I groaned when I opened my eyes. The white of the room surrounded me and my eyes started to water from the brightness. It seemed that I was once again in the hospital wing. A terrible headache assaulted my mind as a nauseous feeling formed in my stomach. Voices came from across the room. I quieted myself to hear whatever it was that they were talking about.
"Severus, you must be reasonable. Just because Miss Prince is a member of you family does not mean that you can have both Mr. Weasley and Mr. Montague expelled," the soft voice of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore mumbled. "I will hear nothing of it again. It was a terrible accident in which Miss Prince happened to be harmed."
Snape then let out an annoyed sigh, "Headmaster, you must see that those twins deliberately tramp around this school like fools—"
"Silence, Severus. Nothing good will come from expelling the Weasleys, especially during a time like this." Dumbledore told the other professor. "I believe that Miss Prince has finally awoken. Now, I must be off. I do hope that you feel better, Miss Prince."
Slowly, I sat up in my bed. "Thank you, Headmaster," I muttered quietly, avoiding all eye contact. I never did well with talking to people, especially when I hardly spent anytime around anyone else nowadays. As a Slytherin, the other three houses never much paid me much attention. And there weren't any Slytherins who were crazy about hanging out with me. Also, my family isn't much on spending quality time together. Let's just say that I've gotten used to being on my own.
The twinkling blue eyes of the Professor met my own bright green pair as I glanced up. I always felt as if he was looking into my soul whenever he met my own gaze. It was quite unsettling really. Soon I was saved from the Headmaster's powerful gaze when he finally exited the doors he had been standing in front of. I sighed in relief even though I had done nothing wrong.
"Charlotte," the low, quiet voice of my cousin swept through the room, catching my attention and bringing me out of my thoughts. Severus then slowly began to walk towards me. His eyebrows tilted downward and the small frown upon his face were the only thing hinting to his concern. "How are you feeling?"
I throw a weak smile on my face, "Fine. A bit tired and a hell of a headache is all."
A scowl appeared on his face once again, "The drowsiness is probably a side effect from the potion overdose, I presume. It's rather lucky that you managed to brew a decent potion or else you might not be awake right now. Your head also had a rather nasty fall to the floor. Madame Pomfrey will have you back to normal by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. And do not worry about the dunderheads that caused this. They will be scrubbing out cauldrons for weeks."
"That isn't necessary, Severus. I promise you, I'm completely fine—" I started, but was soon interrupted by the bitter man next to me.
"If you were fine, then why are you in the hospital wing, girl? I do not tolerate any nonsense in my class and those hooligans will be rightly punished as I see fit. If I had it my way, the Weasley twins would be shipped out of this school faster than a blink of the eye," Snape sneered bitterly. He then closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before continuing. "Now, Charlotte, do not try to argue with me at the moment. It is only the first week of school and you are already in the hospital wing yet again."
I released a reluctant sigh. It was not an uncommon sight to see me in the hospital wing due to my own clumsiness, but there was the rare occasion where another student would send a nasty hex my way or a rowdy Gryffindor would find it funny to trip me while walking down a flight of stairs. Those incidents always put my old cousin in a downright terrible mood for the next week, sometimes for months he would hold a grudge.
Even though we were ages apart, Severus was one of the only members of family that I had left that cared about me to a certain degree. My mother, Isabel, passed away only a few years after she gave birth to me from a nasty spell of dragon pox. My father died during my third year of schooling at Hogwarts. He was an Auror killed in a raid gone wrong. The wizard that did it even got away. Afterwards, I was sent to live with my mum's squib sister, Aunt Miranda Isles, and her muggle son, Milo, who was only a few years older than me. Milo's father left my aunt when he heard that she was pregnant with my cousin. Aunt Miranda was close to my mother and happy to take me in when she heard that her brother-in-law, Ellis Prince, was murdered. She was not a fan of magic though and prefered I not talk about it around her son, who didn't know that I was magical. Severus was the only magical family I had left and he liked to watch me when I was at Hogwarts. He always go along with my father when he was younger.
"Severus, I understand," I muttered as I rubbed my tired eyes. It was more to shut him up rather than agreeing with him. Once Snape made up his mind there was no changing it. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to go back to sleep. I can barely keep my eyes open anymore." I yawn forced its way out of my mouth when I slowly leaned back on my pillow. I was only awake long enough to see him roll his eyes at me before I passed out again.
Author's Note: So this is the first chapter. Tell me what you think and if you want me to continue the story. I hope to update soon, but reviews make me more motivated to do so. Thanks!