The Potions Master
Chapter I - Potions Master versus Potions Master
"Fluxweed... spiders webs... boomslang bone... caterpillar eggs and... gilliweed... ok... Let me see if there is something else missing here... I'm ok in leeches and devil's snare... no problem with avacantes... " There was a knock on the door. "Oh, come on! I'm about to leave!"
Ellie dropped the shopping list she had been making and jumped over a big vase on the floor. She had to step over two piles of books and a small stool before reaching the door, where there was another impatient knock in no time.
"Oh, hold your horses, will you?" She reached the door, at last, and opened to no other than-
"Sevy!"
There was a black dressed man with short shoulder-length hair on the door who certainly did not answer lightly by the name of Sevy.
"Come in, Sevy, don't mind the mess!" and the young woman crossed the room in no time. Severus Snape, the Hogwarts Potions Master, tried to follow her, but he took a bit longer, for "mess" was an understatement: the room was filled with every sort of objects you could imagine and with a lot more than he ever though possible to fit in such a small room. The floor was covered in books, loose papers and a number of familiar objects, like a sword and an old broom, and some not-so-familiar, like something that looked like a Hungarian Horntail horn, and so were the chairs and table in one of the corners of the room, where Snape could see Ellie looking for something.
"Hello, Ellie. I came by to-"
"I have it ready." she said with an amused smile.
"Well... ", he said, and he looked a bit taken aback. "You said you needed help so I decided to come a bit earlier." she was still looking for something under every piece of furniture in the room. "Since you don't need my help anymore, I'll leave."
"No, no, no, no, Sevy, please" she said, glancing under a chair. She noticed he was still looking at her and quickly looked at him too "I mean... I have it ready but I still want your opinion on it."
"You seem rather busy" he said, when she looked over his shoulder to something by the door.
"Actually I was just going out. I have some shopping to do." She walked slowly towards the door again, looking very closely at the floor. Snape sighed. He picked a piece of parchment from the table.
"Boomslang bone?" he asked, reading it "How did you run out of it?"
"Oh!, Thanks Sevy! I was looking for that" she picked it from his hands and said "Well, it's one of the things I used. Not very common, I know" she added hastily at the sight of his scandalized face "but you will see if it works." Snape was looking very suspicious.
"You used boomslang bone with toad's skin? And it didn't explode right in your face?"
"Sorry, no. I hate to disappoint you, but as you can see my face is still in one piece. Which must mean- Well, come and see for yourself!" And she dragged him by the robes to the next room, which was as messy as the last, except for a long table from one side to the other of one of the walls, filled with tubes and a line of cauldrons all fuming and sparkling differently.
They stopped in front of a tinny gold cauldron, with a green mixture stirring slowly. Ellie picked a small parchment from under it and handled it to Snape, who looked more and more suspicious.
"It's all there" she said proudly. "I would have used a silver cauldron, but I couldn't take the risk" and winked at him. But Snape didn't seem to be hearing her at all. He was reading the receipt very closely and with each line he seemed to be slowly turning from suspicious to stunned.
He kept mumbling under his breath while reading it like if he was solving some long equation, saying things like "the gilliweed stabilizes it" and "cologin binds the grains, of course", until he finally reached the last line and, amazed, looked at Ellie, who was still smiling.
"I think you've got it..." he said, half admiring half envying her. Snape was checking the recipe once more and then, after a final check on the cauldron, he said "I really think you've got it."
"I still need someone to test it on" she said, now looking a bit worried.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know where he is." he replied rather coldly.
"Don't you know or don't you care?" she asked, her cheeks going rather pink.
"I don't know... but I also don't care."
"Oh, Sevy, I need him! How can I test my Wolfsbane potion without a werewolf?"
"Is that what you named it?"
"Well," she said "it's only a temporary name. I never was that good at naming. Besides, I'm not even sure it works. Apparently" she added very grumpily "I will never know, will I?"
"There are plenty of werewolves out there." he said coldly. "You know where to find them, don't you?"
"Of course I know where to find them." she added, still grumpy. She took the list from his hands and walked out of the room.
"Weren't you going shopping?" said Snape, following her.
"I still am" she said, picking her wand from inside a flowers vase on a stool. "I was looking for this! Accio shopping list!"
About half a hundred papers came soaring into her hand.
"Nope." she said, reading the first and throwing it away. "Nope."
"I'll be going then" said Snape.
"Nope. Bye, Sevy. Nope"
"Stop calling me Sevy, will you?"
"Nope." and this time it was for him, together with a smile. "Nope. Oh, here it is!"
"Goodbye, Ellie. I'll send you a werewolf if I see one."
"Thanks Sevy. I know I can always count on friends to send me nice things." Ellie said. And Snape actually twitched his lips in a strange kind of smile.
Chapter I - Potions Master versus Potions Master
"Fluxweed... spiders webs... boomslang bone... caterpillar eggs and... gilliweed... ok... Let me see if there is something else missing here... I'm ok in leeches and devil's snare... no problem with avacantes... " There was a knock on the door. "Oh, come on! I'm about to leave!"
Ellie dropped the shopping list she had been making and jumped over a big vase on the floor. She had to step over two piles of books and a small stool before reaching the door, where there was another impatient knock in no time.
"Oh, hold your horses, will you?" She reached the door, at last, and opened to no other than-
"Sevy!"
There was a black dressed man with short shoulder-length hair on the door who certainly did not answer lightly by the name of Sevy.
"Come in, Sevy, don't mind the mess!" and the young woman crossed the room in no time. Severus Snape, the Hogwarts Potions Master, tried to follow her, but he took a bit longer, for "mess" was an understatement: the room was filled with every sort of objects you could imagine and with a lot more than he ever though possible to fit in such a small room. The floor was covered in books, loose papers and a number of familiar objects, like a sword and an old broom, and some not-so-familiar, like something that looked like a Hungarian Horntail horn, and so were the chairs and table in one of the corners of the room, where Snape could see Ellie looking for something.
"Hello, Ellie. I came by to-"
"I have it ready." she said with an amused smile.
"Well... ", he said, and he looked a bit taken aback. "You said you needed help so I decided to come a bit earlier." she was still looking for something under every piece of furniture in the room. "Since you don't need my help anymore, I'll leave."
"No, no, no, no, Sevy, please" she said, glancing under a chair. She noticed he was still looking at her and quickly looked at him too "I mean... I have it ready but I still want your opinion on it."
"You seem rather busy" he said, when she looked over his shoulder to something by the door.
"Actually I was just going out. I have some shopping to do." She walked slowly towards the door again, looking very closely at the floor. Snape sighed. He picked a piece of parchment from the table.
"Boomslang bone?" he asked, reading it "How did you run out of it?"
"Oh!, Thanks Sevy! I was looking for that" she picked it from his hands and said "Well, it's one of the things I used. Not very common, I know" she added hastily at the sight of his scandalized face "but you will see if it works." Snape was looking very suspicious.
"You used boomslang bone with toad's skin? And it didn't explode right in your face?"
"Sorry, no. I hate to disappoint you, but as you can see my face is still in one piece. Which must mean- Well, come and see for yourself!" And she dragged him by the robes to the next room, which was as messy as the last, except for a long table from one side to the other of one of the walls, filled with tubes and a line of cauldrons all fuming and sparkling differently.
They stopped in front of a tinny gold cauldron, with a green mixture stirring slowly. Ellie picked a small parchment from under it and handled it to Snape, who looked more and more suspicious.
"It's all there" she said proudly. "I would have used a silver cauldron, but I couldn't take the risk" and winked at him. But Snape didn't seem to be hearing her at all. He was reading the receipt very closely and with each line he seemed to be slowly turning from suspicious to stunned.
He kept mumbling under his breath while reading it like if he was solving some long equation, saying things like "the gilliweed stabilizes it" and "cologin binds the grains, of course", until he finally reached the last line and, amazed, looked at Ellie, who was still smiling.
"I think you've got it..." he said, half admiring half envying her. Snape was checking the recipe once more and then, after a final check on the cauldron, he said "I really think you've got it."
"I still need someone to test it on" she said, now looking a bit worried.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know where he is." he replied rather coldly.
"Don't you know or don't you care?" she asked, her cheeks going rather pink.
"I don't know... but I also don't care."
"Oh, Sevy, I need him! How can I test my Wolfsbane potion without a werewolf?"
"Is that what you named it?"
"Well," she said "it's only a temporary name. I never was that good at naming. Besides, I'm not even sure it works. Apparently" she added very grumpily "I will never know, will I?"
"There are plenty of werewolves out there." he said coldly. "You know where to find them, don't you?"
"Of course I know where to find them." she added, still grumpy. She took the list from his hands and walked out of the room.
"Weren't you going shopping?" said Snape, following her.
"I still am" she said, picking her wand from inside a flowers vase on a stool. "I was looking for this! Accio shopping list!"
About half a hundred papers came soaring into her hand.
"Nope." she said, reading the first and throwing it away. "Nope."
"I'll be going then" said Snape.
"Nope. Bye, Sevy. Nope"
"Stop calling me Sevy, will you?"
"Nope." and this time it was for him, together with a smile. "Nope. Oh, here it is!"
"Goodbye, Ellie. I'll send you a werewolf if I see one."
"Thanks Sevy. I know I can always count on friends to send me nice things." Ellie said. And Snape actually twitched his lips in a strange kind of smile.