Chapter 3: The Potions Master
"There look"
"Where?"
"Next to the small kid with the dark hair wearing the glasses"
"Did you see his face?"
"Did you see his scar?"
Whispers followed Ethan from the moment he left his Dormitory. For Harry he wasn't stared at or even glanced at he was ignored, knocked into and then once he'd finally managed to find the lessons, he realised there was more to magic than the few books, Harry had managed to sneak to his room and read, indicated.
They had to study the night skies Wednesday at midnight. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouse behind the castle to study Herbology. Easily the most boring lesson was History of Magic, which was taught by a ghost. Professor Flitwick, the charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard, who squeaked and toppled over when he called out Ethan's name. Professor McGonagall was the clever but strict Transfiguration teacher her lesson was certainly interesting she turned her desk into a pig, Harry just wondered why anyone would ever need to do that, but it left all the other students in awe. In the end they were given a matchstick each which they had to change into a needle. Harry had hoped the supposedly strict but fair McGonagall would look beyond Ethan but it had been a disappointment, she spent the whole time stood encouraging Ethan when all he'd managed was to make the matchstick slightly shiny. Meanwhile three of the Ravenclaws had got further (two had managed silver matches, the other a red and brown needle) a Gryffindor had managed a half match-half needle, while Harry himself had his hand up as he had transfigured the matchstick into a blunt needle with a very small eye and was unsure of how to improve his attempt. At the end of the lesson the three Ravenclaws, Ethan and Granger, the Gryffindor with the half-half needle, gained five house points each, she hadn't even looked at Harry's.
As the first years gathered their bags and headed to their towers to get ready for tea Professor McGonagall looked at the collection of needle-matches, in among them she noticed the almost perfect needle, staring in shock she wondered who's it was and how she had missed it? Everyone had looked forward to Defence Against the Dark Arts (DADA) but Quirrell's lessons were a joke, the classroom smelt of garlic and he was a stuttering fool.
Wednesday was an important day for Ethan Ron and Harry they finally managed find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.
"What have we got today?" Ethan asked as he started grabbing food
"Double Potions with Slytherin" replied Harry
"Snape's head of Slytherin house they say he always favours them- we'll be able to see if it is true" Ron added
"I wish McGonagall favoured us" Ethan answered wistfully just then, the post arrived Ethan's sooty owl, Cyril, had delivered something almost every day. Today was no exception he dropped a note on Ethan's plate. Ethan opened it but not before he had finished his bacon, ignoring Cyril's hopeful face. Harry broke off some bacon and held it out to the owl, which happily hopped over to him and gently took the food.
When Ethan finally opened the note
Dear Ethan (it said, in a very untidy scrawl) I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear about your first week. Send us an answer with Cyril Hagrid
Ethan quickly scribbled
'Yes, please I'll bring Ron oh and Harry too,
See you Friday'
On the back and sent Cyril of with it, but not before Cyril affectionately nipped at Harry's fingers
Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the register and like Flitwick; he paused at Ethan's name
"Ah, yes" he said softly "Ethan Potter. Our new- celebrity" Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making" he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic" Snape's speech continued on in a similar fashion for a few more minutes referring to the class as dunderheads
"Potter!" said Snape suddenly standing in front of Ethan "What would I get if I added powdered root of Asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood?"
'Draft of the Living Dead' Harry thought
"I don't know, sir" Ethan answered Snape's lips curled into a sneer "tut, tut- fame clearly isn't everything" Snape ignored Hermione's raised hand and moved over to the table behind towering over Harry, black eyes staring coldly.
"Let's try again. Let us see if the other Potter is as worthless as the first. Where would you look if I told you to find me a Bezoar" The snarky professor stood menacingly over the smaller than average boy, and all the boy could think of was his fifth birthday
Little Harry was just about to leave his room to join his and Ethan's birthday celebrations when James Potter blocked the doorway
"Daddy?" little Harry asked his face screwed up in confusion. James just glared down at his youngest
"You'll have stay up here for the party" he sneered
"But Daddy it's my birthday too"
"No one wants you there. You're just the Other Potter, useless, a spare. Not even Mooney and Padfoot want to see you there they can only just managed New Year's Eve" the young boy's father said without even looking at the five year old
"They want me" the child whispered over and over again as the tears fell down his face, he sat there waiting for someone to come and look for him… but no one did "Maybe Daddy was right"
So instead of answering 'in a goat's stomach' Harry sat there opening and closing his mouth
"You're worse than your brother you can't even answer" Snape sneered causing the Slytherins to snicker again. Snape never saw the tears filling Harry's eyes or the hurt look he wore, no one ever did
"A point from Gryffindor for failure to prepare for a lesson" he said stomping to the black board.
Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the lesson continued, Harry soon realised partnering with Neville meant doing everything he could to stop their cauldron exploding or melting, this resulted in their potion being nothing like it was supposed to be; it was just a useless oddly solid lump. Ron and Ethan on the other hand were not as lucky as they managed to melt their cauldron and their potion was seeping across the floor burning people's shoes, causing them to shriek, while Ron had collapsed with boils breaking out on his hands and face
"Idiot boys" snarled Snape cleaning the potion up with a single flick of his wand "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire? Take him to the hospital wing" Snape spat at Ethan
Finally it was Friday, Ethan, Harry and Ron were glad that they had agreed to visit Hagrid as it helped them get through Friday's double potions. They had spent the rest of the day at Hagrid's talking about their first lessons and Snape's dislike of the Potter brothers; they spoke of Charlie- the dragon handle; Weasley and the prankster two. They also discovered that there had been a break in at Gringotts on Ethan's birthday. Harry found that interesting as Harry had been at Gringotts that day, him and Hagrid had shared a cart to the vault in question, not that he was going to mention that he didn't need his family finding out.
