Chapter Three: First Monday
At breakfast in the Great Hall the next morning, the Four were reading the timetables that Professor McGonagall had just given them. Their timetables were all the same, of course, since they were all first-year Gryffindors and they wouldn't have any electives until third year.
"That's weird," said Harry. "Do we really have all our classes with the Slytherins?"
"Not all, but definitely Potions and Flying," said one of the Weasley twins from the other side of Ron. "How else would the school make sure that we all hate the Slytherins properly?"
Hermione glared at the twin, who grinned at her unrepentantly. "You'll learn, Hermione, you'll learn."
The other twin nodded emphatically. "And you start with Potions, too - as dastardly plots go, that's not even subtle. Snape teaches Potions - he's a greasy git, but more importantly he's the Slytherin Head of House and he hates Gryffindor. He's always really unfair - favours his own house and picks on the others, and no one ever listens if you complain."
"Yeah," said the first twin. "Seriously, be careful around Snape. You really don't want him angry."
"Well," said the other twin, "you don't want him angry if he can hurt you, anyway. Judicious pranking is a different matter entirely, at least for anyone who can cover their tracks properly."
Hermione looked scandalised, but said nothing.
The Four made sure to show up very early for Potions, still hoping they could avoid getting on Professor Snape's bad side. As they stood alone outside the locked door, Draco Malfoy and his two goons swaggered up.
"Trying to suck up before you've even started your first class, Potter? See, I told you the mudblood and the blood traitors would be a bad influence."
Ron and Neville glanced at each other, then nodded. They each took a step towards Malfoy and the Goons, then Neville addressed Malfoy quietly.
"Malfoy, let's get one thing straight. The word 'mudblood' is not acceptable, and neither is 'blood traitor'."
Malfoy laughed, and the Goons loomed on either side of him.
"What are you going to do about it, Longbottom?"
Neville shrugged. "Tell a teacher every time you use those words. I'm not going to start fights with you, if that's what you were hoping."
"Dobbing, Longbottom?" said Malfoy. "Way to have no friends."
Harry cleared his throat meaningfully, but it was Hermione who spoke.
"For your information, Malfoy, Neville has friends. We're standing right here, or at least some of us are. We won't be bullied, and we won't let anyone bully Neville!"
Malfoy took a step backwards, then realised what he'd done and hastily stepped forward again. He glared at Hermione, but seemed lost for words.
"Is there a problem?"
The four Gryffindors whirled to face the now-open door, staring up at the malevolent figure who had spoken. Ron found his voice first.
"Malfoy called Hermione a mudblood and me and Neville blood traitors, Professor. Again. We were just explaining that that wasn't OK."
"Threatening my student, Weasley? Five points from Gryffindor, and be glad it isn't more."
Ron opened his mouth to protest the unfairness of this, but Neville and Hermione grabbed his shoulders and he subsided.
The Four followed Snape and the three Slytherins into the Potions classroom, with the other Gryffindors and Slytherins trailing behind. They sat at two double-desks next to each other, and quietly got out their books - Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione touched his shoulder and he thought better of it.
As the last of the Slytherins walked in and sat down, Snape stood up at the front of the room to take the roll. He glared at Hermione and Neville when they answered, but said nothing more. When he came to Harry, however, he paused.
"Ah, yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity."
Malfoy and the Goons laughed out loud, and a few of the other Slytherins sniggered. Harry just shrugged. "Present."
Snape left it at that, and finished marking the roll - Ron got the same glare as Neville and Hermione, which surprised no one.
"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," Snape said softly. His voice held a passion which they hadn't heard from him before this. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe that this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
After a few seconds' silence, Snape turned to Harry. "Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
"I don't know, sir," said Harry.
Snape's lips curled into a sneer.
"Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything."
Harry turned to exchange a glance with Neville, but Snape wasn't finished.
"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?"
Harry shrugged again, ignoring the laughter of Malfoy and the Goons. "I don't know, sir."
"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh Potter?"
Harry fought to keep his temper - somehow, Snape was getting to him in a way that even the Dursleys hadn't managed in years. Snape, meanwhile, continued.
"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
"I don't know, sir." said Harry. "This is my first class, and you haven't actually taught me anything yet, so I'm afraid I don't know very much about potions."
"Five points from Gryffindor, Potter. Any more insolence from you, and it'll be detention."
Harry frankly stared at Snape, but Neville's hand on his shoulder calmed him enough to not say anything more. Snape continued.
"For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"
There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment, and the Gryffindors and some of the Slytherins scribbled madly - Draco and his goons didn't bother to rush, but Snape somehow seemed not to notice.
Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all in pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticising almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. The Four worked quietly at two adjacent cauldrons, trying hard not to attract Snape's attention - all four were furious, but between them they had enough sense to avoid further trouble for now. The rest of the period passed without incident, and the four of them fled upstairs as soon as they were released.
As they reached the top of the first staircase, Hermione glanced around them to make sure there was no one within earshot.
"Can you believe that? There's no way that's allowed! We should report him, we really should."
"We should talk about it first," said Neville, "he has a lot of power in the school. He's head of Slytherin, don't forget."
"Yeah," said Ron. "And Fred and George have always said he was completely unfair - we can't be the first people to complain, and it doesn't look like anyone else got any results."
Harry nodded. "True, but is it normal for him to pick on one person the way he picked on me? I think that might be something different from normal, and maybe we can get somewhere complaining about that. I think we should, anyway. Who should we speak to?"
"Professor McGonagall," said Hermione. "She's our Head of House, and she's also the Deputy Headmistress - she probably is the person in charge of this, and if not then she can send us to whoever is in charge. Which would probably be Professor Dumbledore, but I'd prefer not to go to him to start with."
"So, after Defence?" said Neville.
"No, after lunch," said Ron.
The others agreed, and they continued walking towards the Defence classroom.
Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Quirrell turned out to be a bit of a joke; Quirrell spent the lesson reading straight from the textbook, paying very little attention to the students in front of him. Hermione, who had already read and memorised the textbook, stared at him in disbelief for a few minutes before giving up and starting to work on something else entirely. The three boys, who hadn't memorised the textbook, tried to pay attention to Quirrell's dry monologue.
At lunch the four of them sat together at one end of the Gryffindor table, agonising over what they should say to Professor McGonagall. In the end, they decided that they should just tell her everything - none of them had done anything wrong, after all, and Snape definitely had done wrong. As Professor McGonagall walked out of the hall, Harry approached her.
"Professor McGonagall, could we talk to you? In private? It's important."
McGonagall raised her eyebrows, but nodded. "Very well. Follow me."
She led them to her office, closing the door behind them before sitting down behind her desk.
"Now," she said, "how can I help you?"
They glanced at each other uncertainly for a moment, before Hermione took the lead.
"We're here to report an abusive professor."
McGonagall actually gasped. "I'm sorry?"
Harry stepped forward, meeting her eyes calmly. "In our first class, Potions, Professor Snape singled me out to pick on. He started before I even said anything. He mocked me as a 'celebrity' when he called my name in the roll, and after that he asked me some difficult questions and mocked me for not knowing the answers. When I said that it was my first class and I didn't know anything much yet, he took 5 points off Gryffindor. Well, to be fair, I did say that he hadn't taught me anything yet. But he hadn't! He hadn't even started the lesson yet! Also he took 5 points off Ron before class for threatening Draco Malfoy, which Ron didn't do."
Professor McGonagall sat back in her chair.
"And if I investigate this incident, are you all sure that I won't find out you've accidentally left out some important details which make Professor Snape's actions entirely reasonable?"
The Four nodded, and Hermione raised her hand slightly.
"Professor, I can write out the whole thing now if you like - every word that Professor Snape said, every word that we said, and even every word that Draco Malfoy said, from when Draco arrived before class to when we left the classroom."
McGonagall looked sceptical, but nodded and waved Hermione to a seat at the side of her desk. Hermione pulled parchment, quill and ink from her book bag, and began to write. McGonagall watched in something approaching disbelief, as did the three boys - they knew Hermione had a good memory, but this was a surprise.
A few minutes later, Hermione handed the parchment to Professor McGonagall. She skimmed it rapidly, keeping her face perfectly still, and then handed it to Harry.
"Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, Mr Longbottom. Is this an accurate record?"
The three of them read the parchment, then Harry spoke for all of them. "Yes."
The stern old witch closed her eyes for a few seconds, seeming somehow to deflate. Then her eyes snapped open, and she spoke decisively as she stood up.
"Very well. Follow me - this is out of my hands."
She led them out of her office, and down assorted corridors until she reached a doorway guarded by two stone gargoyles.
"Lemon sherbert," she murmured, and they sprang aside. She stepped through where the gargoyles had been, and the first-years followed her onto a moving spiral staircase. At the top of the staircase she knocked on an age-blackened wooden door, and the Headmaster's voice called them to enter.
Inside, the ancient wizard smiled genially. "And to what do I owe this visit?"
McGonagall was having none of it. "Albus, this is serious. These first-years are filing a formal complaint against Severus." She handed Hermione's transcript to Dumbledore.
"Come now," said Dumbledore, "surely there's more to the story than this. I've seen this sort of thing before, you know, and in my experience there's always another side that isn't being told."
McGonagall frowned. "Miss Granger wrote that document in front of me, rapidly and without hesitation. All four of them agree that it is accurate. I'm afraid we must believe it, Albus."
He shook his head, then fixed his gaze on Hermione.
"Impressive as your memory no doubt is, Miss Granger, I'm afraid that I cannot trust it for details in a situation like this. There are magical means of obtaining the full story from you, however - are you sufficiently confident in your story, that you would be willing to have it verified?"
Hermione flinched. "Will it hurt?"
"No, Miss Granger, it will not hurt you."
"I'll do it, then. What do I need to do?"
The Headmaster leaned back in his chair, eyebrows raised - he hadn't expected her to follow through, but he had made an offer and he couldn't now withdraw it. He opened a cupboard and lifted out a strange stone bowl, whose shimmering contents moved strangely as he transferred the bowl to his desk.
"Minerva, if you would?"
Professor McGonagall walked over to stand beside Hermione, drawing her wand as she did so.
"Hermione, I need you to think about that Potions lesson. It's very important that you're clear about where the memory starts and stops, so that the Headmaster and I only see what we need to see."
Hermione nodded, and McGonagall touched her wand to the girl's temple and drew out a glowing wisp. She deftly flicked the wisp into the stone bowl, where it made the surface of the liquid flash white for a moment before fading to show the Four standing outside the Potions classroom a few hours earlier. Dumbledore waved his wand and the scene became audible, and they all gathered around to watch as events played out.
When Snape had answered his own questions, Harry interrupted. "That's all, Professors - after that it's just general unfairness to Gryffindors and favouring Slytherins."
Minerva gave Albus a hard look. "Albus, we can't ignore this."
The old man sighed. "I know, Minerva, I know."
He turned to the Four. "Harry, Ron, I apologise for your mistreatment at the hands of one of my staff members. I will restore double the points that Professor Snape took - twenty points to Gryffindor. Harry, you will receive a public apology from Professor Snape at dinner this evening. All of you, please report any further incidents to me or to Professor McGonagall. Thank you."
Professor McGonagall led the four first-years from the Headmaster's office, down the spiral staircase.
"Well done, all of you. Had you reacted to the provocations, I would have been unable to help you - as it was, your behaviour was impeccable and my job was made quite simple."
"Thank you, Professor," chorused the four of them. They walked off together, leaving a rather thoughtful Deputy Headmistress in their wake.
Hermione broke the silence.
"Well, at least we can trust Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. We'll just have to be very careful around Professor Snape."
"I wouldn't be so sure," said Neville quietly. "We had a perfect case, and McGonagall still had to bully Dumbledore into doing anything about it."
Hermione bit back the first reply that sprang to mind, and forced herself to stop and think for a moment. "You may be right - I suppose we should be a little careful of Professor Dumbledore as well."
"We still mostly have to rely on ourselves," said Harry. "I mean, look at how perfect we had to be this morning, just to have a chance of Dumbledore taking our side."
"Yeah," said Ron. "This is the first thing we need to do as the Four - we need to protect ourselves from Snape and people like him. We need to control our tempers really well - I know I need to work on that - and I guess we can help each other with that like we did this morning. But really, I think what we need to do is grow up fast."
Harry nodded. "My childhood hasn't exactly been great - I wouldn't exactly mind getting away from it sooner rather than later. How about you?"
"Same for me," said Neville.
"OK," said Ron.
"I suppose so," said Hermione.
They found an empty classroom, not too rare in Hogwarts, and settled in to make plans. They quickly adopted Ron's suggestion of working on physical fitness, though he did wince when Hermione talked them all into making that an early morning activity. They agreed to study together, and to make sure that all four of them were totally solid on everything they were supposed to know. They also agreed, somewhat reluctantly, to Ron's suggestion that they learn to fight, both with and without magic. They even agreed to Neville's suggestion that they should find a trustworthy teacher and ask for help - they agreed to wait until they'd met all their teachers before deciding on who to ask. They spent some time planning - Hermione even drew up a rough study timetable for them - and then they studied Potions and Defence until dinner.
In the Great Hall, after all the students were seated but before the food had appeared, the Headmaster stood and raised his hands for silence. When he had the Hall's attention, he gestured to Snape.
"Professor Snape wishes to say something to you all."
Snape stood up stiffly. When he spoke, his words seemed to lack the rhythms of normal human speech - it was clearly a prepared speech, and equally clearly he wasn't happy about it.
"I wish to apologise to Harry Potter, for my unfair and unprofessional treatment of him in Potions class this morning."
He immediately sat down again, as the students started excitedly discussing this latest news.
At the Gryffindor table, the Four were jubilant. This was proof that, if they were careful enough, the authorities at Hogwarts would protect them. Well, at least the authorities would take their side afterwards.
