The Third-Year Potions Master

During the next few weeks, James, Sirius, and Peter studied Animagi in the Making whenever they could get away from Remus, brainstorming for possible ways to get ahold of Mandrake leaves outside of Hogsmeade. To make sure that their talks went unheard, Sirius would occasionally enchant the bottom of the stairs with an Intruder Charm, although the effort proved more of a nuisance than a help after Gryffindor Tower erupted into bodiless caterwauling for the fifth time. Unfortunately, as December drew closer, they had less and less time to study Human Transfiguration due to their mounting homework before the approaching holidays. To top things off, James was called away several nights a week to meet with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, making preparations for the game that would take place shortly after they returned from break.

Even though Sirius and Peter had to temporarily cease their perusing of Animagi in the Making for James' sake, James knew that they had reached a standstill, anyway. Without Mandrake leaves, they could not attempt to brew the Animagus Potion, and they had run out of ideas of getting them. Sirius had suggested searching for a local apothecary in Godric's Hollow over Christmas break, but James knew that his parents would grow suspicious if he mentioned school shopping over the holidays. Currently, all of their hope rode on the next trip to Hogsmeade, but Sirius brought up another problem during Arithmancy one day.

"The Animagus Potion is impossibly hard to make," he whispered to James, glancing at Professor Flannegin to see if he would notice his distraction. "It's far more advanced than anything we've made in Potions so far, and . . . well, let's face it . . . Professor Slughorn has never asked us to be in the Slug Club for a reason."

Sighing, James rested his head in his arms. "I know."

"We might stand a chance if Remus could help us," Sirius continued, "but for obvious reasons, he can't. Besides, even he isn't that great at Potions." Leaning back, he put his feet up on his desk thoughtfully. "I can't think of anyone we know who might be able to help us."

"Frank might," James suggested half-heartedly.

Shaking his head, Sirius huffed. "I doubt that he would go so far as to break the law for us. I'd wager a guess that Dill would agree to it, but he can't brew the Cure for Boils to save his life. Or, you know, to cure boils. Slughorn's obviously out of the picture, along with the other professors."

"We could just forget about the whole thing and filch it from Slughorn's office," James offered.

"He probably won't have it—it's not something you make for fun and sell at your local potions supply store," Sirius replied.

Breaking off, Sirius stared at Professor Flannegin as the spectacled wizard turned his narrowed eyes on him. The wizard looked pointedly at Sirius' feet resting on the desk in front of him, but Sirius made no effort to correct his irreverent posture before Flannegin finally turned back around and rapped his wand against the blackboard.

"Using what you've learned from your textbooks, can anyone explain why this equation is not magically sound? I couldn't help but notice that most of you struggled with this on your last homework assignment."

After a lengthy pause, Lily raised her hand. "I figured that it had something to do with the unequal dividends of the number seven, but I still don't completely understand it. Could you please explain it?"

Nodding succinctly, Professor Flannegin took a step away from the board and began pacing. "You're right—it does have to do with the numerical balancing. As you know, seven is the most magically powerful number, and thirteen is often referred to as the 'imperfect' or 'cursed' number. But does anyone know why?"

When no one answered, he told them, "Seven, when doubled, comes out to fourteen, and thirteen is one short of this perfect multiple. Thus, if you move the thirteen to the other side of the equation and divide it in half to neutralize its power," he explained, rearranging the numbers on the board with his wand, "adding one to the six and recombining it with the original thirteen, we come up with a much more stable equation."

Stepping back, he tapped his wand once more on the board, and a few of the Ravenclaws nodded and began scribbling on their notepads. Yawning, James waited for Sirius to raise his hand, as had become his custom every Arithmancy class.

"Yes, Mr. Black?" Professor Flannegin inquired of Sirius, suppressing a sigh as if expecting a clarifying question.

"The period's over," Sirius informed him, and Flannegin blinked before glancing at the grandfather clock positioned in the far corner of the room.

"Oh, I suppose you're right," he admitted, and he raised his voice as the students began gathering their supplies. "Remember to write that essay! It should be no less than two rolls of parchment!"

"Thanks, mate—I didn't think we'd ever escape," James told Sirius on their way out, soon joined by Remus, who was still scratching hurriedly with his quill.

"Do you think you got everything there?" Sirius inquired, looking over Remus' shoulder.

"Just about. I'm writing down that last formula," Remus replied before he recognized the sarcasm in Sirius' tone. Glancing up, he glared at him as Sirius elbowed James and laughed. "Paying attention isn't something to make fun of! Do you two ever take notes?"

"Don't need to if I already know it all," Sirius answered with a shrug. Shaking his head, Remus finished writing and tucked his quill away.

"Well, don't come running to me during exams," he responded. "Can you walk a little faster? Herbology starts in a few minutes."

"Calm down, Remus, we'll get there in plenty of time," James told him, gesturing around the empty hallway. "I thought we'd take a little detour to see if the geranium buds in the courtyard are blooming yet."

Sighing, Remus rolled his eyes as his roommates laughed again. "I'm going to fall behind in my coursework come the next full moon, so I'd prefer it if I made it to all of my classes on time," he pointed out.

"Trust me, you have the highest grade in Herbology out of our whole year," James replied before pausing and tilting his head. "Well, besides Newshod, maybe. She was the only one who wasn't covered in Stinksap after our last lesson. But even so, you're the last person who needs to worry about falling behind."

Despite James' dismissal, the three picked up their pace as they exited the castle, meeting Peter just outside of the greenhouses. Standing at the back of a queue of third-year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, Peter greeted them as they approached under the watchful gaze of Professor Sprout.

"What's the queue for?" James asked Peter.

"I'm not sure," he answered, glancing back at Professor Sprout. "She hasn't let us enter the greenhouses yet."

"You don't think she'll let us into Greenhouse #3, do you?" Sirius questioned, peering down the line of glass buildings; none of the students in their year had ever been given a lesson beyond the second greenhouse, and the specimens inside only grew more dangerous with each successive conservatory.

The whispering students finally quieted when Professor Sprout signaled for their attention a few minutes later. "Before we begin our class, I want to warn you about the nature of today's subject matter. Does anyone remember the lecture on Mandrakes last year?"

Several of the students nodded, and James, Sirius, and Peter exchanged wide-eyed glances. Continuing on, Sprout explained, "I brought a few fully grown Mandrakes into Greenhouse #3 to show you the process of preparing them for pharmaceutical purposes. However, as you learned last year, the cry of a fully-grown Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it. Therefore, the school requires you to magically plug your ears to avoid any unexpected accidents. Given the danger, I will not purposely unearth any of the Mandrakes, but we need to prepare for the worst, as fully-grown specimens have the strength to tear up soil at will. Does everyone know the Ear-Block Charm?"

Everyone murmured their agreement, and Professor Sprout raised her wand to her head. "Repeat after me," she told them, and the students all drew their wands. "Sto Auditus," Sprout said, the class repeating the spell on themselves.

Unable to hear the stomping of the others' feet, James followed the other students into the third greenhouse, where they were confronted by three enormous ceramic pots with towering leafy branches inside. The tops of the foliage stood well over Professor Sprout's head, which, although not a particularly impressive feat, still managed to strike awe in the gaping students. As he passed, James was sure that he spotted one of the pots quiver, and a few of the others seemed to catch the movement as well; Rachel Appleworth opened her mouth to voice her concern, but she soon closed it again when she realized that nobody else could hear her and tiptoed slowly in front of James.

Taking her place in the front of the nearest pot, Professor Sprout waved for attention and began miming instructions for the rest of the class, which James determined mostly consisted of standing still and watching while she worked. Grasping one of the largest Mandrake branches, Sprout pulled it taut and lifted a dangerously large, serrated knife, with which she hacked at the base of the stem. In just a few seconds, a golden juice began to flow from the small incision she had made, and Professor Sprout collected the sap in small bottle while motioning for the students to copy her.

Although reluctant to approach the Mandrakes, the class nevertheless stepped forward at her direction and picked up knives of their own, which lay in a small pile at the bases of the pots. As soon as he had claimed a knife, James motioned to Sirius and Peter and hurried to the Mandrake farthest from the door. Unfortunately, before they could cut off the Mandrake's lowest leaves, Alice and a few of the Hufflepuff students joined them around the pot, and they had no choice but to go along with the lesson.

Carving slowly as they contemplated their next actions, James and his roommates shared a questioning glance, and Sirius pointed subtly to his robes' pockets. Nodding, James slowly inched closer to him, and he moved to cut off a few of the Mandrake leaves before the other students looked up. However, he had to let go of the nearest leaf as soon as he grabbed it, because Professor Sprout had already begun to wave for the students to join her along the greenhouse shelves.

As the other students watched Professor Sprout weigh her Mandrake sap on a copper scale, James, Sirius, and Peter gathered near the back of the group. Tilting his head to convey a question, James waited until Peter shrugged at James and covered his face with his hands. Confused, James stared at him until Peter sighed and pulled his robes around his shoulders like a cloak, and James realized that he was asking about his Invisibility Cloak. Shaking his head, James pointed back at the castle visible from the greenhouse windows, and the three of them relapsed into another despairing pause. Finally, Sirius pointed at James and then to the Mandrake plants behind them, adding a hacking motion with his knife. Motioning to Peter, Sirius gave James a thumbs-up and pointed to Sprout. Understanding his meaning, James nodded and slid off towards the front of the greenhouse before Professor Sprout could spot him.

Once he had reached the nearest Mandrake, James ducked behind its expansive stem and started to cut off one of its lowest leaves. The leaf stuck on more tightly than James had expected it to, and he started slicing faster in fear of being caught. In response to his fervid motions, the Mandrake began to quiver, and James quickly backed away as the shaking grew more violent with each passing moment. In another few seconds, a giant root had burst out from its confinement, and it lashed out at James as he jumped back and released his knife. Mouth open wide, James stared up at the Mandrake as it climbed out of its gigantic pot, revealing four gnarly, limb-like roots. Just beneath the plant's leafy headdress, a mouth-like hole opened in an inaudible screech, and the Mandrakes on either side began to rustle in their pots.

Still oblivious to the growing danger, the other students watched Professor Sprout empty her jar of sap at the other end of the greenhouse. After another moment, Sirius looked over his shoulder to check on James, and he nearly bowled Peter over with an abrupt, backwards leap. When the students next to Sirius turned to him with matching frowns, they in turn spotted the unearthed Mandrake and reacted even more wildly, bringing the whole class to a soundless uproar. Finally looking up as well, Professor Sprout let out a silent gasp and rushed through the panicked students to stop the largest of the three Mandrakes from climbing out of its pot.

Taking his opportunity while Sprout blasted a series of bright blue spells at the plants, James scrambled out of the way and made it back to Sirius and Peter, panting heavily. Although content that no one had seen him in the chaos, he avoided his roommates' eyes when they looked his way; frowning, Sirius and Peter waited while Professor Sprout fought the Mandrakes back into their pots and covered them up with dirt.

Once Sprout had finished, Rachel pressed her hands together and pointed towards the greenhouse door, but the professor shook her head and prodded the Mandrake next to her. Everyone gasped noiselessly, but the plant did not even shiver at the provocation. Walking back towards the shelves with a smug smile, Professor Sprout ignored the students' slumped shoulders and carried on with the lesson.

When the period ended, James exited the greenhouse with the rest of the relieved students, but Sprout had the class remove the Ear-Blocking Charm before they could head back towards the castle. "Remember, I want an essay about the medicinal uses of Mandrakes turned in by the end of the week, and don't forget to give me a list of potions they're useful for," she told them, and half of the students groaned. Sharing another wistful look, James, Sirius, and Peter turned away and started walking back to the castle with the rest of their classmates.

"Can you believe her?" Hillary asked her friends. "She can be worse than Professor Kettleburn!"

"At least the homework's not hard," Lily comforted, and the other girls stared at her.

"Not hard?" Hillary exclaimed. "We learned about Mandrakes a year ago, and I hardly remember anything about them!"

"I'm sure that you remember learning about the Mandrake Elixir!" Lily corrected, beginning to count down on her fingers. "There's also the Restorative Draught, the Polydactyl Potion, and the Everlasting Inkwell, not to mention the countless other medicinal potions that use Mandrake leaves."

"I think you've been paying too much attention to Professor Slughorn," Alice told her. "Soon you might start bleeding Pepperup Potion from your ears."

"Hey, I'm not the one mooning over Professor Val!" Lily retorted, and she let out a laugh. "If you go to her office once more for 'homework advice,' I'm going to have to request an end to her stories."

Round face flushing, Alice objected, "It's not a bad thing to learn more about Aurors, is it? Their line of work is just so interesting . . ."

Slowing down suddenly, Sirius said, "James, I think I left something behind at the greenhouse. Do you mind waiting for me?"

Running a hand through his hair as he turned around, James followed his friend away from the others as Remus and Peter waved goodbye. As soon as they were out of earshot, Sirius turned to James with a grin.

"Never mind what happened in class—I know who can make the Animagus Potion for us!" he said, and James leaned forward.

"Who?"

"Evans, of course!" he answered, pointing back at the group of students walking towards the castle. "I can't believe we didn't see it before! The answer's been right in front of our faces this whole time!"

"Evans?" James exclaimed, recoiling. "You must be off your rocker, mate! If she knew what we were up to, she'd be about the furthest thing from help we could get!"

"I'm not saying that getting her to help is going to be easy, but it's the only chance we've got," Sirius insisted. "Think about it—she's the only one in our year who's in the Slug Club besides Snape, and she only lives a stairway away from us! I'm sure that she'd be able to hide it in a place where only we could get to it." Grinning at himself, he added, "It's so genius, I can't believe I only thought of it now!"

"But you're forgetting the most important part!" James argued. "How do we get Evans to make a potion that can turn us, three people she won't talk to if she can help it, into wild animals so that we can run around with a werewolf during the full moon?"

"I'm not exactly sure yet," Sirius admitted, "but we'll just have to figure it out. After all, we have plenty of time to convince her. Who knows how long it'll be before we can sneak some Mandrake leaves out of the greenhouses?" When James continued to frown deeply at him, Sirius prodded, "You've at least got to admit that Evans is the only person who could do it."

Scratching the back of his head, James probed his mind for a better alternative and found none. Giving up, he shrugged and let out a sigh. "Okay, so I can't think of anyone better, but that doesn't mean she'll do it."

"Just promise me that you'll try to convince her," Sirius insisted.

"You're mental."

"Do you promise, or don't you?"

Fighting him for as long as he could bear, James glared into Sirius' unrelenting gaze. Finally, upon seeing no way out, he lowered his gaze and shook his head. "Fine, I promise. But if she rats us out, don't say I didn't warn you."

"I'd do nothing of the sort, mate," Sirius replied, giving him a beam as he patted his shoulder. Glowering, James shrugged him off, but Sirius kept his smile as he turned back around. "Now, to find a way to convince her!"

Rubbing the back of his head, James glared at his friend for a moment before dragging his feet after him. Exhaling, he thought of Lily and wondered if they knew what they were getting themselves into.