I was in Slughorn's classroom adding lacewing flies to some potion or other. The kids around me were strangely silent, and Slughorn was nowhere to be seen.
An eerie green light invaded the whole room, and the dungeon smelled of dust and mold. I turned my head and watched the other students in a rhythm stir their potions. Their hands added the correct ingredients all at the same time; they all stirred the potions in the same way, none behind one another or before.
Tom sat next to me, but was doing nothing, just simply staring before him, as if there was something fascinating and invisible to all but him.
I fiddled with the cover on my potions book, feeling for some reason very nervous.
Suddenly, the door at the back slammed open, and in strode my brother Paul. He was carrying his rabbit like usual, but there was this look in his eyes that frightened me greatly.
All the heads in the class except Tom's turned to watch my brother come up the aisle between the desks, dragging Rabby on the ground along with him. He walked just like someone in a trance, and finally he reached my desk. He held out his stuffed rabbit to me.
"Here, Samantha," he said in a trance-like voice that scared me, dumping Rabby into my arms. He then proceeded over to Tom, who then took his attention off whatever he had been staring at in the distance and turned to my brother.
Tom suddenly rose out of his chair and all eyes followed him as he took my brother by the wrist and down the aisle, heading to the door.
"Stop Tom!" I screamed for a reason unknown, not even knowing what Tom would do with him.
In my haste to follow the two out of the creepy classroom, I knocked over my cauldron, which spilled all over the floor, and then over to the feet of my classmates. Rabby fell out of my arms into the goo and was soon covered up in it, his long bunny ears drooping with the stuff.
The potion seemed to raise higher up, as if more and more was being added to it, and I was powerless to stop it. I watched as the potion rose to my classmate's knees and they just sat there stirring their potions in a daze. I watched as my brother and Tom quickly exited the classroom.
I trudged through the potion as fast as possible, but it kept rising and was soon to my waist. I felt as if I was moving through peanut butterthat was slowly filling up the room.
Suddenly, Professor Dandle burst through the open door Tom and Paul had just exited, and waved his wand at my potion, and it immediately disappeared.
He stuck his wand in his pocket and proceeded to the other students and then began looking at their potions, not even paying attention to me.
I ran out of the classroom as fast as my legs would carry me.
Tom and Paul were many yards in front of me, walking down a blood red passage lit with glowing cauldrons overflowing with my potion. It was like walking down an aisle filled with cauldrons.
I raced after them, but then they disappeared around a corner. I heard two dull thuds echoing from wherever they went. I ran even faster, if that was possible.
When I rounded the bend with nothing in my head but to save my brother, I stopped suddenly. The hallway ended in a jagged platform that stood before a dark nothingness. I stared down at the dark, and before I could even decide what to do, I heard someone from behind approach me and shove me in.
I was a screaming mess as I fell, but faster than I thought I landed on solid ground. I was in another dark passage, and saw just at the end of it a pale light. My footsteps echoed in the darkness as I headed toward the light. I came out on the Hogwarts grounds and looked around.
I was outside near the Forbidden Forest, close to the dark lake. There was no moon to shine on it tonight; the only light a pale green glow coming from the woods
I saw Tom and Paul enter the woods, Tom still gripping my brother's wrist.
I followed after them, my heart thudding hard in my chest. I had a bad feeling entering the woods at this time of hour.
I followed them through the vast number of thickly packed dark trunks and tall weeds and large, prickly bushes. I was barely able to see them now. I basically had to follow just by hearing their footsteps crackle though the brush and dead leaves. The pale green glow was no help; it was simply…just there. I couldn't see through it, and neither would it let me see which way I was going.
Suddenly, we were in a meadow, and Tom brought Paul to the very middle of it. The meadow was covered in that pale green glow, which I realized was just fog. But I had never seen this kind of fog. It was cold and thick and strange-smelling.
Paul suddenly turned and saw me, and uttered a silent scream. He was no longer in a trance; his eyes were bright and frightened.
I watched slowly as Tom drew out his long, thin wand from deep in his robes and pointed it at my brother.
His eyes narrowed in hatred and excitement as he held his wand to my brother's chest. Paul was breathing fast and hard and was looking at me in fear. But I was frozen. My limbs wouldn't allow me to move. I knew what was going to happen.
I covered my ears as Tom said in a loud voice that invaded my ears, "Avada Kedrava!"
I saw my brother fall, and then I begin to scream as Tom turned to me.
I woke up screaming for the second time that week.
Summer was shaking my shoulders and peering at me with concern in the dark dormitory.
"Sam! Sam! Are you alright?" Her voice was rushed and her breathing panicked.
"I don't know!" I shouted, and peered around in the dark. I felt secure and safe knowing it was just a dream. But the dream was as real as life. Real enough to make me scream out loud.
The other three girls all stared at me in concern, even Mary, whose eyes were wide.
"Why were you screaming so?" asked Josephine, getting out of her bed and handing my water glass to me.
I took a grateful drink and just said, "It was just a dream. Don't worry about it."
They all stared at me suspiciously, and I said angrily, "Please just leave me alone! It was just a dream! Nothing to get worked up about!"
"But you were sure worked up about it," Mary volunteered, narrowing her eyes.
I shrugged and rolled over in my bed. "Just go back to sleep everyone," I muttered loudly.
I heard the shuffling of two pairs of feet and then the rustling of covers. It was silent for the rest of the night.
The next day at breakfast I almost fell asleep in my strawberries and cream, one of my favorite breakfast dishes at Hogwarts. I had had an awful night, and I knew the others had had one with me.
Summer and Sarah were sitting near me and could barely pay attention to Dippet's speech about Quidditch tryouts.
I sighed and laid my head down, resting my eyes, knowing that I would have to go through this for the rest of the day. How I wished it was a weekend!
During potions, I woke up almost completely when Slughorn told us something that sparked my interest.
He had a cauldron on his desk, and he was standing near it.
"Now, m'boys and girls, here in this cauldron I have a little something that I thought might capture your interest."
He had the class come up in groups to peer into the cauldron. When it was my turn, I went up and stared confusedly at the splashing about potion. It had a golden color to it, and large droplets of the gold were plopping about on the surface in a sort of way that I didn't find sinister at all.
When everyone had peered in at the gold stuff, Slughorn faced the front of the class and puffed out his chest.
"Well, I don't expect any one of you to know what's in here, but-"
Tom had his hand in the air, and Slughorn smiled and said, "Oho! Yes, Tom? Do you know what this marvelous potion I conducted is?"
"Yes, I do believe I do, sir. It's Felix Felicis."
"Ah! You are most certainly correct! Yes, this potion here is what is called Felix Felicis, and it is a luck potion."
A girl in the back raised her hand. "A luck potion, sir? Do you mean that it makes luck?"
Slughorn nodded in his genial way. "Indeed. Tricky to make, it sure was! One wrong move would end in disastrous results, so I suggest no one try to make it. But, back to the point, yes, if you swallow just a bit of this wonderful stuff, you'll have a day of luck!"
The class began to talk among themselves in a very excited way. I raised my hand.
"Why don't people take this potion every day? It seems like a great way to have a good day every day!"
"Well, if you drink too much of it, it causes giddiness, recklessness, and too much confidence. Put 'em together, and, well, you're day may not be what you hoped it would. However, taken sparingly, you'll find yourself in a very lucky situation indeed!"
"Have you ever taken it?" Sarah asked.
"Oh! Yes, just last year! A day filled with luck…" He trailed off, a dreamy luck in his eye.
We were silent until he came out of his reverie and told us, "Well. I'm offering each and every one of my students a chance to take a bottle of this wonderful stuff home with them. Or out of the classroom at least! I have enough here in this cauldron to offer each and every of my classes some of it. One person per class. All you have to do is impress me with a potion!"
He took a tiny glass bottle out of his pocket and dipped it into the Felix Felicis, and it came up full of the jolly golden stuff.
"Just one bottle of this will be enough for half a day's luck! Perhaps the best twelve hours of your life!"
Suddenly, he came out of his friendly tone and narrowed his eyes at us, something I had yet to see him do. "But pay attention to this, I will only say this once. "Felix Felicis is banned in sporting events and other competitions. It can't be used during tests, either. So just take it on an ordinary day, and well, see for yourself!"
He made sure everyone in the room could see the golden bottle, and then lay it on his desk, as if tempting us.
"Now, for a little competition! Let's see who will win this wonderful bottle of luck! I want you all to flip to page eight in your books, and take a little look at the potion I have set up today!"
Everyone hastily turned to page eight, and I stared at the potion we were to make.
Page eight showed a painting of a witch taking a potion in a bottle and then turning into a bat. The bat began to fly around the page.
It was called "Dose of Vespertilian," and it looked a bit complicated for first-years. Weren't potions for changing forms difficult?
Slughorn saw all of us simply staring at the complex methods and ingredients.
"Oho! I see you think this is too hard for you! Well, I wouldn't be so sure till you try! Any ingredients you don't have are in the cupboards. Start now! You have forty minutes! The person with the best potion wins a little bottle of luck!"
Everyone scrambled to put their cauldrons on their desks. Soon everyone was weighing their ingredients.
I dumped a load of gooseberries (Slughorn gave us each a handful or two for the potion) onto my scale and weighed them, and discovered I had too much. I quickly found the right amount and chopped them up with my knife and then dumped them into my cauldron.
The finished product was supposed to a vibrant purple with black specks in it, and as we neared the end, mine began turning a dull purple.
I flung the ingredients in, really wanting a day of luck. Tom was working feverishly beside me, never once glancing up from his hard work.
I added the last ingredient, pepper, and then to my dismay, the dull purple became vivid, and the pepper added the nice, black specks that bubbled up in it. I was very satisfied, and just as I gave my potion five last clockwise stirs like the book said I should, Slughorn said, "Time's up! Stop whatever you're doing!"
He moved slowly around the tables peering into cauldrons. He never commented, but sometimes gave a nod of his head or a shake of it. At last he reached our table, and peered into Tom's first. He gave Tom a big smile, and said jovially, "Ah! We might just have ourselves a winner here! Unless this young lady made an even better one!"
He peered into mine, and his face broke out into his smile which I had seen very often. "Oho!" He exclaimed, and then said to the class, "It appears that we have two winners up here at this same desk!"
He smiled down at the two of us and brought over the glass bottle. He took an empty one out of his pocket and uncorked the filled one and poured half of its contents into the empty one. Slughorn then delightfully handed us each a bottle of luck.
"Good job, Tom and Samantha! Well done! Six hours of luck for each of you!"
He had the class come and peer into our cauldrons after that, leading me to blush because of all the attention and praise.
After every one was seated I asked, "What are we going to use this Dose of Vespertilian for, sir?"
"Ah! Well, since the Dose of Vespertilian is only used rarely and under certain circumstances, I'll just have the two of you give me a sample from your cauldrons. Turning into a bat in not something you do every day, of course, but it can come in handy for wizards. Bats, as you'll soon learn in History of Magic from Binns, if you stay awake that is, played a big part in history."
He scooped some purple potion out of each of our cauldrons and then added it to the vast amount he had locked up in a cabinet behind his desk.
"Have a great day everyone!" He said as the bell rang and we were on to our next class. "And enjoy that Felix Felicis, Tom and Samantha!"
As Tom and I were exiting, I recalled my dream. Strange, I seemed to have forgotten about it even when I was sitting just next to him. Maybe I was just too tired to care, and when the lucky potion was introduced, too excited.
However, as it came up into my mind again I pulled Tom over to the side and informed him, "I had another dream last night, Tom. It involved you once again. I just don't know what to think…."
He stared at me coldly and said, "I don't care. Just leave me alone, Samantha." He turned away and marched down the hallway. I wondered what I had said, but then remembered that that was Tom. He just acted that way.
And I hated it. I had thought the night before that he would speak to me about the orphanage and his feelings, but he didn't. I wondered why he even told me. Maybe he just wanted someone to talk to. He was always alone, everywhere he went. He never spoke hardly to anyone, except the teachers. I wondered if he liked being alone. I hoped not. I hoped we could talk sometime.
Our next class that day was Herbology, which we had three times a week. I stood next to him as Rose talked about the next plant we would be planting, as the Rew Roses had proved to be too dangerous for first-years.
She was talking about some kind of plant, and if you tickled it just in the right place, it would let out a liquid that would cure students with the cold. She demonstrated on this vibrant green stem of some sorts, and it began to shake with what I thought was plant laughter, and after a while green liquid oozed out. She captured it in a glass bottle like the one I had in my robes filled with luck (which I soon hoped to make use of).
"You must be careful, though students," she was sure to tell us. "Don't tickle it too much, or it might grab hold of your arm and not let go. In fact, a witch in Ireland tickled one too much, and it has hung around her arm ever since. No one has ever been able to free the vine. Carry on!"
I wondered if she was telling the truth. I hoped she was just trying to scare us, but I gulped all the same. I sure didn't want a foot long green stem of a thing wrapped around my arm everywhere I went.
I picked up a bottle and gingerly began tickling the stem.
Tom did the same, and soon we had a bottle full of cold-curer. I smiled as I was the first Gryffindor to turn it in and was awarded ten points.
After the lesson, I gave Tom a quick look, but he didn't return it. I figured that last night was just a fluke, and went sadly off to Transfiguration, where I was the first to transform my string into yarn. But I didn't even feel happy about it.
That same night the Gryffindors had Astronomy with the Ravenclaws, and I got to speak to Abby, who I hadn't seen or spoke to since the ride across the lake.
We both aimed our telescopes at Mars, and as we marked what stars surrounded it on our papers, we talked about how we liked school.
Abby said, "It's rather nice. Potions is my favorite class; Slughorn is so interesting! But History of Magic…ugh! And what about that Rose?"
We talked about our classes and teachers for a while longer until Rose mentioned Tom. "Have you spoken to him? Are you two friends?"
I sighed and stopped looking at Sirius, who twinkled merrily in the night sky just above us.
"Well, I have tried talking to him, but he really won't talk back. I think he hates everything and everybody."
Abby nodded and then noticed my sadness, so switched to another subject. "How about Quidditch? I think you have that tomorrow evening with that one professor who I forgot what his name was."
I nodded. "Yes, I can't wait! It's been something I've really been looking forward too! You too?"
She nodded slowly, and then told me, "Well, I'm looking forward to it only a bit. My brother, who is in his fourth year, fell off his broom on the first time he got up on it, and broke his wrist. But his broom was mad, I heard. When he got on, it took him straight up in the sky and then threw him all around, and he fell off after it did like ten loops in mid-air."
Now I wasn't so sure how much I really wanted to ride. "Uh," I began, "does that happen often?"
She shook her head, "Hardly ever. My brother is fine now and got right back up on one later in the year, and went on to become a Chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. And Madam Fitwell can cure broken bones just like that!" She snapped her fingers and smiled at me reassuringly.
I nodded and returned to seeking out stars, but now I had an image of me way up high in the air and my broom going mad and throwing me off, and me landing not-so-pleasantly on the ground.
