My time in the Hospital Wing had me skipping the rest of Divination. Not that I minded, but the next class Mickey and I had was Potions with the creepy Professor Alamond.
"You think he's batty like Trelawney?" Mickey asked.
"I think if he was that off his rocker, we'd have noticed by now." I said. "But there is something off about him. Like maybe he knows something he shouldn't."
"Oh, you got that feeling, too?" she asked, shivering as we entered the dungeons. "I thought it was just me."
The Gryffindors were gathered outside Alamond's dungeon when we arrived, waiting for the door to open. From what I could hear of their conversation, they were discussing the same things as Mickey and I.
"You okay?" Al asked, followed by James as he walked up.
"Fine." I said flatly. "Nothing Madame Pomfrey couldn't fix. Exploding crystal balls, honestly..."
"She sort of lost it after you two left." James said. "Made everyone put the balls back and we started doing palm readings. Like she was afraid of them or something."
"It exploded, James. I'd be on edge, too." Mickey said.
"Fair point, fair point." he acknowledged.
"Oh, I heard about that." said Zabini, strolling up. I narrowed my eyes. Potions with the Slytherins was worse than Divination, hands down. "Heard how you just destroyed that innocent little ball."
"You know what I did to a crystal ball, think of what I can do to your-"
"Look, the door's opening." James said quickly, cutting me off. "This should be fun."
We filed into the classroom, wondering what this new teacher would be like. The last one had been nice, but also kind of crazy. We couldn't blame him, since he spent most of his time in a dungeon, but we weren't exactly crushed when he said he was going to retire.
"Take your seats, everyone!" said a young guy at the front of the room. He had thick brown hair, a kind face, and big brown eyes, and seemed to be just out of finishing school. He was definitely not Professor Alamond.
"Who's that?" Al whispered to me.
"Dunno. Maybe Alamond croaked before they could get the term started." I suggested.
"Git out 'cher books."
Everyone's head snapped to the front of the room, where Alamond came in from the storage closet, stumping along with a cane. He sat in a chair in front of us, then just sort of sat there and stared us down.
After a moment, the young guy spoke again. "Yes, well... I'm Professor Hallwood, assistant to Professor Alamond. He'll give you the directions, and I'll see to it that they're carried out."
"So it's going to be a team effort this year." Mickey whispered.
"You! In the back!" Alamond suddenly snapped, pointing at her. "Since yeh feel so talkative, explain teh me what the purpose of a Druid's Draft is."
Her eyes widened. "I – I didn't mean to offend-"
"Answer the question!"
She sucked in a breath and hurriedly began thinking about the potion. I was silently urging her on, not that I knew what a Druid's Draft did, or even that it actually existed.
"Does it... Does it help connect someone to nature?" she asked shakily.
The corner of his mouth quirked up in what we could only hope was a smile. It was still a bit creepy. The man had a gift for intimidating people. "Close, very close. Write this down, people; a Druid's Draft is used to connect someone to nature, but specifically for the purpose of controlling it. If someone drinks it, they can automatically make trees and underbrush do their bidding."
"What's the draw?" Zabini asked.
"Eh?" Alamond replied.
"Why bother?" he clarified. "Why use trees?"
"Oh, don't underestimate the trees, boy." Alamond said warningly. "If yeh've ever looked at that forest outside the castle, yeh'd know what I mean. Sometimes they don't even need help, and can move on their own."
"But that's a myth." Roxanne Weasley said. "They don't actually move."
The professor turned his stern gaze to her. "Are yeh a witch or not, lass? Who're you teh say somethin's impossible, eh?"
"Never dismiss anything." Al and I muttered at the same time. That was Mum's motto. She said it kept her alive in the field, so we went with it.
"For today, yeh'll each try teh make a Druid's Draft." Alamond said. "Now, I don't expect yeh teh get it right on the first try, but yeh should get close. Go on, get started."
"Sort of a grouchy old man, isn't he?" Mickey asked under her breath.
"Grouchy, but brilliant." Professor Hallwood said, startling us. "Don't worry, he's been called worse and lived. I think he might even see grouchy as a compliment. Means he's succeeded in life." he added quietly.
We laughed, and he walked away to check on the Slytherins. "Now, see, him... He's cool." Mickey decided. "I like him."
"He's nice." I agreed. "Wonder why they're working together."
"He needs help." Al said. "A-Alamond, I mean. He's old, and c-can't do things l-like he used to. Hallwood's sort of his l-living assistant."
"Don't let Alamond hear you say that." Mickey mumbled. "He'll probably hex your face off."
"Can we please move on with this potion?" I asked. "I'd like to be in good favor with this Alamond. Something tells me he'd be awful on any side but our own."
We sat in mostly silence for a moment while we carried out the directions. The potion was difficult, requiring a lot of concentration on the details. One wrong stir and we'd have to throw the whole thing out.
"Wait a moment." Mickey said, looking at the directions with narrowed eyes. "Why do we need to add frog legs?"
"Because it says so?" I said tiredly, pushing my hair out of my face. "Why?"
"Powdered moonstone would work a lot better." she said. "I mean, what with the idea being able to control nature and all."
"Look at you." I said bemusedly as she added the moonstone. "Who knew you were such a Potions nerd."
"Sod off." she muttered, though she was grinning. Soon after, the draft turned a deep emerald color, just like the book said. She bottled it up and walked it to the front of the classroom, looking nervous. I was a bit surprised. I'd never seen Mickey want to impress a teacher so badly.
"Done?" Alamond grunted, peering at the vile in her hand.
"Yes, sir." she said quietly.
He nodded and took the glass, examining it closely through his spectacles. His brow furrowed. "And it was ye who made this, eh, Miss..."
"Turnley." she said quickly. "And, erm, yes. Arty and Al helped. The Malfoy twins, over there."
He narrowed his eyes and looked at us, then gestured with a gnarled hand for us to approach. Nervously, we did, wondering if we were in trouble for something.
"You all helped make this, did yeh?" he asked. We nodded. The entire room was now silent as the students watched. "All by yourselves?" Again, we nodded. Why didn't he believe us? I looked at Mickey, giving a slight shake of the head. She returned with a miniscule shrug, looking equally confused.
Suddenly, Alamond broke into a grin. Or, what could be called a grin. He handed Mickey the vile and said, "Well done. This is exactly how a Druid's Draft should look. You three must have some kind o' gift. Keep this. And five points to Gryffindor for each of yeh."
We looked at each other in surprise, then returned to our seats. "Bloody hell, Mick." I murmured. "You're a bleedin' genius. Where'd you learn to make potions like that?"
"Oh, I just woke up this morning and decided to be naturally better than everyone." she said easily, placing the Druid's Draft carefully in her bag. "Not much of a story, really."
"Whatever it is, I hope it sticks around. Al might actually get a passing grade this year." I teased, elbowing my brother.
"Oi!" he said indignantly, though he was smiling.