Disclaimer: Not mine
The Protector of the Innocent
In no time at all, Defence Against the Dark Arts had become most people's favourite class. Only James Potter and his gang had anything negative to say about Professor Roman.
But no one else cared that Professor Roman was a woman; her next few lessons were just as interesting as the first. After the Knockback Jinx, they learned Diffindo, and no matter how much Severus protested, Professor Roman kept encouraging Severus to push as much power as he could into his spells.
'No wonder she's teaching.' Potter said in a loud complaining voice when Petunia, Severus Tansy, Rose and Regulus had gone to pick up Lily after class. 'She's a nightmare, honestly, that's probably why she couldn't find anyone to marry her.'
'I know right and it's not like she's as old as McGonagall or as shrill as my banshee mother,' Black said, smirking in the direction of his younger brother.
'Women are delicate little things, they need real men to protect them not slimy Slytherin Death Eaters' Potter was deliberately looking over at Severus and messing up his hair winking at Lily when he said this last part.
'Really Potter? Resorting to calling children Death Eaters? Sev has clearly shown you he can beat you. Or don't you remember when Sev gave you a taste of your own medicine?' Rose asked tauntingly
'That was just a lucky shot!' Potter whinged 'Snivelly fought dirty and attacked me like some common Muggle'
'OUR father. A common Muggle taught all of us how to fight!' Petunia spat practically enraged
'Professor Roman is wonderful and a fantastic teacher! If I didn't have to put up with gits like you then I would seriously consider becoming a teacher myself!' Lily's impassioned speech seemed to shock Potter
'Why would you want to do something as stupid as teaching? When WE have kids you'll want to stay at home and give them everything they want just like my mum did with me.' Potter said pompously
'WE! WE? If you think I would ever want kids with you, you're even more delusional than I realised!' Lily was so incensed that she was practically foaming at the mouth
'Come on Lily, you were the one who said we should ignore Potter when he's being a misogynistic git.' Tansy said trying to calm Lily down
'Heeeyyyyyy' Potter sulked 'why do you girls have to gang up on me. Snively is the slimy snake!'
'Let's get out of here and leave my brother and his band of bully boys.' Regulus said looking smug at his brothers' furious face
'That's a great idea let's go!' Petunia said, guiding them all out of the corridor.
'Hey! You can't just walk away from us!' Black yelled, he strode forward to angrily grab Petunia's arm
From behind Severus and to his right he heard Tansy say 'Faciam Aculeo!'
Black let out a yell and clutched his hand rubbing his wrist. There was an angry red, raised welt, forming on his wrist.
'Come on guys let's head to the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey should be able to fix you up.' Lupin said in a low pleading voice.
With one last glare at Severus, Potter led his friends out of the hallway, and thankfully for Severus the rest of their Monday was uneventful.
Herbology on Tuesday didn't require his trigger happy wand so Severus could hide behind his intelligence as they studied Valerian: (Valeriana officinalis) which was known in medieval times as All Heal, and was recognised for its sedative and antispasmodic properties, and so was used as a sleep and nerve remedy and later as a treatment for epilepsy.
Valerian was also used as an ingredient in Treacle fudge. Valerian roots were one of the ingredients of the Draught of Living Death and the Draught of Peace.
Sprigs of valerian were used in the Forgetfulness Potion, the Sleeping Draught and the Fire-Breathing Potion.
But Severus should have known his good luck wouldn't last because in Charms on Wednesdays morning, Severus' wand seemed almost eager now to cast powerful spells, and his Lumos burst out of his wand so brightly he almost blinded half the class
'Nox!' Severus quickly yelled out mortified beyond relief
'Bravo! Bravo!' Professor Flitwick said joyfully 'Ten points to Slytherin for a powerful display in magic'
Severus slumped down in his seat and hid behind The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 his cheeks burning bright red with embarrassment.
At 3:30 pm that same day Severus stood vigil with Lily and Tansy not too far from Rose's first flying class making sure she wasn't tormented with a bucking broomstick like he was last year thanks to Potter.
Thursday found Severus and Lily leaving Regulus, Rose and Tansy, who was carrying Butterscotch, with Petunia to get them to their History of Magic class since both he and Lily had double Potions at the same time.
'Today you will learn to brew the Wiggenweld Potion. It is a powerful healing potion that can be used to heal injuries or reverse the effects of a Sleeping Draught.' Professor Slughorn announced when the last student had sat down at his desk.
As Severus and Lily set up their cauldron Severus wondered about Slughorn's cavalier attitude towards discipline and tomfoolery in the Potions classroom but since Professor Slughorn was more than happy to let "his two most brilliant students" work together, all Severus could do was grit his teeth at Potter and Black who happily threw everything into their cauldron until it eventually blew up.
Luckily Potter and Black were stationed well away from Severus and Lily and Severus knew despite how much Potter loathed him Potter would never sabotage a potion Lily was helping to brew just in case she accidentally got hurt.
'The instructions for brewing the Wiggenweld Potion are thus.' Slughorn said waving his wand at the board;
Add 8 fl. oz. of salamander blood and 8 fl. oz. of Horklump juice to a cauldron
Heat until the potion turns red
Add Moondew drops and stir until the potion turns orange
Add 1 piece of Wiggentree bark and one Moly flower this time until it turns yellow
Add a sprig of mint, one stewed Mandrake and 2 fl. oz. of Sloth brain Mucus
Stir until the potion turns green
Add 7 Chizpurfle fangs and 2 fl. oz. of Billywig sting slime, until the potion turns turquoise
Heat until it turns indigo
Add one Wolfsbane flower and 2 oz. of shaved Unicorn horn until the potion turns pink
Heat and add Dittany until the potion turns red
Add five lionfish spines
Heat until the potion turns yellow
Add five more lionfish spines
Add Flobberworm mucus, until the potion turns purple
Stir until it turns red
Add more Flobberworm mucus, this time until it turns orange
Stir till it turns yellow
Add Honey Water until it turns back to a turquoise colour
Add a few drops of boom berry juice
Stir the potion again until blue, then let it simmer for thirty minutes
Take the potion away from the heat and allow it to cool, when it is cool it's ready for use
'Now as you brew your potions let me tell you a little bit about it. The Wiggenweld Potion is a healing potion with the power to awaken a person from a magically-induced sleep. It also can be used to heal injuries.' Professor Slughorn said really getting into his story as Severus and everyone else in the class got started making their potions.
'In Medieval times there was a Hag by the name of Leticia Somnolence. A spiteful creature, she was jealous of the daughter of the local King and tainted a spindle with Draught of Living Death. She then tricked the young princess into pricking her finger on it, sending her into a deep sleep. Her plan was foiled, however, by a wizard who smeared his lips with Wiggenweld Potion and then kissed the princess, curing her and bringing her out of her sleep'
'Professor!' Lily called practically bouncing in her seat as she stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat.
'Yes, Miss Evans?' Slughorn asked
'Is the story behind the Hag, based on the Muggle tale of Sleeping Beauty or is the tale of Sleeping Beauty based on the story of the Hag.'
'Ah now that is the question isn't it Miss Evans' Slughorn said beaming down at her. Since both of these events happened before the signing of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in 1692, no one really knows if they were two separate events or just one. But 10 points to Gryffindor for such an excellent question.'
Lily beamed happily at the professor then started to help Severus make the potion by adding 2 fl. oz. of Sloth brain Mucus a sprig of mint, one stewed Mandrake.
Severus wrinkled his nose at the disgusting smell and started to slowly stir the potion until it turned the green colour he was looking for
Lily added 7 Chizpurfle fangs and 2 fl. oz. of Billywig sting slime and they both watched at the ingredients combined and magically turned turquoise
Severus moved the potion back onto the heat waiting until it turned indigo
Lily who had the Wolfsbane flower and 2 oz. of shaved Unicorn horn added them in until the potion turned pink
Leaving the potion on the heat Severus sprinkled in Dittany
While waiting for the colour change Lily had pulled on her protective dragon hide gloves and when the potion was red Lily added in five lionfish spines
Keeping a careful eye on the potion and slowly heating it until the potion turned yellow so that Lily could add in five more lionfish spines
Picking up the Flobberworm mucus Severus incorporated it into the potion until it turned purple
Lily then took over stirring until it turned red
Severus added more Flobberworm mucus, this time until it turned orange
With Lily once again stirring until it turned yellow
Picking up his dropper Severus added drops of Honeywater until it turned back into a turquoise colour
Lily then used her dropper to place in a few drops of boom berry juice while Severus picked up his stirring stick and began to stir the potion until it turned blue
Severus and Lily then let the potion simmer for thirty minutes while they cleaned up all of their equipment and workspace
When the thirty minutes was over Severus used his gloves to lift the potion off the heat and allowed it to cool on their shared countertop.
'And it looks like it's time's... up!' Slughorn called after looking at his pocket watch Severus guessed that the class was almost finished. 'Stop brewing, please!'
Slughorn moved slowly among the tables, peering into cauldrons. He made no comment, but occasionally gave the potions a stir or a sniff. At last, he reached the table where Severus and Lily were situated as Slughorn peered into their cauldron a look of incredulous delight spread over his face.
'Excellent, excellent, a perfect potion!' he boomed exuberantly to the rest of the class. 'I knew I could count on my two best potions students to produce such results! 10 points to both Gryffindor and Slytherin for your fantastic work.'
Walking towards the back of the class to leave the classroom, Severus heard
'Death Eater scum don't deserve points.' Black complained furiously to an equally unhappy Potter
Severus smirked in their direction feeling delighted at the furious looks on Potter's and Black's faces which were priceless.
When Severus and Lily left the classroom they saw Regulus, Rose, Petunia and Tansy who was carrying Butterscotch waiting for them in the corridor, Butterscotch let out a mighty purr when Severus rubbed under her chin in a greeting as Tansy passed Butterscotch over so that her hands could be free.
At 3:30 pm when Tansy and Regulus gathered for their flying lesson Severus and the rest of their group watched as Tansy and Regulus had an incident-free class, although Tansy's reckless flying that was a lot like Lily's had Severus gripping his wand with worry that she might break her neck.
Studying the night skies through their telescopes at midnight Severus and Lily yawned and debated the merits of learning the names of different stars and the movements of the planets.
Friday morning stretching and yawning Severus saw that it was 9:30 am frowning slightly as he started to wake up Severus had a vague recollection of Tansy holding Butterscotch had tried earlier to coax him to come to breakfast, Severus remembered he had said something along the lines of shoving Butterscotch in an oven and eating her for breakfast if Tansy didn't leave him alone before he had once again passed out in exhaustion.
As Severus dressed for the day he hoped to be able to find Tansy and apologise for his grumpy countenance earlier in the morning. Checking the copied first-year timetable Severus saw that he had missed Rose's Double Potions lesson that had started at eight.
Stepping into the common room Severus saw Tansy sitting with butterscotch on her lap holding court with her fellow first-year girls, Severus felt relieved that Tansy had established herself as the first-year Princess rather than being beholden to someone else's rule
When he walked over to the group a small red-headed girl let out a squeak and her face glowed like the setting sun when Tansy and the other girls looked at her. Pretending he hadn't noticed this, Severus addressed Tansy.
'Good morning Princess Tansy, may I have a moment of your time when you are finished?' Severus asked politely, feeling relief that Tansy didn't look too upset.
Giggling should be made illegal. Severus thought as all the girls gathered around Tansy started giggling and whispering excitedly. Severus steadfastly ignored them since Tansy was the only girl in Slytherin that he cared about, Tansy thankfully did not giggle.
'Of course Prince Severus, we should be finished in a few minutes.' Severus was glad to see that Tansy didn't look too upset with him so he waited off to one side. When Tansy had finished with her fellow first-years she followed him out of earshot other classmates
'I sincerely apologise for my abhorrent behaviour this morning, Tansy.' Severus said sincerely
'It's my fault I should have realised that having Astronomy from midnight till 1 am can make anyone a bear in the morning.' Tansy's eyes shimmered with regret for her actions
'I would still like to make it up to you.' Severus blushed as his stomach rumbled loudly reminding him that he had missed the most important meal of the day. 'Would you allow me to escort you to the kitchens as a recompense for my behaviour?'
Tansy smiled gently up at him. 'I have already forgiven you. But a trip to the kitchens with you sounds delightful.'
A warm glow settled into Severus' chest as Tansy linked her arm with his and gently cradled Butterscotch with her other arm. They set off together out of the common room and out through the Dungeon Labyrinth.
Emerging into the Entrance Hall Severus immediately spotted Lily's bright auburn hair glowing and shimmering in the sunlight.
'Lily!' Tansy called waving her over
Lily's bright smile lit up the entire Entrance Hall as she came over to greet them
'Hello, Sev, Tansy.' Lily's luminescent exuberance was quite alluring
'We were just heading to the kitchens to get Severus some breakfast. Would you like to come along?' Tansy asked
Lily beamed up at Severus in happiness 'I would love to join you two. I'm starving!'
Walking with Lily and Tansy through the door on the right-hand side of the Marble Staircase and down the stairs Severus and the girls emerged in the broad stone Hufflepuff basement corridor, brightly lit and decorated with food-themed paintings.
About halfway down the corridor, Severus stopped in front of the picture of the giant fruit bowl; a few feet further down, barrels were stacked against the wall in a nook on the right-hand side of the corridor, concealing the entrance to the Hufflepuff Common-room.
Severus removed his left arm from Lily's right arm; he stretched out and tickled the huge green pear in the giant fruit bowl. It began to squirm, giggling and suddenly turned into a large green door handle, revealing the entrance to the Hogwarts kitchens.
Pulling open the door Severus stepped into the enormous, high-ceilinged room, large as the Great Hall above it, with mounds of glittering brass pots and pans heaped around the stone walls, and a great brick fireplace at the other end.
Severus snorted in amusement as the two girls cooed over and were stuffed full of food by the happy House Elves making quick work of his own massive meal the three of them set out to find Petunia and Rose.
Severus, unfortunately, didn't find them before Tansy needed to go to her Double Potions class, dropping her off at the dungeons.
'Maybe we should check if Rose is still close to Petunia's D.A.D.A class?' Lily asked gathering up Butterscotch into her arms
'Good idea.' Severus said and they set off just the two of them back up the Marble Staircase.
'Rose!' Lily called when they spotted her in the D.A.D.A corridor
'Sev! Lily!' I was just coming to find you' Rose beamed in delight at the sight of both of them.
'We were worried you would be left all by yourself today since we slept in.' Lily said hurrying over to Rose.
'Astronomy is the worst for waking up early' Rose said in commiseration
Severus was just going to agree with Rose when Butterscotch wriggled in Lil's arms, stuck her head over her shoulder and hissed viciously at the empty corridor behind them.
The three of them looked around the corridor in bewilderment about what could be upsetting Butterscotch. Severus narrowed his eyes in suspicion and wondered if Potter or Black had somehow learned the very advanced Disillusionment Charm
'Butterscotch sweetheart, what's wrong?' Lily asked cooing over the cat
'Maybe we should ask the Care of Magical Creatures teacher to take a look at her?' Rose asked as Butterscotch continued to growl at the empty corridor
'I heard he is missing so many limbs that he couldn't even hold a cat. How about we head up to the library and write a letter to Mr Scamander. I'm sure he would know what was wrong with her.' Severus suggested
'That's a great idea, I've also been meaning to write another letter to mum and daddy, the common room is just too loud for letter writing.' Lily complained leading the way.
Camping out near one of the fireplaces in the Library Severus felt pensive. He shuddered at the thought of how empty and desolate his life would have been without the Evans girls, he would have been a reject, an outsider and practically a leper within Slytherin. Without the girls to motivate him he didn't think he would have had the guts to be the Half-blood Prince of the Second-years.