Here is the next chapter. I hope you like it. Please read and review thanks love Hermione xxx
The first lesson they had was potions with everyone. It seemed that this year some classes such as potions and charms would contain everyone while the others would remain mixed. After that debacle in the headmaster's office they quickly finished up their breakfast and headed down to the dungeons. When they arrived Ron and Hermione were there and tried to approach Harry quickly but stopped thankfully as Severus had arrived at just the right moment.
"As touching as this reunion is it will have to wait until after my lesson. Go on in now please. Ok take a seat and books away. Today you will not be brewing anything!" he said as Hermione looked horrified.
"But sir that's not fair that's…"
"Be quiet foolish girl. If you listen to what I am about to say who knows you may actually learn a thing or two. Learn to listen before you speak. This way you do things now will not serve you well in the future!" he snapped glaring at her so fiercely.
"But…but I love potions!" she said weakly as he sighed exacerbated.
"I love potions too. Now it would seem that there are those of us in this room who have been under-performing or performing dangerously through no actual fault of their own. Here I look to you Mr Longbottom. It's not a bad thing but I do hope you can perform better now" he said as Neville smiled at him a fiercely confident smile indeed.
"Oh yes sir. Since getting my new wand and core unblocked I'm like a brand new wizard. I can actually remember things now. Thank you for thinking of me though that was nice of you!" he said as Severus raised a surprised eyebrow fighting hard to keep the smirk from his face but managed it none the less.
"You will not be brewing any potions today because I will be the one brewing the potions. You will watch me and take notes when I give you the opportunity to do so. Anyone who is caught taking notes before I say so will lose twenty points for their house because they cannot listen" he said as everyone there turned to Hermione who blushed bright red and looked to be on the verge of tears. Was she that obvious? She couldn't help that she adored note taking above many things in school. It helped to organise her mind and she found she couldn't focus all that well unless she was taking notes. This would be a difficult lesson.
"Here in front of me you can see two cauldrons. In these cauldrons I will be making the solution of the cure for boils which is usually made in first year. Cauldron a here has the pumpkin sticker on the front and cauldron b does not. Around cauldron a are wards to protect us all. I am a master of potions for a reason and so you should consider this a masterclass. Hello I am Severus Snape and this is my masterclass!" he said in such a way that someone at an AA meeting might introduce themselves and chuckled at his own joke. Most people there were stunned having never seen him laugh.
"Cauldron a will contain the potion made the wrong way and cauldron b will contain the potion made the right way. I will be demonstrating why cutting things a certain way should be followed to the letter. You will see what happens when you do not. I will tell you the most common mistakes I see day to day and indeed how to fix them. Mr's Crabbe and Goyle I would advise watching this part in particular as you are both too strong for your own good. We wouldn't want another failure like last time now would we?" he said shocking everyone by actually glaring daggers at two members of his own house.
"Yes sir! We'll listen!" they said in unison as he rolled his eyes. It was something at least.
"Ok now on the board behind me are the ingredients. Mr Weasley here has earned five points for Gryffindor as he brought something up with me at the start of the lesson I had not even thought of. It does explain his terrible potions scores before. Basically if you need to you may use the charm to make things read aloud to just you if it's easier. This way you hear all the instructions and take them in properly. I daresay there is a brain in there Mr Weasley!" he sneered as Ron grew Red with rage. Lina looked stunned totally but kept her mouth shot instead glaring daggers at him.
"Miss Dubois something you'd like to say?" he asked her with a challenge.
"Oh absolutely not. I simply wouldn't want to waste my breath when I am rather excited to tutor under the world's youngest potions master. You are well known in France sir and although your apparent serious dislike for others is disconcerting to say the least it is an honour to be here in this room!" she gushed as he was stunned. How had she managed to both insult him and stroke his ego.
"Right well moving on. Ok so here are the ingredients I need. Now this here is knotgrass as many of you know. Most of you cut it like this which is very wrong indeed. You see when I do it, it's all lumpy and uneven and although not safe I will be adding it to the cauldron. Imagine if you can that when you are brewing potions you are cooking if that helps some of you. Treat knotgrass just like a herb and chop it finely like so. Does anyone have any questions now?" he asked as Hermione's hand flew up but he ignored her and chose Harry who had his hand raised too by pointing at him.
"Well sir I was just wondering what would happen if you need to make this potion but don't have access to knotgrass right now? I mean to ask could you substitute normal grass for it?" he asked as Severus looked amazed.
"In all my years of teaching here no one has ever asked me anything like that. Well done. Five points to Ravenclaw for using actual intelligence when asking a question. I know you never did before. Who knows maybe this change of house is a good thing Potter! Yes you could substitute normal grass but you'd need to use three times the amount of it. The solution would never be the strongest this way but it would be passable in an emergency situation" he said as Harry shot him a grateful look at which he nodded once. He moved on through the ingredients and why one would prefer to make things the right way instead of the wrong way.
"You may take notes now for ten minutes while these potions brew for me. I will be stirring them once clockwise and twice anticlockwise every two minutes for ten minutes until the potion is done. Begin!" he said as Hermione looked highly relieved and actually broke her quill in her excitement to take notes. She actually cried over that.
"Miss Granger for goodness sakes repair your quill you silly girl. Always come to class with more then one quill in case this should happen again. You should have had backups with you. You may be an insufferable know it all but you should have been prepared you certainly are when it comes to knowing information and shouting it at practically every teacher. Yes we discuss you and yes it is known! Do better next time!" he snapped as she swiped at her tears and removed her wand repairing it. She was highly disturbed they talked about her but further became stunned when a Ravenclaw she didn't know the name of said it was actually true that she does always shout out the answers and that the teachers don't like it.
"Thank you Mr Corner for stating the obvious. If you weren't busy being such a smartarse you'd be a better student. What is this?" he snapped grabbing the parchment the boy was reading.
"Well sir you said we couldn't take notes and to be honest I knew I wanted to remember everything and wasn't stupid enough to think I'd actually remember all of it so I took the logical route and used a dicta quill. I do hope you don't mind!" he said as Severus sneered.
"It would seem that Mr Corner believes he is above the rest of us all even if he is right. Why didn't any of you dunderheads have the sense to do as he did? Mr Corner ten points to Ravenclaw for quick thinking in a sudden situation and five points from Ravenclaw for not thinking to share your ideas with anyone else! Did anyone else do this?" he asked as Harry and Draco both raised their hands as well.
"We did too sir because we knew we wouldn't remember it all!" they answered confidentally.
"Good luck everyone!" he said as he began to stir the potions the right and then wrong way. As everyone finished note taking Hermione being the last one to do so because she was too jittery to write properly. They all watched in awe as the wrong potion exploded outwards not harming him or anyone else and the potion done correctly smoked slightly before becoming the right shade of blue it needed to be. At this Lina clapped for him and he blushed slightly.
"Thank you Miss Dubois. Now for your homework I want exactly one foot of parchment on everything you have observed in this masterclass. Once a month we will have one masterclass. Potter, Weasley, Longbottom and Warrens stay behind. Class dismissed!" he said as they all stood to leave. Hermione lingered a little putting her stuff away hoping to overhear everything but was not lucky.
"I do not believe I asked you to remain Miss Granger. Go now and see Madam Pomfrey for me. You may have a wax build up in your ears she can help you with!" he said as she jumped.
"But sir he did nothing…"
"DID I SAY HE DID? GET OUT NOW AND TEN POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR FOR FAILING TO LISTEN!" he snapped as she ran from the room again in tears. He then turned to the others with a smile.
"Mr Longbottom I would like to see you tonight at eight pm in my office and I would like you brew any one potion of your choice for me. I wish to assess you accurately privately so as to properly focus all of my attention on you. Would you mind if I cast a charm on you Neville? I sense something foreign and magical in your system and I just want to know what it is! When I cast the spell you will momentarily glow a certain colour and it will tell me everything!" he said as Neville consented. He cast the spell and Neville glowed pink in colour as Severus gasped really loudly with the others looking curiously at him.
"Does your grandmother know about this?" he asked suddenly.
"I'm afraid sir I don't know about it either whatever it is!" he said as Severus looked very stricken momentarily.
"Then it is likely she does not know about it either. I will discuss it with her shortly. Nothing is wrong with you at all Neville in fact you may have slightly enhanced magic because of it. See me tonight at eight. Mr Weasley I will see you tonight at seven for the same reason as Mr Longbottom. I wish to assess you properly. You may both go now" he said as they left. When he turned to Harry and Draco he looked very serious indeed.
"I Severus Tobias Snape swear on my life and my magic that I will tell you only the truth as much as I can in the next few moments and that I will not share anything I learn in the process about you without your permission so mote it be!" he said a vow taking hold. This was very interesting indeed.