Potions Perfection

Sometimes, running away isn't the cowardly option. Especially if you were in Professor Snape's 5th Year Potions class. If something went wrong or something felt off, you would have the urge to bolt out right there and then. Whether it be Potions accident, or just his bad attitude, steering clear of the Dungeons when Professor Snape was having a fit was a pre-requisite to Potions.

It just so happened that it was the class that Neville Longbottom was in when Snape, again, started on his tangent about how everyone were buffoons when it came to potions. For poor Neville, that meant an hour and a half of shaking and stuttering, and most of the time, leading to a mis-brewed potion by the end of the class.

Today, the class was brewing a shrinking solution potion, and poor Neville was shaking like a leaf. Professor Snape yelled the instructions and ordered everyone to begin. He knew that things would go bad when he got Professor Snape's "evil grin."

He remembered Hannah's words of encouragement. "Don't look up. Think about me!" With a slight bit of confidence gained, Neville began to brew. He added in the ingredients as the instructions read. His mistake was when he followed a trail of smoke from the top of his cauldron that he caught Snape's grin.

The results were almost instantaneous. Neville accidently dropped an extra dose of flies into his potion, causing said potion to bubble as it began to turn unstable. By this point, Neville was panicking. However, it was too late. Less than three seconds after the ingredient was dropped in, the cauldron's contents popped, spewing the improperly brewed potion all over the walls and all over the students.

Snape's grin turned into murder as Neville helplessly was glued to his seat. He had Ron and Harry on one arm and Hermione and Parvati on his other trying to pull him out of the classroom but gave up when the Professor was within swiping distance of them.

"Longbottom! You insolent fool! You are never going to pass your OWL with this pathetic excuse of a potion! Do you not learn from your mistakes or are you so stupid you don't care if you injure everybody in the room?" Snape bellowed.

Neville sprinted out of the room, leaving behind all of his belongings. He didn't want to see nor deal with Professor Snape any more today. He ran until he reached the Transfiguration Classroom, the class Hannah was currently in. He was out of breath even after Hannah found him.

"Oh Neville! You look so red! What happened in Potions?" she asked hurriedly.

"I tried ignoring him, but smoke caught my eye and then I saw it and I freaked out and I messed up my potion. It exploded in the classroom and everyone had to clean themselves off." Neville replied.

Hannah hugged him fiercely before releasing him. "Let's get you some water. You're still red and exhausted." She took his hand and the duo went towards the Great Hall. When they entered, there was a strange sight, every student who was also in Neville's class, including Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Parvati, all had dark red skin all over their bodies. Neville started to freak out.

Hannah kept him calm as she guided him towards the Headmaster who was sitting calmly on his chair.

"Professor Dumbledore, Sir. Neville had an accident in Potions and we think it affected everyone who was there. They all have dark red skin and we don't know what it means," Hannah explained. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he scanned the room.

"It would appear that you are indeed correct, Miss. Abbott. I shall have all those affected sent to Madam Pompfrey immediately. Thank you for your concern, and," Dumbledore looked at Neville," I'm sure it was all a simple accident."

Neville gulped and nodded. "Yes Sir. It was just an-an accident."

Dumbledore nodded in approval. "Good. Let your friends know and anybody else who was affected to visit Madam Pomphrey immediately. If any are in class next period, they are excused by me."

One Week Later

Neville was breathing heavily as he finished the last step in his Forgetfulness Potion. Fortunately, the accident last week wasn't bad, the students affected had to take a potion that replaced the skin cells with new skin cells. As far as treatment went, it was calm and straightforward. Rest for 2 days.

The potion glowed the correct colour and Neville inwardly smiled. He finally gotten a potion right! And all because of Hannah's words of wisdom: "Running away from Snape doesn't mean you aren't a Gryffindor, It means you're a smart Gryffindor. Just have yourself in a bubble and focus! Snape can't break it!"

Neville audibly gulped when Snape came over to his cauldron. He looked in, looked at Neville again, and looked back at the potion.

"Longbottom…. You get an A. Good Job." Snape said painfully, as if each syllable he spoke cost him his health. From the rest of the reactions, it looked like everyone was either surprised or glad that he had succeeded in the potion. It had finally happened for him, he had completed a potion that didn't explode or bubble wrongly or completely not work. He finally brewed a proper potion that even Snape graded with a passing grade.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione grinned and smiled at him. Their friend had finally overcome his fear of Professor Snape and had finally brewed a potion in his presence. Hermione hugged the boys and said to congratulate him when he came back that afternoon.

Neville sighed outwardly in relief. While running out in the middle of his screaming match may not have been the right thing to do, he did so anyways and had him glaring at Neville all class long. Neville succeeded in the potion, and Snape stopped considering him to be an insolent brat who knew nothing about potions. Maybe, just maybe, Hannah Abbot was having an effect on him and his potion skills after all.

THC/The Houses Competition

House: Hufflepuff

Class: Ancient Runes

Prompt(s): [Scenario] Potion Spill!AU - A major potion spill occurs, affecting most people in the area. May be set during Potions Class or in Diagon Alley. Suggested characters: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Draco, Snape, Slughorn; [First Line] Sometimes, running away [isn't/wasn't] the cowardly option.

Word Count: 1007