Tale of a Female Werewolf
Part 7
The Potions Project
By: Lavander Blues
Disclaimer: I've already written six of these stupid things, why do I have to write it again?
A/N: For those of you who wanna know about why all the teachers don't know why Amanda's a werewolf: Because I don't want them to. No, joking. The actual reason is because the Ministry doesn't know. So, if the Ministry doesn't know, and only Dumbledore, Lupin, her parents, of course herself and now Madame Pomfrey. Oh and soon Snape, for some odd reason, Hermione, Ron and Harry, no one else needs to know. So really, what no one knows, won't hurt them. Also I wanna thank everyone who has been so generous to review my story. It makes me feel appreciated for what my fics, so thanks! I'll get around to re-writing part five sometime soon, but right now, I have to work on the rest of it. Now, on with the fic!!
Amanda hastily walked down the halls with Madame Pomfrey back to the infirmary, who was still slightly shocked with the whole werewolf bit. She was mumbling things like "always the ones you would never expect". Amanda just walked behind, hoping that if she walked slowly enough and Madame Pomfrey never watched her every move, she could somehow get away and hide in the Forbidden Forest. But, of course, this never worked and she had to go back to the infirmary anyway. Amanda got her little scratches fixed and went back to DADA. She walked into the classroom just as Professor Lupin finished the topic with werewolves, still, of course, looking very grim.
"And now, let's get on to something else," he said. "How about slaying Vampires?"
"Ooo," Seamus spoke out. "Sounds interesting."
"You know, Professor Lupin," Hermione spoke up. "You don't have to worry about us learning how to kill werewolves. It's not like we're going to revolt in class and kill you."
"Draco Malfoy probably would though," Harry muttered loud enough for Amanda to hear.
Oh, that's comforting, Amanda thought. He probably hasn't forgotten about the time I made his nose bleed and if he figures out I'm a werewolf… I don't want to think about it. She shivered, not noticing that Harry noticed.
"Cold Amanda?" he asked, concerned.
"Oh, me? No." Amanda replied, blushing. "Just thinking."
"Excuse me, Amanda, Harry," Professor Lupin said from the front of the class. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"
"Nothing, nothing," they both said, blushing. "Us? Like each other? Never!"
"Oh god, they'll be just as bad as Lily and James someday." Professor Lupin muttered, turning to the board. Then he turned back to the class and started speaking again. "Now, class, since no one seems to be interested in Vampires, tomorrow we'll talk about one of the most fearsome dark creatures ever to walk the earth. The ones who are, at the moment sided with and Lord Voldemort himself. The Dementors."
"Oh yay, more experiences with my screaming dead mum." Harry murmured. Professor Lupin stared at him for a moment with a certain annoyance then turned back to the rest of the class.
"I will also teach you how to protect yourselves against them, though it might take a few classes…" he went on. "And also their most dangerous weapon. Though some of you may already know it." Just then the bell went. The class packed up their things and left on their way to lunch then to Double Potions. Amanda and Hermione walked together while the boys walked a little behind with the rest of their dormitory.
"What an interesting class, eh Amanda." Hermione said.
"Yeah, just your usual living nightmare," Amanda replied.
"Anything wrong?" Hermione asked her curiously.
"No, not really," Amanda replied, trying to cover up her comment.
"Well, if you ever want to talk…" Hermione said.
"Yeah, maybe someday I will," Amanda said, smiling. They entered the Great hall about five minutes later and sat down at the Gryffindor table. They ate lunch then headed to the Potions class, wondering where Harry and Ron were. Amanda and Hermione entered the class and noticed Harry and Ron were already there. They sat down in front of the boys and talked for a few moments.
"So, did either of you do you Potions homework?" Ron asked leaning over and whispering in the girls' ears.
"Yeah, what's it to ya?" Amanda asked.
"Can I borrow it for a second?" he asked.
"Why?" Hermione asked, knowing what the answer was.
"I never finished it…" he replied.
"No, you may not," Hermione said. "It's your own fault and you should have finished it on your own time."
"Aww… Hermione." Ron said, sounding hopeless. "How 'bout you Amanda?"
"I'm sorry Ron, but I'm gonna have to agree with Hermione." She replied. Ron looked annoyed with this and then sat back into his seat mumbling something about 'miss goody-too-shoes has a friend just like her.' Amanda just ignored it and bent down to get her things out of her bag.
The bell rang and Professor Snape walked into the classroom. Usually he was already in the classroom, but today he looked awfully grim about something. He did the attendance, or whatever you want to call it, and then took in all the essays, which was the homework Ron never did. Then he announced a fun little project the class had to do by the orders of Professor Dumbledore.
"Each person in this class has to look up a difficult Potion which they will research what it does and its side affects and then concoct at the end of the year for exams. It must be from the Library but not the restricted section." Snape announced, then added more quietly. "It will probably be hard enough for you idiots to find a Potion to do, so I don't know why Professor Dumbledore thought it was smart enough to trust you nitwits with something like this." Half the class put their hands up, most of which were Gryffindors and maybe two Slytherins. Snape answered all the Slytherin questions and ignored the Gryffindors, except for Amanda's hand, which shot up after Draco had asked some stupid question about how easy it had to be.
"Yes, Amanda?" Snape asked, in a tone that he only used with Draco.
"Well, Professor, I already know how to do all the really easy Potions in that library…" she started.
"So?" Snape interrupted.
"Well, considering we all know very well that you don't like the Gryffindors, and you probably don't want me to pass," she said, trying to get a way into the restricted section for fun. "Shouldn't you give me something a little more difficult?"
"Hmm…" Snape said, actually considering what she had said. Hermione turned to her, like she was absolutely insane, trying to get Professor Snape be 'nice' to her.
"Are you nuts?" she whispered.
"Slightly." Amanda replied. "I get it from my dad's side of the family…"
"You really think that.." Hermione started. But she never got to finish her question, because Snape answered it for her.
"Well, yes, I guess if I want my class to all have the same trial of difficulty, you may, Amanda, get a potion from the restricted section to use." He answered. Everyone turned and looked at her, the Gryffindors in awe and the Slytherins in envy, especially Draco.
"Now, that we are done with the questions," Professor Snape went on, getting all the students attention back to him. "I have another announcement to make." The class looked at him because he looked a little more peeved that usual. "I must go away for a few weeks, so your classes will be spent in the library with Professor McGonnagall or Professor Lupin will be instructing during those few week. If I hear that you were not working while you were in the library, you will have detentions for a term. I hope that is clear."
The whole class shuddered at the thought of Professor Snape's idea of a detention. Scrubbing bedpans in the hospital wing without magic, spending a night with Filch and the list goes on. Professor Snape stared at them for a moment, then went on with the day's lesson. He also made them take notes on everything they needed for the 'project'. The bell rang and everyone left the dungeon. Amanda left about five minutes later after she got a note from Snape saying she could go to the restricted section in the library. She ran and to catch up with Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were on their way to Gryffindor Tower.
"Hey guys," she called after them. "Wait up!" She ran up a flight of stairs, only to get caught in one of the trick stairs. "Help?" she asked, seeing them stop. The three turned around to see her stuck in the step. Harry and Ron burst into laughter and Hermione looked shocked and ran down the stairs to see if she was all right.
"Oh, Amanda, are you okay?" Hermione asked.
"Ow?" she said, helplessly. "Please, get me out. It kinda hurts."
"Oh, God Amanda." Harry said, grabbing her left side. "You really are priceless, you know that."
"Where does this go?" Amanda asked, looking down.
"I don't know." Harry said. Ron grabbed her other side and they pulled her up. "but we could check it on the Marauders map if ya want to."
"Okay." Amanda said, standing on the next stair. The four started walking up to Gryffindor Tower again. "Stupid trick stairs. They are so annoying. Ow, that hurt."
"You okay?" Harry asked. "You wanna go see Madam Pomfrey."
"No, that's okay." Amanda replied. "I don't think I need to see her again today for falling through a step."
"Okay…" he said, hesitantly.
"Now, how about the Potions thing." Ron said, interrupting Amanda and Harry. "This is gonna be one difficult task, don't you think?"
"Oh yeah, really difficult," Harry said darkly. "With Snape standing over your shoulder all the time, just waiting for you to screw up."
"He's not standing over you all the time." Ron said. "Sometimes, it's over me."
"Yeah, whatever." Harry said, sighing. "Now Amanda, how did you convince Snape to let you go in the Restricted Section. What kind of Charm did you use on him?"
"I didn't." Amanda said, confused slightly.
"Potion?" Ron asked.
"Nope, I just asked." Amanda replied. "Why?"
"I dunno…" Hermione said. "He usually doesn't show any favouritism for any other student except for the Slytherins."
"Oh my god!" Ron cried in mock disbelief. "Hermione just said something bad about a teacher!"
"So." Hermione said abruptly, blushing. "I'm just saying the total honest truth."
Amanda sighed and walked ahead of the other three. She wanted to get a head start on her project, so after supper, she headed for the library. She walked for what seemed like an eternity, considering this was her first time had never been to the library.
"Why is this school so damn big?" Amanda asked herself, stopping for what seemed like the 1000th time that night.
"Well, that's the way it was made." Said a voice from beside her. She looked up to see Professor Lupin.
"Oh, hi Professor." She said, blushing for her comment to herself. "Sorry you had to hear that."
"Don't worry." He said, smiling. "I get it all the time. Where are you off to at this time of night?"
"Well, I was looking for the library… wait a second. What time is it?" she asked.
"It's almost twelve." He replied.
"Twelve? Twelve o'clock? Are you serious?" Amanda replied, jumping up. Lupin nodded. "Oh no! I'm going to be late for Astronomy! And I never found the library! Got to run, Professor, excuse me!" She ran off down the hall in total panic. "I'M GONNA BE LATE FOR CLASS!" she cried as she turned down one of the corridors. Professor Lupin just smiled as he watched Amanda.
*****
Amanda ran into the west Astronomy tower fifteen minutes after her class had started. Professor Sinistra took 10 points for Gryffindor for being late. Amanda set her telescope up between Hermione and one of the Ravenclaws who they had class with.
"Where were you?" Hermione asked five minutes after she finished setting up the telescope.
"Trying to find the library…" Amanda replied, blushing slightly.
"Really?" Hermione asked, slightly amused. "You've been at that since six o'clock this evening. Did you ever find it?"
"No," Amanda said, blushing a bright red like Ron's hair from embarrassment.
"You should have asked me to go with you." Hermione said, in a matter-of-factly sort of voice.
"Maybe I should have." Amanda replied. "But I didn't, so it doesn't matter. So, what are we looking for tonight?"
"I dunno, she didn't say." Hermione replied. "I guess it's just a stargazing type of night."
"Oh, what fun!" Amanda said. "I haven't been stargazing since I was… seven." Amanda remembered the last time too well. The month before she was bitten. Walking thought the fields with her parents looking at the different constellations as her mother pointed them out to her. She was once an astronomer before she was diagnosed with cancer. Her mother loved the stars and the moon. As Amanda remembered these times, her face became quite somber. Hermione stared at her.
"Anything wrong Amanda?" she asked.
"Um, no." Amanda replied, going out of her depressed work and perking up again. For the rest of the night, they stared at the stars and Amanda named all the constellations she could find.
"How come you're not really good in astronomy, but you know all the constellations?" Hermione asked, surprised at her knowledge of the stars.
"Oh, um, my parents told me all of them." Amanda replied, after naming off Canis Major. "My mother was an astronomer."
The rest of the period Hermione learned all of the constellations from Amanda and learned a little about her family and her past, though not a lot. While they walked back to the Gryffindor common room to get ready for bed, the boys came up to them with some crazy phsyco plan for a prank on Malfoy.
"You see, all we have to do is get him to fall in love with a muggle-born in Hufflepuff and make him the laughing stalk of the school." Ron said, telling them their plan.
"The poor girl," Hermione said. "No one deserves that treatment."
"Well, how 'bout we make it one of you two?" Harry asked, after considering what Hermione had said.
"Hell no!" Hermione replied, looking at him with a look of total disgust on her face.
"How 'bout you Amanda?" Ron asked despreatly. "Will you do it?"
"Erm.. I don't know," Amanda said, uncertainly. Sure, Draco was good-looking, but he was also a total pain in the ass. "No, I wont be your stupid decoy. Not that I'm sure your stupid idea would work anyway."
"Well then, what do you suggest we do?" Harry asked.
"Why don't you turn him into a frog or something?" Amanda suggested.
"It's already been done." Ron said gloomily. "Professor Moody turned him into a ferret last year."
"Oh really." Amanda said, amused. "That's really cool! I would have loved to have seen that!"
"Yeah, but Professor McGonnagall showed up and made him turn Draco back." Hermione finished. They had just walked into the common room, which was completely empty. "Now let's get up to bed. We have Care of Magical Creatures first thing tomorrow and Hagrid told us to go and meet him early."
"Okay, G'night girls." Ron said, climbing up the staircase to the boys' dormitories. "See ya in the morning."
"Good night." The two girls replied in unison, then made their way up to their own dorm. They climbed into their beds and fell asleep.
*****
The next morning, Amanda woke bright and early to a quite common room, considering everyone was still sleep. She got up and dressed then went down to breakfast. When she got back up to the common room, Harry, Ron and Hermione were about to make their way out to Hagrid's hut.
"Oh, hey Amanda, do you want to come down with us?" Hermione asked as Amanda walked into the common room. "You don't have any class this period, right?"
"Um, well I don't know." Amanda said hesitantly. She didn't feel like causing a big disturbance with all of the infamous creatures Hermione had told her about. "I have to work on my Transfiguration essay that's due tomorrow."
"We'll help you with it tonight." Harry said. "Come on. You can meet Hagrid."
"Oh, well, fine." Amanda said. "Just let me grab my cloak and I'll go."
She ran up to her dormitory, grabbed her cloak and hurried down the stairs. The four of them made their way out to Hagrid's hut telling Amanda about the weird creatures they were taking care of this year.
****
A/N: And that's the end of part 7. (woopie! Woohoo!) I hope ya'll liked it. Hehe. Please R/R. Thanks!!! And part 8 will be up soon.
