"I thought you said you knew the way!"

"I do. It's just the dungeons must have moved or something..."

"Haven't we passed this spot three times already?"

"Now where do we go?"

Penny, Georgina, Ja-dee and Harrison had run into a dead end. Penny checked her watch.

"We are already so late it's not funny," she moaned. "Snape is gonna kill us!"

"He can't be that bad!" Jay-Dee said.

"Oh he is," Harrison said. "My dad and him are friends and he is That Bad."

"Oh," Jay-Dee said.

"Are you lost?" a voice asked.

"Yes. You wouldn't be able to tell us where the dungeons are?" Georgina asked, turning around to see who it was.

It was Professor Potter who was grinning at the lost first years. "Potions first? What a way to start your year! I'm heading there myself. I'll take you there so you don't get in trouble with Professor Snape."

Georgina's eyes sparkled. 'You would? Thank you so much!" she said excitidly.

Professor Potter grinned. "Well come on. It's this way. Your way off course." And with that he turned on his heel and headed off in the opposite direction. Georgina ran to catch up to him.

Harrison snickered and Penny grinned too.

"What's so funny?" Jay-Dee asked.

"Goergina has a case - an extreme one might I add - of Potteritis," Peeny explained.

"You mean she likes that guy?" Jay-Dee said. She examined Professor Potter critically. "He's not that good looking. And he's got this weird looking scar. And he's at least 30 years older then her."

"You and I know that," Harrison drawled. "But Georgina like most of us think Professor Potter is a god. That's why she in love with him."

"Why?" Jay-Dee asked. "Did he cure cancer or something?"

"He defeated you-know-who," Penny said.

"Whose you-know-who?"

"He who must not be named."

"What's his name?"

"You-know-who."

"But I don't know!"

"Voldemort,' Harrison said finally. Penny cringed.

"Don't say that name!" Penny said.

"Say what? Voldemort?" Jay-Dee said.

"Don't!"

"Why can't I say Voldemort?"

"Because!"

"Because why? What's so bad about the name Voldemort?"

"Didn't we explain this last night?"

"Leave it for now Hendo," Harrison drawled. "It's obvious Hendo has the attention span of a hyperactive ferret. I'll explain later when Weasel isn't packing her dacks."

"Don't call me Hendo!" Jay-Dee hissed.

"And I am not packing my dacks!" Penny said indignately.

"Whatever," Harrison shrugged. "We're here."

Professor Potter was holding the door open to what appeared to be the dungeons. It looked exactlylike a dungeon from Medieval England.

"All he needs are some torture devices," Jay-Dee whispered.

"There in the storeroom," Harrison joked, before seeing Jay-Dee go an interesting shade of green. "Just kidding, honest!"

"Why are you late?" a voice asked from the back of the room.

Penny turned around to see who it was. It was Professor Snape. Penny had heard lots about him. He was, 'A slimy faced git' (Uncle Fred and Uncle George), 'A respectable Professor' (her father) and 'He knows a lot about potions' (Aunt Hermione), 'I reckon he's a slimy faced git too' (Uncle Ron) and from her mother, 'Er.. he's okay... I suppose.' But she'd never actually seen him. He was as ugly as she'd imagined, with long greasy hair and a long beaky like nose. Penny was dying to ask when he'd last washed his hair.

"They got lost Professor," Professor Potter said in their defence. "First day and all, it's understandable."

Professor Snape sneered. "Sit down. What do you want Potter?"

"Hogs eyes Professor. I need them in a simple defence against Gnolls. It's for my fourth year class."

"Wait here," he snapped. "You four, get your cauldrons out and open your books to page twenty seven. Work with a partner."

"Yes sir," the four of them chorused.

Professor Snape went into what Penny assumed to be a large store room. Penny, Harrison, Jay-Dee and Georgina set up in the back bench of the room.

"You were right Harrison," Jay-Dee hissed. "He is That Bad."

"Yeah a slimy nosed git," Harrison said.

Professor Snape walked back into the room and Harrison and Jay-Dee pretended to be busy with their cauldrons. The Professor handed Professor Potter a small pouch then sat down at his desk. Professor Potter seemed to run out the room.

"Today," Snape said greasily, "We're making a small potion to cure boils. This is well below first year level so I expect there will be no problems. He seemed to glare at Harrison in particular.

"What have I done wrong?" Harrison asked quietly.

"Dunno," Jay-Dee said. "It's probably cos your so ugly." She snickered to herself.

'Be quiet Miss Henderson," Snape snapped.

"Yes sir," Jay-Dee said biting her hand to stop herself laughing.

"It wasn't that funny," Harrison said. "Ya hurt me Hendo, ya really hurt me."

"For the last time my name is not Hendo! I'll beat you up!" Jay-Dee said.

"10 points from Gryffindor Miss Henderson. I warned you," Snape snapped.

"Huh?" Jay-Dee looked at Penny. 'What's he mean ten points from Gryffindor?"

"If you're well behaved teachers will give points to your house. If your badly behaved they take points off your house. The house with the most points at the end of the year wins," Penny explained.

"Wins what?"

"What do you mean wins what?"

"Well if you win obviously you're going to get a prize or something," Jay-Dee said.

"Well...nothing. Honour and all that stuff I guess..."

"That's not worth being well behaved for. Why do they do it then?"

"To scare us into behaving," Georgina said rationally.

"Oh it makes sense."

"Miss Henderson if you're not quiet for the rest of the class I'll take fifty points off Gryffindor."

"Yes sir." Jay-Dee was quiet after that.

Penny was fiddling with the cauldron. "Okay, while you were mucking around I set everything up. Now all you need to do it add twenty five teaspoons of newt legs."

"Way ahead of youm" Jay-Dee grinned. "Already done it... wai! id you say teaspoons?"

"Well duh," Penny said imapatiently. "What did you think tsp stood for?"

"Er... ten square pounds."

"Hit the deck!"

Penny and Jay-Dee got under the table just in time to see their cauldron explode leaving a bright green slime over everything in the dungeon including Georgina, Harrison and Snape. They also got out from under the time to hear Snape say, "Detention."

"You two can have a detention too," he said pointing to Harrison and Jay-Dee.

"Why me?" Harrison asked. "I haven't done anything!"

"Your eyes are too close together. And fifty points are taken from Gryffindor," Snape snapped. The bell rang and most of the twenty students left the room, except our four heores who were being given instructions for ther detentions.

"You are to meet at 7.30 in the entrance hall. Make sure you are not late again," Snape glared at them before sweeping out the room.

"What a jerk!" Jay-Dee said open mouthed.

"Well we'd better get used to it," Harrison shrugged. "Let's get something to eat. I'm starving."