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Chapter 7 - Potions Class

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The next day came, quite quickly. Dawn spent most of the night before studying potions as she had a feeling she would be needing to know what she could about the subject incase Snape decided to quiz her in this subject too.

They had Transmogrification with Professor McGonagall, first thing then Ancient Runes, then Herboligy in the greenhouse with Professor Sprout and the Hufflepuffs.

They have just finished lunch and are headed to the last class of the day. Potions, with the Slytherins and of course their head of house Professor Snape. As Dawn walked into the classroom she just let the words Giles told her repeat in her head 'don't let Professor Snape intimidate you'.

She took a seat at the other side of Ron and Harry's desk, sitting next to Shamus. Two boys came along and sat in the table opposite her. Two Slytherins one with blond hair and very pale, and the other one had short bushy hair and small deep inset eyes. Dawn guest they must be Draco Malfoy and Gregory Goyle from descriptions she had been given.

Malfoy turned around to Dawn, "So you must be the new mudblood. Came all the way from America did you? Hear you Americans have no respect."

"Now to be fair not all Americans, allot do. Just I don't have any for bullies that's all. Particularly blond haired, skinny, pale ones that could be mistaken for one of the Hogwarts ghosts because he is so pale."

Shamus, Ron and Harry laughed at that one.

"You dare mock me? Let me tell you, the time is coming where you should choose your friends wisely."

"You dare live at all? Go figure. Also the time is coming where they are giving out free vouchers to go and get a tan. You might want to try that some time. Or maybe even get out in the sun. Draco that means dragon in latten don't it? Funny though, I never heard of a white dragon before. Maybe you should go out in the sun too long so you turn red.... or maybe drink some potion to make you sick, so you turn green."

Now most the Gryffindors are almost falling out of their seats laughing.

"Well let me tell you, you have just made an enemy."

"That's supposed to scare me how?" Dawn asked with a bit of a yawn. "Look I don't know. Maybe your used to people being scared of you, but you'll just have to get used to the fact that your not even in the slightest bit scary. So me being a 'mudblood' and all means I got no idea why I should be scared of you and there for I am not."

"Because, I know whys to make your life hell." He said to her in a quite voice.

"What?" She asked. "Sorry didn't hear that?" She said mockingly.

"You heard me fine." He told her with a stern look.

"Hmmm. Hell, that would be like home sweet home. I'm from Sunnydale California we got our own hellmouth there. Let you assure you, I have seen things that would make you run to your mother crying like a scared child. I grew up with all sorts of darkness around me and these days there is practically nothing I'm scared of."

Before Draco could come up with a remark to that Professor Snape came into the room.

Snape walked up to the top of the classroom and set down some papers. Then turned to the front of the room to face the class. "This year is your hardest yet in potions. You will be doing your OWL this year, not that expect many of you to pass," he said with his trademark sneer. "This year we will be revising over old work, as well as some new. Just to give the incompetent people in here a second chance to learn," with a quick glance towards Neville. "Of course if you didn't learn the first time around I don't expect you will do any better this time. Today we will be going over the whit-sharpening potion. Something I think many of you are in aid of." He went to the board to write down the ingredients, "Ok Miss Summers, since you seemed to be so smart, tell me what ingredients are needed for this potion."

*Knew he was going to ask me something.* She thought back to all her studying then came up with, "ground scarab beetle, cut up ginger root, armadillo bile." She just hoped she was right.

"Correct," Snape replied coldly, then wrote them on the board. "Mr Potter, what is the added ingredient that will make it get 10 times more potent if added once it has finished boiling?"

"Em... I don't know sir."

"5 points from Gryffindor for not studying." He told him with a full sneer. "Miss Summers?"

*great.* "Mrs Knowlagetee's witty wit-sharpening toffees?" Thinking back to a new line of sweets they where selling on the Hogwarts Express.

"10 points from Gryffindor for such a stupid answer. Just so you know, adding anything with sugar is likely to make your caldron explode. I see I will have to tell you incompetent fools. To make it more potent you must add a drop of human blood, from your pricked finger.

"You will take a pin each from my desk and use it to prick your finger to add a drop of blood to your potion when you are ready. Also no one is to use the same pin. Who knows what diseases you may pick up, also you risk contaminating the blood in your potion."

So they got to work. Dawn got out her things and out and started boiling the water in her cauldron and started to grind up some scarab beetles. She added them, then cut up her ginger root into exactly even peaces, and then added. Next she added the armadillo bile and stirred for ten minutes. The potion turned a green colour. Looking to check everyone else's was the same colour. She looked at Shamus' caldron turn red as he pricked his finger and added a drop of blood.

She walked up to the top of the room and picked up a pin from Snape's desk, and walked back to her work. There was a loud bang and Dawn looked over to see that Neville Longbottom had managed to make his potion explode. Snape was over there and came down on him like a tone of bricks. *Poor Neville, I bet if Snape didn't scare him half to death he would have been ok.*

Dawn had reservations about pricking her finger. Thinking back to Glory and opening the portal. *heck, what's the chances. After all there had to be a certain star alignment at the time.*

So on that thought she pricked her finger with the needle and let a drop of blood fall into the caldron. But instead of going red like everyone else's, or even exploding like Neville's, there was a swirling mist forming above the caldron. "Er... Professor?" She said now with a bit of panic.

Professor Snape came over in a swirl of robes and came behind her. "Yes Miss Summers?"

Dawn swallowed hard as an energy vortex appeared over the top of her cauldron. "Is it supposed to do that?"

Now allot of the students came and gathered around looking at the event unfold.

Snape himself was looking at it wondering what in Merlin's name it was about. "No." He managed to say coldly.

"If I didn't know better I'd say that was a dimensional portal." Dawn said more to herself than anyone.

"I've never seen one before... but read of them and would have to agree." Snape answered also speaking more to himself.

Next thing a green elf like creature, with sharp teeth and long jagged fingers jumped out through the portal, with the portal closing behind it. The creature jumped about the classroom, knocking things over along the way.

"Well, Miss Summers. Looks like you had a gremlin in your potion. 20 points from Gryffindor and detention here tonight in the dungeons eight o'clock. Oh and congratulations Miss Summers in a truly original way to botch up your potion." Snape said sarcastically. He looked up at the gremlin that had settled on top of a hanging lantern on the wall.

Snape pointed his wand at the gremlin and said, "Lumos Solarum," then a bright light shot out of his wand, like a beam of sunlight and hit the gremlin causing it to melt into a pile of green goo. "Class dismissed" he said calmly and walked off into his office.

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Later once they had got to the common room, Harry, Ron and Hermione gave her quizzical looks. Eventually Harry asked, "How did that happen Dawn?"

*Secrete identity girl remember.* "I have no idea, it just happened." *God I wish Giles was here right now*

"Sounded like you seen one before?" Hermione asked her curiously.

*Yea, I just so happen to be a key to open all the dimensions of hell, and a crazed loony of a hell god kidnapped me last year and tied me up and cut me just to open a portal for her to get home, but would have let lose allot of monsters and demons in the process wiping out the entire planet, if it wasn't for my sister Buffy the Vampire Slayer jumping off this platform through the portal killing herself. But oh yea that friend of hers I told you about Willow, she resurrected Buffy, ripping her out of heaven and she's not been the same since. That would keep them happy.* "No. Just read about it. Look I need to write to someone. I'll be back down soon."

She went upstairs to the dorm and got out a quill and parchment and sat on her bed drawing the curtains. When she was confident no one was going to follow her she started writing.

Hi Giles.

Well guess I'm writing to you because I needed to get some thing out of my head.

Well I had potions today, and we where making a Wit-Sharpening Potion. Well Professor Snape wanted us to make a more advanced version, that required a drop of our blood. Well, it opened up a small dimensional portal, and a gremlin came through and wrecked the class room. Well Snape dealt with the gremlin ok.

I'm worried what if it happens again? What if someone finds out what I am? What am I going to do Giles?

Anyway got a detention with Professor Snape coming up, don't know what I am going to tell him. My friends already started asking me questions. I had to lie to them. Didn't like lying to them either. Told them I never seen anything like it before or had any clue to how it happened.

Anyway better get going before they come looking for me, hiding in the dorm to write this.

Please reply soon

-Dawn

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Harry and Hermione gone with her to the owlery after dinner, leaving Ron still eating, saying they where going to catch him later in the common room.

She walked into the Owlery where Harry was greeted by Hedwing and Ripper came swooping down onto Dawn's extended arm. He held out his leg while Dawn tied it on. "Take this to Giles." She whispered softly to the giant owl and it swooped off.

Harry had his own letter to send. He said it was to a friend, that he keeps in touch with by owl, and sent Hedwing on her way.

*****

Dawn made her way down to the dungeons and got to Snape's classroom. She knocked on the door, but no one was there. So she sat down and did some of her homework while she was waiting.

She actually managed to get an essay done for transfiguration when Snape came into the room. "Ah I see your hear already."

"I been here for about half an hour, since I didn't know what you wanted me to do I started on my homework when waiting."

"Well, that infernal bird I have to feed in the Defense Against the Dark Arts room was being very difficult. Why he insisted I had to do it when he was not here I will never know. Sooner he gets here the better. I swear that thing is out to get me. No wonder he keeps it looked up."

Dawn now noticed the peck marks all over Snape's face. "Let me guess, it's more like a cyber tooth tiger than an owl?"

"Yes well I want you to help me clean up this mess your pet gremlin caused earlier."

Dawn looked around the room which was still turned upside-down. *Oh boy*

"You know it was very strange what happened Miss Summers."

*Here it comes he's going to ask me*

"I know who you are, now though." he said coldly.

"Y-you do?"

"You know stuttering like that makes you sound like a certain watcher of your sisters."

"How did you know?"

"Well I thought about asking Ripper about why he was so keen to get you into Hogwarts." Then a sneer came on his face, "then I decided he'd probably not tell me. So I asked my Uncle in the Watcher's Council. Told me some interesting things about you and your sister, and gave me an earful about how I shouldn't have let you use your own blood in anything, and next time it could be far worse."

"Well guess you didn't know. I didn't either. Someone should have told me that could happen! Anyway how did you know to ask the council?"

"I didn't exactly, just knew that if the slayer's watcher had anything to do with it the council would know something, and I only have one Uncle still speaking to me and that's the only ties I have left with them. Plus it was a risk, as I expected from Rupert Giles he's not exactly been a good boy and reporting to them all the time. Your sister had the best there is, will tell you that for nothing."

"I take it you don't like the council either then."

"Not really. Their attitude just gets the girls killed." He said sounding cold and hurt. "Though let me tell you, you could have sold tickets to that last meeting she had with Travers." He said more to brighten himself up a bit than anything.

Dawn decided not to press it by the tone of his voice. She just thought it a relief that she didn't have to explain everything to him and he already knew. Giles said he would trust him with his life, and that was good enough for her.

The rest of the detention was done in silence. She wasn't in the mood to make up any crude remarks to him.

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A/N: Well some of the plot is coming together now. Hope this chapter didn't disappoint you. New DADA teacher comes in next chapter. And thx for your reviews :) Greatly appreciated.