Disclaimer: Much as I'd like to, I don't own Draco Malfoy, or any part of the magical world that J.K. Rowling has all the copyrights to ... please don't sue me. There are some parts of this story that are quotes from the book - it can't be helped - events are the same as in the book, but Draco's opinion of these events may vary from Harry's. Also, Noctowl's name belongs to Pokemon.
Author's Notes: I needed to do some re-writing, after reading OotP. I have made some minor changes to this chapter, mostly spelling and grammar, but there was one continuity error regarding Noctowl, that has also been fixed … and Transfiguration is now on the first floor, rather than the second.
Chapter 3 - Astronomy and Potions
I woke up, the next day, and it took me a few seconds to remember where I was - 'oh, yeah... Hogwarts' I thought, and looked at my clock, which I had brought with me - it said, 'Wake up - it's eight in the morning - don't you have classes today?' 'Now, who told it that?' I wondered. I reached down to my trunk at the foot of my bed, and took out a set of school robes, pulled the curtains around my bed again, and got changed. I then looked in the mirror in our dorm - all four of us have to share this mirror - of course, that about adds up to me sharing it with Nott - because I don't think Crabbe and Goyle know what a mirror is. I glanced at the other three boys - they were still all asleep - I wasn't about to wake them, if they wanted to get in trouble for being late for class, that's their prerogative. I unnecessarily preened my hair, as usual, before leaving to see if I could find my way back to the Great Hall for breakfast.
The corridors were unfamiliar, even though I had taken a mental note of the route we took down to the common room last night. It was as if the layout of the castle had shifted, somehow. Actually, it had - the staircase that had previously led from the dungeons to the entrance hall now led to a different corridor, and several doors that had been very co-operative last night refused to open. I decided to stop thinking about how to get where I was going, and follow my instincts - I always had a good sense of direction. It wasn't long, then, until I came to the Great Hall. I had been wandering around for about twenty minutes. The Hall was quite crowded, as I sat down at the Slytherin table. About ten minutes later, Crabbe and Goyle showed up - I was surprised that they found their way here - they probably asked a prefect to tell them the way. Professor Snape was handing out timetables. I looked at mine: Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic, today. I noticed that, on Monday nights, Slytherins had Astronomy - this was a Monday, so that meant that I had to stay up late on my first night... Damn!
At that moment, I was distracted from these thoughts, as the Hall suddenly went quite, except for the excited whispers that indicated only one thing: The famous Harry Potter had entered the room. Big bloody deal. I pointedly ignored him, while the rest of the Hall started muttering rumours and stories about him - what exactly was so great about this boy, anyway? I have no idea what happened, any better than anyone else here does, but I can say for certain, that a one-year-old baby could NOT have done what he did without some sort of help. Therefore he wasn't the one who defeated the Dark Lord - whoever saved his life was - don't these people know what logic is? I would have expected better of the Ravenclaws - the other Slytherins are the only ones who aren't fussing over the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. But that's probably only because he's a Gryffindor... all Slytherins hate all Gryffindors.
At that moment, I heard a rustling noise, and about a hundred owls flew into the Great Hall. The eagle owl my father had bought for me in Diagon Alley, Noctowl, flew down, with a letter from my mother. She wanted to remind me to write to her. How sweet. Really, she does worry about me a bit too much. But I will write back to make her happy.
* * *
After breakfast, I looked at the timetable - Transfiguration in room 162. That's on the first floor. I started up the first staircase I came to, and followed my instincts - this worked, quite effectively. I found the correct room pretty quickly, and since Crabbe and Goyle were doing their usual impersonation of my shadow, they found their way there, too. The class was waiting outside. Slytherins and Hufflepuffs. I spotted Pansy chatting with a group of Slytherin girls, and those girls were quite carefully being avoided by the Hufflepuffs. I walked over in the direction of the Hufflepuffs, intent on avoiding Pansy, myself. Unfortunately, the Hufflepuffs seemed to be avoiding Slytherins, in general. I didn't really want to socialise with them anyway, but I honestly would prefer to talk to Hufflepuffs than Pansy. Luckily, the teacher arrived before Pansy spotted me.
"Enter, class." McGonagall said. She really was pretty scary - not someone to mess with - I've heard even the Gryffindors think this, and she is supposed to be head of their house. We all took our seats. I watched Pansy sit near the back of the class, so I took a seat at the front. It's not that I was particularly interested in Transfiguration, but I was particularly interested in keeping my distance from Pansy. She really is the most annoying girl I have ever met. McGonagall now spoke: "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." She then turned her desk into a pig, and back - pretty impressive. I have a feeling that this is sort of a standard speech, though. She then gave us about three rolls of parchment worth of notes to take down (in my handwriting, which is quite small). After that she finally started on the practical work. We had to turn a match into a needle. I had hoped for something a little more interesting than that. I really want to learn the Animagus transformation, but that's not likely to happen too soon, now is it?
* * *
After that, I went to Defence Against the Dark Arts, with Professor Quirrell. That was a laugh. I mean, come on - this guy was pathetic. I think he was afraid of his own shadow! He stuttered. He jumped when someone made a sudden movement (which the whole class - consisting entirely of Slytherins - did often, just to see this effect). He wore the most ridiculous looking turban I have ever seen - said he got it for rescuing someone from a zombie - hah! If he saw a zombie, he'd probably faint! And another thing - he stank. I mean really smelled BAD. I think it came from the turban, but I really didn't want to get close enough to the stink to check. This guy was a wuss. I had thought I might pick up something interesting from this class - boy was I wrong. I mean, I had hoped to learn some sort of dark magic from it, but all he did was prattle on about vampires, and trolls. He seemed to have a thing for trolls. Yawn.
* * *
At lunchtime, the same thing happened when Potter entered. Gods, he annoys me - just the fact that he is getting all the attention, and I'm not, is enough to drive me up the wall. He didn't even know he was famous until he got the letter. He lived with Muggles. Why are they making such a fuss over someone who knows as much about our world as a Mudblood? He's still hanging around with that Weasley. What, exactly is it about a Weasley that makes him better than me? Absolutely nothing - that's the answer. So why? Why did he not want to be my friend? He ended up in Gryffindor. That should explain it, right? He's nothing like me. He doesn't want to be my friend, because I'm a Slytherin. He's a Gryffindor, and therefore has absolutely NO Slytherin traits, whatsoever. I hate him.
* * *
History of Magic. One word. BOOOOORIIIIIIIING!!!! I actually wanted to fall asleep before I even got to my seat. The teacher, Professor Binns, was a ghost, and his dull, monotonous, droning voice could put anything to sleep, and I mean ANYTHING. I heard a rumour that Binns had fallen asleep in the staff room, and gotten up to teach, leaving his dead body behind. He could probably bore people to death, if he tried. The most interesting thing about his class - and that's only to people who've never seen a ghost before - was when he entered the room through the back wall.
* * *
I retreated to the common room, after dinner, having eaten very little. The moment Potter entered the room I left. I couldn't stand to be ignored by everyone around me, again. I set my clock's alarm to wake me at eleven, so I could get to Astronomy, in time, and went to sleep. I woke up to the sound of, "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"
I hit the clock, and said, "Shut up!" It did. I hadn't changed out of my robes before going to sleep, so I simply straightened them and went up to the Astronomy tower. The view was spectacular. I could see all the grounds from here. The rest of the class arrived, sleepily, over the next half hour. I ignored them, completely. The teacher, Professor Sinistra, arrived at exactly midnight.
"Now, class. You will, I am sure, understand the relevance of Astronomy to other areas of magic, yes?" she asked. Most of the class nodded. Crabbe and Goyle stared blankly. "The positions of constellations and planets affect the powers and properties of certain Charms, and many Potions require ingredients to be picked, or brewed under a certain phase of the moon. In this class, you will learn the significance of the lunar, planetary and stellar movements, and how to plan around them." Several other students had switched off. I was, now, one of only two people actually paying attention. The other was a girl, with shoulder-length fair hair, and blue eyes. She was paying almost reverent attention to every word Professor Sinistra was saying. "We will begin with the simpler task of the lunar cycle." At this point, we were given a lunar chart, and told to fill it in, for homework. We were told that we would not need to stargaze tonight, and sent away, to finish the charts. Short lesson, but since we weren't actually using the telescopes, there really was no reason for us to stay up there.
* * *
When I returned to the common room, I set to work on the chart. I had slept since dinnertime, and didn't need to sleep again that night. The girl who had actually listened to Sinistra's entire speech sat near me, and started working, too.
"Hello." I said.
"Hello. My name's Catarina Feral." she said. The tone of her voice implied that she expected me to tell her my name.
"I'm Draco Malfoy." I said.
"Oh, I've heard of you. Your father is a high level official at the Ministry, right?" she asked.
"Yeah." I answered.
"So, you like Astronomy? You were the only one paying attention," she said.
"You seemed to be paying attention, too." I responded.
"I'm going to take Divination, in third year, and you need good grades in Astronomy to take Divination." she said, enthusiastically.
"I think that all the teachers are worth listening to... with the possible exception of Quirrell." I said.
"Quirrell's a loser," she said. I smirked, at that comment - it was true.
"Hey! Cat! I thought I told you Draco was mine!" Pansy called, across the common room.
"What? I'm not allowed to talk to her?" I asked.
"That's right." Pansy replied.
"You really are a freak, Pansy." I snapped, and left the common room, towards the boys' dormitory.
* * *
Classes were relatively boring - partly because I knew a lot of what they were trying to teach me - until Friday. I was pretty surprised that we only had Potions once a week, but there you go. I was looking forward to Potions class, because it always was my favourite subject. Also, it was a well-known fact that Professor Snape - Head of Slytherin house - always favoured his own students, and he had a vendetta against all Gryffindors. We had Potions with the Gryffindors, and this was going to be fun. Potions class was in the dungeons, not far from the common room. We got there early, and got seats near the front of the class, where we could see properly.
Professor Snape called the roll, first. When he got to Potter's name, he started on a malicious streak that I have to say was extremely entertaining to watch: "Ah, Yes. Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity." You didn't expect me not to laugh, or at least snigger, now did you? After he had finished calling the roll, he started into a pre-planned speech - the sort all the teachers seemed to have, "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making." his voice was quiet, but menacing, in a way that tells you that if you don't listen to every word, very carefully, you'll regret it, big time. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses.... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
I was very interested in Potions, to begin with, but this speech was inspiring. The bushy-haired girl - Hermione Granger - seemed pretty keen on the subject, too. Snape, however, had other ideas. He decided to pick on Potter. "Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" I didn't know that one, but it didn't matter - I wasn't the one he asked. I watched with interest. Granger's hand shot into the air - know-it-all - not that being a know-it-all is a bad thing.
"I don't know, sir." Potter answered, sounding scared. Good.
Snape sneered at him - I really do think he would have to be my favourite teacher. "Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything. Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Oh this is good. Potter looked like he had been petrified. Granger waved her hand to try to get Snape's attention, obviously wanting to answer this question, as well. It was all I could do to not burst into fits of laughter, at the look on Potter's face.
"I don't know, sir," he answered. Pathetic - even Crabbe or Goyle could have answered that one.
"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" This was entertainment at its best. Serves him right for being so rude to me. Snape asked another question, "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Granger looked like she might have a nervous breakdown if Snape didn't let her answer the question.
"I don't know. I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?" Potter said. That was not the right thing to say. Some of the Gryffindors laughed, but Snape scared them into silence by looking at them.
Snape snapped at Granger, "Sit down." then turned his attention back to Potter. If I hadn't already decided I hated him, I would pity him. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" I quickly grabbed my quill, and wrote down what Snape had just said, word for word (as best I could remember it). "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter." This really was my favourite subject, now.
We were then put into pairs, and told to mix a simple potion to cure boils. I was stuck with Pansy, who I knew had been hopeless at Basic Potions in our old school. I quickly organised our work so that she didn't touch anything that might blow up. Of course it didn't help, because the crybaby from Gryffindor - Neville Longbottom - melted his cauldron, and succeeded, quite spectacularly, to cover himself in boils. The poor boy was sent off to the Hospital Wing. He must have been worse at Potions than Pansy to make such a simple mistake. And guess what... Snape told off Potter for not noticing that Longbottom was messing up the Potion - Potter wasn't even working with the crybaby! Another point taken away from Gryffindor. By the end of the lesson, I was the only student who Snape hadn't criticised. I wished that we had Potions class more often.
* * *
From then on, I always loved Potions and Astronomy. They were my favourite two subjects. Potions especially, because we got to watch Snape tormenting the Gryffindors. Catarina Feral - Cat - quickly became my friend, and the only way to get Pansy to leave her alone about this fact was for me to admit that I liked Pansy - total lie - and that Cat was just a friend, and nothing more - I'm only eleven! What, exactly does Pansy think I'm going to do? Don't answer that - I really don't want to know.
* * *
End of chapter 3
Author's Notes: I needed to do some re-writing, after reading OotP. I have made some minor changes to this chapter, mostly spelling and grammar, but there was one continuity error regarding Noctowl, that has also been fixed … and Transfiguration is now on the first floor, rather than the second.
Chapter 3 - Astronomy and Potions
I woke up, the next day, and it took me a few seconds to remember where I was - 'oh, yeah... Hogwarts' I thought, and looked at my clock, which I had brought with me - it said, 'Wake up - it's eight in the morning - don't you have classes today?' 'Now, who told it that?' I wondered. I reached down to my trunk at the foot of my bed, and took out a set of school robes, pulled the curtains around my bed again, and got changed. I then looked in the mirror in our dorm - all four of us have to share this mirror - of course, that about adds up to me sharing it with Nott - because I don't think Crabbe and Goyle know what a mirror is. I glanced at the other three boys - they were still all asleep - I wasn't about to wake them, if they wanted to get in trouble for being late for class, that's their prerogative. I unnecessarily preened my hair, as usual, before leaving to see if I could find my way back to the Great Hall for breakfast.
The corridors were unfamiliar, even though I had taken a mental note of the route we took down to the common room last night. It was as if the layout of the castle had shifted, somehow. Actually, it had - the staircase that had previously led from the dungeons to the entrance hall now led to a different corridor, and several doors that had been very co-operative last night refused to open. I decided to stop thinking about how to get where I was going, and follow my instincts - I always had a good sense of direction. It wasn't long, then, until I came to the Great Hall. I had been wandering around for about twenty minutes. The Hall was quite crowded, as I sat down at the Slytherin table. About ten minutes later, Crabbe and Goyle showed up - I was surprised that they found their way here - they probably asked a prefect to tell them the way. Professor Snape was handing out timetables. I looked at mine: Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic, today. I noticed that, on Monday nights, Slytherins had Astronomy - this was a Monday, so that meant that I had to stay up late on my first night... Damn!
At that moment, I was distracted from these thoughts, as the Hall suddenly went quite, except for the excited whispers that indicated only one thing: The famous Harry Potter had entered the room. Big bloody deal. I pointedly ignored him, while the rest of the Hall started muttering rumours and stories about him - what exactly was so great about this boy, anyway? I have no idea what happened, any better than anyone else here does, but I can say for certain, that a one-year-old baby could NOT have done what he did without some sort of help. Therefore he wasn't the one who defeated the Dark Lord - whoever saved his life was - don't these people know what logic is? I would have expected better of the Ravenclaws - the other Slytherins are the only ones who aren't fussing over the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. But that's probably only because he's a Gryffindor... all Slytherins hate all Gryffindors.
At that moment, I heard a rustling noise, and about a hundred owls flew into the Great Hall. The eagle owl my father had bought for me in Diagon Alley, Noctowl, flew down, with a letter from my mother. She wanted to remind me to write to her. How sweet. Really, she does worry about me a bit too much. But I will write back to make her happy.
* * *
After breakfast, I looked at the timetable - Transfiguration in room 162. That's on the first floor. I started up the first staircase I came to, and followed my instincts - this worked, quite effectively. I found the correct room pretty quickly, and since Crabbe and Goyle were doing their usual impersonation of my shadow, they found their way there, too. The class was waiting outside. Slytherins and Hufflepuffs. I spotted Pansy chatting with a group of Slytherin girls, and those girls were quite carefully being avoided by the Hufflepuffs. I walked over in the direction of the Hufflepuffs, intent on avoiding Pansy, myself. Unfortunately, the Hufflepuffs seemed to be avoiding Slytherins, in general. I didn't really want to socialise with them anyway, but I honestly would prefer to talk to Hufflepuffs than Pansy. Luckily, the teacher arrived before Pansy spotted me.
"Enter, class." McGonagall said. She really was pretty scary - not someone to mess with - I've heard even the Gryffindors think this, and she is supposed to be head of their house. We all took our seats. I watched Pansy sit near the back of the class, so I took a seat at the front. It's not that I was particularly interested in Transfiguration, but I was particularly interested in keeping my distance from Pansy. She really is the most annoying girl I have ever met. McGonagall now spoke: "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." She then turned her desk into a pig, and back - pretty impressive. I have a feeling that this is sort of a standard speech, though. She then gave us about three rolls of parchment worth of notes to take down (in my handwriting, which is quite small). After that she finally started on the practical work. We had to turn a match into a needle. I had hoped for something a little more interesting than that. I really want to learn the Animagus transformation, but that's not likely to happen too soon, now is it?
* * *
After that, I went to Defence Against the Dark Arts, with Professor Quirrell. That was a laugh. I mean, come on - this guy was pathetic. I think he was afraid of his own shadow! He stuttered. He jumped when someone made a sudden movement (which the whole class - consisting entirely of Slytherins - did often, just to see this effect). He wore the most ridiculous looking turban I have ever seen - said he got it for rescuing someone from a zombie - hah! If he saw a zombie, he'd probably faint! And another thing - he stank. I mean really smelled BAD. I think it came from the turban, but I really didn't want to get close enough to the stink to check. This guy was a wuss. I had thought I might pick up something interesting from this class - boy was I wrong. I mean, I had hoped to learn some sort of dark magic from it, but all he did was prattle on about vampires, and trolls. He seemed to have a thing for trolls. Yawn.
* * *
At lunchtime, the same thing happened when Potter entered. Gods, he annoys me - just the fact that he is getting all the attention, and I'm not, is enough to drive me up the wall. He didn't even know he was famous until he got the letter. He lived with Muggles. Why are they making such a fuss over someone who knows as much about our world as a Mudblood? He's still hanging around with that Weasley. What, exactly is it about a Weasley that makes him better than me? Absolutely nothing - that's the answer. So why? Why did he not want to be my friend? He ended up in Gryffindor. That should explain it, right? He's nothing like me. He doesn't want to be my friend, because I'm a Slytherin. He's a Gryffindor, and therefore has absolutely NO Slytherin traits, whatsoever. I hate him.
* * *
History of Magic. One word. BOOOOORIIIIIIIING!!!! I actually wanted to fall asleep before I even got to my seat. The teacher, Professor Binns, was a ghost, and his dull, monotonous, droning voice could put anything to sleep, and I mean ANYTHING. I heard a rumour that Binns had fallen asleep in the staff room, and gotten up to teach, leaving his dead body behind. He could probably bore people to death, if he tried. The most interesting thing about his class - and that's only to people who've never seen a ghost before - was when he entered the room through the back wall.
* * *
I retreated to the common room, after dinner, having eaten very little. The moment Potter entered the room I left. I couldn't stand to be ignored by everyone around me, again. I set my clock's alarm to wake me at eleven, so I could get to Astronomy, in time, and went to sleep. I woke up to the sound of, "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"
I hit the clock, and said, "Shut up!" It did. I hadn't changed out of my robes before going to sleep, so I simply straightened them and went up to the Astronomy tower. The view was spectacular. I could see all the grounds from here. The rest of the class arrived, sleepily, over the next half hour. I ignored them, completely. The teacher, Professor Sinistra, arrived at exactly midnight.
"Now, class. You will, I am sure, understand the relevance of Astronomy to other areas of magic, yes?" she asked. Most of the class nodded. Crabbe and Goyle stared blankly. "The positions of constellations and planets affect the powers and properties of certain Charms, and many Potions require ingredients to be picked, or brewed under a certain phase of the moon. In this class, you will learn the significance of the lunar, planetary and stellar movements, and how to plan around them." Several other students had switched off. I was, now, one of only two people actually paying attention. The other was a girl, with shoulder-length fair hair, and blue eyes. She was paying almost reverent attention to every word Professor Sinistra was saying. "We will begin with the simpler task of the lunar cycle." At this point, we were given a lunar chart, and told to fill it in, for homework. We were told that we would not need to stargaze tonight, and sent away, to finish the charts. Short lesson, but since we weren't actually using the telescopes, there really was no reason for us to stay up there.
* * *
When I returned to the common room, I set to work on the chart. I had slept since dinnertime, and didn't need to sleep again that night. The girl who had actually listened to Sinistra's entire speech sat near me, and started working, too.
"Hello." I said.
"Hello. My name's Catarina Feral." she said. The tone of her voice implied that she expected me to tell her my name.
"I'm Draco Malfoy." I said.
"Oh, I've heard of you. Your father is a high level official at the Ministry, right?" she asked.
"Yeah." I answered.
"So, you like Astronomy? You were the only one paying attention," she said.
"You seemed to be paying attention, too." I responded.
"I'm going to take Divination, in third year, and you need good grades in Astronomy to take Divination." she said, enthusiastically.
"I think that all the teachers are worth listening to... with the possible exception of Quirrell." I said.
"Quirrell's a loser," she said. I smirked, at that comment - it was true.
"Hey! Cat! I thought I told you Draco was mine!" Pansy called, across the common room.
"What? I'm not allowed to talk to her?" I asked.
"That's right." Pansy replied.
"You really are a freak, Pansy." I snapped, and left the common room, towards the boys' dormitory.
* * *
Classes were relatively boring - partly because I knew a lot of what they were trying to teach me - until Friday. I was pretty surprised that we only had Potions once a week, but there you go. I was looking forward to Potions class, because it always was my favourite subject. Also, it was a well-known fact that Professor Snape - Head of Slytherin house - always favoured his own students, and he had a vendetta against all Gryffindors. We had Potions with the Gryffindors, and this was going to be fun. Potions class was in the dungeons, not far from the common room. We got there early, and got seats near the front of the class, where we could see properly.
Professor Snape called the roll, first. When he got to Potter's name, he started on a malicious streak that I have to say was extremely entertaining to watch: "Ah, Yes. Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity." You didn't expect me not to laugh, or at least snigger, now did you? After he had finished calling the roll, he started into a pre-planned speech - the sort all the teachers seemed to have, "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making." his voice was quiet, but menacing, in a way that tells you that if you don't listen to every word, very carefully, you'll regret it, big time. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses.... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
I was very interested in Potions, to begin with, but this speech was inspiring. The bushy-haired girl - Hermione Granger - seemed pretty keen on the subject, too. Snape, however, had other ideas. He decided to pick on Potter. "Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" I didn't know that one, but it didn't matter - I wasn't the one he asked. I watched with interest. Granger's hand shot into the air - know-it-all - not that being a know-it-all is a bad thing.
"I don't know, sir." Potter answered, sounding scared. Good.
Snape sneered at him - I really do think he would have to be my favourite teacher. "Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything. Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Oh this is good. Potter looked like he had been petrified. Granger waved her hand to try to get Snape's attention, obviously wanting to answer this question, as well. It was all I could do to not burst into fits of laughter, at the look on Potter's face.
"I don't know, sir," he answered. Pathetic - even Crabbe or Goyle could have answered that one.
"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" This was entertainment at its best. Serves him right for being so rude to me. Snape asked another question, "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Granger looked like she might have a nervous breakdown if Snape didn't let her answer the question.
"I don't know. I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?" Potter said. That was not the right thing to say. Some of the Gryffindors laughed, but Snape scared them into silence by looking at them.
Snape snapped at Granger, "Sit down." then turned his attention back to Potter. If I hadn't already decided I hated him, I would pity him. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" I quickly grabbed my quill, and wrote down what Snape had just said, word for word (as best I could remember it). "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter." This really was my favourite subject, now.
We were then put into pairs, and told to mix a simple potion to cure boils. I was stuck with Pansy, who I knew had been hopeless at Basic Potions in our old school. I quickly organised our work so that she didn't touch anything that might blow up. Of course it didn't help, because the crybaby from Gryffindor - Neville Longbottom - melted his cauldron, and succeeded, quite spectacularly, to cover himself in boils. The poor boy was sent off to the Hospital Wing. He must have been worse at Potions than Pansy to make such a simple mistake. And guess what... Snape told off Potter for not noticing that Longbottom was messing up the Potion - Potter wasn't even working with the crybaby! Another point taken away from Gryffindor. By the end of the lesson, I was the only student who Snape hadn't criticised. I wished that we had Potions class more often.
* * *
From then on, I always loved Potions and Astronomy. They were my favourite two subjects. Potions especially, because we got to watch Snape tormenting the Gryffindors. Catarina Feral - Cat - quickly became my friend, and the only way to get Pansy to leave her alone about this fact was for me to admit that I liked Pansy - total lie - and that Cat was just a friend, and nothing more - I'm only eleven! What, exactly does Pansy think I'm going to do? Don't answer that - I really don't want to know.
* * *
End of chapter 3
