If Ginny had payed more attentions in Potions class, then she wouldn't have been able to win three consecutive Quidditch matches in a row. Unfortunately, her Potions professor ranked a sports achievement a notch lower than a macaroni necklace presented by a toddler to an unimpressed parent.

He slid Ginny's latest essay, adorned by a million red markings and a fat 'T' grade before her with the words, "one more Troll and it's a Howler home."

Ginny couldn't have that happen; mum would make her quit Quidditch if she found out she was failing her classes.

That's how she found herself at an after hours potions session with Neville Longbottom. That boy, though a year older, couldn't extract juice out of a ripe orange with a press if he wanted to! At least Ginny had some competency in the subject.

"It's going to take a miracle to pass this class," Neville said, squirming in his seat like a toad out of water.

"Then consider me The Great Houdini," Ginny said, eyebrows wiggling. "I have a plan."

Professor Snape was merciless. With an expression darker than the crust of a burnt cauldron, he flew into the room and hovered above his laboratory table.

"Today you will be brewing a Wit-Sharpening Potion. If done right, it will be of some use to the both of you." He cast a side eye over the duo before setting out the necessary ingredients on the table.

There lay a ginger root, a flask of armadillo bile and a small sack of wiggling critters. Neville withered as Professor Snape handed him a mortar and pestle with instructions to "keep his nerves under control lest he crush his own finger into a pulp." It was not very pedagogical, but certainly witty.

Ginny nudged Neville on, letting him take the lead on mashing together the beetles into a red paste. Neville's reputation preceeded him. The beetle paste somehow came out lumpy and hard and stuck to the pestle like a pancake and was any color but red.

Professor Snape let out a low sigh, but kept his eyes down on the parchments he was grading.

Ginny of course had the easy task of adding ginger to the potion base until it turned like green. When the professor was not looking, she added some leftover ham from lunch instead.

Professor Snape wrinkled his nose. "That does not smell like ginger, Miss Weasley."

"Maybe we need to add the rest of the ingredients?" Ginny added the beetle paste and Armadillo bile to the concoction. It begin to smell of something terrible and pungent and the Professor had to charm open all the doors and windows of the dungeon classroom to air out the smell.

"Idiot children," Ginny heard him mumble under his breath as he eradicated all contents of the cauldron, then smelling the inside, eradicated the cauldron as well.

"Well my mum likes to say, if you can't do it at first, try, try again," Ginny said.

"One attempt will be sufficient." Professor Snape sent the children away to their common rooms and barred the door of his classroom.

"We're done for," whispered Neville. The next evening, he sang a different song. He found Ginny in the Great Hall at dinner telling her that he recieved a passing "acceptable" on his re-graded parchment. Ginny came to potions the following day to recieve just the same.

Perhaps, Professor Snape was not so bad after all. That, or he really didn't want them destroying any more of his cauldrons.