The next day I had Double Potions first thing in the morning. Despite his new treatment towards me, I was still wary of Snape, especially in his class. Potions was not my strongest subject, and Snape's sneers and looks of disgust didn't help my ability to do well in his class.

Maybe things will be different now, I thought to myself as we left for the dungeons. But don't get your hopes up.

Franco and I went to our regular seats in the back of the classroom. Franco was glancing at Snape suspiciously out of the corner of his eye.

"I still can't figure it out. Fifteen points, from his own house," he mumbled.

"Maybe it was just a temporary moment of insanity," I whispered impatiently. I wished Franco would stop going on about Snape.

"Calm down," Snape said coldly to the class, and the room fell silent. "Today we will attempt a new potion, a simple repellant elixir. With this potion you will be able to ward of many types of unfortunate insects and other small creatures. It is not a difficult potion, but I expect that very few of you will be able to complete it," He turned and looked at Franco, but saw me staring at him and quickly turned away. Perhaps I was expecting too much of him, after all. "Directions are on the board. Begin."

"Not very difficult, my arse," Franco muttered.

"Yeah," I replied, but really I wasn't having much trouble with it at all. If you simply pay close attention to the ingredients and your cauldron, things work out quite the way they should, I said to myself. Why didn't I realize this before? I was doing very well. I hadn't missed any ingredients or steps so far, and I felt almost, confident. Snape wasn't sweeping by every few minutes making snide comments. My hands weren't shaking as they usually did. I felt calm and almost pleased. So this was why Snape had so much passion for Potions, I thought. A cauldron will never let you down if you treat it the way you are supposed to.

Finally, I added my last ingredient, Wormstooth, and stirred the cauldron seventeen times counterclockwise. I filled my vial with the potion, which had turned a peachy color, and brought it up to Professor Snape's desk.

"Excellent color," Snape said softly, looking up from the papers he was correcting.

"Thank you, Professor," I said and went back to my seat. I couldn't help but beam. For once I had done something right. For some reason, his approval was much more important now than anyone else's, even my Father's.

When everyone had finished and bottled up their potion samples, Snape announced that there were a few minutes left of the class to test some of our potions.

"Let's try...this one." He reached for a potion and to my horror chose mine. Sure it had been the right color, but would it work? Snape looked at the label, though I'm positive that he knew it was mine all along. "Miss Cockerham, up to the front."

Trembling, I walked to the front of the classroom and Snape handed me my bottle. I took a nervous gulp and made a face. It tasted like rotten asparagus. Snape raised his wand.

"Insectium!" A small swarm of many types of strange insects began to buzz around me. For a moment I thought I had failed and that these bugs were going to eat me alive, but then I realized that they could not reach me. It was as if there was an invisible bubble surrounding me. They tried to get to my arms and face, but with only bounced back and buzzed more louldly.

"Eeew," Leila squealed. "Make them go away before they try to sting the rest of us!"

Almost on command, the insects began to disappear with a 'Pop' until none were left.

"Nice work, Ten points to Ravenclaw, Miss Cockerham," Snape said.

"Thank you," I returned to my seat with a smile creeping across my face. Snape wanted to test me, and I passed! With flying colors!

Franco was gawking at me with his mouth open and I was suddenly very interested in my hands. Fortunately, the bell rang before he could speak and the class filed out. Franco opened his mouth again as I was packing up my things into my bag but I pretended not to notice that he wanted to talk to me.

"Oh!" I gasped as I knocked a book off of the table. I bent down to pick it up and felt a hand brush my fingers. I looked up and saw Snape holding the book.

"Thank you, Professor," I said quietly. I felt my face beginning to get hot. Why was I so embarrassed?

"Nice work today Miss Cockerham. I see improvement." He didn't have a sarcastic look on his face. He seemed genuinely pleased.

"Thank you," I said again, this time in almost a whisper. Snape nodded and returned to his desk.

I grabbed my bag and quickly walked out, Franco half-running behind me.

"What was that about?" Franco exclaimed as we left the dungeons.

"I don't know," I said, not looking at his face.

"You know..." said Franco timidly. "I almost think he's got a thing for you. What really went on in those detentions?"

"Franco!" I screamed, spinning around and hitting him with my bag. "Don't be disgusting! I did well today, that's all! He would have done the same for anyone," I explained, but in my head I wasn't quite so sure if he would have done the same for anyone else...

Now it was Franco's turn to 'hmm'.