Harry Potter and the Stone Wand
Chapter 2
"Veneficium"
The first week of classes had been a unique one. That year was the first year Harry did not have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. For once, their professor was quite normal and therefore stuck around for another year. On Tuesday they had Care of Magical Creatures, and they met their new teacher...
"Fleur?!" asked Ron in utter disbelief. "Are you kidding me?" They had gathered by the lake, and a few minutes later approached a beautiful, silver-haired girl.
"Welcome to Care of Magical Creatures! I will be taking over for 'Agrid for ze time being. I am Professor Delacour," she said just beaming with excitement. Harry stopped paying attention to what she was saying and got lost in his own thoughts. He remembered Fleur telling him she wanted to teach at Hogwarts to improve her English, but he never expected she would considering how much she criticized the school.
The second surprise came with the other new teacher, Professor Parsons. When Harry first saw her, he thought she would be a lot like Snape, favoring the Slytherins of course. Maybe it was just her uncanny resemblance to him that threw Harry off. She had black hair as well, but it wasn't greasy like Snape's and it was much longer. She had the same hooked nose, but it didn't look as bad on her face. Harry wondered if they were related or if it was just a coincidence among potions teachers.
They had potions with the Slytherins on Friday afternoon. Professor Parsons was already brewing up something in a massive cauldron, which stood on the floor and reached her waist, when they filed into the classroom. She was wearing black robes with red trim and a stern look on her face. If Snape and McGonnagall ever had a child together, she would have been the result.
The students took their seats and sat there in silence while she continued to stir the contents of the cauldron. She would occasionally look up at them without cracking a smile. After twenty minutes of this, she stopped stirring and looked around the room. "I am Professor Parsons. I will be filling in for Professor Snape, while he takes care of other business. I don't know how much time that will give me, so for our first lesson, I thought we would jump right in and learn about my favorite potion. Everyone, please come up one at a time and fill your own cauldrons halfway up with my own special mixture." One by one the students went up and ladelled the clear, blue steaming potion into their own cauldrons and sat back down. Harry carefully sniffed the contents of his cauldron hoping the steam wasn't poison. It smelled like nothing.
"I have already placed on your desks a list of ingredients you will be adding. You want to be extremely careful when measuring because the slightest difference could produce the most dreadful side effects."
"I hope we don't have to test this stuff," Ron whispered to Harry. "I'd feel really bad for Neville." Harry looked over and saw a downtrodden look on Neville's face.
"Actually, Ron, you all *will* be testing your potions at the end of the class," she said. Ron gulped. "But don't worry," she said, with reassurance only in her voice, "no matter how bad your potions turn out, the effects will wear off. Just be glad this is your last class of the week."
They all got started cutting up leaves and measuring powders [hm...sounds like they are cooking, huh?]. Harry's potion kept changing colors every time he added a new ingredient. He felt a slight stinging in his stomach because of this. He just hoped the potion didn't start to change consistency. It remained very watery and kept steaming slightly. The potion became less and less as the steam came off it. With all the ingredients added, the potion filled about a quarter of his cauldron.
When twenty minutes remained in the class, Professor Parsons stood up and clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "You should all be done by now. If you aren't, well, then we'll see what happens. Pick up the straws next to you and have at it!"
Harry picked up a yellow twisty straw that was on the table and raised his eyebrow. "I thought only muggles used these," he said to Ron.
"Well, I've never seen a straw like this before," he said, as he examined his own straw which was looped like a tornado. They both put their straws into their cauldrons. "One, two, three..." Harry drank up his entire potion without stopping in case it tasted awful, but it had a nice lemony flavour. "Not bad," said Ron, licking his lips. "Tastes like cherries."
"Mine tastes like lemonade," said Harry. "I wonder what it's supposed to do."
Professor Parsons watched as they all finished off their potions. Then a smile spread across her face. "Everyone, wands in hand please." Harry found this very unusual; they never used their wands during potions. "Let's try a simple charm. Try to summon something to you, anything you want, on the count of three. One, two, three."
"Accio!" exclaimed the students all at different times. Many things sparked, and a couple of tiny bottles blew up, but nothing else had moved. Harry looked at the book he tried to summon; it laid perfectly flat, unprovoked.
Professor Parsons walked over to a broken vile on the shelf. "Who tried summoning this?" she asked.
"I did, professor," said Pansy Parkinson, proudly. She obviously thought she had done something better than the others. Hers had at least moved.
"I see." She continued around the room picking up random things that had sparked or shifted and asked who the summoners were. Then she examined everyone closely as though deciding something. "Twenty-five points to Gryffindor. Eighteen points to Slytherin. You all could have picked up an easy fifty points for your houses had you been a bit more careful with your measurements. Miss Parkinson, potion making is an art, not a sport. Take your time in the future." Pansy's face fell. "Now, can anyone tell me what the potion does? Ten extra points if you know the name."
One of the Slytherins raised his hand. "It quenches your thirst," he said, and the other students laughed.
"Well, I suppose it does do that, but if that's what you require, you're much better off with pumpkin juice. Anyone else?"
Harry decided to take a stab at it. "It ruins your ability to do magic."
"Close enough. It's called Veneficium Pop. Actually, the 'pop' part is mine." She blushed with pride. "It's a relatively new potion. It's only been around for two hundred years. There have been variations of it. The ingredients you added were all a part of the original potion. Many witches and wizards have brewed their own, which turned out to have long term side effects. Why aren't you all writing this down?
"My grandmother created a Veneficium that has proven to be most effective, and so far no known side effects have happened. I used her recipe to make Veneficium Pop. Veneficium used to be very concentrated and had to be added to something, but usually made the liquid completely different, so it was obvious it had been tampered with. I created a drink that, when mixed with Veneficium, would produce a tasty treat. All of you probably tasted something different. That's the beauty of my creation." She beamed at them all.
"Oh, right. The purpose. I forgot. Well, the purpose of Veneficium was to rid someone of their magical powers for a short while. It's not common because few people can make it or know how to make it, and you have to be quite cunning in order to get someone to consume it. If someone were to slip you some, not much would happen. You wouldn't be able to do magic for a while, not a huge deal really."
Lavender raised her hand. "So we wouldn't be able to make potions?"
"Anyone can make potions. Muggles just don't know how to. If they were taught, they could even make Veneficium." She paused and thought about it. "That would be quite dreadful though. Well, looks like we've run out of time. I want you all to write about your weekend. I want to know how it was not to use magic in Hogwarts, and when you got your powers back. The more detailed, the better. Good day."
Chapter 2
"Veneficium"
The first week of classes had been a unique one. That year was the first year Harry did not have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. For once, their professor was quite normal and therefore stuck around for another year. On Tuesday they had Care of Magical Creatures, and they met their new teacher...
"Fleur?!" asked Ron in utter disbelief. "Are you kidding me?" They had gathered by the lake, and a few minutes later approached a beautiful, silver-haired girl.
"Welcome to Care of Magical Creatures! I will be taking over for 'Agrid for ze time being. I am Professor Delacour," she said just beaming with excitement. Harry stopped paying attention to what she was saying and got lost in his own thoughts. He remembered Fleur telling him she wanted to teach at Hogwarts to improve her English, but he never expected she would considering how much she criticized the school.
The second surprise came with the other new teacher, Professor Parsons. When Harry first saw her, he thought she would be a lot like Snape, favoring the Slytherins of course. Maybe it was just her uncanny resemblance to him that threw Harry off. She had black hair as well, but it wasn't greasy like Snape's and it was much longer. She had the same hooked nose, but it didn't look as bad on her face. Harry wondered if they were related or if it was just a coincidence among potions teachers.
They had potions with the Slytherins on Friday afternoon. Professor Parsons was already brewing up something in a massive cauldron, which stood on the floor and reached her waist, when they filed into the classroom. She was wearing black robes with red trim and a stern look on her face. If Snape and McGonnagall ever had a child together, she would have been the result.
The students took their seats and sat there in silence while she continued to stir the contents of the cauldron. She would occasionally look up at them without cracking a smile. After twenty minutes of this, she stopped stirring and looked around the room. "I am Professor Parsons. I will be filling in for Professor Snape, while he takes care of other business. I don't know how much time that will give me, so for our first lesson, I thought we would jump right in and learn about my favorite potion. Everyone, please come up one at a time and fill your own cauldrons halfway up with my own special mixture." One by one the students went up and ladelled the clear, blue steaming potion into their own cauldrons and sat back down. Harry carefully sniffed the contents of his cauldron hoping the steam wasn't poison. It smelled like nothing.
"I have already placed on your desks a list of ingredients you will be adding. You want to be extremely careful when measuring because the slightest difference could produce the most dreadful side effects."
"I hope we don't have to test this stuff," Ron whispered to Harry. "I'd feel really bad for Neville." Harry looked over and saw a downtrodden look on Neville's face.
"Actually, Ron, you all *will* be testing your potions at the end of the class," she said. Ron gulped. "But don't worry," she said, with reassurance only in her voice, "no matter how bad your potions turn out, the effects will wear off. Just be glad this is your last class of the week."
They all got started cutting up leaves and measuring powders [hm...sounds like they are cooking, huh?]. Harry's potion kept changing colors every time he added a new ingredient. He felt a slight stinging in his stomach because of this. He just hoped the potion didn't start to change consistency. It remained very watery and kept steaming slightly. The potion became less and less as the steam came off it. With all the ingredients added, the potion filled about a quarter of his cauldron.
When twenty minutes remained in the class, Professor Parsons stood up and clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "You should all be done by now. If you aren't, well, then we'll see what happens. Pick up the straws next to you and have at it!"
Harry picked up a yellow twisty straw that was on the table and raised his eyebrow. "I thought only muggles used these," he said to Ron.
"Well, I've never seen a straw like this before," he said, as he examined his own straw which was looped like a tornado. They both put their straws into their cauldrons. "One, two, three..." Harry drank up his entire potion without stopping in case it tasted awful, but it had a nice lemony flavour. "Not bad," said Ron, licking his lips. "Tastes like cherries."
"Mine tastes like lemonade," said Harry. "I wonder what it's supposed to do."
Professor Parsons watched as they all finished off their potions. Then a smile spread across her face. "Everyone, wands in hand please." Harry found this very unusual; they never used their wands during potions. "Let's try a simple charm. Try to summon something to you, anything you want, on the count of three. One, two, three."
"Accio!" exclaimed the students all at different times. Many things sparked, and a couple of tiny bottles blew up, but nothing else had moved. Harry looked at the book he tried to summon; it laid perfectly flat, unprovoked.
Professor Parsons walked over to a broken vile on the shelf. "Who tried summoning this?" she asked.
"I did, professor," said Pansy Parkinson, proudly. She obviously thought she had done something better than the others. Hers had at least moved.
"I see." She continued around the room picking up random things that had sparked or shifted and asked who the summoners were. Then she examined everyone closely as though deciding something. "Twenty-five points to Gryffindor. Eighteen points to Slytherin. You all could have picked up an easy fifty points for your houses had you been a bit more careful with your measurements. Miss Parkinson, potion making is an art, not a sport. Take your time in the future." Pansy's face fell. "Now, can anyone tell me what the potion does? Ten extra points if you know the name."
One of the Slytherins raised his hand. "It quenches your thirst," he said, and the other students laughed.
"Well, I suppose it does do that, but if that's what you require, you're much better off with pumpkin juice. Anyone else?"
Harry decided to take a stab at it. "It ruins your ability to do magic."
"Close enough. It's called Veneficium Pop. Actually, the 'pop' part is mine." She blushed with pride. "It's a relatively new potion. It's only been around for two hundred years. There have been variations of it. The ingredients you added were all a part of the original potion. Many witches and wizards have brewed their own, which turned out to have long term side effects. Why aren't you all writing this down?
"My grandmother created a Veneficium that has proven to be most effective, and so far no known side effects have happened. I used her recipe to make Veneficium Pop. Veneficium used to be very concentrated and had to be added to something, but usually made the liquid completely different, so it was obvious it had been tampered with. I created a drink that, when mixed with Veneficium, would produce a tasty treat. All of you probably tasted something different. That's the beauty of my creation." She beamed at them all.
"Oh, right. The purpose. I forgot. Well, the purpose of Veneficium was to rid someone of their magical powers for a short while. It's not common because few people can make it or know how to make it, and you have to be quite cunning in order to get someone to consume it. If someone were to slip you some, not much would happen. You wouldn't be able to do magic for a while, not a huge deal really."
Lavender raised her hand. "So we wouldn't be able to make potions?"
"Anyone can make potions. Muggles just don't know how to. If they were taught, they could even make Veneficium." She paused and thought about it. "That would be quite dreadful though. Well, looks like we've run out of time. I want you all to write about your weekend. I want to know how it was not to use magic in Hogwarts, and when you got your powers back. The more detailed, the better. Good day."
