Chapter Four
So I started out classes with Defense Against the Dark Arts. An hour spent with Slytherin. No biggie. It was the double Potions with Slytherin after lunch that was the problem. While evening out the student number for the class, I was an odd number in Gryffindor. Professor (______) partnered everyone him/herself. In every case but one the partners in each group belonged to the same House. One group, seeing that there were an odd Gryffindor and an odd Slytherin, was one of each House. I was paired with some slicked haired boy from Slytherin. Grand. The only thing worse than a Slytherin partner was a Slytherin partner for a double class. End of class wasn't soon enough.
Over dinner we talked of our homework assignments. In DADA we have to research werewolves. The guys were snickering over that. I'll have to ask them why later. The assignment in Magical Creatures was research on unicorns and their usefulness. In Potions, we have to practice with our partners the potion of the week. This week it's (_____). Easy enough. Only I have to work with my partner, the Slytherin. Ug. Funny thing is, I'm sure he feels the same.
*~*
Once in the Common Room, I cornered Sirius and asked him about the DADA assignment and why they thought it was funny. "Go ask Remus," he snickered. I looked around for Remus and saw him coming down the stairs for their dorm with his bag. "Remus, I need to ask you something," I hollered. He stopped and waited. "What's up, Alexandria?" "Well, I was wondering. What's so funny about werewolves?" His already pale faced paled a bit more. "Um, well, tell you what, walk with me to Dippet's office and I'll try to explain." With that he turned and went through the Fat Lady.
Momentarily stunned by his abruptness, I had to run to catch up out in the corridor. "So, tell me. What's up?" "Well, see, um .," he was stalling. I could tell he didn't want to say, so I kept pestering him. Finally, as we were just outside of the gargoyles, he stopped, said the password and turned to me. "I am one," he said as the stairway rose and quickly ran up them.
I stood there, floored. Finally I gathered myself together when the doorway closed and walked slowly back to the Common Room. I again cornered Sirius and also James and Peter. "So, when were you planning on telling me?" I demanded. "Actually," James said, "we weren't. Sirius here," he threw a dirty look at him, "knew better and should have answered you question. However, after talking to him, I think he may have done alright."
"What's that supposed to mean, James?" I asked. "Well, chances are, after the tests from yesterday, you would have figured it out soon enough. Telling you now is better than you finding out and totally hating us forever, right?" He grinned and expected to smooth things over. I sighed, "yeah, I guess. And it's not like you've known me forever, either, right?" The three of them smiled at me, telling me I was all right.
Peter leaned over and whispered in my ear, "but there's more. Meet us here after everyone's in bed." With that, they left to study.
~*~
Later, as I was packing up my homework mess, they came quietly down from their dorm. "So, what's going on," I whispered. James quickly explained how they have been training themselves to become animages to offer support for Remus. "Really?" I was surprised. "I thought you English had to be registered or something." "Yeah, well, no one knows but now the five of us. We'll have to figure something out with you," Sirius said. James added, "For now, just stay here and keep an eye on the painting." With that dismissal, the three of them turned and headed to the Fat Lady.
"Wait," I whispered hoarsely. They turned, but only saw a solid black cat. They gave each other quizzical looks until it dawned on James. "She's a bloody cat! I don't believe this!!" Remus opened the portrait and ushered us out into the hallway. They climbed under James' cloak. Quietly we snuck down to the front door and they opened one just enough for us to squeeze through. We walked as quickly as possible to the Whomping Willow, where Peter turned into a rat and pressed a knot on the tree. From there, we went through a tunnel and up into a shack.
*~*
The next day dawned bright and beautiful. The Gryffindor Quidditch team was practicing after classes today, so the weather was a blessing. James, Peter, Remus and Sirius were grinning ear to ear about the adventure last night. Remus was still pale; he'll have to go back again tonight. I planned to stay in and write home. Mom and Dad were probably anxious to hear from me about starting here.
While Quidditch practice was going on, I decided to hunt down my Potions partner and get this mess out of the way. We were to make the (___) potion. Then one of us was to test it while the other stood by with the antidote and took notes. I couldn't trust him with the antidote and I doubt he would trust me.
I walked over all the grounds looking for him but never saw him. I checked the library, too, but no sign of him there. On impulse, I even checked the empty Potions classroom. Nope, not there. On my way out of the room, I saw a white-haired Slytherin walking towards me. "Hey!" I hollered. "I'm looking for Snape. Any idea where he's at?"
He looked at me distrustfully and snarled, "why?" "He's my partner in Potions. I want to get this done and over with tonight instead of tying up my Friday night or even the weekend. Where is he?" "I'll check the Common Room when I get there," he growled and walked off. "I'll be here!" I said cheerfully and shivered. The dungeons were a bit chilly.
I was about to give up and go watch what was left of practice when Snape came down the hallway. I turned around and opened the classroom door up. Without saying a word to each other, we set up our area with the caldron and supplies. "Incendio," I said casually as I packed up my wand and took some parchment from my bag.
I laid the parchment and a quill on the table and looked at Snape. "Who's the guinea pig this time? accio antidote. They could take the notes next time." The antidote came from the shelf on the wall behind Snape and I place it on the table.
Snape looked at me in . awe? Who knows. His eyes went wide and then slanted as he snarled, "ladies first." Do all Slytherins snarl and growl? Or is it because they were talking to a Gryffindor?
Guinea pig problem solved, we started mixing the potion. For now, both of us were taking notes on the steps we took and the conditions around us. About an hour later, the potion was ready and it was time to do and die. I scooped an unhealthy portion into a glass and held it up. "Well, if you're ready." he picked up the antidote and uncorked it. With an evil glint in his eyes he said, "Go for it."
I downed the serving in two nasty, terrible gulps and waited. (AN: I'll post the effects once I know the potion.) Amazingly, Snape administered the antidote right on time and I collapsed to the floor. He placed the bottle on the table and took notes of the effects of the antidote. After a few minutes I recovered enough to crawl into a chair and pick up my quill. I shakily wrote out what it felt to me to have taken the (_____) potion. We cleaned up our mess without another word to each other and went our separate ways.
~*~
AN: I just wanted to thank my lovely supporters again: lily_evans, Sylvir, Emms, coffee, and Liv Tyler. Back still hurts, but I am trying to sit up straight. That helps a bit. ( Now, I am of course open to suggestions on what potion they used in this chapter. ;) And I know the animagi think is a bit cheesy and predictable, but she needs things for later in the story. Just curious, would someone under the truth potion know what was being asked?
So I started out classes with Defense Against the Dark Arts. An hour spent with Slytherin. No biggie. It was the double Potions with Slytherin after lunch that was the problem. While evening out the student number for the class, I was an odd number in Gryffindor. Professor (______) partnered everyone him/herself. In every case but one the partners in each group belonged to the same House. One group, seeing that there were an odd Gryffindor and an odd Slytherin, was one of each House. I was paired with some slicked haired boy from Slytherin. Grand. The only thing worse than a Slytherin partner was a Slytherin partner for a double class. End of class wasn't soon enough.
Over dinner we talked of our homework assignments. In DADA we have to research werewolves. The guys were snickering over that. I'll have to ask them why later. The assignment in Magical Creatures was research on unicorns and their usefulness. In Potions, we have to practice with our partners the potion of the week. This week it's (_____). Easy enough. Only I have to work with my partner, the Slytherin. Ug. Funny thing is, I'm sure he feels the same.
*~*
Once in the Common Room, I cornered Sirius and asked him about the DADA assignment and why they thought it was funny. "Go ask Remus," he snickered. I looked around for Remus and saw him coming down the stairs for their dorm with his bag. "Remus, I need to ask you something," I hollered. He stopped and waited. "What's up, Alexandria?" "Well, I was wondering. What's so funny about werewolves?" His already pale faced paled a bit more. "Um, well, tell you what, walk with me to Dippet's office and I'll try to explain." With that he turned and went through the Fat Lady.
Momentarily stunned by his abruptness, I had to run to catch up out in the corridor. "So, tell me. What's up?" "Well, see, um .," he was stalling. I could tell he didn't want to say, so I kept pestering him. Finally, as we were just outside of the gargoyles, he stopped, said the password and turned to me. "I am one," he said as the stairway rose and quickly ran up them.
I stood there, floored. Finally I gathered myself together when the doorway closed and walked slowly back to the Common Room. I again cornered Sirius and also James and Peter. "So, when were you planning on telling me?" I demanded. "Actually," James said, "we weren't. Sirius here," he threw a dirty look at him, "knew better and should have answered you question. However, after talking to him, I think he may have done alright."
"What's that supposed to mean, James?" I asked. "Well, chances are, after the tests from yesterday, you would have figured it out soon enough. Telling you now is better than you finding out and totally hating us forever, right?" He grinned and expected to smooth things over. I sighed, "yeah, I guess. And it's not like you've known me forever, either, right?" The three of them smiled at me, telling me I was all right.
Peter leaned over and whispered in my ear, "but there's more. Meet us here after everyone's in bed." With that, they left to study.
~*~
Later, as I was packing up my homework mess, they came quietly down from their dorm. "So, what's going on," I whispered. James quickly explained how they have been training themselves to become animages to offer support for Remus. "Really?" I was surprised. "I thought you English had to be registered or something." "Yeah, well, no one knows but now the five of us. We'll have to figure something out with you," Sirius said. James added, "For now, just stay here and keep an eye on the painting." With that dismissal, the three of them turned and headed to the Fat Lady.
"Wait," I whispered hoarsely. They turned, but only saw a solid black cat. They gave each other quizzical looks until it dawned on James. "She's a bloody cat! I don't believe this!!" Remus opened the portrait and ushered us out into the hallway. They climbed under James' cloak. Quietly we snuck down to the front door and they opened one just enough for us to squeeze through. We walked as quickly as possible to the Whomping Willow, where Peter turned into a rat and pressed a knot on the tree. From there, we went through a tunnel and up into a shack.
*~*
The next day dawned bright and beautiful. The Gryffindor Quidditch team was practicing after classes today, so the weather was a blessing. James, Peter, Remus and Sirius were grinning ear to ear about the adventure last night. Remus was still pale; he'll have to go back again tonight. I planned to stay in and write home. Mom and Dad were probably anxious to hear from me about starting here.
While Quidditch practice was going on, I decided to hunt down my Potions partner and get this mess out of the way. We were to make the (___) potion. Then one of us was to test it while the other stood by with the antidote and took notes. I couldn't trust him with the antidote and I doubt he would trust me.
I walked over all the grounds looking for him but never saw him. I checked the library, too, but no sign of him there. On impulse, I even checked the empty Potions classroom. Nope, not there. On my way out of the room, I saw a white-haired Slytherin walking towards me. "Hey!" I hollered. "I'm looking for Snape. Any idea where he's at?"
He looked at me distrustfully and snarled, "why?" "He's my partner in Potions. I want to get this done and over with tonight instead of tying up my Friday night or even the weekend. Where is he?" "I'll check the Common Room when I get there," he growled and walked off. "I'll be here!" I said cheerfully and shivered. The dungeons were a bit chilly.
I was about to give up and go watch what was left of practice when Snape came down the hallway. I turned around and opened the classroom door up. Without saying a word to each other, we set up our area with the caldron and supplies. "Incendio," I said casually as I packed up my wand and took some parchment from my bag.
I laid the parchment and a quill on the table and looked at Snape. "Who's the guinea pig this time? accio antidote. They could take the notes next time." The antidote came from the shelf on the wall behind Snape and I place it on the table.
Snape looked at me in . awe? Who knows. His eyes went wide and then slanted as he snarled, "ladies first." Do all Slytherins snarl and growl? Or is it because they were talking to a Gryffindor?
Guinea pig problem solved, we started mixing the potion. For now, both of us were taking notes on the steps we took and the conditions around us. About an hour later, the potion was ready and it was time to do and die. I scooped an unhealthy portion into a glass and held it up. "Well, if you're ready." he picked up the antidote and uncorked it. With an evil glint in his eyes he said, "Go for it."
I downed the serving in two nasty, terrible gulps and waited. (AN: I'll post the effects once I know the potion.) Amazingly, Snape administered the antidote right on time and I collapsed to the floor. He placed the bottle on the table and took notes of the effects of the antidote. After a few minutes I recovered enough to crawl into a chair and pick up my quill. I shakily wrote out what it felt to me to have taken the (_____) potion. We cleaned up our mess without another word to each other and went our separate ways.
~*~
AN: I just wanted to thank my lovely supporters again: lily_evans, Sylvir, Emms, coffee, and Liv Tyler. Back still hurts, but I am trying to sit up straight. That helps a bit. ( Now, I am of course open to suggestions on what potion they used in this chapter. ;) And I know the animagi think is a bit cheesy and predictable, but she needs things for later in the story. Just curious, would someone under the truth potion know what was being asked?