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Chapter 34
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Getting to Potions…
It was time for the sixth-years to head out from the greenhouse. Professor Sprout had engaged them in major gardening work, and as they worked, she had briefed them on the plants and vines they would be taking care all the way throughout their sixth year. The students found that they had to practice their utmost caution as they harvested the berries of the Magnolia Projectivilien. The vine did not like that the students were denuding it of its colorful berries and had a tendency to loose microscopic needles out into the air, which could cause severe irritation if inhaled, or inflammation if it impacted on exposed skin.
"So, to avoid getting damaged, I want each group to appoint one student who will be responsible in applying some pressure around the central system. Wear gloves mind you!" She had said. Harry's group looked at the vine uneasily. Its central part consisted of several evil-looking sharp needles where a sticky green liquid oozed slowly out. Their gloves needed to be changed very often, as Harry had noticed that the green liquid was strangely eating the fabric of the gloves.
The sixth-years, all hot and sweaty, were quickly making their way towards the castle. Ron was suppressing himself not to scratch at his face. Professor Sprout had assured him that the microscopic needles would dissolve gradually and had just given him a lotion to apply on his face.
"Do you think we'll have time to wash up?" Ron groaned, trying not to think about his itching face as they began to jog towards the castle.
"It's only two-fifteen. How much time do you reckon we need to bathe?" Hermione panted. "I am glad that Professor Sprout let us off early! It's practical for Potions today and I don't think even I could concentrate, being as sweaty and huffy as I am now!"
"I think you're exaggerating, Hermione," Dean spoke up. "God! Finally!" The Gryffindors gave a sigh of relief when they reached the great doors of the castle. Neville caught up with them with great difficulty, panting heavily.
"I think I've had enough of physical exercise," Neville groaned and looked ruefully at the staircases. Hermione pulled the tired boy along and proceeded into the Gryffindor Tower. The students impatiently waited at the portrait, as they need several moments to wake the dozing Fat Lady.
"Bloody portrait! Wake up!" Ron yelled and the Fat Lady jerked her head up in surprise.
"It's you people again! Password?" The Fat Lady grumbled and Ron told her the password. They all scrambled in, dropping their bags all over the common room as they dashed upstairs to wash themselves for the second time since their lessons began. Hermione was the first to descend down into the common room. She looked around for her bag and hooked it onto her back and tapped her foot impatiently for her friends. She looked down at her pocket watch and showed sixteen minutes to three. Hurry up!
Harry's hair was still dripping wet when he came down, followed by Ron and the rest of their classmates. Hermione handed Ron's his bag and turned to look at Harry curiously when he gasped. Harry had blanched when he felt something hot over his head and instantly the heat was gone.
"What the bloody hell happened?" Ron demanded, as Harry's hair dried up and was combed down neatly.
"It probably was Fenix's helpers," Hermione shrugged and ushered them quickly out of the their common room. They had at least ten minutes to make their way down to the dungeons without having to fear at being late. They walked at a fast pace, but not fast enough to make them pant with exertion again.
While they were on their way down to the dungeons, they bumped into Sirius who were taking the twelve first-years to the Transfiguration classroom. Harry and his godfather exchanged winks before Harry disappeared down the narrow staircase leading to the dungeons. Their footsteps echoed eerily along the passage and they passed Snape's office to go directly into their Potions classroom. Snape was nowhere to be seen. Malfoy was standing at a corner of the room, looking at the Gryffindors with undisguised hatred.
Harry looked around for his bodyguards but they were nowhere to be seen except for Dina and her partner. Harry gave a sudden frown at Malfoy. There's no need to get violent… Guess his followers couldn't make it for Advanced Potions. Dare I hope? Harry mused and sat at his usual place, giving an inquiring glance at Ron whom snorted.
"Settle down, people!" Snape's silky voice emerged from the entrance of the dungeon, closing the door as he swept into the classroom. The Potions Master took a moment to absently tuck his long hair back and looked around the silent classroom lazily. "I am very amazed that you got through your OWL, Longbottom. However, I am not so sure of my decision of letting you come back to my class. So… I have weeded out the hopeless incompetents of this subject, though I must say that the number of my own students who got through this subject with spectacular results were nonetheless…disappointing," He eyed Malfoy impassively as he sat carefully on his desk. The silence that had filled the classroom somehow felt oppressive and Harry fiddled with his quill uneasily.
"We shall begin our lesson now… get ready to take down some notes," Snape hinted and he gave a flick of his wand at the blackboard. "You will all be learning to make Vigilencia." Hermione stared at the Potions Master with sick recognition and Snape gave her a very faint smile that seemed almost sympathetic. "Making this potion is an extremely tedious process-- you could gauge how resigned Miss Granger looked. But first," Snape stood up and sat behind his desk, clasping his arms together and leaned forward. "I want someone to tell me what the consumers expect from this concoction," Snape looked about for volunteers, ignoring Hermione who had raised her hand inevitably.
It was a shock to almost everyone when Harry actually raised his hand. Phrases almost seemed to leap in his Harry's mind as he remembered the spidery writing of the Potions book. "Yes, Potter," Snape leaned back, arching his right eyebrow.
Harry spoke softly but his voice was clear enough to be heard in the dungeon. "Vigilencia is a stimulant for both physicality and mentality. So one of its major functions when consumed is to enable the consumer to…" Harry faltered, narrowing his eyes a little as he struggled to phrase his sentence. "It enables the consumer to remain alert for prolonged periods."
"Hmmmm…" was all Snape answered and he stared intensely at Harry. "And…what other…benefits does this potion have, Potter?"
Malfoy found the behavior of his favorite teacher slightly alarming. He was thinking about voicing out his observation when his adversary spoke up again, to answer the Potions Master's question.
"It also helps to improve short and long term memory, and is able to provide the consumer with extra energy and quickens reflexes of the consumer." Harry's voice trailed off and went back to fiddling with his quill as he stared blankly over Snape's head.
: Truly amazing. I did not expect you to remember that passage clearly. : Snape's scratchy mindvoice-- that was tinged with sarcasm-- spoke deeply into Harry's mind. Harry stared at the Potions Master.
: Am I being praised? : Harry answered back just as sardonically. He heard a derisive snort echoed in his mind as Snape withdrew his link from Harry.
"Shocking… Those are the unique properties of Vigilencia. Other than what Potter had mentioned, when used in tincture form, it acts as a sedative. There are other properties and functions-- you will do a research on what some of the compounds--" Snape jerked his head at the blackboard, "as your homework, and to be submitted next Monday." The Potions Master stood up and walked about the classroom slowly as he continued his briefing.
"The potion making is divided into three parts, meaning that this potion-making session would at least expand over the next two weeks or so--" Snape quickly snatched the paper rose from Justin that he had tried to pass to his girlfriend. He did not do anything to it. He just kept walking about the classroom, occasionally peering down over their notes and stopped at Neville. "You missed the primary feather of the golden hawk, Longbottom."
"I will not tolerate any sloppy work--or note-taking for that matter… This batch of Vigilencia you will be making will find its way down to the drug market, and to the School, mind you. I do not really have to explain why," Snape gave a penetrating look at his students. "Assuming all of you are not as ignorant as you look," he said as an afterthought. He walked about the room for several minutes more until the students had finished copying the materials and methods that had been written at the blackboard. He walked back to Justin Linklater and handed back the paper rose with a suggestive look. "You will begin with the first part now. And individual work." Snape said firmly, giving a sidelong look at Hermione and Neville as he opened the store cupboard.
Snape went back to his desk and resumed his research on the antiseptic potion and stayed out of the students' hair for about fifteen minutes before he stood up and began his inspection. Malfoy as always, passed Snape's inspection without any comments. Smoke was rising up in great billows from Ron's cauldron and he stared at it in resignation, waiting for Snape to give his usual repelling comments.
"Too much liquid and too hot, Weasley. Evanesco. Redo." Snape said briskly and continued making his rounds. Harry held his breath when Snape paused over his cauldron and the Potions Master sniffed experimentally at the smoke.
: Good enough. Follow the next instruction carefully, Potter. You do not want to blow up the entire dungeon. : Snape said softly as he went over to inspect Neville's cauldron. Harry took the moment to whisper that information to Ron who whispered to Hermione. She just gave him a patronizing look before whispering the same thing to Seamus and Dean.
After one hour of stirring the cauldron, Harry's hand was shaking a little as he carefully measured the exact amount of Yellow Vetch. He passed the bottle to Ron and slowly, while stirring the contents of the cauldron in one hand, poured the liquid gently into the cauldron. A strange sweet smell wafted up from his cauldron, and Snape immediately went over to check. Snape instructed Harry to transfer some of the liquid into a clear flask while he went in search for something in the storage cupboard.
Harry looked around, ignoring Malfoy's malignant stare and was a bit surprised when he realized that he was the first to finish. Don't tell me that I've made a mistake somewhere… His thought evaporated when Snape returned, holding a jar with slimy, silver contents. He uncapped the bottle and placed a drop of the silver-like substance into Harry's concoction. Snape instructed Harry to mix the contents and the boy did as instructed, mixing it three times clockwise, then three times anti-clockwise. Harry's milky concoction was slowly turning into a clear solution and he looked to the Potions Master for an explanation. Snape nodded, his approval barely showing. He ordered Harry to keep the remaining concoction in the silver flask that had suddenly appeared on Harry's desk. Harry studied the flask carefully and noted that his initials were engraved in the body and the cap of the flask. Fastidiously, Harry transferred most of the solution into the flask, taking care not to spill any onto his exposed hand. Who knows if any of the compounds can cause any kind of allergy?
As Harry was doing all of this, the others were slowly finishing, their cauldrons giving the same kind of sweet smell after the addition of the Yellow Vetch. Snape cleared his throat and instructed the rest to place a small fraction of their potion into a clear flask and repeated the small procedure to their samples.
"Impossible," Malfoy muttered to himself, staring at Harry who placed the flask on an unoccupied space on Snape's desk.
"Did you say something, Malfoy?" Snape asked absently, gazing intently on Neville's flask as the boy swirled the mixture anxiously.
"Nothing, Professor." Malfoy mumbled.
Harry breathed a smile of relief and grinned when Ron gave a look, 'Bloody hell! I don't believe it!' and Harry answered with a cheerful look, 'I don't believe it either!'. Neville gave an explosive sigh when Snape gave a nod and Neville turned to fill his potion into the silver flask that had been provided. Harry meanwhile cleaned his cauldron with a flick of his wand and waited for Snape to dismiss the class.
"Now, homework. I want you to write down the properties and functions of the Yellow Vetch and the most important ingredient, the berries of Magnolia Projectivilien. Must be at least fourteen inches and handed in by Monday. Class dismissed."
Dina gave a wave and the Gryffindors waved cheerfully as they separated, the Slytherins going to their Tower as the Gryffindors took the staircase up. The Entrance Hall was filled with students that had finished the class early and some were groaning in disappointment as they found the Great Hall locked. Harry gave an inward smile when he caught sight of Fenix's large notice. Neville was feeling a little bewildered after the Potions class and hung back to speak to Harry.
"What happened to Snape?" Neville asked curiously, his voice thick with astonishment. "What did Fenix do to him?"
Harry clasped his friend's shoulder in assurance. "We don't really know. But Snape's a tolerant enough fellow ever since he mixed around with our group. Maybe he's influenced by her."
Neville blinked his eyes, the bewilderment still strong inside him. "It's the very first time that I've made a potion right, right from the beginning!" Harry gave a hearty laugh at Neville's feeling of accomplishment, his heart feeling lighter than days past.
"And Malfoy is certainly smelling something fishy," Ron added, giving a mischievous smile. "I wonder how Sirius is getting used to his responsibilities."
"We'll ask him during supper, if he's joining us. I think Alicia wants to see us right now. Quidditch practice, no doubt," Harry said, scratching the scar on his arm lightly. Ron gave a nod and the Fat Lady gave a sigh of resentment, asking Ron for the password with a very bored voice.
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