Seconds later it seemed, McGonagall tailed by Gaby and Smith, entered
Snape's classroom, where students were struggling with the last steps of
the Potion.
Jade and Vanessa, like some others, gasped when they saw the teacher in a rampaging rage, the latter dropping the sample vial she was measuring out right back into the caldron, where it simmered ands smoked.
The contented smiled that were impressed upon the Slytherin's faces since Snape took the Gryffindors from the classroom were wiped clear by a look of sudden respect and slight fear.
McGonagall first cleared up the mess the potion had made on the floor and repaired the cauldron (the holes burned right through the surrounding benches remained a prominent sight of destruction), then she collected a sample from all the finished cauldrons, which she placed in her pocket.
She faced the class and opened her mouth just as the bell rang, echoing through the dungeon walls (some students made eager shuffling noises but she gave the class such a piercing look that the culprits looked constipated). "I would like for you to tell me," she swept a shrewd gaze over the heads of the Slytherins who remained silent, "what happened here."
***
"Hi!" Gaby said cheerfully a she slid her legs over the bench opposite Vanessa and Jade at the Gryffindor table that afternoon. It seemed the whole table was talking about McGonagall having given them fifty apiece for a perfect potion, and most importantly, for enduring Prince and Snape.
"I think Prat stole my appetite," Smith said as he sat down beside her. Gaby slid a platter towards him.
"Oh, pecans!" he said as a smiled reappeared over his morbid face and he began to eat.
"Don't worry about Snape, he's not worth it," Jade told him, and Gaby looked up to see if he was even listening. It turned out that he was staring at something over his shoulder.
"What is it?" she asked concerned, and it looked as if she should have asked the pecan instead.
Smith shook his head. "You know what?" he picked up the platter and got up, "think [what's her name can't remember] needs some of this.I'm going to wait for her there- see you in Transfiguration."
"Hey, that's illegal transferring of Gryffindor property," Vanessa said, as she reached over and took two pecans before he smiled and went away with it.
Gaby could feel them staring at her. She took a sudden mouthful of her steaming soup- "Ow!" it burned her tongue and she let it back out into the bowl. She blushed as she looked at them.
"I was gonna ask you for some but...okay Gabrielle- I understand," Vanessa told her. They giggled.
"Gabrielle!"
Gaby turned to see Eddie, Smith's friend, who was out of breath standing between the two tables.
"Wha-"
"It's Kara! She had a splash of the Pelican Potion- they just sent her up..."
Gaby didn't need telling twice, she checked her watch. Ten to one. "Tell McGonagall where I went!" she said to an astounded Vanessa and Jade, and quickly bought her legs over the bench again. Looking over at the Ravenclaw table, she saw that Smith was not there, and, thanking Eddie made it off to the stone steps in the Entrance Hall. She met with Smith at the foot of the stairs.
"You-"
"No time!" she said, trying to take the treads two at a time but stubbed her toe on the first attempt.
"How did you-"
"Eddie," she said, as they crossed the first floor to the Hospital Wing.
"You didn't have to come..."
"Shut up, it's as much my fault as it is yours."
And with that, they neared the door to the ward in peace. Gaby opened it. Madam Pomfery looked up from a bedside. When she saw Smith enter she stood up, and they could make out the strawberry blond hair strewn across the pillow. Gaby's heart raced as she neared the bed.
"I've given her a dosage to prevent it being contagious," Madam Pomfery told them, "but it's going to take a while for her to recover."
"Oh my gosh..." Gaby whispered, as she looked at the bruised red marks on her face and on her hands.
"She thought it was an itch," Madam Pomfery said, "then it spread when she scratched it probably...these potions, no wonder the N.E.W.T. students came back like this, even the fumes are dangerous, not for human skin contact if the potion went wrong..."
Gaby looked at the marks, where it seemed that a bit of the potion had effervesced on the surface, burning across her skin leaving minor gashes in its wake.
Jade and Vanessa, like some others, gasped when they saw the teacher in a rampaging rage, the latter dropping the sample vial she was measuring out right back into the caldron, where it simmered ands smoked.
The contented smiled that were impressed upon the Slytherin's faces since Snape took the Gryffindors from the classroom were wiped clear by a look of sudden respect and slight fear.
McGonagall first cleared up the mess the potion had made on the floor and repaired the cauldron (the holes burned right through the surrounding benches remained a prominent sight of destruction), then she collected a sample from all the finished cauldrons, which she placed in her pocket.
She faced the class and opened her mouth just as the bell rang, echoing through the dungeon walls (some students made eager shuffling noises but she gave the class such a piercing look that the culprits looked constipated). "I would like for you to tell me," she swept a shrewd gaze over the heads of the Slytherins who remained silent, "what happened here."
***
"Hi!" Gaby said cheerfully a she slid her legs over the bench opposite Vanessa and Jade at the Gryffindor table that afternoon. It seemed the whole table was talking about McGonagall having given them fifty apiece for a perfect potion, and most importantly, for enduring Prince and Snape.
"I think Prat stole my appetite," Smith said as he sat down beside her. Gaby slid a platter towards him.
"Oh, pecans!" he said as a smiled reappeared over his morbid face and he began to eat.
"Don't worry about Snape, he's not worth it," Jade told him, and Gaby looked up to see if he was even listening. It turned out that he was staring at something over his shoulder.
"What is it?" she asked concerned, and it looked as if she should have asked the pecan instead.
Smith shook his head. "You know what?" he picked up the platter and got up, "think [what's her name can't remember] needs some of this.I'm going to wait for her there- see you in Transfiguration."
"Hey, that's illegal transferring of Gryffindor property," Vanessa said, as she reached over and took two pecans before he smiled and went away with it.
Gaby could feel them staring at her. She took a sudden mouthful of her steaming soup- "Ow!" it burned her tongue and she let it back out into the bowl. She blushed as she looked at them.
"I was gonna ask you for some but...okay Gabrielle- I understand," Vanessa told her. They giggled.
"Gabrielle!"
Gaby turned to see Eddie, Smith's friend, who was out of breath standing between the two tables.
"Wha-"
"It's Kara! She had a splash of the Pelican Potion- they just sent her up..."
Gaby didn't need telling twice, she checked her watch. Ten to one. "Tell McGonagall where I went!" she said to an astounded Vanessa and Jade, and quickly bought her legs over the bench again. Looking over at the Ravenclaw table, she saw that Smith was not there, and, thanking Eddie made it off to the stone steps in the Entrance Hall. She met with Smith at the foot of the stairs.
"You-"
"No time!" she said, trying to take the treads two at a time but stubbed her toe on the first attempt.
"How did you-"
"Eddie," she said, as they crossed the first floor to the Hospital Wing.
"You didn't have to come..."
"Shut up, it's as much my fault as it is yours."
And with that, they neared the door to the ward in peace. Gaby opened it. Madam Pomfery looked up from a bedside. When she saw Smith enter she stood up, and they could make out the strawberry blond hair strewn across the pillow. Gaby's heart raced as she neared the bed.
"I've given her a dosage to prevent it being contagious," Madam Pomfery told them, "but it's going to take a while for her to recover."
"Oh my gosh..." Gaby whispered, as she looked at the bruised red marks on her face and on her hands.
"She thought it was an itch," Madam Pomfery said, "then it spread when she scratched it probably...these potions, no wonder the N.E.W.T. students came back like this, even the fumes are dangerous, not for human skin contact if the potion went wrong..."
Gaby looked at the marks, where it seemed that a bit of the potion had effervesced on the surface, burning across her skin leaving minor gashes in its wake.