Before I start, sorry about the pacing of my story for two reasons. I'm having a lot of fun so its going slowly, but I'm also having trouble with the layout. Hopefully it'll be different this time!

Chapter Five – Potions Make Perfect

The morning after the feast, lessons began bright and early. Students rose blinking and bleary eyed from their common rooms, weaving their way down to the main hall, where the tables were groaning under overflowing plates. While Harry, Emma and Ron helped themselves to several slices of hot buttered toast, some bacon and scrambled egg, Hermione and Elisabeth took heavy ceramic bowls of porridge and settled themselves down where they began talking quietly and in earnest.

"So," Harry began between mouthfuls of toast, "Do you actually know anything about that new Slytherin?"

Emma shrugged, "Not much. Just from when I spoke to him yesterday..."

"And?"

The girl chuckled, "He's an arrogant sod. But probably harmless. His family's rolling in money though."

Sneaking a glance over at the Slytherin table, Harry's insides sunk. Even Malfoy seemed to be acting nervous around the new boy, who sat with an air of control and command at the centre of the table. Crabbe and Goyle, once flanking Malfoy, were now relegated to the far end and watched their one-time master with hangdog expressions.

"Oh well," laughed Ron breezily, "At least those two are unhappy!"

"Don't be too cheerful yet," warned Harry glumly, "Its Potions first. We get to meet the new Slytherin firsthand. And I doubt Malfoy's going to be too pleased to see us – after what happened in July..."

Slow on the uptake, Emma asked, "What happened..."

Quietly, they filled her in on the exploits they had undergone, the battle with escaped Death Eaters and finally Voldemort deep inside the Ministry of Magic. They explained about the broken prophecy and the murder of Sirius Black. Emma, eyes widening with every word, exclaimed little, "Ooh's" and "Ahh's" every so often, until she grew quiet and serious at the tale of Harry's loss.

"Oh Harry, mate, I'm so sorry!" she said, patting him on the shoulder.

Harry shrugged with a slight smile, "It's okay. I'll be fine!"

It was then that a slight prickle danced over his scar and he winced. Along with the pain came something else. The sensation of being watched. And, not just watched, but being scrutinised inside and out, as though icy eyes were boring a hole straight through him. Twisting, he looked left and right, but the only people he caught looking at him were Hermione, and the new Ravenclaw, Kathryn. Then, the odd girl who he hadn't met yet offered him a curious look, then turned away back to her breakfast and conversation with Cho Chang.

With an indifferent shrug, Harry turned back to his breakfast and took another bite of toast. Potions would require all of his effort to get through – he couldn't worry about odd transfer students yet...

"So, Year Six, you've all picked Potions. I must warn you," and here Professor Severus Snape looked as though warning the students was the last thing he wanted to do, "That Potions will increase in extreme difficulty this year. For those of you who only just managed to pass their OWLS, extra effort will be required of you this year. Do I make myself clear?"

The low ceilinged dungeon was dingy, with the cauldrons all beginning to boil slowly. Snape walked around each one, speaking as he did so, "This year, the Potions we brew, will be both deadly and curative, useful and bizarre. But, you will be graded on each one. At the end of each term, you will sit a practise exam. At the end of the year, you will take a final exam which contributes to one third of your overall NEWT score. The exam you sit at the end of your second year will be your final third. Your coursework in the meantime will make up the final third. Your coursework will be the easiest part of the grade to obtain, so everyone must work hard as the courswork grade can make a HUGE difference."

Ron rolled his eyes and leant his head on his hand, distracted for one moment.

"Weasley. Explain to me the benefits of the Perfection Potion." snapped Snape icily.

Ron sat bolt upright, "Perfection Potion?" and with a vaguely sick look he turned to Hermione, who shrugged.

"The Perfection Potion was a potion first made in 1432 by a wizard-knight who couldn't slay the dragon Vendragald. The Perfection Potion made him invincible for the thirty seconds required to invade Vendragald's nest and take his head off. The Perfection Potion is incredibly complex to brew since it has to be made in two parts, one part at night, one part during the day, but both from incredibly rare and expensive ingredients..." explained Elisabeth quietly.

Hermione swallowed nervously – a little too loudly.

"Why, Miss Crowe," chuckled Snape, "That was a textbook answer that outdid our own Miss Granger. For the look on Miss Granger's face, and for that answer, ten points to Gryffindor. Can anyone else tell me what both parts of the Perfection Potion do on their own?"

Without raising her hand, Elisabeth began, "The Solaris Potion is an incredibly painful poison. The Luna Potion is a potent restorative against all illnesses of the body but not the mind."

Snape smiled that curiously genuine smile once more. He nodded.

In disbelief, Harry and Ron turned to each other. Snape, being nice to a Gryffindor? It was almost too bizarre. Both were itching to discuss it, but Snape's love of taking points off of them was almost legendary, so they kept quiet.

"Your coursework for the first term, is to brew a Perfection Potion." Snape explained, "Your homework is to read about the Perfection Potion and copy out ingredient lists and the process required for the Solaris Potion, which we will start working on in a couple of weeks. For the second term, Potion lessons will take place at night to complete the Luna Potion. But for now, we will simply focus on the Lemblis Potion. Who can... Miss Granger?"

Hermione's hand was in the air, reaching for the ceiling and in a gush of air shouted, "Lemblis Potion...to clear mind...invigorate senses...learning aid...great!"

Thin lipped and smiling wickedly, Snape replied, "First year level answer, Miss Granger. For not being prepared, two points from Gryffindor. Open your books and read up on the Lemblis Potion. I want you all working on it within the next ten minutes!"

To be continued!