Chapter 22: The Potions Class
Ellie woke up feeling fully refreshed, despite the fact that it was way past midnight when she and Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room. She quietly watched Hermione pick up her book bag from the foot of her bed, before they both went down to the common room, where they would meet up with Harry and Ron.
"It's a shame you have to leave today." Ron commented as the four passed through the portrait door. "It's really been great having someone else cause trouble other than us."
Ellie's stomach suddenly dropped. The thought of leaving Hogwarts hadn't even crossed her mind. A very disheartening feeling swept through her as she glanced briefly at Harry. She wasn't ready to leave him, especially after the night they had spent together. Somehow Ellie managed to burry her sadness, and found the determination to enjoy the remaining time she had left in the magic world.
The first class of the day was Charms with Prof. Flitwick. Ellie took a seat next to Harry, and patiently waited for the class to begin. Most of the students were still whispering, and pointing in her direction, which lead Ellie to wonder if they were ever going to grow up. After a few minutes of waiting, tiny Prof. Flitwick entered the room. In order for him to see over the class, he had to climb a tall stack of books that were piled behind his desk.
Ellie was extremely excited to experience first hand how someone would go about learning a magic spell. However, she became incredibly disappointed when Prof. Flitwick asked, in his squeaky voice, for her to borrow someone's wand, and stand at the front of the classroom. Instead of learning that week's lesson, the entire class watched Ellie try, and miserably fail, to perform the various charms Flitwick asked her to recite, using Harry's wand. Ellie had never felt so humiliated, as the students let out uncontrollable laughter.
After class, Ellie's anger was at full force.
"Is that what passes for entertainment in the magic world, exploiting muggles?" She exclaimed in outrage, following Harry, Ron and Hermione down two flights of stairs.
The three Gryffindors didn't say a word. Ellie knew that they weren't the ones who were laughing, but they didn't do much to stop it either.
"This way Ellie." Ron said, as he turned down one corridor, while Harry and Hermione continued to walk towards another staircase.
"Where are you going?" Ellie demanded. She got the feeling that she was being abandoned, and she didn't like it one bit.
"Hermione and I have Potions." Harry replied awkwardly.
"And you don't?" Ellie snapped at Ron.
"My Potion grade wasn't high enough." Ron answered, sounding slightly ashamed. "So, I have to take Muggle Studies instead. It actually isn't as bad as it sounds."
"So you all thought that the muggle would rather go to the Muggle Studies class, where she can be turned into another spectacle for everyone to laugh at?"
"It's not like that at all." Hermione quickly intervened to get Ellie's temper under control. "It's just that Snape and Malfoy will both be in Potions class, and we thought it would be safer if you weren't there."
"Personally, I'd rather put up with Snape and Malfoy than be humiliated for an entire class." Ellie said firmly.
"You're right." Harry spoke before Hermione had a chance to dispute. "It was unfair for us to assume you'd want to go with Ron to Muggle Studies. We should have talked to you about it first. If you really want to go to our Potions class, you can."
"But I'd highly advise against it." Hermione stated, shooting a very disappointing glare at Harry.
"Thank you." Ellie said calmly. "I'd much rather sit in on a Potions class than Muggle Studies. No offence Ron."
"Prof. Ethnole isn't going to be happy about this." Ron mumbled, as he continued on his way down the corridor.
"We better hurry, or we'll be late for class." Harry commented, glancing down at his watch.
It was Ellie's first time being in the dungeons, and they were even more drab and musty than she had imagined. Ellie followed Harry and Hermione into a room where several students were already seated. Malfoy, who was sitting at the front of the class, gave her a look of disgust as soon as she entered the room. Waiting for Prof. Snape to arrive, Ellie looked at the various bottles and jars filled with intriguing and bizarre substances, which she could only assume were ingredients. There was also a strange aroma that hung in the air. It reminded Ellie of the odd smell in the apothecary, except that this was much more nauseating.
Prof. Snape made a grand swooping entrance, his billowing black cloak flowing behind. His piercing dark eyes slowly scanned the class, and finally rested on Ellie.
"Potter, you should know better than to bring pets into class." Snape sneered. All the Slytherins snickered, Malfoy being the loudest.
"However," he continued in a blasé tone, "the Headmaster, for some strange reason, request that Ms. Richards observes some classes, so I must, unwillingly, comply. The problem is that I don't allow anyone to just observe my classes, they must participate."
"But last year Prof. Umbridge-"
"That's twenty points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter!" Snape growled. "As I was saying, the bigger dilemma is that Muggles can't do magic. Sure they can mix, and brew the correct ingredients, using the proper materials, but they still lack the most vital ingredient to any potion, the magical power that gives the potion its effect. . But since I can't have you sit in a corner and do nothing, you can assist Mr. Potter with cutting and measuring his ingredients."
Snape dramatically turned towards the black board, and with a tap of his want, the day's assignment appeared. It was a complicated memory potion that required the most exact measurements, and procedure. The entire class promptly began to prepare themselves for a potion that would take the entire two hours to complete.
Ellie rather enjoyed cutting Abyssinian Shrivelfig and stripping Jabberknoll feathers, while Harry ensured that his cauldron was at the precise temperature. Actually participating, and contributing to class was far more better than being laughed at, Ellie thought to herself. In fact, the class was going much better than expected. All the students kept to themselves, keeping their focus on producing a memory potion that would hopefully earn them a high grade. At one point Ellie even prevented Harry from adding the Graphorn before the Nettles. By the end of class, Harry and Ellie's memory potion was a vibrant dark blue, like it should be, and even looked better than Hermione's, which seemed to annoy her.
With five minutes left to go, everyone was handed a small glass jar, which they were to label their name on, and put the potion into for grading. By accident, Ellie was also given a glass jar, which she also filled with a ladle full of potion. Every single cauldron was magically cleaned as the students made a queue to hand in their hard work. Ellie secretively slipped the tiny jar into her pocket, thinking that it would make a great souvenir, and might even help Jo in remembering when her birthday was.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise of shattering glass. Ellie turned around to see Harry standing at the front of the line, looking as if he was ready to punch Snape in the jaw.
"Well Potter, it looks like you'll be receiving another zero." Snape sneered with pleasure.
After standing still for a few moments, Harry managed to restrain his anger, and started to walk away.
Ellie quickly ran to the front of the classroom, took the small jar from her pocket, and handed it to Harry.
"It's a good thing you were given a partner today." Ellie winked.
Realizing what he had in his hand, Harry immediately labeled the potion, put an unbreakable charm on the glass jar, just to be safe, and gave it to the Potions Master.
Snape shot a spiteful glare at Ellie, then suspiciously glanced at the jar.
"I'm curious, Ms. Richards, why a muggle, like yourself, would have her own jar of memory potion." Snape inquired.
"I was given an empty jar, and thought it would look better filled."
"And I'm sure an intelligent girl like you would also realize that it is forbidden for a muggle to possess any magical materials, especially a magic potion."
"I do realize that." Ellie responded curtly.
"Then please explain to my why you had this." Snape demanded, holding the jar of memory potion in Ellie's face.
"It turns out that I just happen to be one of those rare muggles who have the ability to see into the future, and knew that you were going to sabotage Harry's grade." Ellie said, sarcasm dripping of each word. "But then again, it doesn't take a psychic to see that your hands are so slimy that they wouldn't be able to grip something as simple as a glass jar."
The entire dungeon went silent. Snape's face turned purple with furry, which was the most colour Ellie had ever seen in his complexion.
"Ellie, I think we should go." Hermione whispered in her right ear.
Ellie turned on her heel, but bumped into someone who was standing directly behind her. Another jar fell to the stone floor, the tiny shards coming to rest in a pool of blue liquid. Ellie was about to apologize, as she removed her gaze from the floor, but looked up only to find herself staring into Draco Malfoy's furious face.
"Well, it appears that Slytherin house consists of nothing but butterfingers." She quipped. "No wonder you have so much difficulty trying to catch the snitch."
"Come on Ellie, time to go." Hermione said shortly, forcefully pushing Ellie out of the class room. Harry followed right behind.
Just before the door closed behind them, Ellie glanced back to see Snape and the Slytherin students looking purely outraged, and the remainder of the class with stunned expressions at what had just occurred.
Walking away, Ellie found it very fitting that she helped create a memory potion in a class she would never want to forget.