Ginny skipped all the way to the common room. She went up to her dormitory and set her bag on the bed. She took out the few parchment sheets of the ingredients and instructions. She folded up the instructions and put them in a safe place. She cleaned out her school bag putting the books she didn't need at the foot of her bed. She put the ingredient list back in her bag with flasks and test tubes to put the ingredients in. She took another trip out of the common room to the student store-cupboard. Again she hoped not to run into Malfoy, and again she didn't. She picked up all the ingredients she needed. She was about to turn back to leaved when a cool voice spoke and rattled her bones.
"Making a potion, Miss Weasley?" It was Snape. His dungeon was right next to the cupboard. Ginny bit her lip. She didn't know what to do.
"Er... yes Professor. I have just realized the fine art of potion making," Ginny said, hoping he'd buy it. "It is actually quite... er... interesting."
"Really?" he asked, surprised he was hearing a Weasley say this. "May I ask you what potion you are brewing?"
"What potion? What potion I'm brewing? Heh," Ginny stuttered. "Well, Professor, this potion I am brewing is very complicated. One of the most complicated I have seen. I had read about in a book in the library. Some of the ingredients, unfortunately, are not in this student cupboard. I really need them though," Ginny rambled.
"Well, maybe if you tell me what it is called I can tell you...?" Snape said wondering what was into her.
"Right," Ginny laughed. "It is called... um... the..." Ginny glanced at her paper. "It is called the Pickled Horse-Radish Bimbo Potion." She bit her lip.
"The what?" Snape asked confused.
"Well, Professor, I would think you would know what that is since you are the Potions Master. The Pickled Horse-Radish Bimbo Potion is a potion which you can... turn someone... into a... er... Blast-End Skrewt." Ginny said the first thing that came into her head. "Temporarily of course. I am going to give it to my brother as an early birthday present."
Snape smiled. "I see. Is there anything I need? I am sure that would be a funny joke." Ginny had just thought of something. She could use Snape to get her the ingredients she needed.
"Yes, actually. I need the things that aren't crossed off." She handed Snape her list. As he read it, Snape raised his eyebrows. Why could she possibly want this is she...? He remembered the book he had checked out twenty-five years ago. No she couldn't. It must be something else.
"This right here," Snape said pointing to the Chopped Horn of a Unicorn, "will be hard to get. There might be a shop down in Hogsmeade that would have it. I think it is called Potion Makings. I can get you the other ingredients on the list." Ginny followed Snape into his office in the dungeon. She had never been in his office before. It was very gruesome. There were some things floating in jars, and other things that should have been in jars. Snape went into a cabinet and took a little bit of all the things on the list. Ginny was close to his desk. She looked at it and saw a letter there. On the last line it had the words "We're sorry Severus," and it was signed by Professor McGonagall. Why was Snape acting so nice towards her? Could he have been laid off? Was he going to be laid off? She tried to move the other papers to read more of the letter, but Snape had caught her.
"Here," Snape said handing her a bag with the ingredients in it with one hand and covering the letter with his other hand. She thanked him and then took the bag and walked quickly out of his office. She remembered what Snape had said about the last ingredient at a storer in Hogsmeade. There was still time to go, but Ginny needed some money. She ran back up to her dormitory and looked at all the money she had. It wasn't that much. She shoved it in a pocket in her robes and went outside. There was a group of kids waiting to get a ride to Hogsmeade, so she waited with them. After about ten minutes the train had finally come. She saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione get off. Maybe she could ask Ron for some money really quick.
"Ron!" she called over to him. "Come here!" She didn't want to lose her place in line. All three of them walked over to her. "Can I have some money, please?"
"Ginny I don't have any money, ok?" he said looking around to see if anyone heard.
"Please Ron. Please, please, please, please?" Ginny whined.
"I don't have any money. So just shut up." He shoved her.
"Hey--"
"Here, Ginny," Harry said digging through his pocket for money. Ginny turned red. He handed her a handful of change.
"Harry, you don't have too," Ginny began. She glanced down at the change in her hand. He gave her six galleons and eight knuts. No one keeps six galleons as change. "Wow! Thanks Harry." It was her turn to get on the train. Before she got on the train she saw a jealous looking Hermione. After she got on the train she briefly considered not going back. Harry had been awfully nice to her. But she changed her mind as she got off the train. She had a new task now. Finding the store Snape was talking about.
She walked along the main drag. Looking at every name of each store. She couldn't find it. Finally she came to Honeydukes. Maybe she could ask the people at Honeydukes there. She walked into the sweet smelling store. She loved the smell of Honeydukes. If she had extra change left over she would go and buy some chocolate.
"Excuse me," she asked the woman behind the counter. "Is there a store around here called Potion Makings?"
"Hmmm... Yes I think so. It is all the way on the other side, though. The last shop to the right. It's kind of old and dusty. Look closely or else you'll miss it. Remember to be very patient."
"Thank you," Ginny told the lady. She walked back outside. The fall winds blew softly on her face. She made her way down to the other side of the street. 'Look closely,' the woman had told her, 'Be very patient.' Of course those words didn't make any sense to her now, but they eventually would. She looked at every store to her right. After what seemed like walking forever Ginny finally saw it. It was dusty and looked like the windows had not been cleaned for a long time. She stepped in the shop. A little bell was attatched to the door and it jingled as she stepped inside. An old man with white hair and a short white beard was at the counter.
"Why hello little Miss," the man said. He spoke very slowly and moved like a snail. Ginny suddenly felt very shy.
"Hi, I need Chopped Horn of a Unicorn," she said quickly.
"You do? How much would you like?" he asked.
"Two tablespoons please." The man walked over to the cash register.
"I see. What kind of potion are you making?" His worlds crawled slowly out of his mouth. He pressed a few buttons on the cash register.
"A potion for school."
Ginny looked curiously at the register he was playing with. He laughed at her expression. "Muggle items are so easy to use. Six galleons and seven knuts please." She reached in her pocket and gave him her change. He dropped the money in the box. I wonder if Dad knows what kind of contraption that is.
The man picked up a spoon slowly. It shook in his hand. Each step he took over to a cupboard felt like a year. He set the spoon down. Then he reached slowly in his pocket and pulled out a ring of keys. He held the ring in the light and examined each one until he found the right one. He slowly placed the key in a lock on one of the cupboards. "I have to lock each of my ingredients up with a secret spell that only the right key can undo," he explained. He wiggled the key in the lock but it didn't click. Ginny drummed her fingers on the counter impatiently. She looked at the knut in her hand. 1987 was the year. She had always liked looking at the years of the coins. The man held his ring of keys up to the light again and searched for the correct one. He placed the key in the hole but it still didn't work. About six tries later, the cupboard opened. Finally, Ginny thought. But then he had to get a bag.
"Do you need some help, Mister?" Ginny finally asked.
"Oh no, I have everything under control." Ginny now understood what the woman in Honeydukes had meant. After he got the bag he picked up the spoon and dipped it into a pot. The pot was empty. Ginny wondered what he was doing. But when he brought the spoon out it was filled with a substance that looked like chopped walnuts. Ginny blinked. That was weird. He poured it in the bag. He then dipped the spoon in the empty pot again and it came out with chopped walnuts. He carefully tied the bag shut. He took about ten steps to the counter to hand her the bag. To Ginny it felt like ten minutes.
"Thank you," she said politely to the man. And ran out of the store.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. J.K. Rowling owns the characters, and I did not make up the plot. It's been done like a thousand times before.
A/N: There is the second chapter. I am not sure why I made Snape so nice to Ginny. Yes, I know this story is going really slow but I promise the next chapter will be better. And she will go back in time next chapter, I promise.