"Class. Class! Get hold of yourselves," Snape reprimanded his potions class. "This is a tricky potion that we will be mixing today, and I trust that no one will mess this up." He shot a sideways glance at Neville, who blushed profusely.
"Today we are making the Sanguis Veritas potion. This literally means the Blood Truth. Copy down this chart." A chart apeared before the class.
Pure Blood - Red
Half Blood -Blue
Muggle Born – Purple
Squib - Green
Muggle – Black
"Oh, great," Hermione mummbled to Harry and Ron, "another chance for Draco to humiliate me for being muggle born!"
"Do you have something to share, Miss Granger?" smirked Snape.
"No sir," her cheeks flushed.
The class began silently gathering and mixing ingrediants as Snape instructed.
.5 ounces of Phoenix Tears
3 drops Hippogriff blood
2 crushed Lily Fronds
1 Pint of Dragons Blood
½ cup of Water from a Waterfall
When the ingredients were mixed and heated as required, the dark liquid turned clear. Snape asked for volunteers from the class.
"Let's see…who's potion we can assume to be good. Zambini, bring your potion forward. Longbottom, come up here. Let's see once in for all, if you have any magic in you at all."
Neville cautiously approached the desk. He nearly fainted when he had to prick his finger and squeeze a drop of blood into the cauldron. A bright red puff of smoke came from the cauldron.
"Very good, Blaise. Ten points for Slytherin."
"You, come," Snape said, summoning a Ravenclaw girl, "Come up here with your potion. Potter, you too."
Harry repeated the process with a blue puff of smoke resulting, another flawless potion.
"Granger," Snape called, Hermione's head sunk, she just knew he wanted her to try out the potion, but instead he called for her potion.
"Mr. Malfoy, will you?"
"Love to, sir." Malfoy strutted to the front of the room. He was sure that his puff would be so big and bright red that it would chase the class out of the room.
Draco pierced his finger and the blood slowly formed to a droplet and fell to the cauldron waiting below.
Blue smoke.
""Fifty points from Gryffindor. Miss Granger, I expected better from you," Snape smirked.
Hermione was thrown back; she knew the potion had been just perfect. "But Professor," she protested.
"Not a word, Granger, to your seat."
Not to be embarrassed, she thrust the needle into her own finger and bled into her cauldron. Purple smoke.
"There is nothing wrong with my potion. Make Draco test his again!"
"Class dismissed," Snape bellered. "Draco, Granger, STAY!"
The trio tested each potion in the class with each of their blood and the results were the same ever time. Snape, red. Hermione, purple. Draco, blue.
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"Well certainly your bloody potion is messed up. It probably can't read blood as pure as mine!" Draco was screaming at the top of his lungs at Snape. His face was all red and he looked like at any moment he would burst into tears.
"Draco, calm down. I am sure that we will get this all sorted out," Professor Dumbledore tried to quiet the irate student.
"I will do no such thing! Here this…potion… has everyone thinking that I am not pure blood and you are telling me to calm down. I want to owl my mother! I want to owl the ministry. Just wait till the ministry hears about this. My father might be gone, but the Malfoy name still has power!" Draco ranted on.
Professor Dumbledore pulled Hermione off to the side, "My dear, there is nothing more for you to do here. Professor Snape will give you full credit for your potion. There is nothing that I can find wrong with it. I am sure we will get this little situation straight. In the mean time, I would appreciate it if you could keep this discussion to yourself?"
"Yes, sir. Of course."
Hermione left Dumbledore's office and headed to meet up with Ron and Harry at lunch. She hadn't even sat down at the table when everyone at the table started talking to her at once.
"So, what's up with Malfoy?"
"Is Malfoy a half-blood?"
"What is Malfoy expelled for?"
"I heard that Draco threatened Malfoy!"
"What amazes me," Hermione said, "is that you have no idea what your homework assignment is but you know all sorts of gossip when nothing has happened!" Hermione strictly refused to say anything more.
After lunch, Ron and Harry walked alone with Hermione. "Now," she said "that we are away from the crowd!" The boys were stunned, they thought Hermione wouldn't tell them anything either! "Can you really believe this, Draco Malfoy is a half-blood?"
"Hermione," Harry protested, "I thought no one knew anything yet?"
"No, nothing officially, but I know my potion was right, and we tested it with all the others, even Snape's. Everyone else came out as predicted, everyone but Draco, his always came out blue! I bet that changes his attitude!"
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