Chapter 3
Carmella turned over pulling her blankets high above her head, so to shield her eyes from a patch of sunlight that was dancing on her face. She opened her eyes and peered across the room, only to see Olivia grunt and kick her duvet off the bed. Carmella took her watch from her bedside table and was astonished to see that breakfast wasn't for another ½hr. She clambered out of bed, shivering as she stepped onto the cold stone floor. She considered waking the other four girls up, but didn't want to risk being shouted at. She used a summoning spell to retrieve her robes from her trunk, got dressed, and brushed her silk- like hair. She went down the stairs and into the Slytherin common room, realising she was the only one up. She decided to wait for her fellow house- mates to arise before traipsing down to breakfast. She slouched in a green leather settee by a dim fire. She looked around only to notice a girl hidden behind a stack of books. Carmella approached the girl and gently shook her, to wake her up. Pansy yawned and opened her eyes. She stood up and stared at Carmella.
" Hi, my name's Carmella Dale." She said sweetly.
" I know who you are, and I know what you're trying to do! Your trying to take Draco away from me, and you wont succeed, he's mine! I like him, and he likes me, end- of- story!" Pansy bellowed poking Carmella hard on the shoulder, " I don't want idiots like you interfering!"
" I don't know what you mean, I don't even like Draco," Carmella stuttered.
" I saw you two the hospital wing together last night, and he was hugging you, and you were both laughing at dinner, and when I asked him to come to the library with me he said he was going somewhere with you. What's all that about? I don't want to ever see you with Draco again! People like me and Draco don't hang around with filthy trash like you!" She said pushing Carmella back into the armchair. 'I'm not taking this' Carmella thought to herself. Carmella stood up and charged for Pansy, who was about to leave the common- room. Carmella knocked Pansy into a bookcase and a pile of books toppled onto Pansy's head. She picked up a book from the ground and thrust it at Carmella, which narrowly missed her.
" What do you think your playing at!" Pansy roared as she stood up.
" You can't tell me who I can hang around with or who I can talk to!" Carmella bellowed in fury," you act like your tough, so prove it!"
"Oh I will!" Pansy shouted as she picked a pile of books and threw them at Carmella, which hit her this time. The two girls ran at each other, and after ten minuets of pulling each other's hair, kicking, punching, and slapping, Carmella told Pansy it wasn't over. Carmella picked up her bag and headed out of the common room, and she saw Pansy run upstairs.
Carmella made her way towards the Great Hall. Even though she wasn't very hungry, she might as well have a slice of toast, as she had potions for her first lesson, and potions was not one of Carmella's best subjects. She entered the great hall and was greeted by the chatter of only about 30 students. There were only three teachers awake, they were: Professor Dumbledore, a small teacher, who couldn't have been more than 3 feet tall, and her head of house, Professor Snape, who looked up and half smiled at her, happy to see that finally someone in Slytherin had got up and come to breakfast. Carmella tried to smile back, but was restricted, because of the bruises and cuts across her face, that she had received half an hour ago. She sat down at the table and realised there was no one sitting there, so her and the Bloody Baron ate breakfast alone. As she left, the remaining students and teachers hurried into the hall to get some last minute breakfast; luckily she didn't see Pansy or Draco.
Before heading towards the dungeons. She decided to go to the bathroom and try to cover up her war wounds with make- up, in the attempt that no one would notice. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she headed towards Snape's class. 'I think it's this way' she thought looking down a corridor. ' Or maybe it's that way' she thought looking puzzled.
" Are you lost?" Carmella spun around to face Olivia.
" Yeah, sort of. Do you know where Snape's classroom is?" Carmella asked.
" Yeah, have you got potions too? I hate him, he's so mean!" Olivia said as they walked down a dimly lit corridor.
" Really? How is he mean?" Carmella was beginning to get nervous, what if he was mean to her?
" Well he shouts a lot, and gives loads of tests, and when he's in a bad mood the best thing to do is keep your head down and pretend to work." Olivia said as they approached a hall that was full of pupils, ready to be let into their potions class.
" This is it, Snape's class, let's prepare for a really bad morning. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if he gave us a test when we get inside. Oh, and he always asks loads of questions about spell ingredients, and if you don't know them just say 'sorry', but didn't you transfer from a magic school anyway?" Olivia asked.
" Yeah, in Barcelona, I've been there since I was seven." Carmella answered.
" So you would have covered the same stuff as us in class then?"
" I guess so." Carmella said. She was going to tell Olivia about the things she had covered in her old school, but was interrupted by a loud voice. It was Professor Snape.
" In! There will be no talking in my classroom. Everyone is to be silent! I think everyone includes you, Mr. Longbottom." He said shouting at a rather startled boy.
" Can I sit next to you?" Carmella asked Olivia.
" Yeah, sure." She said smiling.
Once everyone had picked their seats for the year, Snape began the class.
" Today we are going to learn how to protect yourself from a potion. As you are not advanced enough, to do more difficult defending, we will start with a simple task, of making a revio potion, which will reverse the effects of an abeyance potion. An abeyance potion has to be taken orally for example if it is added to a drink, it can only make people obey a simple command. For instance, retrieving something for you, but the abeyance potion is not powerful enough to make someone hurt themselves or others drastically, but it is still used and is dangerous, and it is vital to know how to revive yourself or someone else from it. This is the revio potion that you are going to make." He said holding up a bottled green substance. Now, does anyone know the ingredients needed?" Snape asked looking around the room. Melody and Hermione's hands shot up simultaneously. They couldn't help but grin. Snape looked a little disappointed that they were both Gryffindors.
" O.k. Miss Potter then." Snape said, looking coldly at her.
" You will need, a toad's liver, stewed seaweed, any snake's venom, crushed beetles and some dried nettles." Melody finished.
" Good, good, well at least one of the Potter's has a brain, five points to Gryffindor, at least you're trying to make up for the points lost." He whispered to her as he walked over to the board to write the ingredients down.
" Wow!" Hermione whispered to Melody who was sitting next to her.
" Well, what can I say, they were in my dad's notes." Melody said grinning.
The Slytherins didn't look happy, especially Draco.
" Hermione, why doesn't Draco like me anymore?" Melody asked as they ground up their nettles.
" Well for lots of reasons, your in Gryffindor, your smart and your friends with us." Hermione said.
" I wonder why Carmella isn't sitting next to him, I mean they seem quite close." Melody whispered to Hermione who shrugged, as she looked over at the two Slytherins who were sitting on opposite sides of the potions classroom.
" Well, Draco was friends with Crabbe and Goyle before she came alon-." A fist slamming onto their desk interrupted Hermione. The two girls jumped back and dropped their beaker full of nettles, which smashed loudly onto the floor. The room fell silent.
" WHAT PART OF 'THERE WILL BE NO TALKING IN MY CLASSROOM' DIDN'T YOU UNDERSTAND!" Snape roared. His face was now purple and a vein in his neck was protruding.
" Sorry" Hermione said quietly.
"Good, and what do you have to say for yourself?" he said looking at Melody.
She looked like she had been struck by lightning. She was silent for a while. Melody took a deep breath and with all the energy left inside her, said to Professor Snape
" Sorry it won't happen again."
" I should think not Potter," He said walking back towards the board, "oh and that's ten points from Gryffindor," he added.
" Smelly Snivellus," she whispered to herself.
" You have ten more minutes to finish the potion. As I want to demonstrate something before the end of the class." Snape said as he sat down and ruffled some papers on his desk.
The ten minutes dragged on, and Hermione and Melody managed to finish their potion, just on time.
" Can everyone label their potions and put them on my desk." Snape said looking around. Everyone did this quickly, because he was in a bad mood already, and the next person to annoy him wouldn't see the light of day again. Everyone had managed to make a green coloured liquid, except Neville and Seamus who had managed to make their potion a light shade of blue.
"Well done you two! I suppose you put the nettles in first, but on the board it clearly says: PUT THE NETTLES IN LAST! Though I would be asking for too much, if I asked you to follow instructions! F's for both of you!" Snape said pulling out a register, and writing F next to their names.
Once everyone had sat down again Snape glanced at the class. "I will need a volunteer to drink this." He said holding up a red coloured liquid that he had taken from his potions cupboard. Don't worry it's just a demonstration to show you how powerful, such a small amount of this abeyance potion can be." He looked around the class.
" Potter, stand up you will demonstrate." Both Harry and Melody stood up. " Harry sit down, stupid boy" Snape muttered. Melody walked to the front of the class and took the bottle from Snape. " Now we will see how good Harry and Ron's Revio potion is," he smirked picking up their bottle from his desk. "Melody will drink some of this abeyance potion and if Ron and Harry made their potion correctly, there will be nothing to worry about" He said smirking.
"I hope we made it right." Ron whispered to Harry.
" I will give you some simple commands, after you drink this potion"; he said waving the red bottle in her face. He placed Harry and Ron's reversing potion on the desk. "O.k., drink up then." He said smiling nastily.
Melody opened the bottle and was greeted with a horrendous smell. She raised it to her lips and took a large gulp. Everything began spinning, she felt hot and dizzy, then she heard a voice and her vision became focused again, " stand on the table, then jump of." The voice said shrilly.
She couldn't resist the command even though a voice inside her head was telling her not to do it. The voice was so powerful and soothing she didn't want to anger it or make it stop. Melody walked over to a desk. The class held their breath. "He wouldn't", " would he?" People asked, but Melody couldn't hear them. Snape turned to watch his guinea pig do the command. Some of the Slytherins began laughing. Hermione and Harry both bit their lip whilst Ron stared longingly at Snape hoping that he wouldn't make her leap from the desk.
She was on the table now, everything was blurry again she kept hearing the command, "jump."
"Melody Potter get off that table at once!" Professor Mc Gonagall said as she walked into the classroom.
It was too late she jumped.
" Wengardium Leviosa!" Professor Snape roared. Melody was frozen in mid-air.
" Professor Snape what is the meaning of this" Mc Gonagall asked.
" It is a experiment that I was showing the class, I wasn't going to let her get hurt."
" Well lower her down, professor Dumbledore wants to speak with her." She said. Snape fetched his own Revio potion from his cupboard, Harry and Ron were relived. He lowered her down, and she drank the potion.
As the bell rang Melody hurried out of the classroom with Professor Mc Gonagall, as everyone else went to Herbology.
They reached the stone gargoyle,
" Fizzing Wizzers!" Mc Gonagall shouted. The gargoyle jumped aside to reveal a hidden staircase. " I will leave you here, just follow the stairs up and you will reach Professor Dumbledore's office. She walked up the stairs and pushed a big oak door open.