"Are you here to learn or to daydream, Potter!"
Harry jumped. It was the second time Snape had caught him drifting off since class began.
"Ten more points from Gryffindor. If it happens again it will be fifty."
Harry sighed and began copying down what Snape had written on the board, ignoring the snickering of the Slytherins behind him. They were dealing with healing potions today, specifically how to create potions that worked through ingestion rather than contact with a wound. Snape had pressed that when dealing with internal injuries it was necessary for potions to be 'intelligent', or able to discern what the damage was and how to repair it without causing more damage. In his opinion it was a little too complicated for the third day of classes. From what he could remember this was a lot more complicated than anything they had done the year before, and involved a completely different set of preparations.
"Now, once you have this copied down, I want you to begin preparing your ingredients. Remember that the asphodel must be of uniform size and shape before adding it to the entrails, and that you can add it only after the entrails and crushed tanis root have been simmering for half an hour. Do you understand that, Mr. Longbottom?"
Neville's muttered, "Yes Professor," was lost in snickering, and Harry wished that the Slytherins would grow up.
"Now then, while you're waiting for the entrails to begin simmering, you should begin crushing the nightshade blossoms. Those are the corpse gray ones Longbottom! If I'd wanted roses I would have asked for them! Five points from Gryffindor for your inattention."
He heard the sound of glass clinking together, and he knew Neville had dropped something. Even after the Boggart training, Neville was petrified of Snape, who seemed to take delight in terrorizing him to no end.
"Now, if you use more than six petals your potion will not work, and keep in mind that I will be choosing a person to be injured to make sure your potions were brewed properly," he sneered. "As the headmaster is loath to let me injure you in a way serious enough to demonstrate the true power of your potions, I can inflict only minor damage."
Harry knew that the 'person' to be chosen would be him. Whenever Snape wanted a guinea pig, it was him, especially if it might cause pain. Once he'd picked Simon, a Hufflepuff, to try Hermione's Moon-eye potion for increasing your night vision. If he'd known that Simon would be forced to walk around almost blind for the rest of the day because the potion hadn't been brewed at the right temperature he would have no doubt chosen him for that too.
As Harry crushed his nightshade he thought about Ms Elvbow. He'd asked Hagrid about her the day before, and the gamekeeper told him that she was still in the infirmary. It made him sad to think that she was sick. When she was his teacher she'd thrown a birthday party once a month, whether any of her students were born in that month of not. She said she was making up for the people who were born over the summer or winter breaks. She even gave out presents. His had been a pen that lit up blue whenever you pressed the button on the top. His uncle made him give it to Dudley when his cousin had demanded one.
"I think those petals are done, Potter, don't you?"
Harry looked down. The nightshade petals were done, all right: they were almost a paste. Amazingly enough, Snape didn't dock points from him for it. Blushing, he dumped the contents into his cauldron. A puff of sweet smelling smoke curled up, mingling with the other smells in the room.
"Think he'll pick you?" Ron asked forty minutes later. Snape was currently walking around, examining everyone's potions before choosing the testers.
"When doesn't he?" Harry asked.
"Potter, front of the class, now! Malfoy, we will be testing your potion."
Harry grimaced. Knowing Draco, he'd probably screwed up everything in the hope that he'd be able to make Harry miserable. In fact, he was looking too pleased with himself by half as he watched Snape take out a long, sharp dagger.
"Don't move," he said, pulling up Harry's sleeve. He winced as the dagger was drawn with deliberate slowness down his hand, making a long cut down the middle of his palm.
"All right, Malfoy. One stopper full should do it."
Grinning, the blond pulled up some of the liquid, which glimmered gold in the room's dim light. At least it looked the right color.
"Ready Potter?" he asked as he squirted the liquid into a waiting vial. Harry rolled his eyes as he took the vial from the stand. He braced himself as he tipped the contents into his mouth.
Cinnamon. That was his first impression of the liquid as he touched his tongue.
Fire was the next.
Harry fought the urge to spit the potion out, all over Snape's immaculate robes. He settled for a dry gag that almost doubled him over, a move that didn't even make the professor flinch. A murmur of surprise traveled through the class as the fire, less intense now, moved down his throat and stomach without slowing. When it hit what had to be his innards the fire spread outward everywhere. He saw a glint in his cheeks and looked down as bright light moved beneath his skin, following the veins to the cut. For a moment Harry thought that Malfoy had actually done something decent when the burning continued. He watched in horror as the light seeped into the cut. The veins on his hand began to stand out, and the whole was turning a dark, odd brown.
Without saying anything Snape walked to the wall behind his desk and took down a bottle of green, glowing liquid. The dark brown mass on Harry's hand was moving up his arm, and had become so painful that tears were trying to seep from his eyes by the time the professor had poured a small amount of the potion on the cut.
"Sorry Potter," Malfoy said, lifting his brows before heading back to his table amidst the barely contained laughter of his housemates.
"Malfoy!"
Harry jumped. Usually that tone was reserved for him and him alone.
"Yes, Professor?"
"You will see me after class for detention, and you and I will discuss your little…prank. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Professor Snape."
Snape turned to him with his usual loathing. "Weasley, gather up Potter's things. Potter, you're excused to go to the infirmary."
Harry sighed in relief. Whatever Snape had given him had stopped it from spreading, but not from hurting. On the way to the infirmary he wondered what kind of detention the potions professor would give Malfoy, probably just sitting for an hour a day brainstorming ways to make his life more miserable. He was certain the great Draco Malfoy wouldn't have to stoop to cleaning rat entrails, a task that Snape had given him and Ron when they had the misfortune of having detention.
After what seemed like an eternity he reached the infirmary. To his surprise, he could see Hagrid there, the top of his bushy head visible over the white curtains placed around one of the beds. He was about to walk over when Madam Pomfrey came bustling over.
"What's wrong, Potter?" she asked, and frowned when he showed her his hand. "Potions class?"
"Yes," he answered sullenly. Over half the time he'd been in the infirmary was because of something that happened during his hour and a half with Snape.
"Well, come on, sit down," she lead him to an empty bed. "I'll be right back."
"Harry!" Hagrid had caught sight of him, and moved out from the curtains. He had just enough time to catch a glimpse of Ms. Elvbow's pale face before he moved the curtains back. Then he looked at Hagrid. "What's that?"
Hagrid was carrying a snake, a large snake, truth be told. It was wrapped around his torso, and he could just see its eyes peaking out from under his wiry beard. "This 'er's Missy," the half-giant said, pride filling his voice. "She's Ms. Elvbow's. She was gettin' antsy, being cooped up in my house for the past few days, so I thought ta let her have some fresh air."
Harry looked at the snake, which was currently twining lazily around Hagrid's large frame in a proprietary way. She reminded of the python he'd set on Dudley five years ago before coming to Hogwarts. "Hello," he said, focusing on speaking English. Even though he could speak Parsal tongue, he hated doing it. It reminded him of who he'd got it from.
"Heelllooo," she answered. "Whaatssss wrong withhh you?"
Harry held up his hand, and Missy moved forward, flicking her tongue out before recoiling quickly.
"Naassssty ssstufff, niightssshade. You ssshhhould be more careffful."
"Easy for you to say," he answered in Parsal. "Someone did it to me in class."
"Wwhhichhh classss?"
"Potions. Professor Snape teaches it and-"
"Ssssnaaaape! Don't like hhhhimmm."
" I know how you feel," Harry answered in English. At least the two of them had something in common.
"Let me see that hand, Potter," Madam Pomfrey said. She held a damp towel with a pair of prongs, so he guessed this wouldn't be pleasant, and he wasn't disappointed. The moment she dropped the towel on the cut the pain in his hand and arm spiked, then began to recede. He watched as the brown mass slowly shrunk, until his hand was the same color again. "You don't need stitches, but it'll have to stay clean and dry until it heals," she swiftly applied a large bandage and taped it in place. "I'll give you everything you need. Change it twice a day, when you wake up and before you go to sleep. And if it gets dirty during training, clean it immediately afterwards."
"Yes, Madam Pomfrey," he cocked his head. "Why don't you just heal it like you usually do?"
The witch smirked. "To teach people the consequences of their actions."
Harry gapped. "But it wasn't my fault!"
She sighed and pulled out her wand. "Fine, next time, though, it's healing naturally."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief as the cut was healed, ending the throbbing pain in his hand.
"You wwwaant I ssshhhould eat him fffor you?" Missy asked suddenly.
Harry had one fleeting image of Snape being swallowed whole by the large snake before answering. "No, you'd get into more trouble that its worth."
"Wwwooouldn't mind."
"We'll walk ta class together," Hagrid said, patting Harry on the shoulder with one large hand. "So what happened there?"
"Potions," Harry sighed. "We're learning healing potions, and I got to test Malfoy's."
"Snape's startin' early this year, is he?" Hagrid shook his head. "Man's always been a pain if ya ask me. But Dumbledore trusts him 'en all, so he cant be all that bad."
Harry nodded. Dumbledore did trust him, and the headmaster was an excellent judge of character. He knew Snape had been a spy, turning against his fellow Death Eaters to get information to stop Voldemort to the Ministry of Magic. Personally, he didn't know if he'd trust someone who'd proven that he was a turncoat, but Dumbledore never put his trust in someone needlessly.
"What are we doing today, Hagrid?"
The older man beamed. "You just wait and see, Harry. Just wait."
________________________________________________________________________
"I believe we have an answer, Severus."
Professor Snape sat down. Madam Pomfrey, Professor Calafas, and Professor Flitwick were already seated.
"Professor Flitwick, if you would," Dumbledore said.
Flitwick nodded. "We found the curse we think is responsible for Ms. Elvbow's attacks. It's a charm, at least it started out that way; a variation of the Contatis charm, much like the one that keeps this castle safe from Muggles, only instead of keeping her away from a place or person, it's keeping her away from magic itself. I don't have to tell you that it's highly frowned upon to perform the charm on a person. The results are uncontrollable."
"We suspect that it was cast when she was a baby," Calafas added. "and has since sunk into a curse. Instead of fear when she is in the presence of magic, or an overwhelming urge to be elsewhere which the charm is supposed to create, in her it produces pain."
Snape spoke up. "She said something about Muggle doctors giving her different types of drugs to handle the problem," he reached into a pocket of his robes and pulled out a bottle. "At the Leaky Cauldron she attempted to take these."
Dumbledore picked up the bottle. "Any idea as to what this is made of?"
Severus shook his head. "I was hoping that I might recruit Granger and Potter for that, since both of them have experience dealing with the Muggle world. I believe it might prove valuable in treating her."
Dumbledore nodded. "I believe that the Gryffindor Quidditch team does not begin practice until next week. They can help you this weekend, and you have my permission to take them off school grounds." He turned to Madam Pomfrey. "What is her current situation, Poppy?"
The nurse sighed. "She seems to be in a lot of pain during the day, less so at night. With what Gillian and Filius have discovered, my guess is that having over two hundred students performing magic isn't going over well for her. She hasn't woken up again for any real period of time, just long enough to take some more sleeping draft. I hope you can lift that curse quick, because she's starting to loose weight."
Calafas and Flitwick glanced at each other. "We believe that the curse can be lifted, but it will take time to prepare. We've asked the Ministry to send in a specialist, and he should be arriving to day after tomorrow to asses the situation," Flitwick answered. "If all goes well, she should be up and about by Tuesday, at the latest."
"Good." Dumbledore handed the bottle back to Snape. "Thank you for you assistance in this matter professors. The other matter that we must address is what to do with her once she is cured. Obviously, she cannot be allowed to go back into the Muggle world."
"Headmaster, I believe that might be the only course of action in her case," Snape said quickly. "She has lived her entire life as a Muggle. It is hard enough for children that are found to adjust to living in our world. It may prove too much for a full grown woman."
"That I understand, Severus," Dumbledore answered. "But it may come down to choosing between two evils. She is powerful for one who is untrained, as her actions the night of the Feast attests to. Once the curse if lifted, there is no telling what may happen concerning her abilities. She must be trained."
"You don't mean to put her with the first years, professor?" Calafas asked.
Dumbledore shook his head. "At the moment I cannot tell you what I plan on doing until I have spoken with Marian, but I doubt she would fit in with students who are so much younger than her. If you have any suggestions concerning a teaching arrangement, please feel free to let me know."
"How's the hand, Potter?"
Harry sighed. Why couldn't that idiot get a hobby other than torturing him? "Fine, Malfoy. Hope you didn't get it to harsh from Snape."
Malfoy laughed. "Hard? He congratulated me. I even got extra points for Slytherin for 'ingenuity in potion brewing.'" That said, Malfoy glided over to the Slytherin table, where he was met with applause.
Harry fought the urge to curse. He should have known Snape wouldn't do anything to his favorite student other than praise him. Malfoy could probably kill half the class and Snape would still find a way to give the git points.
"Don't worry about it, Harry," Hermione said, looking daggers at the Slytherin table before turning back to her tuna sandwich. "They'll both get paid back in interest for everything they do."
"Yeah," Ron added, slamming shut his Divination book, Plotting the Stars: Fortune Telling and its Advantages. "I just hope we're there to see it. Anyway, what did you think of Hagrid's class?"
Harry smiled. Hagrid had gained back his confidence in teaching the Care of Magical Creatures class, and had presented them with pegasi the day before. The space behind Hagrid's hut had been transformed into a huge birdcage, where the winged horses were playing when they approached.
"Now be careful," Hagrid had warned them when he opened the cage door. "They're cute, but their deadly, and 'eavier than they look. They're young now, but when their full grown they can take on a Hippogriff. And they act as a pack, so don't do anything to upset one, or ye might have to face the whole herd, and I might not be able ta save ya," He looked pointedly at Malfoy.
Each house had their own to take care of, if they could convince the Pegasus to trust them. The hour that followed was full of hay offerings and blandishments in an attempt to get them to come down from the top of the cage, where they hovered like overgrown birds. In the end he, Hermione, and Ron had been adopted by a jet black filly, which they named Thunder.
"How long did he say we were taking care of them again, Hermione?"
"Until winter, then they go back to the farm," she sighed wistfully. "I can't wait Wednesday."
Harry agreed whole heartedly. They should have Care of Magical Creatures five days a week instead of only three.
"Great. Hide the joy guys, here comes Snape," Ron muttered, opening his potions book to a random page and starting to read.
"Potter, Granger, I have a task for you," Snape said, looming over them.
Harry sighed. Whatever it was, it probably involved something that smelled terrible and looked just as bad. "Yes, Professor?"
"Meet me in my office Saturday morning at eight o'clock, I'll tell you everything you need to know then. And Weasley, since you seem so interested in illumination potions, I'd like a role of parchment on my desk Friday discussing the difference that using yew instead of crabwort creates in the color and intensity of the potions light," without a backwards glance, Snape walked away
Harry grabbed Ron, throwing the two of them to the floor. The red-head had been in the process of hurling his book full force at the back of Snape's head.
"What do you suppose he wants?" Hermione asked after they'd climbed back onto their seats.
Ron rubbed his arm. "Couldn't tell you. What I'm wondering is why he just wants you two."
Hermione shrugged. "Don't know. By the way, Harry, how's Ms. Elvbow?"
Harry stared into his pumpkin juice. "Still asleep. Hagrid was their while I was in the infirmary with her pet. She's a python." He smiled. "She likes Snape about as much as we do."
Ron laughed. "Snake's got good taste then," he frowned, looking back at his book. "What 's wrong with that blighter, anyway? Does he enjoy making other people's lives miserable?"
"I wouldn't put it past him," Hermione added offhandedly. "He probably enjoys feeling like he has power over other people. Over the summer I read a book about psychology and what makes people act the way they do. Maybe he's the way he is now because he was so unpopular when he was a student."
"Too bad your dad saved him, Harry," Ron muttered. "Bloody terrible turn, that."
Harry nodded in agreement. "Snape has his uses, for someone. I can't imagine letting someone that evil live for no reason."
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, but he had already stood up and was halfway out the room.