Here is the next chapter. For future reference Tom Senior is Tom Riddle and Tom Junior is Harry Potter. Please read and review thanks, love Angel x
"Come in and sit down please. Today we will be changing the seating layout one last time. Mr Potter you and Mr Weasley will sit together and Miss Greengrass you and Miss Davis will sit next to one another. Now for today we will not be brewing any potions instead you will be watching me brew the cure for boils. Whilst I do this I will explain everything and why it's important to follow each step. We'll go through health and safety too as I can see it is necessary!" Snape said as everyone gasped. Cedrella was sitting in the back corner watching in on his lesson specifically having heard rumours of how bad he could be. She really appreciated what he was doing and thought it was a valuable lesson. He had essentially admitted that he'd not gone through this before but he was doing so now which mattered more than anything else. He may have been doing it only because she was now here but the most important thing was that he was doing it. Hermione raised her hand and he pointed at her calling her to speak.
"Professor can we not brew the potion and hear you speak at the same time it's just that class will be very dull for me if I cannot do something practical in it. I know all the safety protocols anyway and I would like to brew the potion! I have no desire to waste my time I could be spending learning more things" she asked casually but with a slight edge to her voice. Cedrella raised her eyebrows in surprise at the girl and the gall of her conduct. She looked to Severus to see what he would do.
"Miss Granger this lesson is to show everyone the safety precautions required for potions. I am giving this lesson one time and I expect everyone to listen to it and understand it so accidents don't happen in the future. If you do not listen now and get hurt in the future you will be on your own. I have no idea what makes you think you are so special but you are just as ordinary as everyone else here I assure you now sit down and pay attention!" he snapped without taking points or giving a detention.
"I'll have you know I am special you're just being a jerk because you know I am probably better then you at your own subject!" she snapped as Cedrella made her presence known.
"Excuse me Miss Granger you will take that back at once. Here I am observing Professor Snape's lesson to find out not only is he now teaching his lessons well but you are the one causing the trouble. You are here to learn so I would suggest you shut your mouth and do as he says otherwise I will personally see to it that Gryffindor loses sixty points because of you. Choose carefully!" she snapped as Hermione reeled. How could a Slytherin of all things dictate to her? Dumbledore had not told her there'd be stupid Slytherin's she'd need to be dealing with.
"Listen lady I know I'm special I don't need someone stupid confirming that or not. All I said if you'd bothered to listen to me is that I wanted to brew potions and listen to him. I already know all the safety protocols and can brew newt level potions because I'm so special!" she snapped as Cedrella smiled at her.
"Ok you've lost sixty points to Gryffindor for failing to follow basic instructions in class and you will have three days of detention with Professor Snape which I will supervise just to make sure you can't screw up in any other way!" she snapped as all of Gryffindor turned to glare at Hermione making her go very red in the face tears sliding down her cheeks.
"But Professor Dumbledore taught me himself so I could teach Tom Potter how to be a better person. I know more than Professor Snape quite literally, it wasn't meant as an insult to him personally it was just a fact I was stating and this whole thing has gone too far. There is no need to make Gryffindor suffer like that because he's feeling a bit insecure! I should have known better then expect kindness from a damn Slytherin idiot! He was right all Slytherins are vile evil creatures who should have been exterminated at birth" she condescended with a sweet smile which would not have been unfamiliar on the face of the late Dolores Umbridge and made Cedrella shudder deeply.
"Ok come with me now. You leave me no choice but to suspend you for three days. You will spend these days in seclusion without anything to entertain yourself so you will learn your lesson. If you re-offend again you will be expelled are we clear?" she further snapped as Hermione burst into tears fully reeling.
"YOU VILE WRETCHED SLYTHERIN STEROTYPICAL WOMAN! I will do it because you say I have to but don't think I don't know you look down on me for being a muggleborn student like all Slytherin scum!" she snapped as she ran from the room. As Cedrella escorted Hermione to seclusion house elf wards were put up so they couldn't enter her room. She would be fed three times a day and that is all. A quick check of Hermione's mind based on what she said showed just how anxious Hermione was because she quite literally knew everything and was suffering in lessons because everyone else needed to learn things she already knew. Cedrella did get permission before viewing her memories though when she told Hermione it would help her. Hermione was very fragile and confused about everything so simply agreed if only to not be expelled.
Cedrella paid a visit to the ministry and entered the department showing the person she was here to see the memory of what Hermione had just said in class and indeed the memories she'd been allowed to view.
"Well I agree Cedrella that this is not good indeed. I mean why her and what made her so special I wonder? I realise her birthday is an awkward one but she should never have known about Hogwarts before then. It is not good that he not only elected to teach her things beyond her years but he should have known better. What's more he's never once done this with another muggleborn to my recollection. We need to act fast for the sake of them both!" he said as she smiled at him.
He came to the school meeting with Dumbledore whom he quickly stunned whilst Cedrella silenced and forced the portraits to sleep so they wouldn't see anything. They'd all wake up on their own later on none the wiser. He entered the mind of the unconscious man erasing his information of having taught Hermione anything and then he did the same to Hermione. He found and destroyed all memories or records of what Dumbledore had done. It was the best option. Now Hermione would be a normal first year student. He did allow her to keep the safety protocol memories just not who taught her them. She would likely assume it was Snape and no one would disagree with her. The rest of the first years were all rounded up and obliviated of what Hermione had said about Dumbledore helping her out and indeed about the punishment. Gryffindor would not lose sixty points this once but only because of the extenuating circumstances. A school wide sweep of every floor was done and all portraits everywhere were found to have monitoring charms on them with compulsions which forced them to report everything they learned to the headmaster. The compulsion and spells on most of them was actually removed only a few being charmed on each level and these were now charmed to tell Cedrella about things instead of Albus. They would only report dangerous behaviour and rule breaking, not every conversation like Dumbledore had wanted.
Back in class Severus began cutting his ingredients. "You will see in your books that each potion comes with a coloured diamond beside the title of it. Red diamonds mean the potion is an advanced or hard potion to craft and the teal diamonds mean the potion is a more regular or basic potion. We start with the teal potions and move to the red potions every single year. What I shouldn't say but will is that for all basic or regular potions the way you cut your ingredients doesn't matter. You could even grind them if you're not comfortable with cutting them. Sometimes even grinding an ingredient can give slightly better results. This is the beauty of potions because you do have choices with some things at least" he said as they all looked on in awe. Tom was stunned he was learning so much. It was amazing to learn the safety of not only what should be done but why. Severus began chopping up various ingredients and then began to grind some others. They watched as with an expertise level way above their own he prepared the ingredients pausing only to show them what it was he was actually doing in detail.
"Ok listen up everyone. What I said earlier applies to all plant based ingredients however all animal based ingredients such as horns and scales must be treated very differently indeed. All animal scales and horns we use are always crushed no matter how we intend to use them afterwards. What you must know though is that you never want to put something like ground porcupine quills into a potion which is over an active flame as this causes a rather nasty reaction and will make your potion explode harming not only you but those around you too. All ground quills are to be placed into the cauldron only when it is off the heat. Repeat after me!" he instructed making them say it a few times to insure maximum retention. He looked around at everyone to insure they were paying attention to him when a note flew into the room much like a ministerial memo which landed on his desk before him.
Severus after class please come to the hospital wing as I can't stop thinking about you and need help sorting through my potions cupboard if you know what I mean. My cauldrons need to be serviced too. Love Poppy x
He read it quickly a slight flush coming to his cheeks but not so obvious that Cedrella who had once more entered his class to observe it would be concerned. He put the note away quickly charming his response to her.
Poppy make sure that your potions cupboard is ready because I plan to be exceptionally thorough with every single bottle as well as your cauldrons. I also intend to teach you how to clean your stirring rods and store your horns as well. Love Severus x
He sent the letter away simply getting on with it. If he was turned on by what she had said which he most certainly was it didn't show. Poppy had changed his life and mellowed him out in many ways he'd never thought possible before. Sometimes the love of a wonderful curvy woman could cure the soul. She was the kindest and most beautiful, passionate woman he'd ever met. He was delighted she was his. She loved potions as much as he did and it thoroughly thrilled him to his core.
"Now then everyone as you will see here in the instructions the rod used to stir your potions must always be free of contaminants so it doesn't affect the potion badly when you place it inside to stir the concoction you're making. Always clean your potions stirring rod before coming to class or before you use it at the very least like so. Now watch this. I stir it twice clockwise, once anti clockwise and five times clockwise once more. If you need to you may count aloud how many turns you are making to help yourself. Now as you can see my potion is done. Does any have any questions?" he asked as various people asked him various questions.
"Sir I have heard rumours that sometimes students like to throw things into other people's potions that shouldn't be there and I don't know how true it is but is there a spell you can teach us to protect our cauldrons from that? I'd like to not have any accidents if I can avoid it!" Dean Thomas of Gryffindor asked.
"Mr Thomas take five points for Gryffindor for asking me a very sensible question. It is true that in the past this has happened when I have not been looking but as no one has ever asked me about a spell to protect from things like that it has never occurred to me to teach it to you. What you do is simply take your wands out and tap on any part of your cauldrons and say custodire aeni. It will protect your cauldrons from anything like that. Let me see you all do that now!" he instructed as everyone did it but then suddenly there was a blast as Seamus Finnegan made his cauldron explode.
"Mr Finnegan where did you get your wand?" he asked suddenly.
"Ollivanders sir!" he answered in a panic.
"This is important so please walk me through what happened there!" he instructed as Seamus looked terrified.
"It was taking ages. I was in there forty minutes and nothing seemed to be working. I was setting things on fire and everything. I finally managed to get sparks from this wand and took it but it doesn't really feel right. I felt awful and just wanted to be out of there because he was becoming really annoyed with me and told me I needed to try harder. I really was trying but I think I tried too hard and accidentally got sparks from this wand! I was just scared I didn't want to get in trouble with me mam" he said in a panic as Severus smiled at him kindly.
"Ok Mr Finnegan please come and see me in my office at six this evening and we'll get your wand sorted out. It clearly doesn't work. Please don't use it for the rest of the day. Don't worry about anything. Ollivander should have known better and that he didn't is not good. I will be telling him that too. I think I may know something about you not even you know yet. I will test that out later on. If anyone asks tell you Professor Snape has forbidden you from using your wand until tomorrow!" he said kindly as he dismissed the class. Cedrella smiled at him. It had indeed gone well and she told him as much. It had been a huge success.