My eyelids were colored orange as sunlight drifted though the windows above my bed. I sighed dreamily. Entirely content. Maybe it was the combination of a delicious feast mixed with the excitement of a new place, but I felt wonderfully well rested. I opened my eyes and gazed blearily towards my enchanted alarm clock that would whistle the time when touched. My fingers traced the long side of it.
"7:54 am!" It sang.
My eyes flew open- oh no!
I was going to be late. Late for my first first set of classes. Oh god, who did I have first? I snatched up my schedule, looking through it frantically.
8:00-10:00am Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Potion's Master Severus Snape. Class Location: Dungeons
Professor Snape. Oh, I was sooooo dead. I was already warned by the upperclassmen about his class.
"Better dead than late to Snape's." The prefect Penelope Clearwater had told me last night, "Best to always be about 15 minutes early. Oh, and don't talk when he does. As a matter of fact, better not to talk at all in his class. Just listen and take very clear notes."
My face flushed as I jumped off my bed, tore off my pjs, and tossed on my black uniform robes. I quickly contemplated ditching the whole class- but it was my very first one. What would Kingsley say?
"Cauldron and wand! Where are they?! And my books!" I tore through my trunk, shifting through various clothes, books, and nic naks. Finally assembled, I bolted out of the Ravenclaw common room, my pewter standard cauldron swinging precariously behind me. My stomach gurgled, empty- but breakfast would have to wait till later. I charged through the halls, my stomach turned to ice as I ran through the Grey Lady.
"Watch it!" She hissed.
"Sorry!" I called, turning the corner to the dungeons, where a heavy closed door laced with black iron waited for me.
I wrenched it open.
8:07am.
All eyes turned to me. The Ravenclaws I met yesterday were glaring with annoyance with the Hufflepuffs looking rather terrified. I tip tied in, glancing around. Snape was nowhere in sight- Could I really get this lucky- could I just perhaps, slip in unnoticed?
The door slammed behind me and I jumped and I gulped-I didn't need to look to know who was right behind me.
"Well well, what have we here?" Professor Snape drawled in his low voice, "Another Hufflepuff late to my class? Or is it a Ravenclaw this time? Let's see here- last I checked, Potions started at 8:00 am. Not at-" He glanced slowly at the clock as the minute hand passed the 12 again. "Eight-O-eight.."
"S-sorry," I wheezed, glancing up to the glowering face that faced me. That was a mistake. His eyes were near black, narrowed with clear contempt, bottom lip curling unpleasantly. I flushed in fear and embarrassment.
"That's another point from Hufflepuff for lateness. I suggest you find your seat now. Shouldn't be difficult."
There was only one available seat left.
"I'm in Ravenclaw." I mumbled.
"What?" He snapped.
"I'm in Ravenclaw." I repeated louder, quickly heading towards the only empty seat at the very front of the class next to a Ravenclaw I recognized as Eddie Carmichael from the sorting ceremony. He glanced pointedly away from me with a rather pinched expression on his face as though embarrassed to be associated with me. As I walked, my cauldron hit the elbow of one of the Hufflepuff girls who hissed and looked as though she wanted to strangle me.
Sorry. I mouthed. This was not the way I wanted my first class to go.
"Very well, a point from Ravenclaw then."
I bit my lip. Already- I had lost my house points.
Snape cleared his throat loudly and all eyes snapped to him. "As I was just saying before we were all interrupted again- today you will be brewing-"
His voice trailed off in my head as hot blood began to pulse behind my ears, searing into my face. Embarrassment and shame plagued my mind. Oh god, everyone was going to be so pissed at me. Why did I have to be late on the first day of class? I must have zoned out for a moment in the rapid spinning of my thoughts before I felt everyone's eyes on me again. I glanced around. Professor Snape must have asked me a question for he was looking particularly vexed, directly at me.
"Wh-what?" I stammered.
"Late and not even listening are we? Did you just expect to be able to show up and daydream in my class? Being an Auror's ward does not excuse you for poor behavior!"
"No- I- I-"
"As it is the first day, I will repeat myself just this once- tell me, Miss Bones, where would you find go to find a murtlap? A bezoar? Tears of Lament? No? Then perhaps you ought to show up on time let alone- PAY attention. " He accentuated those last words with a slow drawl.
I was petrified- yet- I knew the answers. At least to the first two. I had already cost my house points and I didn't need my very first teacher to think me idiotic.
"Murtlap- rocky tide pools, and only on foggy mornings." I interjected, "A bezoar? Stomach of a goat I believe. Relatively rare. Great as an antidote for most poisons. As for the tears of lament..."
I trailed off. My inner siren called to me then, begging to be free as she had something to say.
"For the tears of lament," My siren spoke, voice silky with confidence, "would mine suffice professor? I do apologize for being late. And interrupting. Sir. "
She finished with a wink and retreated back into me. I blinked. Why on earth did I wink?!
The class was horribly silent, until several students broke out in nervous titters of amusement. They were quickly extinguished by the murderous gaze of Snape.
"That's another point from Ravenclaw for cheek." He said, clicking his nails on the large black desk in front of him.
I made to protest, but was elbowed by my glaring tablemate.
"Just don't." Eddie hissed into my ear.
"For your information, the tears of lament come from merfolk, specifically sirens. They are incredibly rare and possess similar qualities to that of a phoenix's tears." He looked around, as if almost lost in thought, "Well, why aren't you all writing that down!"
The classroom was suddenly filled with the scrawling noises of quills scratching on parchment. We were then instructed on the specifics when brewing our very first potion on curing boils.
I dragged my cauldron out and placed it carefully upon my table, glancing down towards the recipe:
Potion for Curing Boils IngredientsDried Nettles
6 Snake Fangs
4 Horned Slugs
2 Porcupine Quills
Directions: Part 1Add 6 snake fangs to the mortar.
Crush into a fine powder using the pestle.
Add 4 measures of the crushed fangs to your cauldron.
Heat the mixture to 250 for 10 seconds.
Wave your wand.
Leave to brew and return in 33-45 minutes.
Part 2Add 4 horned slugs to your cauldron.
Take the cauldron off the fire before adding the next ingredient.
Add 2 porcupine quills to your cauldron.
Stir 5 times, clockwise.
Wave your wand to complete the potion.
(Source: wiki/Potions_(class))
Seemed easy enough really. I thought.
Gingerly, I counted out 6 snake fangs of all differing shapes and sizes, grinding them to a soft chalk-like powder in the mortar. But that seemed wrong. Almost like it wouldn't be enough... I glanced around before cautiously adding another fang to be crushed.
Better .
I placed the powdered mixture in my cauldron, lighting the flame beneath. When the temperature gauge reached 250, I counted
One ravenclaw...two hufflepuffs...three gryffindors…
Ten slytherins…
Wave wand? Seriously, that was the next direction? Should I shake it? Draw out my name with it? What exactly entails "waving"?
Frowning, I placed my wand in my left hand, oscillating in a smooth circular motion intuitively as the potion turned orange. Hopefully that was a good color. Not that the book said anything about color. Only that the final shade of the potion should be bright pink.
So I waited, and waited and waited. I waited nearly 24 minutes before my potion began bubbling forcefully. However, the directions said to leave it on for a bit longer, 33-45 minutes in total. Well, I had already added in an extra fang. What more harm would it do to remove my cauldron just a smidge early?
I decided to risk it. What were a few minutes more or less?
I scooped up 5 horned slugs, wincing at their sliminess that reminded me of algae and tossed them into the center of the bubbling, removing it from the heat. Two porcupine quills, and 25 stirs later, I raised my wand in the same circular motion.
The potion burbled it's last, settling into a lovely bubblegum color that smelled like Aloe Vera.
"Done already?" A chilling voice almost hissed from above me, "This potion shouldn't be done for another 10 minutes at the earliest? What did you-"
Then he stopped. I flinched as he snatched the stirring spoon from my hand. He scooped a handful of the potion out, examining it carefully before allowing it to trickle back into my cauldron.
"Well," He began, "I suppose it's not terrible."
He left me then, black cape swaying in his stride. I glanced towards my peer's potions. The only one that even looked remotely like mine was Eddie's which was a precarious shade of maroon. The rest of them gurgled black and green thick liquids that resembled greasy oil.
By the end of class, only my potion had the signature pink hue from the text. Snape had yelled at several of the Hufflepuffs for adding porcupine quills before removing the liquid from the heat, causing it to bubble and burn outside their cauldrons. One girl was subsequently covered in boils and had to be dragged out to the hospital wing.
As it would turn out, I was a natural at potions to Professor Snape's continued annoyance. Less could be said for my other classes. I was ok at best in Defense against the Dark Arts. More so in Herbology. Charms and Transfiguration in particular were a nightmare on a good day. My spells barely worked despite my carefully said incantations and flawless wand waving. Deep down, I wondered if the reason why I was so terrible at them was because I was not fully human. Only half really. Wizard spells in general were strange to me, like a pair of shoes too big and bulky to walk in effectively.
And with that my first year passed rather uneventfully. I made very little in the way of friends- I was often too busy spending extra time in potions or swimming in the black lake.
Then came my second year, where in October, I found myself gazing into the reflection of a very large pair of yellow eyes on the floor. I was later told I was petrified by a Basilisk when I was finally restored to normal. That led to Kingsley pulling me from Hogwarts for my entire third year, instructing me himself to catch me up on all that I missed.
It wasn't until I was 14 years old, soon to turn 15 on Christmas eve, that I found myself finally heading back to Hogwarts at last.
