Chapter 6.
Ginny had given Luna back her shoes and asked about Emeree hoping to hear that the girl was the one who was taking her friend's things. There was something about the girl that she didn't like, she didn't act like the rest of them. She seemed too serious, which was a big contrast to herself and her entire family. It reminded her of her brother's friend Hermione who was such a stickler for the rules. There was something about both of them that she didn't like. It was too bad that Emeree had been telling the truth about giving the things back, though Luna didn't have much more to say about the girl despite them being roommates. Though, Ginny was surprised to find the book she had brought to Hogwarts in the grass where that girl's things had fallen. She hadn't seen it since the first day when she lost it but was curious to know what was inside. Surely, the girl would have written in it. That was originally her idea. She had never had a diary since most of her family's money went to necessary supplies, there had never been any left over to spend on a frivolous thing. It was a possibility that a diary had never even occurred to her parents since she spent most of the time outdoors playing with her brothers anyway. But, it was nice to have something of her own. Even though it had been second hand from the name on the spine, it was empty. But, now, it was probably filled with someone else's writing. Second hand was one thing, but she didn't want to have someone else's cast off on top of it. That was just too much. Maybe there was something in here that she could use to make that girl's life a bit difficult. She opened the book and turned the first few pages, and kept turning. The book itself was still entirely blank. Ginny clenched her teeth. Don't tell me that girl was trying to find the owner of this too. She felt a little bad about thinking those things, but whatever. She took a quill from her side table and started writing.
Dear Diary,
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Unbeknownst to her, after sensing a different magical signature, the book erased all the previous writing. Tom Riddle had been waiting for his horcrux to be used again, waiting for what the Ravenclaw first year would have done. However, the different magical signature made him pause. Perhaps the girl had indeed taken him to a professor, which would complicate his plans. There would be no way any professor would not understand that his diary was an object to be wary of. They might not completely understand, horcruxes were rare and forbidden magic after all, but someone like Dumbledore would know immediately without having to touch the cover. It was by luck that the number of magical signatures within Hogwarts was so high that the fool wouldn't be able to pinpoint exactly where his presence was. However, that would change if they were in a room together with less interference.
He was anxiously waiting, since all he could do at this point was wait, but as soon as those first few words registered in his mind he breathed easier.
My name is Ginny Weasley and I'm a first year at Hogwarts. I have been waiting for my chance to go to school since my eldest brother Charlie wrote home and we would read his adventures.
This one was not as cautious, not as curious about the circumstances of the world, not as observant. No, this one was more along his target: a young, still impressionable first year who had average worries, and the bonus was that he could milk as much information as he could, and she would willingly give it to him.
Hello Ginny Weasley. My name is Tom Riddle. How did you come by my diary?[1]
Instead, he was now reading about the life of Ginny Weasley and how she had been raised so far. It was a bore compared to the thoughts of the previous writer, but he would be able to convince this one easily to go along with his ways, he could tell that from the first few sentences.
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It had been a few days and Emeree hadn't heard any snickers while her back was turned nor did she see any fingers pointed at her accusingly. Ginny either hadn't read the journal yet or had decided to completely ignore it. Honestly, she was waiting for the aftermath of her actions, especially with her thoughts on the Dark Lord Voldemort. The only inkling she had regarding the whereabouts of the journal itself was that feeling of being in its presence that she would occasionally get while in the hallway or in classes with Ginny. The girl had taken to carrying it around with her at least so she must have seen some of it. But, the girl didn't even acknowledge her in the halls, she always looked preoccupied these days. The only good news from that day was that Luna had thanked her for getting her shoes. They were friends now, though Emeree rarely saw the girl outside of classes and in the dorm room. Luna seemed to disappear for the most part, but always came back with exploits of various creatures. The others would laugh whenever she talked about them so Emeree had an idea that either the creatures didn't exist, and Luna made them up for some reason or that Luna was just privy to more information regarding magical animals than most people. She would pay attention when Luna spoke in case she needed to reference the creatures for the future.
After waiting for the consequences of her thoughts, she decided that her thoughts regarding her observations would remain in her head in the future. There was no way she would make the same mistake again, despite having liked seeing the musings on paper. Emeree instead spent the time before bed composing mental journal entries as exercises in observation and recall. If she was able to slowly teach herself to remember these things, she should be able to apply the same techniques to her studies and perhaps garner the skill of only having to read something once. She was sure that she wouldn't gain anything along the lines of having an eidetic memory, but the extra time gained from not having to review literature would let her study other things. It also helped her organize her thoughts and come to some interesting questions that she would ask her professors.
Back when she was first being introduced to Diagon Alley and the world of magic, the first thing she had looked for was a dictionary. Despite all the books available on spellcasting, magical creatures, and biographies, she was surprised to find that there wasn't much written with the idea of reading for the sake of reading. It seemed that this culture was more inclined to pass down knowledge of certain subjects such as spell crafting and wand lore and no one seemed to write novels for pleasure. There was nothing in the store about art, music, or culture besides the little Muggleborn introduction pamphlet she received from Professor McGonagall. There seemed to be no reason to even provide a dictionary of words that were used frequently by witches and wizards either. When she thought about it and looked over the Hogwarts curriculum, she shouldn't have been surprised. The classes were all about magical aptitude, with nothing to supplement writing skills. She was lucky that as the daughter of an archeologist and anthropologist pair, she was thrust into the world of academia rather early. Books had been her friends and documentaries had been her baby sitters. As an only child of two career driven people, it didn't lend one to much social interaction with those her own age. She learned how to go about things using the scientific method and "helped" peer review documents when her parents couldn't find anything else to keep her busy. A lot of the early years were spent looking up words in the dictionary to even begin to follow what was written in the journals and magazines her parents kept around the house. As a daughter of people who studied human culture and history, she was very perplexed that this new-found world seemed to be so unorganized and so blatant in their disregard for their own documentation. Her parents had inquired with Professor McGonagall about the magical equivalent to their professions and while the professor had not personally met one, she did say that magical archeologists did exist in the world. She was hoping to help contribute to her parents' discoveries and perhaps make her own once her schooling was finished. With this in mind, it was no surprise that she would be asking the questions that no one seemed to even consider asking.
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Despite it being his designated office hours, Severus Snape was not surprised that he had been undisturbed for the entire day. Saturdays were left open to student inquiries and pleas for assistance, but through his entire teaching career the only student he ever had come to him for help had been Draco. Though, those visits usually ended up transforming into some tea and biscuit affair with the boy complaining about Harry Potter this and Harry Potter that. Severus was sure that Draco was still miffed about Potter snubbing his offer of friendship a year ago and he, as his godfather, had to suffer through his childishness. It was a good thing that he could so easily tune out Draco's ramblings and grade papers as usual. Today, he was fortunate that Draco was off with his friends and not sitting sullenly in front of him. He could do his grading in peace.
A soft triple knock had him pause in his work. His eyes narrowed before he sighed internally. He only had a few more scrolls to finish and dinner was only two hours away.
"Enter." He continued grading but was very aware of the person entering his office. She quietly closed his door after coming in and stood in front of his desk and seemed to just wait. The minutes ticked by as he continued to read the poor excuse of an essay in front of him, putting a particularly scathing remark next to the student's claim that lacewing flies could be replaced with fruit flies because they were similar enough and much cheaper. He wrote out how the student should give his potion a try after completion, so his fellow classmates would see the sore-throat soother turn into an esophagus eating concoction, maybe then he would understand that ingredient substitution wasn't based on the price of materials alone. He finished his comments, rolled the scroll up, tied it with the provided ribbon, sealed it with a few drops of wax pressed with his signet, placed it into the finished pile, and then he gave Miss Reyes his attention. He had left her standing in front of him for about five minutes now and she had not spoken, nor had she fidgeted. In fact, she was rather still for a child who had been kept waiting purposefully. He steepled his fingers in front of him, elbows leaning on his desk contemplating what may have brought her here for another minute before he spoke.
"How may I assist you Miss Reyes?" He ran through every interaction he had with her so far and found that while she was not at the top of her class, she was neither at the bottom. Her main problem while brewing was that she seemed to not finish during the time provided in most cases. Her potions were adequate to the step she was on, but competition was part of her grade. There was always time spend just staring at the ingredients in the beginning before she started slowly. He was not aware of any learning disabilities from her end, so she was either thinking of something during that time or unsure of where to start. Being from the house of Ravenclaw he was confident that it wasn't the latter since by now the older students would have cautioned the younger ones to do their readings in advance and make sure to re-read the potions they were making earlier on in the day. Miss Reyes did not needlessly volunteer answers, but at the same time her answers were not verbatim from the text like most of her classmates. While he did not account for class participation in his grading, he did make mental note of when students asked questions, if they answered questions correctly, and if they were paying attention. Despite not being able to finish a good number of potions in class, her essays seemed to make up for them. They were surprisingly well written and thoughtful. He watched her stand up straighter before starting.
"Professor Snape, I have questions about the Boil Cure potion from last week if you have time."
"Seeing as you are utilizing my office hours, we must conclude that I have the time." Severus was waiting. The Boil Cure potion was considered an elementary potion, thus one of the first he taught students to brew. There wasn't much a student could ask about it considering the ingredient list was small, the instructions were simple, and the description provided in the book covered its use and shelf life.
"Why are the instructions and ingredient list so vague?" Severus stared at her for a few seconds before proceeding. He should have seen this coming from the way she stared at her ingredients, the way she answered in class, and especially in the way she wrote her essays. She was the type to absorb information and then experience it to fully understand it. He would need to be more watchful in the future.
"Care to explain your thoughts further Miss Reyes?" He motioned to the stool next to his desk for her to sit. She did so, placing her bag on the floor, her feet resting on the stool's higher set foot rest. First years were so small.
"Well, the instructions say to crush the snake fangs into a fine power, but doesn't say what kind of snake fangs. The kit I've purchased had different types of snake fangs in it from different species and different sizes and colors. Considering that some of the ones in my kit aren't even fangs at all, but constrictor teeth I wonder why the potion works despite the variation in ingredients. Potion making seems more like a science as opposed to cooking." This was the type of thinking that he had hoped to encounter. He had expected Hermione Granger to be the first to knock on his door with questions of this type, but after her first year he realized that she was the type of student who excelled at the memorization of facts. There was, unfortunately, no deeper thinking involved. Miss Granger was the studious Muggleborn archetype that would completely try to prove herself and her worth in the magical world by being at the top of the class by spouting answers verbatim and cramming outside information in her essays hoping to impress. Miss Reyes however was the type of student who read, questioned, and tried to gain a deeper understanding of the world. She was a Muggleborn that came from a background where questioning what was presented was normal. He remembered the brief conversation with Minerva regarding magical archeologists and if he had ever met one. He had answered in the negative and asked the reason for her asking. Apparently, Miss Reyes' parents were involved in the world of anthropology and archeology and had inquired as to whether there was a magical equivalent.
"What can you tell me of boils Miss Reyes?" The girl looked at up towards her left, most likely trying to remember information she had read.
"Well, they are sites of skin inflammation around a hair follicle. The body's white blood cells try to combat the infection which leads to the pus." Severus blinked slowly. It was a scientific answer that made sense considering her upbringing.
"Yes. Now, what are the other ingredients of the potion?"
"Horned slugs, porcupine quills, and salt water." He could see her mind thinking, most likely bringing up reference material that she had read in the past. "Sir, is the boil cure potion more about what the ingredients are made of and their properties versus putting something together in exact amounts?" The Potions Master pressed his fingers together.
"Walk me through your thinking Miss Reyes." Despite his strict demeaner in the classroom and his overall dislike of teaching students, he enjoyed teaching those that were interested in the subject. His N.E.W.T. class very rarely had anyone looking to pursue potions as a profession, but they at least were more inclined to listen and think for themselves.
"The boil cure potion is meant to be applied topically so it must seep into the skin. The base is salt water which is meant to cleanse pores and help keep bacteria from growing." Here she stopped. "Um, do you know what bacteria is, Sir?" Severus smirked internally. He was able to become a Master at such a young age due to his half-blood background. Muggle science had helped pave the way for his achievements.
"Yes, Miss Reyes. I am knowledgeable in the areas of science. Do continue with your explanation."
"Slugs in general give off mucus which help protect them from sun, bacteria, and cuts. It also has protective and regenerative properties which have been utilized for skin care since the Ancient Greeks. Are the horned slugs special amongst their species professor?"
"Horned slugs release more mucus since they are found in a desert area. The excess mucus allows them to be protected from the heat of the sun and the salt in the sand. The mucus also allows them to extract moisture from the air in the event that there is drought." Severus found himself answering without his typical annoyance when a student did not know an answer. "What about porcupine quills and the snake fangs?"
"Porcupine quills are made of keratin which helps keep skin protected. I'm not sure about snake fangs."
"Without getting too technical Miss Reyes, snake fangs are composed of a type of calcium referred to as hydroxyapatite which has been shown to improve skin quality. In this case, the fangs are not the real ingredient, it is the chemical component found in them that is sought after. Of course, those in the magical world do not know of chemistry, but they know that snake fangs produce the results they need, regardless of species or size. Thus, the powdered snake fangs are added to the salt water first, so they dissolve and create a stable base for the other ingredients to be added. The slugs are added second so that the mucus mixes properly with the calcium in the fangs and helps thicken the potion. The porcupine quills also have antibiotic properties which makes them quite useful in this potion, but they are added last after the potion is taken off the heat lest they cause a reaction which turns the potion acidic." He remembered the previous year when Longbottom had done just that and caused his potion to spew acid that started to eat through his classmates' shoes.
"So, why do the quills cause such a negative reaction? There isn't much else in them and porcupines aren't very dangerous animals." Severus furrowed his brows a moment before understanding hit him.
"All the ingredients we use Miss Reyes are from either magical plants or animals. While some bare the same name as those you are familiar with, the large difference is that the magic within the ingredients also affects the potion. The magical variety of porcupines whose quills we use are known to use them as projectiles that once encounter the body heat of another creature will turn to acid. This is why you are instructed to pick up the quills with a pair of tweezers. That is why the quills must be added after the potion has been taken off the flame and cooled completely."[2] Severus watched the student in front of him absorb the information and saw her bite her lip. "You have further questions?"
"You mentioned in our first class that there was no foolish wand waving." He inclined his head.
"I did."
"I didn't really understand what you meant until you explained that we use magical animals and plants. In our other classes, our wands make it easy for me to see a connection in the spells I was doing and the magic that apparently came from somewhere inside my body." There was something about this line of thinking that had Severus more alert, but he couldn't yet place what it was. "If the magic in potions is coming from the ingredients, does that mean that anyone can make a potion provided the correct supplies and instructions?" Severus stared at her, hoping that she would not ask the question that he himself had not thought of until just now. "Does that mean that nonmagicals can make potions since the magic isn't supplied from the person making the potion?" Severus closed his eyes slowly and pondered the question. Despite his time as a Master of the craft and his time as a Professor who had encountered Muggleborn children every year, this question had never come up. It was not something that he had ever thought about because he had no need to think about it. Potions had been clarified as a magical area of study because yes, while there were easy potions such as the Boil Cure, others required a combination of Charms and Arithmancy, which in the end did need a wand. If one where to look at Muggle lore, witches were defined by their ability to fly on brooms and make potions from large bubbling cauldrons. He did not know the answer because he had never experimented on it. He had never needed to know if anyone other than himself could brew a potion. He opened his eyes and thought back to the students he had taught. There did not seem like any correlation with magical power and potion results. Vincent Crabbe's potions turned out as effective as Hermione Granger's when he forced the boy to stay after and do exactly what he said.
"I do not know Miss Reyes." The admission was a bitter thing. He should be able to answer any question from the mouth of a student, especially a first year. He could see her zeroing in on his answer and he needed to make sure that this did not result in a mind-altering revelation that would change the course of wizard history due to the innocent questioning to someone else in the field. He could imagine the reception from another Master if this girl were to send a letter of inquiry by owl. "Seeing as you have brought an interesting predicament to the table, how about as an extra credit project, you work with me to determine whether your hypothesis is true?" As the girl thanked him for the opportunity he made plans to bring up her line of questioning at the next staff meeting. If her mind was as sharp as he thought, it wouldn't be long until she started asking questions to the other Professors.
[1] Taken from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, page 240
[2] After looking up the ingredients to the potion and making my explanations, I am once again wondering if JKR was a genius in how she made these small things work together.