Snape was not looking forward to this class, he was rather horrified to realize, and promptly tried to suppress the emotion entirely. He liked this class, it had Malfoy and Granger, who were crisp enough to get everything right the first time - it had Potter, who was always good for a rise, and Longbottom, who kept everyone on their toes. Certainly, he was often irate and irascible, but the schoolchildren never could distinguish between his natural choleric disposition and actual spite, so what of it? Another feeling slowly blossomed in his chest - I really don't want to know why I don't want this class to start.

Taking a deep breath, he swept into one of the supply closets, and purposely moved half the ingredients from one place to another, leaving it just as neatly ordered as when he started. In so doing, he missed Goyle and Crabbe bounding into class, like two Saint Bernards - overeager and playful. Last class had been fun! They were learning something! Longbottom slid into his seat next, with Parkinson raising her pert nose to the sky in order to avoid looking at him. Potter and Weasel waltzed in, as if the entire room belonged to them, as if they filled the entire attention of everyone in the class. The rest entered silently, the quiet of potions taking over even the more reckless Gryffindors. There were then two seats open: Malfoy's and Granger's. Everyone heard them meet directly outside the classroom.

"Back for more, are you?"

"If you mean that I'm willing to grace you with more scholastic learning than you've managed from the library, of course."

"As if you know anything that isn't in the library!" Granger snapped back. Goyle and Crabbe exchanged a glance. Malfoy was picking a fight with the library, now?

They were still doing the same potion as last class, and so Granger and Malfoy started from healing potions. Of course, Malfoy had to bring up emu quills, and then they were discussing if avian influenza would actually poison a potion - and if that would be a desirable side-effect on purebloods lacking exposure to muggle diseases. And that was just the first ten minutes of class. By the end, they had progressed to discussing the various methods of counteracting and detecting Disguise potions, and suddenly Malfoy spat, "Leave it to a Mudblood to put cathair in a polyjuice potion! It was a polyjuice potion, wasn't it?" Malfoy ended his sentence with an arrogant smirk.

Potions Master Severus Snape uncurled himself from his desk, where he had sat, tight as a coiled spring, his back bowed as he worked (or pretended to) on grading papers for the entire class. (It would latter prove to be the only class in which Neville Longbottom actually made a perfect potion). "Time's up, class. Turn in your potions." He laced his fingers behind his back, as each pair of students came up. "ineffectual" "poor, but adequate." "Parkinson, did you make this all by yourself?"

And then it was time for Goyle and Crabbe, who walked up unapologetically, and said, "We didn't do the potion, Professor."

"And why not?" Snape spoke, his voice as cruelly tempered as a cat with nine lashing tails.

"We were taking notes. Draco and ... Granger were discussing important -" Snape cut them off, impatiently, striding down the aisle towards his ... wayward? students.

"Malfoy, Granger, what do you have to say for yourselves?" Snape loomed over them, not giving them the opportunity to get out from the row of desks.

Mutely, Malfoy handed over his perfect potion, much more confidently than Longbottom had.

"Since you obviously can't refrain from distracting fellow pupils, you may complete your potions in detention from now on. You are excused from class." Granger and Malfoy had striven to look obedient as he said this... Snape smirked evily, "As for punishment," Ahh, there's the delicious stiffening, the expected outrage on Malfoy, who's never been punished in front of Gryffindors before. And Granger, who looks as if she's never caught a detention for anything. "You'll have additional detentions teaching Longbottom and Goyle and Crabbe. Who are also excused from my class."

Indignant, Pansy looked as if she had been whipped, "But sir!"

"Young lady, you can consider this your punishment for doing Longbottom's work for him!" Snape strode back to the front of the room, and sat back down, mutely unseeing the students leaving, lost as he was in tarnished memories.

[a/n: Read and Review! Up next: Zambini appears!]