-1Chapter Three:
Of Transfiguration and Potions
"Really? Not a clue until a year ago huh?"
Asher forked a large portion of scrambled eggs into his mouth and waited for Annise to answer.
That morning before the start of their classes, students from every house sat at their designated tables chattering excitedly as they gobbled down the delicious breakfast that had magically appeared before them. The food, however, didn't satiate each students individual feelings for the approaching hours they would dedicate to their classes.
Annise however, seemed unconcerned for what awaited her after breakfast.
Indeed, had that mornings breakfast been an eating contest, Annise no doubt bested all other students as she devoured her 4th piece of toast before spooning another large helping of eggs onto her plate.
"Ani, did you hear me?" Asher asked after topping off his glass of milk, "How come your dad didn't tell you about Hogwarts and all the other stuff up until a year ago?"
Annise shrugged. "'ess 'e taught it bes' if we din' know too soon," She said with a mouthful of egg, "Dunno 'eally."
Asher frowned. "You should slow down, you could get sick before our first class," He cautioned, "Why didn't you eat anything last night? I noticed."
Annise gulped down more eggs before grabbing for her pumpkin juice. "Er…well, it was, this whole situation I mean, it was a lot to take in and…some older girl asked me something that stole my appetite. She asked if I was going to be another house traitor. Another Slythedor. I wish my dad had at least mentioned something about that before I came here."
Asher wrinkled his nose, as if catching an unpleasant scent. "Slythedor? I've never heard that word before. It's obviously a mixture of the names Gryffindor and Slytherin. And if this girl called your dad a house traitor it's probably cause He was torn between the two houses. I don't see why that would be a big deal though."
Annise finished her pumpkin juice, finally satisfying her now aching belly. "It must have something to do with my Mom then," She concluded wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, "She was a Slytherin. And Wolfe was a Slytherin in the same year as Mom and they were all good friends. So…yeah, that's probably what's up with all this Slythedor and house traitor crap. Still, like you said, I wonder why that'd be big deal though."
"Oh!" Asher jumped excitedly when Professor McGonagall suddenly came up beside them, handing both He and Annise a single sheet of parchment. With a soft smile She continued on down Gryffindor's table, handing each student an identical piece of parchment as she went.
"Our class schedules! How cool!" Asher exclaimed.
Annise gawked at Asher after She'd spied the classes written neatly on the parchment. Charms? Potions? And what the hell was Transfiguration? Her very first class for Pete's sake!
"Uh…" Annise stammered, "We won't be expected to know what these classes are all about as soon as we walk into the class room, right?"
Asher chuckled and shook his head, stuffing his paper into his robe pocket. "Don't bug out on me Ani!" He said with a reassuring grin as he stood up. "You'll be fine. After all, your Dad is a legacy. Mostly for his intelligence, right? C'mon, let's go!"
Annise gave a wry smile, allowing Asher to guide her out of the great hall by her wrist. All the while knowing that had she'd tried to leave the great hall on her own, ultimately, She would have instead curled under one of the tables and hid away for the rest of the day.
'Don't stress?' Annise thought bitterly as she leaned against the door that led into the Her second class of the already dismal, humiliating day, 'Yeah, tell that to your poor cousin!'
In all honesty Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall had at first started off well enough for Annise. For their first magical feat they were to change a beetle into a harmless button.
It was an odd thing but it had comforted Annise to realize that both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students alike were just as uneasy in this odd class as Annise herself.
And on could only imagine Her excitement and pride when Annise did as was instructed and, in place of the ugly insect, lay a perfect button.
"Turn it into a tarantula now and then I'll be impressed!" Asher had quipped, making the idiot mistake of nudging Annise with his elbow.
That one, harmless, gesture was enough to somehow set the button in flight. Its chosen point of destination directly into the gaping mouth and down the throat of Asher's own cousin, Jude Centa.
Thankfully, Jude hocked the button up without a problem, Ignoring the sniggers and giggles of witnessing students. She had, in all truth, swallowed a live bug. Button disguised or not.
And it had cost Gryffindor five points. Even now, in the dark hallway, Annise could still feel the heavy glares generated at her from her own housemates.
"Don't worry," Asher whispered to her, "We'll earn the points back and Jude will be fine."
Annise sighed and said nothing. Deep down, it wasn't the loss of points or Her unintentional humiliation of Jude that bothered her. It was the terrifying thought that Her brief success in Transfiguration would be the only true triumph She would ever achieve at this school.
"Going' okay so far Ani?" Annise looked up into the face of the one she'd been hoping to see up close since before retiring to bed in Gryffindor tower the night before.
Jacobi strode toward Her as He led the way for a long line of fellow Slytherin's, a loving smile offered to his sister. He came to stop across from her, resting against the cool cobblestone wall.
"Did you hear about what happened in Transfiguration?" Annise asked in a whisper, annoyed at the obvious efforts of strangers trying to overhear what she was saying to Jacobi.
"No, why?" Jacobi asked with a yawn, "Did ya blow something up?"
Annise trembled at the question, feeling that it could become a reality if she wasn't careful in the future. "No, not yet anyhow. I made a button lodge in the throat of a Hufflepuff. That girl, Jude, who we met on the train."
Jacobi, as well as several others, burst into laughter that bounced off the walls of the dim corridor.
Just as Annise opened her mouth to chide their insensitivity, the door she'd been leaning against, swung open.
Jacobi screamed her name a second to late.
The back of her skull cracked against the stone floor of the class room. Annise' teeth clicked together and bit the back of her tongue; The world around her spun uncontrollably before the pain dulled and she felt hands take hold of her own.
"Sit up Ani!" Jacobi's voice.
Her eyes fluttered and met her twin's. Asher had a hold of her other hand, looking at her apprehensively.
She slowly allowed them to sit her up. Ignoring the mocking cooing sound of the on looking students when they observed Jacobi inspecting the stinging knot at the back of Annise' head.
"Silence!"
Though it caused her aching head to swim, Annise gazed up at the man who'd ordered the laughing students standing in the door way to still their cruel laughter.
Instantly, Serpent like black eyes met her glassy violet ones.
"I do hope Miss Altair," The man clothed entirely in black said observantly in almost a whisper, "You at least possess your father's gift for potion making as you obviously lack his rationality. He would have never leaned against a door leading into a class room about to begin."
Annise felt her heart sink as Jacobi and Asher helped her to her unsteady feet.
"Do you need to visit the infirmary?" The man, obviously the professor, asked. His soft voice hiding any sign of concern for Annise.
"No sir," She mumbled as she took Her things from Asher who'd picked them up for her, "S-sorry…um…"
"Professor Snape," The man said, his lip curling,
"Professor Snape…sir."
He whirled around looking at the students who'd slowly began to leak silently into the room.
"Slytherin's to the right Gryffindor's to the left," He ordered softly, "Well? What are you all waiting for. Get situated now!"
Never had Annise seen or committed to an order so fast that in the end she wondered if time had deliberately sped up for before she knew it she was standing at a table near the front, Asher by her side.
Delicately touching the enormous knot, Asher whispered, "You okay? I'm surprised you didn't split your skull!"
Annise smirked 'Wish I had,' She thought watching Professor Snape swoop to the front of the class, the air seeming to steal away and hide under his billowing robes.
Snape went onto describe the foundations and curriculum of potions before setting them on their very first attempt at potion making.
Her stomach was in knots. A potion so soon? Gathering the needed materials, Her mind kept going back to the disastrous episode that happened only close to a full hour ago.
'Chill, Ani!' She told herself, 'Try and redeem yourself in this class. You're good at following directions. This can be breeze for you.'
And it was a breeze. Annise was succeeding in her efforts flawlessly. Asher unfortunately was not so flawless for she realized the unearthly stench was emitting from her fellow Gryffindor's cauldron.
All seemed well until, quite suddenly, Annise' cauldron began to quiver and its contents began to bubble and hiss menacingly.
'Oh shit!' Annise cursed, 'To much stupid snake fang! I look away for a second and this happens? Damn!'
When it seemed all her determination was beginning to slip through her fingers a voice, one of which Annise didn't recognize, whispered in her minds ear: 'Counteract it!'
Annise glanced over at Snape who was observing Jacobi's successful endeavor. She began to gnaw her lip.
'Add another porcupine quill! Do it now!' The inner voice shrieked.
What could she stand to loose?
Without another thought, Annise did what the voice had advised and dropped another quill into the violently boiling concoction.
The potion burped & the cauldron rumbled violently, Annise and Asher stepped back from the desk.
But rather than erupting, the potion slowly, easily, calmed to a softly simmering brew. Annise sighed in euphoric relief while Asher quickly went back to his own potion, the flame at the base of his cauldron having gone out.
Pride swelling her heart, Annise began to carry on with the final instruction for completing the boil curing potion when a shrill voice whined:
"You can't do that! That's cheating!"
Asher, who was still trying to re-ignite the base flame to finish his own disastrous potion, snorted and shot the girl who was making the worst of an already tense situation.
"Why don't you mind your own business Hypocrata! She didn't do anything wrong!"
Snape instantly glided soundlessly over to Annise and Asher's table. His black eyes tunneling into Annise' own.
"What's all this?" He demanded in a soft, firm voice.
"Altair added to the potion!" Tattled Hypocrata, her tone of voice evidently brandishing her pride at catching a cheat in her head-of-house own class, "It was boiling over and-" "Thank you Hypocrata," Snape cut in, his tone full of warning but his eyes never leaving Annise', "Continue on with your work and leave this matter to me."
Scowling, Hypocrata did as was ordered but not before mouthing 'Cheater' at Annise after Snape began inspecting her potion.
"Explain yourself Miss Altair," Snape ordered, "I should like very much to hear what it is that you have done."
Annise felt the blood drain from her face and suddenly the dungeon class room felt colder than it really was.
"W-well it was boiling over…maybe about to blow up. S-so I gave my potion another porcupine quill cause what had affected it was the fact that I-uh-added to much snake fang. S-sir-UH-I mean Mr. Snape-OH! UH-I mean Professor Snape… sir."
Annise heard a few students struggle to contain their snickers but found she could not bring herself to look around at them.
She could only stare nervously at Professor Snape who was stirring her potion slowly, thoughtfully.
"How did you know to do that?" was his next question.
All eyes on her, Annise felt she would finally succeed in gnawing of her bottom lip.
"It was unbalanced," She mumbled, staring over Snape's shoulder and pinning her eyes on the chalk board, "So I add another quill. One quill for an extra pinch of snake fang."
Jacobi clicked his tongue. Something he did when he was impressed. Impressed and proud.
For the first time that morning, a smile danced at the corners of Annise' mouth.
"Very ingenious," Snape mused, "Foolish and nothing short of what a silly, lazy Gryffindor would do to save their skin at the risk of endangering innocent people. But it was a clever act altogether. A point to Gryffindor."
Snape wheeled about and headed of the Slytherin tables without another word.
Hypocrata groaned loudly amongst the astonished gasped and excited whispers of the rest of the students.
Annise surveyed those around her. She was greeted with the smiling faces of fellow Gryffindor's as well as, but not unsurprisingly, a hateful glare from Hypocrata. The only Slytherin who seemed to care or take offense.
"I think this makes up for that earlier fiasco, eh?" Asher whispered with a giggle, having given up on his poorly attempted potion that was not giving of the odor of rotting vegetation.
"SILENCE!" Snape bellowed.
Though it did not diminish the grin on Annise face.