Chapter 3: The Next Day
"One more minute," drawled Professor Snape as he ever so slowly paced around the dungeon, scanning the room with his beady, black eyes.
Everyone began hurriedly adding in the last of the ingredients to their potions.
"Anyone who fails to come up with the proper antidote is to write a five thousand word essay on the history of the Veritaserum potion. Including its discovery, its uses, its ingredients and thoroughly detailed, step by step instructions on how to properly prepare and brew it…"
Snape was then met with groans from the entire class.
"Silence. You will all stand behind your cauldrons and wait until I come by to certify your work. Then you may begin clean up."
Snape had quickly gone around the room, inspecting everyone's work when he finally reached Harry.
"Well, well…what have we here Mr. Potter?"
Harry could feel the anger boiling underneath of his skin but for his own sake he gritted his teeth and refrained from saying anything. After all, he had only just served his last bout of detention for Snape the night before and he didn't feel like starting all over.
"Answer me Potter, don't just stand there."
Harry kept his gaze steady on the dungeon room floor making sure he was somewhat collected before coolly looking up at Snape.
"It's the counter reactant to Veritaserum…sir," replied Harry callously.
"Well, I can clearly see that Potter but it looks like your foolish ignorance has lead you to forget the most important ingredient…and had you been listening to me you wouldn't have forgotten it. Fifty points from Gryffindor and another week of detention, beginning tonight immediately after dinner."
"But Professor-"
Before Harry could say anything more he was instantly silenced by Hermione's hand squeezing his arm and yanking him back into place.
"Also, what on earth did you think you were doing when you added gnanite bile to your potion?"
"Errr, I don't know sir."
"Idiot boy, of course you don't know," Snape hissed venomously and with a quick swick of his wand Harry's cauldron emptied.
"Have that essay in to me by tomorrow night at eight o'clock."
Professor Snape continued to tower over Harry and glare at him for a few moments longer before he eventually stepped away and began pacing around the room to examine everyone else's potions.
"As we've all just seen from Mr. Potter on what not to do, the Veritaserum antidote should be colorless and odorless. It should appear as though it is nothing more than water."
Harry couldn't believe how horrible his first day back from the week long break was starting but leave it to Snape and it's possible. Which his break was actually quite enjoyable, obviously not counting the long, dreadful hours spent with Snape in detention.
Harry turned his attention to Ron, who was standing behind his cauldron with a rather panicky expression on his face. As Snape walked by him he began furiously stirring his potion, his cheeks blotched as red as his hair with beads of sweat rolling down his forehead, which fell into his potion and sizzled loudly.
"Weasley, your time is up!"
Snape flicked his wand and the contents of Ron's cauldron emptied.
"You are to have that essay in by tomorrow night at eight o'clock. Make sure it isn't late. I don't think you can afford having another incomplete potion."
The Slytherins began snickering and Ron looked furious but managed to hold his tongue.
Snape stopped abruptly in front of Neville's table.
"Green Longbottom? Did I not just say that the Veritaserum antidote was supposed to be colorless?"
"Yes sir…" Neville muttered miserably without looking up.
"Look at me, boy! Why in Salazar Slytherin's name is yours green?"
"Well, I added some toffatt taffey leaves and…"
"Yes, I can see that but why? Oh, never mind why! It is now quite obvious to me as to why Potter's potion was a disaster as well. Tell me boy, just when do you think anything of importance is going to sink into that thick skull of yours? Fifty points from Gryffindor and you'll be joining Mr. Potter here tonight after dinner...along with writing that essay."
Just as Snape pulled out his wand to empty Neville's cauldron, Neville felt a sharp, throbbing pain in his head and it caused him to jerk, which knocked over his cauldron and the contents of it, which smelled rather putrid, spilled all over Snape.
"LONGBOTTOM!"
"Oh! I'm s-sorry Professor!" Neville cried out, reaching for his knocked over cauldron. "Here, let me-"
"Leave it!" Snape shouted, swatting Neville's hand away. "You've caused enough damage already…" Snape began wringing out his wet robes. He then leaned down, resting his elbows on Neville's table and his black eyes, which were reduced to mere slits, bore into Neville, "maybe if you cleared out that unessential layer of puss surrounding your meager brain you would actually be able to do something worthwhile with your time; but instead, you continue to waste mine…"
Snape stood up and muttered something under his breath about Neville being hopeless.
The Slytherins all began to snicker even more loudly and Neville blushed furiously. He officially wanted to die; either that or just disappear off the face of the earth, never to be heard from again. He was used to Snape humiliating him in class but it had never been this bad.
"Another fifty points from Gryffindor. Class dismissed."
And with that Snape muttered a spell under his breath and all of his materials effortlessly flew to him. He turned and swiftly walked out, his black cape swooshing and leaving a long, wet trail of Neville's failed potion behind him.
Everyone quickly began filtering out of the dungeon except for Harry, Hermione and Neville. When Ron saw that they weren't following he turned around.
"Oi! Are you coming or what?"
"I can't believe it!" Harry moaned. "I just finished a week's worth of detention with Snape last night! Now I have to do it all over again!"
"Harry, I-I'm really sorry…I have no idea what I was thinking telling you to add those things…" Neville stuttered, staring down at his feet in defeat.
"It's okay Neville," replied Harry reassuringly, "at least I'll have some company this time around…"
'What was I thinking?' Harry's brain kept shouting.
Harry could kick himself for listening to Neville in the first place, what with potions being one of Neville's worst subjects and all.
"C'mon, let's go before Snape comes back." Ron replied glancing nervously back at the open doors.
Harry gathered up his things and walked over to Ron.
"Are you coming or not?" Ron asked impatiently to Hermione and Neville.
"Just go. I'll catch up with you both later." Hermione responded sharply.
Harry and Ron exchanged puzzled glances and finally left.
"Neville, are you okay?"
"I can't believe I got Harry into trouble and he'd just gotten out of detention with Snape as well…"
"Don't worry about it. It's Harry's own fault for not paying enough attention in the first place…"
Hermione let a long, sharp breath of air escape her lips, blowing her bangs up off of her forehead.
"Listen Neville; is there anything you'd like to talk about? Concerning last night…"
"No," he quickly replied, looking over at her.
"Well, then just do me a favor and don't let Snape get to you any more…just think, one more year and you might never have to see him again."
"As comforting as the thought of never having to see Snape ever again is, I doubt that will happen, not with my luck anyways."
"People's luck can change," Hermione assured him.
"Yeah, the ones who are just lucky enough," Neville answered quietly.
The sharp, painful throbbing in his head had returned and it was even worse this time around.
Neville brought a hand up to his head and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Neville? What's wrong?"
"Head…ache," he replied through clenched teeth.
"Here, c'mon let me walk you to the hospital wing…"
"No, just- I think it'll be okay. I just need a minute."
"Neville, are you sure? You look like you're in a lot of pain…"
Neville was in a lot of pain. He couldn't think of a time where he had experienced any physical pain more significant than what he was feeling at that precise moment, other than when Bellatrix Lestrange had cast the Cruciatus curse on him at the Department of Mysteries last year of course. His vision was beginning to blur and he felt as if he was going to pass out at any moment.
He began to take long, deep breaths. His eyes were watering and tears began to spill out of the corners of his eyes.
"Alright, Neville…that's it. I'm taking you to the hospital wing."
"No…wait…it's starting to go away…"
And it did. Neville felt the pressure in his head begin to lessen and all of the pain gradually began to lift. He still felt a little dizzy though, but as long as his head no longer felt as if it would explode at any moment he would live.
"I still think you should go see Madame Pomfrey…" insisted Hermione.
"I'm fine now."
"No, you aren't…how long have you been getting these headaches?"
"I've always had headaches, they just come and go…tend to be worse the more stressed out I am…"
"You need to start taking better care of yourself…" Hermione warned him.
Neville mumbled something under his breath and sat down on the dungeon room floor, not even caring at the moment if Snape walked back inside.
Hermione hesitated and ultimately sat down next to him.
"Hermione, you don't have to stay here with me…I'm okay."
"I want to."
Neville sighed and let his head fall into his hands.
"I wish I wasn't such an idiot…" he mumbled into his hands.
"Neville, don't say that."
"It's true. I always manage to screw things up…I should have never told Harry to add those things…I just- I swear I read in one of my herbology books that the excrement of gnanite bile can be used in almost any potion…to help stabilize the other ingredients…"
"I think I've read that somewhere as well…but you know how demanding Snape is about his potions…you have to prepare and brew it exactly as he wants otherwise he considers it inadequate and marks it as an incomplete..."
"Harry wouldn't even have a detention right now if it weren't for me..."
"He'll get over it, Neville…you need to just let it go. You made a mistake, so what? We all make mistakes…you can't keep dwelling on all of the negative things in your life…"
"Snape is right…I'm hopeless."
Hermione sighed in frustration.
"No, you aren't…the only reason you aren't doing as well as you could is because you don't expect anymore from yourself; you don't allow yourself to do better. I know you are better than this, Neville. I know you can do so much better and a lot of the professors know you can as well. You just need to believe that you can do it. You need to believe in yourself because when you don't, you won't succeed or live up to your full potential."
Neville said nothing.
"You've already proven that you were placed in the right House…what you did last year at the Department of Mysteries and what you went through…only a true Gryffindor could do that. You are brave, Neville and you have so much potential and I know that somewhere, deep down inside of you there is a truly great wizard waiting to come out, and we all got to see a glimpse of that wizard last year during the D.A. and at the Department of Mysteries, but you need to believe in yourself in order to become that wizard...and when you do you will go on to do amazing things."
"Thanks Hermione…"
"Well," she began, "we had better go ahead and get out of here before Snape does come back…"
"Yeah, I guess we better."
"If you want, I'll help you study later." Hermione offered, as she and Neville walked out of the dungeon doors.
"Thanks Hermione but tonight isn't a very good night for me…I think I am just going to go lay down. Right then, I guess I'll see you later."
And before Hermione could even respond, Neville was gone.
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Authors Note: Holy Crap! lol, sorry for the long hiatus! I just kind of wrote this story awhile ago, submitted it and forgot about it…but seeing that people actually liked it and wanted an update I recently decided, hey what the hell! But yeah, so hopefully I can get back into the swing of things and get chapter 4 up soon! Again, sorry for the ridiculously long delay, lol…things happen, like school and such and you just get distracted…lol I'm sure many of you can relate! Anyways, read & review please! More reviews would be lovely...:)