Author's Note: I originally posted this chapter with Daphne instead of Blaise because i was going to change it so that Daphne would be a main character and not Blaise because of complaints about Blaise being a girl. However, I have found that i like it better with Blaise in it, so everybody who is upset with this, i'm sorry, and i hope you are still willing to read this.
Chapter 7: Potions
Right after dinner, Harry, Draco, Blaise, and Tracey walked around outside, wishing to explore the grounds. . The four were becoming fast friends, which Harry for one was very happy about, having never had any friends before in his life. Harry liked them all a lot, although he had immediately noticed that they were all very different. Tracey was, like Harry, a bookworm, but unlike many, she never flaunted her knowledge around. She was shy and quiet unlike her cheerful and outgoing best friend. Blaise was the exact opposite of Tracey. While Tracey was hard-working and easy to please, Blaise couldn't stand doing any work because she got bored quickly. Also, while Tracey liked to take her time, Harry had already noticed that Blaise was incredibly quick-thinking and spontaneous. And while Tracey loved magical theory, Blaise- and Draco- both liked doing the material, and therefore preferred practical magic. Draco was imaginative and creative, full of different ideas. He, having been the only one to grow up in a purely Slytherin household (Both of Tracey's parents, as well as Blaise's Mother, had been from Ravenclaw), he had stronger Slytherin traits. He was arrogant, judgmental, stubborn, and vindictive; Harry could already tell that you didn't want to get on the bad side of Draco Malfoy.
The four were all chatting about the four classes they had already had earlier that day, Potions, History of Magic, Charms, and Herbology. They all agreed that the best class had been Potions, and then Charms. The Charms teacher, Professor Flitwick, was head of Ravenclaw house, and therefore the only teacher to treat Slytherins like every other student. Their Herbology teacher, Professor Sprout, made it quite obvious that she hated Slytherins, and they had heard from older students that the Head of Gryffindor House, Professor McGonagall, treated them fairly, but still made her dislike of them all quite obvious. A ghost who never paid attention to any of the students, either Gryffindor or Slytherin taught history of Magic, their last class.
Harry was broken out of his reverie by Blaise saying, "I can't believe that girl, Granger, actually paid attention in History of Magic. That class was so bloody boring!"
Harry nodded, agreeing with her. The girl who he had met on the train, Hermione Granger, had been the only one able to pay attention to Professor Binns; most of the class, including Harry, had fallen asleep five minutes in.
"That girl is such a bloody know-it-all though," Draco replied. "I can't believe your sister was hanging out with her today, Harry. Honestly, how can someone related to you like someone like that?"
Harry laughed, remembering how Violet had sat next to Granger during both Potions and History of Magic, which were the only two classes the Slytherins had with the Gryffindors. "Yeah, well, I can't count how many times I've wondered how I could be related to both her and James. I suppose I take off after my mother, while Violet's a James clone."
"Yeah, your mother was a Ravenclaw, wasn't she? My parents and Severus were friends with her while in school, they were all shocked when she got married to a Potter," Draco said to Harry.
"Well, I still can't understand how she can stand Granger. Actually, I suppose I don't know how someone can stand your sister either." Blaise added.
Harry paused, thinking about his sister, before he replied. "Violet is always trying to make herself look good. I'm willing to bet the only reason she's hanging out with Granger is because being friends with a know-it-all makes her look smarter. Who would think that someone as intelligent as Granger would hang out with someone dumb or stupid like my sister? And with the way Granger acts, she probably doesn't have many friends; she probably figures that hanging out with my sister is better than being a loner."
Tracey nodded. "That makes sense, well, the reason your sister hangs out with Granger anyway, because I personally would rather be a loner than hang out with Violet. She seemed so stupid in Potions class today, though, remember?" All four grinned at the memory of their favorite class of the day.
Flashback:
Harry and Draco walked into Potions class five minutes before the bell rang, and sat down in seats near the front. Although Harry was nervous, being in the class of his father's most hated rival, he made sure to give off the appearance of someone confident and in control.
As soon as the bell rang, the Potions master started taking attendance. He stopped when Harry's name was called, and glanced over at him appraisingly. Then he went on to call Violet.
"Potter, Violet." There was a minute of silence, in which Harry noticed for the first time that his sister was not in the room. Then the dungeon door banged open.
The whole class swiveled around to see Violet, Ron, and Seamus saunter into the class.
"Potter," Snape said icily. "Is there a reason you are entering my class almost five minutes late?"
Violet shrugged nonchalantly and replied, "We got lost." She walked over to sit next to Hermione Granger, apparently unconcerned that she was disobeying rules.
"Then perhaps a map, or is the almighty girl-who-lived above such a thing?" Professor Snape replied coldly.
Harry had to clap a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud at Violet's face. She glared daggers at the professor, angered that someone would dare to insult her.
"Sit down," the head of Slytherin House spat, unfazed by the glare each Gryffindor in the classroom was sending his way.
After finishing role call, he began his speech. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of Potion making. As there is little foolish wand waving in this class, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you to truly understand the beauty of the soft simmering cauldrons with its shimmering fumes, but I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death. That is if you aren't the big bunch of dunderheads I usually have to teach." The professor's eyes slid to look in the direction of the Gryffindors, who were all staring at the Potions Master, stunned. Harry couldn't help the smirk that formed on his face at the sight.
"Ms. Potter!" Professor Snape barked out suddenly, staring at Violet. "What would I get if I added Powdered Root of Asphodel to an Infusion of Wormwood?"
Harry groaned as he saw Violet stare at the teacher, stumped. Next to her, however, Harry was even more disgusted to see Hermione's hand raised up as high as it could possibly go. 'Bloody know-it-all, does she have to show off and let everyone know she has the answer to every single bloody question? We get the point!' Harry thought, annoyed.
Professor Snape took Violet's silence as her not knowing and went on to another question. "Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
Harry groaned again as the stumped look left Violet's face, to be replaced with one of annoyance. He had a feeling she was going to get herself in a lot of trouble soon, considering she didn't seem to have any respect for the professor.
Violet shrugged, obviously not caring that she didn't know the answer, and Professor Snape's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "One more time. What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?"
Harry sneered as Hermione stood up in her eagerness to answer the question. Violet, on the other hand, still didn't know the answer, and said as much. "How the hell would I know, Snivellus? Just because you never had any friends back when you were in school doesn't mean I don't; I, actually, have a life, and don't have the time to memorize every single Potions book out there! Besides, isn't school the time you're supposed to learn the material, not beforehand? What are you doing, trying to get out of doing your job, and letting the headmaster find out how terrible you are at it?"
Harry's eyes widened in horror halfway through her rant, and he squeezed them shut, hoping against hope that his sister had not just said what he thought she had. She couldn't be stupid enough to anger a teacher that much during their first class, could she? Glancing around, he noticed the deadly silence as everyone stared at the Potions Master in horror. 'This is so not going to help my head of house accept me,' Harry thought, wincing as he to looked over at Professor Snape.
The Potions Master's eyes were flashing dangerously, and his body was trembling with anger. Violet, finally realizing she had made a mistake, gulped and looked over at the teacher fearfully.
"Detention with me for the next month, Potter. You need to realize that fame is not everything. You will not get away with any of your arrogant comments in this class, although if your anything like your father you won't learn what's good for you and you'll say them anyway. I believe his failing grade in Potions was what stopped him from becoming an Auror like Black. Let's see if any of his children can read a book, shall we?"
Turning to Harry, the Potions Master went on. "Mr. Potter, answer the questions."
Harry gulped nervously, knowing if he got any wrong he was in for it. He quickly thought back to the books he had read on Potions, and recalled what he thought to be the answers. "Asphodel and Wormwood make a powerful sleeping drought called the Drought of the Living Dead; A bezoar would be found in the stomach of a goat, and Monkshood and Wolfsbane are both another name for the plant Aconite; there is no difference between them."
Snape stared at Harry for a minute, and he looked back nervously. Finally, Snape's eyes softened and he said, "Well looks like Violet's missing brain cells ended up in her twin brother, I couldn't have answered better myself. 10 points to Slytherin." Relieved, Harry glanced at his mollified sister, and couldn't help but smirk maliciously, glad to have gotten revenge on his sister for the Howler incident.
End Flashback.
Harry's smile faded as he saw the object of his thoughts standing nearby. Violet was talking with Seamus Finnigan, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley by the lake. Drawing closer, Harry could make out what Violet was saying to them.
"That greasy git, he is so going to get it. I'll tell Daddy, and he'll make sure Snivellus looses his job."
Hagrid, who had been walking back to his cabin, also overheard her. "Violet, I highly doubt Severus will lose his job because he annoyed a student. He's been doing that for years, but he's still a really good teacher."
"A REALLY GOOD TEACHER?" Violet shrieked. "Are you insane? He favors Slytherins, for god's sake, SLYTHERINS! And he likes my dark evil git of a brother. And besides, no one ever asked your opinion, you great big oaf."
Harry's eyes narrowed, and he walked forward, making his presence known. "Violet, Hagrid wasn't giving his opinion, he was stating a fact. There are plenty of people who would love to have Snape's job, do you honestly believe Dumbledore would keep him if he wasn't a very good teacher? It's not like with Quirrel's job, there are plenty of other choices if he didn't want Snape. And why are you going off on Hagrid, what's he ever done to you?"
"Have you not seen him? He's a giant! I bet he's here plotting to kill us all!"
Harry rolled his eyes while Draco snorted. Tracey, however, glanced over at Hagrid and stared at him. "Are you sure? I've read plenty of books on creatures such as giants, and I could've sworn that all of them said that they were all at the very least 15 feet. And Hagrid isn't near that tall, of course. I guess you should check your facts before making an assumption, huh?" She smirked.
Violet glared at them and stormed off, Hermione, Ron, and Seamus in tow. Once she was gone, Harry turned back to Hagrid. "Sorry about her, she's a little…" Harry shrugged, unable to find the right words. "Sorry about what James and Peter said to you back at Diagon Alley, too."
Hagrid smiled slightly, before frowning in puzzlement. "Why do you call your father by his first name?" he asked.
Harry shrugged again. "He's never acted much like a father to me, I figure he doesn't deserve the title."
Hagrid nodded understandingly. "Well, do you guys want to come back to my hut with me?" he asked.
Harry glanced at his friends, and they all nodded in acceptance. "Sure, that'd be great."
Kamers: Yeah, i hate it when there's a story with a character who's really mean to Harry, and the author tries to make you feel sorry for him/her. I don't think that will ever happen in any of my fics. So you're free to hate Violet, I definitely do! Glad you like my story, hope you liked this chapter as well. Please review!
Mistress of Eternal Life: Snape does not hate Harry, but he doesn't like him either. As you'll see in my coming chapters, he will treat him like any other Slytherin for a while (maybe a little more hostile though), figuring that he can't be that bad if he's in Slytherin and hates Violet. But he will not become close with him for awhile, Harry will have to earn his respect more first. I hope that's good w/ u... if not, leave a review, i could use some advice. Thanks for reviewing, please do so again!
Oblivious Wonder: I will not have Snape like Harry at first, Harry will have to earn his respect. But he won't hate Harry either, as he's a Slytherin and hates his sister. He'll mostly be indifferent... probably more hostile to him than the other Slytherins, but he won't treat him as bad as Violet or anything. I hope you agree w/ that... if not, review, and i'll try to change it anyway i can. Thanks, and please review anyway! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Alex Trusk: I'm so honored you liked my fanfic! If you ever don't like a way that this is heading, or have any other problems, please review, and i'll try to change it. I'm not exactly sure about what will happen during the summer, but he might stay w/ the Malfoys. Thanks for the review, hope you enjoyed this chapter!
And thanks to NamelessHeretic, Nocturnal007, Gabwr, Yaeko, Jka1, Momocolady, Charl1e, Fae Child19, AJ-Plays-With-Fyre, Shay Dela Torre, Coeur Casse, KiraraKat, Satchmo315, Author by Night, Elka Shadow, GreatWarlord, Ice's Shadow, Jabarber69, Shampoo147, Silver-Red-Phoenix, and Amy-Number-Seven for reviewing... Hope I got all your names right! Please review again!