Hellooooooooo. Here's Chapter 17. Also, please read my note at the end of this chapter for the next update. It will be delayed for a bit since me and my brother are having problems with the plot.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Harry Potter: Shadow Sorcerer

Chapter 17: Confrontation and Realization

September 5, 1991 (Friday: Morning)

It was past 9 in the morning that Harry James Potter exited the Apprentice Dorm dragging his feet towards the Great Hall, aiming to get a bite to eat or maybe have a cup or two of coffee hoping that it would wake him up for his Flying lessons with the Gryffindor and Slytherins.

He was halfway there when he realized something. Breakfast was already over and the Great Hall would either be empty or filled with students using the large hall as a place to socialize or study for their next lesson. Sighing, he turned around and made his way to the Quidditch Pitch.

Fortunately, Harry arrived at his destination without seeing any of the students around since he wasn't in any mood to socialize or hold a conversation with anyone in his current state. He clambered to the bleachers and mentally called out to Flippy for something light to eat to tide him over until lunch, as well as a large mug of coffee to wake him up. He didn't really like the stuff, not liking the bitter taste of the beverage.

Flippy appeared with a plate containing two large servings of tuna sandwich and a large mug of coffee. Harry thanked the elf for the quick delivery before demolishing the sandwich without pause. Thankfully, it was enough to get rid of his hunger before sipping the beverage with a slight grimace to the taste. It was five minutes later that the coffee did its job in waking him up. It was a good thing too since Daphne, Tracy, and Theo was walking towards him.

"Good morning guys and gals." Harry tiredly greeted the trio.

Daphne noticed her friend's tired state.

"Didn't get enough sleep, Harry?" asked Daphne in concern while taking the seat next to him. Tracy followed by squatting down on the grass in front of Harry with Theo flopping down beside her.

"Yes." Harry answered with a nod. "I was reading this interesting book on Charms that I totally forgot the time. I slept around 4 in the morning and I just woke up just in time or I would have been late."

Tracy rolled her eyes.

"You take this apprentice thing too seriously, Harry. If you keep this up then you're going be a living breathing inferi soon enough." teased the hyperactive Slytherin. Harry scowled at her before taking another sip of coffee.

"What's an inferi?" asked Theo, looking at Tracy with a curious look on his face.

"An animated corpse." she answered with a shudder. Theo mimicked her before giving Harry an appraising look.

"She right, Harry, you're not there yet but give it a month or two then you'll definitely look like one." Theo commented with a grin.

Harry gave the two a mock glare which was not so convincing considering his tired state.

"Har har har. Very funny. Really, I just forgot the time, that's all. I'll ask my house elf to buy me a watch with an alarm spell to make sure I can keep track of the time while I'm in my dorm." said Harry before taking another sip of his coffee.

"Coffee?" asked Daphne. She never knew that her friend was a coffee drinker. It was quite rare in Wizarding Britain but not unheard of since most in the isle prefer tea over the bitter beverage.

"Yes, though I don't really like it much," admitted Harry with a grimace before taking another sip. "But I need it to wake me up."

"Why didn't you go to Madam Pomfrey. I'm sure she could have given you something to wake you up." Daphne suggested with a smile.

Harry just shook his head before shuddering at the thought of being under the tender mercies of the school nurse. He never really liked hospitals and infirmaries due to the memories it inspired. He ended up in those places too often because of Dudley and his gang.

"Finally found you, Potter." a voice interrupted the group.

Harry looked up from his coffee to see Draco Malfoy staring down at him with a sneer.

"Mr. Malfoy, a pleasant morning to you." Harry greeted cordially before closing his eyes and taking another sip.

"I've been looking for you in the train, where were you?" asked Malfoy, not liking the fact that Harry wasn't even looking at him.

"I was there. You just didn't find me. Why were you looking for me anyway?" he asked the Malfoy Heir.

"I wanted to introduce myself to you and making sure that you associate yourself with the right sort." Malfoy said haughtily while giving Tracy, Daphne, and Theo a disdainful look. "From the looks of your current…company, I can say that you definitely need my advice there."

Harry looked up from his coffee to look at Malfoy straight in the eye, a stoic expression on his face.

"What do you mean by the right sort?" asked Harry with a little hint of curiosity in his voice.

"Someone that is worthy of your station of course." Draco answered immediately. "If you want to succeed in the Wizarding World then you need to make friends with the right people. I can help you there."

"I see. So does this group of people I should associate with include you, correct?" asked Harry, tilting his head to the side. Harry could see Daphne and Tracy stiffening when he added the last part.

Draco nodded with a smile, thinking that Harry finally realized what he meant in terms of association. He was, however, disapproved of that notion when Harry spoke.

"I think you had it all wrong, Mr. Malfoy. According to your words, I should associate myself with the right sort which I think you meant someone that is worthy of my station. Let me ask you, Mr. Malfoy, do you know who I am?" asked Harry in a cold voice, not liking the idea of being controlled as to who he was supposed to befriend in school.

"Of course I know who you are. You are Harry Potter, the Potter Heir, and the Boy-Who-Lived."

Harry nodded at the answer, taking another calm sip of his morning coffee. He idly noticed that it was running low, trying to decide whether to gulp it all down or just throw it away since he was already wide awake.

"I think you got your facts mixed up, Mr. Malfoy. True, I am Harry Potter but it seems that you missed a few things. I am Lord Harry James Potter, Lord of the Houses Potter, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Aldur. From your words alone, then I should not be associating myself with you since you are beneath my noticed being of a minor house." Harry said coldly making the boy shiver at his tone.

Draco's faced burned in embarrassment. How dare Potter mock his noble house?

"How dare you call Malfoy a minor house." the blonde screamed causing a lot of Gryffindors and Slytherins to pay attention to their conversation.

Harry didn't say anything but snapped his fingers causing a book to float in the air in front of him. He grabbed the book and leafed through its pages.

"If you don't know, this book is a compilation of all the wizarding families and their respective ranks since the creation of Wizarding Britain. It is a self-updating copy given to the Potter family roughly 900 years ago while Magical Britiain was still in its infancy."

Harry finally found the page he was looking for.

"According to this book, the Malfoy family came to Wizarding Britain during the 1800s from France. This means that your family barely reached 200 years of being under the laws of Wizarding Britain. Magical Britain was founded by ten wizarding families, namely the Potters, Bones, Longbottom, Greengrass, Black, Weasley, Crouch, Lestrange, Nott, and Aldur. All of these families are automatically given the title Most Ancient and Noble Houses due to their contribution. Of course, this doesn't include the Four Founders of Hogwarts which were considered as Royalty due to their contribution to our educational system. Such is the case, Mr. Malfoy, please enlighten as to how your family should be within my notice?"

Draco was currently blushing to the roots of his fair at the embarrassment Potter subjected him into with only a simple explanation of public facts. Unfortunate, or fortunately in this case, someone decided to rub some salt into the wound.

"Ha! Weasleys are better than Malfoy. Harry said so!" exulted Ron while giving Malfoy a shit-eating grin.

"Shut up, Weasley! Your family is so dirt poor that it can never be considered an Ancient and Noble House. Potter is lying with his facts. That's all there is to it." growled Malfoy, trying to salvage what was left of his dignity by defending his family.

Thankfully for the both of them, Harry decided to interrupt their impromptu verbal match. He clapped his hands causing everyone to look at his cold face, devoid of any emotion. The book floating beside him made for an imposing sight.

"You know, Mr. Malfoy, I don't really care about rank. What's important to me is to make friends. I don't care about politics or fame. I'm an eleven year old boy learning all I could about magic. We could have been friends but I don't like it when people dictate what I can do. I don't rub my family's position on others but you pushed me into it. Now, if you would be so kind, please leave me alone and don't bother me again until you change your view of the world." Harry said coldly. Everyone could practically feel the temperature drop a few degrees.

Malfoy was scared of the emotionless look that the Potter Lord was leveling him. He decided that a strategic retreat was in order but he couldn't help but leave a few parting words which further embarrassed him.

"You'll regret spurning my offer, Potter." Draco spat, calling up whatever courage he had left in his body. "My father will hear about how you humiliated our family."

Harry nodded, releasing a bit of his magic into the air to drive his point home.

"Please do inform your father, Mr. Malfoy. It seems that I need to talk to him regarding your…attitude. I know your father, Lucius, would be quite proud as to how you approached a lord." was all Harry's reply before waving his hand causing the book to vanish and walked at a sedate pace towards the middle of the pitch where Madam Hooch was waiting for the class to gather to begin her lessons.

Daphne, Tracy, and Theo immediately caught up with the young Potter Lord.

"My, Harry, I think you overdid it a bit." said Theo, quite impressed in how Potter handled Malfoy without going into a useless argument with the blonde ponce.

Harry simply shook his head and looked at him with a smile, telling the boy and the two girls that he was back to his normal jolly self.

"I don't think so, Theo. What I did back there was to make a point. I have always relied in myself since I learned how to walk and I don't really like it when people dictate what I need to do especially when there's no point in doing it. Malfoy back there was trying to get me under his wing to flaunt his association with me, thus, increasing his stature in the 'unofficial' hierarchy of Hogwarts. I don't like it when people use me as part of their games." explained Harry to Theo with a smile who simply nodded in understanding.

"Well, whatever you did back there was good in my book. Malfoy had been lording over Slytherin ever since he got sorted into the house. He didn't know that his action caused quite a lot of the older students to look at him in disdain. That wasn't how Slytherin suppose to work in gathering power and prestige. The House of Snakes is supposed to be cunning and Malfoy doesn't have an ounce of cunning in his body to even quality for the leadership of the house." said Daphne with a sniff.

"That is what you call politics, Daphne. That is simply how the world works." said Harry before turning to Tracy. "You see, Tracy, what I did back there was similar to what you should have done with Pansy while she was sprouting off her betrothal to Malfoy. If you don't stand up to what you believe in then you are just playing to their tune. True, you might not be on their level when it comes to rank but you should be proud of who you are and what you can do. If they don't change then simply ignore them. Nothing good will come out of it if you fight over their beliefs."

Tracy simply nodded and was about to say something when someone butted in to their conversation.

"What are you doing with those slimy snakes, Harry." came the voice of one Ronald Weasley. Unfortunately for him, Harry wasn't in the mood to do the same thing he did with Malfoy all over again.

"Come again, Mr. Weasley?" asked Harry in a deceptively calm voice.

Daphne, Tracy, and Theo immediately sensed the storm that was Harry James Potter so they backed away to avoid being part of the collateral damage.

"I mean, Harry, you should hanging out with us Gryffindors. I mean, your parents wouldn't want you to make friends with Slytherins. They'll just stab you in the back." said Ron while being totally unaware of the storm brewing in Harry's eyes upon the mention of his parents.

Everyone immediately felt the presence of palpable magic in the air as Harry's temper escalated.

"Mr. Weasley, I suggest that you close your mouth before something bad happens." Harry warned the redhead.

"Come on, Harry. We're friends. I'm just telling you the truth you know." said Ron with a laugh, totally oblivious to the ire building inside Harry waiting to erupt. "Now come over here and join u…."

What Ron was about to say was cut off when Harry stretch out his hand to envelop the boy in a silencing spell. Using his Telekinetic powers, Harry levitated Ron a few feet above the ground and pulled the boy towards him, stopping the just a few inches away from him.

"Don't you dare talk about my parents, Weasley." Harry snarled at Ron's face who was eyeing him in fear. "I was trying to be polite but you forced my hand. You don't know what my parents want and you don't even know what I want. As I told Malfoy, I don't like it when people tell me what I should and should not do. I AM my own man, Weasley, and don't you forget it or I will be forced to permanently shut your mouth. Propriety be damned."

With that, Harry clenched his control over his powers and threw Ron away from him causing the boy to land on the dirt with a thud, skidding back a few feet, dazed.

Fuming, Harry turned and continued his trek towards Madam Hooch who was also walking towards them with a curious look on her face.

Harry didn't know that his confrontation with both Weasley and Malfoy cemented the first year student's view of him right there and then.

The first year Gryffindor saw Harry as an alpha of the pack, someone that should never be crossed or angered. Their brief stint with him during Transfiguration cemented the fact that Potter was leagues above them, but never rubbed his superiority over his peers. He treated them as equals and helped them using his own skills and knowledge. He was generous to a fault but in a right away.

True, Harry might have put Ron Weasley in his place but what they heard when the redhead tried to get Harry away from those he treated as friends was an idiotic move for someone who spouted talk of being a perfect Gryffindor.

Everyone learned a good lesson that day – it was never a good idea to speak to Harry's parents in a negative way since the boy had the power to throw you away without even raising a wand.

The first year Slytherins, however, had a much different view of Harry after the confrontation. They clearly admired and respected him for defending his friends who belonged in their house. At first, they thought of Potter as someone who followed Gryffindor ideals and would automatically hate everything that was Slytherin. It came to a shock when they discovered that Potter made friends with three people in their house. He respected them and treated them as equals.

The idea that Malfoy made him an enemy made them wince though the inwardly hoped that it was just the blonde ponce and not Slytherin itself.

Harry might now know it but his reputation would be further improved as the students who saw the altercation gave their own testimony to the rumor mill that was Hogwarts.

The Flying lesson with Madam Hooch went off without a hitch since the students were somewhat subdued after they saw the power that Harry Potter displayed when confronted by Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy.

Madam Hooch immediately asked the Hogwarts' Apprentice on what happened. The Potter Lord simply told the teacher that some disagreements came up between him and the two boys but was already solved.

Of course, since Madam Hooch already knew about Harry's maturity, just gave him a nod before ushering towards the brooms lying on the grass to start the lesson.

Harry realized that flying was quite fun. According to Madam Hooch, he inherited his father's skill in flying that it was a waste that he wouldn't be part of the Quidditch Team. Harry blushed at the praise with his trio of friends snickering at him for showing a moment of weakness much to the young Potter's consternation.

Nothing interesting happened as the lesson progressed except for the fact that Harry was able to save Neville before he was thrown off his broom. The Longbottom Heir thanked him profusely but Harry just waved it off before giving the chubby boy a smile.

However, Neville told Harry that he wanted to meet with him later since he had something to discuss with him regarding his new wand. Harry immediately agreed to meet during the weekends, mostly Sunday since he had plenty to do on Saturday.

With that business done, Harry just leisurely flew around the pitch while escorting a stiff Daphne, a giggling Tracy, and an amused Theo. Neville joined them later though he was quite shaky with his flying despite the encouragements Harry threw at him to keep his confidence up. They didn't even bat an eyelash when they heard Ron challenging Draco to a brooms race as they flew around.

Thankfully, Madam Hooch was there to stop it from further escalating and ordered everyone to land and return to the castle – but not before deducting five points each from both Ron and Draco for not following her instructions.

It was around lunch time when Harry entered the Great Hall. Students were at their own respective tables enjoying the scrumptious Hogwarts food while chatting with their friends. Deciding to forgo Slytherin this time, Harry made a beeline to the Hufflepuff table.

Harry spotted Amelia Bone's niece and a vacant seat beside her. Making up his mind, Harry approached the brown-haired girl.

"Hi, can I join you?" said Harry while pointing at the vacant seat beside the girl.

Susan Bones who was busy talking to her friend, Hannah Abbott, was surprised that THE Harry Potter was asking to take the seat beside her. Thankfully, she had been briefed by her aunt regarding her meeting with the Boy-Who-Lived back at the Ministry so she had an idea what she was dealing with.

"Sure, Mr. Potter, please take a seat." said Susan with a smile, fighting down the urge to blush. That smile of his should be banned.

"Thank you," Harry said with a smile before sitting down. "Please, call me Harry. You're Amelia Bone's niece right?"

Susan was surprised that Harry knew her.

"Thank you, Harry. Yes, Amelia Bones is my aunt. I'm surprised that you know me. I believe that this is the first time we've met." said Susan in surprise while giving Harry a curious look.

"I saw you with Madam Bones in the platform getting on the train. I was in the last compartment and I believe you were three compartments before mine." replied Harry before placing some potatoes and roast beef on his plate. It wasn't his usual fare for lunch but he was quite hungry.

"Ahh…that would explain it I guess." Susan said with a nod. She then felt her friend elbowing her on the ribs. "Oh, I would like to introduce you to my best friend, Hannah Abbott."

Hannah blushed immediately when Harry switched his gaze from Susan to her. Of course, Harry saw the blush and smiled at the shy girl, trying to put her at ease to no avail.

"Hello, Mr. Potter." Hannah said while offering her hand out to him to shake.

Harry had a different plan. He took her hand but instead of shaking it, he turned it palms down and kissing her knuckle causing the poor girl to blush like a ripe tomato.

"A pleasure to meet you as well, Hannah, please call me Harry. Everyone does." said Harry with a cheeky smile before letting go of her hand. "So, how have you girls been? Enjoying Hogwarts?"

"Oh yes, it is a wonderful experience. I'm happy that I ended up in Hufflepuff. Bones' had always been Puffs." exclaimed Susan with a happy smile on her face. "Same with the Abbotts too."

"Interesting. I didn't know that. I guess if the Sorting Hat sorted me normally then I would have ended up in Gryffindor." said Harry, shuddering at the last part. He really couldn't picture himself in the House of Lions. Seeing the curious look in both Susan and Hannah's face at his declaration, he decided to elaborate. "The Sorting Hat told me that I have qualities of all four houses so he was having a hard time sorting me to a specific house. So instead of a house, the Hat placed me in Hogwarts as an Apprentice."

Both girls nodded at the explanation. It was quite rare for a person to have qualities of all four houses – possible, yes, but rare. However, Susan saw something in Harry's reaction that piqued her curiosity.

"Why the shudder, Harry? You don't like Gryffindors?" Susan asked curiously, though everyone within hearing distance of the two was curious as well.

"It's not that I don't like Gryffindors but I don't like the idea of being put on a pedestal. One of the reasons that I like Hufflepuffs so much is because they treat me as me. Sure, some of them might have seen me as the Boy-Who-Lived and all the crap but I still get treated like a normal wizard, no expectations but a fellow student. If I ended up in the Lion's Den, I'm sure that a lot of students there will have high expectations of me. I don't want that. I'm here in Hogwarts to study, not to conform to the desires of the masses." explained Harry.

"How about the Ravenclaws then? I saw you shudder when you checked out their table." asked Hannah.

Harry grinned at her causing her to blush.

"Observant, aren't you?" Harry teased. "Well, the Ravenclaws aren't all that bad. I just don't like the questions they are bound to ask me about my life, my capabilities, knowledge of magic, or even being an Apprentice. I can handle attention just fine I just don't like it when people start to get invasive of my privacy."

"Oh. I guess that's reasonable. I'm happy that you get to relax with us here in the Hufflepuff table, Harry, and know that you're always welcome here in our group." said Susan with complete honesty on her face. The rest of the Puffs who were listening in nodded at the invitation.

"Thank you, Susan." said Harry with a smile before digging into his food since he was quite hungry. The tuna sandwich Flippy gave him before flying lesson was forgotten history.

Harry had fun making friends with the Hufflepuffs, especially Susan and Hannah. Conversation went wild as they enjoyed a delectable lunch. It was five minutes before the bell was about to ring that Harry excused himself from the table before heading towards the dungeons for his Potions class with the Gryffindors and Slytherins

Severus Snape was making his way to the dungeons for the start of his Potions class with the Gryffindors and Slytherins. He grimaced at having the rowdy lions in his precious classroom but he could not disallow them entrance since it was their right to learn from him. He would do it but doesn't mean that he had to like it.

As he neared the classroom, he realized that this class would host the Apprentice of Hogwarts, Harry James Potter. A small twitch on his lips was visible when he remembered the meeting after the interview with the boy up in the Headmaster's office. A simple meeting became a heated debate on what to teach the boy.

According to Filius, the boy was a diamond in the rough, who requires thorough polishing if he was going to shine. Severus scoffed at that, the boy was already shining like the damned sun.

To be honest, Severus was quite impressed with the boy. He saw nothing of James Potter in his persona but he could never deny the fact that there was a lot of Lily in him. In fact, Severus could safely say that Potter was a blend of both his parents' good qualities and possibly none of the bad.

As he ran through his mind his opening speech for the class, he realized that he needed to change his approach towards the lessons if he wanted to properly teach the boy. He could even make use of the boy's knowledge in elementary potions safety and preparation.

After all, if the Potter boy's dedication towards knowledge was to be used as a base then the next seven years would be an eye opening experience, especially for him.

Besides, the boy need to prove himself to be his apprentice and the best way to do that was for the boy to showcase his knowledge to the class.

He grinned and anyone who saw the Bat of the Dungeon grinning would have run for the hills, screaming.

Harry was sitting at the front of the Potions classroom with some of his Slytherin peers when Professor Severus Snape entered the door with a bang, causing a lot of students to drop whatever they were doing and focus their attention on the snarky professor.

Harry couldn't help but admire the casual, yet intimidating way the Potions Professors walked, robes billowing behind him. He wondered if it was natural or under a spell. He was cut off from his musings when Professor Snape addressed the class.

"Welcome…to your first Potions class here in Hogwarts." drawled Professor Snape in his no-nonsense voice. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. There will be no wand-waving in this class as you would be concentrating on the actual process of brewing potions, starting from the tools used, ingredients, and of course, the brewing process itself."

Snape looked around and was quite happy – though he didn't show it - that he had the collective attention of the class. Even Potter was focusing on him with an intensity that could rival a Potion Master.

Perfect.

"Before we begin with practical potion-making, I will entreat the services of Apprentice Potter to teach you the rudiments of potion-making preparation and safety." He turned to a surprised Potter who was looking at him incredulously. Severus mentally patted himself on the back for catching a Potter by surprise.

"Apprentice Potter, please take the floor and get started. You have the entire hour to teach the class everything you know on brewing preparation and safety. Begin." He barked before walking to his desk and taking a seat.

Harry sighed at being cornered yet again to teach the class. Thankfully, Professor Snape instructed him to teach only preparation and safety, something that he thoroughly studied during his summer stint back in Potter Manor.

Sighing again before squaring his shoulders, Harry stood up from his desk and moved to the front of the class. Seeing the lack of visual aids, he waved his hands to conjure a slanted table and conjured the different tools used in brewing potions – athame, chopping board, cauldron, weighing scale, vials, and so on. These were merely imitation of the original but it would serve as a visual aid to properly teach the class.

He started his lesson exactly how the book taught him. He first described the various tools commonly used in potions-making. He demonstrated the different methods in how to properly prepare the ingredients and the methods that came with it, as well as some safety measures, like making sure that all the ingredients are properly arranged in order of being added to the potion, checking the intensity of the fire, double-checking the instructions on the book to avoid accidents, and of course, the two important spells used in potion-making. But before he could do latter, he needed to ask permission since the professor clearly stated the lack of wand use in the class.

"Professor, I would like to ask your permission to let the student use their wands so I could teach them two important spells that a brewer should know." asked Harry, turning towards the professor who was observing him intensely with his onyx eyes.

"Interesting. What spells will you be teaching them, Apprentice Potter." asked an intrigued Snape.

"The stasis charm and a localized shield spell professor." Harry replied with a smile.

Professor Snape was inwardly shocked that Potter knew about these two spells. It seems that the boy's claim of studying the basics of safety and preparation was truth. He nodded at the boy who turned to the class for the final part of the lesson.

"Before I end this lesson on potion-making safety and preparation, I would like everyone to take out their wands so I could teach you two useful spells commonly used in brewing." said Harry before conjuring an imitation wand so he could demonstrate the wand movements. He didn't need it but the students in front of him didn't have his control over magic.

"Now, the first spell I will teach you is a localized shield spell that will protect your cauldron from outside forces. This is mainly used to make sure that no outside items end up in your potion that could ruin everything. The incantation of the spell is 'Scutum Lebetem' there is no wand movement. All you need to do is to slide the tip of your wand on the rim of your cauldron starting from the south in a clockwise motion. Once you complete the circle tap the rim of the cauldron three times before saying the incantation. Observe."

Harry conjured a cauldron in front of him with a wave of his free hand. Following his own instruction, he pointing the tip of his wand and slid it across the rim in a clockwise manner. He then tapped the rim three times before saying the spell.

"Scutum Lebetem!" Harry incanted in a clear voice that could be heard by everyone in the classroom.

An almost-transparent dome of magic appeared over the cauldron. Harry nodded at the successful spell before addressing the class.

"As you can see, the cauldron is now protected by a shield keyed to your magical signature. Only the caster can enter the shield. Can I ask for a volunteer to throw something into the cauldron to prove the validity of the spell?" asked Harry while looking at the students waiting for one of them to volunteer.

Malfoy saw his chance in humiliating Potter so he took out a parchment and balled it in his hands. He chucked it at the cauldron but was shocked when it simply bounced off the shield.

Harry saw this and gave Malfoy a winning smile.

"Thank you for volunteering, Mr. Malfoy." said Harry with a nod towards a fuming blonde before address the whole class again. "As you can see, solid objects will not be allowed through the shield unless it is from the caster's hands."

Harry saw the students taking down notes while others were practicing the spell on their own cauldron. He must have taught them well since all of them succeeded on the first try.

"The next spell I will teach you is called the stasis charm. There are times that you will be interrupted in your brewing that pausing from a step would ruin the entire potion. This is the case when you are working against the clock. This spell is useful for such a situation. The charm will put the entire cauldron in a form of stasis, making it immune to the flow of time. Keep in mind that this only works in potions and using it on a human being wouldn't work. The incantation is 'Habitus Perpetua'. The wand movement is a diagonal slash followed by an upward flick towards your target. Cancelling the spell requires a simple 'Finite'."

Harry performed the spell in front of the class causing the cauldron to glow a bright yellow before dying down. He also performed the counter to show his peers how it's done.

Since he was done with the lesson, Harry gave Professor Snape a bow before going back to his seat. Everyone in class, except for a few, was giving Harry an impressed look.

"Thank you, Apprentice Potter, that was properly delivered and you didn't miss anything important." said Snape with a nod towards Harry who returned it with a smile. "For the next hour, you will find a partner. That person will be your partner for the year, so choose well. Apprentice Potter, you will be brewing your potion on the counter beside my table."

Snape waved his wand over to the board, revealing the instructions for the Boil Reducing Potion.

"You will be brewing a Boil Reducing Potion. The instruction is both on the board and on your books. You have an hour. Begin."

Snape beckoned for Harry towards the counter where he would be working on his potion. Nodding, Harry went to the cupboard with the rest of the students to get the needed ingredients so he could get started with his first stint at brewing.

Harry looked down at the blue mixture in his cauldron with approval. He already finished with the brewing of the Boil Reducing Potion and the last step was to bottle it.

He turned off the fire underneath the cauldron and took a ladle while an empty vial floated to him from the other end of the table. Harry grabbed the vial without looking at it and carefully tipped the full ladle over to the rim, slowly pouring the finished potion in until it was full. Studying the potion carefully in front of his eyes, Harry nodded before putting on the stopper to make sure that it stayed fresh until it was used. He even charmed the vial unbreakable just in case. Harry mused that he should have taught that to his peers but shrug it off since he could do so next time if the professor gave him a chance to do so.

Harry placed the full vial of Boil Reducing Potion in a stand that looked similar to a test tube rack before cleaning the surface of his work table. He floated the cauldron over to the sink and started washing it thoroughly with soap and water. When that was done, he dried it with thought and had it float over to his counter ready for the next potion to be brewed.

Nodding at a job well done – both at the potion and the clean work table – Harry grabbed the vial and walked over to Professor Snape to present to him his finished assignment.

"I'm done, professor." declared Harry while passing the vial to the Potions Master.

Snape took the vial and examined it. Seeing that it was the right color, he removed the stopper and smelled the aroma, as well as testing the thickness of the potion with his finger. Nodding in approval, he replaced the stopper and placed the vial on the desk before marking it with an Outstanding.

"Great work, Apprentice Potter, as expected from someone of your caliber. Now I want you to wait on your table since we will be having a meeting after the class. Do you have any appointments after this?" asked Snape.

Harry shook his head in negative.

"No, professor. I'm free until curfew." said Harry. "Besides, I also wanted to discuss something with you outside of Potions if you would allow it."

"Agreed." said Snape with a nod. "Please wait by your station and we will talk after class."

Seeing it as a dismissal, Harry walked over to his work table and took a seat. Since he still had ten minutes before class ends, he decided to pull out his potions text to read in advance the next potion they would be brewing.

He was so immersed in his reading that he didn't notice four sets of eyes looking at him – dark onyx studying him, brown looking at him in sorrow, blue eyes in jealousy, and grey eyes in anger.

Edited by Corruptmonk

Original Story by Rachel (Sorceress of Stories)

May 28, 2012

Hi, my beloved readers, Chapter 18 won't be up tomorrow. There were some problems with the plot that would clash with future chapters. Need to properly iron it out to avoid plot holes and inconsistencies in the future.

Sorry for the delay folks.