Chapter eight: first lesson

The days were turning too slow. Renee thought as she tapped her quill impatiently while looking at the calendar hanging on the common room.

I still have 2 days before the supplemental lessons and I'm starting to get impatient.

She's been trying not to get in trouble, just not make professor Snape any excuse to cancel their appointment.

Even if that means controlling my urge to hex Malfoy because of his stupid remarks, so be it.

Renee left her homework halfway done and headed to the great hall for dinner. Just in time she opened the doors, the owls were already giving letters. A gray owl approached Renee and gave her an envelope. She gave the owl some owl's treat she usually have in pocket and flew away. Renee knew right away that it was from her mother, Isabel was not the fond of parchment and ink anymore, saying ball point pen were much more convenient. She sat next to Hermione, reading the daily prophet.

"What's the news Hermione?"

"It seems that one of the prisoners were spotted in Hogsmeade"

Renee flinched at the news and exchanged glances with Harry; he was pretty worried about it too.

"Don't worry mate. They will get them" Ron tapped Harry's shoulders. Renee thought he was still having a bad feeling about these fugitives.

Or worried about his godfather lurking outside while there are still dementors around, she added to herself.

"I was just thinking…who are they looking for?" Harry was in deep thought again. She remembered the time when he got some vision about them on the great hall.

"The article said that he almost kidnapped a girl, its good that the dementors got there early, though he escaped again" Renee pointed the moving picture; A ragged looking man running frantically, while the dementors were following them. On the side of the picture, she spotted a trembling girl, thinking that she might be the one who was nearly kidnapped.

"What does he want? Is he a pervert or something?" Ron comment, shaking his head.

"Might be" Hermione responded at Ron, not taking her eyes away from the newspaper.

I never thought pervert people also exist on wizard world, Renee thought as she glanced again on the moving picture. She knew beneath her that they were missing something, a missing puzzle piece that will answer all of their questions.

But what is it?

Renee looked for a quiet spot on the common room and read her mother's letter after dinner. She smiled at herself, seeing her mother's not so tidy handwriting.

Renee,

I'm glad to hear that you already enjoying your stay in Hogwarts; Toby and I were just fine. I'm still busy at the pharmacy; Toby is missing your messy room every time he cleans it. The house feels empty without you here dear.

Glad to hear you're in Gryffindor. I'm also in that house when I'm still studying. I've heard professor McGonagall is your head of the house, hope she wasn't hard on you. Is the fat lady still there? Is she still trying to break the glass from her voice?

How about your classes? Made friends so far?

I miss you too. I hope I could visit you there if I had the time. I wanted to visit Hogwarts again too; I want to see if there are changes there.

Take care, write soon (and I mean sooner than the first time you write!)

Love,

Mum

Renee didn't waste time. She took an empty parchment from the one she's saving for my history essay homework and started to write. She told her about school, how she makes friends with Harry and my supplemental lessons with Snape.

She rolled the parchment and signed contently on her handwriting and headed to the Owlery and gave it to the school's owl to send it.

It was already Monday and Renee was so excited for upcoming lessons from professor Snape. She can't even stop grinning though out the day that the enthusiastic girl didn't even noticed Malfoy's remarks.

At dinner, Renee almost wolfed her food. Her three friends looked at her like she was a stray woman who just eaten after five days.

"Got to go, See you at the common room!" Renee stormed out after drinking all the pumpkin juice on my glass as she saw professor Snape finished his dinner and left the teachers table.

She ran though the corridors until she catch up with the potion's master. Renee looked at him cautiously as she keeps straitening her robes on their way to the potions lab.

Snape sat on his table and eyed her cautiously. Renee sat at the nearest lab table, looking at him eagerly; waiting for his instructions.

"Did you bring your book?" his silky voice startled her. Renee got the book on her bag and showed it to him.

"Very well, I don't know why you wanted my supplemental lessons, but I know you didn't even need one. I suppose you owe me an explanation" Snape crossed his arms on his chest.

Renee looked at him and thinks about her reasons.

I didn't even know it myself, really.

"I wanted to learn. Everyone else knows that I was just home schooled by my mum. And your lessons made me love the subject. Potions were complicated and some don't appreciate it. But I think it was really interesting" Renee explained, astonished to myself how she came up with that answer.

Snape looked amused by the new student's answer, thinking there are only few who could appreciate his subject.

"Very well" said Snape, glancing at the ingredients cupboard.

"Go and fetch the ingredients for draught for the living dead. I'll give an hour and a half to do it" he said and signed in resignation.

Renee went to the student's cupboard and looked for the ingredients. She grabbed the bottle of wormwood and asphrodel on the upper left of the cabinet and carefully placed it on the table. She went back and looked for the remaining ingredients. She could see in the corner of her eye that the professor was studying her. She felt nervous again.

What if I messed up? What if I made him angry? My two weeks of persuading him will be in waste.

Renee shoved the idea of "what ifs" and concentrated on grabbing the ingredients. She finally saw the valerian roots, sloth brain and sopophorus brain on the back shelves and placed it on the table along with the other ingredients.

Snape would just give some information about the ingredients that Renee tried to remember while fixing her workplace. After getting all the equipments she needed, Renee wrote everything that he said on the side of her book.

Renee rolled up her sleeves and started to get work. She already sliced the other ingredients, but not the sopophorus beans.

I supposed to get the juice, but it's to hard to sliced, she groaned in frustration.

She glanced at the potions master, who's leaning on the wall, reading a potions journal, is there anything he could read besides that? Renee looked at the sopophorus beans again in frustration.

"Professor, is there any way to get the juice of sopophorus beans aside from slicing it? It's really hard to slice" Renee pouted in frustration. Snape looked at her cauldron and the sopophorus bean on the side.

"Crush it"

"Excuse me? But the books…"

"You're asking me about the other way. Crush it" Snape went back on his reading.

Renee glanced on the beans and crushed the beans. True enough, it's easier than slicing it and she could get more juices from it.

Why would they write about slicing it if we could just crush it?

After putting the juice on the cauldron, the content went from black current colored liquid to light shade of lilac. Renee noted on the side of the book about the crushing then proceeds on stirring.

"Stir it seven times, counter clock wise, then one clockwise" he poked at her cauldron, recognizing the appropriate color of the potion.

"Why clockwise?"

"It will make the potion stronger"

Renee nodded and noted it again on the book and start stirring. One, two, three, four,

The potion started to be clear. She smiled in triumph.

Five…six…seven, Then one clockwise stir and I'm done.

She smiled at her own accomplishment. It was already clear as the water. Renee glanced at the potions master, who's also looking at her cauldron.

"Very well"

Renee grinned at him, but stopped as he growled at her. She looked at the cauldron again; I think he still wasn't used in someone grinning at him, she mentally noted herself.

"Transfer it on the vial, Miss Matte. But be careful on the contents. I don't want to have a living Juliet in my classroom" Snape said and started to work on the pilled parchment on his table.

"You knew about Romeo and Juliet sir?"

"Yes, what do you think of me? Just reading about potions all my life?"

"I don't know Shakespeare's works were popular also in this world. And I always saw you reading about potions." Renee muttered on the last sentence. He raised his eyebrow on her and she grinned back as apology.

"You've been taught well in potions Miss Matte. Is your mother a potion's mistress?"

Renee stopped for a while and think. "I don't think sir. She was just following a syllabus and a book, though I could say that she was a good teacher. Not to mention brutal" She can't help but remembered those times when she taught her about potions.

Why did she do great in teaching potions while she can't even cook a decent meal?

She finished transferring the potion on the vial and labeled it on her neatest handwriting she could write. Renee cleaned her workplace with a flick of her wand and admired the clear bottle before placing it on his desk.

"Thanks for teaching me today sir"

"I still stand that you don't need this lessons"

"But how come you agreed to it?"

He just mumbled something that Renee didn't really hear well. She just heard the word 'headmaster'.

Renee smiled at the revelation; I need to thank the headmaster for this.

"You can go now" Snape muttered, still buried his face on a pile of paperwork.

"Maybe I could help you with that sir, you could be up all night all if you do it alone" Renee offered a hand at him. Snape looked at her and his pile of parchment and signed.

"You could grade these essays from the first years" he picked a pile of parchment and gave it to her.

Renee went to the nearest table and picked her quill and ink bottle and started. After a few essays of checking, she groaned in resignation.

How could these students get so stupid? Even I, who don't have any magical background, got decent essays when I was their age!

"Dunderheads" Renee muttered as she read the fifth essay she graded.

"Just gave them a D" he said not even looked at her.

"With pleasure" She grinned and wrote a big letter D on top of the parchment. These students really deserve it, no wonder Snape loath teaching. Renee glanced at him and saw a small smirk on his face.

She finished reading the last paper, and graded it a C. It's the highest grade she could give to them.

"They really have to study more"

"First years essays were always a joy for every professor here" Snape sarcastically said. Renee thought he intentionally gave these first years' essays to her, such a sadist.

Renee stretched her stiffed arms, picked the graded parchments and handed it to Snape. She glanced at the last paper he graded; he put a large E on the parchment and thought that he also finished his work.

"Is there anything I could do sir?"

"No, you could now go to bed" he started to pile the parchments again.

"Thank you sir" She picked her bag and headed to the door.

"Goodnight sir" Renee glanced at the potions master before exiting the room. He just muttered something and she just smiled in response.

Renee headed to the common room with a smile on my face. Did I just have a lesson with him?

She chuckled on the thought; yes you just have a lesson with him because you succeed in persuading him, a voice said to her head.

I need to thank professor Dumbledore the next time I see him.

"I must have been gone insane" she said aloud, making other students on the corridor stared at her.