Chapter ten: doubts
Today's classes made Renee question her for having good grades in OWLS, especially in potions. They were tending to brew wiggenweld potion for their quarter exams, a healing potion with the power to awaken a person from a magically-induced sleep.
"I suppose that I already said that you need to study the ingredients before hand. Now lets see if you really studied" Snape pulled his wand, muttered a few words and the label from the jars in front of her disappeared.
All of them groaned in unison.
"Begin. Now" Snape gives them a wicked smile, so contented on the class displeasure.
Renee looked at the table and signed. She began to start her potion when it came to her attention that she didn't recognize the half of its ingredients. She looked at the ingredients in front of her. Sure she could name some, basically the usual ingredients; but not the other ones.
I remember that we used to have shortage in potion ingredients at home. Toby used to buy some, but not the rare ones.
Snape seemed to notice her dilemma as he passed her table while the poor girl struggled in which billywing sting slime or sloth drain mucus she should put on the cauldron first. He just gave his usual smirks and starts to bark on Neville who seem start his potion a wrong way.
Renee struggled to finish the potion like the rest of the class, fortunately on her first try; though she was one of the last students to finish the potion because of making to much time who identify the ingredients.
I looked so pathetic, even Ron finished his potion faster than me. Well, he lived on a wizard house, he sure knew those ingredients than me, she thought sadly.
Caring for magical creatures was not in the exception too. Renee found it hard to feed the creature Hagrid taught about; she didn't even remember what kind of creature is it. It was huge, but not as big as dragon; though it was as dangerous. It was kind of fascinating but in a disturbing way how Hagrid talked about the creatures, like they won't hurt a thing while in fact they could turn a house down in ashes.
Flying class seems to be the encore of her bad day. She managed to call the broom up this time to her relief.
"Now hold the handle firmly, not that way, look how I handle mine…that's much better. And position yourself like this" Renee tried to mimic everything professor Hooch did on her broom.
Before she knew it, she was already on air. Renee tried to balance herself, like her life is already on stake.
Well it was already on stake when I looked below and notice that I was already a hundred feet away from the ground.
Renee swallowed hard and tried not to look at the ground. Now I know what it feels like to have fear on heights. She flies carefully but surely.
"Now, put your weight on the other side if you want to take a turn. Yes you're doing just fine" Renee smiled at the coach's encouragement. She made a quick turn and saw the magnificent view in front of them. Renee tried to fly forward to see a better view, but made a wrong turn and she nearly fell on the broom.
Just then the broom seems to be broken or gone insane. It darted all the way down, while she was trying to balance herself again. Professor Hooch followed her down, shouting some instructions that Renee couldn't comprehend. The broom shook vigorously, as if trying to let her fall, she fall but managed to hold on the handle. It continued to shake Renee off, until she had only one hand holding.
For the finale, it shook violently; and Renee was already falling fast on the ground. Her eyes were closed and couldn't think straight. I'm going to die.
No I'm not going to die here, she snapped.
"Aresto momentum!" shouted Renee before she would crack her head on the ground. It fall slowed her down a bit, but still had a quite impact when she hit the ground.
Renee lay on the ground, groaning. Her back, arms and thigh hurts, but thankful that she thought that she didn't crack her head on the ground.
"Are you okay?" Professor Hooch rushed on her side.
"I think I am" Renee muttered, realizing many students swamped around her.
"Can you stand?" instead answering, she carefully stood up; examining if I had broken any bones. Luckily, she managed to get back on the ground in one piece. She looked on the broom that she rode, that now already on the ground.
Renee scowled loudly on supper, after telling Hermione how bad her day was. Hermione looked at her new friend sympathetically.
"Not everyone was good in flying" Hermione tried to comfort Renee with her words.
"Yes because even Herm…" Ron stopped talking when Hermione gave him a deathly glare.
She could be scary sometimes, scarier than Snape.
"I really don't know why I excel on OWLS. I'm beginning to screw up!" Renee exclaimed, buried her face on her arms.
"I don't think you fell on the broom accidentally" Harry spoke.
"Do you think..." Renee looked at him wondering.
"From the looks of your flying earlier, it's like someone is cursing your broom. Like the one I've had on my first year"
"I could have cracked my head there! Who would…?"
Renee looked at them, like they already had the same person thinking about who would curse the broom.
"We don't have evidence" she signed in dismay.
I will really get him for this, she curse to herself.
She knocked again on the potions lab; still upset what things are going through for the past few days. Renee looked at her hands and knees scrapped from the earlier flying lessons. She signed heavily, she managed to fly decently earlier and to her relief she didn't have a crazy ride like she had the last time.
"Enter" Renee opened the doors and spotted the potion master near the students cupboard. Snape looked at me with his usual raised eyebrow.
"Good evening professor" Renee smiled timidly at him. Snape nodded and went back his attention to the cupboard and she placed my bag on her lab table and sat.
"I've noticed you are not familiar in some ingredients we are using…" Snape said while getting several bottles and placed it in front of her. His voice trailed and she looked at him attentively. Snape pulled his wand on his robes and muttered a spell that made the names on the jars invisible.
"Today we are going to get you familiarized to those ingredients before you get an error from brewing and blow up my classroom" He raised his eyebrow again, thinking about the last lesson when Renee nearly put the sloth drain mucus on the cauldron first.
"Yes sir" she got her notebook and quill from her bag and waited for his instructions.
He lined up the different ingredients in front of her and crossed his arms on his chest.
"Do you know the first one?" he pointed the fist bottle from her left.
The bottle was filled with thick greenish liquid. It was one of the ingredients they used in the last potion class.
"That was flobber worm mucus" Renee answered, she looked at him and Snape nodded in agreement.
"It's usually use in wiggenweld potion. It has a different smell than other worm mucus" Snape opened the jar and Renee could smell a distinctive smell, it was rather a salty smell; like the sea.
He closed the lid and continued in his lecture. Renee wrote everything informative in her notebook and he would open the lid of some jars and let her touched it, feeling its textures or let her smell some. He explained the vulnerability of some that becomes the reason for some delicate brewing potions.
The two finished almost twenty jars before calling it a night; almost memorized all of them that made him satisfy with the lesson. Renee helped him putting the jars back from its placed, and offered him a help on grading papers again.
I beginning to think that helping him after the extra lessons start to be a tradition; she smiled warily as she took the parchments from the professor.
Renee sat on the nearest table on his and starts on checking papers as Snape gave a pop up quiz on the second years and third years.
She would steal several glances at him and noticed his hair wasn't that greasy like everyone else talking about. It has natural shine which stands out in the candlelight. His skin was pale but Renee really thinks it suits him.
His hands looked so elegant with his elongated fingers. His eyes were the most attractive of all of his features, it was really black…so deep that it could swallow you whole.
"Eyes on the paper, Miss Matte" his silky voice startled her. He has that kind of voice, so dark yet so captivating. Renee blushed and looked back on the paper she was checking.
Renee shoved at the thought. Did I just think I find him attractive?
The noise of their quills filled the room. Renee found the silence very comforting but didn't know why.
Is it because I'm with him?
"Tell me… is your lesson with professor Trelawney very informative?" Snape's question made her jumped. Is he trying to have a conversation with me?
"It was rather…amusing how she's so enthusiast on her subject" Renee tried to find a better word for her, for not to revile her.
"Yes she was very happy when she told me how you came up to her and asked for her opinion" Snape smirked and Renee thought that he was the potion master was talking about what happened on the dinner hall.
"Well she tried to lock me on her office all day, I nearly missed the sun" Renee scowled thinking how he was cause of it.
"Then try to avoid her in dinner time to make sure she won't ambush you again"
"I'm planning on it" She smirked at him and handed the checked papers. Snape smirked back at her, then handed the girl a book.
It was an old book, but it was presentable in some ways; it reminded her of some books from the restricted portion of the library.
The book was entitled, Different kinds of potion's ingredients and its uses by Sarah Kevins
"That… will be useful on your study"
Renee looked at the book and smiled at him. He looked at me in the eye, somewhat astonished from what he saw on her face.
I've never saw this like of emotion of him before; it was full of surprise…was that sadness?
It was only a moment and looked at his work again.
"Thank you sir" Renee beamed, using her usual cheerful voice to annoy him. Snape looked at her again and raised his eyebrow and resumed on his work. He seemed to be used to her smiling at him, even though he didn't acknowledge it.
"You could go now" Snape scowled. Renee just smiled sheepishly as she felt triumph in annoying the potions master and headed to the door. Renee was not scared of him anymore.