Chapter 6: Potions Class
He awoke the next day with the roaring headache of a hangover.
"I shouldn't have had those 2 bottles of Firewhiskey," he moaned to himself. "Why the hell was I drinking anyway?" He asked himself. Visions of last night came flooding back, Rose, the fight. He groaned, got up and went to shower.
Once he had showered and dressed, he quickly swallowed a Hangover Cure and went to the Great Hall for breakfast. With the visitors there every morning would be a huge affair and Dumbledore had told them they were expected to be present for every breakfast and dinner. This excessive socialization would try every ounce of patience he had.
"At least Rose will be at breakfast," he said to himself softly. He knew he owed the girl, no woman, an apology for going off on her.
He reached the Great Hall and sat in his usual seat. Rose was nowhere to be seen.
"Maybe I should go and find her," he thought to himself as she walked in.
He could tell she was wearing a glamour. She shimmered with magic, the air around her crackled. She walked up to the head table and stopped. She was scanning to see where she could sit. He looked around and saw that the only seat was next to him. He smirked.
She glared at him, turned around and stalked to the Gryffindor table. Harry stood and offered her a seat next to him. Snape stared at them stunned. He remembered her being stubborn but he never would have thought that she would be capable of such anger.
"What are you doing to me woman?" He whispered to himself.
"What did you say Severus?" Dumbledore asked.
Snape looked up in confusion to see the Headmaster sitting next to him.
"Albus, sorry, mumbling to myself. Can I help you?"
"I was just saying that both Durmstrang and Beaux Batons will be touring the castle today. The students have been paired with two of our houses for some subjects we have in common. You'll be team teaching with Igor during your Gryffindor-Slytherin seventh year classes and you'll be teaching with Mademoiselle De Grosaillon, sorry, Miss Evans, during your Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff classes. Both will be touring your classroom today. Miss Evans and the Beaux Batons girls will be by this morning during your Double Potions class." Dumbledore stood to leave.
"But sir, that's during my fourth year Gryffindor-Slytherin class?" Snape asked confused.
Snape looked down at his plate. The thought of having to team teach drove him mental! Igor had barely been functional in school, now he would have to teach with him blundering about. Teaching with Rose on the other hand intrigued him. He remembered her being a strong witch when they were children, but could she do potions? He couldn't remember what Slughorn had thought of her.
He stood and stalked out of the hall and headed for the dungeons. They would be brewing the Antidote to Common Poisons today then. He would be damned if the visitors would end up thinking his classes were an easy pass.
"I'll take the time to apologize to her as well," he resigned himself.
He opened the classroom door and prepared what he needed for this morning's double class.
Less than twenty minutes later students began to file in quietly. They knew better than to make noise when coming into his room. They feared him and he loved it.
"Gods, your aunt's so cool!" He heard Weasley exclaim.
"I know." Harry replied smiling. "She's pretty awesome. She's already talking to Dumbledore about trying to take me away from the Dursley's. She hates them as much as I do."
"I wonder why she was so sad this morning?" Hermione broke in. Snape couldn't help to feel a twinge fo guilt when he heard it. He stood.
"Silence! You are brewing the Antidote to Common Poisons today. Instructions are on the board. Get to work!" Snape scowled down at his class as they set to work.
Students quickly shuffled to the ingredients' cupboard and set to work. Before long, the stench of sweaty teenagers filled the dungeon. Snape sneered and smirked his way through the aisles. He loved to see them working so hard. He had brought the standards up and to see students striving to meet them made his day. "Longbottom! I will have you swallow this potion at the end of class if you can't get it correctly."
The look of panic on Longbottom's face was also one of those great joys. The Gryffindor boy gasped and looked at him, fear etched on his face, before fumbling with his textbook trying to right the potion.
Snape turned to begin berating Potter when he heard voices coming down the hall. The door opened and he stared at the witch who came in.
Rose had taken the glamour off. Though she had bags under her eyes, he couldn't help but admire the witch. Her red hair was piled in a loose bun that let some tendrils of hair fall around her face. Her green eyes shone happily as she spoke to her students. Her lips were ruby red and her cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink. She wore black robes over a light blue silk dress. The robes hugged her every curve.
"Gods, what is she doing to me?" Snape asked himself. "She's gorgeous."
"Alors Mesdemoiselles, ici nous avons le dongeons ou nous allons venir pour nos classes de Potions. Vous allez etres avec le groupe de Ravenclaw et Hufflepuff. Si je ne me trompe pas ici nous avons une classe de Slytherin et Gryffindor." [1]Rose began to walk the perimeter of the classroom. Snape couldn't help but feel self-conscious, a feeling he didn't like. "Je serai ici avec vous pendant les cours et vous serez enseigner par moi-meme et le Professeur Snape."[2]
"Miss Evans, if you are to be speaking about me I would appreciate if you were to do so in English. I would also ask you not to interrupt my classroom for any longer than you have to," he sneered.
"Professor Snape, it was arranged for me to bring my girls here this morning and I was told to take my time. I intend to do just that,"she said evenly. " I have students in sixth and seventh year who will be attending your lessons as well as one first year. I intend to make sure their studies are not disrupted by this tournament and that the curriculum followed here is up to the standards expected from Beaux Batons."
He looked at her stunned. She had quite obviously grown up. The girl he remembered would have nodded and left his rooms. She never would've talked back to him.
"I see you are brewing the Antidote to Common Poisons. What potions will be covered in the curriculum?"
"I don't see how this is any of your business."
"I am their Potions teacher as well as the Potions Mistress of Beaux Batons, I have every right to question the curriculum my students will be forced to follow this year. If it is not up to my standards, I can assure you it will be taken up with both Madame Maxime and Dumbledore!" She snarled.
Her eyes flashed green lightning and Snape could feel a tightening in his chest as well as in his lower abdomen. How was it that this little witch could get such a reaction out of him. Even Lily didn't affect him the way she did.
"Watch your step witch!" He whispered dangerously taking a step towards her.
"Take one more step and I'll hex you into another dimension," she answered levelly.
The students from both schools stared at the show down that seemed to be taking place in front of their eyes. Rose spun on her heel and continued to walk to aisles of the class. She wrote notes with a parchment and quill she had enchanted to follow her. She stopped by Harry's work area and looked at his work.
"You may want to make sure your ingredients are crushed to an even finer powder than this. Make sure you stir the potion very slowly when you add your ingredients. The slower you stir the more effective the draught will be in this case."
"You don't need to be chattering with my students Miss Evans!" Snape snarled dangerously.
The sound of snickering was heard by the two of them. Rose turned to see the source of it all. It came from a slight boy with white blond hair and pale skin. It was her turn to sneer.
"You will be quiet Malfoy,"she warned the boy. He looked up at her stunned into silence.
"I'm telling you one last time, Miss Evans, YOU ARE NOT TO SPEAK TO MY STUDENTS!" Snape yelled.
"You will call me Professor Evans, Professor Snape. Maybe if you taught your students not to disrespect their betters, I wouldn't have to," she snarled back at him.
Snape reached for his wand but before he could even take it out he was hit with a force that pushed him against the dungeon wall.
Rose stood at the back of the room, she had not moved an inch. He could feel magic pushing him into the wall. He looked at her with a mixture of fear and confusion in his eyes. He hoped the students couldn't see it.
"She's not holding a wand, not even Voldemort could do this!" He thought to himself.
"Try to use magic against me Professor, you'll soon find out that my hexes aren't for the faint of heart!" She growled. Her magic let him go suddenly and he slumped to the floor. She turned on her heel and walked back to her class. "Mesdemoiselles, d'ici nous allons au cours de Transfiguration qui va vous etres enseigner par Professeure McGonagall."[3]
The Beaux Batons students were then led out of his classroom. All students worked in stunned silence. They weren't too sure what had happened but it was clear to all that if they spoke Snape would have their head. His foul mood could be felt. Any outburst and even a Slytherin would lose his head.
"When the hell did she become this controlled and strong?" Snape asked himself. He had never seen a stronger witch. He didn't even think Dumbledore could do what she had just done.
Translations:
[1]: " So ladies, here we have the dungeon where we will be coming for our Potions Classes. You will be in the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff grouping. If I am not mistaken here we have a Slytherin and Gryffindor class."
[2]: " I will be here with you during the classes and you will be taught by both Professor Snape and myself."
[3]: "Ladies, from here we will go to the Transfiguration class, which you will be taught by Professor McGonagall."