Disclaimer:I don't own HP, it is the property of JKR and WB
AN1: I am sorry for a delayed update, and also sorry for slower updates from now on. I have a bunch of exams for which I have to study two years of course ASAP, so my writing has slowed down considerably.
AN2: Half of Chapter 6 is already on my discord, so hop on for an early read, helping in edits and also news on updates and chatting with others there.
AN3: A big thanks to my editors Lordlexx and KaliYugaFan. You guys are awesome!
Their charms lesson had gone pleasantly, the cheerful disposition of Professor Flitwick putting the students at ease and making the lesson certainly different from the strict manner of Professor McGonagall. While they hadn't performed any magic in the Charms class, the professor demonstrated many of the spells they were to learn this year.
The Wingardium Leviosa had made Weasley's pet rat fly all around the classroom, its squeaks and shrill shrieks causing most of them to laugh. The next spell they had seen was the mutatio color, its usage shown wonderfully by changing Malfoy's tie to a blinding gryffindor red and gold. With how his pale face had reddened to a worrying degree and his platinum hair reflecting the sunlight, it wasn't hard to see him as a poster Gryffindor child.
The last spell shown wasn't from first year, but it was the second year spell Persephone had shown in the train, only Professor Flitwick made a lightsaber of all things shine out from his wand. While the purebloods didn't get the reason for the overly awed looks being sent the Professor's way by others, there was no denying the fact that it looked impressive.
Amidst all this the Professor told them all about the unimaginable versatility of Charms. From making things fly to trimming of beard to tying of shoelaces, they were used in every sphere of life and thus was also the most demanding of subjects along with Transfiguration and Potion in the sheer number of things to learn throughout its study. He had also posed questions to the students regarding some of the charms, much like Professor McGonagall had done with Slytherin racking up further ten points and Gryffindor gaining fifteen points.
As interesting and interactive Charms had been, History of Magic was turning out to be just as ...dull and lifeless. First of all, Professor Binns, their history teacher, was a ghost of all things. Second, his voice had a sort of weird effect on students. also had the same 'droning on' sort of voice, nothing pleasant about it but she had never managed to make them want to sleep so badly! And last of all, their ghostly, boring teacher had fixation on Goblin rebellions, something which Granger had objected to by citing that they weren't supposed to that at this time.
Binns had just given her a look before turning to his board and continuing on with the girl looking like she had just swallowed a bitter pill along with a faceful of tear gas. By the twenty minutes had passed, Harry was ready to put his head in his sister's lap and sleep away the lesson and if Persephone's contant facial twitches were any indication, she too was suppressing her yawns.
When he had looked around himself it came as no surprise to him that more than half the class was drooling on their desks, parchment and quills forgotten either in their hands or below their faces.
The other students were in the similar state as the Potter twins, half awake and rapidly losing their battle against Morpheus' call. When Tracey Davis and Neville Longbottom both landed their heads on their desks with a thump, Harry followed soon after and slept on his table soundly for half an hour until scrapping of tables and chairs woke him up.
Unsurprisingly, Granger was already exiting the room without the typical signs of residual drowsiness with rest of students following after her. This being lunch time, Harry and Persephone looked at the map and arrived at the great hall with most of the Slytherin first years already present at the table.
Glares were once again sent their way from all the students with angry muttering picking up in intensity every passing second. Tensed to run at a moment's notice, both of them sat down at one end of the table, a healthy amount of distance between them and the nearest student.
Silently filling their plates with some steak and gravy, Harry and Persephone proceeded to eat their lunch, this time their bag being between their bodies to prevent any more damages.
By the time their lunch was halfway done almost all of the castle was present in the great hall with all the students now free along with the teachers. While the glares aimed at them hadn't lessened in number in the slightest, the voices in the background had stopped buzzing like bees once they started focusing on their own food.
It was during the later half when the doors of the Great Hall opened with a bang, making almost half the children jump out of their seats while screams were let out at the sudden sound. Harry and Persephone both had halfway turned towards the doors when a loud shout from Longbottom filled them with fear and anger in equal measure.
After all, Neville's 'Grandmother' had already made her hatred of their name known when she didn't even leave their trust vaults alone in her revenge against their father.
The first thing which came to their mind when they laid eyes upon the Lady Longbottom was the sense of power and authority she exuded without even needing to move a finger. With her wand now extended towards both of them, anger and disgust were also easily discernible from her posture and face.
Clad in beige colored robes with a heavy golden ring on her wand arm and a big, vulture hat on her head, Augusta Longbottom showed the signs of her age with how the wrinkles and grey hair were visible upon her visage. But that did nothing to remove the danger she was with her brown eyes alight with fury and her wand pointed right at them.
Such was her presence that the bright red robed people on her either sides and a portly man besides her registered later in their eyes.
"Lady Longbottom! Minister! What is the meaning of this? How dare you point your wands at the students of Hogwarts and bring Aurors here?"
Professor McGonagall came rushing down the head table, her face twisted similarly in anger as she stopped in front of the entourage. Almost every auror and the revealed Minister took a step back from the furious woman and for a moment even Augusta lowered her wand before bringing it right back at Harry and Persephone as she growled
"Stand aside Minerva! These are no students of Hogwarts! Scum like these either belong in Azkaban or below the ground!"
Gasps came from everyone at the vitriol spewed by the woman with agreements soon picking after through the hall. Faltering at the response to her question, McGonagall nonetheless stood to her full height and spoke
"James may have done your family harm, but that doesn't mean you are allowed to take that out on his children! Get a hold of yourself Augusta, you have already taken so much from the children without any reason."
"Don't you dare give me a morality lecture like I am one of your brats Minerva!" Augusta's gaze turned positively murderous as she spoke the next words," You can have your chance to do so when your son and daughter-in-law are murdered by someone who was supposed to be their godbrother! Now stand aside or you will get tried for the charges of supporting criminals.``
Before anything more could be said by either of them, a red spell shot from between the aurors and with perfect aim slammed into Augusta's wand, sending it sailing backwards over their heads.
Everyone turned towards the wand and almost every eye in the hall grew wide as a man caught it.
Stepping into the light from the ceiling, an old man dressed in impeccable robes of the deepest blue with gold designs came into view. If Minerva's rant had caused the aurors to step back, this time almost everyone took a step back from the newcomer.
"Pleasant afternoon isn't it Augusta? Too pleasant to be ruined by your childish tantrums." While the words were spoken with a friendly voice and smile, no one missed the icy glare being sent Lady Longbottom's way as he spun the wand in his hand.
"Arcturus!" Augusta spat in distaste and some of the students started whispering all over the hall." Why did you show your face today after more than a decade of absence from the world! And give me my bloody wand back, you fossil."
"Keep it, I don't have a need for another Longbottom wand." Tossing the wand back to the even more furious Longbottom matriarch, Arcturus turned towards the Minister and looked at him for a few moments.
The man started sweating immediately, wringing his hat between his fingers and slouching slightly. Turning towards Augusta once again, Arcturus spoke
"There will be no arrests made against the scions of House Black. They are innocent of any crimes and your misplaced hatred certainly doesn't seem civil and particularly...sane. "
As calm and collected Arcturus was, Augusta got madder by the minute as she brandished her wand towards the petrified Harry and Persephone before saying, "Your house is a cesspool of madness and evil bigotry Arcturus Black! Not a single one from your walls had turned out right in the end. Why should I leave these two free and alive when they will only cause torment and chaos in the world. They are related to your grandson, grand nephew and sister, all of whom are utter scum of the Earth...well Dorea isn't alive but you get the point."
Her words were full of anger but by the end, the mockery and glee in her voice was heard throughout the hall before suddenly she was sent flying back more than 20 feet, Arcturus' wand pointed at her.
His face twisted in sheer hatred, Arcturus stalked forwards towards the groaning woman, not a single soul daring to stop him as he came to stop in front of her and said
"Say what you will about anyone in my family, but don't you dare say anything against my sister you old shrew. She was a hundred times the woman you are with your vulture hat and the name Longbottom behind you. I have not reached my age without being soft you child, I fought and lived against Grindelwald himself and fought each of his generals to a standstill before defeating two of them! Know your place Augusta Longbottom, you are still far too wet behind the ears to win against me." finished with his rant, Arcturus turned towards the Minister, only to find him and the aurors already gone from the hall.
Turning towards a gaping McGonagall, Arcturus sighed before speaking
"Where is Dumbledore when he is actually required? How did this crone and the bumbling Minister enter the Castle without his permission in the first place?"
"Uh...Lord Black",McGonagall cleared her throat and said," Headmaster Dumbledore was called to the ICW today for an emergency meeting to oversee a problem."
Raising an eyebrow at that, he turned towards the slowly standing woman behind him before he spoke, "I was hoping you were bluffing about causing such a distraction Augusta when you told the Minister that you had Dumbledore handled. Imagine how it would look for the Longbottom to have used such underhanded methods to hurt two children of all things."
"Shut up you fool", Augusta spat out some blood before continuing, "I will do whatever it takes to remove the name Potter from this world! I took all of their vaults, I snatched all of their properties and heirlooms. I burned their whore of a mother's clothes with the whole Potter family tapestries in the vaults. You will not take m-"
Augusta was cut off with a wave of Arcturus' wand, the woman so incensed that she didn't even notice her own voice getting cut off. Giving her no further heed, Arcturus turned towards McGonagall and spoke
"Are the meeting rooms still functional?"
When she gave a nod in response, Arcturus smiled at her and dipped his head a little before turning stoic once more as he regarded Harry and Persephone.
"Come on children, there are many things we need to talk about. Let us not tarry any longer, this mad cow has already taken much of our time."
Sitting in front of them, Arcturus Black, their grand-uncle? Grand-Uncle gazed at them with a serious expression on his face. Considering their experiences with serious-faced uncles, Harry and Persephone were ready to bolt at a moment's notice.
"I am Arcturus Black, your paternal grandmother Dorea Potter nee Black's brother and the grandfather of your godfather Sirius Black."
"I am Persephone Potter and this is my brother Harry Potter, sir."
With a wave of his wand, Arcturus materialised a goblet in his hand before taking a sip and saying
"Don't call me sir or my lord, just call me grandfather or Lord Black."
Hesitatingly nodding at the man's—their grandfather's command, Persephone and Harry both fidgeted slightly at the silence between them.
"Why didn't you find us sooner when we were with the Dursleys?" Harry asked in a quiet yet firm voice, finding something to talk about with their relative.
"Because I didn't know you both were still alive after what happened to Lily.", Arcturus explained and he leaned forwards a little with a frown on his face.
"There was no Auror involvement all those years back when your mother was defiled and killed in an open view of the world. Therefore all the knowledge of the incident came from the words of Barty Crouch and Lucius Malfoy, who said that you both were killed and apparently disintegrated when they attacked your mother with a myriad of curses."
"Why are you here today then?" Harry asked with Persephone nodding along with him.
"Because I knew Augusta was going to come here to get you two either to Azkaban or to the muggle world after being obliviated quite thoroughly by the Aurors." his lips curled in disgust as he spoke," And the Minister is such a sucker for money and reputation that he would have no problem with hauling off two hated nobodies like you to the worst prison on Earth."
"How did you know she was going to come for Harry and I?"
A small smirk on his face, Arcturus said "Portraits Persephone, portraits. Many famous and influential wizards have their portraits made which are displayed in places of importance to them or their profession. One of my ancestors, Aries Black was the head of the DMLE and Minister of Magic in his lifetime and thus his portrait is present in the Ministry as well as my manor. He overheard Augusta and Fudge talking about your arrest and such, therefore relayed the news to me."
"So what you mean is, portraits can relay information to anyone who they wish to" Harry asked slowly, the corridors of Hogwarts no longer feeling as safe with the new reveal.
Arcturus just smirked lightly as he nodded at the asked and unasked questions both. Checking his wristwatch, Arcturus stood up and sighed. "I don't know where you are living in the muggle world, but when the Winter break commences, you have the option of coming to live with me in my manor for the holidays."
Harry and Persephone stopped breathing for a moment as the words 'live with me in my manor' kept on reverberating inside their heads. Never had someone shown even a bit of kindness to them for being who they were, the most they had ever gotten was a free lunch from a nice old man who had been driving past them once.
Suspicion immediately bloomed in their heads and Persephone asked
"Why would you offer us this? Do you want something from us?"
"Yes," Arcturus nodded and continued," You both may be named Potter but you are from the Blacks too. You are Dorea's grandchildren and as much as I hate that brat, Sirius did make you both his heirs which makes you a part of my family."
Silence enveloped the room before Arcturus spoke, clearly seeing the shock and distrustful expression on the children's faces., "You don't have to answer me now. Winter break is still far away and you can give me your answer on the morning of the break itself. If you agree, I will be at the station to take you to the manor."
With that Arcturus walked out of the room without so much as a goodbye, leaving two gobsmacked children in his wake. The door hadn't even properly closed before McGonagall entered the room with a woman dressed like a nurse following after her.
Both of them jumped to their feet as the Professor and the other person who was clearly the Medical expert of the school, positively ran the half dozen feet between them and the door and before alighting in front of them.
McGonagall immediately put her hands on their shoulders and ran her eyes over them before she paused and looked at her hands, or more specifically the absolutely tensed muscles beneath her fingers. A frown on her face, she removed her hands and took a few steps back, her lips pulling tight in displeasure as her enhanced hearing picked up the quiet exhales of relief that came from the Potters.
"I am sorry for that, it wasn't my intention to cause you discomfort. However the last time Lord Black had been to Hogwarts and talked to two students, both of them had been left quite...shocked and pained by the revelations. I was simply worried the same thing would happen today." McGonagall apologised while the woman beside her inhaled sharply, her eyes wide.
"Lord Black? Arcturus Black was here? And you left him alone with children? Two first years at that?" the woman hissed before waving her wand in a circle in front of the children. Harry and Persephone immediately moved backwards at the motion before calming down when nothing happened to them.
"He hasn't done anything this time, they are in perfect health but a little underweight for their height and age."
"Thank you Poppy. Also, Weasley was about to come to your infirmary last I heard, so I would recommend reaching it as fast as you can before he potions some other student with a prank."
The matron immediately moved with haste, muttering about 'stupid children' and such. McGonagall shook her head before looking up at the students in front of her and their curious yet wary expressions.
Sitting down on the chair she sighed and motioned for the Potters to do the same before spoke
"First of all, I am once again sorry for making you uncomfortable by unexpectedly holding your shoulders. And secondly, while I know you don't trust anyone currently, I am always present for each and every student to hear them out."
Nodding at the Professor looking at them earnestly with sympathy as well as understanding, Persephone sat down with her brother following soon after.
"Now, did Lord Black say anything with...less than pleasant intentions or meaning to you?"
"No Professor." Harry shook his head "He just offered us a place to live when the winter breaks start."
McGonagall's brows almost disappeared in her hairline before she asked, "And you considered accepting?", a nod later she asked again, "And what will your guardians say to this arrangement? Surely you wouldn't want to leave the home you have been living in for the past ten years and the people who have raised you up?"
"Our guardians...passed away due to snakebites some time ago, and currently we are without a permanent living space or even a proper identification in the muggle world, so there isn't any reason for us to not accept Lord Black's invitation."
"Oh...well then I suppose you are quite fortunate Lord Black decided to give you a place in his home." McGonagall said slowly, obviously at loss about how to take the clinical and expressionless response to her query. "Now hurry up, I believe the lunch is about to end and Professor Snape doesn't like late comers at all."
"Yes Professor"
As the sounds of their feet and chatting got dimmer and dimmer, McGonagall furrowed her brows and asked, "If their guardians are dead and they are living alone, then who paid for their supplies? And how did they even get to the Diagon Alley when no Professor was sent to the supposedly dead Potters?"
Sighing heavily, McGonagall's expression turned firm before she stood up and started going towards the headmaster's office, knowing that if anyone would know anything about the children, it would be Albus Dumbledore.
Coming into the corridor where the Potions classroom was situated, Harry and Persephone once again felt everyone fall silent at their entry before Malfoy swaggered upto them with his thugs—because no one would crack their knuckles and make a face like that without wanting to seem threatening—following behind him.
Every pair of eye was upon them as Malfoy made a show of looking them up and down—with Harry feeling a very strong itch to punch Malfoy when he did so to Persephone—and said
"I wonder why Lord Black even looked at you both let alone talk to you. Tell me Potter, what did he say to you, spawns of a mudblood and blood-traitor?"
Malfoy's sneer and the laughing from his two thugs incited some of the others to also laugh at their predicament before Malfoy continued
"Everyone in the society knows that I am his heir so I would come to know sooner or later of what he told you but it would be amusing to hear it from you both."
"He offered us his manor to live in during the Winter break." The chuckles and sneers immediately dropped off the faces, with Parkinson and the giant girl beside her openly gaping at Harry's genial and practically friendly response, all complete with a smile aimed at the rapidly reddening blond in front of him.
"What?" he hissed as his grey eyes bored into the emerald ones in front of him. "How did he eve-you are lying Potter! There is no way that Lord Black would offer you even the rags of his house-elf, let alone his manor to live in! Who are you to receive such an offer?"
"Grandchildren of his beloved sister, heir, son and daughter of his grandson and nephew." Persephone pointed out as she sniffed before moving past the stunned blond and towards the door, her brother following after her.
"That sniffing reminded me of Petunia to be honest," he whispered in her ear causing her eyes to grow wide. She turned towards him with full intent to slap him silly, however, the door to the classroom opened at that moment with a slam, causing her to stay her hand and walk inside.
Seating herself at the front of the class, Persephone looked around in interest at the various things arrayed around the room. Paintings and charts depicting what looked to be various potions and procedures were hanging along the walls with glass shelves below them filled with various jars and vials. Grass, plants, fruits, animals and even eyeballs were floating around in them, reminding her strongly of a mad scientist lab crossed with a stereotypical witch's lair.
Their own desks weren't normal by any means, the wooden platforms having a small hollow protrusion in the middle, presumably for the burner to create the flame. As the pitter-patter of the students' feet echoed in the room, Persephone's mind wandered to the cooking they had done ever since they were old enough to break eggs on a pan. While not a chef by any means, but Harry and she could cook almost everything the Dursleys ever consumed with acceptable to sometimes great results and coupled that with the extensive reading and cross-questioning they had done to each other, she was fairly confident that she would do well in this subject.
Her further thoughts were cut off when a previously unseen door at the left wall opened up and Professor Snape walked into the classroom. All whispers and talking immediately ceased in his presence, the man's dark eyes and perpetually strict visage daring anyone to make even the smallest of whispers. Flicking his wand, he shut both the doors with a loud SLAM! And turned around, his black cloak billowing around him. Walking forwards he produced a parchment from his robes and looked at the students in front of him before taking a roll call from it, something which none of their professors till now had done.
His voice betrayed no emotion whatsoever, quite unlike their previous three professors once again. Within seconds he was finished with it and after tossing it on his desk he crossed his arms before speaking.
"I am Professor Severus Snape, your Potions Professor for the next five years after which you will take your OWLS and hopefully, I will be free from the inept and blundering dunderheads who can neither appreciate, nor understand the subtlety and beauty of Potions." His strong voice was heard all across the classroom, the passion for his field clear for all to hear and so was his ire for those who blundered in his class.
"There will be no wand-waving in this class, for Potions is more complicated and delicate than jabbing your wand and speaking a few incantations. I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to brew glory, bottle fame and even put a stopper to death, that is if you aren't as much of a fool as most of the students I teach."
Satisfied with the silence and attention from the children he looked at them for a few moments before he looked to the Gryffindor side.
"Weasley!" Snape snapped "What would I get if I add powdered root of asphodel to the infusion of wormwood?"
As the seconds went on and no response came, Harry turned towards the said Weasley only to find him looking Snape in the eyes while his face showing equal levels of embarrassment and anger, the tips of his ears as red as the tie he wore. Sitting two seats in front of him, Granger raised her hand as high into the air it could go without standing upright, the girl looking between the stoic Professor and Weasley every few moments.
'She is going to get an earful if she doesn't quit. The Professor doesn't seem like the one to tolerate much from his attitude and speech, hand-raising by an overexcited girl probably counts as that.'
Snape tutted with exaggerated sneer on his face as he looked down upon the ginger causing some mild snickers from the Slytherin side.
"Lets try that again shall we Weasley? Where would I find a bezoar and what does it do?"
"I don't know." came the response, the boy turning even redder at the smirk on Snape's face.
"How...disappointing. What did you think, Weasley? that you were too special and learned to even open a book?" The laugh from Malfoy and his friends was clearly heard this time turning Weasley even redder as he glared at Snape when the man only smirked wider. "Lets give you one more chance hmm? What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
"I don't know, why don't you ask Granger you slimy old bat!"
Stunned silence came over the classroom with everyone looking at Weasley as if he had grown two heads—or had lost his own—as the boy breathed heavily after his response.
"Sit down you foolish girl!" Snape barked at Granger, the girl immediately getting teary eyed and downcast before he turned towards Weasley and spoke "Fifty points from Gryffindor for disrespecting a teacher." Snape paused for a moment, allowing the shock to settle in as many Gryffindors glared at the fuming ginger before he continued with his voice dripping derision and mockery "Thought you were too special to open a book Weasley? Even with five older brothers who are all passable to good brewers, this is your sorry state." Snape paused for a moment before turning his eyes to her. Something like aggression and pain flashed through his face, too fast for her to be sure before he spoke
"Lets see if someone bereft of all the support and advantage of an older sibling or even the monetary resources can answer these questions or not? Potter!"
"Mr.Potter." he amended when both Harry and Persephone looked at him and continued, "Can you answer the question asked to ?"
"Certainly Professor" Harry said as he stood up. "Powdered root of Asphodel and Infusion of Wormwood make a sleeping draught so powerful it is known as the draught of death. Bezoar is a magical stone which can cure most poisons and is an important antidote can be found in the stomach of a magical goat . Monkshood and Wolfsbane don't have any difference and are the same plant."
"Absolutely correct, ten points to Slytherin for your preparedness and right answers ." Snape said before turning towards the humiliated Weasley.
"Sit down Weasley and next time clean your robes before you come here. You will kill someone with all the contamination you surely will be spreading."
Stewing in anger, Weasley sat down in his seat, the dark skinned boy beside him whispering in his ear while Snape walked towards the blackboard and stood beside it.
"Today you shall be brewing the boil-cure potion. To light the fires turn the knob beneath the desks clockwise to increase the heat and to add water to your cauldrons, use the tap at the side of the table. The ingredients are in the cupboard—a cupboard at the right if the room opened—and the instructions are on the board, you have fifty minutes to complete the potion, Begin!"
"You go collect the ingredients, I will set up the cauldron" Persephone immediately said while taking out the cauldron from her satchel, the expansion charm hiding it at the bottom without harming the books or the parchments in the slightest.
Harry and everyone moved toward the cupboard, the impulse to run ahead easily culled by the menacing aura Snape gave off as he stood at the center of the classroom. While Persephone brought the water to boil, Harry returned with all the ingredients they would need for the potion. Lowering the heat, Persephone crushed the snake fangs in her own mortar while Harry crushed the Porcupine quills in his own. All around them the sounds of pestle being grinded in the mortar or the sounds of cursing were heard as the horned slugs slipped from the students grasp.
Finally done with the snake fangs, Persephone picked up the mortar and added the snake fang powder to the water according to the recipe on the after that the preliminary steps were done and Persephone waved her wand once over the solution and left it to heat for about thirty-five minutes or until the potion turned deep red.
Keeping a keen eye on the clock as well as the potion's slowly reddening state, Persephone was jolted out of her thoughts as Professor Snape came to stop just in front of their table.
Both of them looked at the Professor only to find him staring intently at the cauldron and then the prepared ingredients set aside. He looked up at their faces and a small gasp escaped his lips as he laid his eyes on Persephone. After a few uncomfortable moments for the twins, Snape seemed to come back to himself and asked, "Tell me , why do we crush the snake fang into powder before adding it to the potion?"
"Because it makes it easier to dissolve into the potion and make its effects more potent."
Nodding satisfactorily with a "Ten points " Snape turned towards Harry and asked
"Why is this room darkened considerably compared to the other classrooms?"
This time Harry was stumped for the answer, with not a single sentence in his book explaining such a thing. Floundering for an answer Harry looked around himself, only to find him the center of attention and heavy amounts of quiet laughter from everyone else except for a few. As he glared silently at Longbottom out of the corner of his eye, the racks of ingredients along the walls caught his attention or more specifically, how not a single jar or inch of them was exposed to light while only some specific places got it from the curtains opened intentionally at some places.
"It is done so" Harry began slowly"because some potion ingredients are photoreactive while are not. So to keep them fresh and in their required state, this room is darkened considerably since it is easier to point light to the things which aren't harmed or changed by light."
Snape looked like he had swallowed something unpleasant for a second as he looked down at Harry with the rest of class waiting for a rebuke or a scolding from the man.
"Ten points to Slytherin for the ability to use your eyes and a correct hypothesis."
'It's like I wasn't expected to have eyes and a brain.'
As Snape moved onto Bulstrode's desk, Persephone leaned into his ear and spoke
"Did you get the feeling that he behaved differently with both of us?"
"I did. He was pained to give me points and asked me a question way out of our league and course itself."
Shaking her head to clear errant thoughts, Pwersephone was just looking at her potion when Harry nudged her side. Looking at him she found Harry looking sidewards behind her with a little frown on his face. Turning towards the orection his gaze was in, Persephone herself was floored by the completed potion Greengrass was pouring into her vial while their potion was still a little less crimson than the picture shown in the book. She kept on watching, baffled as Greengrass walked towards the desk and placed her vial in the tray with her name appearing over the vial. Walking towards her desk Greengrass caught her looking at her and her lips curled a little upwards before she swiftly exited the classroom with her partner.
"Hey Seph, I think it is done."
Turning towards the potion she nodded to herself at the deep crimson color it had turned to. Adding the chopped horned slugs she stirred it thrice clockwise before taking the cauldron off the fire and adding the crushed Porcupine quills. Both of them watched in fascination as the quills dissolved into the crimson sludge before Persephone stirred it clockwise and Harry then waved his wand over it, the potion once again thinned and turned a poisonous yellow with white vapours coming off it.
Before they could pour the now completed potion in a vial, a shout and a blast rang through the room. Turning towards the sound, Persephone and Harry both were very disturbed and amused at the same time by more than half of the Gryffindors covered in a steadily growing number of boils with holes in their clothes and patches of hair dropping off.
"Idiots! Which of you dropped neanderthals dropped the Porcupine quills without taking the cauldron off the flame while adding the slugs?" Snape snarled as he stalked over to the whimpering and scrambling children.
"It was Lavender, Ronald and Seamus Professor, she and Ronald were trying to talk to Neville continuously so they botched their potion. Seamus' potion just exploded at the final step despite my help." Granger explained with a frown, her expression eerily reminiscent of teachers and Petunia when she was scolding them. Immediately she was subjected to glares from the mentioned individuals and one visibly pissed off Professor.
"I didn't ask for you to open your mouth and neither did I ask for you to help someone in this class!" Snape snapped at the girl before turning towards the unharmed students.
"Take them to the hospital wing! A point each from Gryffindor for your stupidity and a further point each for causing harm to others due to your own negligence!"
Silently and without any more delay, all the Gryffindors went out of the class with their housemates supported by them, their moans and whimpers of pain fading into distance.
"Let's just submit our potion and move towards the Herbology class, no need to wait for someone to create a scene again." Harry said while pouring the potion into the vial. Nodding at her brother's suggestion, Persephone swiftly gathered their instruments and dumped them into her bag, the enchantments on them removing every foreign substance automatically. As she turned to look at the remaining potion in the cauldron, Persephone was flummoxed on what to do with it. Harry, catching onto what she was thinking turned towards the Professor and spoke
"Professor Snape, what to do with the remaining potion?"
Snape walked over to them with a scowl on his face, which changed a frown as he took the vial from their desk before bringing it close to his eye. Raising an eyebrow at them he spoke
"Do you not know about the rune for vanishment which is inscribed on every cauldron?"
"We do Professor, however it was more costly than what we could afford, so we didn't buy it." Harry spoke calmly even as the eavesdropping Malfoy and his friends started snickering once again.
Lowering the vial to their desk, Snape looked them both in the eye and spoke
"Your potion is of a good enough quality to be sent to the hospital wing therefore today you don't have to lament for your lack of money. But you will get the rune for vanishing inscribed on the cauldron as soon as possible or buy a new cauldron. I will not have such a lapse of safety in my class, Understood?"
"Yes Professor." Harry and Persephone echoed and started leaving the classroom while Snape waved his wand and the potion in their cauldron flew into an empty jar on his desk. Walking into the corridor both of them looked at each other before sighing simultaneously at the Professor's task.
"How do you think we will be able to get the rune or a new cauldron?"
"I think we can make acceptable potions like today until we get someone to inscribe the runes." Persephone began and stopped when she saw her brother smiling at her, more specifically at her idea of getting someone to help them.
"Or we can buy a new cauldron."
Shaking his head Harry said "We can't ask anyone for help because I don't fancy you getting hurt. And as for buying a new cauldron, we will not be able to do so until the holidays."
Persephone bit her lip for a moment before speaking, "What if we learn the runes and carve them on the cauldrons?"
"We will visit the library later and see if it can be done, for now let's get to Herbology." Harry said before taking her hand and walking forwards towards the Greenhouses, taking comfort in her presence besides him after the first time they had parted for a night.
If the squeeze Seph gave to his hand was any indication, his sister felt the same too.
Thank you AJAvenger and Mercurialists for the help in edits.
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