THC - Round 8 - Ravenclaw - Potions - Drabble - Prompt: [Time/Object] 10:40pm, Hourglass.

Additional - Include potions. Write in the POV of a canon character (Severus Snape).

Word Count: 812

Beta(s): Aurora, Bea

Time is a selective component in a lot of different ways. It speeds up when you're enjoying yourself and slows down when absolute boredom fills you. Each second can mean something different to two individuals. A joyous moment to the worst second of your life.

Severus Snape understood how quickly a second could cause his day to turn from the best day of his life to the worst. However, he wouldn't just allow others to determine how he feels each second, he'd find the happiness in getting revenge. Revenge against those four Gryffindors who were usually the cause of that second being ruined.

Tomorrow, he would ruin their lives.

The Slytherin didn't care that time was ticking and getting later and later. He carefully opened the vial, ensuring to not disrupt the contents. Slowly, he added two different liquid ingredients and watched as it changed colours. He couldn't put the lid back on until the eye of newt fully returned to its original colour - otherwise, it wouldn't be as strongly contaminated and suspicious may arise.

He glanced at the clock. 10:12 pm. He reminded himself that some things were more important than sleep. One being the first step to slowly ensuring that Potter and his friends' perfect stupid lives would eventually crash and burn!

Finally, nearly half an hour later, he was sure that it was perfect. He put the cork on the top of the vial and placed it carefully in his bag. 10:40 pm. In twelve hours, he'd know the outcome to his revenger.

The seventh-year student helped Professor Slughorn to set out the practical potion ingredients for one of the marked potions. Severus sneakily pulled out a slightly altered eye of newt and placed it where Potter and Black always sit. It was just enough to destroy their chances of doing well in this class today.

The class length was an hour and a half but they wouldn't use all of that time for the potion. Professor Slughorn always spoke for about ten minutes to remind the students what they had to do. Additionally, there was time to restart the potion and be granted a few extra minutes if they messed up within the first 25 minutes. So the announcement to start didn't come until 9:40 am.

"You have an hour to complete this potion," Professor Slughorn announced as he turned over one of his hourglasses - he had many of them. "It should only take you forty minutes."

Severus didn't hesitate to start, wanting to be ahead to watch the madness that was sure to occur. He added his ingredients in precise amounts as he used his wand to magically ensure it was being stirred constantly at the right speed clockwise. He couldn't help but glance over the two main bullies every time he looked over at the hourglass to check if he was on schedule.

Half the time had gone, he was almost finished which meant it was time for the eye of newt, Severus was ahead of the Gryffindors by a few minutes and concentrated on cutting the eye in half before dropping it into the cauldron, knowing that the other half needed to wait a full five minutes - that's one of the instructions that was correct in this school textbook of his.

He felt his breath stop as Black put in the altered ingredient. Neither boy was any the wiser. That was until about five minutes later when they added the second half.

Joy filled him as their faces dropped at the potions turning the wrong colour. Severus hid his smile as best as he could as he looked at the hourglass; only one-quarter of sand was left. They wouldn't have enough time to start over. Their fail grade would be finalised at 10:40 am. It was so close to their defeat.

Severus dropped in the other half, stirred it anti-clockwise three times, then waited for it to cool as he packed up. He didn't even care that it had taken him longer to finish the potion than expected and that Remus had finished before him with his idiotic partner of Peter. Step one of destroying Potter's life had been successful. He needed a good N.E.W.T grade in potions, and this would cause some stress on his end.

The Slytherin decided to remain back longer and helped a few others pack up. They were all very grateful - and surprised - but he wanted to see what would happen. And he wasn't disappointed. Black and Potter weren't able to repeat this test.

The last few grains of sand dropped, signalling a joyous second in his life, and a devastating second of the Gryffindor's. 10:40 would be the time he finally got one over the dreadful two.

Confidently, he strode out and wondered exactly when he could start step two.