Chapter Twelve: The potions lesson
Chapter Summary: Henri's first potions with the third years is an eventful one.
Author's Note: When I first started writing this story, I didn't know it was going to be this long. So long in fact that I've divided into parts. This is part one so far. As far Draka's concerned, I'm writing a positive arc for her, but she's not going to change overnight. Also I want to point out that I can't quite get how the elves talk, so I just make the English a bit broken.
That same night after his meeting with Professor Flitwick, Henri received a potions textbook, Moste Potente Potions, along with a brusque note from the Potions Master instructing him to study chapters 1 to 3. There was also a ton of questions and worksheets on the assigned chapters. The note told him to submit the worksheets in a week, and if he wasn't a complete dunderhead, he would start classes with the third years in three weeks' time. He was warned that Professor Snape would not tolerate any "dunderheadry."
That, along with the extra homework he was now receiving, kept Henri very busy. Days seemed to fly by. Because of all the additional work, he didn't have much time for adventuring, though he still found moments to hang out in the kitchens. Whispy and Mispy were very proud of him. "Little master is so smart, he's be learning with the big students while still small himself!" Henri blushed under their praise as they stuffed his pockets full of treats, as usual.
For the sake of his poor Papa, Henri had decided to cut down on his sugary treats. So, he offloaded most of his gifts to his roommates, which proved to be a great social lubricant. They spent the entire night chatting and eating the treats. Henri didn't contribute much to the conversation, but he didn't feel like an outsider—he felt like part of the group. He knew he should sleep, as it was the night before his very first potions class with the third years, but he didn't want to miss out, so he stayed awake with his roommates until the early hours of the morning.
Very early the next morning, Henri snuck into the kitchens and drank some of Whispy's coffee. Whispy never let him have coffee, but Mispy sneaked him some. This turned out to be a mistake because now he was too jittery. He hoped he wouldn't make a fool of himself in his very first lesson with the third years.
The lesson was very interesting. Because of timetabling, Henri was learning with the Gryffindors and Slytherins, instead of the usual Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff setup. It was interesting; Henri had heard tales about Snape's blatant favoritism towards the Slytherins. He took points from Gryffindor very liberally as he gifted points to Slytherin but he never took more than one point from Slytherin. But Henri noticed that professor Snape did not like children in general. Odd that such a person would choose a career in teaching, which would guarantee that he'd be constantly dealing with children.
Henri was regretting that cup of coffee because during the lesson, he was hyper-aware of every little thing. Henri sat on the Gryffindor side. He had been aware that Gryffindors and Slytherins had this massive rivalry going on, but were their classes together always this divided? In his usual classes with the Hufflepuffs, you could sit anywhere. There was no Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff side, but here there clearly was. There was a Gryffindor side and a Slytherin side.
Considering his history with Slytherins, Henri decided to sit on the Gryffindor side. He sat next to a tall blonde girl who introduced herself as Alicia on his left side and the redheaded twins—the Weasley twins—on his right. Henri could never tell them apart, so he had designated them twin #1 and twin #2. Twin #2 had his robes on—who keeps their robes on during potions?—while twin #1 had taken his off. On their right sat a dark-haired girl whom Alicia introduced as her best friend; Henri did not catch her name. Done with the introductions, Alicia turned to the boy with dreads on her left and chattered on until Professor Snape arrived.
Professor Snape entered the classroom with his usual bat-out-of-hell shtick and immediately launched into the lesson. No preamble.
"Today, we'll be brewing a corrosive potion, which I don't need to tell you is a dangerous potion," Professor Snape said in his usual bored, sarcastic tone. "Tell me, Weasley, if corrosive potions are so dangerous, why make them?" He asked, not even bothering to specify which twin he was referring to.
Twin #2 answered with a confident smile on his face, "To corrode stuff, sir." His answer earned a few sniggers from the Gryffindor side.
Professor Snape didn't bat an eye. "Ah, Weasley. You've clearly not thought very hard about your answer. Ten points from Gryffindor for wasting my time," then he turned to Henri. "Ah, our guest. Tell me, Mr. Granger, why make corrosive potions at all?"
"Corrosive potions can be used to break down materials or substances that are difficult to separate or analyze. They can facilitate reactions in other potions, and they are also used in detoxifying and purifying non-biological materials. They effectively remove tough stains, rust, or buildup," Henri answered.
"Five points to Ravenclaw, and another ten points from Gryffindor." He turned to the Slytherin side. "Tell me, Flint, what ingredients are known for their corrosive effects in potions?"
The Slytherin boy hesitated for a moment, and Professor Snape turned back to Henri. "Mr. Granger?"
"Dragon eggshells, Acromantula hide, and Iberian sphinx tears," Henri answered.
"Yes, five points to Ravenclaw and one from Slytherin for the utter stupidity of failing to answer a question that a first-year could manage in his sleep. Tell me, Flint, is there anything rattling around in that head of yours besides cobwebs, or should we assume it's as empty as your cauldron?"
"Tell me, Spinnet, how do we balance the corrosiveness of Iberian sphinx tears?" Snape barked at Henri's neighbor. His neighbor was quiet. "Ah, silence. Clearly, you're thinking very hard. Perhaps you'd care to share those profound thoughts with the class? No? What a surprise. Ten points from Gryffindor for wasting my time." He then turned to Henri, who answered the question.
It didn't take long for Henri to notice that Professor Snape was using him to show up the third years. Whenever a third year even hesitated to answer a question, Snape would throw it to Henri. When Henri answered correctly, Snape would spend the next few minutes dressing down the third year who failed to answer a question that a first-year could answer easily.
And the insults rained. Professor Snape was clearly very creative with his words.
"Well, well, well, it seems even a child barely out of his swaddling clothes can understand the basics of potion-making better than you, Avery. Perhaps you'd like to repeat your first year, where you might catch up," he yelled at a sullen-looking Slytherin who failed yet another question.
"Thinking, are you, Barnaby? A dangerous pastime for someone of your limited faculties. Let me simplify it for you: think faster. I've no patience for dim-witted dawdling," he shouted at a particularly huge Gryffindor boy who sat at the back. He reminded Henri of Draka's goons.
When a Gryffindor student hesitated, "Spit it out, McGregor, or do you need the entire class to wait while you consult with your single functioning brain cell? Ten points from Gryffindor for wasting everyone's time."
To the boy with dreads who was sitting next to Alicia, "Dreaming of Quidditch, are we, Jordan? How wonderful. Perhaps you can tell me how your idle fantasies will help you brew this potion, or will you be riding a broomstick straight to failure? Focus, or I'll ensure you have plenty of free time to daydream in detention."
Henri had been hopeful for this lesson. Realistically, he knew he wasn't going to make friends with the older students, as he had failed to make friends with his age mates, but he had hoped that at least the older students would be nicer to him since he wasn't a threat. But with every dressing down that Snape threw, Henri felt his hope draining as he could feel the animosity towards him grow.
He was glad when it was time to start making the potion, but Snape wasn't done. He was just getting started.
"Did I stutter when I gave you instructions? Or is it that you simply lack the mental fortitude to follow even the most basic of directions? If I see another mistake like this, you'll be scrubbing cauldrons until you can differentiate between powdered root and sawdust!" he yelled at a nervy-looking Slytherin.
"Ah, the smell of incompetence. How delightful. Tell me, Selwyn, is this a potion? Or were you just stirring swamp water for fun? A troll could have brewed something more presentable. One point from Slytherin."
"Tell me, Tanner, how is it possible for you to make a potion this wrong? The instructions were on the board, step-by-step. Or perhaps you think you're too brilliant to bother reading them? Ten points from Gryffindor for sheer arrogance."
"Spillages in the classroom… as we're making a corrosive potion. How utterly predictable. I knew you'd fail, Johnson. But this? I expected incompetence, not a public display of idiocy. Clean it up—now—oh, for Merlin's sake, get the dragon hide gloves from the cupboard first. If you spill any more, you'll clean it with your bare hands. It would be safer for the rest of the class if you corroded away. Ten points from Gryffindor."
To make matters worse, he would often pass by Henri's workstation, complimenting him on his technique. Henri was sure that by the end of the lesson, all the third years would hate him.
"Remarkable, Granger. You've managed something that your so-called seniors cannot even attempt without setting fire to the classroom. Perhaps the rest of you could take a page from this child's book—assuming, of course, you can read."
"Hmm… excellent precision, Granger. A rare sight in this dungeon. The rest of you would do well to watch and learn—assuming your eyes aren't as useless as your potions."
Because of the coffee he drank that morning, Henri was so hyper-aware that he had been unconsciously watching the twins in front of him as they made their potion. So far, they were the only ones who didn't seem to harbor any animosity toward him. They didn't seem offended by being shown up by a first-year. Instead, they were talking about recruiting him—he didn't know for what, but he knew he didn't want to be involved. They were also very funny.
As he watched them, Henri realized that twin #1 was serious about making the potion, while twin #2 was busy flirting with the dark-haired girl sitting to his right. The girl seemed uncomfortable and clearly wanted to focus on her own potion, but twin #2 kept distracting her. Henri immediately hated twin #2—couldn't he see she wasn't interested? He watched as twin #1 carefully added dragon eggshells to the potion, stirred gently, and then left to get more ingredients. Henri watched in dismay as twin #2 carelessly added another set of eggshells to the potion.
It was Instinctive—he hadn't planned on it. But no sooner had twin #2 added the extra eggshells than Henri jumped in front of him and the girl, throwing the strongest Protego spell he could muster.
Dragon eggshells were extremely explosive; adding too many to a potion was a recipe for disaster. Not to mention that they were also corrosive. As it was, the potion exploded and pushed Henri, twin #2, and the girl against the wall. The girl hit her head hard—Henri was sure he heard her skull crack. He had landed on twin #2, but he was still bruised and felt weak. This was the strongest spell he had ever cast.
But it seemed to have worked. None of the potion got on them, thank Merlin. They were merely thrown by the force of the explosion. Henri was relieved to see that Professor Snape had also cast a Protego spell, which protected the students on the other side. He noted that none of the students on that side had been thrown, but he reasoned that Professor Snape, being a fully-fledged wizard, had a Protego ten times stronger than his own. Then everything went black as Henri passed out.
