Hermione Granger, Another Life - Year Two

12. Unfair

Double potions seemed to take longer than usual, as Hermione's eyes flickered from her potion to the Professor. While everyone was busy perfecting their fire protection potion, she had just finished her girding potion with time to spare. She received some glares from the other students as the professor told her she could make the one that was supposed to be at the end of the year, since she did the fire protection potion this summer. But she didn't care as long as she had Katie by her side and supported her, she could ignore the looks they shot her.

Hermione bottled her potion and labelled it before she cleaned up her station, she glanced over at Katie's cauldron to see if she needed any help. But that wasn't the case, she was only one step away from finishing her own. So, she took her vial and headed up the front to put it on Professor Snape's desk. When she turned, she almost bumped into him, she didn't expect that because a moment earlier he was watching the students at the back of the class. The professor stepped next to her and picked up her potion, holding it up on eye-level to inspect it.

"Well done, miss Granger." He gave her a short nod. "Please take a seat until the others are finished."

"Yes, sir." She walked back to her seat and took out her third-year potions book and flipped through it until she found the page where she had stopped the day before.

Snape looked at her in surprise as she took out a third-year potions book. Why he was still surprised he didn't know, the girl was smarter than anyone he knew. He looked away from the bushy haired girl and to the clock on the wall.

"Five minutes." He called to the class.

Next to Hermione, Katie had just bottled up her potion and placed the vial on Snape's desk. Hermione placed her book aside and helped her clean up. As good as Katie was at potions, her station always looked like a bomb exploded there.

"You're worse than when my dad tries to cook." Hermione chuckled; her voice low as the others tried to finish their potion quickly.

Katie smiled back at her as she vanished the leftover ingredients. "I don't know how I do it. I start off really organized and then... BOOM." She did her hands in a way to show of an explosion.

"Potions on my desk, now!" Snape grumbled. "And clean up before you head out."

"I'll see you at Herbology in an hour." Katie said as she picked up her bag. Hermione gave her a smile before she headed out. She leaned back in her chair and picked up her book again, as the others were still cleaning their stations. She didn't know how long she was reading, per usual, when the Professor called her.

"Miss Granger."

She lifted her head from the book and looked around the classroom, that was now completely empty. She stuffed her book back in her bag and hopped off her stool. Snape waved his wand, and four cauldrons came flying over, all with a different liquid in it. Hermione leaned forward as she looked at the potions.

"Do you know what these are?" He asked her.

Without looking up she went over the potions one by one. "They are all unfinished." She stated. "This one is fire protection potion, this a strengthening solution, swelling and a hair-raising potion."

"Correct." Hermione looked up to the professor, who looked at her with a blank expression. "What does these potions still require?"

"The incantations."

"Right, because without it, it's just a product with bad taste." The professor said, almost a smile on his lips. "Can you perform the right incantations? I read your essays and you asked Mrs. Diggory to do it for you since you couldn't. I would like to see if you can do them yourself."