𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐥𝐞 | h. granger

ix | the potions master

The gray tabby cat leaped off the desk and turned into Professor McGonagall. The jaws of the two boys dropped.

"That was bloody brilliant," Ron complemented.

"Oh, thank you for that assessment, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall retorted. "Perhaps it would be more useful if I were to transfigure Mr. Potter and yourself into a pocket watch? That way, one of you might be on time."

"We got lost," Harry said.

"Then perhaps a map?" McGonagall raised her brows. Dakota rummaged around in her bag for something. "I trust you don't need one to find your seats."

The boys sat down behind Tracey and Dakota, who turned around and placed a drawn out map of the school on their desk.

"Aliyah gave me this on the train," she told them. "She also gave me an extra in case I lost it, so you guys take this one."

"Thanks, Kody." Harry smiled thankfully at his cousin as McGonagall began the lesson.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said as Aliyah began scribbling notes. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Dakota rubbed her lips together nervously. To think she had been worried about Snape when McGonagall seemed much more cross.

Their first assignment was to transfigure a match into a needle. Dakota found herself getting frustrated with each failed attempt. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione, Aliyah, and Lyra were able to successfully transfigure their matches.

"Don't worry, Kody, you'll get better," Aliyah assured her as they walked to their next class, Potions with Professor Snape.

"Yeah, no first year ever gets it right during their first class, and it's rare if they do," Lyra added. "You just need to keep practicing. Don't get discouraged."

They entered Snape's cold dungeon classroom. It was dark and windowless, the only light being that from the few candles. The door was thrown open as the professor barged in.

"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class," he said coldly to them. "As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion making. However, for those select few. . ." he glanced at Draco and Lyra, who he expected great things from given their ancestry, "who possess the predisposition. . .I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death. Then again. . .maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confident enough to not pay attention."

Dakota gently nudged Harry, who was writing down points from Snape's introduction. He put down his quill and mumbled, "Sorry".

"Mr. Potter. Our new. . .celebrity." Snape glared at him coldly. "Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Hermione's and Aliyah's hands both shot up. Snape ignored them as Harry shook his head with a small shrug.

"You don't know? Well, let's try again. Where, Mr. Potter, would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?"

Again, Aliyah and Hermione raised their hands. Lyra wanted to raise hers as well, she did know the answer, but decided it would be best not to.

"I don't know, sir," Harry said.

"And what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"I don't know, sir," Harry repeated. He glanced briefly at Hermione and Aliyah.

"Pity." Snape stared down at him. "Clearly, fame isn't everything. . .Is it, Mr. Potter?"

"Clearly Hermione and Aliyah know," Harry retorted. "Seems a pity not to ask one of them."

Snape's eyes narrowed dangerously. Lyra grabbed Aliyah's hand and pulled it down as he stalked over to their table, snapping at Hermione to put her hand down.

"For your information, Potter," Snape said as he pulled up a chair and sat down across from Harry, folding his hands on the table, "asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draft of the Living Dead. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat, and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite." He paused for a moment. Without taking his eyes off of Harry, he raised his voice. "Well. . .Why aren't you all copying this down?"

Dakota reached for her quill, dipped it in the ink, and quickly wrote everything down before she forgot.

"And Gryffindors," Snape said as he went back to his desk, "note that 5 points will be taken from your house. . .for your classmate's cheek."