The Potion Master's Apprentice

Chapter 1

"What's his problem?"

"Honestly Ron, Harry has a point. Professor Snape has been much better ever since Harry came out of the maze last year. Additionally, he's right. It's a charm we'll be learning about next year with Professor Flitwick. But I'm sure you've read about it already with the studying charts I gave you last week." She went back to her oatmeal while Ron's face turned the color of his hair.

"Today you will be learning the Draught of Peace, more commonly known as a Calming Draught." Snape had closed the door with a wave of his wand and with another wave had the recipe on the board behind him. "Can anyone tell me why such a potion might be useful?" To his own surprise, Harry felt his own hand raise.

A mild panic began to settle in when he realized what he'd done and that now he'd have to follow through.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?" The teacher looked sour as ever, although his voice wasn't as impatient as it had been in the past.

"The Draught of Peace helps one calm feelings of anxiety and panic. It's notoriously difficult to brew as too much of any of the ingredients can put the drinker to sleep permanently and any other mistakes result in general and immediate disaster. It's nice to have on hand if you have to give someone particularly bad news or for someone suffering from anxiety, panic or post traumatic s-stress disorder. Parents have been known to give their children a drop with their dinner to help them sleep if they suffer from frequent nightmares or night terrors." He tried not to let his emotions show and ignored the stutter he let slip in the hopes that no one would notice. It simply wouldn't do to let anyone detect a hint of his little issue.

Snape raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Very good. It's also used by Madam Pomfrey in the infirmary when students don't study throughout the year and panic just before exams. So let this be a warning to you all that you must pay attention throughout the entire year in order to avoid such a stressful predicament." He eyed Harry for a moment longer before moving on. "You will be working individually today. No helping each other and no hindering each other either. I want to see how well each of you are doing with your potions skills so far." With that he sat down and started marking papers.

The entire class rushed to the stores to collect their ingredients, but Harry stayed at his table to prep his workstation before gathering the ingredients. He wasn't in any condition to be jostled around by so many people. When all but a few students were busy getting to work, he grabbed his ingredients quickly and started on his potion.

He was just about to add the unicorn horn when he heard Snape calling his name. Throwing a quick stasis charm over his cauldron, he looked up.

"Yes professor?"

"See me after your classes are done for the day."

"Yes sir." He took off the charm and resumed his potion, acutely aware that a dark-haired man was watching him intently from his desk.

"You wished to see me, sir?" Snape crossed out a line on an essay and pointed to the chair in front of his desk before scribbling out some scathing response or other. He put his quill down and looked up before crossing his fingers and giving Harry his full attention.

"I'm curious. You've improved a great deal in my class lately. Any particular reason why?"

Harry shrugged, thrown off by the question. "I mean, I wasn't giving your class much attention before...well...before. And now that I've got more time on my hands I'm using it to study what I've been neglecting." Snape inclined his head once and pulled a photo out from a drawer of his desk before handing it to Harry.