We all went our separate ways for a few classes, before we met up for my last class of the day-Potions. I wasn't looking forward to class without my father, and with Professor Slughorn. The man had already rubbed me the wrong way in a single lunch, and from what Harry had told us, it seemed like he was always like that.
I walked down the familiar path to the dungeons with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. How Ron managed to get into this class was beyond me, maybe my tutoring finally paid off, but I was soon glad to have friends I knew. Even once it became obvious that everyone was there, there were still only roughly a dozen kids. There were 4 Slytherins, including Draco, 4 Ravenclaws, 3 Hufflepuffs, and then we were the only Gryffindors who had signed up for the course. I wondered briefly if more people were eligible to take it but didn't' because they assumed Severus would still be teaching it.
There were potions already on the front table that I immediately recognized as Amortentia. The other students seemed entranced by the smells coming from the cauldrons. I took note of the smell of pancakes, and the inside of Rina's Diner, a cologne that I recognized as Neville's, and the smell of cool wind rushing up my nose out on the Quidditch pitch. I blushed as I tried to block the smells from my head.
"Now let's get out your copies of Advanced Potion Making, and we can begin," Slughorn said as he came into the room.
Harry raised his voice timidly, "Ron and I haven't got books, or anything for this class. We hadn't realized we would be able to take this class and..."
Slughorn cut him off merrily, "Oh yes m'boy, Professor McGonagall mentioned that to me. You can use ingredients from the back, and you can borrow cauldrons for now until we can write to somewhere for you. There are old books in the back, that you can use until we can get you each your own copy as well."
He went to the back and came back with a couple books, which he handed to each of them, "Now that that's settled, as many of you have noticed I have put some potions up here in the front for us to look at today. Now who can tell me what this one at the end is?"
I peered up and saw a clear liquid in the far cauldron-Veritaserum, obviously.
Hermione's hand was in the air quickly, "It's Veritaserum," she answered, "It forces the drinker to tell the truth."
"Very good. And this next one?"
There was a murky potion in the next cauldron, obviously the Polyjuice Potion.
With our familiarity with this potion from a few years ago I wasn't surprised when Harry was able to answer, "It's Polyjuice Potion sir."
"Now for the one that I'm sure you can all smell, who can tell me what this one is?"
Hermione was able to answer again, almost adoringly, "Amortentia! The most powerful love potion in the world."
"Yes. Now of course it doesn't actually create love, why that's impossible. Rather it just creates an infatuation for a person, and a compulsiveness to please and be with said person. Now that we have started with that refresher it is time to begin work I think."
Ernie Macmillan pointed to the small cauldron on the end, "You haven't said what's in that one though sir."
Slughorn smiled, "Don't fret, I haven't forgotten. This one here is Felix Felicis, or liquid luck. One dose of this and you'll be able to succeed more than ever before while under its effects. Makes for some perfect days. I have taken it myself twice, I shall tell those stories one day, but for now we can get to work. I think we could do with a little game to start. If you go to page ten, you will be brewing the Draught of Living Death today. Whoever brews the best potion will be given this dose of liquid luck, enough for 12 hours I'd guess."
Once people knew we were playing for a prize, people began to hurriedly get up and get their ingredients, then began to peer over their books. I took my time getting the correct amounts of everything I would need, and I knew I wouldn't need the book for this one.
Harry was sitting right next to me and he muttered, "Someone's written in this book."
I got to work on my own potion, but nerves were of no issue to me. Hermione looked thoroughly harassed as she worked on her potion, looking from her book to her cauldron and back again constantly. Ron was muttering under his breath as his potion failed to take on the Lilac color it was supposed to. Harry meanwhile was looking so hard at his book his nose was mere centimeters away from it. I wondered if the writing he had complained about was covering up the instructions. I carefully worked with my potion, keeping my poise the entire time.
Towards the end of class I was unsurprised that Hermione's potion looked perfectly made-for following the instructions in the book at least. Ron's was a murky mess. I wasn't expecting Harry's to look the way his did. It looked perfect, but nothing like Hermione's at all. His had the same sparkle as mine had, that could only be accomplished by tweaking the instructions from the book. There was no way he'd gotten this amazing at potion making over the summer, he must've been up to something.
"Alright now, time's up!" Slughorn called, "Let me see those potions."
He glanced around the room, and once he came to our row he praised Hermione, "Yours looks very good Ms. Granger, a near perfect rendering of the instructions in the book."
She looked pleased with herself but her face fell as he looked over to Harry's and said, "Yours looks even better Mr. Potter! Only a skilled potion maker could be able to get that beautiful shine as you have."
I felt a bit of resentment build up in my chest, Potions was supposed to be my subject, "It seems as though Ms. Wallwrit has accomplished the same! I certainly expected nothing less from you of course, I taught your father while he was here. Certainly an amazing brewer even at a young age. He was always the only one that could beat your mother, Lily, Harry. The two of them were such good friends even though they competed ferociously at potions."
I shared a look with Harry. We both knew how that friendship ended. It was comforting to both of us to hear about our parents childhoods, because of how little we both knew about them. Harry only knew what he had been told from his parents friends, and I only knew what little I was able to glean from Severus's stories.
"You two seem even more evenly matched than the two of them had been. Severus always seemed to end up ahead in their battles, at least in this class. I think it is only fair that I give you each half the prize, neither potion seems to outdo the other."
He went up and poured half of the potion into each of the two vials he drew from his cloak. I felt bad because of how put out Hermione looked. I realized it had nothing to do with me, I was always better than her in potions, but Harry never was. Harry looked guilty, and wouldn't look Hermione or I in the face.
We parted ways again for another series of classes, the last of which, for me, was my private Alchemy lesson with Severus.
I walked down to the Potions classroom, unsure of where to go since Severus was not teaching the rest of the Potions related classes. He had only agreed because he knew I just wanted time worked into my schedule to work on potions, and whatever else I had to do. Classes tended to bore me, but they wouldn't just not let me take any, so this was my way around it.
"Ah Ms. Wall Wirt, pleasure to see you!" Slughorn greeted me once I walked in, "What can I do for you?"
"I'm looking for Professor Snape," I started, "I'm supposed to be taking Alchemy with him."
"Ah yes, he did mention this to me. He said that if you came here, to send you to his office. I suppose you know where that is, am I correct to assume that?"
I nodded, "Yes, I can find my way there, thank you sir," I replied with a small smile which he replied with ten times the enthusiasm.
I made my way to my father's office, and knocked on the door, "Come in."
I opened the door, and became unsure about how to act. It was a proper class, but it was only the two of us. It wasn't just us hanging out making potions at night like we sometimes did, but it felt like it could be.
"Hello Professor," I greeted hesitantly.
He also looked mildly uncomfortable when I said that, "I think it'll be fine if you call me Severus, or whatever you'd like."
I chuckled lightly, pleased that he was able to ease my worries, "Okay dad. What's on the agenda for today?"
He perked up slightly when I immediately reverted to using the word Dad, and I grew delighted by the small smile that peeked up at the sides of his mouth.
"I know you've done some reading about this, so you already know that Potions is quite a bit different than Alchemy."
Our lesson continued on. We were able to stick to schoolwork, and not feel bad about not discussing more important things, since this was still class time technically. We were able to joke around in a more carefree manner than normal. It was relaxing, especially given the fact that he had an immense amount of stress in his life now that we were finally back at Hogwarts, and he had to start working on avoiding his or Dumbledore's demise.
I was just about out the door, leaving class when he called softly, "I love you."
I turned back and gave him a smile, "I love you too. These classes will be loads of fun."
The way he said I love you, as if he thought every time I left his sight might be the last time he saw me, was very concerning. I wondered what the plan he and Dumbledore had concocted consisted of, or when it would be carried out. I was willing to do whatever was necessary to help him, but he wasn't going to let me.