Infinity and Magic Ch 75: Warm Water

*Anos's POV*

"Hey, Simon! We've got Potions in 10 minutes, let's go." I shouted at the edge of the forest.

"You go on! I'll be back in a minute!" I heard Simon's voice.

"Don't come late," I shouted once and then walked towards the castle.

"Why's Simon not with you?" Hermione asked coming from the direction of the library.

"Don't know. He said he'll get there on time." I said shrugging.

"Where's Harriet? Didn't she go to the library with you?" I asked looking around to see Lan and Alucard turning corners into our section of the hallway.

" Quidditch," Hermione answered irritated.

She had a reason to be irritated. Harriet was now constantly being stopped to be congratulated by a third of the school and Hermione who usually spent time with her didn't like it when people shouted 'Good Work Potter!' in the library.

"You would think with it being December they would've calmed down," I said looking at the Falling snow and Hermione shivered.

"It's so annoying," Hermione complained.

"I can't sleep in the library anymore," Lan said with his arms hanging by his side and a cloud of fog escaping his lips.

"If even Lan is bothered then it really is a problem," I said and everyone chuckled.

"I find slumber desirable in the cold," Lan said and he did seem to be doing everything in his power to stop the cold.

All of the 1st years looked like a bundle of puffed up feathers but Lan was exceptional with the layers of clothes he had managed to put on without tearing them. He managed most of his tasks just as easily as ever though.

"You find a bed of bricks desirable for slumber," Alucard said. He wasn't as loaded with clothes, just a scarf to hide his neck and fingerless gloves I had lended him.

"How are you not freezing." I looked behind to see Harriet, who was cursed with cleaning her glasses of haze every ten minutes.

"Patet sententia." Hermione casted and Harriet's glasses cleared of all haze.

"I'm sorry it wears off every week." Hermione apologized

"I'll walk into a wall without that spell. Thank you, Hermione." Harriet said putting back her glasses.

" Why're the both of you not freezing?" Harriet asked pointing at me and Alucard.

"If you think this is cold then you should never visit our realm," Alucard said putting snow out of his hair.

"I feel warm," I answered simply. And I really did, before that Dragon Heart ritual this hadn't happened and God knows how hard it was to convince Dad that I was being burned in all those winter clothes. Thankfully Alucard had helped.

"Must be a Vampyre trait," Lan said shifting his ridiculous number of clothes and I would've bet a galleon I heard a piece of cloth rip.

"Hey, don't we have a Potions Lesson?" A voice came from behind and we all turned our heads to look at Simon.

"Fucking run!"

We rushed through to the Dungeons and into the Potions classroom and were saved by less than half a minute.

I found my place next to Draco and lightly slapped his shoulder.

"What was that for?"

"For sitting in the class besides us," I answered taking a seat and bantered with Draco before Class started in its usual exceptional fashion.

"Hey, where's Professor?" A long nosed Slytherin asked as all of us stared at the door so it could be banged open and class would start.

"Mr. Dread I would recommend looking in front when class is going on."

Half the class probably sprained their neck with how fast they turned their heads to look in front to find the Potions Master already there.

" Did he Apparate?"

" No Mr. Weasley I walked out from the Side room over there. I do appreciate the immediate connection with the Mystical Arts, if only you used a third of that in the lessons." Dad continued and I heard more than a dozen gasps as people realized there was a side room connected to the class.

'It's been months since we started class and they just noticed that?' I thought incredulously.

"Today we'll not be making any Potions." Dad's next words shocked the class.

" Then Theory?" Hermione offered but was immediately shot down.

" No studying today," Dad said and the class looked about ready to flip their tables over, some started pinching their hands to make sure they weren't flinching. Neville did it too hard and yelped in pain.

"It's not a dream." I heard him mutter and I couldn't help but smirk knowing what was coming next.

"Where are you going, Ms. Greengrass?" Dad stopped the Slytherin from leaving.

"You just said we're free today?" The Slytherin girl asked confused and awkward as she was standing a step out of her chair.

"It's a bad habit to put words in other people's mouths, Ms. Greengrass. I said we won't be studying. I didn't say there wouldn't be a lesson." Dad said softly, brows creasing.

"Then what're we doing today?" Simon blurted out.

"Since most of you will be leaving to celebrate Christmas in a few days...." The class listened so closely and silently that you could hear the fog coming out of every student's mouth.

".... All of you will be cleaning your Cauldrons and Potions Kits today."

For a moment there was complete silence before a dozens of 11 year olds started to riot.

" I'm these months all of you have managed to make your materials impure. Mr. Weasley produced toxic fumes last week which might I congratulate you on your successful failure."

Weasley hid his face in shame.

" Those impurities can build up and soon enough you'll be failing in production of the easiest of Potions. Some of you who might wish to pursue these arts in the future would do well to remember that a Potion Journeyman's equipment is as necessary and required in the profession as he himself is. The rest of you should remember that humans are supposed to dislike failure and if that isn't an issue then just remember that I hate failure that could be avoided." Dad continued and the immediate joy seeped out of the students.

Lan raised his hand.

" Yes." Dad acknowledged him to continue.

" Would we get Warm water to scrub?" He asked simply with no hesitation.

" Yes." And was answered with similar simplicity.

Patr_eon/Ashara