Chapter 65: Ravenclaws
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Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder there than up in the main castle, and it would have been quite creepy enough even without the preserved animals floating in formaldehyde glass jars on bookshelves all around the walls.
Professor Snape started the class by taking the roll call. He paused at Harry's name, looking at him for a second before continuing on.
After he'd finished, he walked to the center of the podium he stood on, fixed them all with a stare and spoke.
"You are here to learn the subtle science of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic.
I don't expect that many of you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death.
The only question is, are you capable of learning the strongest kind of magic there is, or are you a bunch lazy good for nothing dunderheads?"
More silence followed this little speech. Hermione was on the edge of her seat, looking desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead. Harry used this moment of silence to cast an Observe at him.
Severus Snape
Lv-39
HP-15400/15400
MP-8200/8200
Race-Wizard
Str-16
Vit-26
Dex-31
Int-33
Wis-23
Luc-11
Severus Snape is a potions master and a converted dark wizard. He has a distinct dislike for dark wizards, but has to pander to their kids because he has to maintain his dark reputation to keep his potions master license being taken away.
He is loyal to Hogwarts where he is Head of Slytherin House and Potions professor. He is a Master of Potions and enjoys chamber music and relaxing potion making.
He doesn't like Harry because of his father bullying him when he was in school but is reserving his opinion of him, hoping he has some of his mother's intellect.
The last line left Harry a bit shaken. His father… was a bully…
Harry shook his head. He didn't know enough. There had to more to the story than his father just being a bully… there had to be. And if there was, he'd find it out. Until then, he need stick to the plan. Do the best he could do in the classes.
When Harry finally focused back on the Professor, he had the class's complete and undivided attention.
Realizing with a jolt that he wasn't writing anything down, he quickly noted down all the claims the professor had made in his speech. The 'stoppering death' thing needed research.
Professor Snape noticed Harry writing the down what he had said and given him an odd look, as if debating whether or not to do something, before he turned and started the lesson.
'Good,' Harry thought. Perhaps he could yet convince the Professor that he wasn't like whatever his father had been all those years back.
The Professor then went through the lesson, outlining what they would be doing as they got out their equipment and paired up.
In their first class, they were learning how to use the equipment and the techniques needed to chop, cut, slice, and dice properly.
With Gamer's Mind up, Harry was working well as he cut the ingredients in the precise shapes that they had been instructed to cut them into.
About halfway through, Professor Snape had come over to his and Terry's table and nodded a bit before moving on.
At first, Harry did find it a bit weird that the man had stared into his eyes for a few awkward seconds before moving on, but he quickly remembered that Professor McGonagall had once told him that he had his mother's eyes, and that the professor was a friend of hers. He couldn't help but sad for the black robed man.
"P-Professor Snape?" a Ravenclaw asked, raising his hand a few minutes later.
"Yes, Mr. Cornfoot?" Professor Snape asked, turning to the table where Cornfoot stood.
"You mentioned the insides of the cauldrons slowly erode and feed the potions metal as we stir, so does that mean they'll… grow thin and… you know… break?" he trailed off and gulped. Evidently, he too had heard about the Professor's bias against muggleborns and all non-Slytherins. Harry looked on with a bit of interest, curious how the Professor would react.
"No, Mr. Cornfoot, they normally don't. The erosion is quite slow. I doubt you'll have to worry about buying a new one during your years at Hogwarts. That is, unless you plan to brew any aggressive or corrosive potions in them."
Much to the surprise of most of the class, the Professor's tone was rather flat, devoid of any disparaging comments or tongue lashings.
"Oh, okay, Professor, thank you," Cornfoot said, relief flooding his face when the situation did not turn out as he had expected.
The potions master turned away, walking around some of the other stations to make sure the Hufflepuffs were cutting correctly before he circled back around and headed up to the front, correcting a few of the students on his way. Harry finished up his dicing and looking around, noticing that most of the others were finishing up as well.
"Now set up your cauldrons and adjust the flame to a medium," Snape said, "You will be using the ingredients you just prepared to make an acidic infusion of Atropa Belladona, which will be an essential component of the burn salve which you will be making in the next class.
Are all the burner burning now? Very well then. You will be answering questions while your cauldron warms up."
He made his way through the Ravenclaws asking one or two questions each, taking a point for every wrong answer, until he reached Harry.
He paused for a second before asking, "Tell me, Mr. Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
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