Chapter 324: Potions Mishap

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I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.

I would like to thank my beta, Awdyr, for his help in this chapter.

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30th September 1995, Hogwarts (Earth 2)

Harry Potter watched as Harrold grabbed Neville's plant for the fourth time in fifteen minutes and gave him an indulgent smile. It came as a bit of a surprise when they realized that the new student was some kind of secret potion master, which for some reason was driving Snape insane.

Well, Harry knew why it was doing so. Harrold just fixed most of Neville's mistakes right after they happened, with a weird mix of ingredients that Hermione kept saying was something only a master of the craft could do. It was weird how over the course of a single month, Neville started to be more confident, even if potions making was still not his favourite class.

Snape had found himself unable to use Neville as a stress ball, and Harrold's supposed punishment for his joke on his first day simply didn't work.

Still, Harry couldn't help but feel a little jealous at seeing just how much care Harrold was putting into making Neville a competent brewer. He overheard the new student asking, "Neville, what are you trying to do?"

"I'm just following the instructions…" the shy boy stuttered back.

"Sure, but which instruction exactly?"

"Adding in the syrup of Hellebore…"

Harrold gave him another smile, "And what do you know about Hellebore, the plant I mean?"

Neville immediately perked up, "It's a poisonous plant that's often used in potion-making, particularly in calming draughts and sleeping potions. Hellebore is known for its deep green, almost black leaves and its bright, star-shaped flowers. It grows best in cool, shaded areas, and it prefers moist, well-drained soil. The plant contains toxic alkaloids, which can have both medicinal and harmful effects depending on how it's prepared."

Harrold nodded approvingly. "Good. And what about its effects when used in potions?"

Neville hesitated for a moment before responding, "Hellebore is primarily used to induce calm or sleep, but in higher doses, it can be dangerous, leading to paralysis or even death. It's important to use the right amount and know how to counteract its effects if something goes wrong."

"Exactly," Harrold said, his tone encouraging. "Now, tell me, what was one of the main ingredients in that potion we're brewing, right now?"

Neville looked at the notes and then replied, "Unicorn horn, porcupine quills, and moonstone."

"And what can unicorn horn act like in potions?" Harrold asked.

"A mild antidote," Neville answered slightly more confidently than before.

Harrold gave a satisfied nod before asking, "And what's the rule when mixing ingredients with opposite properties, say like a poisonous plant and a general antidote?"

Neville recited, "If they're soluble, you should cut the heat, but if they can't be mixed easily, it's best to put in some mild heat. This helps to stabilize the potion since mixing opposite elements can be tricky and might cause the potion to become unstable," he then stiffened, "Like unicorn horn and Hellebore syrup. I forgot to remove the heat, didn't I?"

Harrold gave the shy boy a proud smile, "Exactly. Over time, these instincts should come naturally to you. Now, try to continue the potion."

The boy who lived tuned out the rest of their conversation and couldn't help but feel slightly envious of Neville. He wished he had someone like that, who was patient enough to get him to properly understand magic.

Instead of grumbling, he tried to look back at his potion and stiffened when he realized that either he or Ron must have made a mistake, since the potion, a supposed Draught of Peace, shouldn't look like glowing purple sludge. It didn't make sense, they only had to leave it to simmer for ten minutes, and everything looked fine.

He looked around and saw Malfoy giving him a smug smile. Oh, the bastard must have thrown something in his potion. He really should have paid more attention to his surroundings…

Snape walked up to them with a vicious smile on his face, "Weasley, Potter! I see you still cannot grasp the basics of potion brewing. Even after five years, you still manage to surprise me with the breadth of your incompetence. This will be another zero… You've been collecting quite a few of them this year, haven't you?"

Harry clenched his fists, knowing that there was nothing he could do or say to make the situation better. The potion master grinned slightly and moved over to Seamus' and Dean's potion.

With Snape having vanished his potion, there wasn't really anything to do until the end of class, so, Harry just watched what happened around him. He noticed that Malfoy who noticed that Snape was turning his back to him, had decided to throw something in Neville's cauldron.

Harry was about to warn his housemates, only for Harold to sneakily wave his wand, getting Malfoy's hand to twitch and send it flying towards Goyle's potion which Snape was expecting. Immediately, the potion started to glow and exploded in Snape's face, although the potion master managed to somehow evade most of the blast. Goyle wasn't so lucky and was sent flying back. Of course, hundreds of droplets of the potion flew in the air and contaminated most of the other potions, creating a small cascade of failures and unpredictable effects.

Snape growled at the chaos and with a wave of his wand, vanished all of the affected potions and repaired the classroom. He turned towards Crabbe and spoke up, "Take Mr. Goyle to the infirmary."

He then turned towards the classroom and spoke in a very even tone, "Who threw this?"

Harry hadn't noticed him holding the small remains of a dung bomb in his hands. Had Malfoy actually tried to throw a fucking explosive in someone else's potion? He then looked around the classroom without even blinking. Even with soot covering most of his face, everyone was intimidated…

He looked for an answer and for some reason, the man flinched slightly when he met Harrold's gaze, but then he continued to look around until he saw Malfoy. He then continued with a harsh whisper, "Everyone out!"

They all left only for Snape to grab Malfoy back, "Not you…"

Was Snape actually going to punish a Slytherin of all people? That hadn't happened in all the time Harry had spent in the castle. Still, he shut up and exited the classroom alongside Ron. Hermione met them outside with a frown on her face, "What happened?"

"Malfoy tried to throw a dung bomb in Harrold's potion, but his hand twitched and he ended up hitting Goyle's instead."

"That was very dangerous… A dung bomb of all things…"

Harry nodded, "Yeah, he always stuck to small potion ingredients before. He threw one and ruined my potion. But I think he's been having a bad time in Slytherin because of what Harrold did to him and the rest of their Quidditch team, so he escalated."

Ron was snickering, "I say it's a good thing. Malfoy's been very smug ever since you know who came back. It's time for him to taste his own medicine. And you can't say it wasn't funny to see Snape's face being blown up by a potion."

"This is no joking matter, Ronald. Goyle could have seriously been hurt..."

Harold came behind him, "Granger has a point here. This could have ended very badly and could have had some very unpredictable consequences. Unless, of course, someone knew exactly the state of the potion and could calculate the small interaction with the dung bomb, including the effects of an explosion, of course…"

Hermione was giving him an awed look, "You did that?"

"Of course not! Who could possibly do that in less than two seconds? I was just joking, you know. Honestly, Snape did the right thing by punishing Malfoy. This was completely reckless, even if his hand happened to twitch and throw the dung bomb into one of the few potions in the classroom that wouldn't have resulted in a very violent explosion…"

Harry decided to change the subject, especially considering the way Hermione's face was turning redder with every sentence, "Speaking of explosions, did you guys notice that Umbridge has been on a hair-trigger lately."

The boy who lived did his best not to blow up in Umbridge's class. After a few near misses, Harrold taught him a small spell that got you to literally not hear a certain person. He just cast it on himself, making him unable to hear Umbridge's voice in every single one of her classrooms. So far, he was able to avoid any detentions, not that he was really afraid of them; she kept sending them to Filch, for some reason.

Honestly, ever since Harrold's detention with her, the woman was practically jumping at shadows. For one, she completely ignored the new student in her classroom, even if he wasn't even taking her assigned book from his schoolbag.

Harrold snorted at that, "Well, hypothetically speaking, if she was spending a small fortune on cursed objects to use on students during detention, and someone somehow made them disappear every night, despite any security measures she took in place, I could understand her anger and frustration. Imagine all that gold down the drain and her sadism unfulfilled, without even being able to tell the Aurors since the stolen items are illegal…"

The boy who lived couldn't help but snort at that, "You didn't!"

"Of course, I didn't. How could I possibly know any of this? This is just me being silly, of course. But for real, the woman is about the burst, and I'd expect her to do something very drastic very soon."

Ron looked thoughtful, "Do you think Percy knows something? You remember the letter he sent me last night, right? About things changing in Hogwarts and advising me to get closer to Umbridge…"

Harry did remember the letter. It had made him far angrier than he thought it should have. He had never been really close to Percy, but they had been on good terms. He knew that he called his parents traitors and fools, but he never thought he'd actually tell Ron to not be friends with him. That had hurt him more than anything else…

Hermione, for some reason, chose to change the subject once more by asking Harrold questions about potion interactions. It was honestly pretty weird how good of a teacher he was, and how knowledgeable he was on the subject.

For some reason, seeing Harrold made him feel inadequate. He felt like this should have been what he was like, or better yet, what more people expected him to be like. It was talking to a young Albus Dumbledore… He knew more about magic than even Hermione, and she probably surpassed most NEWT students in terms of knowledge and probably inhaled half of the school library.

The way he fought, and how casual he was during the fight, made him feel untouchable. It was the same thing with Umbridge and Snape. He didn't even seem fazed when they spoke to him, despite their reputations. He was well-liked, clever, witty, and definitely powerful and Harry couldn't help but feel inferior.

Around halfway through their way to the common room, he turned towards Harrold and asked, "Hey, can I talk to you in private?"

Ron and Hermione gave him some questioning looks but he just shook his head. Ron scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "We'll meet you in the common room, mate," before walking away.

Harry motioned the new student to follow him, and they stopped in one of the empty wings of the castle. Harrold snorted at the situation, "Are you planning on kidnapping me or something?"

"Please teach me?"

Harrold furrowed his eyebrow, "Teach you what?"

"Ever since you sat with Neville, he's been getting a lot better in all of his classes and you know how to duel and everything… Please teach me to be like you."

The new student gave him a weird look, "Harry, no offence, but you'll never be like me, and you shouldn't. Don't try to be someone else, just do your best to be yourself and you'll be fine."

"What about duelling lessons? Please…" Harry asked, his voice leaking desperation.

Harrold sighed and nodded, "Fine. This will be your first lesson…"

Before he could reply, gravity seemed to have reversed itself, and Harry was pulled away to the side. Instead of hitting the wall violently, he seemed to melt into the wall and he found himself falling from the sky and yelled out, "Arresto Momentum!"

He stopped falling just a few inches from the ground, before falling once with a thud, "Harrold, what the fuck are you doing?"

"Now, now, Harry," a familiar voice answered back, making him shiver in fear, "Did you forget about little old me?"

Lord Voldemort stood before him, with his glowing red eyes and serpentine face. He was grinning maliciously and continued, "You escaped our last duel through pure blind luck. There are no Portkeys this time and none of my annoying little followers. Let's see if you can last longer than your father, huh?"

He jumped to the side to barely dodge the bright green jet of green light that was coming at him. Holy shit, what the fuck was going on?

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AN: I wanted to have a few more Neville/Harry interactions and have a classroom with how I always pictured Snape, a competent but petty potion master with very little patience, who actively antagonized Harry Potter at every possible chance but would still prioritize his students' safety if it came down to it. As usual, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.

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If you want to support me check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr

I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.

Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.