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Harry sighed for about the sixth time. By now, almost everyone was ignoring him.
‘Stop it. You’re starting to make me think Fred and George were lying about her being alright, and she’s some kind of monster,’ said Ron.
‘Well,’ said Harry, gloomily. ‘To you, probably not, but to me…’
‘You said you were worried she’d look at you sarcastically,’ said Hermione, from the front of the waiting queue of students.
‘Oh, she definitely will.’
‘Monstrous,’ said Hermione, coolly. The dungeon door creaked open – Harry and Ron jumped.
‘Come in and find a seat, and get a quill out,’ called the not-very-monstrous-sounding voice of Professor Potter.
Harry took a breath, like a soldier steeling himself for battle. Because they were friends, Ron managed not to laugh.
*****
‘Welcome to Potions. I am Professor Potter,’ said the red-haired witch, scanning the dungeon with a calm, green-eyed gaze. ‘Out of interest – who has read One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?’
One hand shot into the air. It was, unsurprisingly, Hermione’s.
‘Has anyone read some of it?’
A few more hands, and some nervous glances. Harry’s hand was in the air. Ron wondered if briefly flicking through his old copy to see if Fred had left any funny commentary in the margins counted. Probably not…
‘Oh, don’t look so terrified, there’s not going to be a test,’ said Lily – no, dammit, Professor Potter, he had to call her that here, although when she visited his mother at the Burrow everyone called her Lily. It was going to be hard…although, he admitted to himself, probably not as hard as Harry would find it.
‘Well.’ Professor Potter stopped and her brow furrowed slightly. ‘I mean, there’s going to be an…assessment…’
A couple of people audibly groaned from the back. Harry slid down so far in his chair that he was in danger of vanishing under the desk. Lily didn’t look their way at all, but Ron was pretty sure she’d noticed.
‘Oh come on, what kind of a teacher would I be if I didn’t check your prior knowledge, to see what you need to learn next? I mean, I could pace up and down between the desks here, and ask if anyone knows the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane -’ off to the left, a kind of black and pink blur rushed through the air as Hermione’s hand shot up and waved frantically. ‘- or what you’d get if you added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood - ’ Hermione’s hand waved harder still. ‘Or where you’d find a bezoar, maybe.’
Beside Ron, Harry’s tousled head looked up. ‘Oh, I actually know that,’ he murmured, sounding slightly surprised at himself. He must have picked up a bit, his mother being a potions professor. Ron, on the other hand, was beginning to sweat.
‘But that would hardly be fair, as not all students have had the same opportunities for study over the summer. Some of you didn’t know Hogwarts even existed a few months ago, and in any case, there’s far more to potions than…alright, alright, go on, Miss Granger, isn’t it? Tell us about the bezoar,’ said Lily, finally relenting.
‘A bezoar is a stone that can cure most known poisons, and is found in the stomach of a goat,’ Hermione rattled off. ‘And wolfsbane and monkshood are actually the same plant, also commonly known as aconite, and-’
‘Excellent,’ said Professor Potter, trying to cover up a grin. ‘Five points to Gryffindor, for your extensive summer reading. I always reward hard work. However, as I was saying – there is a lot more to potions than memorising facts.’
Hermione’s proud smile froze in place.
‘To be a master of potions, you must be able to think laterally and logically – if this method creates this result in that potion, can I apply it elsewhere? You need precision, both for an accurate result, and for safety in a small dungeon room where lots of children are playing with volatile liquids…’ the slightly pained look on Lily’s face said she was reliving a somewhat traumatic memory at the moment. Somewhere in front of Ron, he watched Seamus start fidgeting nervously. Should’ve picked a table a bit further away from him…
‘Creativity also helps, as does a steady hand, patience, persistence, and common sense. In short – what I teach you here are life skills. I will also teach you how to make some really incredible potions, I mean I just planned some of the O.W.L.s classes last night and the things we’re getting to make…I’m genuinely excited, but I’m sorry, lets start at the beginning. Could you hand one of these to everyone, Mr Thomas?’ she said, passing a sheaf of papers to Dean. He leapt up, chair skidding on the flagstones.
‘Urk – um, volatile liquids, Mr Thomas, let’s try that again. Please get out of your seat thinking I am in a Potions class and the student behind me may well have a gigantic cleaver.’
Dean sat down, and got up again with all the grace and care of a crocodile’s dentist.
‘Oooh, good! I want everyone to do it like that! Five points to Gryffindor!’
‘For getting out of his chair?’ a voice sneered from the back.
‘Absolutely!’ said Lily, cheerfully. ‘You see – life skills. Try and tell me you’ll never use getting out of a chair in real life!’
Harry had completely covered his face with his hands by this point, so Dean just placed the sheet of parchment on top of his head. Ron whisked it off.
It was a fairly short set of instructions, to make a simple potion to cure boils. Everyone was reading through, and a low murmur of (mostly on-task) voices filled the room. Mostly on task…
‘Trevor…?’
Ron sighed internally. Harry had looked up as well. Neville was patting his pockets, and looking under his desk worriedly. Why did he bring his toad to class? What was he thinking?
‘Before we start, I’m going to show you a couple of things. Here’s what I’d like you to practice today, and hopefully by the end of the lesson, you will have learned…’ Professor Potter had turned to the board to list some learning objectives. Harry took the opportunity to duck down and glance under all the desks. He sat up with a grave look on his face.
‘What?’ Ron whispered.
‘Under her desk,’ Harry whispered back.
A small, damp shape cowered under Lily’s desk. As Ron watched, it made an uncertain shuffle to the left. Trevor.
For the next few minutes, although he knew he should be listening to Lily – Professor Potter, that was – he found his eyes continually sliding down to under the desk.
‘Don’t tell him,’ he muttered, as Harry turned around. ‘He’ll run and get him in the middle of class, and the Slytherins will never let him forget it.’ And possibly some of the Gryffindors. Probably some of the Gryffindors. Ron, however, had been brought up in a staunchly Gryffindor household, and was too proud to admit this out loud.
‘Alright,’ Harry whispered back. ‘I’ll grab him when she’s finished…you distract her.’
A few moments later, Lily laid down the chalk. ‘Alright then. I hope you were all listening – I’ll know which of you weren’t,’ she said, a little too sweetly with a clear glance at Ron and Harry. Mums!
‘Professor,’ drawled a voice from the back. ‘How will the potions be marked? How will you know which is the best?’
‘Excellent question, Mr Malfoy, five points to Slytherin,’ said Lily. ‘They-’
‘It was as good as getting up from my chair, then?’
‘Yes, precisely that useful. If you had raised your hand instead of interrupting – twice – it might have been ten points. The success criteria for this potion match the objectives. I’ll be able to tell you’ve heated it properly by the thickness. I’ll be able to tell you’ve added the ingredients in the correct order by the colour. And if it’s a poisonous, stinking mess churning out black smoke, I’ll be able to tell you weren’t listening at all. That’s it – let’s see what you can do.’
A mass of voices rose from around the dungeon, as people started checking with their friends what each instruction meant. Neville fell to his knees in the aisle, looking under the desks with a despairing, ‘Trevor?’ Lily didn’t seem to notice – she’d ducked into the store room for something.
‘Now, go, go, go!’ said Ron. ‘I’ll watch the door!’
Harry strode over to the teacher’s desk, catching the attention of a few students.
‘What are you doing?’ Hermione demanded.
‘I’m getting closer to the board to see the notes,’ said Harry. ‘And I’m accidentally dropping my quill under the desk, whoops…’ he knelt down and started groping around.
‘…right, what are you really doing?’ Hermione asked, one eyebrow raised.
‘Don’t you have a potion to make?’ Harry growled.
‘Don’t you?’ Hermione shot back. ‘You’ll get into trouble!’
‘The Professor’s son won’t get into trouble for anything,’ scoffed Pansy Parkinson, from the other side of the room.
‘You clearly don’t know her at all – the Professor’s son will get into trouble for literally everything,’ Harry lamented.
‘Is it…has he found Trevor?’ Neville asked, hopefully, having crawled along the row to just beside Ron’s desk. A strange quiet came over the room.
‘Almost got him – ahh!’ Harry groaned, as Trevor suddenly began to crawl speedily towards the other side of the desk.
‘Um!’ said Ron, suddenly panicked. Lily cupped Trevor gently in a hand, and stood up.
‘There you go, lacewing flies – ahhh yes they’re just what you were after, weren’t they?’ she said to the toad, stroking his warty back with a finger. ‘Thank you, Mr Potter, back to your desk. Does this chap belong to you, Mr Longbottom?’
‘Yes,’ said Neville, nervously.
‘Is it alright if he stays in my pocket while we’re doing practical work? I wouldn’t want him to get splashed or anything,’ said Lily. ‘He can finish off the lacewing flies in there and he’ll probably go to sleep, and you can have him back at the end of class.’
‘Yes, Professor, sorry, Professor,’ said Neville, red-faced.
‘Sorry for what? You’re not the only one, I had two toads and an owlet last session,’ said Lily, voice so low that probably only Neville and Ron could hear her. The noise in the dungeon had picked up again now it seemed there wasn’t to be a scolding after all. ‘It’s the first time away from home for all of you, and despite what Harry may have told you, I’m not a monster. You can bring him if you want, but during practical sessions I’d prefer he stayed somewhere safe.’
‘No, professor – ah, um, I mean, yes Professor he can stay in your pocket, but, Harry hasn’t said anything bad about you, Professor,’ said Neville, beet-red.
‘He hasn’t?’ She was trying to hide a smile. ‘…well, anyway, carry on, Mr Longbottom.’ Neville went back to his seat.
Probably Ron wasn’t supposed to hear her mutter ‘I’d definitely be a monster if I let the only pet of Frank and Alice’s son die in my classroom…’ One hand gently cupping her pocket, she walked over to help a particularly short Slytherin student adjust her cauldron height.
Harry shook his head in disgust. ‘“I’ll watch the door.” Thanks, Ron.’
*****
The completed potions were all lined up in flasks on the Professor’s desk. ‘One of the things I love most about potions is the range of skills you need for it,’ she said, looking up and down the line. ‘In fairness – this is why lots of people hate it,’ she admitted. ‘But the fact is, it doesn’t matter if you’re not so good at something – you can make up for it by working hard at something else. I can teach every single one of you to be a skilled potions-maker, no matter where you start from. So…let us start…with this one.’
One of the potions was pretty close to the description she’d given Malfoy earlier – what would happen if you weren’t listening. And Neville hadn’t been listening – he’d been looking for Trevor.
Lily held up the smoking flask, full of black sludge, and several people recoiled at the smell. Lily, used to far worse, didn’t even blink. ‘Whose is…’ she caught sight of the label. ‘I’ve changed my mind, we’re going to come back to this one after we’ve looked at the others. Let’s go here – Miss Parkinson, this is an excellent colour. What does that tell me?’
‘I...prepared it well?’
‘I can tell you stirred it the exact amount I instructed you to, and used a sand timer to ensure you waited long enough to put the dried nettles in. I was impressed with your precision.’
Pansy Parkinson was beaming.
‘There are…one or two things you can improve upon for next time, though,’ said Lily. She turned the flask upside down.
Nothing came out. The potion had set solid.
There were one or two giggles. Lily set the flask down on the table a little too hard. ‘I’m sorry, I thought I heard…?’
Silence.
‘I deduct house points for laughing at someone else’s work. Perhaps I didn’t make that clear at the beginning, but I rather thought it was obvious. The next laugh loses ten points to their house. We do not mock each other’s work under any circumstances – particularly not someone’s first ever potion, which in many respects is very good, when yours is no better. Am I being perfectly clear?’
‘Yes, Professor,’ was the subdued chorus.
‘Right. Miss Parkinson, can you tell me how you can build on your good start to make an excellent potion next time?’
Angry and red, Pansy just shrugged. Hermione’s hand was in the air, but somehow Lily didn’t seem to notice it. ‘Heating it too much after adding the crushed snake fangs makes it set,’ said Lily, not unkindly. ‘Next lesson, if you can improve upon your heating methods, there’s ten points to Slytherin in it for you. This time – five points, for the colour.’
Lily moved on. ‘Then there’s this one – I want you to listen to this, everyone quiet…’
She dipped a spoon into one of the flasks, and poured the potion back in with a tiny tinkling sound. ‘Ahhh! That was so nice, let’s hear that again…’ she did it again, as Ron bit his lip, trying to remember her anger a few minutes ago. I’m not laughing at the potion though, I’m laughing at her, she’s such a potions nerd!
The problem was, if he stayed in her class, Ron could almost imagine himself becoming a potions nerd too, if he wasn’t careful. She was so enthusiastic about every part of it.
‘That is exactly how it’s supposed to sound. This is a perfect consistency,’ said Lily, happily.
‘It’s purple, Professor,’ said Malfoy, unimpressed.
‘Yes, yes it is,’ Lily sighed. ‘Mr Finnigan, how can you improve upon the colour for next time, earning ten points for your house?’
‘Uhhh…good timing…?’ said Seamus.
‘Yes, precisely what Miss Parkinson did well. Rather than counting in your head before muttering “Eh, close enough,” and chucking the next thing in,’ said Lily. ‘Perhaps you can borrow her sand-timer. But anyway, five points for the perfect thickness. And now, let’s have a look at this one…’
The potion she picked up looked pretty good to Ron. It was pretty much the same colour as Pansy’s, and roughly the same thickness as Seamus’s. There was a big range in between, and he’d thought his and Harry’s effort wasn’t bad at all, but by the look on Harry’s face – this one was better.
‘Tell us two things you think you did well, Miss Granger, and one thing you think you can improve upon,’ said Lily.
‘Well, Professor,’ Hermione began thoughtfully, and everyone swallowed a groan. After about two minutes of describing every step of the potion in incredible detail, Lily gently interrupted.
‘That was very thorough, Miss Granger, thank you – I can tell I’m going to like you,’ she said, shooting the bushy haired girl a grin. ‘I think I’ll have to summarise as we’re running out of time. Hermione did everything I asked of her very well. For next time, I’m going to show her, and a few others of you, a more efficient way of dealing with porcupine quills as an ingredient. It’s a bit fiddly, but some of you are ready. Ten points to Gryffindor for this one, Miss Granger, you worked extremely hard. Now!’
Lily placed down Hermione’s flask, and picked up Neville’s. ‘Tell us three things you’re going to do to improve next time, Mr Longbottom.’
‘I’m…going to time all my ingredients going in. And I’m going to make sure it’s not too hot. And…I’m going to listen properly when you give the instructions,’ he mumbled.
‘Excellent – you, Mr Longbottom, have possibly learned more than anyone else this lesson. If you can do all of those next time – ten points to you as well. Because honestly, you were dealing with some of the ingredients very carefully, especially the nettles…I think you’ll be good at herbology,’ she said. ‘Which will help. I think you were just quite distracted today. It’ll happen to every single one of us. Probably even me,’ said Lily, waving the flask around warningly. ‘When it gets around to O.W.Ls time, and I’m stressed out, just don’t stand too close…I am joking,’ she assured the class. ‘At least 90% joking. Anyway, I hope, if you carry nothing else away from this class, you will carry away the fact that you all have many skills that will make you great at Potions. Conversely – Potions will make you great at many things. I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death. All of you.’ She looked around, meeting every eye that was fixed on her. ‘Class dismissed.’
****
Neville was hanging back at the door. ‘Hurry up, Neville, or we’ll leave you,’ Ron threatened.
‘No, we won’t,’ said Harry. ‘If we’re getting lost, we’re all getting lost together.’
‘She’s still got Trevor,’ said Neville.
Right on cue, Lily appeared, stroking a sleeping toad. ‘We’ve made friends,’ she announced.
Harry rolled his eyes. Lily didn’t bother to hide her smile this time. ‘Alright, Harry, be honest – I wasn’t too embarrassing, was I?’ she asked, as she handed Trevor back to Neville.
‘Well,’ said Harry. ‘I know you can be a lot more embarrassing than that. So. No.’
‘Awww, thanks. What have you got this afternoon?’
‘Transfiguration again.’
‘Good – what was your Dad’s Rule #22?’
‘Don’t get on the wrong side of McGonagall,’ said Harry, promptly.
‘So proud,’ said Lily, ruffling his hair. He dodged out of the way half-heartedly. ‘You’ll go far. Right, get out of my dungeon, I have a fifth year remedial class next.’
‘Ah,’ said Harry. ‘So, I was going to say see you later, but we might not.’
‘Might not. Check the hospital wing.’
‘Okay, good luck.’
‘Bye, Harry,’ said Lily, looking at him with a hungry fondness that reminded Ron a lot of his own mother.
‘Bye, Professor Potter,’ said Harry, with a smirk.
‘And bye, you two, good work today,’ she said to Ron and Neville.
‘Bye, Professor.’
‘Bye, Professor.’
They walked back along the corridor, hearing the door shut behind them, and headed for the stairs.
‘Well,’ said Ron, after a moment.
Harry didn’t say anything.
‘I’m sorry, mate,’ said Ron. ‘I can’t sympathise with your complaining any more. I really like her.’
‘Me too,’ said Neville. ‘I think…when I’m concentrating better, I could be alright at Potions.’
‘Yeah well,’ said Harry, with a shrug that was probably supposed to be casual. He was trying to hide a small smile though, so Ron wasn’t fooled. ‘S’pose she’s okay, really.’