Potions Lesson 1

Another dreadful year of teaching simple-minded children lay ahead of him and Severus was already counting the days till the end of term. Too many for his liking of course, seeing as it was only the first day of classes. This year, he would let his students work a bit more by themselves, so they would learn to be independent, but theory was still high on their list as well.

With a subtle movement of his wand, Severus let the door fall open, so that the students could enter the classroom. "Hurry up and get to your seats!" he ordered, his voice already sounding slightly annoyed before the lesson had even started.

Harry and Ron were outside the classroom, for once on time, discussing how Severus' class was going to be that year with Ricardo and Adrastos. It had become a ritual for the four of them to be outside the class discussing the events of their lives, Snape's class included. If they tilted their head to the side however they'd spot Malphas, Kain, Ares, Raphael and Atticus doing the same they were doing, as they too took the liking of having a huge convo before Severus' class. Of course Harry was sure they were much more 'sympathetic' when they spoke of Snape, in contrast with how the gryffindors spoke of him.

Usually Snape always came along with either dick, bastard, jackass, fool, annoying ass, or something similar in the same sentence. By this time the lions couldn't even help it, Ricardo, Ron and Harry had been dealing with Snape for an entire year already, and Adrastos had been dealing with him for two. They had already had more than enough but alas, as Harry noticed, Dumbledore seemed to like Snape. A lot. And Harry himself had to admit he was wrong about Snape in his first year, as Quirrell was the one trying to steal the stone. Severus was loyal and Harry gave that some value even if he was a creepy professor to say the least.

The slytherins however bowed down to Snape even if Dellen was their head of house. Easy enough to see, as Snape awarded them a lot of points. He wasn't unfair, no, but he did have a clear liking for snakes. That the professor couldn't deny, because if he did, Harry and Ricardo were sure Adrastos would speak up and literally call 'bullshit' on that.

As the door to the wet, dark class opened, the gryffindors were the first to enter, and they sat at the back.

The slytherins followed them in, Malphas, Kain and Ares sitting at the front, and Atticus sitting in the middle, along with the Ravenclaw Raphael, as they all awaited for the others and for Snape to begin the class. Some were captivated already, some were not but that could easily change...

Ian and Neville had been waiting in front of the classroom with David and Mio and some other students till the door finally opened. As always, Snape was already irritated with them although they hadn't done anything yet, but that was nothing new to them, so they just shrugged and entered the classroom, even if Neville seemed a bit paler than usual. Still Ian was looking forward to potions, as he had learned a lot in this lesson last year. He doubted that they would brew a potion today, but even the theory was quite interesting.

Junis was standing silently next to Azrael, not at all being faced by her professor's attitude. Even though she wasn't a Slytherin, she liked the austere man and the way he handled his classes. Naturally, she had come prepared, so she would be able to earn some points for her house. It just wasn't right that Ravenclaw was so far behind Slytherin and Gryffindor. Especially the latter only got points by sheer dumb luck most of the time anyway.

Seeing his father in a bad mood already made Mio realize that there should better not be any disruption today. He sighed and quickly followed Ian and Neville into the classroom, taking his usual seat next to David. Reaching over, Mio quickly patted Neville's shoulder in a sympathic fashion to give him some support. He still did not understand why the boy was so frightened around his father, though and didn't know how to help him best.

Azrael took a seat next to Junis and let his eyes travel over the other students. He really did not care for the professor one way or another, but then again, he really couldn't be bothered with most people. As long as his teachers did their job, Azrael would pay them the required respect. That, without question, excluded Lockhart, that completely useless baboon.

David was not too thrilled to be doing another class with Severus Snape, his best friends dad. He expected no special treatement from the man, even if he had stayed at his house multiple times. In fact, he expected to be bullied more by the man, because he had seen into his professors every day life. of course, that could be wrong.. Selena may have forbade him to be super mean to David, but he highly doubted that.

He was waiting outside the classroom with the rest of his friends when the door flew open. when he walked inside, he could tell Snape was in a foul mood, probably because he had not gotten the DADA position again, and was beaten by such an idiot as Lockhart. He took his seat beside Mio, and awaited the class to begin. he didn't bother greeting the professor, as he usually did with every other one. Snape would probably take points away for that..

Rowan, Gus, William, and Luna all ventured to Potions together and waited to enter the classroom. When the door opened and Professor Snape seemed in a right foul mood, all four glanced at one another and sighed collectively. Hopefully, this wasn't as sign of how the class was going to run... As they filed past, each one tipped their head in greeting to him and then took their seats quickly, Rowan sitting with William and Gus with Luna.

---

Serena followed Harry and Ron in as they entered and, as she walked by, dared to say, "Good day, Professor." Slipping into an empty seat with the other Gryffindors, she readied for class.

---

Lara sighed as she heard the mood in Professor Snape's voice as he opened the door for them to enter. Today was going to be a rather interesting class, she could feel it. She only hoped that there would be less drama in this class than Defense Against the Dark Arts. Inclining her head as she entered the classroom, Lara took a seat towards the front of the room and prepared for the day's lesson.

Severus waited impatiently for his students to enter the room and take a seat, completely ignoring the few that were brave enough to actually say something to him. Today, he really did not trust himself not to outright insult his students in a fashion that even the ever-patient headmaster would surely not appreciate, so he kept his lips pressed tightly together.
Finally, the last students seemed to have entered the room and Severus slammed the door shut with a muttered incantation before flicking his wand, so the name of a potion appeared on the blackboard.

"The next two lessons will go in hand with each other and cover the Sleeping Draught, so I expect you all to pay close attention today and diligently take notes, as I will not answer any inane questions afterwards." he started, sending a death glare at all of his students.
"Now, I believe even the most ignorant of you can guess what the use of a Sleeping Draught is..." Severus sneered at Neville, the most incompetent student in this room, his voice ringing with sarcasm. "But who can tell me how the effects differ from those of the Draught of Living Death?"

Rowan had been correct about Professor Snape's mood. So, once he asked his question, she wasted no time in offering an answer. Perhaps that would his mood to lighten. "Sir, a Sleeping Draught will send someone into a deep sleep almost instantly, it is only temporary. Drought of Living Death, however, will send someone into a deep sleep, but the sleep is like death itself. The sleep won't end until the Wiggenweld Potion is taken... Until then, the person sleeps in a sort of suspended animation," Rowan answered him with a timid smile.

Severus awarded the Ravenclaw with a short nod at her answer. "Precisely. Five points to Ravenclaw." he said, then shot a cold look at the rest of his class. "The Draught of Living Death is extremely powerful and even the slightest mistake could mean certain death for whoever is unfotunate enough to drink the brew. That is why you will not work on that potion before your sixth year which the majority of you will not reach anyway." Severus sneered slightly at the thought that all of the incompetent little brats would not be allowed in his NEWT classes.
"Next week you will brew the Sleeping Draught. What ingredients will you need to do so?" he quickly followed with the next question, expecting another student to answer this time.

David's hand shot into the air. He was not going to give Snape an excuse to take points away from gryffindor, so would wait for Snape to pick him. Of course, if he chose to ignore David.. well, David would get to that when it came.

Severus eyes shot to the Gryffindor who had raised his hand and a disdainful sneer appeared on his face. "Yes, Mr Shuter?" he drawled, looking down at the boy who was sitting next to his son. "Do you think you can grace us with an answer to this question? Well I doubt that, so why don't we let someone speak who knows what they are talking about?" Severus sneer turned into an evil smirk, as he waited for one of the Slytherins to answer the question. He knew that it wasn't fair, but today he really couldn't care less.

Neville quickly ducked his head when Professor Snape send one of his famous glares at him, his face as white as a sheet. The man really was in a very bad mood today it seemed and Neville was immensely relieved that they would not be brewing a potion this lesson, as no doubt he would mess it up and draw his professor's ire upon himself.

Ian pursed his lips in slight annoyance when the professor did not pick David to answer the question, but kept his mouth shut. It would help no one to challence the man on his decision once his mind was made up.

Junis sighed and raised her hand. She probably would not be picked, but she could as least try to win her house some points, even if she wasn't a Slytherin. Professor Snape was usually much more lenient on the Ravenclaws than on Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors.

Malphas grinned at Professor Snape's words and felt the need to clap and to hex all gryffindors in the room, perhaps even murder some of them.You're in the classroom, you're in the classroom, you're in the classroom, those words echoed around his mind and he shook his head slightly before shooting his hand towards the air, waiting to see if Professor Snape would pick him.

This time, Severus didn't even bother with talking down the Ravenclaw girl, it would only end up giving him a headache, so he completely ignored her and turned his black eyes on one of the Slytherins. "Mr Gaunt, please enlighten the others." he drawled, now smirking slightly. Severus actually enjoyed putting these Gryffindors into their place now and then.

"Excellent. Ten points to Slytherin." Severus gave his student a sharp nod before facing the whole class again, not caring that he had awarded his Slytherin student more points than the Ravenclaw before. His eyes zeroed in on one of the Gryffindors and he slowly stalked over to his desk, towering over the boy. "Now tell me, Longbottom, how many sprigs of Valerian would I need to brew the potion and when would I add them to the cauldron?" Severus asked, his voice deadly silken.

Neville shrank back in fear when his professor approached him. The way he slowly stalked over to him reminded Neville of a tiger prowling closer to its prey and that was exactely how he felt like right now. Like a prey frozen in place by the cold black eyes of the man in front of him.
"I ... erm ..." he stuttered, paling even further. Neville had studied and he actually knew the answer to the question, but somehow his mind always went completely blank when Professor Snape was around. "Four, Sir." he finally managed to say. "Four ... erm .. sprigs. Valerian sprigs." By now, Neville was positively shaking and could barely see right.

Severus' eyes narrowed at the Gryffindor's stuttering, not having expected the boy to even know the answer to his question. It had not been very difficult, but the way Longbottom had been acting, Severus had truly doubted the existence of even the smallest of brains in the boy's head.
Placing both hands on the desk, he leaned forward till his face was on the same level as the Gryffindor's. He could clearly see the boy shaking under his stare and Severus' lips pulled into a nasty smile. It was times like these when he remembered why he had joined the Death Eaters to begin with. The feeling of installing fear in other people still had not lost its lure on him.
"You have not answered my second question, Mr Longbottom." Severus said, in a dangerously calm tone.

Seeing the Professor smile was the creepiest sight ever and Neville almost fainted straight at that. "Erm..." his voice was shaking so badly right now, that he barely managed to get a word out. Second question? There had been a second question? Neville had been happy enough to be able to answer the first, how should he have been able to focus on what came afterwards?

From behind Snape's back he could see Ian mouthing the word "When!" and Neville finally remembered that the Professor had asked when he would add the Valerian sprigs. Breaking out in cold sweat he tried to remember what he had read in his textbook. Neville knew that they were added close to the end, but did something come afterwards? Or was it the final step?

Taking a deep breath, to steady his nerves, Neville said in a meek voice. "I would add them at the end and then complete the potion while waving my wand?" He knew it was more of a question, but that was the best he could do right now.

"Mhm..." Severus pretended to think over the boy's answer for a moment, then asked innocently "So you would add the Valerian Sprigs in the last step of the brewing process?"
Receiving a nod from the Gryffindor, Severus slammed his fist down on his desk. "Wrong!" he hissed at Longbottom and pinned him to his chair with only his glare.
His voice had taken on an icy tone and he sneered in disgust at the boy before facing the rest of his class. "Obviously, Longbottom is incapable of retaining even the simplest of tasks in his feeble mind." Severus drawled derisively. "Don't worry, boy, I shall not abuse your weak memory any longer. It is quite obviously useless." he said, looking down his nose at the Gryffindor before stalking back to the front of the room.

After this little demonstration of the incompetence of Gryffindors, Severus felt that his mood had lifted slightly and he nodded at the Ravenclaw girl that had raised her hand before. "When do you add the Valerian, Ms Prince?" he asked her.

Neville whimpered quietly when the Professor's fist hit the desk close to him, his nerves completely worn down by the whole exchange. He didn't even care anymore that the man went on insulting him in front of the whole class or that he could hear several Slytherin laughing at him, he just wanted the earth to open up and swallow him.
Finally, his teacher moved on to the next student and Neville's whole body shook while releasing the tension. Right now, he didn't feel embarrassed by tears running down his cheeks either, nothing mattered.


Junis had been watching the scene play out in front of her eyes with a calm expression on her face. Of course the Professor's actions were a bit harsh, but he had asked two very simple questions and if the Gryffindor could not answer them ... well, then he didn't have to be surprised at the reaction he got.
She was a bit surprised to be taken on after all, but quickly followed with the answer to her teacher's question before his mood could switch again. "You would add four sprigs of Valerian as the third step during the second stage of the potion. While it is close to the end, one still has to stir the potion seven times clockwise before completing it with a wave of your wand." she answered calmly.

David gave Snape a cold stare. If he had not had respect for Mio, he would have shot something back at the professor, but he clammed up because he knew an argument between Mio's best friend and his father would upset him. He proceeded to listen to the lesson, trying his best not to disrupt it.

Rowan and William exchanged looks as they both glanced up from jotting down things for later lessons on this potion. It was common knowledge that Professor Snape didn't care for Gryffindor House, but today was really one of the first times that 'didn't care' was more of an understatement. Not daring to say a word to one another, they went back to their note taking. Before Rowan wrote down another thing, she glanced over at Neville and shot him a comforting smile. She knew how nervous Professor Snape made him, and she thought he did a pretty good job answering at all.

---

Watching Professor Snape make a fool of her housemate, Serena's brow furrowed. She knew he was hard on members of her house, but this was near cruel. Looking towards Neville, she smiled to hopefully help him feel better before dropping her eyes to her notes and writing the proper placement of the sprigs the professor was talking about.

Severus completely ignored the glares he received from the Gryffindor students in the room who of course felt insulted by his behaviour towards one of their house's member. By now, he was relaxed enough to not take offense anymore, rather he felt quite amused by their little annoyed faces. Children and especially Gryffindor children were too easy to provoke, it really wasn't a great surprise that most Slytherins liked to do it so much.

Turning his eyes on the Ravenclaw, Severus awarded her with a short nod. "Precisely, Ms Prince. Five points to Ravenclaw." he said and then shot a glare to another Gryffindor. "Weasely!" Severus barked sharply to get the boy's attention. "When do you add the Lavender to the cauldron and how much do you use?" he asked the red-head sharply, expecting to get an answer right away.