Effervescence | h.p.

i | xvii. the dark-haired professor

After a pretty eventful Potions class that ended with Gryffindor losing quite a few House points, Neville being sent to the hospital wing with boils covering his face, and a few other messes that had to be cleaned, everyone was dismissed from the room. It was the last class of the day before dinner would be served, so no one was in any particular rush to get anywhere. They just wanted to be out of the Potion's class as soon as possible.

Draco had been planning on walking a few steps to the door with Lyra, offering a few words of parting, but she had gone the opposite direction. A bit disheartened by her change in direction, Draco decided not to wait, assuming she was just trying to get away from him.

Lyra, fascinated immensely by the art that is potion-making, decided that she wanted to talk to Snape a little bit and maybe offer help to the Potion Master. The same Potion Master who was currently marking some essays that had been assigned to the older year students over their summer holiday, muttering under his breath angrily. He could be heard throwing out insults, like "dunderheads," and "how daft do you have to be . . !?"

"Excuse me, sir. I'm sorry to bother you but I was wondering if you would need any help with anything. I was also hoping to ask a few questions about a few potions that seem intriguing," she said, surprising herself with how easy it seemed to talk to the professor. She just wanted to know everything about Potions.

"If you can answer my question, I will tell you about one potion of interest, then I will consider what comes next," he proposed without looking up from the essay he had been marking. He didn't understand why this little Gryffindor was already annoying him and decided to mess with her a bit — purely for his own amusement.

"Okay. I'll, um, try my best," she answered, less confident and a bit more nervous and unsure.

"How many uses are there for dragon's blood?" he asked, finally looking up to see her face scrunch slightly as she thought her answer through.

"I think there are twelve, sir," she answered.

"You think?" he mocked her. "Is that really your final answer?"

"Er — y-yes, sir."

"That seems to be correct, Miss Lupin-Black. What would you like to know more about?" he asked, shocked that she had gotten the answer correct.

Most first years would greatly underestimate the number. He began wondering if he would make her one of his prized students, like Draco Malfoy. He would give these students extra lessons and treat them with a bit more respect than others; they would have earned it if they excelled in Potions.

"Really?" she said, surprised herself that she had actually gotten her answer right. "Um — well, I was wondering why juicing something and crushing it are different? Wouldn't it be beneficial to crush most ingredients to extract their juice compared to other juicing methods?"

Something unusual happened with Snape upon hearing her question; he let his emotion show and let his eyes widen in surprise at her question.

Many students wouldn't pick up on this ideology and wouldn't even consider crushing something as a way to collect its juice. Maybe she really would be one of his most valuable and intelligent students.

"Why do you think it would be more beneficial?" he finally asked after regaining his composure. Maybe he could figure out where she was coming up with her ideas and come to a consensus about allowing her to gain his attention in class.

"Well, if you crushed something, like a Sopophorous bean for the Draught of Living Death, it would more easily release juice, wouldn't it?" she asked. "It's similar to a lemon when you're making homemade lemonade; if you roll the lemon before trying to juice it, it releases its juice more easily. With that main idea, wouldn't it be a similar case if you did this with potion ingredients?"

"How did you —" he started under his breath in disbelief, before returning to his normal volume so the girl could hear his answer. "Yes, it would be quite similar, believe it or not. Now, I have no explanation as to how you figured that out, but I think you will do well in this class if you continue like this."

"Well, sir, I just seem to find Potions interesting. I don't know why it's so . . . appealing to me, but it's like I just want to know everything about it." She honestly didn't know where her thirst for Potions knowledge came from, but she wouldn't deny her craving.

"Would I maybe be able to come and help you after class with anything and I could maybe ask questions, sir?" she finally asked, a bit shy because of her request.

She really did want to know everything she could about Potions and maybe she would get the opportunity to become closer with the mysterious, dark-haired professor.

"Perhaps we could work something out and it could be arranged, Miss Lupin-Black. Maybe some extra lessons with upper-level potions would do you well," he said.

Smiling widely, she responded, "Really? I could?" with an air of disbelief. Nodding vigorously, excited with the prospect of getting to know more about her favorite subject, she replied, "Thank you, sir! Truly, thank you!"

Snape gave a sharp nod in return and let the corners of his thin lips turn up ever-so slightly when seeing her enthusiasm for his offer. He was surprised that she seemed to want to willingly spend time with the cold-hearted professor, especially since she grew up around people who he had fought with at every given opportunity.

"I'd better be going then, Professor. Thank you, again, and if you need help, I would be happy to give it," she said, still smiling brightly as she practically ran out of the class. She was filled with joy that no one could take away from her.

Well, she was until she met with Harry again after class.

He wasn't thrilled when she had been paired with Malfoy, another boy who could make his Ly laugh and smile like no one had been able to do before — no one other than him, that is. He also wasn't very happy to hear that she wanted to spend more time with the greasy-haired professor, who had already made his first day quite miserable.

Harry had heard about a man from when his parents and godfathers went to school with that seemed to have a similar description to Snape. The man, who was called 'Snivellus,' had been quite problematic with the men of the family — James, Sirius, and Remus. He also, apparently, called his mother a horrible name, which was also a Wizarding slur.

Maybe this wasn't the same guy, but it sure seemed like it. He would have to talk to Lyra about it later, but maybe he shouldn't in case it upsets her, causing her to push him away. He didn't know what to do.

But as Lyra came out of the class beaming and overjoyed, he knew he wasn't going to bring up his concerns now. She looked so happy and exhilarated, which was a look he hadn't seen from her in a while.

"Harry, I think I'll be joining Professor Snape most of the year for extra lessons. He said he would teach me about higher-level potions! Can you believe it?!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Sounds like he likes you. He doesn't seem to like me very much," Harry responded with a frown.

"Hey, maybe it was just a bad first day, right? Wait a little bit and maybe he'll lighten up," she suggested, offering her friend a small, sad small.

"Yeah, maybe," he mumbled. "What were you thinking of doing before dinner in the Great Hall?"

"Well, if you don't mind, I might just go back to the common room and read a bit after sending a letter to my dads. Do you think I can borrow Hedwig? I love Milo, but he's bloody useless for sending letters."

"Sounds like I should get you an owl of your own for Christmas," he joked, smiling and looking up at her.

"Sounds like it," she responded while laughing.

That's how they entered the common room, causing everyone to look at them. They came in laughing together — the Girl-Who-Lived with her closest and best friend.