I'm a Good Snake (Harry Potter Fan Fiction) | Book 1

Three

A few days had gone by, and potions class was in full gear. On the first day, Snape was already going over poisons of all kinds. It was more lecture than hands-on for the beginning, making many of the Gryffindors and Slytherins laze in their stools. And of course, those Snape did not like were getting most of his callouts if he noticed them dozing off.

"Mr. Weasley," Snape spoke in a loud and patronizing tone to the redhead. Ron was quick to snap up upon hearing his name, looking at his friend beside him before the professor. "Make sure to pay attention, or one might just slip into your drink." The professor then gestured to the chalkboard. "Miss Granger, care to explain what I just said to your friend here?"

The girl nodded her head and repeated it loudly to the class. Ron only gulped in response and shrank in size before Snape continued with their lesson. It was always him, always Ron or the Chosen One, that was how Rosalie saw it. Those two caused most of the disruption in the class that Snape would recognize. She thought the bug crawling over Ron's head from Professor Moody would make him seem more alert, but it seemed it did nothing.

She continued to take notes on her parchment, much like those around her were also doing. Snape had already mentioned someone would most likely be poisoned by Christmas, and they had to know the list of antidotes by then. Currently, they were still going through hazardous plants and animals that could kill a person if eaten. Knowing the indicators and their symptoms was crucial in determining the best antidote.

"For these, you can start studying these antidotes on page four-hundred-and-twenty-two in your books. Read, reread, and even do it in your sleep. I will expect two one-scroll essays by next period. One for plants and one for animals on their antidotes. Do not condense it into one."

Some groaned and others masked it. They'd have to continue with how fast-paced Snape was going with the overview before they lost track. Even for the first day, most knew they couldn't go slow with him. Any missed information could result in a failing grade. Rosalie's parchment alone was halfway filled in their lesson already.

Snape continued with a brief summary of the poisons he listed before eyeing who had their potions books open. Most did, which he was grateful for, and the usual students who didn't have their open were already picked on for the day in his class. Instead, he'd look over those being the most studious and taking down final notes from his lecture before speaking a name at random of those in the classroom.

"Miss Greengrass, care to explain who is susceptible to baneberry?"

The girl addressed raised her head up from her notes and responded accordingly. "Anyone, Professor."

"Not clear enough..." Snape muttered, slightly scolding as he took another glance around the room and called upon another name. "Miss Wilcher, care to elaborate on your housemate's answer?"

Heidi shuffled a bit in surprise before regaining herself and stopping her bottle of ink from falling off of the table she shared with Rosalie. "Yes, uh, baneberry is poisonous to all living creatures, not just humans."

"Correct," Snape responded before going on to another question. He continued asking questions, seeing how much each student had absorbed from the lecture before he'd start on the next portion. "Now, with the basics down on poisons, we will start on our first potion as well, the Calming Drought. I expect most of you gathered the required materials this summer. If you don't have them, please let me know immediately."

Rosalie checked the index in her potions book and turned to the right page, reading off the ingredients listed for the potion. Out of surprise and a bit of shock, she rubbed her face before going bug-eyed from remembering a phrase from her mother before the school year had started: