Courage

-30-

Book: Courage
Chapter 30
Word Count: 3229

Draco didn't reappear in classes until late on Thursday morning, when the Slytherins and Gryffindors were halfway through double Potions. He swaggered into the dungeon, his right arm covered in bandages and bound up in a sling, acting as though he were the heroic survivor of some dreadful battle.

"How is it, Draco?" simpered Pansy. "Does it hurt much?"

"Yeah," said Draco, putting on a brave sort of grimace. But Layla saw him wink at Crabbe and Goyle when Pansy had looked away.

"Settle down, settle down," said Professor Snape idly.

They were making a new potion today, a Shrinking Solution.

"Sir," Draco called, "sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm—"

"Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him," said Snape without looking up.

Ron went brick red.

"There's nothing wrong with his arm," Layla snapped from where she stood at her table with Hermione and Neville.

"Stay out of this, fattie," Draco rolled his eyes before turning to smirk at Ron. "Weasley, you heard Professor Snape; cut up these roots."

Ron seized his knife, pulled Draco's roots toward him, and began to chop them roughly, so that they were all different sizes.

"Professor," drawled Draco, "Weasley's mutilating my roots, sir."

"Change roots with Malfoy, Weasley."

"But, sir—!"

"Now," said Snape in his most dangerous voice.
　
"And, sir, I'll need this shrivelfig skinned," said Draco, his voice full of malicious laughter.

"Potter, you can skin Malfoy's shrivelfig," said Snape.

"Layla," whispered Hermione in the middle of making her Shrinking Solution. "Are you alright? After Malfoy said—"

"I'm fine," Layla instantly replied without looking up. "Nothing I haven't heard before."

Hermione shot her a look of concern but didn't press any further.

On the other side of Layla, Neville was in trouble. Neville regularly went to pieces in Potions lessons; it was his worst subject, and his great fear of Professor Snape made things ten times worse. His potion, which was supposed to be a bright, acid green, had turned—

"Orange, Longbottom," said Snape, ladling some up and allowing to splash back into the cauldron, so that everyone could see. "Orange. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one rat spleen was needed? Didn't I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?"

Neville was pink and trembling. He looked as though he was on the verge of tears.

"Please, sir," said Hermione, "please, I could help Neville put it right—"

"I don't remember asking you to show off, Miss Granger," said Snape coldly, and Hermione went as pink as Neville. "Longbottom, at the end of this lesson we will feed a few drops of this potion to your toad and see what happens. Perhaps that will encourage you to do it properly."

Snape moved away, leaving Neville breathless with fear.

"Help me!" he moaned, looking between Layla and Hermione desperately.

"Hey, Layla," said Seamus, leaning over to borrow Layla's brass scales.

"Hey, Seamus," Layla smiled.