The Princess Witch - 1st book

Chapter IV: Classes

The next day, the first day of classes, was going to be a very long one for Talia. Indeed, having not slept all night, she felt almost like a zombie throughout breakfast in the Great Hall. She tried to swallow her bowl of cereal but still had to stay awake. Harry saw his cousin eating her fill and gave her an energy drink to keep her going until lunchtime. Professor McGonagall gave all the students their timetables. Talia, Enola, Davina and Harry had classes together and quickly ate their breakfast so as not to be late for the first class of the year, which was potions with the Slytherins. The teacher of this subject was Professor Snape, principal of Slytherin House and, above all, Scarlett Prince's uncle. It was said that he always wanted to benefit his house.
The Potions classroom was located in the school's dungeons. The air in this place was so frigid that even the animals and ingredients for the various potions, in the jars, were frozen. The place was so dark that the students found it hard to distinguish one from the other in such darkness. Professor Snape began the roll-call, stopping just as he reached his niece Scarlett's first name and looked up from his desk to face her:
-So, Scarlett, recovered from the Ghillies' ball the other night?
-I didn't need to recover as much as you did Uncle Severus," Scarlett replied, stifling a laugh.
She exchanged an amused glance with Draco.
-From now on, Miss Prince, I won't be your uncle, but Professor Snape, to you. Don't forget it.
-Of course not, sir," Scarlett replied respectfully.
With that, Snape resumed the call. As he was finishing the call, the last name on the list intrigued him: Talia Winchester. He paused and said:
-Winchester, our..... very dear royal family. I hope our dearest princess knows her kingdom as well as the various potions I'm going to teach you in my class.
-It all depends on the potions, Professor," Talia replied coolly.
-What do I get when I mix asphodel root with sisymbrium and polygonum?
Talia thought about it and said: We get Polyjuice, a potion that's very complicated to make and allows you to take on someone else's appearance for a limited time.
-Our dear little celebrity has been well instructed it seems. Tell me, what are the different ingredients to make Vericeratum? And what are its effects?
-The ingredients are owl feathers, wolf's claws, belladonna and elder leaves. And its effects enable the person drinking the potion not to lie. Why are you asking me these questions? Don't you think I'm smart enough to answer as well as rule?
Snape stepped forward and leaned over Talia:
-Do you think that's funny, my dear Highness? The tone you're using doesn't suit me. This impertinence will cost Gryffindor 50 points. And I order you to change your tone for the rest of the year.
He returned to his desk.
-Last question. What's the difference between napel and wolf-killer?
-I don't know, sir," replied Talia.-Napel and wolfbane are the same plant, also known as wolfsbane.
Snape changed his tone and began handing out the class rules: You are here to learn the subtle science and rigorous art of potion preparation. In my class, there's no waving wands, so I expect you won't understand much about the beauty of a gently boiling cauldron releasing scintillating wisps, nor the delicacy of a liquid that seeps into a man's veins to gradually bewitch his mind and imprison his senses... I could teach you how to bottle glory, distill greatness and even lock up death in a bottle if you were anything other than one of the gang of pickles I usually teach. Professor Snape divided the students into groups of two to prepare their first potion of the year, an Amnesia potion. Talia was with Davina, Harry was with Enola. After half an hour, Davina noticed that one ingredient was missing: mistletoe berries. Talia rushed to the ingredient shelves and searched for a long time for the mistletoe. She found the jar, but it was completely empty, and saw Scarlett leave quietly with the mistletoe. Talia rushed back to Scarlett's table:
-Can I please have some mistletoe berries?
-Can you pass me your family wreath? No, you won't, so you can't have my berries. Especially since these are Irish.
-Argh, you really are insufferable. Now I understand why my family stole power from your family.
Snape noticed the little argument between the two students and approached:
-What's going on here? Why aren't you in your place, Miss Winchester?
-I was looking for the mistletoe berries for the potion, but your precious niece took the last ones and I was kindly asking her to spare me some. And she flatly refused.
-But Severus, well, Professor, Talia was very insolent towards you and me! She insulted our family, the Prince family, which is a great royal family after all. Scarlett retorted.
-What ingratitude, insulting a great wizarding family. This will cost you fifty points in Gryffindor. Go back to your seat, Winchester.
It was so unfair that Talia sat down next to Davina and the end-of-class bell rang. The students made their way up from the dungeon to their next class, metamorphosis with Professor McGonagall. Talia stirred her thoughts and her low morale. She'd made her house lose a hundred points in just one hour on the very first day to boot. Why did Snape hate her so much?