Black's House for Little Witches

29

A/N: We interrupt your program with a Narcissa POV chapter.

Remember this is an AU, and Narcissa and Bellatrix are actually great sisters in this story (you'll understand the context in the chapter).

If you're still here, I hope you read and enjoy. :)

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Sirius had warned her that Harry and Neville's skills in potion brewing were lacking, but Narcissa quickly found that to not be the entire truth. What was more likely was that Sirius was just as bad at teaching as he was brewing himself. The boys clearly understood the principles, but like Hermione, they lacked the refinement in technique needed to use ingredients to their full potential.

That Narcissa would place blame on Severus Snape and his atrocious approach to teaching. She could understand having him teach sixth and seventh year students, but why he was allowed to teach first years was unclear. It would not be surprising if Andromeda's hatred for brewing stemmed from her experience in the man's classroom. Even if Andy had fared better than most of her peers, Narcissa and Bellatrix still received many letters with complaints from the youngest about how awful the class was with Snape at the helm.

Also like Hermione, the boys flourished under patient instruction. Neville in particular seemed to be fascinated by the art of brewing instead of being afraid of it like Sirius had said he'd been. It took him a little while to warm up to the lesson, but once Neville realized that mistakes were met with gentle correction, and successes were met with ample praise, he quickly began asking questions and taking a flurry of notes.

She'd spent the morning overseeing the group prepare a batch of Cure for Boils. It was a simple potion, yes, but it allowed her to see where the boys' skills actually were.

Hermione had quickly finished her preparations and set her cauldron to brew, and she'd started following Narcissa around the lab. Narcissa was careful to stay away from some of the more volatile ingredients. They were locked away in warded cabinets, but one could never be too careful. She should really ask Bella if a second lab could be added to the manor. It would be nice to have one for the teens to use and one for her own personal use.

"What are you doing?" Hermione quietly asked from beside her. "You've been walking a lot."

Narcissa hummed softly. Hermione toyed with the bottom of her shirt, and her hand kept sneaking its way to her pocket before she returned it to her side. The Cure for Boils would probably be the only potion they got to that day, but that was alright.

Hermione was still watching her curiously, so she finally answered, "I'm inspecting my stock of ingredients."

"Why?"

"To make sure that they're of good quality for brewing."

"Why?"

Narcissa huffed out a soft laugh. "Because," she drawled out slowly, laughing as Hermione's eyes grew wider in anticipation, "some of them need to be in a specific state in order to use them in potions."

She glanced over to the table where the boys were. They were still working quietly on preparing ingredients. As they didn't seem to be in need of assistance, Narcissa turned and walked over to a cabinet. Hermione quietly followed just a few paces behind her. She pulled a jar from one of the shelves. A cluster of long, green stems with leaves and purple flowers were kept inside.

"Do you know what this is?"

Hermione leaned forward and inspected the jar intently for a moment, but eventually she shook her head.

"That's alright, darling," Narcissa assured. "It's fluxweed."

Hermione gasped softly. "Like in Polyjuice Potion," she whispered. "I read it in the book you gave me."