Hogwarts: The Adventure Begins - BOOK 1 (A Harry Potter Fanfic)

4: The Potions Master

The next day, the first class we had was Potions with Professor Snape. Snape had a hooked nose, black hair and black robes. I had heard other students talking about him, and apparently he was the nastiest teacher in the school. He looked for any excuse to reward Slytherins and punish other houses, so I realised I was best to keep my head down.

As I walked into his class, Snape stared intently at me. A frown was etched upon his face and he seemed surprised at my appearance. I shrugged it off as him knowing Remus or something, but I hoped it was nothing to do with my father. I didn't need teachers hating me too.

When we were having Potions, I accidentally cut the weeds we were using unevenly and he took five points away from Gryffindor. Harry Potter noticed and started to argue with Snape which cost Gryffindor another five points. Josh Freeman mouthed 'sorry' to me and I smiled back at him.

Draco Malfoy laughed when we lost the points and Snape just ignored him which really annoyed me. I opened my mouth to argue but Nico elbowed me in the ribs and shook his head, realising I would just get myself in more trouble. I reluctantly shut my mouth again but glared angrily at Snape.

I focused on my potion instead of the professor, rolling my sleeves up and biting my lip in concentration. It was an interesting subject, I had to admit that much, and I felt a sense of accomplishment whenever I completed a step correctly. The fumes from my potion made my short hair a mess, but I didn't care. I was going to give Snape a perfect potion.

Later on in the lesson, Nico said that he didn't have any Wormwood but on his way past Malfoy he dropped some sort of powder in his potion. Nico hurried back to our table and grinned at me and a moment later Malfoy's potion started bubbling and spilt out of his cauldron.

That was when Snape finally lost it. Even though he hadn't seen Nico put anything in his cauldron, he took ten points from Gryffindor. Twenty points off in our first class with him? I was dreading the rest of the year.

'Impressive, Black,' he said when we turned our potions in, 'A perfect potion.'

'Thank you, sir,' I frowned. Did he compliment me? But it wasn't to last.

At the end of the class, he told me and Harry to stay behind and he lectured us harshly. He blamed us for Malfoy's potion which was completely unfair.

'Maybe Malfoy just doesn't have a knack for potions, professor,' I said icily, 'Because neither of us touched his potion.'

'Potter, you are dismissed. Black, stay behind,' his voice was calm, it didn't rise at all. Harry gave me a look of fear as he walked out of the classroom. I glared up at the dark figure, hatred oozing out of me.

'I would advise you to be extremely careful, Miss Black,' Snape's voice became dangerously quiet, 'There are certain individuals in this school who are not happy with your arrival. If you don't want to upset them, perhaps you should keep your tongue in check. If this happens again, expect detentions and a further fifty points from your house.'

'Of course, professor,' I grumbled.

'There was something else, Black,' Snape continued. Why couldn't he just dismiss me? 'You were a hat stall, something very rare within these walls. The Sorting Hat rarely struggles to place a student, it has done it for thousands of years. Yet, it struggled with you. What was the Hat stuck between?'

I paused, staring up at him, 'Gryffindor and Slytherin. I'm sure you'll be relieved it decided on the former, you only need to deal with me during these classes, sir.'

'On the contrary,' his voice was still quiet, level, 'I'm sure you would have been an asset to Slytherin if you managed to keep your mouth shut on occasion. You seem to have a knack for potions, it's rare to see a student succeed on their first attempt like that. This is the only reason you are not already serving detention for your... insolence earlier. But do not expect me to be so forgiving as the year progresses. Dismissed.'

I walked out of the classroom absolutely fuming. I felt like he was trying to threaten me and I certainly did not appreciate it. We hadn't done anything wrong, I was just telling him how it was! I didn't understand Professor Snape, he acted as though he was complimenting you and then turned it into a threat. Was it so hard to just be nice for once?

We had Transfiguration then Herbology after that and those classes were fine. I found them super interesting, but Nico looked like he was falling asleep. I didn't quite understand how - he was a Muggle-born, experiencing magic for the first time. How could he find it that boring? In Herbology, Draco lost ten points for talking and all the Gryffindors laughed silently.

After our classes were done I went up to the owlery to write a letter to Remus.

It read;

Dear Remus,
I am having lots of fun here at Hogwarts. I've been sorted into Gryffindor and I'm really happy with how things have been so far! It's completely different to anything I had imagined, everything seems so interesting! Apparently, I was a hat stall, it was stuck between Gryffindor and Slytherin. I'm extremely relieved it chose the former, maybe I can show everyone I'm nothing like the rest of my family.
I've already made some friends! One boy is Nico Cortell who is in Gryffindor too! The other is called Josh Freeman, but unfortunately, he was put to Slytherin so we don't have too much time together. I just hope that we have enough time to try some of the pranks I've been planning.
I was wondering, why does Professor Snape hate me and Harry Potter so much? He hates everyone but he seems to loathe the two of us. I wasn't aware of doing anything to him.
Hope all is well at home!
Molly xx

I gave the letter to Zeus and he flew off with it. I watched him go and then I realised I had to get to the Great Hall for tea. I didn't want to lose any more points for Gryffindor or I definitely wouldn't be successful in making any more friends.

I practically flew down the stairs and into the Great Hall. I was just in time. Everyone else was just sitting down and I quickly took my place next to Nico.

'Where were you!?' he whispered to me.

'I was sending a letter back home!' I said.

'Oh...' he said, 'Sorry, I was just worried because you'd suddenly disappeared.'

'Don't be silly, Hogwarts is safe!' I grinned at him.

Professor Dumbledore told us to enjoy our meal and the food appeared. I wasn't really hungry though so I only had a bit of chicken. Nico had made me eat a lot at breakfast and some more at lunch, and was extremely annoyed at my small dinner portion.

'I told you, I have a small appetite!' I said and he sighed.

'You're too skinny,' he said, 'You look like a skeleton.'

'Thanks,' I grumbled, 'Not my fault I don't feel hungry.'

'Just try to eat, please,' he whined.

'Nico, I'll be sick if I eat anymore,' I sighed, 'I'm not used to all this food.'

'Why? Does your family not make you eat more?' he asked, frowning.

'My adoptive dad, Remus, struggles to find anyone to hire him so we don't have much money,' I said quietly, 'We've never managed to get much food, but I always make him eat more than me. I don't get hungry as quickly and he needs it more than me. My appetite isn't used to this, and I don't want to get used to it or I'll starve in the holidays.'

'Molly,' Nico pulled me into a tight hug, 'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable.'

'Don't worry about it,' I smiled at him, 'You didn't know. But you should eat before your food gets cold!'