Revolutionary | Harry Potter

Chapter Two

"Talks & Troubles"

  Harry soon found out that not all the teachers at Hogwarts seemed to be nice people. The Potions Master, Severus Snape, was a greasy haired man with a hooked nose. No student has ever seen him even crack a smile. The scowl-faced man had taken a liking to bullying Adrien, who was hiding his face behind his cauldron. He wondered why that man became a teacher if he seemed to hate children so much. Instead of voicing his thoughts, Harry just worked on his own potion with Draco, glancing up at the clock ever-so often. Classes were a bore, really. If Dumbledore didn't want them to come disguised. It would've been much more productive than sitting in class hearing regurgitated information he already had books on.

  "Potter!" Snape's hard voice cut through the tense silence in the dungeon.

  "Yes, sir?" The boy peered up at him.

  "Why aren't you checking off your list?" Harry noticed that Snape would pick at everything the Boy-Who-Lived did. Even something as trivial as not having his scroll open on his desk. He pointed at the list of steps required to make the potion they were covering this class.

  "Er..."

  "20 points from Gryffindor."

  Groans came from the Gryffindor side of the room, while snickers came from the Slytherins. The black-headed boy just sighed, stirring the liquid in his own cauldron. He heard Draco sigh beside him as well. "These house rivalries are so stupid." He whispered in his ear, cutting up a few pieces of frog leg to add to the potion. The two quickly learnt about the clear hatred between the green and scarlet houses. It was bothersome, just to hate someone because of their house. Even some of the teachers (Mainly Snape.) favoured their own house from when they were a student.

  "You shouldn't expect everything to go peacefully at Hogwarts." Harry said finally. He could feel eyes staring at him and Draco from both sides, probably because they were working together than with someone from their own house. "They'll judge you without remorse. Teenagers tend to do that..." His murmuring was cut short when he felt the bat-like presence walking beside him. Tilting his chin up, his now hard grey eyes met the face of none other than Professor Severus Snape. He looked down upon Harry with a scowl, not paying any mind to Draco at all.

  "Mr. Patterson. Explain what Mandrake Root is used for."

  Harry paid no attention to the faces who twisted in confusion when he barely flinched, looking up at his Professor. Every teacher knew about their true purpose here, but of course he had to treat him like a normal Gryffindor student. "Mandrake or Mandragora is a powerful restorative and is a vital component in restorative potions. It is used in potions to restore ones body, like an instance where a body is petrified or frozen by an outside force." He explains. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Adrien wince at the mention of petrifaction. "However, it's powers are not limited to just that. It is a member of the nightshade plant family, mandrake contains hallucinogenic and narcotic alkaloids. Dioscurides, a first-century Greek physician, tells us that a "winecupful" of mandrake root — mandrake root boiled in wine — was used as an anesthetic in ancient Rome. It is still used as an anesthetic in some places today."

  He had heard Hermione babble about healing ingredients before. It seems her endless knowledge was helpful.

  Snape sniffed in irritation, probably a bit put off by his answer. "5 points to Gryffindor." He told him curtly before moving on to pick on another student. Protests about the amount of points came from the back of the Gryffindor side, mostly from Ron Weasley. The Potions Master glared at the redhead. He shut up immediately.