Child of Fire and Night

Chapter Seven

Finally settled into my new room, I glanced at the intricate clock that hung on the wall. Barely an hour had passed. "I suppose I'll go explore and find out how dinner is served." I said, placing my wand back in the hidden pocket of my dress and slipping my heels back on. I walked down the staircase and passed through the hidden entrance at the other end of the Common Room. As the Fat Lady's portrait closed over the entrance, she looked down at me. "Don't get lost, dear." She sang, and I nodded in acknowledgement.

I looked over the railing and watched as some of the staircases moved and shifted. There were enchantments that kept any student from falling over the edge. Slowly, I made my way down and roamed the hallways, peeking my head into any classrooms that were unlocked. Most of them were empty.

I reached the ground floor and made my way down a long hallway that ended at a staircase that spiraled downwards. I made my way down and found myself in what looked like a dungeon. Flickering torches lined the walls and there were multiple doors. I tested each door. All but one were locked and I opened it, finding myself in what looked to be a potions room. The door shut behind me as I made my way further into the room. All sorts of rare and common ingredients alike filled the many shelves at one end of the room and I looked at all of them curiously. Potions had been one of my favorite classes growing up. I ran my fingers along the shelves, marveling at how many ingredients were there.

I turned and examined the rest of the room, my eyes eventually falling on a bottle of shimmery blue liquid that sat next to a recently used cauldron. Curious, I picked up the bottle and examined it, tilting it slightly to read the inscription written on the side.

Before I could make out the curling script a cold voice spoke in my ear. "What are you doing here?"

I jumped, nearly dropping the bottle of potion, and turned. Snape stood in front of me, his arms folded into the sleeves of his black robes. "Professor. You startled me."

"What are you doing here?" He repeated.

"Oh. I was taking a look around the castle and managed to find myself here." I said. Snape eyed me cooly and glanced at the bottle in my hand. I held it up. "What is this?"

"A potion." He said simply.

I rolled my eyes. "Obviously, but I've never seen one like it."

Snape sighed and plucked the bottle from my hand. "I'm sure you haven't." He set the bottle down on the table behind me, his black robes brushing against my arm.

"Will you tell me what it is?" I asked, looking up at him. He seemed incredibly close and I took a small step back.

"Why do you want to know?"

I smiled and looked around. "Because I love potions. Spells are easy, but potions ... potions are so complex and wonderful. They have so many uses and there are so many ways to change them." I walked over to the shelves full of ingredients and pulled one down. "Take this." I said holding up a bottle of dragon's blood. "If you add it to a sleeping potion, it turns into an energy potion if you do it right. Or if you add it to amortentia, it'll turn it into a memory potion that makes you remember your lost love." I picked up another jar. "Valerian is an ingredient in making the draught of living death, but people have also used it in making treacle fudge. It's amazing isn't?" My eyes glittered as I spoke

When I looked back up at Snape, he was staring dumbfounded. "You like potions?"

I set the jar back down on the shelf and looked away embarrassed. "Well, I guess you could say that. Viktor and Ivan used to joke that I could make them fall in love with me or kill them whenever it suited me. I'm good at potions, but they were the only thing that never came easy to me. I loved the challenge. I still do."