Growing up Pureblooded

Potions and Cooking

"Well, Draco?" Aries demanded when his cousin returned to Gryffindor Tower. Their dormitory was quite empty, as Dean, Weasley and Finnegan were all in the infirmary. "What happened?" Draco plopped down on his bed. "We talked about the dangers of the Cruciatus Curse," he said simply, "and I have detention for the rest of term." Aries's face turned red. "That's not fair! Weasley was trying to hex you left and right. The prat deserved what he got." "I appreciate your jumping to my defense, Aries," Draco said. "But I shouldn't have done it. I deserve my punishment." "It wasn't even really the Cruciatus!" Aries protested. "That doesn't matter," Draco said quietly. "It was bad enough."

Aries looked at his cousin curiously. "What's come over you?" he asked. "Did Uncle Moony decide to bring out the guilt?" Draco smiled faintly. "You might say that." "I'm going to go talk to him," Aries said, hopping up from his bed. "This isn't your fault. Weasley started it. Maybe I'll complain to Dad. I bet he could get you off." "No, Aries," Draco said firmly. "I deserve what I've got. Professor Lupin wasn't too harsh at all."

Aries snorted. "You ruddy Hufflepuff! Where did you get this overdeveloped sense of fair play?" Draco smirked at him. "Well, you did want to know where the Hat was thinking about placing me." Aries's eyes looked ready to explode out of their sockets. "HUFFLEPUFF?" he shouted. "THE HAT WANTED TO SORT YOU INTO HUFFLEPUFF?"

Draco chuckled. "It was either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. Of course, since you decided to pull your little trick with the Hat, we'll never know which it would have decided in the end." "But Hufflepuff?" Aries sighed. "I'd never have expected it of you." "And just what's wrong with Hufflepuffs?" Draco demanded, his tongue firmly in his cheek. "Nothing," Aries replied. "They're the most decent wizards you'll ever meet. They're just so...boring." Draco swatted the back of his cousin's head. "Prat," he said affectionately.

With Draco in detention for the rest of term, Aries found himself with a great deal more free time, most of which he spent in the library doing research. He wanted to be ready for anything, especially with Riddle on the loose, and after the fight in Gryffindor Tower he thought he could benefit from expanding his arsenal with a range of more subtle curses. Of course, most of the books he wanted were in the Restricted Section, but with Abraxas teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts, it was an easy matter for Aries to obtain permission. Before the incident, he would have thought that Remus would be just as helpful, but now that he had seen how his Head of House responded to Draco's Magnadolorous Curse, Aries thought it best to keep his new research from the werewolf. It wasn't that Aries resented his dad's best friend – he didn't, at least not very much. But Remus was simply far too narrow-minded to appreciate what Aries had to do if he was going to help bring Riddle down.

One evening when Aries was poring over The Warlock's Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to Battle Magic, he noticed Daphne Greengrass sigh in frustration at the table next to him. He had already been reading for over an hour, and his vision had begun to blur, so he decided to pay the pretty girl a visit and see if there was any way he could help. "Good evening, Daphne," he said as he slid casually into the chair across from her. "It's unusual to see you without your cousin." "I might say the same about you, Aries," Daphne observed with a wry grin. "Where's Draco?" Aries shrugged. "He's got detention with Professor Lupin." "Pansy has detention with Sprout," Daphne replied. "It's a pity, too, because she's better than I am at Potions. Professor Snape wants an essay on the mistakes I made in my Calming Draught this morning, and I can't seem to figure out what I did wrong."

Aries held out his hand. "May I see your work?" he asked. Daphne handed her papers over and Aries looked them over. "What color was your potion at the end of class?" "I should say it was a delicate shade of lavender," Daphne replied. Aries raised an eyebrow. "You're talking to a bloke, Daphne. I haven't a clue what that means." Daphne laughed. "Purple." "That's more like it," Aries said, suppressing a chuckle. "It ought to have been light green." "That's what Professor Snape said." "Hmm," Aries said pensively, looking down the list of ingredients. "Did you leave out the crushed dung beetles?"

Daphne put her hand over her mouth. "I put them in, but I chopped them instead of crushing them." "That's a mistake, certainly, but I should have thought it would make the potion too dark, rather than changing the color entirely." Aries stared at her notes for a few minutes and frowned. "You've written here to stir the potion seven times clockwise after you've added the first teaspoon of powdered newt's eyes. I could have sworn it was supposed to be seventeen times." "Oh dear," Daphne said. "Are you certain?" "Positive," Aries said. "I think that's your key mistake. It totally changes the effect of the potion. You ended up brewing an Invigoration Solution." "No wonder Professor Snape gave me such low marks," the girl said with a sigh. "I don't think I shall ever be able to understand Potions." "Poppycock," Aries retorted. "Potion-brewing is no more difficult than cooking." "I don't cook," Daphne said haughtily. "That's what a house elf is for. I should be very surprised if you of all people had ever even set foot in a kitchen."

Aries laughed. "My Granny keeps a very close eye on the food she serves at our chateau in France," he said. "Roquefort does all the menial stuff, but she's asked me and Draco to help her a few times. She's also the one who taught us how to make potions. She's the best potion-brewer in the family." He stood up suddenly. "Come with me," he said. "Where do you want us to go?" Daphne asked. "I'm going to teach you how to cook," Aries replied. "But why?" Daphne questioned. "I thought you wanted to do better in Potions," Aries said. "I do." Daphne responded. "Granny says that the best way to learn potion-brewing is to begin with cooking," Aries said.

Daphne could hardly believe what she was hearing, but she put her books in her bag and followed Aries out of the library. He led her to a funny painting showing several kinds of fruit, and Aries tickled the pear. The painting swung open to reveal the enormous Hogwarts kitchens. Several house elves came rushing towards Aries and Daphne. "What will the young masters be wanting?" one of the elves asked. "I need a stove, a saucepan and an egg," Aries said. Daphne felt sure that the elves would refuse the strange request, but they eagerly led the children over to an empty stove.

That evening, Aries taught her how to boil an egg, and Daphne Greengrass thought it one of the strangest experiences of her entire life. The Greengrasses were a respectable, upper-middle-class pureblood family, and Daphne had never even seen the kitchen in their home. She knew that her grandmother cooked from time to time, but her mother had always regarded that as something shameful, and they didn't mention it outside the family. Properly-brought-up young witches did not cook their own food. It simply wasn't done.

But now, Daphne was being shown how to cook by none other than Aries Black, the heir to the wealthiest and snobbiest pureblood family in all of Britain. It simply boggled the mind! And when he sat her down at a table, and then proceeded to place her egg in its cup before salting it and presenting it to her himself, he served her as deftly as the Minister's own elves. "Here you go, Mademoiselle," he said as he placed the egg before her. "Bon appétit." Daphne giggled as she took the first bite of the very first food she had prepared herself. It was delicious.