A/N: Yeah sorry for being gone a family friend died of ALS, and basically after the funeral I really didn't feel like writing either way we're going at it again.
I closed the book before grabbing my wand from its holster and pointing at it.
"Reducio."
The book shrunk until I could fit it in my pocket, just as I did so the bell rang indicating that it was time for another class, Potions.
Potions was an interesting subject especially since it had a major plan in my sorting hat heist plan. Polyjuice potions worked wonders after all - I couldn't go into his office like myself and while I couldn't prepare against everything, Polyjuice would counteract most mechanisms.
I also wanted to try and brew Felix Felicis beforehand. You could never go wrong with a potion that quite literally increased your luck plus it had my name in it.
Coincidence? I think not.
I moved around the corridors with practice, after all even though I hadn't got the map before I had still explored most of the castle, at least the parts that weren't hidden and before long.
I stood in front of the potions class, which all in all wasn't that bad. The room was already filled with the usual mix of scents - herbs, various creature parts preserved in jars, and the lingering aroma of previous potions that never quite dissipated. I went in to find other Ravenclaws and sat next to two kids who had joined our little mash of houses.
Benjamin Rivers and Charlotte Hudson, both from Hufflepuff.
"Hey Benjamin, Charlotte how are you guys doing?"
"Pretty good had Transmutation class this morning and I finally got the mass transmutare spell down, which thank Merlin."
"I still find it really hard to do mass transfiguration but I'm getting better."
"I could help you if you want Charlotte I don't mind it."
Charlotte shook her head furiously. "No, I don't want to be a bother."
"Don't worry you-"
Before I could continue, I felt a hand on my head. "You missed it again you bastard."
I didn't need to turn back to know who that was, Adrian Chen. He got really handsy once you got to know him. The classroom was filling up now, the scraping of chairs and rustling of robes mixing with the general chatter of students settling in.
"Did he take any points from Ravenclaw?" I asked as he kept ruffling my hair. The stone walls amplified every sound, making conversations echo slightly.
"No," he said. "But one of these days a Slytherin is gonna rat you out to the professor."
"I do the homework what else does he want."
As we continued to talk Penelope finally entered the room along with a few other Ravenclaws one of which was Roger Davies, one of my many test subjects mainly because I didn't like him and how he ridiculed me for being bad at flying.
"Hey guys," she said a smile on her face.
I immediately put on my best smile and asked. "Penelope homework?"
She just smiled at my words. "I'll give it to you at the end of class."
The dungeon door opened with its characteristic creak, and Professor Severus Snape swept into the room, his black robes billowing behind him. The temperature seemed to drop a few more degrees as he passed. His greasy black hair framed his sallow face, and his expression carried that familiar look of disdain that suggested we were all somehow personally offensive to him.
He stood in front of the class. "Today we will be making the Wiggenweld Potion."
"The Wiggenweld Potion is a healing potion with the power to sterilise and heal minor injuries, and is the antidote to the Sleeping Draught and the Draught of Living Death, potions you will learn once you return from Christmas break. This will also be one of the eight potions you will have to make in your final exam. Now get to it."
The sound of stools scraping against stone filled the room as everyone moved to their Pewter Cauldrons. The ingredients cabinet was already open, its shelves lined with various bottles, jars, and containers. I flipped back to the page about the Wiggenweld Potion in my mind.
I quickly moved through the ingredients, grabbing what was necessary. The salamander blood gleamed an impossible red in its crystal vial, while the lionfish spines cast tiny rainbow refractions when they caught the light.
The flobberworm mucus was exactly as gross as its name suggested, and the honeywater gave off a sweet aroma that seemed out of place among the other ingredients. The boom berries were firm and fresh, their deep purple skin almost black in the class and what little light was able to come in.
Back at my cauldron, I began with the first step, carefully measuring the salamander blood until it filled exactly one-third of the cauldron. The crimson red liquid filled the cauldron and then I begun.
Stir until the potion turns orange.
Add more salamander blood, until the potion turns yellow.
Stir until the potion turns green.
Add more salamander blood, until the potion turns turquoise.
"Remember salamander blood is very flammable so heat it using very low flames." Snape's voice cut through the concentrated silence as he moved between the workstations, his footsteps echoing off the stone floor.
I continued, adjusting the flame beneath my cauldron carefully. Heat until it turns indigo.
Add more salamander blood until the potion turns pink.
Heat until the potion turns red.
The dungeon had grown warmer from all the cauldrons burning, and the air was thick with various potion fumes. Now time to add five lionfish spines. Heat until the potion turns yellow. Add five more lionfish spines.
Add a pinch Flobberworm Mucus, until the potion turns purple. Stir until it turns red. Add more Flobberworm Mucus, this time until it turns orange. Stir till it turns yellow.
Add Honeywater until it turns back to a turquoise colour. Add another few drops of boom berry juice. Stir the potion again, then let it simmer for thirty minutes. Take the potion away from the heat and allow it to cool.
"There we go," I finished while wiping the sweat from my brow. The steam rising from the cauldron, the scent reaching my nostrils which made me want to immediately consume the potion - a mix of honey and something medicinal.
The potion had this mixed hue of green and yellow, but I had to remember that I needed a few more minutes for it to cool down, until all traces of yellow vanished.
I felt a breath on the back of my neck, raising my head back I saw Snape's eyes staring into the cauldron, his expression unreadable as always.
"Good enough," he said before moving on to another potions.
I sighed in relief but just as I did so we heard a boom, the potions class burst open revealing two gingers on the other side. The heavy wooden door slammed against the stone wall with enough force to make the nearest jars rattle on their shelves.
The twins. They had something swishing in their hands, a potion.
They both yelled in unison, their voices bouncing off the dungeon walls.
"Take this sucka! Let the prank war begin!"
And as they said so they threw in a potion, it smashed into the ground bursting open as spores filled the room, and suddenly everything began to itch. The air filled with the sounds of students scratching and chairs scraping as people jumped up in surprise.
I heard Snape's voice yell over all the commotion, his words thundering off the stone walls of the dungeon.
"30 POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR!!"