Purpose

~ Chapter 23: Malfoy Mistreated ~

Monday, 4^th September. The Beginning of School Term...

All about the castle was peaceful as students lazily got out of bed to meet the new day, and the initiation of classes. Harry woke up suddenly at exactly seven-thirty in the morning and blinked at the light coming from the window in confusion. He was trying hard to remember what day it was then gave an inward sigh when he realized that it was already Monday, and that they need to get down to the Hall to get their timetables. His roommates were fast asleep and he had better get them moving or they would be receiving a lashing from their Head of House at the beginning of school term. And here we are supposed to set up examples to the juniors. Harry smiled at his silent thought and began shaking his friends up.

"Bugger off..." Ron groaned and hid his face under his blanket. Dean and Seamus woke up grudgingly and shuffled slowly out of bed to get their school robes and toiletries. All of them had arranged all their books inside their bags, it was only a matter of getting back to their dormitory and getting rid of the books that they would not be needing for their lessons that day. Ron was still under the covers and Harry decided to play an old trick the twins used on their younger siblings.

"Ron! There's a big tarantula on that blanket of yours!" he shouted and his two other roommates winced at his loud voice that suddenly rang out in the bedroom.

"Aaaaah!" Ron instantly jumped out of the bed, getting rid of his blankets instantly. His three friends laughed at him and Dean tossed his school robe towards the indignant Ron.

"Better get moving, mate," Harry said, reaching out for his glasses and put them on, "or we're going to be late."

"You don't really have to use my fear of spiders to wake me up..." Ron grumbled and Harry chuckled softly.

"Damn! It's twenty minutes to eight! We'll have to get ready by ten minutes before the corridors get jammed with students rushing for the Hall." Dean reached out for his own stuff and they all quickly headed off towards the restroom. It was lucky for them that the restroom was not crowded and they quickly got themselves ready and rushed back to their bedroom to get rid of their towels in an untidy heap. It was chaos in the common room. Ron grabbed Hermione's hand and they shuffled out of the hole and headed straight out of the Gryffindor Tower.

"Where's Ginny?" Ron raised his voice at the increasing din around them.

"She's already at the Hall!" Hermione yelled out in answer, as they squeezed themselves into the entrance of the Hall. Just for that particular day, they were seated in their chronological order during breakfast. The sixth-years waved at Ginny, who held a fork in one hand and waving the other hand back at them. Harry helped himself to a couple of pancakes and ate them as he scanned the crowd for Sirius. However, it seemed that his godfather, along with his oathsister and best friend were absent from the Hall.

"Ron, your breakfast is not going to run off from your plate, you know," Hermione whispered to her partner, her cheeks reddening as she struggled not to chuckle. "Our lessons only start at nine."

While the students were having their breakfast, the Heads were moving slowly down the table, giving out their lesson schedules. Harry had finished his plate of pancakes and Hermione was cutting several pieces of fresh chocolate cake for the three of them when McGonagall reached them and handed the scrolls to them. They hastily wiped their hands on a napkin as they briskly unrolled their timetables. Harry grinned when he saw that their first lesson for the morning was Defence, a triple period. His eyes bulged out in horror when he studied his timetable again. Ron echoed the groan that emerged from Harry's throat. Back somewhere at the Slytherin tables, Snape gave a faint cruel smile when he heard Ron complained his heart out to his friends about their Advanced Potions, who were more or less in agreement with the red-headed Prefect.

"Bloody hell! Six hours every week! Two double periods of practical work and a double period for theory! I think I'm going to die of sheer exhaustion!" Ron groaned, massaging his temples as if he was having a headache.

"Chill out, Ron," Dean said reassuringly. "At least we have the same amount of time spent for Defence."

"Yeah, and we have nothing for the afternoons of Thursdays and Fridays. That's a lot of compensation, isn't it?" Seamus said thoughtfully.

"Meaning we probably will have tons of homework for the weekend," Ron answered convincingly.

"Ron, you're depressing me..." Harry grimaced at his friend's words, which will probably turn out true.

**********

The Defence Classroom...

Professor Lupin was waiting for the students to be seated. Harry looked about the classroom and finally spotted Fenix who was looking out of the window with a slight frown.

"It's funny, I thought I saw that beetle yesterday..." the Fire Master muttered under her breath, catching the attention of Malfoy and the Defence teacher. His bruised eye was healing, the edges yellowing and he was giving a very malicious smile that he quickly controlled when Seamus and Dean took seats beside the Slytherin prefect. Malfoy's usual bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle had to choose other seats further back as the seats behind their leader was occupied by Hermione, Dina, and Justin.

: Remus, I don't like that beetle, : Fenix complained suddenly and he gave a look of surprise when she slammed the window shut. : It's giving me the feeling as if it's spying and listening to us. The Sylphs finds it suspicious too. :

: Can it be? : Harry frowned and whispered something to Ron, who got up and went to the window that Fenix had closed forcefully.

"Yep, it's her all right," Ron answered as he peered through the glass, and turned to Hermione who shot a lofty look at him. She gave a huff as she stood up and marched towards Ron. She flung the window open and yelled on top of her lungs.

"You want me to stick you in a jar again?"

Fenix looked curiously at her and exchanged an amused and quizzical glance at the Defence teacher who just shrugged. The beetle that had been resting on a tree branch suddenly took flight, zooming away from the tree. She gave a thankful smile at Hermione and the students resumed their seats.

"Good morning," Professor Lupin began and was greeted excitedly by the class except for the usual three. "There's no need for me to reintroduce myself. And this is my assistant, Miss Fenix Maxwell." Fenix gave a nod and gave each of the students a penetrating glance. "I must say that some of you are greatly behind in this subject except for Miss Free and her partner and of course, those who had been in the Defence Association. The rest of you had just spent a hell lot of time wasted on theory work, last year." Remus gave a wink at Harry as he stood up from his sitting position. "As someone had mentioned to me, theoretical stuff's all well and good but hands-on is much better," he gave a sidelong glance at Fenix who just looked indifferently at him, before resuming her serious scan of the classroom.

Professor Lupin began to ask questions as he moved about the classroom and the students took notes on the spells that could be used for what purpose. They spent the entire hour on revision with Professor Lupin's assistant keeping very, very silent as she watched the students. Harry did not doubt that she was paying close attention to the words of Professor Lupin.

"Pay attention, Mr. Malfoy," Fenix commanded in a firm voice suddenly, making Harry's heart jump in his throat. "Your life may depend on what Professor Lupin teaches you. The Aurors are stretched to their limit that they could only afford to give one of them to the School." Malfoy stared at her in resentment and finally looked away from her cold, impassive eyes.

Professor Lupin cleared his throat to regain the students' attention. "Now that we're done with our revision, Miss Maxwell will take over from here as she is most suited to this particular task than I am."

Hermione straightened up in her seat as Fenix moved forward to the center of the room. "I will not mince words with you. You are all very intelligent-- one way or another-- and that you know we are not living in peaceful times..."

"Why should you care?" Malfoy grated and muttered off several insults under his breath. Fenix stared coldly at him. Lupin was strangely silent as he watched the two. The Fire Master moved closer to the Slytherin prefect. The boy looked at her fearlessly then gasped as his mind was filled with images that was best described as a warning to the boy. Just as suddenly, the images vanished.

"Get away from me..." Malfoy whispered, his eyes wide with terror as he realized that she was the one who had imported the visions.

Fenix gave him an exasperated sigh and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder to calm him. "I am sorry to do that to you, but I can't think properly when you're having those offensive thoughts about certain people," she gave Malfoy an unfriendly stare, "now, your mind's clear so keep it that way." The Fire Master moved back towards the center of the classroom.

"Voldemort might try to come at the School anytime now, for all we know." Fenix crossed her arms and looked out at the window. "Not trying to make you guys panic, but it's strangely quiet. And I don't like it one tiny bit."

The students exchanged worried looks because they knew she was right. The classroom fell silent and they jumped as one when Peeves appeared from the bottom of the floor. To the poltergeist's dismay, Fenix had just about enough of his sudden appearances and flung him straight away with a gesture of her hand. Peeves went soaring over the students' heads to collide with a pail of murky water, somewhere out the corridor.

"I will kill you! My precious clean floor!" they heard the caretaker's screams from the Defence classroom.

"So," Fenix continued, looking suggestively at Harry, "we will spend the first part of our lesson to apply some magical techniques that's not known in your current wizard world. We won't be using wands, just your minds." Hermione raised her hand tentatively. Fenix tilted her head in inquiry and the girl voiced her question.

"What exactly are we going to do?"

"Create a physical shield," Fenix answered easily. "Your next question might be: Can you do it? Yes, you could. This technique was lost sometime during the twelfth century of the wizarding world, but I don't really know the reason why."

Harry stared thoughtfully at the Fire Master and was the next to raise a question. "So we are going to create a physical shield to ward off magical attacks?" When Fenix nodded, he furrowed his eyebrows and thought again. "But wouldn't the spells just bounce off the shield? Just like that night? I don't think I want to bear the consequences of hitting something or someone accidentally," he gave a worried look at the Defence teachers as he spoke.

Fenix gave a smile of approval at Harry and Professor Lupin stepped in to answer. "We are going to teach you how to create a physical shield that absorbs the spells that had been flung at you. Of course, if it's a stone or any physical object it will simply be pulled down by gravity and not fly aimlessly about the area. This method's a purely defensive mechanism."

"Correct. Now, I would like the rest of you to settle down comfortably in your chairs. I'm going to link all your minds with mine and show you the way of shielding. And even if You-Know-Who happens to have news of this kind of shielding," a lot of the students were staring at Malfoy, and Seamus popped his knuckles significantly, "he wouldn't be able to duplicate it. Because he doesn't have what it takes to make it function."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"It's a little difficult to explain, but as far as it goes, Voldemort is dead," she frowned then sighed. "I don't really know how to explain it to you."

"Then I guess, it's better if we drop the subject," Remus said.

: Harry, link with me first. I don't want you to drop your mindshield without some backup protection. Remus? : Fenix whispered silently to the two and they merged first. The rest of the students did as they were instructed and the Fire Master gently reined their minds and interwove them with hers. It was a slow and tedious process at having to teach so many students at once. Professor Lupin 'watched' the entire session in a detached manner, giving careful pointers to Goyle, who kept faltering. Harry was the first to 'capture' her technique since it was similar to her mindshielding technique, and it seemed that Draco was at least as good as The Boy Who Lived.

It was half past ten when all the students have mastered the skill and she spoke up again. "Since all of you have Magick, you should be able to see the shield with your usual sense of eyesight. Though no shields will be of the same color. So don't worry if you happen to see that a mud color, or moldy green, or gold surrounds you. It purely reflects the personalities of the maker." Harry looked carefully ahead of him, aware that he was covered with a clear, but somehow bluish moving shield. When he looked at Ron, he was not able to see if a shield covered his friend or not.

"Look to your friends now," Fenix instructed. They looked at their friends and fellow students. "So... you could still see your shield. But could you see your friends'?" Heads were shaking all around. "This comes under the element of surprise. There is certainly no point advertising to your enemy that you're shielded. We have to use whatever means necessary to get us out of a tight spot, even if it means trickery."

Some of the students now were watching her with respect rather than curiosity or disdain. Hermione had a peculiar expression on her face as she thought about the Fire Master's words. Professor Lupin nodded satisfactorily at his students and swapped stands with Fenix. He spoke in a very soft but clear voice.

"Now, this shield of yours depends on the mind that is controlling it. It is totally up to you if you want to make it thicker-- if someone is flinging a Death curse that is what I would advise you to do. If you don't want the shield, just think hard that you don't need it anymore," Professor Lupin informed them and Hermione raised her hand again.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Does that mean we can't do any spells when we're protected by the shield?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Good question. Fenix?" Professor Lupin looked at his partner for an answer.

"No, you could still fling spells out. Its primary objective was to prevent anything coming to you. It would not interfere with your spellcasting," she replied with a faint smile.

"Somehow this reminded me during the time when you, Sirius and Professor Snape fought off M--" Harry quickly clasped Ron's mouth before the red-haired Weasley could finish his sentence. Fenix arched an eyebrow at the two boys, making them flush with embarrassment and nodded unmistakably. She conferred with her lover silently and Professor Lupin smiled brightly at them.

"I want you to go back to your dormitory and leave your books, then go on down to the Hall. We'll be meeting you there," Professor Lupin told them as he opened the door for Fenix. "And don't forget your wands!" he called out, leaving the door open.

"This is going to be great!" Hermione squealed happily as the students packed their notes and quills back in their bags. All of them got out of the classroom, Harry pausing just a moment to close the door behind Malfoy and hurried on to catch up with his friends as they headed up to the Gryffindor Tower.

"What color is your shield?" Parvati Patil asked Hermione in an odd voice and Hermione grinned widely at her.

"It's light cyan! Such a nice color!" Hermione turned her winsome smile at Ron who just stared at her dreamily. "What about you, Ron? And you, Harry?"

"Copper," Ron answered absently; his eyes still focused on Hermione's lovely smile. "You know... I am so glad Krum didn't get you, Hermione." The bushy-haired girl's face turned a lovely pink, tittered nervously, and turned to look at Harry.

"Cerulean, I think... it's light blue." They came up to the Fat Lady and Seamus whispered the password. The portrait swung open and the students hurriedly went up to their dormitory to keep their bags. They rushed down again, Harry paused for a moment to check for his wand before bounding into the common room and went off again. The Fat Lady was muttering off some complaints but was largely ignored by the students.

They reached the ground floor at exactly the same moment that Malfoy and his gang arrived. He was looking very sullen, and Hermione struggled not to smile as the Gryffindors watched Malfoy being herded by Dina Free and the Bloody Baron. Harry glanced at the doors of the Hall and saw a large notice was attached on one side of the door. That's Fenix's style... Huge Italics were scribbled onto a parchment: HALL IS IN USE FOR DEFENCE LESSON UNTIL LUNCHTIME! PLEASE KEEP OUT & THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION!

Harry pushed the door slowly and confidently strode forward when he saw the Defence teachers waiting for them. The door closed by itself and they heard it locked. The Hall was empty of tables or any kind of furniture.

"What are we going to do now?" Ron asked curiously.

"Practical lesson of course, but do take off your shields for the moment," Professor Lupin answered as the students gathered round. He gave a puzzled look at the Bloody Baron who was standing off at one corner, curiously imitating the way Fenix had been watching the students in class.

"Choose your partners!" Fenix's voice rang out and the students quickly paired off except for one. Fenix trailed her finger lazily across her right palm and sighed. "Oh well... Mr. Malfoy, you will pair up with me." Fenix walked over to Malfoy, who was secretly grinning inside because he was much, much taller than she was.

"All right! Spread out people! And don't worry about missing your aim! Miss Maxwell had created a fairly sturdy shield that shouldn't cause any accidents on the windows!" Professor Lupin shouted. He waited for several moments and spoke up again when Fenix gave him a silent confirmation. "Miss Maxwell has created shields separating each pair! So don't hold back! Now, first spell that would be extremely useful! Disarming Charm!"

Fenix conjured a respectable-looking wand and Remus gave her a curious glance. She smiled mysteriously at him briefly before turning her attention to Malfoy. "This is what you will do, Mr. Malfoy. You will try to disarm me...but at the same time, you will have to dodge these fireballs. Is that clear?" Two brightly burning orange fireballs hovered over her shoulders and Malfoy gulped. "Don't let yourself get distracted by the other students."

Professor Lupin took out his pocket watch and called out. "You will practise the Disarming Charm for fifteen minutes! And when I give the whistle, you will practise your Stunning! So other than practicing these spells, you would also do some physical exercise! Don't get hit by a Stunning Charm! There's no cushions to break your fall!" he gave a last minute warning before shouting, "Begin!"

*********

Exactly thirty minutes later...

Except for Professor Lupin, the students and at least one teacher was drenched in sticky sweat-- and several bruises. Malfoy was secretly relieved that Fenix had played fair enough by not shielding herself. She had done a lot of physical exercise by having to dodge Malfoy's Stunning Charms and was hit twice but recovered quickly enough. To his horror and surprise, the fireballs did not burn when he was not quick enough to evade them; rather they had bruised his arms just as badly at falling on the floor.

"Well, that's it for today!" Professor Lupin said cheerfully as Fenix tiredly took down all the shields and did some stretches before she mildly hinted that they might offend someone during lunch if they did not go and wash up. She watched the students dragged their feet tiredly and heard the door unlocking itself before they slowly walked out of the Hall.

: Fancy stuff, : Remus said slyly.

: Damnation! I don't think I could walk up the stairs! : Fenix groaned as she did a little jog to loosen up her muscles.

"Well, you did volunteered..." Remus said mischievously and she shot him a disgruntled look as she walked out, also intending to get a bath.

: Maybe you'll be lucky that our next class in the afternoon will have even numbers of students! : Remus tried to coax her. She just gave a snort and he continued, watching her stare at the notice as the parchment disappeared. : But I have to say that your method with Malfoy was not a bad thing, : he informed her as he watched her hips gently sway as they walked up the stairs. Get a grip, werewolf! He thought to himself but could not help smiling.

: That's what I did with Harry back at The Burrow, : Fenix replied and gave a sigh as they reached the landing that would lead to her office. Fenix and the werewolf had forgotten about the Bloody Baron. He glided upwards, his face bearing an almost gentle smile and disappeared.

**********

Lunch at the Hall...

"Was it bad?" Ginny asked her brother as she noticed a red bump on his temple.

Ron shook his head as he hungrily chewed his pizza. All around them were murmurs of conversations, as the students talked about their experiences in class, the people that had caught their eye and other things.

"I loved the look on Malfoy's face when that fireball hit him dead center in his chest," Harry said casually, but he was grinning widely at Neville who nodded furiously. "Fenix did trained me that way once. Of course, her fireballs weren't really burning," he added hastily at Hermione's shocked expression.

"Hello Harry," Luna suddenly appeared and sat herself beside a puzzled Neville.

"Er... hi..." Harry replied back. "How's summer?"

"All right... glad that your godfather made it," Luna said rather abruptly.

"Yeah..." he answered uncertainly and gave Hermione a glance, but she shrugged.

"But it looks as if her fireballs did something, right?" Seamus said and nudged Harry, pointing his chin at the table where Malfoy was seated. Harry focused his eyes at a simpering Parkinson who was making sympathetic noises as she examined Malfoy's bruised arms.

Hermione gave a derisive snort and turned her attention to her meal as she muttered, "Disgusting..." and made vomiting noises. Someone, probably Parkinson, Crabbe, or Goyle had fetched Professor Snape.

"What is the fuss about, Mr. Malfoy?" Snape asked dispassionately.

"Look at what the Defence teachers did to his arms, Professor!" Parkinson exclaimed, whimpering a little. Snape frowned and inspected Malfoy's arms as if concerned.

"What were you doing?" Snape asked as he straightened his back, hiding his genuine concern perfectly and Malfoy then told Snape about the practice with fireballs.

"Is this true, Miss Granger?" Snape called out, not turning to look at the Gryffindor table. Hermione said an affirmative with confidence and they all stared at the Slytherins in trepidation and anxiousness.

"Well...well...well. It seems that the Defence teachers are up to their standard," Snape drawled and Malfoy's group stared at their favorite teacher with astonishment. "I don't see anything wrong, Mr. Malfoy. She is doing her job that has been given to her. Now, unless it is a total emergency, please do not interrupt me further from my work, Miss Parkinson." Snape drew his robes about him and walked gracefully out of the Hall.

"Gods, how disgusting!" Ginny made a face and turned to look at Malfoy with absolute loathing. "He's such a baby!"

"Poor charming, darling, little white ferret," Luna Lovegood spoke out rather loudly. "He is so feeling very mistreated this morning... but I'm sure that some girl's going to cheer him up!"

"Provided that she doesn't try to smother him with her endless chatter and mothering," Hermione mumbled and their table broke up into laughter.

**********

Getting to Potions...

It was time for the sixth-years to head out of the greenhouse. Professor Sprout had engaged them in major gardening work, and as they worked, she had briefed them on the plants and vines they would be taking care all the way throughout their sixth year. The students found that they had to practice their utmost caution as they harvested the berries of the Magnolia Projectivilien. The vine did not like that the students were denuding it of its colorful berries and had a tendency to loose microscopic needles out into the air. That was capable of causing severe irritation if inhaled, or inflammation if it impacted on exposed skin.

"So, to avoid getting damaged, I want each group to appoint one student who will be responsible in applying some pressure around the central system. Wear gloves and safety goggles, mind you!" she had said. Harry's group looked at the vine uneasily. Its central part consisted of several evil-looking sharp needles where a sticky green liquid oozed out slowly. Their gloves needed to be changed very often, as Harry had noticed that the green liquid was strangely beginning to eat the fabric of the gloves.

The sixth-years, all hot and sweaty, were quickly making their way towards the castle. Ron was suppressing himself not to scratch at his face. Professor Sprout had assured him that the microscopic needles would dissolve gradually and had just given him a lotion to apply on his face.

"Do you think we'll have time to wash up?" Ron groaned, trying not to think about his itching face as they began to jog towards the castle.

"It's only two-fifteen. How much time do you reckon we need to shower?" Hermione panted. "I am glad that Professor Sprout let us off early! It's practical for Potions today and I don't think even I can concentrate, being as sweaty and huffy as I am now!"

"I think you're exaggerating, Hermione," Dean spoke up. "God! Finally!" the Gryffindors was relieved when they reached the great doors of the castle. Neville caught up with them with great difficulty, panting heavily.

"I think I've had enough of physical exercise," the boy groaned and looked ruefully at the staircases. Hermione pulled the tired boy along and proceeded into the Gryffindor Tower. The students impatiently waited at the portrait, as they need several moments to wake the dozing Fat Lady.

"Bloody portrait! Wake up!" Ron yelled and the Fat Lady jerked her head up in surprise.

"It's you people again! Password?" the Fat Lady grumbled and Ron told her the password. They all scrambled in, dropping their bags all over the common room as they dashed upstairs to wash themselves for the second time since their lessons began. Hermione was the first to descend into the common room. She looked around for her bag, lifted it and tapped her foot impatiently for her friends. She looked down at her pocket watch and it showed sixteen minutes to three. Hurry up!

Harry's hair was still dripping wet when he came down, followed by Ron and the rest of their classmates. Hermione handed Ron's bag and turned to look at Harry curiously when he gasped. The boy had blanched when he felt something hot over his head and instantly the heat was gone.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Ron demanded, as Harry's hair dried up and was combed down neatly.

"It probably was Fenix's helpers," Hermione shrugged, unconcerned and ushered them quickly out of the their common room. They had at least ten minutes to make their way down to the dungeons without having to fear at being late. They walked at a fast pace, but not fast enough to make them pant with exertion again.

While they were on their way down to the dungeons, they bumped into Sirius who was taking the twelve first-years to the Transfiguration classroom. Harry and his godfather exchanged winks before he disappeared down the narrow staircase leading to the dungeons. Their footsteps echoed eerily along the passage and passed Snape's office to go directly into their Potions classroom. Snape was nowhere to be seen. Malfoy was standing at a corner of the room, looking at the Gryffindors with undisguised hatred.

Harry looked around for his bodyguards but they were not in the classroom except for Dina and her partner. Harry gave a sudden frown at Malfoy. There's no need to get violent... Guess his followers couldn't make it for Advanced Potions. Dare I hope? Harry mused and sat at his usual place, giving an inquiring glance at Ron whom snorted.

"Settle down, people!" Snape's silky voice emerged from the entrance of the dungeon, the door automatically closing as he swept into the classroom. The Potions Master took a moment to absently tuck his long hair back and looked around the silent classroom lazily. "I am very amazed that you got through your OWLs, Longbottom. However, I am not so sure of my decision of letting you come back to my class. So... I have weeded out the hopeless incompetents of this subject. Though I must say that the number of my own students who got through this subject with spectacular results were nonetheless...disappointing," he eyed Malfoy impassively as he sat carefully on his desk. The silence that had filled the classroom somehow felt oppressive and Harry fiddled with his quill uneasily.

"We shall begin our lesson now... get ready to take down some notes," Snape hinted and he gave a flick of his wand at the blackboard. "You will all be learning to make Vigilencia." Hermione stared at the Potions Master with sick recognition and Snape gave her a very faint smile that seemed almost sympathetic. "Making this potion is an extremely tedious process-- you could gauge how resigned Miss Granger looked. But first," Snape stood up and sat behind his desk, clasping his arms together and leaned forward, "I want someone to tell me what the consumers expect from this concoction." He looked about for volunteers, ignoring Hermione who had raised her hand inevitably.

It was a shock to almost everyone when Harry actually raised his hand. Phrases almost seemed to leap in his Harry's mind as he remembered the spidery writing of the Potions book. "Yes, Potter?" Snape leaned back, arching his right eyebrow.

Harry spoke softly but his voice was clear enough to be heard in the dungeon. "Vigilencia is a stimulant for both physicality and mentality. So one of its major functions when consumed is to enable the consumer to..." he faltered and narrowed his eyes a little as he struggled to phrase his sentence. "It enables the consumer to remain alert for prolonged periods."

"Hmmmm..." was all Snape answered and he stared intensely at Harry. "And...what other...benefits does this potion have, Potter?"

Malfoy found the behavior of his favorite teacher slightly alarming. He was thinking about voicing out his observation when his adversary spoke up again, to answer the Potions Master's question.

"It also helps to improve short and long term memory, and is able to provide the consumer with extra energy and quickens reflexes of the consumer," Harry's voice trailed off. The boy went back to fiddling with his quill as he stared blankly over Snape's head.

: Truly amazing. I did not expect you to remember that passage clearly, : Snape's scratchy mindvoice-- that was tinged with sarcasm-- spoke deeply into Harry's mind. Harry stared at the Potions Master.

: Am I being praised? : the boy answered back just as sardonically. He heard a derisive snort echoed in his mind as Snape withdrew his link from Harry.

"Shocking... Those are the unique properties of Vigilencia. Other than what Potter had mentioned, when used in tincture form, it acts as a sedative. There are other properties and functions-- you will do a research on what some of the compounds," Snape jerked his head at the blackboard, "as your homework, and to be submitted next Monday." The Potions Master stood up and walked about the classroom slowly as he continued his briefing.

"The potion making is divided into three parts, meaning that this potion-making session would at least expand over the next two weeks or so..." Snape quickly snatched the paper rose from Justin that he had tried to pass to his girlfriend. He did not do anything to it. He just kept walking about the classroom, occasionally peering down over their notes, finally stopping beside Neville. "You missed the primary feather of the golden hawk, Longbottom."

"I will not tolerate any sloppy work--or note-taking for that matter... This batch of Vigilencia you will be making will find its way down to the drug market, and to the School, mind you. I do not really have to explain why," Snape gave a penetrating look at his students. "Assuming all of you are not as ignorant as you look," he said as an afterthought. He walked about the room for several minutes more until the students had finished copying the materials and methods that had been written at the blackboard. He walked back to Justin Linklater and handed back the paper rose with a suggestive look. "You will begin with the first part now. Individual work," Snape said firmly, giving a sidelong look at Hermione and Neville as he opened the store cupboard.

Snape went back to his desk and resumed his research on the antiseptic potion. He patiently stayed out of the students' hair for about fifteen minutes before he stood up and began his inspection. Malfoy as always, passed Snape's inspection without any comments. Smoke rose in great billows from Ron's cauldron and the Weasley stared at it in resignation, waiting for Snape to give his usual repelling comments.

"Too much liquid and too hot, Weasley. Evanesco. Redo," Snape said briskly and continued to make his rounds. Harry held his breath when Snape paused over his cauldron and the Potions Master sniffed experimentally at the smoke.

: Good enough. Follow the next instruction carefully, Potter. You do not want to blow up the entire dungeon, : Snape said softly as he went over to inspect Neville's cauldron. Harry took the moment to whisper that information to Ron, who then whispered to Hermione. She just gave him a patronizing look before whispering the same thing to Seamus and Dean.

After one hour of stirring the cauldron, Harry's hand was shaking a little as he carefully measured the exact amount of Yellow Vetch. He passed the bottle to Ron and slowly, while stirring the contents of the cauldron in one hand, poured the liquid gently into the cauldron. A strange sweet smell wafted up from his cauldron, and Snape immediately went over to check. Then he instructed Harry to transfer some of the liquid into a clear flask while he went in search for something in the storage cupboard.

Harry looked around although he ignored Malfoy's malignant stare. He was a bit surprised when he realized that he was the first to finish. Don't tell me that I've made a mistake somewhere... However, his thought evaporated when Snape returned, holding a jar with slimy, silver contents. The Potions Master uncapped the bottle and placed a drop of the silver-like substance into Harry's concoction. He instructed Harry to mix the contents and the boy did as instructed, mixing it three times clockwise, then three times anti-clockwise. The milky concoction was slowly turning into a clear solution and he looked to the Potions Master for an explanation. Snape nodded, his approval barely showing. He ordered Harry to keep the remaining concoction in the silver flask that had suddenly appeared on Harry's desk. Harry studied the flask carefully and noted that his initials were engraved in the body and the cap of the flask. Fastidiously, Harry transferred most of the solution into the flask, taking care not to spill any onto his exposed hand. Who knows if any of the compounds can cause any kind of allergy?

As Harry was doing all of this, the others were slowly finishing, their cauldrons giving the same kind of sweet smell after the addition of the Yellow Vetch. Snape cleared his throat, then gave them instructions to place a small fraction of their potion into a clear flask and repeated the small procedure to their samples.

"Impossible," Malfoy muttered to himself, staring at Harry who placed the flask on an unoccupied space on Snape's desk.

"Did you say something, Draco?" Snape asked absently, gazing intently on Neville's flask as the boy swirled the mixture anxiously. The Potions Master seemed unaware that he had called the Slytherin casually by his name.

"Nothing, Professor," Malfoy mumbled.

Harry breathed a smile of relief and grinned when Ron gave a look, 'Bloody hell! I don't believe it!' and Harry answered with a cheerful look, 'I don't believe it either!'. Neville gave an explosive sigh when Snape gave a nod and he turned to fill his potion into the silver flask that had been provided. Harry meanwhile cleaned his cauldron with a flick of his wand and waited for Snape to dismiss the class.

"Now, homework. I want you to write down the properties and functions of the Yellow Vetch and the most important ingredient, the berries of Magnolia Projectivilien. It has to be at least fourteen inches and handed in by Monday. Class dismissed."

Dina gave a wave and the Gryffindors waved cheerfully as they separated, the Slytherins going to their own common room as the Gryffindors took the staircase up. The Entrance Hall was beginning to get crowded with students that had finished their classes early and some were groaning in disappointment when they found the Great Hall locked. Harry gave an inward smile when he caught sight of Fenix's large notice. Neville was feeling a little bewildered after the Potions class and hung back to speak to Harry.

"What happened to Snape?" Neville asked curiously, his voice thick with astonishment. "What did Fenix do to him?"

Harry clasped his friend's shoulder in assurance. "We don't really know. But Snape's a tolerant enough fellow ever since he mixed around with our group. Maybe he's influenced by her."

Neville blinked his eyes, the bewilderment still strong inside him. "It's the very first time that I've made a potion right, right from the beginning!" Harry gave a hearty laugh at Neville's feeling of accomplishment, his heart feeling lighter than days past.

"And Malfoy is certainly smelling something fishy," Ron added, giving a mischievous smile. "I wonder how Sirius is getting used to his responsibilities," he wondered suddenly.

"We'll ask him during supper, if he's joining us. I think Alicia wants to see us right now. Quidditch practice, no doubt," Harry said, scratching the scar on his arm lightly. Ron gave a nod and the Fat Lady gave a sigh of resentment, asking Ron for the password with a very bored voice.