Harry's Downfall

Chapter 2 ~ First Potions Class

Neville Longbottom was having a good day, up until the Gryffindors had double Potions with Snape. In Herbology, he had been the first to finish planting the seeds that Professor Sprout had given to all of the class. Because he was the first one done, he had earned his house ten points from the Professor. Divination had been just a load of ‘Harry’s going to die!’ or ‘I see the Grim, Harry!’, and Neville had not broken another thing, like he usually did.

When the Gryffindors arrived in the dungeon, Snape automatically glared at them as they took their seats. The bell rung, and Snape stood up to address the class when the doors to the dungeon flew open and a breathless Neville ran in.

"S…sorry, Pr…Professor," Neville stuttered.

"Silence Longbottom!" Professor Snape growled. "Ten points from Gryffindor for your tardiness!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione scowled at Snape while Neville took his seat next to Hermione.

"We have a new student joining us. Her name is Terra Delain, and from what I’ve heard, she’s got perfect marks in Potions at Durmstrang. Let us hope that she is not an insufferable know-it-all." Snape said looking at Hermione.

Ron’s ears went pink with anger as Hermione glanced at him with a calming look. Knowing that he’d probably get detention, he turned with the rest of the class to look at the new student, who was sitting across from Malfoy. Most of the students stared at her, and she in turn stared right back at each one of them. Nobody was paying attention to Snape.

"…now that I’ve gone over what to do with the ingredients. What is special about the procedure?" Snape’s beady eyes flicked around the room as Hermione waved her hand in the air. "Let’s see if our new student is as adept in Potions as we all believe her to be. Miss Delain, what is special about the procedure for this specific potion?"

The chocolatey eyes glanced lazily up at the Professor. Her mouth barely moved as she spoke with a soft voice, "You have to watch when you heat it. As soon as the potion begins to boil, you have to pull it off the fire and add the next ingredient at the same time."

"Very good. Ten points to Slytherin." Snape smirked as he looked at Harry, Ron and Hermione, as if to make them disagree with him.

Malfoy sniggered, but stopped abruptly when Terra looked at him, her brown eyes changing to green. He stared back, icy gray eyes glaring into cold green ones. They stopped looking at each other when Snape told them all to get partners and start making the potion. As it happened, the class had been evenly paired off before Terra came, so she was the odd one out.

She moved up to the Professor. "Professor?"

The sneering man turned towards her. "Yes, Miss Delain?"

"It seems that I’m left without a partner. Would it be alright if I worked on my own?"

His eyes narrowed. "I suppose this once. If you mess up, you’ll have to join another group to make three."

She grinned smugly at her teacher. "Don’t worry, Professor. I’ll have the best potion." She turned back to her cauldron and got to work. In ten minutes she had already caught up to most of the class and started mixing her ingredients to form a thick, green substance, which she placed on her fire. With ingredients in one hand and her other on the handle of her cauldron, she watched her potion with unblinking eyes. As soon as Terra saw the potion bubbling, her one hand took it off the fire while the other threw in the last of the ingredients and she stirred it madly. As she mixed the potion, it’s color changed from the bright green, to a dark, emerald green. She set the cauldron down on the table and walked over to Snape, tapping him on the shoulder.

Thinking it was another student asking him what to do next, he turned around and snapped, "What?"

That did not phase Terra as she just looked at him. "My potion’s done, Professor."

Snape walked over his desk and pulled out a large cage which had several, large, hairy tarantulas. Ron’s eyes widened as he pulled one out of the cage and walked over to Terra’s potion. Taking a few drops from her cauldron, he dripped the potion onto the tarantula. It was a comical sight to behold as it lost all form of hair on it.

"Ten points to Slytherin for a perfect potion." He dropped the tarantula back into the cage, still hairless, and turned back to the class. Neville’s potion had been boiling during Snape’s test of the potion, and the substance in his cauldron had turned a whitish color. Hermione quickly grabbed one of her ingredients and threw it in the cauldron praying that Snape had not noticed as she stirred it to the emerald color that it was supposed to be.

Unfortunately for her, his quick eyes had noticed the movement. "Miss Granger I have put up with this for the past four years, and I refuse to stand for it anymore. Neville Longbottom can make his own mistakes without you helping him set it right. He must suffer for his own mistakes, MissGranger. Therefore, both of you shall serve in detention tonight."

The Slytherins laughed as Hermione looked as though she would cry, and Neville turned white.

When the bell rang, Snape called back Hermione and Neville to tell them what they would do in their detention.

With classes over for the day, the Slytherins headed back to their common room. Behind Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, Terra was the last person to enter. Malfoy stuck out his well-toned arm to prevent her from leaving the short hall that let into the room.

"It’s about time that somebody from Slytherin can give that Mudblood a run for her money," he spoke finally.

She did not respond, but instead tried to pass him.

"Ahh… so you’re the silent type outside of class?" He looked into her eyes, which were back to being a deep, chocolate color.

"I’m not the silent type," she spat. "I only choose who I want to speak to." Her eyes flashed green and she tried to pass again, but Malfoy would not give up.

Before he could speak again, she had placed her hands on his arm and shoved forward, gaining access to the common room.

"Damn!" he cried. "How the hell did you use those ice picks during Potions? Your hands are so cold that you shouldn’t be able to use them."

She did not even turn to face the gray-eyed boy. "My hands are always cold." She made her way past all the gaping girls who could not believe that she just walked away from Draco Malfoy, the one guy they all wanted to be with. As she entered her room, she bent over to pick up Midnight and hold her in her arms. When she set that cat down on the bed, she threw a little treat to Loki who had been hooting happily when she saw Terra.

Wanting to get her homework done and over with, Terra cast an enchantment, locking the door.

However, as soon as she sat down on the bed, someone pulled on the handle to the door, then cried out "Alohomora!". Pansy Parkinson stuck her head in the door, which was flushed with anger. She pointed a finger at Terra, "Stay away from Draco. He’s mine. If you don’t, I’ll hex you so bad you won’t even be able to look in the mirror you’ll be so ashamed."

Terra pointed her wand at an owl treat sitting on her trunk. "Waddiwasi!" The owl treat flew off of the trunk and hit Pansy right in the eye, who left, now flushing with embarrassment.

Her eyes turned a deep, emerald green as she smirked. "That’ll teach her to come around and threaten me."

Pansy came out of the staircase holding her eye like she was going to cry.

Malfoy sneered at her. "What happened to you?"

She jumped, as if afraid to answer him.

Millicent Bulstrode walked out of the staircase behind her. "I saw what happened."

Pansy turned to her in surprise and mouthed the word ‘no’ as Malfoy replied, "Yeah, what?"

She smiled maliciously. "She was threatening that new girl, y’know, Terra. She wanted her to stay away from you, Draco."

The icy gray eyes twinkled merrily as he smirked at the now bright red Pansy. "Is that so?"

"Oh that’s not all of it. After Pansy was done threatening, Terra sent one of those hard owl treats flying right into her eye. And that is why she’s holding her eye."

Pansy let out a stifled sob and ran down the steps towards her room. Terra was leaning against her doorframe grinning smugly as the sobbing girl passed. Pansy stopped crying long enough to swing a punch right at Terra’s head. In a blurry movement, the green-eyed witch caught the punch with her left hand and stood there with a crushing grip on Pansy’s hand. Her ugly face contorting with pain, Pansy desperately tried to wrench out of Terra’s grasp, but to no avail, the girl held on. Deciding that she had learned her lesson, Terra threw her fist downward, releasing Pansy’s hand. In her right hand appeared her wand. She muttered a few words and a blue flame shot out of her wand, landing on the hem of Pansy’s robe. Pansy shrieked and ran back towards her room to put out the blue fire.

Satisfied, Terra turned and went back to her homework, not noticing that Draco Malfoy had been watching.

Maybe Pansy will have learned her lesson and maybe, just maybe, the bitch’ll leave me alone! he thought as he headed to his own room.