Trouble with the Scarlet Solution

Trouble with the Scarlet Solution

Act I

Love Potions are banned in Hogwarts. In fact, they are banned througout the Wizarding world in general - hence, of course, Lockhart's remark in his Valentine's Day speech was only one of his bad jokes.

Intending to affect a persons mind in the most crucial way, the Love Potions are classified as Dark Arts in its nastiest form. You can still buy them, if you know where to go and who to ask, from certain notorious shops at Knockturn Alley. You can also brew them, if you are foolish enough to really consider using them.

In Hogwarts, like in all the other Wizarding schools of the world, the staff must confront the trouble with the Love Potions frequently. In a castle packed with teenagers it only seems to be inevitable.

***

"Snape, a word with you," said Professor McGonagall rushing into the staff room, carrying a heavy book and looking anxious. She thrust a few parchments aside on the table and slammed the book on it.
"Are you familiar with Scarlet Solution? You should," she said, brousing the book hurriedly. "Ah, here it is..."

Snape rose from his chair and came by the table. He took a glance at the book, then took a deep breath and let out a frustrated snort. Apparently he was familiar with Scarlet Solution.
"Who is it this time?" he asked.
"Malfoy and Parkinson. I really have a busy week, and for the fact that both the culprit and the victim are in your House, I presume I can leave this to your discretion."

"Malfoy and Parkinson... What seems to be the exact problem, then?"
"What seems to be... Well, Snape, it seems that Mr. Malfoy has taken a fatal portion of a very powerful Love Potion. Miss Parkinson, supposedly displeased with her classmate's behavior, has somehow got some Scarlet Solution into her possession. Don't ask me how. She's been trying to use it on Mr. Malfoy. The result, however, was not quite the one she intended... Even though I'm no expert, I can tell, that when a sixteen-year-old wizard keeps sending me letters like this, there is something out of place. I ignored the first one, of course, assuming it was a prank. This morning I got another. Here, take a look."

Snape took the letter, and as he read on, his expression grew peculiar. He looked revolted, yet amused, and was clearly determined not to smile.
"As you can see," said McGonagall firmly, "someone has to intervene. Miss Parkinson has confessed, and I must say she already deeply regrets her deed. I also took the liberty to confiscate the potion. I believe you can sort this out with... Well, tactfully." She raised her eyebrows meaningfully.
"Certainly."
"Good. I'll be in the Transfiguration classroom if you need me," she said. With that she went, leaving Snape with a Potions book he already had in his study, and a love letter addressed to professor McGonagall, written by Draco Malfoy.

***

There was a soft knock on the Potions classroom door.
Pansy Parkinson, followed by Draco Malfoy, stepped in.
"You wanted to see us, sir."
"Sit down," said Snape curtly. He unfolded the letter and began to read it aloud. Poor Pansy Parkinson looked more miserable with every word, and Malfoy was listening with an odd gleam in his eyes. He didn't look quite sane.

"'...still, despite this pain, this soul-ripping agony, I'll be desperately looking forward to the moment I shall see you again. Eternally and faithfully Yours, ... Draco Malfoy'," Snape finished reading. He glared at Miss Parkinson, who was looking tearful.
"Explain yourself," he said.
There was an awkward silence. The girl didn't seem to know what to do. She was staring up to the teacher wordlessly, visibly shaking. Not so much out of fear, but of humiliation. Snape sighed.
"Very well. Detention, Miss Parkinson, and I will also write to your parents. I hope you have learned your lesson. Before you go, I must know exactly how much you used."
"Two... two drops, sir," said Pansy.
"Two... Merlin! That's enough for a legion," muttered Snape, observing Malfoy with growing concern. He gestured the girl to leave the classroom.
She sneaked out as fast as she could.

But that was only the easier part, dealing with the culprit. Anyone with sufficient knowlidge on Potions knew, that in the worst case the effects of Scarlet Solution could last for three weeks.
"Now, Draco," Snape began, fingering the letter in his hands, "I must only hope you realize your state. You are under the influence of a love potion. And regarding the phrases you have chosen to express your... feelings for Professor McGonagall, I am afraid you will be suffering the condition for a while. Try and answer my questions truthfully. How are you feeling now? Be accurate."
Malfoy stared at him blankly. Then he pulled a face, and shivered. He became even paler than usual.

"I... I think I feel sick..."
At this point, Snape suppressed a sneer.
"That is quite normal. You are starting to fight back. Unfortunately, I can do nothing else than suggest you stay in your dormitory for a few days, and give you this."
He handed Malfoy a tiny bottle containing some bright yellow liquid.
"That is a simple Calming Potion, generally used to cure sea-sickness and stage fright. Take a spoonful three times a day."
"Thank you, sir. Is there - there isn't an antidote?"
"No, I'm afraid not... Pity. You may go."
Malfoy took the bottle and turned to go.
"Oh, and your letter," added Snape.
Malfoy let out a moan, grabbed the letter from Snape's hand and left the room, his face now a delicate shade of green.

***

As soon as Snape was absorbed in his daily work again, there was another knock on the door. Professor McGonagall came in, this time looking really worried.
"We are in trouble," she said breathlessly. "It's gone."
"What is?"
"The Scarlet Solution. I was careless enough to leave it in my classroom while I came to find you. It wasn't there, when I went back. Someone has taken it. And this time we don't have the slightest idea who! It could be anyone. Oh, for Merlins sake, what a mess! Are you entirely sure there is not an antidote?"
Snape frowned.
"Yes, I am sure. Have you told the Headmaster?"
"Of course. I went straight to him when I noticed the potion was missing. He didn't seem too worried, though. Hmph! When I think of a whole bottle of that stuff lost in this castle..."
"I see," said Snape. "What do you suggest we do, then?"
McGonagall shot him an angry look.
"I really don't know," she said impatiently. "But we have to get it back, before it's too late."

Act II

"Wow! Where did you get that?"
"It was on my desk at the Transfiguration classroom. You know, the one I usually take. The nearest to McGonagall's desk. What do you think it is?" 'Scarlet Solution' stands out on the label.
"Sounds like a love potion to me. Anyway, I think you should take it back to McGonagall. I bet it was there by accident. Or... No, wait... Wait a minute, i'll look it up."
Harry pulled out his Potions book and checked the index page.
"It's not mentioned here. Better go to the library."

"Hey, psst! I found it. Harry, take a look at this! It's one of the most powerful love potions there is. It was surely there by accident. But... What would McGonagall be doing with it?"
"Dunno. Let's take it back. But first..." He read quickly the instructions concerning the potion. Then he took the bottle from Ron, dropped a small amount of the liquid on a small piece of parchment, which he slipped into his pocket.
"Now, let's just make sure noone knows who took it."

They sneaked into the Transfiguration classroom, and Ron placed the bottle right back where it had been. Up in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, they put the piece of parchment in an empty Butter Beer bottle, and refilled the bottle with lemonade.
"Well, any suggestions?" said Harry, looking at Ron with a mischevious smile.
"Er... No. It could be nice to have Malfoy in love with Filch, though, or -"
"Or Snape in love with... Let's see..."
"Trelawney?"
"Eurgh!"
"That would be a tricky one. How does it work, anyway? They don't see each other very much, do they? I suppose it has something to do with seeing the first person after waking up, or something."
"Yeah, only this stuff is more efficient. They fall in love with the first person they see when they open their eyes right after drinking it. All they have to do is to blink once, and that's it. Fast, but very risky."

***

At breakfast next morning in the Great Hall, both McGonagall and Snape were keeping an eye on the students more keenly than usual.
"All right, the bottle was returned! I still can't be quite satisfied. Only a drop will be enough to cause some serious damage..."
"Calm down, Minerva," said Dumbledore casually. "It will last for a week or two, and if there is anything to worry about, it is that we supposedly will be missing all the fun."
"The fun! Really, Albus, only the fact that using that potion is strictly illegal -"
"I don't think you would approve of it more if it were only 'slightly legal', would you?

***

Unexpectedly, the boys had their chance quite soon. It was a bright afternoon, and the greenhouses were bathing in the September sun.
"Look!"
"Excellent. Fetch the bottle, quick! I'll get Dobby. Meet you by the kitchens."
Harry and Ron had been crossing the yard, when they spotted Snape going into the greenhouse five; the one with the herbs used as potion ingredients. As for the real surprise, they saw Professor Trelawney through the glass walls. She was collecting some branches from a big elder bush in the very same greenhouse.

***

"Dobby, I need your help. Can you get some of your friends to take something - some drinks - to greenhouse five? Some of the other Hogwarts elves. Put it in two regular Hogwarts goblets first. Can you do this for me?"
"Of course, Harry Potter, sir," said Dobby, beaming at him. Ron showed up with the bottle, panting.
"Here... Do you think they're still there?"
"We'll see. And Dobby, make sure nobody else drinks it! It's for greenhouse five."
"Sure, for the greenhouse five, sir!

***

The boys settled down under a rose bush at a nearby balcony, where they had a clear view to the greenhouse through the roof windows. Shortly, there was a glimpse of a small house-elf, and two harmless-looking cold drinks had emerged on a round garden table near the greenhouse entrance.

Snape spotted them first, and he was just drinking one, when Trelawney came from behind the elder bush, and took the other. She drank it, too.
"Brilliant! Both of them!" said Ron enthusiastically.
It looked like Trelawney was saying something, when Snape went rigid, glanced suspiciously into his goblet and swept off as quickly as he could, his robes billowing.

"Ha! Well, I suppose he recognized the effect... Still, I can't believe this! Both of them! I don't see why they should have anything to complain about, they can have the time of their lives, now."
"Ron, let's go. It's Mrs Norris, look."
The boys made their way back to the Gryffindor Tower, looking forward to see what was coming.

Act III

"This is intolerable!"
"I can believe that, Severus," said Dumledore with a twinkle in his eyes.
Fuming, Snape turned on his heels and left him and Professor McGonagall to ponder over the situation.
"Well, Albus, it seems we didn't miss 'all the fun' after all," said McGonagall disapprovingly, while she, too, looked as though she was actually enjoying the whole thing.
"I'd better get upstairs to see that Sybill is all right," she said.

Sybill was definetely not all right. She had been crying all afternoon, and was now lying on a sofa, sobbing heartbreakingly into a hankerchief.
"He... He did't even look at me!"
"Now, now, dear Sybill. He did look at you, and that's the problem, actually. You both are being silly. You only drank some love potion, that's all. Surely you did figure that out."
"W-What? I was fetching some eldertree branches, for my potpourri, you see... I must always have some up here. And then, when I went to see him, to the dungeon -"
"You went to see him in the dungeon?"
"Yes! I NEVER go to the dungeons, I hate the whole place, for they're so bleak, but this time I went there... Oh, Minerva, how awful this is!"
"What did he say?"
"Nothing. He didn't even look at me. He just slammed the door in my face."
She went to the sobbing again.
"Well, Sybill, I must say that I'm glad he did. At least someone is able to handle the effect reasonably. Stay here, and contact me when you feel a bit better."

***

Next morning, the sixth year Gryffindors and Slytherins were gathering outside the Potions classroom, when Professor Sprout came down to the dungeon and opened the classroom door.
"In you get," she said, as the students were glancing around along the corridor uneasily. It was most unusual to have someone else take over the Potions master's lessons.
"Where is Professor Snape?" asked someone, and everybody was as eager to hear the answer.
"Ill," said Professor Sprout curtly, and a stir ran through the class.
"What does she mean ill? I never imagined he could get ill..."
Harry and Ron, though, were clutching their sides behind their table.
"I can't believe this!" said Ron, howling. "I'd give anything to see him now!"

Snape, however, was not ill. He was just totally mixed up. He had not slept a wink, and at dawn he had made his way up to the Hospital Wing, and explained the situation to Madam Pomfrey. She, being an exemplary nurse, had been wise enough to take him in. He was now biding his time at a small library room in the Hospital Wing.

But - whatever her colleagues might think of her, Sybill Trelawney had a way, magical or not, to discover Snape's whereabouts. He was reading, when she stepped into the room.
"Get out," he said coldly.
"Oh, please, Severus, listen to me, just this once... I beg you!" pleaded Professor Trelawney, giving Snape another revolting shock by dropping down to her knees. He closed his eyes and snapped his fingers demandingly
. "Yes sir, what can I do for you, sir?" said a voice of a tiny house-elf.
"Get Professor McGonagall here, quickly!" snarled Snape through clenched teeth.

***

McGonagall was talking to the Headmaster in his office at the moment she got the message.
"Hospital Wing? Why on earth should I come to Hospital Wing? And what does he mean 'this instance'? Albus, this is going too far. Really, I do have my own duties to worry about, it's not my business to run around the school watching over love-sick colleagues..."
"You are not being fair, Minerva. It was you, in the first place, who left the bottle unguarded."
McGonagall sighed.
"Well... All right, then."
She left the office, muttering angrily to herself.

As soon as she arrived at the library room, she saw she was late. She was watching a peculiar scene - possibly one of the most peculiar ones she had seen in her entire life. She took a deep breath.
"... Good heavens!"
Indeed, it was a scene to remember.
Trelawney and Snape were there - tangled to each other, fully absorbed in a desperate, passionate kiss, moaning of either pain or desire, totally unaware of anything else. A couple of Trelawney's numerous scarves had fallen on the floor, and she was clutching her colleague's head, half hanging from his neck, as he was squeezing her body more tightly towards him.

"Merlin! Cut it out, at once!" cried McGonagall.
It was only now, that the poor victims of the love potion discovered someone was in the room. Snape, coming to his senses first, pulled himself apart. He stepped back, slammed his hand on his mouth and bent over, eyes wide with disgust. Then he ran out without saying a word.

***

The same afternoon, Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape were back in the staff room.
"Fine," said McGonagall. "The Divination classes are cancelled, then, for a week. Not a great loss, by the way, if you ask me... But still, do you think it's quite necessary to keep her locked up in her chambers? Isn't that a bit too rough? After all, she is a Hogwarts teacher. Is there no other way?"
Snape shot her a dark look.
"Either me or her," he said in a soft voice, looking at them from behind his hair, black eyes cold and empty. There was not a slightest trace of compassion in his being.
"Very well, Severus," said the Headmaster. "We shall have to settle for that, then."
Then he smiled.
"Don't worry. I promise you: All this will remain between us five. Me, Poppy, Minerva, Sybill and you. Now, my dear friends - back to work."

***

All this, as Dumbledore put it, did remain between them five, and the trouble with the Scarlet Solution was finally over. It all faded away, both the effect of the potion and the memory of the whole incident. Hogwarts teachers are first rate professionals, after all. There are only very few problems they cannot solve. All that was left of it, was a short dialogue in the Gryffindor Tower.

"Whoa, what's this? Look, Neville, this week's Divination classes have been cancelled! Snape's back, though..."
"An epidemic, I suppose... Hope we won't catch it."