Hour of Grace

HOUR OF GRACE

by Strega Brava

Chapter Four: Potions

Hermione woke up the next morning with a pounding headache and hoped that her first class of the day, double Potions with the Slytherins, would not add to it. She got out of her bed and groggily headed over to the window, opening it so that the fresh morning breeze could come in. Massaging her temples gingerly, she sat on the window seat and squinted in the bright sunlight.

"The only good thing about Potions class is that the dungeons are dark…it should give my head a chance to return to normal," she muttered to herself.

As she sat there, she tried to figure out what had happened the night before. She was certain she had heard someone crying. What she could not figure out was why only she could hear it. Why couldn't Neville?

'I mean, if someone were in trouble, wouldn't Dumbledore know something about it?" she wondered.

But she knew Dumbledore had been fooled before, although she certainly could not fault him in that…they had all been fooled by Barty Crouch Jr's deception back in their fourth year. Despite all the talk, Dumbledore was not infallible.

"But that was Polyjuice Potion…this is someone crying out…someone needing help. Wouldn't someone have noticed if such a person were this upset?"

Deciding that it was pointless to go over it again and again this early in the morning and on an empty stomach, Hermione quickly washed up and got dressed. Grabbing her books, she hurried down to the common room to meet her friends.

Ron and Harry were waiting by the fireplace and it seemed as if they were discussing Quidditch strategies for the upcoming season.

"I'm telling you this new move we worked on over the summer is going to make the Wronski Feint look like a walk in the park," Ron crowed.

"Yeah, it sure will take a while for Malfoy to figure out a defense against that," Harry smiled.

"What move are you talking about?" Hermione asked as she walked up to her best friends.

Harry and Ron looked at each other in amazement.

"We haven't come up with a name for it yet," Ron said with a small grin.

"We invented it ourselves over the summer with some help from Fred and George. It's hard to explain but if you come to our first practice, we can show you," Harry added.

Dean, Seamus and Neville came down. Hermione noticed that Neville looked as tired as she felt and that he was watching her carefully. Casually, she walked over to where he was standing.

"Are you okay?" she asked him quietly as soon as Dean and Seamus went to join Ron and Harry.

"I was going to ask you the same question," he yawned.

"I'm tired and I have a headache…just what I need for Potions," she grumbled.

Neville laughed.

"Oh come on, Hermione, you have always done well in Potions. You could probably brew a Polyjuice Potion with your eyes shut."

Hermione laughed at the irony of his remarks. Neville thought she was just laughing because he had said something funny.

Suddenly there was a disruption as Lavender burst in from the common room entrance, raced right by everyone and disappeared through the entrance to the girls' dormitory.

"What was that all about?" Seamus asked the group.

"Maybe I should go up to check on her," Hermione started heading in the same direction.

"She looked really upset," was Dean's rather redundant observation.

Before Hermione got to the dormitory entrance, the portrait door opened again and this time it was Parvati that came in, albeit a little more slowly.

"Did Lavender come in here?" she asked, looking angry.

"She just disappeared up to her dorm," Neville answered.

"What happened?" Harry asked, walking over to Parvati who eyes were flashing dangerously.

"Malfoy happened," she answered in a hiss that would have made any Parselmouth proud.

"What did that slimy git do this time?" Ron shouted.

"I…I can't repeat what he said to her. It was awful. I have never seen Lavender react like that before. I thought she was going to faint. Then I thought she was going to kill that prat. Then she just turned and ran."

"Parvati, go up and make sure Lavender is all right. Bring her to Madam Pomfrey if you think she needs it. She doesn't need a crowd of people around her and you are her best friend. Let me know if she needs anything else." Parvati nodded and went to find her tearful friend.

Hermione turned to the rest of the group.

"The rest of us had better get down to breakfast because we have double Potions first thing and I hardly think it will tick Malfoy off if we lose points for tardiness. I will have a little chat with the twitchy ferret," she imitated the famous drawling voice to perfection and the boys were howling with laughter.

"Hermione, remind me to never tick you off," Harry laughed.

"Me too. I don't think I would look that great as a ferret," Ron sputtered helplessly.

Hermione gave one last concerned glance at the dormitory entrance before following her friends to the Great Hall.

"I hope she's all right," she thought to herself, "I can't believe how cruel he can be sometimes."

After breakfast (during which Hermione chatted with Professor Lupin about the possibility of an Assistant Professor position next year in Defense Against the Dark Arts), the entire group of Gryffindor seventh years headed down to the dungeons which housed the Potions classrooms and Professor Snape.

"I never get over how much I hate this place," Seamus said grimly.

"Yeah, same reaction for the past six years…why should this year be any different?" Dean grumbled.

They walked into the dark classroom and took their usual places near the front of the class. Professor Snape was already writing down a list of ingredients that they would be discussing during this first class.

"Hey, Hermione," Neville whispered slyly, "Can you guess what we're going to be talking about judging from the ingredients?"

"Honestly, Neville," she grinned.

The Slytherins, as was their habit, walked in en masse just a minute or so before the scheduled start of class. Draco Malfoy led the rather sour-looking group in. Hermione noticed that he looked a bit tired.

"Probably up all night thinking of nasty things to say to Lavender," she fumed.

"Stare of Death alert," Ron whispered to the other Gryffindors to much hushed laughter.

The bell rang to signal the start of class and, right on cue, Professor Snape turned around to face his class.

"Good morning, class," he said in his silkiest voice, "As this is your final year at Hogwarts your classes in Potions will take on a decidedly different character. This year we will be focussing on potions that heal wounds, potions that cure diseases and potions that can break some of the nastier curses out there. This is not the usual curriculum for seventh year but, given the circumstances we live in currently, it will prepare you for what lies outside these walls."

Hermione was surprised to see an expression of pity cross the Potions Master's face. It quickly disappeared but the usual cold expression that struck terror into the hearts of most students was strangely absent.

"Now, I have written down a list of ingredients for a simple healing potion which is good for most minor cuts. It heals without scarring. You will work in pairs and, when you are done, you will bring your vials down to Madam Pomfrey whose own stock is quite low. If you have any questions…well…I will be working on essay topics at my desk."

Neville and Hermione looked at one another in shock.

"Did I hear that right?" he asked, "Did he just make himself available for questions?"

"Maybe he just discovered the concept that helping students makes it easier to pass," Seamus whispered as he gathered up some armadillo bile with a grimace.

"Don't you get it? This is our last year. Snape has to get us to pass otherwise we'll be back next year too," Ron snickered as he measured out the right amount of squid ink into a container.

Hermione and Neville worked quietly together. After some initial apprehension, Hermione relaxed as she noticed that Neville was taking charge of the assignment and was doing quite well. As he stirred the potion (which had turned the correct colour of magenta), she glanced around the classroom. True to his word, Professor Snape was going over Lavender and Parvati's potion step by step and it seemed to help the two girls' confidence. After thanking him, he returned to his desk and began writing on some parchment.

"He looks so tired," Hemione mused, "I can't imagine what he goes through at each of the Death Eater meetings. It's a wonder he gets any sleep at all."

She glanced at Draco Malfoy who was having somewhat less success with his potion since he was paired with Pansy Parkinson who was more interested in things other than the assignment at hand.

"He deserves it," she thought to herself.

Draco got up to pick up the last ingredient, a feather from a hippogriff's ear. As he passed by the table where Ron and Harry were hard at work, he pretended to drop something and, as he bent down, Hermione could hear him whisper,

"Too bad they didn’t have this on hand for you. Maybe you wouldn't have to sport that thing on your head if they had."

Harry looked as if he was going to launch an Unforgivable Curse on Draco and Ron jumped on his best friend to keep him from pummeling the silver-haired youth.

Draco simply chuckled quietly and returned to his desk.

Then the unthinkable happened.

"Five points from Slytherin," Professor Snape's voice could be heard, "I may be somewhat older than you Mr. Malfoy but I assure you that my hearing has not yet begun to deteriorate. And if I hear you make light of another's misfortune's again, you will serve a most delightful detention with Mr. Filch, cleaning the first years' cauldrons."

And then, as if nothing had happened, Professor Snape returned to his writing although Hermione noticed that his quill trembled ever so slightly.

Looking around quickly, Hermione couldn't tell who was more shocked, the Gryffindors or the Slytherins. Harry looked as if Professor Snape had suddenly told them that he was going to the Yule Ball with Professor McGonagall.

"Pinch me," Neville whispered to Hermione.

"What?" she asked.

"Pinch me. I want to make sure that I am really awake or if this is some sort of dream."

"Oh, you're awake all right, Neville," she said while giving his ear a quick tug.

"Hey, not so hard."

Hermione giggled quietly.

"Keep stirring the potion…if it turns blue, we are in serious trouble."

Neville continued with the stirring of the potion (which was still magenta thankfully) and Hermione's glance fell on Draco.

The silver-haired youth was stirring his potion and trying to prevent Pansy from putting her hand on his on the pretence that he wasn't stirring properly. Finally, in exasperation, he gave her the glass spoon and told her to do the stirring. She pouted but, with a frightened glance at Professor Snape, who was still writing, began to stir the potion carefully. She obviously did not want to lose any points from Slytherin.

Draco sat back like a king observing his realm. Hermione could see that he glanced at Professor Snape with curiosity.

"I guess he doesn't know what to make of this either," she thought.

Suddenly a shudder went through his body and he bent over as if in pain. For a moment, Hermione wondered if she should get Professor Snape's attention but then he straightened and turned to her with the same expression she had seen before. She found that she could not look away from him.

"What are you trying to do to me?" she thought to herself as she stared at him.

For a long moment, he just looked at her. It seemed as if he was quite content to just look at her. His expression puzzled her to no small degree.

"What are you thinking when you look like that? You look…lost…like you want me to help you find the way home. That sounds so ridiculous and yet…"

Then, as before, another shudder went through his body and it almost looked as if his entire body was suddenly immersed in icy cold water and his expression hardened. Hermione could almost see the wave of disdain crash over his eyes.

The look in his eyes clearly showed what he thought of her and she quickly turned her eyes away so that he could not gloat over the hurt she felt.

"Hurt? Why would I feel hurt?" she thought to herself angrily.

"Poor Mudblood can't even look her superior in the eye? Oh well, I suppose that is as it should be after all, it's not as if you are on my level," Malfoy's malicious whispered carried to her ears.

Hermione turned to him quickly and her eyes flashed with suppressed rage. She walked over to him, as if wanting to check on something that Dean and Seamus were doing at the desk behind him.

"I would not want to sink to your level, Malfoy. I am warning you," she said through pursed lips, "Keep up that kind of talk and I will show you a couple of particularly interesting spells that Alastor Moody taught me over the summer. Ah, that's right, you didn't know that I had asked him to tutor me on advanced Charms and Transfiguration. You will be most impressed with what I can do with you now, " she patted the wand in her pocket thoughtfully.

That had the desired effect. Instantly Draco's face lost its better-than-thou expression and he simply looked at her angrily. Pansy glanced at the two of them with a somewhat puzzled expression.

"Don't you ever say something like that to Harry again," Hermione added as an afterthought.

"Not all scars are visible," he managed to choke out in a harsh whisper.

Hermione looked at him with eyebrows raised, almost daring him to explain what he meant by the rather strange comment. Draco simply shrugged his shoulders and turned to see how the potion was coming along.

Hermione returned to her desk.

"Wow, you sure have Malfoy's number, don't you?" Neville grinned.

For some reason, Hermione could not savour the victory over her nemesis. Something did not feel right and she almost felt guilty that she had allowed herself to be goaded like that.

"It's nothing, Neville. He just knows how to get under my skin, that's all," she muttered.

She saw Professor Snape look at Draco curiously. Draco stared stonily back and, with a sigh, the Potions Master completed his essay topics and began writing them on the board.

"But is that all?" she asked herself.

She decided to blame it all on her headache.

"Too bad we didn't brew a mild pain reliever…I could have used that."