Meeting the Potions Master

The potions classroom is the largest room in the dungeons in Hogwarts although it is hard to tell if it is the largest room as many of the dungeons are not truly explored. Many of the corridors have already been abandoned and there are many floors to it but most of them always led to a dead end. The potions classroom is lined with pickled animals in glass jars. In the corner of the room are a basin with ice-cold water pouring from the gargoyle's mouth and another door that leads to the supply cupboard that is accessible by the students if needed. There is a blackboard with the class instructions on it, and the room is particularly cold that even Harry has wished he brought his scarf with him.

The first-year Slytherin and Gryffindor students took up seats on each side. Professor Snape took a roll call on each student but he paused when at Godric Potter's name. "Ah yes, Godric Potter. Our new – celebrity." Godric's face blushed and he looked down at the desk.

Harry could hear Draco Malfoy and Burke sniggering. Thankfully, Professor Snape didn't have to pause with Harry's name. Harry is still looking quite different than his father. He is wearing glasses today because someone messed with his contacts. He has suspicion that either someone didn't like it when they saw him put it on (which both Zabini and Malfoy admonished him for it because they think putting something on his eye was just creepy) or someone pranked him which he did expect. But his glasses are not round, are silver, and his hair remains properly set. He made sure not to look like his father, unlike his brother with the completely messy hairdo and the round black glasses. After knowing that his father called their potions professor a git, he has this inkling feeling that the man despises their father so he'd rather not look like him as much as possible.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect many of you will understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its simmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses, and even stopping death. I can teach you to bottle fame, brew glory, and only if you aren't such a big dunderhead as most of the students in this school."

The silence was met by this speech. Harry is still in awe of him. Seriously, who can't be enthralled with such a speech? The diversity and the possibilities of potions are endless as long as you know how to properly brew them and of course, to properly use them.

"Potter!" Professor Snape suddenly snapped. Both Potters almost jumped from their seats.

"Godric Potter!" Professor Snape corrected himself.

This is getting old. Harry thought. As it is common for teachers to call upon the student's surname as a formality. It didn't matter between Iris and him because Iris is always "Ms. Potter" while he is "Mr. Potter" Now there are two Mr. Potters and whenever a teacher shouts their name, he can't tell whether it's him or Godric.

"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Ms. Granger's hand shot up in the air surprising both houses.

"I don't know," Godric said.

"Tut, tut – fame isn't everything." Professor Snape ignored Ms. Granger's hands.

"Let's try again. Where would you look to find a bezoar?"

"I don't know," Godric answered now grinding his teeth.

"I don't know, sir."

"I don't know, sir," Godric said, his teeth grinding in anger. Harry could feel Godric's temper rising. He just hopes he doesn't get the better of it.

"Didn't bother to open a book this morning? What's the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" At this, Ms. Granger has finally stood up her hand still up stretching towards the ceiling determined to prove to the professor that she isn't a dunderhead.

"Your greasy hair, perhaps." Godric glared at Professor Snape.

The room went deathly quiet. Everyone in the room, even Harry, turned their heads to Godric in either amazement or horrify, although Ron Weasley seemed proud of it.

"20 points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter."

"I heard everything about you from my father. He said you are nothing but a bullying arsehole and you are going to attack me with your nonsense questions and that's why he calls you Snivellus!"

"Another 20 points from Gryffindor! And detention!"

"Yeah, well..."

"GODRIC, SHUT UP!"

The entire class, including Snape, turned toward Harry in surprise. Harry has enough. Even Ms. Granger looked like she was going to strangle Godric. "We lost 40 points! What the hell, Potter?!" Lavender Brown hissed and glared at the messy-haired boy. The entire Gryffindor house was glaring at him while the Slytherins sniggered. They didn't even do anything and the Gryffindors already lost that many points but the Slytherins have hoped they lost even more which is why they are eyeing Harry.

"I don't want to spend the rest of the class with you hurling insults at our teacher!" Harry said.

"Of course, you'll defend the slimy git." Godric hissed back.

"That slimy git is the youngest world-renowned master of potions who has multiple global awards, and has created numerous potions and has improved others. His improvements have changed the medical world as we know it not to mention he could have chosen any other job in the world and he'll get it. Yet he decided to teach us, which is a big deal for many of us as it is very important when we choose our future careers and be known as those who were taught under the famous Severus Snape."

The entire classroom is silent again. Even Godric Potter was shocked. The Gryffindors are now looking at Professor Snape with a mix of awe and shock while the Slytherins are even more amazed at their head of the house. Professor Snape stared at the other Potter in astonishment not expecting such a defense from a Potter offspring.

Professor Snape cough to get the attention back to him. "For your information, Mr. Potter (eyeing Godric), asphodel, and wormwood make the draught of sleeping death one of the most powerful sleeping potions in the world, a bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and is a cure to most poisons except those derive from basilisk venom and monkhood and wolfsbane are the same plants, also known as aconite. Why aren't you copying this down?"

Everyone is suddenly rummaging at their notebooks and quills. Harry took out his notebook, unlock his ink, and grabbed his dip pen which surprised most of the Slytherin house.

"What is that?" Malfoy asked curiously.

"A dip pen," Harry said. Harry and Iris still have their fountain pens but it was Uncle Iggy who pointed out that using such a tool might either make some of the witches and wizards uncomfortable or they would be looked down upon so a dip pen is a better alternative. Although existing in the muggle world, it's not exactly popular because one it is expensive, and second it is not convenient. Only hard-core artists and calligraphers use it. Also, a dip pen is like a fountain pen without an ink cartridge, and like the quill, they have to dip the pen into the ink to write so they assumed that it will be less of a culture shock for the wizards and witches to use. The only difference is that a dip pen has a much better grip, ink control, and hand control and is easier to write than a quill.

"You want to try it?" Harry gave Malfoy another one of his dip pens.

Malfoy wanted to say no but he eyed it skeptically and grabbed the pen. He frowned at it when he tested it but decided to continue using it anyway. Professor Snape eyed his dip pen but didn't comment on it.

The remaining of the class was much calmer with Godric now looking a bit subdued though he keeps giving Harry a furious look, probably feeling betrayed or angry that he has to scold him in front of Snivellus. Professor Snape put them into pairs however, the class is odd numbered with the Gryffindors at eleven students which means one will have to do the work alone. Malfoy was the one who volunteered to do the assignment alone which annoyed Harry as he also wanted to do the potion alone. This leaves Harry to partner with Neville Longbottom which annoyed him as he glared at Blaise who managed to snatch Theo as his partner. It would seem that Malfoy was as much a prodigy in potions earning some nods and praise from Professor Snape when he walked around the classroom watching them cut, weigh and crush their ingredients. Harry cannot believe he is envious right now of the blonde.

Harry doesn't know Neville very much. But the boy is very twitchy and nervous. He was always making mistakes with their simple potion to cure boils. Harry has to avert him many times. "No don't cut it like that." And "Don't put that in!" The last part was when Neville almost put the porcupine quills before removing the cauldron from the fire. If he didn't stop Neville, the potion would have exploded.

"I'm sorry," Neville mumbled guiltily.

"It's fine, Mr. Longbottom," Harry said. "At least we aren't growing painful boils in our bodies or dead."

"I'm not good at this," Neville mumbled.

"It's okay. We can be good or bad at many things."

"Yeah, but I never really expected to get a letter from Hogwarts. I always thought I was a squib."

This made Harry pause when he dropped the snake's fangs. "Aren't you the heir of the Longbottom house?"

The boy bit his lip before nodding. "So why are you so..." Harry wasn't sure how to respond. It would seem Neville Longbottom has an inferiority problem. Judging from the fact that Neville believed he was a squib, he probably was not treated well by his family until he was able to get his Hogwarts letter confirming his status as a wizard.

"You know Mr. Longbottom; you should keep your chin up for you are the heir of Longbottom's most ancient and noble house. Also, you got into Hogwarts. That means you have as much magic as we are here. Not to worry about having a rough start. Most of us do even me. But if I can be a little prying, have you considered talking to a mind healer?"

The boy looked shocked at this. "I don't mean to offend. There is nothing wrong with you but talking to a mind healer might help you get some insights on how to improve your mindset." Harry said. "I for one have a weekly session with him."

The mind healer in Hogwarts is healer Ted Tonks. He is a muggle-born and a graduate of the Hufflepuff house. He is also adept at both mind healing and psychiatry. Harry and Iris's records are already sent to him. The wizarding world, particularly in Great Britain are not exactly well adept with mental health as mind healing is mostly related to dealing with magic that affected the mind so issues that are not related to magical influence in the mind are often ignored and for some frowned upon as they see it more as a defect depending on what family you came from.

"Wait, you are seeing a mind healer?" Neville asked.

"Yes. Having been abandoned by your biological parents can hurt one's psyche. So, my sister and I consider it a need." Harry muttered. "Also, my sister also seems to be interested in your toad. You should consider talking to her."

"She is?" Neville asked.

"Yeah," Harry answered before the two became quiet.

"You're not so bad," Neville muttered and Harry looked up from the cauldron looking confused.

"Ron and Godric have been on and on about Slytherins in our common room. It has annoyed a lot of people even in the higher years. I don't think they'll be happy to learn that he lost 40 points though." Neville muttered.

"Yes well, to be honest, they should see a mind healer because those anger issues will be bad for them."

Neville nodded as the two finished up their potions and bottled up their output. Harry thinks the potion is good. Professor Snape looked at it and nodded and placed it next to Draco Malfoy's.

"Oh, uh, Mr. Potter, is it okay if I partner with you in Potions next time?" Neville asked shyly while they began cleaning up their desk. Harry didn't want to but he felt sorry for the boy.

"Sure, if only you promised to go to a mind healer before the next class. You don't have to and you don't have to finish the rest of the sessions. Just try at least." Harry said.

Neville nodded. "And if you want, we can partner in Herbology. That's my favorite subject. My family owns farms around the world and we have greenhouses at the manor too."

"You like herbology?" Harry raised his eyebrows. The two shared a class but he didn't notice Neville very much as they were too busy trying to get away from the plant who tried to snatch them. "And you have farms?"

"Yeah. We even have one of the largest mandrake farms in Australia, there are also the snowdrop farms in the Scandinavian area..." Neville said excitedly as he lists off the different farms and products his family produced.

Harry can't help but smile at this boy. Wouldn't that mean he can have access to different potion ingredients? "Sure, Mr. Longbottom. I can partner with you. As long as you can call me Harry that is."

Neville smiled. "Yeah, you can call me Neville."

"Oh, and try to talk to my sister. She would like to learn more about your toad." Harry smiled as the two shook hands and left the classroom.

Blaise just raised one of his eyebrows at Harry who is smiling when they returned to their common room.

******************

"So how was Potions class?" Iris asked when Harry, Blaise, Daphne, and Tracy joined Iris in the library with Susan, Hannah, and surprisingly Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Iris invited him to help with their transfiguration homework which Iris is also going to take some remedial classes this week with Vincent and Greg. Despite being a whiz at Charms, she struggled mostly with Transfiguration. She was able to turn a matchstick into a solid block of metal but it's not exactly a needle.

"It was all right," Harry answered.

"The Gryffindors lost 40 points." Blaise sniggered.

"What? Why?" Susan asked. That's a lot of points taken in one class.

Blaise summarized what happened in their potions class and the Hufflepuffs were gaping at him while Blaise just smiled and preened at it.

"He really said that?" Hannah asked.

"That's...bold," Greg muttered.

"I don't think I'll even have the courage to do that," Vincent commented.

"I don't understand why he's mad though. I mean Professor Snape was so nice." Iris said. That earned her weird looks from the group. "What? He was though."

"Well, he wasn't overbearing as most of the higher years said," Susan said. "But that was mostly because of you Iris."

That got Harry's attention and turned to his sister, "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything."

Earlier

"I heard the professor is very strict and scary." A boy named Anthony Goldstein said as the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs waited for their professor to enter the classroom. The dungeons are cold and a lot of the students were shivering from the cold. They dread the idea of spending winter in this classroom.

"My aunt used to complain about him though," Susan said. "She's head of the DMLE and she is mad that there are less qualified Aurors because most students drop potions after their OWLs. This is a problem because I heard there is a shortage of Aurors."

"I also heard that he is very mean." Terry Boot from Ravenclaw added. "If you aren't Slytherin, you will expect him to be cruel to you."

"That doesn't seem fair." Rogers Malone responded.

"That's not what I heard," Iris replied.

"Oh? What did you hear?" Ernie asked curiously.

Iris just shrugged. Remembering everything about what Harry said about the famous Severus Snape. The potions world is a bit small so not many in the public are aware of you and your achievements. But that doesn't negate the fact that man still contributes significantly to the wizarding world.

"I heard he is very famous. Youngest ever to achieve mastery in potions, the youngest ever to enter the most extraordinary society of potioneers, and had a multitude of global awards for his potions and research. I mean if this was the muggle world, he'd be the Einstein of potions." Iris simply just outlined the same thing Harry always says over and over again about Severus Snape.

"Wait, what?" Kevin Entwistle asked in shock and this made both the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws erupt in chatter.

"Silence!" Professor Snape entered the room. The students immediately silenced themselves and stared at the dark-haired and dark-clad man. He introduced himself, made a roll call (although he did pause when he saw Iris Potter's name), and then made his speech about the intricacies and beauty of potions. When Professor Snape asked if they have questions, a lot of hands were raised surprising the ever-serious professor and most of it is from the Ravenclaws.

"Is it true that you are the youngest ever to achieve mastery in potions?"

"I heard you have awards in potions. What were they?"

"What kind of potions did you make?"

"Are you doing some new research?"

The professor has to stop them from asking questions as the incessant questions were going to distract them from their lessons. Still, the students, mainly the Ravenclaws, were looking at him in awe. Before they tackle the potion project, Professor Snape has to ask them about the readings they were asked to do before the class.

"Ms. Potter." Professor Snape called.

"Yes?" Iris asked nervously.

"Where would you look to find a bezoar?"

"In the supply cupboard?" She answered questioningly.

The entire room looked at her in shock. "What? He asked me where would I look. I mean I don't think there are even goats in this castle. Are they? Are there goats in this castle?" she looked unsure as she looked around before turning to the professor. Of course, Iris later learned there were goats in the castle.

******************

Pffft. The Slytherins laughed.

"I cannot believe you just told him that!" Tracy said while giggling.

"Shhhhhh!" The librarian called out to them.

"Sorry Madam Pince!" they responded in a whisper.