Snape's Match

Lia awoke refreshed from her first ever sleep in the Hogwarts girls’ dormitory. A memory of a bad dream plucked at her, but she brushed it away as she dressed.
McGonagall was handing out timetables at breakfast. She took hers and read it with interest. Today was History of Magic, Transfiguration, Charms and…Potions. Well, well. Time to see what this Professor Snape was really like.
Harry sat down next to her. “Ugh, horrible day today. All the most difficult classes on our first one back.”
“And Potions too!” Lia added.
Harry grinned wryly back at her. “You’re already getting the hang of this school thing.”

The day passed quickly enough. She was pleased when she won ten points for her house in Transfiguration, because she changed a pot plant into a nightingale and back again in the shortest time. Ron teased Hermione mercilessly at lunch about this – she gathered it was rare for anyone to beat her in classes. Charms was equally easy, although she had trouble understanding the new wandflick, her private tutor had never really been that great about demonstrating. In no time at all, it seemed, it was time for Potions and she was wending her way down with the other Gryffindors to the freezing dungeon where Snape held his classes.
“We have lessons with the Slytherins, it’s totally outrageous that way Snape favours them – sometimes he gives them points for passing him a flask or something.”
Ron abruptly stopped criticizing the Potions teacher as Snape appeared at his right elbow, wearing an expression of deadly malice.
“What was that you were saying, Mr. Weasley?”
Lia could have lost herself in that silky, preening voice, if she could have forgotten what it was saying.
“N-nothing, Professor,” answered Ron.
“Five points from Gryffindor, Mr. Weasley. Don’t lie to me.” Snape swept into his dungeon to the sound of mocking Slytherin laughter.
“You see what he’s like?” asked Harry as they sat down at the back of the classroom.
“God, yeah,” she sympathized. “How can you stand him?”
Harry grimaced at her, and began removing his potion ingredients from his bag.
Snape was taking the register. When he got to her name, Lia closed her eyes and hoped he would pass her by unnoticed. No such luck.
“Our new student, of course.”
Lia opened her eyes. Snape’s were boring into them.
“Tell me, girl, how much have you learnt? If you’re going to drag down this class – although with people like Longbottom in here there is little chance of that – I will be forced to place you with my second years.”
Lia felt anger welling up in her. He wasn’t even giving her a chance. She forced her voice to remain calm, but injected an insolent note into as she answered.
“My name is Lia, sir. And I would prefer if you used it instead of 'girl'”
“Excuse me?” Snape’s voice was dangerously soft.
“And I’m not really sure at what level I’m at exactly, but I’m confident Professor Dumbledore would not have placed me in this particular – (Lia elongated that word) – class if he felt I couldn’t handle it.”
There was a hush. Nobody spoke to Snape like that.
“So…” Snape seemed to make up his mind on how to punish her most.
“Do you know, Miss Fitzgerald, what potion I would make if I wanted to change my appearance into that of an animal?”
He had chosen public humiliation, Lia thought. Bad choice. She could match him knowledge for knowledge, she was sure of it.
“Well, sir, my personal favourite is the Chemicular Potion, although there are specialized potions you can use for specific animals.”
The Gryffindors exchanged grins at the arrested look on Snape’s face.
“Very well, perhaps you are not unintelligent. Could you tell the class what ingredient you would use for a Jacarndican Potion’s fifth stage?”
Lia felt a ringing in her ears, and inwardly smiled. What an idiot. She had been doing that very same potion not a month ago.
“Why sir, you haven’t forgotten? It’s a Manticore’s tooth, of course.”
Snape showed no outward sign of the anger consuming him except for a vein in his temple that flickered horribly.
“Fine, fine,” he snapped. “Tell me this, girl – a general potion for curing Hardley’s Disease?”
“A Kyoui potion, sir”
“And for Gardiner’s Dis-“
“Yakutr, sir”
“Very well, what about the principal ingredient for a Nanmoon potion?”
“Cat livers, sir”
The Gryffindors had been watching the exchange as a tennis match, heads flicking back and forwards, and now they followed Snape with their eyes as he moved catlike to Lia’s desk, standing right before her. His face was a mask of rage.
“You seem to know everything, Miss Fitzgerald, what about this? Tell me the purpose of the Morgardre Potion.”
Lia moved in for the kill, putting on an innocent tone she was sure would infuriate him.
“Sir. That’s Dark Magic. We shouldn't really be talking about that, should we?”
Snape looked at her, his face very near. She couldn’t resist it. Very slowly, she raised one elegant, arched eyebrow.
The Potions master swore and stormed out of the classroom. Lia felt an acute sense of triumph. She’d won, and now every Gryffindor was cheering as the Slytherins looked at her with hatred. Ron clapped her on the back.
“You just became my new hero!”
“How did you know all that?” squeaked Hermione.
“The way you just faced him down,” roared Harry, “Bloody brilliant!”
Lia couldn’t help it. She smiled back at them all.
A sandy-haired boy named Seamus grinned widely at her. “Marvellous,” he assured her in a lilting Irish accent, “That one’ll make even the teachers happy.”