In An Alternate Universe ~ The Prequel

Chapter 5 ~ Meeting the Potions Mistress

Harry received an invitation from Hagrid to come around for tea on Friday around three. It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because his first Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far.

At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Granger disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Granger didn't dislike Harry -- she hated him.

Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.

Granger, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, she paused at Harry's name.

"Ah, Yes," she said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new -- celebrity."

Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Granger finished calling the names and looked up at the class. Her eyes were brown but had no warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dismal tunnels.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking," she began. She spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word -- like Professor McGonagall, Granger had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.

"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through
human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses.... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death -- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Severus Snape was on the edge of his seat and by his glittering eyes it was easy to see he wanted to prove he wasn’t a dunderhead.

"Potter!" said Granger suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was. Severus’ hand had shot into the air.

"I don't know," said Harry.

Granger’s lips curled into a sneer.

"Tut, tut -- fame clearly isn't everything."

She ignored Severus' hand.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Snape stretched his hand higher, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a Bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter.

"I don't know."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"

Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Granger expect him to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?

Granger was still ignoring Snape’s upraised hand.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

At this, Snape bounced in his chair a bit, his hand stretching toward the dungeon
ceiling.

"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Severus does, though, why don't you try him?"

A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked.

Granger, however, was not pleased.

"Put your blasted hand down," she snapped at Severus, who slowly complied, staring at the snarky teacher. She was something else.

"For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and
wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Granger said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."

”Wow,” Snape breathed. Granger was going to be a tough teacher. Maybe even the toughest at Hogwarts.

He couldn’t wait.

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

In the headmaster’s office, Granger was pacing up and down in front of Dumbledore.

“—mediocre, arrogant as his mother, a determined rule-breaker, delighted to find himself at the center of things, attention-seeking and impertinent—”

“You see what you expect to see, Hermione,” said Dumbledore, without raising his eyes from a copy of Transfiguration Today. “Other teachers report that the boy is modest, likable, and reasonably talented. Personally, I find him an engaging child.”

Dumbledore turned a page, and said, without looking up, “Keep an eye on Quirrell, won’t you?”

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

A/M: Thanks for reading