“Always listen to your teachers. Especially the ones that hate you.”

-Harry Potter

Harry grumbled over the letter before him. Snape had resorted to three words. Start your Essay. He had skipped salutations and closings.

Harry wanted to ignore them as he had with every other letter, but decided to listen to the warning this time. The professor’s handwriting had become distinctively violent in the suggestion.

He had yet to look at the assignment, and did not know what it was about. He assumed it was something tedious and useless, like every other summer assignment he had clawed his way through.

Harry had not worked out why it was so important to Snape that he start. A quick gesture opened the chest, a locking spell that responded only to his hand, and he removed a flattened scroll from beneath Standard Book of Spells Grade Five.

It was thrown to the table, causing Pigwidgeon, who still refused to leave, to hoot in annoyance, and Cleopatra’s hair to stand on end. He tossed a sheaf of parchment over as well, added a wand and nonchalantly floated a bottle of ink to join the rest. Without turning to watch the ink, he pulled out his wand and reset the locking spell.

Uncaringly, he undid the battered scroll.

Sixth Year Potion Students Competent Enough to Pass Their Owls-

One five foot essay on the most powerful healing potion possible. It is called Ashanal. It has the ability to save someone on the brink of death.

This year we will be studying and analyzing Healing Potions and Protection Draughts. We will begin to brew Ashanal starting the day we return.

-Professor Severus Snape

Harry stopped, staring open mouthed at the paper.

“Oh.”

He picked up his books and began to leaf though them, searching for information, but stopped suddenly as he realized what the letter had meant. Snape had handed it to him personally at the end of the last year, without knowing Harry’s test results.

Harry blinked forcefully, trying to concentrate, and started to write a rather vocal letter.