Potions and Snitches
Snape and Harry Gen Fanfiction Archive

Experiments

The trick testing was rather fun. After some discussion, the Gryffindor boys decided on a procedure to keep things from being too chaotic. They sat in a circle, with each person, in turn, selecting something and trying it. They waited for each item to take effect before progressing to the next person's turn. Some things took effect immediately, and about as many with a five minute delay. Now and then, something took longer, and they talked while waiting.

It wasn't until the third item, which made Seamus's hair grow all the way down to his feet in a matter of two or three minutes, that other people in the common room noticed what was going on. They had quite an audience when Harry started his turn.

He pulled a packet out of the pile in the middle of the circle and looked at the label.

"What does it say?" Dean asked.

"Mood Wings," Harry read.

Hermione made the undignified sound of attempting to repress a laugh. Dean sniggered. Harry stuck his tongue out him.

The packet contained a lot of tiny little sweets. Harry looked nervously at them. "Should I start with just one?"

Everybody nodded. Ron, Hermione, Seamus, and Ginny said "yes," simultaneously, causing more laughter.

Harry nodded and popped one of the sweets into his mouth. It tasted like butterscotch. He quite liked it. "Yum," he said. Everybody watched him expectantly. Ron set his watch.

The sweet was gone, and Harry was starting to think he should try another, when his shoulders suddenly began to itch. He squirmed uncomfortably.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"Nothing, it just -- it itches, sort of."

"Where?"

"My shoulders. It feels like--"

Harry never got to tell them what it felt like. With a sudden "thwip!" the itching stopped, and Hermione yipped and jumped back. A pleasant breeze and soft hum filled the air at both sides of Harry. People around him were beginning to laugh. Harry looked to his right and saw a blur of silver. At his left, it was the same. Pretty much everyone was laughing, now. Ron was down on the floor, pounding it with his fists.

Harry suddenly realized that his shoulders were spasming. He tried very hard to keep them still, and was suddenly rewarded by the blurs of silver resolving into wings. Silver wings. Snitch wings, Harry realized, and joined the others in laughing.

"Oh, let me try!" Dean exclaimed. Five minutes later, Dean had iridescent dragonfly wings netted with black. Neville reached out a hand.

"Here, me too!" Ron said. Harry turned at a motion to his right, and found Hermione had sat down between him and Seamus. She smiled at him, her eyes glowing with mischief.

"Play?" she whispered.

He handed her one out of turn.

Neville got slender, curved bird's wings, like those of a swift or a falcon. Ron got the brightly colored wings of a tropical bird. Seamus had brilliant butterfly's wings that reminded Harry uncomfortably of the ones he had ground in Snape's mortar. Hermione got lacy, elaborate, fairy wings, that made her "Ooo!" in delight. Ginny asked to try as well, and got huge, brown bat wings. Rather than being disappointed, as Harry had feared she would be when he first saw them, she used them to full advantage, first swooping at her brother like an attacking demon, then posing with coy innocence for Dean. Colin started taking pictures, which lessened Harry's disappointment when his own twitchy snitch's wings vanished.


The Gryffindors went down to lunch looking like the survivors of some deranged duel. Half of them had oddly colored hair, or invisible or extraneous body parts. Ginny, who had taken several more of the Mood Wings sweets, still had her bat wings. Hermione had a fluffy tail that she could twitch into elegant curves or bring over to tickle Harry's neck. Neville had eyebrows of large, curved, iridescent feathers in every color of the rainbow. Anything Seamus attempted to say came out in rhyme. Jack was hopping like a kangaroo. Iggy needed to be led, because he saw two of everyone. He told Harry that the voice bounced between the two apparent people, changing at every phrase, "rather," he said, "like listening to the twins." Colin, who had been, with great effort, swimming through the air, dropped to the floor about halfway to the Gryffindor table. His "Oof!" and "Ow," were lost in the general hubbub of comments, questions, and laughter.

Harry looked quite normal. After the snitch wings, his shirt had fit oddly, and he had remembered Snape's warning against any form of Transfiguration. After that, he had avoided anything that might have a transfiguring effect. He sat next to Hermione and glanced up at the head table. Snape was looking down at him with an enigmatic expression. Professor McGonagall, he realized suddenly, was striding towards their table, her face red. He wasn't sure if that was from anger, or from trying not to laugh.

McGonagall stopped directly in front of Harry, or rather, he realized, the point midway between Ron and Hermione. She looked at Hermione.

"Miss Granger. What is the meaning of this display?"

Hermione seemed frozen. McGonagall looked at Ron, who was also silent. Harry, studying the assistant headmistress from the perspective of summer staff dinners, thought she was actually more amused than angry. A bit worried, perhaps.

"Fred and George sent me some samples," he volunteered. Neville's feather eyebrows turned to tiny birds and flew between them, chirping wildly. McGonagall's mouth twitched.

"Samples?"

"New things Weasley's Wizard Wheezes is selling, or plans to sell soon. It's just joke shop stuff. There's not a rule against that, is there?"

McGonagall pursed her lips in a vain attempt not to smile. "No, Mr. Potter, there is not. I just wanted to be certain that you had not all been hexing each other." She scanned the table and increased the volume of her voice. "Anyone who is not back to normal by the end of dinner tonight is to go to the hospital wing. Is that clear?"

There was a low murmur of "yes, professor." McGonagall smiled at Harry.

"Did you just receive these?"

"No, it was a while ago."

Her head inclined in a slight nod. "Thank you for waiting for the weekend, Mr. Potter." With that, she returned to the head table.


With the trick testing over so early, Harry actually had some free time before his meeting with Snape. He decided to finish The Limits of Control. And next time, he thought, I pick something that isn't quite so brain-numbing.

He was six pages away from the end of the book when Hermione sat down near him. He looked up, about to tell her to go away for five minutes, but was stopped by the serious look on her face.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Is this a bad time?"

Harry looked down at the book, then shook his head. "No. This is fine."

"Is the book good?"

"It's awful, actually. The author manages to make everything boring. He must be related to Professor Binns. I can't wait to finish it."

"Oh. Well, I just wanted to ask what was wrong. You've been scowling since we got back from lunch. Is it just the book?"

"I suppose. I'm not upset about anything. I hadn't realized I looked upset."

"You've been looking that way a lot."

"Ah." Harry shrugged. "Maybe it's just that my face is thinner?"

Hermione did not look convinced, but she shrugged.

"About this morning...." she said hesitantly.

"Yes?"

In a rush, Hermione continued. "I had a good time being with you. I haven't felt that comfortable with you since school started. Now, I...." she blushed. "I just wanted to know ... why did you kiss me, before?"

Harry looked down, reddening. "Why do you think?" he muttered.

"Well, that's the thing. I.... When we were at Diagon Alley, it was fine." Harry looked up. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad, after all. Hermione was biting her lower lip. Harry thought it was darling. "Then afterwards, I thought that you'd just kissed me to shut me up...."

"No! I mean ... well, I suppose, but to dispute it, really. I think you're pretty and clever and sweet, and I didn't want to be discounted like that, over some stupid thing."

"But the other one was to keep me from talking, too. And you never say anything nice afterwards."

Harry held out a hand to her, and Hermione took it and let him pull her closer on the couch. He turned and kissed her slowly and sweetly, brushing over her soft lips, then pressing urgently, then parting her lips with his tongue and teasing around the tip of her own. She adapted to everything, returning his attentions in kind, until the kiss had become a frantic dance of tongues and lips in sinuous motion.

He pulled back, breathless.

"Dear Hermione. Do you know how wonderfully you kiss?"

"Do I?"

"Oh, yes."

"You too. Quite the best kisser of any boy I've ever tried," Hermione whispered. Harry smirked, aware of Ron standing over by the fire.

"Sit with me," Harry pleaded. "Until I need to go." He looked at the clock and sighed. "Soon."

"Why do you need to see Professor Snape, again?" she asked, cuddling up against him. Harry sighed contentedly and moved an arm to rest across her shoulders and pull her slightly closer.

"It's more of the project," he answered.

"He and Dumbledore are alternating teaching you?"

"No, actually Flitwick and Remus are in on the act, too. But everyone won't be teaching me at once, or necessarily even amounts." Harry hesitated. He would be seeing Snape far more than the others. "Actually, Snape's the only one who wants frequent meetings -- I don't think he trust me to work on my own."

"I can see why he might not," Hermione said timidly.

"Unfortunately, so can I. So, I'm agreeing to all the meetings."

Hermione reached across his lap and gently took the book from his other hand. She brought it over, looked at the title, and frowned.

"This is Dark Arts," she said incredulously. She shifted slightly away from Harry to bend over the book in her lap. She flicked through the pages, scanning some.

"It doesn't have much in the way of casting notes," Harry said defensively. "It's more a theoretical and legal overview. What's illegal. Why. When it became illegal."

"Harry -- Why are you reading this?"

"It's for my project."


On Monday, Malfoy was still ignoring Harry in Potions lesson. That was fine with Harry. The lesson itself was okay. Having spent several hours with Snape the day before, Harry found himself much more able to take his insults in stride. He wondered if he could manage to consider it entertaining, with practice.

No one got detention or was kept after class, so the students all left the Potions lab in a group. Bulstrode took off quickly, as if her next class was at a distance, but the others walked in a clump, Parvati and Boot chatting. Harry looked sidelong at Finch-Fletchley, to see if he could start up a conversation there, but the Hufflepuff was lost in thought. Parvati left them at the second floor. Harry was still walking near Malfoy, Finch-Fletchley, and Boot when they approached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Ron and Hermione were waiting at the corner.

Hermione smiled at Harry, but Ron stepped forward with a less friendly grin.

"Hey look -- it's the Amazing Bouncing Ferret!," he jeered. "Been quiet, this year, fer—"

"Ron," Harry warned ominously.

The intensity of his voice surprised even him. Everybody froze. Harry took a step toward Ron. "Lay off."

Both Ron and Malfoy stared at him in amazement. Hermione bit her lip. Terry edged closer to the classroom door. Harry thought Justin had already gone inside, but he didn't dare look around and take his eyes off Malfoy and Ron to check.

"What, are you defending Malfoy, now?" Ron asked incredulously.

"He didn't do anything."

"Oh, well, not just now," Ron said angrily. "For all that matters."

"That matters." Harry glared at Ron. "I am not playing this game anymore, and neither should you. If he's leaving you alone, don't start anything."

For a moment, Ron stared, open-mouthed, at Harry. Malfoy had leaned back against the wall and was watching them studiously. Hermione backed up a pace and crossed her arms over her chest.

Harry advanced a step on Ron. He wasn't actually sure he could get Ron to obey him. He wanted Ron uncertain enough to back down, but he didn't want Ron to feel threatened. To balance the aggression of his advance, he tried to keep the anger from his face.

"We will discuss this later," he said. "For now, do not bait Malfoy."

Ron frowned. He looked at Harry closely, then, to Harry's dismay, he began to get the satisfied look that indicated Ron had a good next move.

"You know, Harry," he said, "You really shouldn't straighten your hair. It's too much like Snape's."

Harry flinched. One hand went immediately to his hair, and he pulled his fingers through it. Belatedly, he realized that he had seen Snape make the same motion, many times. Malfoy gave a soft snort of amusement.

"Why I see what you mean, Weasley," he commented. "Rather like someone subjected Professor Snape to shampoo." He stepped away from the wall to look more directly at Harry's face. Harry felt a brief flicker of foreboding. Uniting Ron and Malfoy against him had not been the point! Drawing their attention to his growing resemblance to Snape was even worse. He was fairly sure that Ron had not noticed how accurate his own comment was, but Malfoy was approaching with more critical regard. Harry held his ground to Malfoy's advance. Malfoy passed Ron as if he wasn't there, but stopped uncertainly when he was in arm's reach of Harry. Harry looked down at him.

"Yes," he said, guessing the reason. "I've grown."

Malfoy looked him up and down with a dismissive flick of his eyes. "Still not much to you," he commented. He shifted back and looked cockily at Harry. "The sneer is quite good -- very like -- but really, Potter, I don't think you can carry the look. Though it would be quite amusing to see you try."

Harry stepped back. Was I sneering?

"Better," Malfoy commented loftily. He strode to the classroom door, then looked back. "Time for class, Harry," he said carelessly, then disappeared inside.

Harry had to grab Ron to keep his friend from pursuing the Slytherin. After a brief scuffle, they ended up on the floor, with Harry atop Ron. Harry was certain that Remus wasn't in the classroom, yet -- he would have come out to investigate the commotion, by now.

"Ron!"

"Let me go! I'll kill him!"

"For what?" Harry demanded. "He didn't do anything."

"He called you Harry!"

Hermione giggled. Harry looked down at Ron, who was starting to quiet.

"I don't think familiarity is a capital offense, Ron," Harry commented dryly.

"Get off me," Ron growled. Harry figured Malfoy had settled by now, and was probably prepared to defend himself, if Remus wasn't present. Obligingly, he got off Ron. Ron stood and glared at him. "Did you tell him he could call you Harry?" he demanded.

Harry shook his head. "We don't really talk."

"Well, are you going to tell him not to?"

Harry grinned. "No way. I'll call him Draco and see what he does."

Ron took a swing at Harry, and Harry dodged.

"No!" Hermione yelled. Both boys scrambled back and drew their wands.

"Harry! Ron!"

Professor Lupin had arrived. He came running down the corridor, looking extremely displeased.

"What do you think you are doing?" A few heads poked out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom to watch. Lupin frowned. "Harry, you know better! Mr. Weasley, you are a prefect. You are supposed to enforce school rules, not break them." Lupin glanced up at Hermione. "Miss Granger, something more effective than yelling 'no!' would be appreciated. A Disarming Charm would have been an appropriate action."

"But I'd have to get one wand first," Hermione protested. "Then the other might...."

Professor Lupin nodded wearily. "We will be learning how to affect a group of people or things, this term. I'm certain you will find it useful." He looked back at Harry and Ron, again, and sighed. "Twenty-five points each from Gryffindor for the two of you."

Ron's jaw dropped. Harry shrugged as if he didn't care.

"But...!" Ron said.

"You were fighting in the halls," Lupin said angrily, "and obviously prepared to escalate to hexes. That is a major infraction of a rule of safety. If I see either of you do it again, it will be more points and detention. Is that clear?"

Ron nodded. Harry said "yes, sir," but accompanied it with his most defiant glare. Remus responded with an exasperated look that immediately made Harry feel his response had been shamefully childish. He dropped his gaze contritely. "Sorry," he added.

Remus sighed. "Let's go inside," he said. "You will not partner for dueling, today."

"Professor Lupin?" Hermione said. "Ron shouldn't partner with Malfoy, either."

Remus almost smiled. "That, Miss Granger, is assumed at all times."

Chapter End Notes:
Next: No way to meet a wyvern

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