A Part Of Him

VI- Big Bad Boggart

Malfoy didn't reappear in classes until late on Thursday morning, when the Slytherins and Gryffindors were halfway through Potions. He swaggard into the dungeon, his right arm covered in bandages and bound up in a sling, acting, in Evergreen's opinion, as though he was the heroic survivor of some dreadful battle.

"How is it Draco?" simperd Pansy Parkinson. "Does it hurt terribly?"

"Yeah," said Malfoy, putting on a brave sort of grimace. But Evergreen saw him wink at Crabbe and Goyle when Pansy had looked away.

"Settle down, settle down," said Professor Snape idly.

Evergreen scowled. If any of the Gryffindors had walked in late, Snape would've given them detention, not a mere 'settle down.' That was one of the things Evergreen had begun to hate about Potions, though she'd only been in the class a total of ten minutes: Malfoy and all his Slytherins goons could get away with anything because Snape, being the Head of Slytherin house, favoured them greatly.

They were making a new and complicated potion today- a Shrinking Solution. Malfoy set up his cauldron right next to Harry and Ron, so that they were preparing their ingredients at the same table. Evergreen felt a huge relief that Malfoy didn't choose to sit at the table she was sharing with Hermione and the boy she had grown a soft spot for, Neville.

Evergreen had grown to realise that she wasn't that brilliant at Potions, mostly because of the teacher, but Neville was one hundred times worse, and his fear of Snape didn't help.

"You've just got to stand up to him more," Evergreen sighed as she tossed her daisy roots into her cauldron, which turned the liquid inside a bright green. "I mean- c'mon, Neville, he's just an oversized toad- no offence to Trevor," she motioned to Neville's pet toad, who was sitting patiently at the end of the table.

Evergreen looked into Neville's cauldron and sighed. His potion, which was supposed to be bright, acid green, had turned-

"Orange, Longbottom," said Snape, appearing out of thin air and laddling some up and allowing it to splash back into the cauldron, so that everyone could see. "Orange. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one rat spleen was needed? Didn't I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?"

Neville was pink and trembling. He looked as though he were on the verge of tears.

"Please, sir," said Hermione, "please, I could help Neville put it right-"

"I don't remember asking you to show off, Miss Granger," said Snape coldly, and Hermione went as pink as Neville. "L-"

"Excuse me, sir," Evergreen drawled loudly, "could you back up? The fumes from your greasy hair-"

Snape slammed his fist on the table and looked down at the girl in a look of absolute loathing and rage.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor," he hissed quietly, only loud enough for her to hear, "one more word from you, Lupin, and it'll be detention."

Evergreen simply grinned and crossed her arms, seemingly unfazed.

"Longbottom," Snape went on, "at the end of this lesson we will feed a few drops of this potion to your toad and see what happens. Perhaps that will encourage you to do it properly."

"Help me!" he moaned quietly to Hermione and Evergreen.

"I'm shit at potions!" Evergreen whispered hurriedly, "Mione, you help him."

While Hermione whispered directions out of the corner of her mouth so Snape wouldn't notice, Evergreen began to think about what Hagrid had said yesterday.