Standing Alone.

Chapter 8 - Potions.

A/N: I got Wattpad to cooperate with me. So here's a new chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it!

The mossy green waters outside of the window, lighting up with each flash of light that came from the lightning that showered from the sky. It was way past midnight, as Harry sat in the Slytherin common room, staring at the water, thinking about everything that had happened over the summer. And then when Mad-eye showed up at dinner that night.

Harry removed one of his rings, letting the others remain. His glamour fell and in the reflection from the waters, a man looked back at him. His jaw sharp and his eyes piercing.

"Felix Felicis..." Someone whispered from outside, the portrait slowly opening. Harry's hand shot forward, grasping the ring, before he noticed who entered. His eyes opened wide and he hurried up to his feet. "Barty!" He whispered with a hiss and the man's head whipped around, his eyes wide. "Reggie?" He whispered back and a manic smile spread across his lips, crossing the room, he brought Regulus into a firm hug.

Regulus was in shock as to what the man was doing here; and then his brain filled in the many blannk spots. Alastor "Mad-eye" Moody. Of fucking course. "You're pretending to be Mad-eye?"

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Harry walked to his first class, fiddling with the locket around his neck. He had skipped breakfast in favor of staying with Barty in his bed. He walked into potions class as one of the first there and inclined his head towards his teacher. Severus narrowed his eyes at the boy and Harry just raised a brow.

After everyone had filed in and settled down with their couldrons, books and notebooks, Severus turned the board to show what they would be making. "Sir... Why's the board empty..?" Hermione asked with a raised hand. "Patience, Miss Granger." Severus barked. "Today you will be showing me how far you have gotten with your potion making and will be doing one from the top of your heads, or, if you have one written in your notebooks. You are not allowed to talk to one another, you are not permitted to ask for help and you most certainly cannot, open your text book."

He pointed to the clock. "You have 3 hours, and after that, you will have the last hour to write an essay about your chosen potion, if you do not finish within that time, it will become homework, do you finish early with the potion, you can start on the essay. You may begin." And so everyone hurried to go grab ingriedients. All but Harry.

"Mr. Potter, do you find yourself above going to find your own ingredients?" Severus snarled. Harry took off his reading glasses and placed them in his hair, shocking the Professor. He placed his notebook, closed, onto the table and raised a brow. "Professor?" He asked and Snape cleared his throat. "Well, Potter, are you not going to get your ingredients?" Harry smiled, but as usual, it didn't reach his eyes, and this time it looked even more sarcastic than usual. "You said we could use our notebooks, if we had a potion in them. I am currently reading over the ingredient list. It would be unwise of me to rush in there, without checking what I am going to need. Do you not agree, Sir?"

Severus had to, figuratively, bite his tongue, as to not snap at the boy, especially since Harry was correct, it was the smartest approach to this. Without getting an answer back, Harry moved his glasses back down to his nose, picked the book back up and his eyes scanned over the list of ingredients.

Harry nodded, closed his book and grabbed the small basket to put his ingredients in, and walked to the pantry, now that almost everyone had settled back in with their things. Harry had always been kind of slow in potions, but that was because he was always put with Neville. Now he could show Snape, what he was made of. In his first year, Harry hadn't even been allowed a second to gather his thoughts, before Snape was at his throat for not trying hard enough and asking Harry if he was 'Too Important' to learn the basics.