Miss Quinn

126 ~ Dolores Umbridge

"Settle down," said Snape coldly, shutting the door behind him.

There was no real need for the call to order; the moment the class had heard the door close, quiet had fallen and all fidgeting stopped. Snape's mere presence was usually enough to ensure a class's silence. But Emma was relaxed more than tense. The Potions classroom had always been a place she could thrive. And she relished the familiar smell of potion ingredients and put-out fires.

Emma's Monday had not been going so well. She'd woken up late, burst into History of Magic mid-way through the lesson, and fallen back asleep the minute she sat down, mumbling apologies. Perhaps it was because the night before, she'd stayed up late talking to Venus in the dorms, then snuck down to the secret room to IM Annabeth, and then Will. She and Will had talked for hours. Even though it had been only a few weeks since she'd seen him, it felt like an eternity. They spoke about the progress at camp, mostly. Will informed her that they'd picked up two new Apollo kids within the last few days: Kayla Knowles and Austin Lake. Emma had asked if the new Austin was anything like the old Austin, to which Will replied with a negative. Then, he'd called them over and introduced them to Emma, and the three of them had talked for another hour. Kayla was a short ginger girl with a bright smile, green highlights, and a fierce attitude. Emma thought she was quite similar to Sadie, but maybe with an extra edge. Austin Lake was the complete opposite of Austin Barton. Lake was dark where Barton was light, and Lake had a more musical tone to his voice than Barton had. Emma liked both of her new siblings, and promised she'd IM again soon.

By the time she'd crawled into bed, it had been about four in the morning.

"Before we begin today's lesson," said Snape, sweeping over to his desk and staring around at them all, "I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an 'Acceptable' in your OWL, or suffer my . . . displeasure."

His gaze lingered this time on Neville, who gulped.

"After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me," Snape went on. "I take only the very best into my NEWT Potions class--" he met Emma's gaze "-- which means that some of us will certainly be saying goodbye."

His eyes rested on Harry and his lip curled. Harry glared back.

"But we have another year to go before that happy moment of farewell," said Snape softly, "so, whether or not you are intending to attempt NEWT, I advise all of you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high pass level I have come to expect from my OWL students.

"Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: if you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing."

Emma shared a knowing look with Venus. She'd made the Draught of Peace back in third year. This would be a breeze.

"The ingredients and method–" Snape flicked his wand "–are on the blackboard. You will find everything you need–" he flicked his wand again "–in the store cupboard–" (the door of the said cupboard sprang open) "–you have an hour and a half . . . start."

The ingredients had to be added to the cauldron in precisely the right order and quantities; the mixture had to be stirred exactly the right number of times, firstly in clockwise, then in anti-clockwise directions; the heat of the flames on which it was simmering had to be lowered to exactly the right level for a specific number of minutes before the final ingredient was added.