Faith .|. H. J. POTTER ✔

Chapter thirty-nine

Potions with Snape was definitely not the lesson Faith had been looking forward to. Nobody was. Well, maybe the Slytherins Snape favoured but then again, Faith noticed the countless of times the very headmaster favoured Gryffindor so she couldn't really say anything about that. Only when he abused his power over the Gryffindor students.

This lesson was quite disappointing for Faith. She worked so hard on the moonstone essay they handed in the previous lesson but a large, black 'D' was written in the upper corner. The lowest grade on the exception of 'T'. When Faith glanced at Harry's paper next to her, she saw he had the same grade.

"I have awarded you the grades you would have received if you presented this work in your OWL," Snape told the class. "This should give you a realistic idea of what to expect in examination," When Snape reached the front of the classroom, he spun on his heel and faced them with the same emotionless look as always. "The general standard of this homework was abysmal. Most of you would have failed had this been your examination. I expect to see a great deal more effort for this week's essay on the various varieties of venom antidotes, or I shall have to start handing out detention to those dunces who got a 'D',"

"Some people got a 'D'? Ha!" Malfoy whispered loudly and mockingly. 

Stupid Malfoy. 

When Snape wrote the instructions for the Strengthening Potion they had to brew during this class, Faith and Harry told themselves to not give Snape another reason to fail them but that only worked out partly. Harry's potion turned out fine. Not perfect but at least his blue-ish potion was closer to turquoise than Neville's pink one. Faith's potion, on the other hand, was a mess. Harry noticed he had to stop her multiple times from adding ingredients twice after not remembering she already put them in. That was why her end result looked more yellow than turquoise. 

"Well, that wasn't as bad as last week, was it?" Hermione asked when they climbed up the stairs from the dungeons to the Great Hall for lunch. "And the homework didn't go too badly, either, did it?"

Harry, Ron and Faith didn't answer.

"I mean, all right, I didn't expect the top grade, not if he's marking OWL standard, but a pass is quite encouraging at this stage, wouldn't you say?" The other three didn't react again. "Of course, a lot can happen between now and the exam, but we've got plenty of time to improve, but the grades we're getting now are a sort of baseline, aren't they? Something we can build on ..." They arrived in the Great Hall and found themselves a place at the Gryffindor table. "Obviously, I'd have been thrilled if I'd got an 'O' -"

"Hermione," Ron interrupted sharply. "If you want to know what grades we got, ask,"

"I don't - I didn't mean - well, if you want to tell me -"

"I got a 'P'," Ron said as he ladled soup into his bowl, before ladling some into Faith's. "Happy?"

"Well, that's nothing to be ashamed off," Fred suddenly said, startling Faith a little. Him, George and Lee Jordan just arrived at the table and sat down on Harry's right. "Nothing wrong with a good healthy 'P',"

"But doesn't 'P' stand for ..." Hermione trailed on.

"'Poor', yeah," Lee Jordan said. 

"Still better than 'D', isn't it? 'Dreadful'?" George added. Faith dropped her spoon in her bowl and looked at the Twins and Lee with a sigh. 

"Oh, Faithy-kins received a 'D'," Fred said as he reached behind Harry to ruffle Faith's hair who sat next to him. 

"In my defence, Snape graded it OWL-level and it's only the start of the year," Faith said, hiding that she actually cared a lot more than she made them see.