Pomona went to the kitchen and picked up some mashed potato and shrimp crêpes. Though there was more appetizing food, she figured Severus had neither the time nor the mood to sit down and eat properly.
When she arrived at the Potions classroom, he was indeed busy. The air was thick with the scent of peppermint, and bottle after bottle of sun-colored Cheering Potion was being poured into crystal vials and set on the worktable.
She could not help sighing.
The atmosphere at school had been subtle lately. Some students already needed Cheering Potion to resist those negative effects. Luckily, the weather had warmed, allowing classes to be held outside the castle. The Forbidden Forest lay beyond the range of that strange dark magical object.
"Need any help?" Pomona asked.
He glanced up at her, then noticed the picnic basket on her arm.
"I don't have time," he said coldly.
"It's only crêpes. You don't even have time to eat?" Pomona said, lifting the cloth covering the basket.
"You didn't prepare a feast like last time?" he said mockingly, yet he set down the crystal vial, wiped his hands on his robes, and walked over to reach for a crêpe.
"Wash your hands!" She smacked the back of his hand.
He grunted irritably a couple of times before heading toward the back of the classroom.
Pomona set the picnic basket on a table in the Potions classroom. The orange polka-dotted cloth looked utterly mismatched with the worktable emanating a dark aura, but she had no intention of finding one that "matched."
She continued pouring the Cheering Potion into crystal vials. It was not difficult, and after she had filled four or five bottles, the old bat emerged from the back.
"I have a gift for you," he said, fastening a