Sirius left without a sound. No one at Hogwarts noticed, and the students went to their lessons as usual.
It was Thursday, and they had Potions that morning.
Snape was explaining the Shrinking Solution from the front of the classroom.
"This potion is far subtler than many people initially imagine. It can return a creature to a younger form. Turning a toad into a tadpole, for instance."
As he spoke, Snape glanced at Neville, who hurriedly hid Trevor in fright.
With a sneer, Snape swept his gaze over the students looking up at him, then frowned and said coldly, "What are you staring at me for? Does my face have more words on it than your textbooks?"
The students promptly buried their eyes in their books.
Ron muttered to Harry, "Honestly, wasn't he the one who just told us to listen to him?"
"To make this potion, you will need chopped daisy roots, a skinned shrivelfig, sliced caterpillars, and a little leech juice." Snape paused, then continued in his peculiar drawl, "And one rat spleen. Remember, one!"
"If anyone cannot get the quantity right, I will remove their own spleen and throw it into the cauldron."
Neville sadly rubbed his stomach, apparently worrying about the spleen he was about to lose.
"If you succeed, the potion will turn green. If you fail, it will turn orange. This potion is poisonous. Don't say I didn't warn you." Snape finished slowly, his eyes narrowed.
After explaining the procedure, Snape told the students to begin brewing.
"Malfoy's got all the luck," Ron sighed as he chopped his daisy roots. "He gets to pretend he's ill and skip class over that tiny injury..."
"Yeah," Harry agreed glumly.
Sirius had slipped out of Hogwarts that day to put their agreed plan into action.
Harry was