The Potions Professor's Tutoring
The Quidditch Match soon got underway, with Hufflepuff facing Ravenclaw in its first match.
After the captains shook hands with forced smiles, the players from both sides rose into the air at Madam Hooch's signal.
Evita rode her broom, her gaze roving through the air as she searched for the Golden Snitch.
It was the most important ball in Quidditch, as well as the one that drew the most attention. A metal ball the size of a walnut, it had wings made of silver and flew so fast that it was difficult to catch. The Seeker's job was to catch it.
Once it was caught, the side that caught the Golden Snitch earned one hundred and fifty points, and the match ended immediately.
With the Beaters keeping close guard over her, Evita was able to focus on her search, and she soon spotted the Golden Snitch's tiny form.
Ravenclaw's Seeker was a third-year girl. She had taken both hands off her broom and was trying to catch the Golden Snitch.
But the Golden Snitch quickly flew out of her sight, vanishing into the air almost in an instant.
Evita changed direction and began flying upward. When she noticed Ravenclaw's Seeker flying in the same direction out of the corner of her eye, she plunged downward at full speed.
The wind rushed past her faster and faster, ruffling her ever-loose braid and sending the long plait that usually rested obediently behind her head streaming high in the air. Evita raised the Golden Snitch, which she had caught effortlessly in her hand.
Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and the first match ended successfully in just half an hour.
The players, looking dazed, all jumped off their brooms and rushed over to hug Evita tightly. "We've never won so quickly," they said affectionately. "This feels absolutely wonderful!"
The Hufflepuff House students in the stands burst into enthusiastic applause, giving Evita a thoroughly pleasant, heady feeling—the happiness of being the center of everyone's attention.
After the victory in the first Quidditch Match, December arrived in the blink of an eye, and a little over two months after the Christmas holidays came the Easter holidays. During this time, the second-years had to start considering their third-year electives: Arithmancy, Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies, Divination, and Care of Fantastic Beasts.
With a sweep of her hand, Evita checked all five subjects. It would be a good chance to see whether she could get good marks on her fifth-year O.W.L. Examinations.
After the Easter holidays ended, she handed her application form to Head of House Sprout and headed to Potions Class with her schoolbag on her back and her steps heavy.
She hadn't earned Hufflepuff any points in that class for months. Or rather, no one could get points from Snape except the Slytherin students.
Snape's harsh, scathing manner had "offended" every student in the other three houses, and Gryffindor's dislike of him was particularly strong.
By comparison, the Hufflepuff students were almost invisible to him, apart from Evita.
Snape stopped beside the girl, who was pressing her lips together and putting on a serious expression. As his gaze swept over her textbook, a mix of emotions crossed his face: disgust, and something else.
At last, he drawled in an extremely gloomy tone, "Miss Lorand, I don't think you should tolerate someone with no talent for Potions scribbling all over your textbook. Or do you find it amusing as well?"
Evita looked down at her toes. She had brought the wrong textbook today because she had slept in. As it happened, she had filled this one with all sorts of odd, miscellaneous ideas during the summer after her first year. Not only that, there was someone else's handwriting in it too.
Unfortunately, the handwriting on this particular page belonged to Sirius. He had been lazing around with nothing to do when Lily caught him and put him to work, helping Evita revise some of her unrefined ideas for improving potion-making methods.
Even more unfortunately, Snape, who held the power to deduct points, seemed to hate this sort of thing very, very much.
Evita pulled a miserable face and began asking herself why she hadn't checked her textbook before coming to class. Now look what had happened: both of them were in an awkward position, and she absolutely couldn't let Hufflepuff's House Cup be lost because of her!
Much to her surprise, Snape said nothing more on the subject. He merely gave a cold snort and said unhurriedly, "Miss Lorand, it is quite obvious that if you follow this, the only result will be unprecedented foolishness."
He glanced with great distaste at the somewhat messy handwriting on the page. "For that reason, I think you need to come to my office."
"All right, Professor," Evita answered with exceptional caution, her mind racing with guesses.
As long as it isn't detention, but he's definitely going to criticize me... Luckily, Snape didn't deduct points from Hufflepuff, or I really would have banged my head against a wall.
Snape swished his robes, turned around, and continued explaining the rest of the lesson.
When class ended, Evita packed her schoolbag slowly. The Ravenclaw students who shared Potions Class with her and the Hufflepuff students alike cast her deeply sympathetic looks, as though she were about to march to her death.
Evita shook her head sadly and wearily, then followed Snape with heavy steps. She watched him open a door in the chilly corridor and point inside, telling her to enter.
"Go in, Miss Lorand. Must I say 'please'?"
"Of course not, Professor." Evita walked in and looked around.
The walls were dim, and the shelves along them held many large glass jars, with all sorts of revolting things floating inside. Evita looked at them one by one, secretly reciting their names in her head.
Snape waved his wand, lit the fireplace, and turned to look at her.
"Professor?" Evita sat obediently in a chair and hid behind her textbook, leaving only her eyes exposed.
I'm being good, please spare me.jpg.
"What does a Strengthening Solution do?" Snape's tone was fairly neutral for the moment.
"It strengthens the effects of other potions."
"What ingredients does it require?"
"Ginger root, moonstone, salamander blood..."
"Get the ingredients," Snape said. "Brew a batch here."
The Strengthening Solution was fifth-year material, and Evita had only tried brewing it a few times, so she wasn't particularly familiar with it.
She quickly gathered the appropriate ingredients and went through every step with her head lowered, until the liquid in the cauldron had slowly been stirred to a clear emerald green.
"I'm finished, Professor."
Snape studied the cauldron of potion. "At least you have a clear enough head. You didn't choose to use those modified steps."
Evita unconsciously fidgeted with her fingers. She often did that whenever she was feeling anything other than happy. Right now, for instance, she couldn't quite figure out what Snape wanted.
Snape said mildly, "Add the salamander blood more slowly, then move straight on to the next step after stirring four times clockwise. Do it again."
Evita stared blankly, then lowered her head and did it again.