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The Grindelwald Legacy	By : ccino49 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 7559 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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I own nothing but this sordid little tale. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I am not making any money by writing it. I must be insane.

The Grindelwald Legacy

Chapter 25

�Miss Grindelwald, take a seat.� Severus purred, his voice soft. He knew she heard him clearly.

Lucy perched herself at a desk halfway down on the left.

�Near the front if you please.�

She grabbed her bag and moved to the front row.
Severus noticed she favoured the left side of the room, the side his Slytherins usually occupied. There again so did Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, the latter two not so prone to segregation from one another. But never Gryffindor.
Lucy placed her wand on the desk then pulled her cauldron, ingredients pack, and potions textbook from her bag. She then removed a small notebook, and a pen and pencil before looking at the Professor.
�If you are finished, put away your wand. It will not be required in this classroom.�

As Lucy stowed the wand in her bag, Severus gave her the same speech he usually reserved for first years.

When he said he could teach her how to bottle fame, brew glory, and stopper death, she bit her lip to stop herself from laughing out loud. Sheesh, what a drama king.
Fortunately for her, Severus was pacing as he spoke and missed the smirk before she nipped it in the bud.
�Now, you will list each and every potion you have made under your grandmothers instruction. Once you have done that, I will look at the list and question you on method, preparation, and brewing of those potions. Begin.�

He walked round his desk and sat down while Lucy opened her notebook and started writing.
He immediately stood again, walked up to her desk and snatched the biro from her hand, tossing it into the bin behind him.
�Hey.� She exclaimed in surprise.
�You will use quill and ink in my class, not muggle pens and pencils.� He returned to his desk while she sighed and threw a glare at his back. �You will not be able to attend advanced potions along with your peers, but I fully intend to evaluate and improve on whatever limited knowledge you already have, before deciding whether you will be best suited to taking classes with my first or second year students.�
In alphabetical order, Lucy made her list.

Ageing potion

Babbling Beverage + antidote

Boil cure potion

Burn healing paste

Confusing & befuddlement draught + antidote

Cough potion

Forgetfulness potion + antidote

Hiccupping solution + antidote

Love potion

Murlap essence

Pepper Up potion

Shrinking & swelling solutions

Sleeping draught

Wound cleaning potion

She put down her quill and looked up.
Severus ignored her for a minute or two, his eyes fixed to the parchment in front of him, then lifted his gaze. �If you are done, bring me the list. Do not expect me to come and get it.� He lowered his eyes back to what he was reading.
Lucy stood and took the list to his desk, then returned to her seat. She watched as he picked up her book and studied her list.
�These are all of them?�

�All the ones I got to finish. We started a couple of others but I didn�t get to finish them.�

�Which potions, and why were they not finished?�

�Because I was in the hospital wing. Wolfesbane and Draught of the living dead.� She shuddered on mention of the last one.
Severus was surprised that Hetty had the girl working on such advanced potions along with the more mundane, clearly the woman wanted to ensure her granddaughter had a well rounded knowledge of the art. Still, it should make his task a little easier. Now it was time to find out just how much of what she was taught, actually stayed in that pretty little head. He mentally kicked himself for that reference to her.

�So, were I to ask you the ingredients to each of these potions, would you be able to tell me?�

�Some of them, but not all. I might have to look up a few things. We made a lot in a short space of time Professor, along with learning spells and stuff, it�s not easy remembering everything I did.�
�Good, at least you are not conceited enough to believe yourself infallible Miss Grindelwald. You may refer to the ingredients list for the sleeping potion, but not the preparation. Then tell me how you would prepare each of the ingredients, in which order and how you would add them, without the aid of the textbook.�
Shit. It took four goes before she made that one right at home. She checked the list, then told him what needed slicing or dicing, what to grind and what was liquid form. She close her eyes, envisioning the various stages at which gran told her each item needed to be put in the cauldron, when to stir and how often.
He noticed how she closed her eyes when reciting but said nothing. In what direction would you stir when brewing the forgetfulness potion?�
�Anti-clockwise fifteen times until it begins to change colour, then three stirs clockwise Sir.�
�And the antidote?�

�The same, then continue anti-clockwise on the final three stirs.�
�How thickly would you slice the Murlap root when preparing to brew Murlap essence?�
�I wouldn�t, it has to be ground with a pestle and mortar. Doesn�t it?�
�You are not sure?�

�I was, until you asked me.�
�Brewing method for Boil cure.�
�Purified water base, cornflour mixed to a paste with a small amount of distilled water, two drops of almond essence added to the purified water once it reaches boiling point, closely followed by a tablespoon of white vinegar. The cornflour paste is added once the heat is turned off. I think.�
Lucy rubbed at her temples as she answered question after question. The Professor did not indicate if her answers were correct or not, he merely went on to the next question as soon as she answered.
He then asked how far she got with the Wolfesbane and Draught of the living dead.
�The Wolfesbane had another week to stand, gran said we would add aconite the night before it was finished. We only got to second stage with Draught of the living dead and I don�t know what we were meant to do next. I was supposed to finish reading about it the following night but then I bust my knee.�
�It is lunchtime. When we return you will brew a shrinking solution.�
Lucy slumped in her chair. She was exhausted. �Can I leave my things, or do I have to pack them away?�

�Since it is the holidays, you may leave them here during your time with me, when school begins you will clear your workspace and leave it immaculate before you leave this room. Come on, I am hungry.�
�Did I do okay?� She asked while trying to keep pace on the steps leading up from the dungeons.
�What do you think?�

�I don�t know, that�s why I�m asking. Come on professor, give me a break. I�m trying really hard to do something I never even imagined existed for the last sixteen years of my life. Plus I have to try and catch up with the years I missed.�
Severus considered for a minute. Actually he was more than satisfied with her answers this morning. She answered wrongly several times, but on the whole she remembered much of what she was taught. �You were� passable. Tell me, why do you close your eyes when relating a process?�
�Photographic memory. I looked it up when I started High school. Not too common, but it�s not unusual either. There are plenty of others like me.�
�Not exactly like you I hope.� He commented with a snort.
Lucy chuckled. �No, not exactly like me. I�m a one of a kind.�

�Thank the Gods for that.�
�Hey, I�m not that bad.�
�That is a matter of opinion Miss Grindelwald.�
She all but gobbled her food when they finally reached the hall, then wrapped a few sandwiches for later and stuffed them in her pocket.
When they returned to the classroom she hid the sandwiches in her bag and went to wash her hands before unpacking her ingredients. She skimmed over the text for brewing the Shrinking solution, put the base in her cauldron and set it to boil while she prepared her ingredients.
Severus watched from his desk, he had a clear view from where he sat so it wasn�t necessary to stand over her while she brewed.

There was a tense moment when she almost added the powdered anthracite before the chopped mercury leaf, but she checked the textbook first and corrected her actions. The cauldron would have melted had she just gone ahead and added the wrong ingredient at that time and he was about to shoot from his chair and stop her. He was mildly impressed however that she halted, then referred to the book instead of just going ahead when she was unsure of her actions. Most students wouldn�t have given it a second thought.
The finished potion was just a little bit cloudy when it should have been clear, but considering she had been in the magical world what - six, seven weeks, she was doing exceedingly well. Not that he would tell her so.
�Do you know why your potion is barely passable Miss Grindelwald?�
�I�m not sure, was I too fast with the final stirring? I got a bit excited when I realised it was almost done.�
�That, and the fact you were a little heavy handed when pulverising the daisyroot. It should have been ground, gently. Next time you will control yourself. It is acceptable, but only just. Clear your station and you may go.�
Lucy couldn�t wait to get home. Potions with the Professor had been one of the most stressful lessons she�d taken so far. She kept expecting him to make some sarcastic remark, he never once told her well done, or gave praise when it was due. At the same time he did not criticise her when she did make a mistake, or call her stupid when she answered a question wrong. And she was pretty sure she answered several of them wrongly.

TBC
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- 26
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The Grindelwald Legacy