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Only Time Will Tell	By : chrmisha Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 3087 -:- 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
- 7
- 8
- 9
Chapter 8: Potions

The time had come to select their final project for Potions. Each student was to choose a relatively difficult potion. They would have four weeks, in class, to brew the potion to perfection. Hermione had been waiting for this day. She had never doubted for a minute which potion she would choose. She already had the instructions and the ingredients memorized.

Today they were brewing a dehydrating potion. Professor Snape walked through the dungeon and stopped by each student to ask them what their final project would be. He challenged nearly every student on his or her choice. Harry was obviously nervous as his turn was next. Hermione was nervous too, but it was nervous excitement she held inside. When Snape�s eyes finally turned to hers they were cold and malicious.

�Miss Granger, what potion will you be preparing?�

Not trying in the slightest to keep her voice down, she said, �I will be preparing the Wolfsbane potion, Professor.�

Snape stared at her with steely, dark eyes. �Miss Granger, surely you are aware how difficult that potion is to brew. Few qualified wizards are able to brew that potion. Perhaps you might do better with something a little more straightforward, like the Draughsmore potion.�

�I�m sorry, Professor, but I am not familiar with that potion.� Hermione said, a pure innocence to her voice. She knew exactly what the Draughsmore potion was, it was a potion of liquid silver used over a century ago to kill werewolves. It was highly unlikely that anyone else in the class would know this bit of information but she was sure Snape knew she knew.

Snape�s eyes flashed dangerously at her. �You do realize that this potion is worth 50% of your grade. If you fail Miss Granger,� he leaned in closer to whisper, �which I�m sure you will,� he straightened, his voice returning to normal volume, �you will most certainly fail this course.�

�I do not intend to fail, Professor.� Leaning forward, she said quietly, �After all, you somehow managed to brew it. I�m sure I will do just fine.�

Hermione watched with pure pleasure as Snape�s spine stiffened at her words, rage emanating off of him. Regaining his composure, he said loudly, �Perhaps, Miss Granger, you have more personal reasons for choosing the Wolfsbane potion.�

Hermione leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, not bothering to keep her voice low. �Oh, you have no idea, Professor Snape, just how many, many personal reasons I have. Not the least of which is you, Professor Snape. After all, should something unfortunate befall you, there would be one less wizard in the ranks able to brew this important potion. Don�t you agree, Professor?�

She could feel the heat rising off his body; the tension in the room was thick enough to slice with a knife. She stared him down. I dare you, Snape, I dare you to lay a hand on me.

It seemed to take all of his self control to maintain his composure enough to make his next statement without exploding. �Perhaps, Miss Granger, you have been mislead. I do not believe that werewolves are in need of saving. On the contrary, they are some of the most vile and dangerous creatures that so freely walk this earth.�

At this Hermione leaned forward eagerly, her eyes still locked with Snape�s. �Oh, Professor, I can think of many more vile and dangerous creatures that walk among us.� She held his contemptuous gaze before pounding the nail in the coffin. �For example, Lord Voldem��

�ENOUGH, Miss Granger! Ten points from Gryffindor for your inappropriate behavior!�

Hermione sat back smugly in her chair and folded her arms. Harry looked horrified.

When class was dismissed Harry grabbed her by the arm. �Have you gone mad?�

She smiled mischievously at him. �No, I don�t think so.�

�Hermione! You know he�ll do everything in his power to fail you! And why would you choose the Wolfsbane potion, that�s one of the most complicated potions there is!�

�Professor Snape hates werewolves. I couldn�t think of a better potion to brew.� After a slight pause, she added, �And he won�t fail me. Even if he did, I will still get top marks on my N.E.W.T.s, which are not administered by the school. He has no control over that. After all, N.E.W.T.s are what matter in the real world.�

Harry stared at her in awe and disbelief, shaking his head.

***

The Gryffindor common room was uncharacteristically quiet as students poured over their schoolwork. Even Harry and Ron seemed to be working without distraction. Hermione was learning everything she could about the Wolfsbane potion. She had contacted a few well known Healer�s around the globe by owl to get a feel for their work with the Wolfsbane potion. To her pleasant surprise, they had been more than happy to correspond and share their knowledge with her. They were thrilled that she was interested in learning how to brew the potion, and impressed that someone her age was willing to take on the challenge. She�d even become friends with a Healer in Scotland who had had Professor Snape when she was a student at Hogwarts and commiserated with Hermione. The healer said that she would never have even dared suggest that potion in Professor Snape�s class. Although Harry still thought the Wolfsbane potion was a bad idea, Hermione was quite pleased with herself. She was sure she knew more about brewing the potion than Snape ever would, although she hadn�t yet had the opportunity to actually brew it herself. After all, it was not much more complicated than the Polyjuice potion she had brewed her second year in the girl�s bathroom to turn them all into Slytherin�s for an hour.

As she flipped through a book on werewolves looking for the affects of the potion on the transformation, she came upon a paragraph that someone had underlined. �Werewolves have amazing healing reserves, hence they do not fall sick often. When injured, they heal much faster than the average witch or wizard because their cellular structure regenerates at a much faster rate. Accordingly, they do not age like humans. Since their cells break down at a much slower rate, their physical appearance does not correspond with their age in chronological years. Likewise, they have a longer lifespan than humans.� Letting this sink in, she looked over at Harry who was studying his notes on Aging potions.

�Of course!� she exclaimed, much to everyone�s surprise.

�Oh, nothing, I just had a revelation,� she answered to the numerous cries of �What?� she�d received upon her outburst. She sat back in her chair and rubbed her tired eyes. Everything made sense now. Remus had looked so young this summer, too young. But when she saw him the night of the Spring Ball, he looked just like he had when he taught at Hogwarts four years prior. His face was more lined, his hair flecked with gray, not the silky golden brown it had been all summer. Well, this certainly makes life simpler, she thought, a smug smile on her lips.

***

Harry had chosen a relatively long but straightforward potion for his final project. He found it much easier to get work done now that Snape had found a new target for harassment��Hermione. He couldn�t believe how calm and collected she managed to keep herself. He would have been furious. He was furious��for her. But she didn�t even seem to notice anything was amiss. She seemed almost happy that Snape was ruining her efforts at succeeding in making the Wolfsbane potion. For the third day in a row, after two strenuous hours of potion brewing, Snape had magically made Hermione�s potion disappear for some unforgivable flaw that would require she start over the next day. Although Harry knew very little about the Wolfsbane potion, he did know that it took nine days to brew and if something didn�t change, surely she�d run out of time. It was usually not wise to count on your first several attempts at a new and difficult potion.

On the fourth day, Harry watched Hermione nervously. To his surprise, she preempted Snape.

He had watched her very carefully weigh out the last ingredient��powdered Snigglewort root. She then eagerly raised her hand.

As Snape sauntered over to her bench, his voice dripped with sarcasm. �May I help you, Miss Granger?�

�Oh, yes indeed Professor,� she said eagerly. �It seems I�ve added too much Snigglewort root. I was only supposed to add 2 mg, but I added 2.125 mg. I fear this may ruin this delicate potion. Do you think it will matter? Do you think I should start over?� Harry watched as Hermione stared eagerly at Snape. �After all, I do realize how important this final project is, and how it will reflect upon my final grade. I fear that if I can�t get this right, I may have to take you up on your offer.�

�My offer?� Snape spat at her.

�Yes, your offer. At the beginning of the semester you said that your goal was to make sure we all succeeded, and that if any of us had problems, we were welcome to come to you for extra assistance. I fear I may be spending my evenings with you for the next month if I can�t get this right.�

A look of malice and loathing settled in Professor Snape�s eyes.

�So, do you think I need to start over?� Hermione prodded.

�No, I�m sure it will be fine,� Snape said through clenched teeth. He turned abruptly and walked away.

Making sure Snape�s back was still to them, Hermione flashed Harry a triumphant smile.

In the next three weeks, Hermione successfully completed three batches of the Wolfsbane potion, to perfection, without another word from Snape. Any questions she had she directed to the Healers she�d made contact with. She�d saved vials from her first two successful attempts for Remus. She had enough for him for six months. Since the potion was quite expensive, she was excited to be able to give them to him.

She was the first to hand in her final batch of potion for grading. She smiled proudly as she handed over the vials. The look that Snape gave her was the same look he�d given Remus when he realized what had transpired between the two of them that summer. I win, she thought to herself. She turned and left the classroom, knowing she would only have to see him for two more weeks and then he would, hopefully, be out of her life forever.
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Only Time Will Tell