Gone Awry

When the two bickering girls reached Professor Snape’s office and entered, they saw something that scared the wits and any comment that was about to be made out of their mind. When they entered they saw a smiling Snape.

“Ah, just the girls I’ve been looking for,” he chuckled.

Seeing their shocked faces he sobered up once again, returning to his usual monotone voice. “No need to look so scared.”

“Sorry Professor, but a detention that makes you smile… has that effect,” Ash told him truthfully and Snape raised an eyebrow at her.

“Really? Well, I guess one would not really want to do what I have in mind for you two,” he agreed and held back a snicker by slightly shaking his head.

“Now, you two will be serving detention with me in this room for the next 3 days – there aren’t any classes or something similar on Friday. Therefore, no detention on Friday either. For the next three days you two will be standing outside of my office door at stroke 5 and will be serving your detention until you competed the task that I have in mind for you, is that understood?”

Pansy nodded, while Ash bit her lip, “but Professor, I have Quidditch Training and extra-curricular courses that will be part of the performances on Friday,” she argued.

“Well, it’s your own fault then for getting yourself into trouble, isn’t it?” he snapped at her.

With a guilty face she looked down at the floor, “yes, sir.”

Snape eyed the Beater of the Slytherin team. He always did like this girl. She was one of –if not the – best students he ever had and she was part of his houses Quidditch team. Also, she plays the part of the rueful student quite well, he thought.

“Alright, you can forget about your little extra-curricular courses – I do not care about that performance of yours, but your excused for the Quidditch practices,” he sighed. “But,” he added, “I want you to come here straight away when your training ends. Do you hear me?”

Ash’s eyes lit up as she looked at him and nodded enthusiastically. “Yes sir!” she cheered, while Pansy’s jaw dropped about ten feet.

“But sir!” she tried to reason, but Snape cut her off with a glare.

“Now, as for you detention task, its sitting over there,” he said sitting back down at his desk and nodded towards a gigantic pile of paper on one of the back and tables that was threatening to fall down any second now. “They are the end of semester tests. You will be correcting and grading them,” he told them and turned to his own pile of paper, she guessed the seventh year papers.

Slowly Ash turned to the piles and started walking towards them, Pansy right next to her. “Oh, and before I forget, Miss. Weasley you will start with sixth grade, while Miss. Parkinson will be in charge of the first year papers.”

“Why does she get to do the sixth years?” Pansy said angrily, she was about to take the sixth year papers.

“Because you’re too stupid,” Ash chimed while she took her designated papers.

“Who asked you?” Pansy glared and turned back to the teacher, who had been watching them out of the corner of his eyes.

“She’s correct, Miss Parkinson,” Snape answered her and turned back to his papers. Pansy’s mouth was hanging wide open, before she snatched her pile of papers and raced to a seat.

Snickering Ash walked to her own table and started correcting the papers.

1. What do you need to do a Polyjuice Potion?
lacewing flies, 2 leeches, 10 scruples of fluxweed, 3 drachms of pulverised Sal Ammoniac, Pulverised blades of knotgrass, a pinch of powdered horn of a Bicorn, Salpeter, Mercury and Mars, dried skin of a Boomslang, Extract of person you what to transform to.

Ash started at the answer with a scowl. Then she checked how many points where possible. 15… Ash gave the person 5. He had forgotten one fatal ingredient – the Antimony – and had forgotten a few important details in the named ingredients or had failed to say the right amount of ingredients needed.

2. Name two characteristics of Amortentia.
1. They smell differently to everyone
2. The color

Ash stared at the answer. This person didn’t want full marks do they? She asked herself as she gave the student 2 out of 4 points.

It went on like this. Every time she read the answers of her peers, she started to understand her Professors more and more. Finally she understood why they always were in a bad mood. Even she was starting to get in a bad mood, and it wasn’t her that tried to teach these people about Potions.

After two hours, Ash finally finished correcting the papers of the sixth years. Now when she though back, she only gave full marks at 10 questions or so, and the papers alone had 30 questions added that to the 40 students in the sixth year… she didn’t grade easy.

But hey! It’s Snape’s class, she was allowed to.

Sighing, she let her head fall onto the desk. “I don’t ever want to become a teacher!” she cried, earning a chuckle from the Professor.

“You finished?” he asked, raising and eyebrow.

“Yes,” she answered and took her head of the papers, as Snape levitated one of the tests over to look at it.

Quietly he scanned over the paper. “Good job, Miss. Weasley.” he said. “Miss. Parkinson, how far are you?”

“I’m halfway done,” she said proudly. Silently Snape levitated one of her own corrected papers over to him and scanned through them as well.

However, unlike his expression as he read through Ash’s grading he started to look angry. “Miss Parkinson! Did I really let you pass the O.W.L.S? How can you be so stupid! You can’t even answer first year questions!” he screamed and smashed the paper into the desk.

Pansy looked at him scared.

Ash saw how he tried to calm himself by clutching the table, before he ripped a piece of paper and started to scribble something on it angrily.

“From now on you will serve your detentions with Filch. Go to him and help him clean whatever he is cleaning right now!” he fumed and threw the note he scribbled at her.

Pansy fetched the note and ran out of the classroom, crying.

Ash stared after her quietly.

“Quit the act, Weasley. I know you want to laugh at her,” he said, slowly calming down.

Ash smiled at him. “Is it really that bad?”

“You’ll see soon enough, you’ll be re-correcting her stuff.” he said and allowed Ash to levitate the paper over to her own desk, together with the pile of papers on Pansy’s desk.

Slowly she read over what Pansy failed to correct.

1. What is a mixture of ingrediants called?
concoction.

‘Correct’ Ash thought, then she looked at Pansy’s points. 1 of 1 points.

2. Where is moonstone used?
Moonstone is used in various Potions, for example the Draught of Peace.

‘Wow, a seemingly intelligent student!’ Ash thought happily and then saw that Pansy had only given the girl 0 out of 2 points for a correct answer.

Ash shook her head in dismay and changed the points from 0 to 2.

3. What does the elixir of life do?
It lengthens your life. If consumed frequently you are near to immortal.

Again, Pansy gave the student 0 of 3 points. Ash sighed and gave 2 out of 3 points.

And it went on and on and on. When she looked at the pile of papers that still sat on the desk she sighed in defeat. This will be a long night…