Potions class

The potions class was held in a dungeon. It was colder there than upstairs. The classroom was square in size, very large. There was poor lighting and a musty smell. In the corner was a stone basin used to wash the students' hands and ladles. James, along with Sirius and the others, arrived with difficulty because of how big the castle was, but luckily there were still 5 minutes left before the professor would arrive.

The only bad thing was that they had to share a class with the Slytherin first years that included Rabastan, Avery, Mulciber, and Snape among others that neither James nor Sirius liked.

James' group sat in the right corner at the back, and Rabastan's group sat in the opposite corner also at the back. Both groups looked at each other with unfriendly faces.

Professor Slughorn arrived on time and greeted the class with a big smile, 'For the head of Slytherin, he doesn't seem so bad,' thought James.

Slughorn began to take roll call cheerfully, and it took a long time, "Black, Sirius," he said, and Sirius raised his hand. Slughorn looked at him interested.

"That's the first time I've seen a Black in another house, interesting. I expect great things from you," he said with a sympathetic smile. Sirius nodded without much excitement.

Evans, Lupin, Lestrange, Pettigrew, Potter, Shafiq, Snape....

"And last, Umbridge Dolores."

"Here," said a girl with a wide, flabby face, a short neck, and a sweet voice that was becoming irritable. James looked at her and Gwen's best friend came to mind, 'They have some similar things...' he thought with a strange look on his face.

"Right. Many of you will think that brewing potions is fascinating, fun, and lots of explosions. Sorry to disappoint you, but it's not all like that. To brew potions properly we must read a lot. It is a very subtle art. However, that doesn't take away from the extraordinary and it gives great satisfaction to create a successful potion in a gently boiling cauldron," Slughorn said.

"The two books we will be using this year will be: 'Magical Drafts and Potions' written by Arsenius Jigger and 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' written by Phyllida Spore. The latter book will be more boring for them, as it is a guide to potion ingredients and has a lot of information," Slughorn continued.

The students listened in silence. Sirius clicked his tongue weakly as he heard about the last book, he didn't like the subject of potions at all let alone having to learn one thousand magical herbs and fungi.

"I suppose you'll want to get started on the cauldrons as soon as possible, but first... Who can tell me what the dictyamus is for?" asked Slughorn.

Three people immediately raised their hands. James, Lily, and Snape.

"Lily Evans," said Slughorn, giving the floor to the redhead who being in front of everything managed to get his attention easier.

"It's a magical plant with healing and restorative properties," Lily replied and looked nervously at the professor, wanting to know if she answered correctly.

"Right. Severus Snape, what potion can I brew mainly with the dictyamus?" asked the professor, looking at the boy with greasy black hair and a look of few friends.

"The main one is the herbovitalizing potion, but you can also brew the babbling beverage as well," Snape replied confidently.

"Oh, very good. I didn't think you would know about the babbling beverage," praised Slughorn.

"And lastly, James Potter. What if you use the dictyamus in a mixture with silver?" he added, now looking at James sitting in the background.

"It may cure a werewolf wound, preventing the victim from bleeding to death from the bite, but it will not cure them of lycanthropy," replied James.

One of the boys upon hearing this response flinched, but no one noticed.

"Right, very good. There's a lot of talent in this course," said Slughorn with a big smile.

"How do you remember that?" asked Sirius, whispering.

"My dad's a potioneer. I read the books long before," replied James in a low tone.

"As mate Snape said, one of the potions that can be brewed is the herbovitalizing potion and that's the one we'll be doing today. Your classmates have already answered everything they need to know about this potion. Now listen and write down the instructions for its preparation," said Slughorn as he began to list the steps to create the potion. Everyone wrote down without wanting to miss any details.

Fifteen minutes later, the explanation was over. The potion had more than 15 steps and now they had to brew it in groups of three.

"How are we going to do it, there are four of us!" asked Peter, trembling. He was really bad at potions and if James and Sirius decided to stay with Toby, he would be in trouble.

James and Sirius looked at each other. They asked the professor if it was possible in groups of four, but he said no.

"We'll split into groups of two. That way no one will be left out," proposed James. They couldn't leave one alone.

"I-I with you, James!" said Peter quickly, to which James nodded, and the other group consisted of Sirius and Toby. Sirius looked at Peter a little annoyed, but didn't say anything.

"Tell me Peter. Who else do we ask to join our group?" asked James with a thoughtful look on his face as he looked around for some mate to complete his group, Gryffindor preferably.

"I-I don't know... you decide, James." replied Peter. James looked at him strangely, thinking that this boy had no power of decision and that he always acted nervous.

James' gaze fixed on Emily, who had no group, but he remembered how blunt she was with him today at breakfast. So he decided not to invite her to his group.

"Hey Lupin!" said James, approaching a seat where a lone, scowling boy was sitting, or so it seemed at first glance.

"What do you want?" asked Lupin.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to be in our group," said James looking at his roommate, a person of few words.

Lupin thought about it. This boy was a real pain in the ass, he had already invited him several times to go to the dining hall together, but he always turned him down. However, he showed no signs of tiring.

'It's a group task... I have no choice,' thought Lupin, regretfully looking at James' bright smile that looked like he knew he had no choice.

"Okay..." said Lupin.

With a cauldron on the table, they began to fetch the ingredients. Then, they began to carefully heat the cauldron. James remembered all the instructions and was very skilled at handling the cauldron and preparing the ingredients, so they had no problems.

Peter looked at him admiringly, wondering if there was anything James could do wrong. As for Lupin, he remembered by heart everything the professor said, so he was very helpful in several steps.

45 minutes passed, and many groups seeing that their potion was taking on a different color put their hands to their heads and looked at the instructions in the book several times.

"Well, all that's missing is worm snot..." said Lupin, rereading the steps of the potion.

"Go get it, Peter," said James, who was holding his wand waiting for the right moment. Besides, the only thing Peter was good at was fetching the ingredients. Peter nodded and quickly went to one of the shelves on the wall to get the ingredients.

"Put that back, you Slytherin bastard!" growled a voice that belonged to Sirius.

Sirius was facing Rabastan, Mulciber, and Avery.

Toby at his side looked at the Slytherin gang in fright. A girl stood behind Sirius also with a frightened look on her face. The third member of Sirius' group was Mary Macdonald a girl who had only recently discovered the magical world.

"I take it first, Black. Ask your mudblood friend," Rabastan said with a nasty grin.

"Shut up and give me back the ingredient. Otherwise..." said Sirius in a threatening tone of voice.

"Otherwise, what? What would your mother say if she saw you with two mudbloods?" said Rabastan, looking at Toby and Mary in disgust.

"Don't mess with my family!" shouted Sirius as he punched Rabastan in the face.

Avery, seeing his friend being hit, hit Sirius with a big punch to his face and pushed him back. The whole room watched this scene, "Sirius!" exclaimed Toby, trembling as he saw two boys approaching who were taller and more built than he was.

He closed his eyes and advanced with his fist raised, throwing punches in the air that were very weak and didn't hit anyone. Mulciber and Avery looked with a sneer at Toby and at the same time punched his face.

"Stop!" shouted Slughorn, who was walking quickly towards the back of the hall. However, he would not make it in time. As Mulciber and Avery's fists were about to connect in Toby's face a scream was heard.

"Flippendo!" exclaimed James with wand in hand and pointing it at the two Slytherin boys. Thankfully, he was about to make a slight wand flick for the potion. He had it in hand ready to act.

A dazzling flash of light shot out of James' wand straight at Avery and Mulciber.

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