...this quote:
“This is the copy of Advanced Potion-Making that you purchased from Flourish and Blotts?”
“Yes,” said Harry firmly.
“Then why,” asked Snape, “does it have the name ‘Roonil Wazlib’ written inside the front cover?”
Harry’s heart missed a beat. “That’s my nickname,” he said.”
The first time I read it I laughed and I thought: Harry, that's why you are not in Ravenclaw.
It was quite intelligent as he was under pressure, but honestly, it's funny he said that to Snape.
(I really enjoyed this chapter and worked hard on it, so any feedback from my readers, if possible, would be greatly appreciated.)
Previous Chapters:
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003768423
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003769317
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003770117
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003771789
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003772695
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003774876
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003775746
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003776170
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003776958
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003777821
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003778655
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003779874
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003781975
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003784137
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003786670
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003788477
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003788958
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003789922
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003790766
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003792515
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003794298
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003794299
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003795416
https://harrypotter.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003796242
Tags:
@Teddy.J.B @Pervaza972 @CatsAndRoblox @Missy Clara Oswald
Chapter Twenty-Five: Sectumsempra
Exhausted but delighted with his night’s work, Harry told Tracey, Allison, Theodore, and Canini everything that had happened during breakfast the next next morning (having first cast the Muffliato spell upon those nearest them). They were all satisfyingly impressed by the way he had wheedled the memory out of Slughorn and positively awed when he told them about Voldemort’s Horcruxes and Dumbledore’s promise to take Harry along, should he find another one.
‘Goodness, how exciting,’ said Canini when Harry had finally finished telling them all everything. ‘You’re going to get to go on an adventure with Dumbledore.’
‘One that will potentially help save the wizarding world,’ continued Allison stoically, but Harry could tell she was impressed.
‘Aren’t you worried it’ll be dangerous, look what it did to Dumbledore’s hand,’ expressed Theodore.
‘I’m sure it’ll be on par with murderous chessboards, outrunning Acromantulas, surviving a werewolf attack, the third task maze, and battling Death Eaters, and I survived all of that.’
‘And Dumbledore got cursed when he went Horcrux all by himself,’ said Tracey, ‘but this time him and Harry’ll go together so I’m sure they’ll be fine.’
Before they could continue the conversation any further the morning post arrived and amongst the owls were Hedwig, Janus, and the family owl Phasming, each delivered a near identical letter to the three adoptive siblings. It only took Harry one guess as to who it was from.
“Dear Harry,
I apologize for the long span of time without word from me, but I am home now from my mission, although I’m saddened to say it was anything but successful. I hope you, your siblings, and your friends are well, I really regret that I was unable to see you all during the Easter Break but hope you enjoyed your time as the Tonks’ or Weasley’s. I also trust that your studies have been going well, and that just because you don’t have O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s at the end of your sixth year is no excuse to neglect your homework (although having some occasional fun is a more acceptable excuse). I look forward to seeing you and your siblings when the Summer starts, and I greatly miss using seeing all your faces in the mirror.
Lots of love.
~Remus”
Before Harry could forget any of his thoughts he retrieved a quill and piece of paper from his bag and wrote a response letter.
“Dear Remus,
It is good to read that you are all right, as Tonks told me a little of what happened and me and the others were quite worried. My schoolwork is going well, Potions class is still my highest grade.
A lot has happened to me and my friends since Christmas, I’ll try and go in order. We are doing our Apparition lessons and I have now Apparated successfully several times. Allison and I are now a couple and we are very happy together, we started dating Valentine’s Day night. That same night however there was an attack that was meant for a Professor but ended up near fatally poisoning Tracey, but with me and Madam Pomfrey’s help she survived. Because of this second attack security was increased even further and so everyone else and myself didn’t actually get to go home for Easter as it was deemed just to unsafe. Finally, my team won yet another Quidditch match, which means we have a chance at winning the inter-house cup yet again.
I’m really glad you are home, as again we’ve all been worried. I can’t wait to see you in the summer as well.
~Harry”
Harry purposely left out the parts of him sneaking into Hogsmeade to attend a reunion, having house-elves follow Malfoy, him getting two of his Professors blackout drunk, and potentially leaving the castle again to go on a dangerous Horcrux hunt with Dumbledore. He just didn’t want Remus to worry. He gave his letter to Hedwig and she took right back off into the cloud of owls.
Charms class that morning was decent, they were trying desperately de-aging charms to turn vinegar into wine, but with them all distracted by Harry’s news only Tracey managed to fully reverse her vinegar into a good quality wine while Theodore managed to get halfway there, and Harry and Allison failed to turn their vinegar into anything close to wine.
After the class finished they had a rare free period where they all shared the same one, and being such a lovely day outside they decided to spend it doing their homework together in the courtyard. Only subconsciously did Harry notice the suspicious lack of Gryffindors.
It was only when lunch time arrived and Harry had entered the Great Hall and was hearing some whispers about a “bell” that he put the two pieces together and started looking around the Hall until he spotted the small group of seventh years Gryffindors clustered around someone, he then ran up to them.
‘Katie, I’m so glad you’re back,’ said Harry. ‘How are you feeling?’
Katie Bell was looking completely healthy and surrounded by her overjoyed friends.
‘Yes, how are you Katie?’ said Allison. ‘The quidditch match against Gryffindor wasn’t the same without you.’
‘I’m really well!’ she said happily. ‘They let me out of St. Mungo’s on Monday, I had a couple of days at home with Mum and Dad and then came back here this morning after breakfast. Leanne was just telling me about how Gryffindor team has been doing without me…’
‘Well now they have their Captain back, so maybe you’ll win second place again this year,’ said Allison cheekily.
‘Hey, supposedly the Hufflepuff team is really tough this year, Slytherin might loose to them and then Gryffindor can still win. Anyway, as for Captaining, while I’m glad to have my role back, Ginny actually did a great job and I’m thinking of making her Captain for next year.’
Talking about Quidditch was nice, but there was something else on Harry’s mind and he was fairly certain Katie knew it to.
‘Listen, Katie…’
He had to put the question to her at once; his curiosity even drove his upcoming Horcrux hunt from his brain. He dropped his voice as Katie’s friends started sitting down to eat.
‘…that necklace…can you remember who gave it to you now?’
‘No,’ said Katie, shaking her head ruefully. ‘Everyone’s been asking me, but I haven’t got a clue. The last thing I remember was walking into the ladies’ in the Three Broomsticks.’
‘And you definitely actually entered the bathroom?’ asked Allison.
‘Well, I know I pushed open the door,’ said Katie, ‘so I suppose whoever Imperiused me was standing just behind it. After that, my memory’s a blank until about two weeks ago in St. Mungo’s. Listen, I was to nervous to eat this morning, so right now I’m starving…’
She sat down with her Gryffindor friends to eat, leaving Harry and Allison to rejoin their friends at the Slytherin table. They told them what Katie had said and they all got to pondering.
‘So whoever cursed Katie must have been a girl or a woman, otherwise being in the ladies’ room would have drawn unwanted attention to themselves,’ said Tracey.
‘Or someone who looked like a girl or a woman,’ said Harry. ‘Don’t forget, there was a cauldron full of Polyjuice Potion at Hogwarts. We know some of it got stolen…I’m starting to wonder if Malfoy actually was at Hogsmeade and it was one of his goons who was sitting in detention with Professor McGonagall.’
‘It is possible, but we still have no proof…’ said Theodore slowly.
‘I think I’m going to take another swig of Felix,’ said Harry, ‘and have a go at the Room of Requirement again.’
‘Harry, that wouldn’t work and we both know that,’ said Theodore flatly, putting down his DADA homework. ‘The potion of Liquid Luck is just that, luck. It can’t change reality. You always had the ability to get the memory from Slughorn, you just needed a bit of luck getting the right scenario. However if the Room of Requirement has a rule that it won’t divulge one of its inhabitants secrets to another then it is still not going to open up even if you’ve drunken an entire bottle of Felix Felicis.’
‘That and you shouldn’t waste it,’ said Tracey quietly. ‘You said you wanted to save it for a battle against Death Eaters or You-Know-Who to keep our side safe, and that battle is likely going to happen eventually. You yourself also said your mission with Dumbledore will likely be dangerous so maybe you should save the potion for that.’
‘But what if you could make more and use Felix Felicis for all those things?’ suggested Allison. ‘Professor Slughorn mentioned it was a tricky potion to make, but what if the Half-Blood Prince has tricks that make it easier?’
Harry pulled his copy of Advanced Potion-Making out of his bag and looked up Felix Felicis.
‘Blimey, it’s seriously complicated,’ he said, running an eye down the list of ingredients. ‘And it takes six months…You’ve got to let it stew…’
‘Well then that’s not happening,’ said Allison.
Harry was about to put his book away again when he noticed the corner of a page folded down; turning to it, he saw the Sectumsempra spell, captioned “For Enemies,” that he had marked a few weeks previously. He had still not found out what it did, mainly because he did not want to test it around Theodore, but he was planning on testing it on some magical birds he could make using the Bird-Conjuring Charm he had learned a few months back but hadn't had the time.
The following fortnight saw the best Quidditch practices Harry had seen in months. With the weather quickly improving it gave for great flying conditions, and the break in the gloomy weather also brought up the spirits of everyone on the team.
Quidditch practice wasn't the only social engagement of Harry's going well, him spontaneously using the Hindi term of endearment jaanu for Allison stuck, and probably from what he said on Valentine’s Day about loving hearing her speak French she started calling him beau which he liked very much.
However without constantly trying to get Slughorn’s memory Harry found sports and romance was not enough anymore to keep him distracted from thing about what Malfoy was up to. The temptation to take another gulp of Felix Felicis was becoming stronger by the day, for surely this was a case of needing, as Theodore put it, 'a bit of luck getting the right scenario'?
The balmy days slid gently through the final days of April and the first few days of May. The final Quidditch match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff was looming; if they lost, who the winners of the Cup will be would not be determined until Gryffindor faced Ravenclaw, but if they won the Cup would be theirs.
Because this meet could be the determining match of the Championship there was great interest for the Slytherin vs Hufflepuff game throughout the school, for the match would decide the Championship, which was still wide open. However even if they lost this match, through points it was possible when the Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw match finished, that Slytherin could still win, so Terence was training his Chasers and Harry to gain as many points as possible. If they got more than three-hundred point, even if they lost this match it was still nearly guaranteed they'd win the Cup overall.
The run-up to this crucial match had all the usual features: members of rival Houses attempting to intimidate opposing teams in the corridors; unpleasant chants about individual players being rehearsed loudly as they passed, but Terence's iron fist appeared to keep their team from physically harming any Hufflepuffs; there was also team members themselves either swaggering around enjoying all the attention or else dashing into bathrooms between classes to throw up.
In the midst of all his preoccupations, Harry had not forgotten his other ambition: finding out what Malfoy was up to in the Room of Requirement. He was still checking the Marauder’s Map, and as he was unable to locate Malfoy on it, deduced that Malfoy was still spending plenty of time within the room. Although Harry was losing hope that he would ever succeed in getting inside the Room of Requirement, he attempted it whenever he was in the vicinity, but no matter how he reworded his request, the wall remained firmly doorless.
A few days before the match against Hufflepuff, Harry found himself walking down to dinner alone from the common room, Tracey was in the Owlery sending a letter, Allison was finishing up an Ancient Runes essay, and Theodore was helping Colin perfect a transfiguration spell he had for homework. More out of habit than anything, Harry made his usual detour along the seventh-floor corridor, checking the Marauder’s Map as he went. For a moment he could not find Malfoy anywhere and assumed he must indeed be inside the Room of Requirement again, but then he saw Malfoy’s tiny, labeled dot standing in a boys’ bathroom on the floor below, accompanied, not by Goyle or Blaise, but by Moaning Myrtle.
Harry only stopped staring at this unlikely coupling when he walked right into a suit of armor. The loud crash brought him out of his reverie; hurrying from the scene lest Filch turn up, he dashed down the marble staircase and along the passageway below. Outside the bathroom, he pressed his ear against the door. He could not hear anything. He very quietly pushed the door open.
Draco Malfoy was standing with his back to the door, his hands clutching either side of the sink, his white-blond head bowed.
'Don’t,' crooned Moaning Myrtle’s voice from one of the cubicles. 'Don’t...tell me what’s wrong...I can help you...'
'No one can help me, no one can take any of my problems away,' said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. 'I can't keep doing this...I can't keep going through this alone...I can’t do it either...It won’t work...and unless I do it soon...he says he’ll kill me...'
And Harry realized, with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying—actually crying—tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin. Malfoy gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror and saw Harry staring at him over his shoulder. If this were a year ago maybe things could have been different, maybe Draco would have confided his obvious pain to Harry and maybe Harry would have listened and comforted him, but to much bad blood had re-arisen between then and now for that to be the outcome.
Malfoy wheeled around, drawing his wand. Instinctively, Harry pulled out his own. Malfoy’s hex missed Harry by inches, shattering the lamp on the wall beside him; Harry threw himself sideways, thought Levicorpus! and flicked his wand, but Malfoy blocked the jinx and raised his wand for another—
'No! No! Stop it!' squealed Moaning Myrtle, her voice echoing loudly around the tiled room. 'Stop! STOP!'
There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded; Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wall behind Malfoy’s ear and smashed the cistern beneath Moaning Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped as Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, 'Cruci—'
'SECTUMSEMPRA!' bellowed Harry from the floor, waving his wand wildly.
Blood spurted from Malfoy’s face and chest as though he had been slashed with an invisible sword. He staggered backward and collapsed onto the waterlogged floor with a great splash, his wand falling from his limp right hand.
'No—' gasped Harry.
Slipping and staggering, Harry got to his feet and plunged toward Malfoy, whose face was now shining scarlet, his white hands scrabbling at his blood-soaked chest.
'No—I didn’t—'
Harry did not know what he was saying; he fell to his knees beside Malfoy, who was shaking uncontrollably in a pool of his own blood.
'Episkey!' cried Harry, but nothing occurred, although he knew that spell was mostly for broken or dislocated bones.
'Reparifors!' attempted Harry again, trying the healing spell Tracey had attempted to use on Katie, but either Harry wasn't casting it right or just like Katie that spell had no effect on powerful curses. Draco continued to bleed heavily while crying in pain.
Moaning Myrtle let out a deafening scream: 'MURDER! MURDER IN THE BATHROOM! MURDER!'
Snape should have written books on potion making.
Over the years Snape didn't have students refer to the textbook, instead he wrote the instructions down on a blackboard, because as we saw in Harrys 6th year, studemts who followed the text book did nowhere as well as Harry while following the Half Blood Prince notes.
In Harrys fifth year, despite all the trouble he had with Umbridge, and the usual issues he had with Snape, Harry still managed an Exceeds expectations.
To my mind Snapes students remarkable grades despite his teaching style, tells me that it was his potioneers tecnique that when compared to 'expected' standards from O.W.L examiners, always gained such excellent results. I'm sure examiners noticed some unusual teqcniques being used by all of his students, but there's no arguong with the results achieved.
I hope that someone like Percy Weasley who achieved an O for his Potions N.E.W.T kept a record of all his notes. While it wouldn't cover everything Snape had discovered over the years- it'd be a great shame for the field of Potions if Snapes exceptional work died with him.
I'm too lazy to find the video so yeah basically it's this:
The real reason Harry was so good in potions in his sixth year isn't just bc he had the Prince's book. The Half-Blood Prince was Snape- as we all know. But Mr. Can't-Use-Shampoo was his teacher and he wrote down those same instructions on the board. Harry, for all we know, never went to the optometrist in between the books or during the books. If I had the same glasses prescription (though I wear contacts now) I wouldn't be able to see that far either! (Fun fact, the person in the TikTok said the same thing about her eyesight so yeah). But, since the book was closer to him, he was able to see the instructions more clearly
For Enemies
Quick sketch, turned out decent
I'm currently embarking on a study of severus' personality, habits, traits, and every bit of knowledge I can grasp.
If you have any interesting bits of knowledge and/or head canons related to this matter, please write them out in the comment section.
Thank you to anyone who heeds this.
Yes, I have already watched the movies, and hated snape. But now i just finished the half blood prince, i swear if cursing was a allowing in this fandom i would doing it rn!!!! I HATE SNAPE, IDC wat u potterheads say, I HATE SNAPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And yes, i have just finished the half blood prince ( slow reader do not judge)
Comments, thoughts, and opinions?
In the Half-Blood Prince, Harry finds an old Potions book with very helpful edits in the margins, which had belonged to "the half-blood prince." He briefly wonders if the book could have belonged to his father, but dismissed that idea, because the date on the book is from fifty years ago.
It turned out that the book actually belonged to Severus Snape. But Snape was in the same grade as James Potter was. How could it have belonged to him if the date was from fifty years ago?
Im watching the half blood prince and i just watched the part where the death eaters destroy the burrow and i’m SOBBING 😭 fRiCk BELLATRIX
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