By now, the Potions class had settled into its own rhythm— not exactly easier, but familiar. He had gone back through his notes over the last several classes— every difference between Snape and Jigger, every substitution, every stir count— and laid them out against each other in his notebook.
It hadn't taken him long to notice the pattern. Snape's changes weren't random improvements. They aligned. Nearly every deviation traded a small amount of stability for a meaningful gain in potency or a reduction in the preparation time— maybe even both, and never toward "safer but slower," which Jigger defaulted to almost every time. What Snape was doing was consistently optimizing the formula.
Today's potion was a Wideye Draught, and as usual what Snape wrote on the board was very different from the textbook— Dried Billywig Stings added while boiling rather than after cooling.
He didn't raise his hand immediately this time. He waited until Snape had finished writing, watched him set the chalk down, and only then did he raise his hand.
~~~
"Sir— correct me if I am wrong," Aegeus said, his voice steady. "I believe that you specified steeping Dried Billywig in the crushed porcupine quills first so it can act as a shield to protect it while it dissolves slowly." A pause. "While if we added it after cooling, although it would have time to dissolve, it would miss the critical moment when its properties were most needed"
Marcus subtly shifted an inch away... and across the room, several Slytherins paused with their knives still raised, waiting for the expected banishment.
Snape didn't scowl. He simply stood at the front of the room, his dark eyes fixed on Aegeus, taking in his words with detachment.
"Nice try, Mr. Granger," Snape said sarcastically.
He walked slowly down the aisle, his black robes trailing behind him like smoke.
Snape said, his voice slicing through the steam. "We don't steep Billywig Stings in porcupine quills to 'shield' it, Granger, but to make it dissolve faster. Can you perhaps tell me a single merit to slowing the dissolve time, Mr. Granger?"
What merit could I possibly know? I just know you did something similar before...
He stopped beside Aegeus's desk, looking down at him with cold disdain.
"You somehow managed to drill a correct conclusion into that thick head of yours, then invented a ridiculous theory to feel clever, and in the process you missed the obvious thing right in front of you... Do not confuse a lucky observation with real skill, Granger."
Snape turned back toward the board and picked up his chalk without another glance.
"Ten points from Gryffindor for wasting our time with your half-baked reasoning. Now that we are done with this farce, you can begin."
Aegeus offered the smallest, almost imperceptible incline of his head, dipped his quill, and wrote down what he learned.
~~~
Later, back in the common room, Marcus leaned forward in his armchair, resting his elbows on his knees, his face wearing an unusual look of genuine concern.
"Look, mate," Marcus said, keeping his voice lower than usual. "Don't let him get under your skin. Everyone knew you were the only one with half a clue of what he is doing with the potion."
Rosalind nodded, softening her usual sharp posture. "He was being unnecessarily harsh, Aegeus. Even if you were a little off, you were still pretty close... He just hates it when Gryffindors show initiative."
Aegeus paused while unbuckling his bag. Then he looked from Marcus to Rosalind, genuinely puzzled.
"What would I let get under my skin?" Aegeus asked, his voice perplexed.
"Well— he pretty much humiliated you in front of the whole class," Marcus gestured vaguely toward the portrait hole. "Anyone else would be furious."
"He was right to correct me; that's the whole point of asking," Aegeus said plainly, pulling out his notebook adjust it.
Rosalind stared at him, her eyebrows drawing together. "So... you're not upset?"
"No," Aegeus replied, dipping his quill into the inkwell. "He gave me exactly what I want. Maybe he was a bit harsh, but it's fine."
That seemed to settle her. And for a while the only sound was the fire and the scratch of someone's quill two tables over.
It was Marcus who broke the quiet, sitting up as though he'd only just remembered something. "Oh— you'll want to hear that too." He cast a glance over his shoulder, as if Slytherins might somehow be listening through the portrait. "It's about Bletchley and Higgs." he paused. "Charlie only managed to get five points taken off each of them. No detention, nothing."
"I am surprised he managed even that," Aegeus said evenly, shifting his shoulders. "Snape never punishes his house."
Marcus opened his mouth, found nothing useful to put in it, and settled for scowling at the fire instead.
Silence settled back over their table. Aegeus closed his eyes, executing a five-second count to let the ambient noise of the room— the crackle of spitting logs, the low murmur of other students, the rasp of chairs on stone— he let everything wash past him. It was a method he had developed since he started learning Occlumency: allowing the surface noise to exist without letting it disturb his thoughts.
When he opened his eyes, Marcus was still staring at the flames; as for Rosalind, she pulled her Astronomy chart and started writing in her notes.
Satisfied, Aegeus pulled a new parchment toward him and began writing.
Dear Mum and Dad,
Everything is fine at the castle; we learned a new charm this week; it's called Wingardium Leviosa. Everyone had to raise a feather in the air using it. Flitwick seems to like me. Potions is more interesting than expected; the professor uses his own method to make potions instead of the textbook. I believe soon I will be able to understand his logic.
He considered the next line for a moment, the quill hovering just above the parchment as he weighed whether to mention the last conflict. In the end, he decided that it wasn't important.
Tell Hermione I said hello, and to let me know if anything interesting has happened with her lately. I'm attaching a Chocolate Frog card; make sure she gets it.
I'll be sure to write again next week.
Love,
Aegeus
He read it back once and sealed it. Only then did he climb into bed, pulling the heavy crimson curtains shut behind him.
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TO BE CONTINUED
~~~
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