"Thanks for the advice, Luna," Hermione said.
"What was that all about?" Neville asked, looking back and forth at his three friends. "Luna... you actually talk to those creatures? And they tell you things?"
"Well, sometimes I talk to them but they never listen to me anyways. I just like to eavesdrop and they don't seem to mind. I'd introduce you, but if you're having trouble noticing them this close by then maybe you won't be able to hear them at all." Her offer was met with three blank stares.
Hermione was the first to break the silence. She should have kicked herself for not considering the possibility, but she had to ask. "Luna, the blibbering humdingers... really exist?"
"No, of course not," Luna answered. Confusion swept through the other three faster than a Confundus spell. Thankfully, she decided to explain things further, since none of the others could figure out what to ask first. "They're kind of like dreams, except I can only talk to them when I'm awake, so they're definitely not dreams. But they don't really exist, they only exist halfway, I guess. That's fine, though, I don't really care if my friends really exist or not." She leaned forward and gave each of them a hug. "I think friends that really exist are a bit more fun, though."
"That... made no sense at all," Hermione muttered weakly. "Harry, did you understand her?"
Harry just shrugged. "Beats me... even though I've seen a lot of weird things in my life, Luna will always be the weirdest of all. I mean that in the best possible way, Luna."
"Thanks Harry!" Luna smiled at him.
"I think we should be glad we're real," Neville murmured. Talking to Luna always seemed to put things into a perspective he'd never even contemplated before. If being called a squib was bad, it was nothing compared to how Luna was sure they weren't figments of her own imagination.
"Let's just go back to finding good potions, shall we?"
For following week, they pored over dozens of potions texts, going by the same criteria that Harry had thought of before. The potion would be fairly quick to brew and also had fairly quick effects. Lastly, they needed a potion that would fit the theme of "earth." Harry's role in the trial would probably be to identify the raw ingredients and collect them- Neville was a great help in that department, showing Harry most of the plant-based ingredients in their natural state. Hermione helped oversee his brewing in the Room of Requirement when they had a shortlist of possible potions. Just to be safe, he also practiced brewing the twins' exploding and immolation potions. If all else failed, he could always try blowing something up, at least.
A week and a half after the deal with Malfoy, and the students were seeing the evidence of his handiwork already. There had been a Board of Governors meeting on Friday, and the result was now standing at the ingredients cabinet. A man with extremely short, grey hair and his robe sleeves tied tight to his arms with cords was going through Snape's stores. He took out jar after jar, inspecting, smelling, even tasting a few. Some ingredients he would dump on to the desk and, pulling out a knife or tweezers that were strapped to his arm, he would chop or prod the ingredients. If Harry hadn't been able to identify the specific types of potions knives and tools strapped to his arm, the man would have looked like some crazed knife-murderer.
"Who are you and what are you doing with my ingredients?" Snape asked the man with hostility coating every word.
The man turned around. He appeared to be missing an eyebrow and had a few burn scars on his chin, making his short goatee slightly lopsided. Evidently he'd brewed a bad potion himself more than once in his lifetime. "You must be Severus Snape. Thought you looked kind of young," the man said, completely unfazed. "Didn't the association tell you I was coming? The name's Fleming. Floyd Fleming. I'll just be inspecting your ingredients here for any possible signs of contamination... improper storage... mis-labelling." He gave Snape a disdainful look with the last few words.
"I can assure you my potions ingredients are in perfect condition," Snape said.
"I'll be the judge of that," Fleming said, turning back towards the cabinet. "You just go and teach your class, hm?"
Harry was glad he decided to come to class this week. He was tempted to ruffle Snape's feathers as usual, but he was also curious to see what this man would do to Snape alone. He decided to be a good student today. Snape stood behind his desk, clearly annoyed that the other man had dismissed him so easily, and told the class, "Wands away. You've all studied the supersensory potion. Now get brewing."
Fleming turned around and narrowed his eyes at Snape. "Hold it!" he said. Turning to the students, he said, "Everybody take out your wands. Now."
A lot of the students were unsure of what to do, looking nervously between their furious professor and the fierce glare of the newcomer. Harry decided to take the lead and released his wand from his holster. Most of the other Gryffindors and a few Slytherins followed suit.
"You're a slow lot, aren't you?" he sneered as several of the students still didn't have their wands in hand. "Maybe it was the students' fault, after all," he muttered. "You're brewing a potion today, correct? What's the first step in brewing?"
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