Paper and Ink
by donotsrock
PrologueProfessor Snape made his way through class commenting on potions and deducting house points – from those annoying Gryffindors, of course – when something in the storage cupboard caught his eye.
Obviously, some stupid student hadn't found it necessary to be careful with his ingredients. He saw the glass jar with bug wings slightly open and right next to it was a half-empty vial that formerly contained a phoenix's heartblood mixed with its tears.
'There is a reason why this vial was sealed', he thought. 'Do students have to be so bloody idiotic?' As to who was responsible for the mess, his bets were on Longbottom. That boy couldn't brew a potion if his life depended on it. Maybe it had been Goyle, but normally Malfoy gathered their supplies. In fact, in potions that required partner work, Malfoy never let Goyle do anything if he had to work with him. Of course, he didn't want to ruin the potion. Miss Granger on the other hand was more – civil. She let Longbottom at least get their supplies and prepare some of them. And now he had to pay for her charity.
His scowl only deepened when he picked up the jar in his left and the vial in his right. He wasn't sure if the contents had already been mixed. That could be dangerous. And he couldn't reach for his wand, now that the glasses were in his hands. Sighing inwardly, Snape made his way back through the classroom to his desk.
As he passed Granger, he glanced toward her cauldron and was surprised to find the contents boiling.
"Miss Granger, why is your potion boiling? Doesn't it say 'simmer'? Explain", he snapped at her. This did nothing to improve his mood. Although he would never admit it, he had become used to Miss Granger's nearly always perfectly brewed potions. And he was used to using them. What he couldn't do when she made mistakes – or let Longbottom make them.
"I'm waiting. Didn't you wait until the liquid was completely purple before adding the lavender?"
"Sir, I'm sorry. I didn't pay attention for a moment. I was preparing the mint and mixing it with owl oil when Neville asked about the lavender and he-" She didn't have the chance to finish the sentence.
Longbottom obviously realised that the conversation was about him and wanted to hear what he'd done wrong this time and how many house points would be taken for it. Unfortunately he didn't see his own book bag and fell forward into Hermione, who on her part leapt forward into Professor Snape. Who dropped what he was holding into her cauldron.
Suddenly the potion stopped boiling. The colour changed from purple into yellow and then into a deep dark red.
Snape watched the potion change and said, "Miss Granger, you may want to step back a bit. The ingredients I held were not supposed to mix with the potion. Especially when brewed in the wrong way."
But Hermione was staring into the cauldron, fascinated by the whirlwind that suddenly formed in there.
Snape saw it, too. 'This is not good', he thought. He grabbed Miss Granger's arm and said, "Miss Granger, I insist on stepping back. This" – he gestured towards the potion with his free hand – "looks as if it's about to explode. I'm not sure about the reaction due to your… changes in brewing. So maybe we don't want to be near it when-"
The cauldron exploded and he and Miss Granger were drained in a sweet and sticky goo.
'Great. This day is great. I smell like candy, for Merlin's sake.' Snape closed his eyes for a second and tried to calm himself. He'd had worse.
With one quick glance around the room he made sure nobody was harmed.
"I don't think I feel any different. What about you, Miss Granger?"
She shook her head. "I think I'm okay, Professor", she said.
He realised that he was still holding her arm and released his grip. "To make sure you should go and see Madam Pomfrey – after cleaning up this mess. Longbottom, 20 Points from Gryffindor for being too stupid to walk. And another 20 for adding the lavender too early. Now help Granger."
Longbottom looked scared to death when he headed over to the storage cupboard to get the cleaning supplies.
When Potter and Weasley stood up to look after Granger, he glared at them. "I believe you two have a potion to finish. Miss Granger can tell you later how she managed to let her first cauldron explode." At that he saw the Granger girl flinch. 'Yes, this must bugger you like hell', he thought delightful. 'At least it was worth something.'
Snape considered cleaning himself with a spell and letting Granger boil in the sweet potion, but decided against it. He cleaned them both with a flick of his wand. If he'd let her stay wet, she'd probably catch a flu, or worse, and he'd never get Poppy off his back. And this way he didn't have to smell the potion all day.
"Thanks, Professor", Miss Granger mumbled and bend down again to scrub the cauldron.
Suddenly, Snape became aware of everyone else staring at them. He turned around to face the class – with a scowl so deep that Longbottom would most likely wet himself – and shouted, "Everyone stop staring and get back to work."
With a last furious glare towards Longbottom, Snape went to his desk to take down notes. He'd do some research to ensure that there would be no after effects of the potion. And to work out what exactly hit them.
AN: So, do you want to know what happens next? It's a SS/HG story, so be warned if you don't like the two of them together. What potion did Neville accidentally brew?
The title is a song title (Tracy Chapman's Paper & Ink from her album Telling Stories). There's no reason why the story is called Paper and Ink, I just happened to hear that song when I started writing it… However, I just have to add the Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, except my sick but creative fantasies. The title belongs to Tracy Chapman (duh!) and the characters are J.K. Rowling's (as if you didn't know…)