Harry nearly laughed aloud when Snape announced the subject. Neville and Hermione were amused, as well. Last month, during duelling training, all of them had been brewing the potion multiple times a day. Harry could do it while he was exhausted. Neville didn't need Hermione's help for this one. All three also noticed two unnecessary ingredients, one of which would cause the potion to taste worse, and the other would make it fail horribly. Neither was taught on the fourth-year curriculum until the end, which Harry had already finished. The Slytherins had been warned by Snape before class. Harry wondered how he could get that information to the other Gryffindors.
As he walked up to the ingredient cabinet, he saw an all-too-familiar face. "Hey, Draco. I'm surprised you weren't expelled," Harry said with a wild grin on his face. "How much did it cost your father to keep you in school?"
"Shut it, Potter," was Draco's only reply. Surprisingly, even around other Slytherins, he no longer had the same bossy confidence as before. He only commanded the respect of Crabbe and Goyle now, who Harry suspected only hung out with him under orders from their parents. It seemed that they all knew Draco's wand was snapped and he'd just received a new one.
Harry decided to bait Snape by deliberately picking up the unnecessary ingredients. He knew Snape was watching him as he carried all the listed ingredients back to his workbench. Hermione and Neville looked at him questioningly, but he just winked. He began preparing the initial few ingredients, throwing them into the cauldron. Others were doing the same, as it was a commonly-used potion base. When he noticed others were having trouble and trying to figure out the remaining ingredients, however, he picked up the shrewberries and very nearly dropped them into his cauldron, but paused. Knowing Snape was eagerly awaiting the chance to humiliate him for an improper potion, he started eating the berries instead.
"Potter! Why are you eating one of your ingredients?" Snape roared. Once again, everyone turned to stare at him as he continued eating.
"Tastes good," Harry said. "And I'm hungry. Why not?"
"Only a fool such as yourself would eat a raw potion ingredient! Why don't you try the hornpepper next?"
"Too spicy. Besides, it needs to be properly prepared or else it'll kill you. The shrewberries, on the other hand, are perfectly fine to eat straight from the bush. They're just a flavour enhancer," Harry explained, watching Snape lose his composure. He just needed a little more to tip him over the edge. "But I really have to wonder if your potions mastery is legitimate, Snape, if you think shrewberries aren't good to eat- or if they should be part of a Reinvigoration draught at all."
"You think you know enough about potions to challenge my authority? Tell me, Potter, do you know what are the proper buffers to mix dragon's blood and giant's blood in a single potion?" Snape challenged.
"Oh, stop trying to change the subject," Harry said casually waving his hand dismissively at Snape. "Even a fourth-year knows that shrewberries make things taste worse if you use them in a potion that also has aconite bark." Suddenly, half the Gryffindors looked down at their own benches and moved the berries off to the side. A few of them even ate the berries themselves. Snape furiously began deducting points from the students who followed Harry's lead. "And what on earth is the dried newt tail doing here? It'll just make the potion explode! I really have to question your credentials." There was another flurry of movement as the Gryffindors moved yet another ingredient away from their cauldrons.
"Detention, Potter!" roared Snape.
"Can't do that, remember? I'm just visiting," Harry reminded him.
"I'll be sure to fail you! You'll never get to write the OWL!" Snape was now seething.
"You're saying you can fail me in a class I won't take until next year? That really shows your professionalism, Snape."
The fuming professor drew his wand. Harry was prepared to defend himself, but Snape only vanished his potion. "Get out of my class, Potter!"
"You're not allowed to throw me out, Snape. That would be a blatant violation of the rights for all Triwizard champions to have equal education and resources at Hogwarts." He went to the cabinet to grab more potions ingredients, but Snape tried to stop him.
"Do not waste my potions ingredients, Potter. You've already used up your share," Snape spat.
"I didn't waste anything, Snape. You're the one who vanished my potion, which you should have known, if you really are a potions master, was brewing perfectly. It's well within my rights to get a chance to practice brewing this potion when I've done nothing wrong. Besides, there's still plenty of time left in class for this potion." He continued to gather the ingredients again, making sure to grab another measure of berries.
"You already know the berries aren't necessary for the potion, Potter. Why are you still taking them?" hissed Snape.
Popping another one in his mouth, Harry pointed to the front of the room and said, "It's still up there on the board. You've told us all to grab the berries for something, and if it's not as a part of the potion, I think it's to keep us energized while we brew this. Potions is such a boring subject."
He spent the remainder of class brewing his potion and grinning like mad at Snape as much as he could, taunting him to try something else. So distracted by Harry's behaviour, he forgot to pester the other students. Nearly everyone managed to brew at least a passable reinvigoration potion, but Snape still tried to fail a few Gryffindors. Harry left, feeling it was the best potions class he'd had... and quite possibly, would ever have. He should have put the champions' visitation rights to use months ago.
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