the_debt_of_time

how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper in death... if you aren't as big a bunch
of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
"Potter!" he said suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel
to an infusion of wormwood?"
Draught of Living Death! Hermione thought excitedly as her hand shot into the air.
Harry and Ron shared a confused look that caused Hermione to roll her eyes.
Eventually, the black-haired boy answered, "I don't know, sir."
Snape's lips curled into a sneer. "Tut, tut... Fame clearly isn't everything."
Hermione continued holding her hand up high, but Professor Snape ignored her.
"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
The stomach of a goat! Hermione stretched her hand back into the air as high as it
would go.
"I don't know, sir," Harry replied.
"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"
Hermione's hand quivered in the air.
"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
Nothing! They're the same plant! she shrieked inside of her head and then actually stood
up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.
"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you
try her?"
Yes! Yes! Ask me! I know it!
"Sit down!" Snape snapped at Hermione.
Hermione fell into her chair, a frown overtaking her face as she looked down at her
open Potion book, silently wondering what the heck she'd ever done to Professor Snape
to earn such disdain from the man. While she quietly began her brew and listened closely
as Professor Snape continued to berate Harry and Neville, Hermione wondered if she'd
made the right choice in coming to this school. Less than one week in and she had already
angered one of her professors, hadn't made a single friend, and half of her own House
couldn't stand to be around her. She wondered to herself if she even really belonged in the
Wizarding world.
Suddenly a hissing cloud of acid green smoke filled the dungeon. Hermione darted
a glance to the side where Neville, Seamus, Harry, and Ron were moving quickly away from