Felix Felicis

[halfbloodgit]

Who: Snape, open
When: All week
Where: Bonnie's store, the rooftop above said store, and the potions classroom beneath
What: Potions' lessons continuing, this time with an open door policy; a few rooftop meetings at the greenhouse; and an opportunity to grab a specific potion.
Notes: So this is a combination log of several incidents over the week

Comments

/so incredibly late. forgive meee

[alphaophiuchi]

Draco was relieved that Snape had taken up the lessons again - partly because he almost relied upon the professor's knowledge to keep him up to date and snuff with everything that he was expected to do is his daily life at Hellsing, but also because it kept him from having to accept responsibility as an adult. Continuing to learn from his dead professor meant that he could cling to that element of childhood.

He was currently following the directions on the board, muttering them to himself as he proceeds with the potion.

[ooc: so if I wanted Draco to swipe some of that Luck Potion, whereabouts would it be? B)]

<3

[halfbloodgit]

From his desk, Snape watched the young Malfoy without being too obvious about it, currently contemplating the boy's history and future. Likely this was merely a boring refresher course for Draco, as almost all the students were beginners to potions and thus nothing was too complicated or out of the ordinary. He was briefly contemplating the idea of making Draco a sort of teacher's assistant, to help with those who needed extra watching.

He couldn't imagine what challenge, if any, Draco as a full-grown wizard found in his new classroom.

[ooc: He'll have to bottle it himself, but it's in a cauldron at the side of the room. :D[

:'D

[alphaophiuchi]

There admittedly wasn't that much of a challenge in any of it; he had covered the vast majority of it all during his time at school. But it kept him not only remembering how to make the more basic potions - for it was often those that came most in handy - but also allowed him the time to himself to figure out how to brew more complex things, more useful things.

And perhaps it helped that Snape often brewed things on his own and left them out. Though Draco had only glanced over but briefly upon his arrival, he recognised the Felix Felicis well enough - it had evaded him once, and now the only thing standing in his way was the fact that Snape would easily catch him if he just walked over there.

So instead, he casually raised his hand, looking almost bored.

[ooc: thank you~]

[halfbloodgit]

Some small part of Snape recognized Draco's less than stellar (in his opinion) arrangement with the local Hellsing group. Working willingly with Muggles was a bizarre career choice and one he would have never guessed for a Malfoy son, but he refrained from lecturing Draco on that particular point, though it seemed in some small part a betrayal of his schooling. Snape was tolerant of Muggles, but not accepting of the more liberal wizarding ideas of harmony between magic and non-magic people; who, really, could say that Muggles would always be so understanding and welcoming towards their more powerful kin? Muggles couldn't be trusted...but, then again, no one could be trusted. And thus Snape watched Draco, waiting for the day when he, too, would grow to understand that no one but himself could be relied upon

[alphaophiuchi]

In Draco's honest opinion, he was merely taking Snape's advice to heart - he had been told to do something with himself that gave him a better reputation there in Bete Noire than he had back in England. Working with Hellsing, with Muggles, with magical creatures: if that was what it took, then so be it. He didn't necessarily agree that they could ever get along; he had seen firsthand that there was far too much underlying jealousy from Muggles towards those with magic.

As far as learning that no one could be trusted? He knew it somewhere deep down. Though the blond remained secretly optimistic that someone could be trusted, he didn't have that much hope. It was probably that - combined with the fact that Snape never once referred to their relationship as anything more than very detached colleagues, in a way - that had him playing down his admittedly minimal knowledge of the Luck Potion as he addressed the professor.

"Might I inquire as to the nature of the potion in the corner, sir?"

[halfbloodgit]

"Felix Felicis, and recently completed after six months' time." was Snape's answer, turning back to his work. "It is not on the standard curriculum, as it would take the better part of a school year to perfect."

[alphaophiuchi]

Draco felt, at that moment, that he was more than allowed to take a closer look at it - after all, with the topic on it, he would be allowed to 'further his education' by learning how to recognise it. He took a moment to make sure his potion would be safe without him for five minutes before approaching the cauldron, glancing back up to Snape.

"Is it terribly hard, or just time-consuming?" He asked, genuinely curious this go-around.

[halfbloodgit]

"Both, but far more time-consuming than difficult," Snape replied, and finally glanced up to watch his old student prowl around the cauldron.

"Smell it, then; Felix is often identified by its golden color and its scent."

[alphaophiuchi]

He kept one eye on Snape at all times, knowing full well that he was being watched. He leaned in close, giving it a slow inhale and noting it, along with the few other characteristics present; making a mental note to see if he couldn't find the recipe somewhere, he returned to looking up at the older man. "Might I ask why you have it?"

[halfbloodgit]

"Knowledge ought to be free to those seeking it, Mr. Malfoy," Snape replied, turning a page to copy over his work into a separate account. "And for it to continue to be free, money must be found somewhere."

The potion was Draco's, then, in a varied sense of the idea; it was sold so that Draco and others like him could continue to have a free education.

[alphaophiuchi]

The words took a moment for Draco to digest for their actual meaning, and he took the time it took to figure out what Snape meant to continue regarding the potion. He nodded when he got it - at least, the gist of it - and turned his focus to figuring out how he could get some of it. Preferably without paying.

Admittedly, asking did come to mind. It was the 'how' that was puzzling him over. So he silently returned to his cauldron, going back to the draught's brewing for the time being.

Finally: "Would there be any way for me to procure a vial, sir?" By legal means, preferably.

[halfbloodgit]

"Certainly," Snape said, refilling his ink well and purposely dancing around Malfoy's intent. "The recipe for Felix Felicis is on page three hundred and fourteen of Moste Potent Potions."

[alphaophiuchi]

"Thank you, sir," he replied, trying to keep the dryness from his voice; only after he turned his eyes back to his cauldron did he allow himself to roll his eyes. Snape was almost asking for Draco to just come up with some kind of distraction, so he could nick some of it. He could use a perfect day.

[halfbloodgit]

In the House of Slytherin, in the circle of Death Eaters, and even in Malfoy's own family, nothing was free and anything gained was hard-won. Giving gifts was not the sort of thing Snape did nowadays, as he found the practice embarrassing and awkward for both parties involved. If he was forced to bestow presents, he'd much rather it be anonymous, and he did not envision that giving Draco any bit of Felix would serve any official scholarly purpose and come off as sentimental if he simply let the boy have some. Of course, Draco's pride would never let him openly ask for it, which was just as well; both knew the other's mind and Snape had made it quite clear he was not simply about to give Draco any of it.

That being said, if later he drained the cauldron to find a fraction of its contents missing...well, he wouldn't bother himself to go hunting after the missing portion and chalk it up to "poor first calculations"...which of course he never did.

So he waited, and he worked, and he made sure to not look up too often so that his most

[alphaophiuchi]

He knew too well that he'd have to do something absolutely masterful in order for the theft to not be acknowledged in some way. He was good, certainly - his father would have a fit if he were anything less - but he normally had people to help him. This time, Draco was going it completely alone. It made things slightly more difficult

[halfbloodgit]

Cursing in his head at the idiocy of the kitsune - his clumsiness, his foolishness, his absolute carelessness and disregard for the safety of his fellow classmates - Snape swept over to Zero's cauldron to Vanish the mess, calling for the occupants of the room to vacate the premises.

It took him longer to clean the smoke out than the liquid mess, but at least the cauldron was salvageable. Now to find Zero and force him to scrub the ruined tables.