Harry Potter Lord of Shadows

Professor Snape eyed the students entering the classroom with a certain amount of disdain and contempt. Who wouldn't if they'd ever have to teach students how to brew a potion to cure boils year in and year out. Sometime several times so they'd at least get it. Oh the injustices of the world that were heaped on his shoulders.

Then he came in. With his patented sneer in place, Professor Snape asked, "What are you doing here, Potter?"

"I thought I'd see if you needed my help teaching the class again, Professor," he replied helpfully. Damn those smug Potters!

"I don't need any help, so why don't you leave? Don't you need to prepare for your impending crushing later today?"

"Nah, I'm good," Harry waved the concern away. "Anyway, if it's okay with you, I'll just stick around for the class project then. Shouldn't be too hard. By the way, did you hear the big news?"

"Don't be a nuisance, Potter. I'm trying to teach here."

"Oh, your teaching isn't a nuisance at all, Professor. I'm bursting to tell someone and I think you'd appreciate the news better than most. I've made the Quidditch team as a first year! Isn't that great?!"

"Shut up, Potter."

"I mean, because I'm an apprentice I can be on any team I want right now and I'm thinking that since the Gryffindors need the most help this year, I'm going to be on their team. I can't wait to play Slytherin in our first game."

"Shut up, Potter."

"I mean, the team captain, Oliver Wood - you know him? Anyway, he already had me try a Wronski feint and I pulled it off! How cool is that! Does your seeker know how to do that?"

"Potter, since you don't know the meaning of the words shut up, go organize the ingredients cabinet for the rest of the class."

Harry got up and moved towards the directed cabinet. "No problem."

"The rest of you, the potion to make is on the board with instructions. Get busy and be sure to make a mess in the ingredient cabinet so Mr. Potter has something to clean up." Heh, heh, teach that brat to mind his betters.

"Hey, pops, do you want this organized alphabetically, size-wise, toxic-level, what?"

"I told you not to call me pops."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you. Anyway, how do you want this mess organized?"

"Alphabetically."

"You got it. You sure you don't want me to help you teach this class?"

"Yes."

"Positive?"

"Yes, I'm positive. Just out of idle curiosity, what is it to you anyway?!"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Just trying to keep things safe here, sir."

"Safe from what, Potter?"

"Neville Longbottom, sir."

Just about then Neville Longbottom's cauldron exploded.

Professor Snape took in the scene for a quiet moment as a slight twitch spasmed under his left eye. "I see what you mean, Potter."

Friday afternoon (The Cook-Off)

"Students, staff, thank you for coming to this unusual competition, I believe it is Hogwarts' first ever cook-off," Albus Dumbledore said to the onlookers. The Great Hall had been reorganized to remove the staff table and replace it with what looked like a conventional oven, complete with knobs and switches for Professor Snape, and a standard cauldron-sized fire pit for Harry Potter.

Said onlookers consisted of most of the school since there wasn't much else to do that afternoon and no one wanted to get an early start on the homework assigned for Monday. Except Hermione that is.

Speaking of the two participants, they walked towards each other from opposite ends of the raised platform, each holding a box.

Addressing both the contestants and the audience, Albus began, "Gentlemen, the rules are simple. You are each responsible for acquiring and providing all ingredients for the other person's creation."

The two contestants shoved the box to one another, but since they were already occupied by a box, they ended up putting them down on opposite counters, then moving to pick up "their" box the other had provided.

"Ah, good. You came prepared. Excellent. Now, each of you have two hours to produce the intended result your counterpart has instructed you to create. Apprentice Harry Potter has been tasked with creating Veritaserum, commonly known as the truth potion - a difficult potion to brew under the best of times. Potions Professor Severus Snape has been tasked with baking some Snickerdoodles, a marvelous biscuit I have had the delightful experience of testing several times on my forays into muggle London whenever I visit the ministry.

"Now, at the end of the time, Snappy, the head house-elf, Professor Quirrell and myself will judge the results. For those of you interested in watching, special magical mirrors have been placed above each participant that will show you how they go about producing their creations. Please talk amongst yourselves as much as you want and feel free to compare notes on how each person is brewing or baking as the case may be. I have been informed that both parties have agreed to allowing talking, singing, rhyming, heckling, and questioning as it is standard curriculum for a potions master to face such adversity when brewing their final, if only to see how they produce under pressure. Neither have said if they will answer questions, but you are certainly welcome to ask them.

"Now, gentlemen, I want a clean match. No low blows, jeering, or mocking of one another until the match concludes. Agreed? Then… begin. Two hours, gentlemen."

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