“Well, it was a rosy-brown in color with little purple flecks in it. I’ve never seen a potion look like that. But, more than it looks the sound of it was what really has me worried. It sounds like a hive of bees, sir.” The newest addition to the staff at Hogwarts had just performed her first confiscation! It had been a grad experience, more for the teacher than the student. The item in question had been a potion of some sort. Though she knew a fair amount about the subject, Doris had never come across anything like this before. Instead of working herself up with worry, the professor of Ancient Rituals had decided to bring it to the proper authority.
“I have it with me! It’s in my bag, just let me get it out.” Opening out her old leather briefcase bag, she sat the offending item on the desk that rested between them. The slush in the glass flask was just as she had described; rosy-brown with purple smugs floating about and producing a buzzing noise. “Do you know what it is? The poor boy looked like he swallowed a dozen frogs when I found it.”
Severus Snape would sooner drink poison than openly admit to the desire to be well-liked and respected amongst his peers but that didn’t stop him from luxuriating in the possibilities of such when the opportunity arose. The fact that it was the new professor who had come running to him instantly, seeking his opinion on his area of expertise, only bolstered the satisfaction he was already gaining from the experience and, though the glitter in his black eyes grew no less cold, he could nearly be called happy as he cast an analytical eye over the vial that sat now on the desk between them.
❝ Curious, ❞ he murmured. He’d begun mapping a complex series of deductions from her description alone but now, seeing the potion for himself, all variations of possibility were distilled into a single answer. ❝ Let me guess.. the boy from which you confiscated this was unusually pockmarked? ❞ Snape stood, sweeping over to one of the walls of potions that lined the walls of his office and, after scanning the myriad bottles and vials carefully, plucked one from the masses, setting it carefully atop his desk beside its buzzing brother. ❝ Had he used that potion he would have found that his acne worsened, contrary to his expectations. A clever ruse: you can see it is nearly identical save for the sound. It is not unusual at the start of term for older students to sell contraband to first years. Many are selling their own brews... some genuine and others... ❞ he gave the buzzing vial a pointed glare, ❝ completely bungled recipes. ❞
