Snake's Lair #8

She knew her first step to getting all the ingredients Mardling needed of her was to get her potions kit- something she had laid off until now.
She was not too keen on running around, collecting everything right now, still wanting to talk with her brother, but she came by Professor Snape's office anyway from the Slytherin common room.

Reena was surprised to see a younger Ravenclaw boy waiting infront of the door, looking rather nervous, almost fearful at Snape's office door.
Not wanting to spook him she made her steps louder on the stone floor as she approached him.

She gave him a friendly smile despite not being house mates because he looked like a first year and knowing her cousin there was a huge possibility he was an Ashworth friend.

"Hey there", she said softly. "That is a nice spin rose you got"
Reena tried to sound encouraging as she knew just how intimidating Snape could be- and figured it would be worse for a first year of a different house.
"Have you knocked yet?"

Her question was answered when the office door swung open, revealing Professor Snape inside standing by his desk.
Reena gave the boy another smile, almost gesturing for him to go first out of politeness but restrained herself from doing it.
He might actually take longer than her and he still looked nervous.
It would probably be easier for everyone if she just simply went first.

"Good morning, Professor", she said, making sure she articulated clearly.
Upon entering she noticed the fireplace was alight and yet it was not nearly as warm in here as in the common room she had left moments ago which struck her as odd yet she did not comment on it, not eager to engufle into chit chat with her head of house who would most certainly not appreciate it.

"I was hoping I could acquire your permission to work on my potion's kit to gain access to the student laboratory. What would you have me do for it, Sir?"
She smiled lightly at him, her posture had unintentionally straightened to stand proper infront of her head of house.
Reena did not feel as much intimidated as she felt a sense of admiration for the potion's master and found herself wanting him to acknowledge her for good work and proper presentation.

Professor Snape considered Ashworth's request, or rather an intention to make such a request. He usually needed to know more, such as why thy wanted to pursue the kit and for what purpose, but not this time. The 4th year Slytherin wasn't questioned further, as Snape knew enough of her ambitions and hard-working attitude to allow her to proceed.

'Very well,' he said. 'If you truly wish to be granted access to the student laboratory, and put it to good use during your free time, it would be impractical of me to disagree.'

Snape summoned a scroll with ingredients and locations listed, levitating it to the edge of his desk for Reena to retrieve. 

'Bring me five different ingredients you've collected yourself from this list, and I shall consider your request,' he said, then leaned to examine the Ravenclaw boy's ingredients while summoning an empty, glass jar and vial.

He hovered them for Jamie to accept, though didn't show much reaction to the ingredients. He'd completed the task, but Snape wasn't impressed by the selection. He rarely was though, so it wasn't necessarily an accurate reflection of Jamie's efforts. 

'Follow me.' He left the office, expecting him to follow.

Snape led Jamie to the Potions classroom, where he indicated to a bench of mucky pewter cauldrons.

'You'll require a spare cauldron to work with,' he said. 'If you're willing to clean it, without magic, I suppose you may take ownership of one of these.' He indicated to them.

Though it was unsaid, it was clear that this was either yet another test to check he was serious about his request. Snape sat at a counter nearby, not intending to supervise the progress too closely yet didn't trust Jamie quite enough to be left entirely to the task until completion.

As he was hovered over, Jamie felt himself shrink a little, his eyes diverted down and he gulped, waiting to be scolded for doing a poor job. This whole potions thing was new to him and he wanted badly to just run away and never do another potion again, but here he was... This kit would help him make the grades and maybe he could get really good and learn to enjoy it.

At the order to follow him, Jamie raced to catch up, too caught up in his own thoughts for them to barely register with him. As he got into the classroom, he looked towards the dirty cauldrons and then back at the Professor as he spoke. He was going to have to clean one of these... Without magic?

The boy sighed in relief and smiled brightly at being able to do things like normal. This was like cleaning the pans from vehicles that his dad and him had worked on. After gathering his supplies to clean, he grabbed a cauldron and went to work, putting in some serious scrubbing as he went all along the inside of the cauldron and than the outside.

It was exactly like cleaning out the oil pan, except this was a bit smoother. Any place that had left over gunk, he used his fingernail to remove before scrubbing it again. It didn't take long to him, though it was likely a while for Professor Snape. His hands were dirty from the work, the rag was filthy, but he felt a sense of pride for getting dirty the muggle way for once.

"Professor?" He said, standing aside with the cauldron.

Professor Snape glanced at the doorway, spotting a familiar Slytherin 5th year. He gave no further attention, though his students would know that typically meant "wait your turn" or something to that effect. He approached the cauldron Jamie had diligently worked on, eyebrows raised in surprise to how clean it was. Though some of it seemed to have transferred to the boy himself.

Even if he was used to the Muggle way, the cauldron cleaning was quite a physical task and his arms would be at least a bit achy. Snape's inspection was short though, which was a good sign.

'You are permitted to use the Student Laboratory at will,' he said. 'Do so responsibility, and clean up after yourself, or else such privileges shall be revoked. If I ever catch you there at curfew...' Snape let Jamie form his own conclusions.

With the task complete, Snape headed back to his office, giving Philip a gesture to follow. He'd have talked to him where they were, but as the teen was a member of his house there could be any number of reasons for seeking him out. Privacy was required, in case of was a subject of more personal nature.

He stepped into the office and turned with his usual bat-like swish of robes. He fixed Phillip with an inquiring look, a clear indication he was awaiting an explanation. The door remained open, though Snape's wand was in hand so he could change that at any moment.

Professor Snape eyed Phillip as the request was made. The season was sound and believable, though very few ever dared to even consider lying to Snape. And yet, this was the boy who did well in his class. No, not just well but always asked questions about properties and combinations. Snape strongly suspected Phillip experiments in his free time, but had made no conscious effort to prove it.

'Very well, Dawson.' Snape levitated a scroll, which listed ingredients and their locations around Hogwarts. 'If you wish to use the student laboratory during your free time, it would be impractical for me to disagree.'

The scroll was placed on he front of his desk, for Phillip to grab. Snape went to sit at his desk, giving the Slytherin a neutral expression, which was probably about as close to "friendly" as he got. 

'Bring me five ingredients you've collected yourself,' he said. 'Only then shall I consider your request.'



Potions class details about Phillip was used with permission.

Jamie smiled with pride as he was given the permission and he rubbed his arms. The fact that he looked nasty now was not something he found awful. This was actual a normal look for him and he watched as the Professor left the area. He was alone and he had accomplished his task. Letting out a sigh of relief, he left the student lab and headed towards the grounds.

He now had another goal while he could, which was to go and visit Hagrid... again...