#15 - Solomon's Looking for A Kit

'You would do well to remember to knock first, Aloy,' Professor Snape said sourly, barely glancing up from his busy note-taking task. 'One point from Slytherin.'

He was seated at his desk, and any relief he'd felt in seeing a member of his own house for a chance was overshadowed by the rudeness Solomon had to not even bother knocking first. They were lucky it hadn't been locked, or they'd have walked right into the unrelenting door.

Snape eyed the young Slytherin, awaiting them to explain why his peace was being intruded upon -- especially as he was well aware of a Duelling Tournament taking place, which he'd hoped would keep the students busy long enough for him to attend to his task at hand without interruption.

Most notable was a decent stack of leather-bound books on one side of his desk. There were titles such as Unbinding Binding Curses, An Intricate Comparison of Werewolves and Wuffsnouts, The Most Advanced Study of Counter-Poisons, Lost and Forgotten Counter-Curses, and An Ancient Guide to Forbidden Magical Practices.

The poor was open, thanks to Solomon's preemptive entrance, but Professor Snape still appreciated that at least one Slytherin had some manners left and thought to knock regardless. Though he'd hardly have expected much else from a Doren.

'Enter,' he allowed.

Snape supposed today's house of interest was finally Slytherin. He paused his writing, leaning back in his seat to await an explanation as to why they were there. Unlike the other houses, Slytherins could have a whole range of reasons, so he didn't dare assume.

'No, I don't suppose a student such as yourself would possess the ability to learn a potion in one day,' Professor Snape said in a bored tone. 'Though I would tread lightly in making a generalised assumption on that matter.'

Snape scrutinised William in consideration of his request, almost as if he was reading the boy's mind. He drew out the moment, letting him be nervous and unsure. 

'Very well. I shall grant you a chance to prove you're willing to dedicated yourself to the task at hand.' He summoned a scroll to the front of his desk for William to grab, which listed ingredients and their locations around Hogwarts.

Snape turned his interest back to his own task, making it clear he was done with their conversation. If it could even be called that. He still awaited Solomon's read for being there, so wasn't entirely dismissive of their company.

'Bring me five ingredients you've collected yourself,' he explained to William, sorting some papers under candlelight. 'Only then shall I consider your request.'

Raiya was already in the room with Professor Snape when MJ entered. Raiya was also looking for a kit as well but she got distracted by looking at all the leather-bound books stacked up next to his desk. She wanted to ask about the books but she knew she needed to stay with the task at hand instead of letting her curiosity get the better of her.

"Professor Snape, I was wondering looking for a Potions kit" Raiya asked. Raiya wanted to make sure she didn't fall behind in any of her classes. She didn't want to disappoint her parents by not doing well in school.

Raiya looks over at the ingredients that MJ had presented to Professor Snape because she was curious.

Raiya turned to MJ and asked, "Nice haul! Where'd you find all that if you don't mind me asking?"

Kudos to MJ for being able to find all that stuff Raiya thought to herself.

MJ didn't get a chance to answer Raiya (and, honestly, probably wouldn't have. She had gotten the ingredients herself and would have considered it cheating to give Raiya easy answers, sorry). Instead, she just gave her roommate an apologetic smile.

She took the empty jar and vial, then followed Professor Snape from the office and into the Potions classroom. They stopped at the bench of dirty cauldrons and she almost knew immediately want he wanted her to do - his instructions were just final confirmation. Clean out a cauldron without magic? Of course Snape wouldn't make this easy for her. She nodded in understanding, "Thank you, Sir. I'll get started immediately."

Of course, she took a long moment to even decide which cauldron she wanted. Even though she suspected they were all identical underneath, she still wanted to take this seriously. MJ paused in front of one and grabbed it, taking it over to the sink. She filled the cauldron with warm water from the tap. Looking around she found a decent scrubbing brush and some cleaning supplies. MJ used them to add a lather of bubbles to the water which certainly would make her task a little easier.

Then it was just a matter of relying on elbow grease. She wasn't a stranger to cleaning tasks like this. Being raised as she had been, MJ was used to mucking in at home and cleaning the muggle way. She didn't even think about cleaning with magic but knowing that was an option now made her curious. She wondered what year she could learn such a spell - it would certainly be useful.

Lost in her thoughts, she scrubbed away at the cauldron. The water grew mucky before long and she dumped it out, refilling the cauldron with some more warm water and starting the process over again. She was methodical, cleaning both inside and out and rinsing the cauldron under cold water when she was done. Her arms grew tired since the cauldron was heavy but eventually she was able to sit it upside down to drain off any excess water.

Done with her task, she stood to the side and awaited Snape's inspection.