Till The End | h.p

montclair

The following morning, Hermione jostles Sam awake explaining that they had to leave now to get to Herbology early.

"What about breakfast?"

"Well I was thinking we should just skip it-"

Sam shoots upright and jumps out of bed, "Oh, absolutely not. We will get there, when we get there. We're not skipping breakfast."

Sam finishes getting dressed and grabbing her books, so she drags Hermione by the arm down to the Great Hall. She practically throws Hermione onto the bench and sits down next to Fred to eat.

"Hi, Freddie," She smiles with her mouth full of bacon.

Fred and Harry give an amused smile while Hermione says, "You eat like a Weasley."

Fred pats Sam's back, almost making her choke, "She was taught by the best."

Hermione leans in to Sam to whisper, "I didn't find anything on that potion you were looking for, but if it's for research, I'm sure Snape would give you answers."

Sam lets out a frustrated sigh, "Hermione, Snape wouldn't help me unless I was Slytherin and even then, I'm not so sure."

"For goodness sake, just give it a try," she says, exasperated.

Harry, Sam and Hermione make their way to their first Herbology lesson of the year. They step inside the enormous greenhouse and put their gardening robes over their uniforms.

"Good morning, everyone."

"Good morning, Professor Sprout."

The professor begins to put on her gloves, "Welcome to Greenhouse Three, second years. Gather around, everyone. Today we're going to re-pot Mandrakes."

The class steps forward to the large potting table.

"Who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake root?"

Naturally, Hermione raises her hand.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Mandrake, or Mandragora is used to return those who have been Petrified to their original state. It's also quite dangerous. The Mandrake's cry is fatal to anyone who hears it."

Sam zones out for a moment, thinking back to what Dumbledore had said to the Weasley's when she was six.

"I ask much of you. Her name is to be kept a secret, Jordana put her father's name on the legal documents so as to hide her from those who will try to collect her. Under the right care, she will do wonderful things, but her destiny leans both ways. We must teach her control, otherwise Lord Voldemort and his horde will find her. Her cry will be merciless."

"But what is her true name, sir?" Molly asked in worry.

"Samantha Montclair."

Hermione lightly nudges her out of her memory and brings her back to class.

"As our Mandrakes are still only seedlings, their cries won't kill you yet. But they could knock you out for hours, which is why I've given you earmuffs for auditory protection. So could you please put them on, right away? Quickly. Flaps tight down, and watch me closely."

"Professor Sprout? I don't have a pair of earmuffs," Sam notes.

As the professor already has on her earmuffs, she doesn't hear Sam and proceeds to instruct the class.

"You grasp your Mandrake firmly. You pull it sharply up out of the pot."

As she pulls up the seedling, it begins to shriek. Sam watches as her entire class puts their hands over their earmuffs, but she doesn't hear the scream the way they do. Professor Sprout looks up to the class and notices Sam watching her intently, seemingly unaffected by the cries.