Snape ignored her. "Anyone?" he said, scanning the class.

Draco Malfoy raised a pale, lazy hand into the air. "Polyjuice Potion," he drawled out of the corner of his mouth. Harry glared at him. Where the rest of the class looked sweaty and miserable, Draco looked as cool as if he´d just eaten a bag of Ice Mice.

"Very good, Draco!" said Snape enthusiastically. "Five points for Slytherin. Now," he went on, "Can anyone tell me what it does?" He rounded suddenly on Ron, who blinked. "Weasley?"

Ron, startled in mid-yawn, said, "It, er, changes you into somebody else."

Snape, looking disappointed, said, "Thatś correct." He did not give five points to Gryffindor, however, only picked up the vial and began dispensing measured amounts into small paper cups. " Now," he said, straightening up, "I´ll be splitting you into groups of two. You´ll each be drinking half a cup of Polyjuice Potion with a hair from each of your heads in it….no, you don´t have to swallow the hair, Miss Brown…..there's enough potion to turn you into your partner for half an hour exactly. No more, no less. That´ll give you an idea how the potionś supposed to work. Tomorrow, you´ll try making it yourself, then drinking it. I warn you, however," he said, directing this last bit to Neville, "that making a mistake with Polyjuice potion can have…unpleasant consequences. You might end up half yourself and half the other person, never able to return to your true appearance."

Neville squeaked.

"Right then," said Snape, "Miss Patil and Miss Brown, come up," and Lavender and Parvati came up to the desk, took a cup of Polyjuice potion, and sat down, giggling. Snape quickly paired off Crabbe and Goyle with each other, put poor Neville with bulldog-faced Pansy Parkinson (who cast a longing look at Draco as she went over to sit by Neville — if she couldn´t have Draco, she seemed to be thinking, at least she could be him for a while.) Ron was paired with Hermione, and Harry…