Severus reviewed the results of his NEWT students. A faint smile curved his lips, barely noticeable as more then just a small twitch at the edge of his lips. That name was: Bernice Stern. His best Potions Student. Something he didn't say often. Actually it was something he never said. He'd definitely never said it aloud. Not even to her. No he'd watched her. Watched her closely and when she got an O on her OWLs with a note that she had even gotten both bonus questions correct Severus had kept an even closer watch on this one. Rare was it for him to consider taking on an apprentice. It was certainly a new thing. He'd never done it before. Likely wouldn't even consider it. Except that looking at her grade and the note that again stated she'd gotten both bonus questions correct. She had an O on both her practical and theoretical marks. Yes. She was perfect for apprenticeship. She was also Slytherin.

Pulling a parchment towards himself he wondered. He'd never considered this before. Did he really want to responsibility. No that wasn't even the problem. Not even close. That was simply an addition. What was the problem was Severus never allowed anyone in his private lab or private office. His public office and the classroom were fine. He didn't care about those. His private lab. That was a space he kept beyond pristine. To have another inside it. Touching it. Potentially altering his meticulously ordered world. It was a thought that induce intense paranoia in the man. He didn't like anything inside his private space touched.

Sighing he came to a decision on this after many days of thinking of it. Running it over in his mind. He would offer her a test. If she passed it he would then try her on for three months with no requirement to keep her if she so much as set one toe out of line. His eyes narrowed he took out a piece of parchment and his quill. Setting the parchment flat on his desk he wrote out the following letter.



Severus re-read his latter. Satisfied that it was perfectly done. He rose and walked over to the perch where his eagle owl sat. He lifted him up and gave him a small pat on the head. Tying the letter to his leg he instructed the bird, "take this to Bernice Stern," in his stern neutral voice before releasing the bird out the small shoot the owls used to reach the dungeons.

Severus returned to his desk and started to sort through a book of his own personal research notes. Looking for the perfect test to have her complete when she sowed up on Wednesday. He gave a smirk at the paper thinking about how complicated this potion would be. Something she'd have never seen before. Something only he had ever done. Yes, that was a test worthy of this endeavour. For if she couldn't accomplish that much she was not worth his time.

@Shades

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Severus regarded the lengthy list of ingredients and complexity of the instructions Nodding in satisfaction he laid the open book down on his desk. Walking over to his private cupboard he began to climb up the rickety ladder cataloging what he had for it's brewing. He figured she could attain at leas the second stage before the end of the day. That should give him a decent idea if she would be worth his offer of apprenticeship or not. He had not received her reply yet, but he knew he soon would. Who in their right mind would turn down an offer from him. It wasn't as though he made this ofter at all often.

Smiling grimly to himself as he pulled jars and vials down to scrutinize the contents within he made a mental note that he would need to visit the greenhouse on Tuesday night at midnight for some Tentacula venom. He would also need to procure fresh sage and mint sprigs for this particular recipe. His mental list complete and three hours having passed as he surveyed ingredients for quantity and quality he defended the ladder and sat down at his desk. Penning a quick memo to the Herbology Professor to inform her he would be visiting in the midnight hours. Though it was unnecessary, he didn't feel like explain his reasoning for being there in the dead of night. Sending the note with a quick spell directly to her desk he leaned back in his chair and was pleasantly, but not surprised, when the letter arrived.

Taking the note from the owl he showed it away after giving it a treat and read quickly. Satisfied he realized he now had two days to plan, plot and arrange everything. He saw no reason to reply to the note and simply tucked it into the book where he had left it. Rising he took the book into his private quarters and settled at the desk in his study to write out the instructions without all his accompanying notes. Leaving only the barest of instructions behind for her to follow. Not explaining the necessity for the steps. It would simply look like a potion recipe to the woman. Indicating what she would need to succeed if she followed it to the letter. It was a time consuming and extremely delicate potion.

He deeply enjoyed the idea of making her work so hard to earn her entrance. It would also allow him to truly see how she worked in a singular environment and if she could keep to his standards of cleanliness and organization. For this potion cross contamination would have deadly results. Though most wouldn't know it. Unless they had studied the particular ingredients. Something he didn't teach at Hogwarts as this was master level potions. He knew he was expecting much of her, but he did not expect her to finish the potion in one day. He simply wanted to see how she would react to such a complex and demanding task.

Nodding in satisfaction he contemplated making a display batch of it for her to view and analyze at the end of the day. That could be interesting indeed. It bore further contemplation. It would of course only take him about 22 hours to complete. Which is why he did not believe the four stage potion could be done by a recent graduate in a day's time. Though reaching stage two in the brewing shouldn't be too much to ask for he hoped anyways.

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