The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 26 Potions Class

After a brief silence, Snape slowly stepped down from the podium and began to survey the desks.

"I hope you understand that your purpose in coming here is to learn this precise and rigorous art of potions, and nothing else..."

"Of course, I don't expect you to truly appreciate the wonderful feeling of a crucible simmering slowly over a low flame, emitting white smoke and a delicate fragrance... but if I find anyone coming half-heartedly or causing trouble, ha..."

At this point, Snape deliberately stopped in his tracks, his eyes fixed intently on Harry.

"Ah, I almost forgot! Some of you were born with considerable fame, so much so that your names are practically household names..."

It seemed like a compliment, but everyone could hear the sarcasm in Snape's words.

Especially since Snape was staring at Harry without saying a word, the target of his mockery was obvious.

"Potter, tell me, what would happen if I added daffodil bulb powder to the sap of wormwood?"

Harry looked completely bewildered.

What is daffodil stem powder? And what is mugwort? He now regrets listening to Ron and shouldn't have given up on preparing for class.

Even so, Harry could only turn to Ron for help, hoping that his friend, who came from a wizarding family, could give him some pointers.

However... at this moment, Ron also looked dazed, as if he hadn't woken up yet.

"Alright, let's change the subject then," Snape said in the same tone, though a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

"Potter, if I asked you to find a dung heap, where would you look for it?"

However, he was met with an innocent look from Harry.

Gazing at that breathtaking emerald green, Snape, still unwilling to give up, asked, "Tell me, what's the difference between Aconitum carmichaelii and Aconitum davidii?"

"I'm sorry, Professor, I don't know! But I think Miss Granger knows. Why don't you ask her?"

Hermione: "..."

Harry was getting a little annoyed by the barrage of questions.

He simply couldn't understand why this professor was so determined to fight him to the death, even though Hermione's hand was practically raised to the ceiling.

"Harry Potter talked back to the professor, Gryffindor loses 2 points!"

Snape's deep voice echoed in the classroom.

After deducting points, Snape still ignored Hermione, who had raised her arm, and turned to look at the other side.

"Svenburn..."

"Professor, the answer to the first question is 'life-and-death water,' the answer to the second question is 'fecal stones' in the goat's stomach, and the answer to the last question is that there is no difference between the two types of aconite; they are both called aconite."

Ino answered all the questions in one go.

To be fair, although he wasn't particularly interested in potions and hadn't even looked at the books to prepare, he was still quite capable of handling the infamous three deadly questions.

Such a fluent answer amazed everyone, including Hermione, who was secretly observing Ino with the look of someone looking at one of their own.

"Heh... I didn't ask you to answer the question from before, but considering the standard answer, Slytherin gets five points."

Snape spoke calmly.

"Now, tell me what learning potions means to you, or what you believe is the fundamental purpose of potions."

What appears to be a simple question is one that Snape carefully selected.

Because money, fame, power, and even immortality can all be obtained through potions, and he wanted to see Ino's answer to verify some of his guesses...

What does it mean?

Ino was also somewhat confused, finding it hard to believe that such a question came from Snape's mouth.

But he quickly realized that this was a good thing! If Snape had actually asked about the contents of "A Thousand Wonders of Herbs and Mushrooms," he would have been completely clueless.

After thinking for a moment, he had an answer.

"Professor, potions are merely a means for me, a means to prevent tragedy from happening, to relieve the pain of the suffering people, and to heal the wounded."

Snape's voice seemed to have a magical power, because during that brief moment of thought, many past scenes involuntarily surfaced in Ino's mind.

Some people who were burned by hot soup could not receive proper treatment and could only hide in a corner, blowing on their wounds while silently shedding tears. They didn't even dare to make a sound of convulsions, because that would attract the scolding of the older children.

The young girl was brutally beaten and left unattended on a cold, hard bed for several days.

Late at night, the girl talked to herself, saying that her mother would come to pick her up someday, so she didn't feel any pain now. She couldn't cry because her mother didn't like crying children, and she had to wait for her mother forever...

But a week later, people never saw the girl again. The old woman said she was too badly injured... From then on, the sobs and comforting words were no longer heard at night.

In the dead of winter, a group of children in an orphanage, dressed in thin shirts, huddled together for warmth...

However, the following spring, it was always noticeable that a few familiar figures were missing from that group of children.

One incident after another flashed through his mind like a movie.

at the same time.

Snape had already silently released Legilimency, and at the same time, he was fully activating Occlumency, in order to avoid being affected while also trying to see everything as clearly as possible.

Perhaps he hadn't initially intended to go to such extremes, but the thought of those emerald green eyes from earlier...

Snape now has only one thought in his mind: to protect others while also preventing the tragedy from repeating itself.

As the person involved, Enoch had no idea what Snape was thinking; he was simply answering based on his own feelings.

Suffering always targets ordinary people, because the ordinary cannot create miracles.

However, he wanted to be a miracle of ordinary people, as if a miracle had chosen him.

……

And so, the Potions classroom fell into a brief silence.

After a while.

"Excellent, outstanding answer, Slytherin, 10 points!"

Snape's tone was unusually light, and he was no longer in a tense state. After adding the points, he didn't ask anyone any more questions and turned to walk straight back to the podium.

This move not only left all the young wizards somewhat bewildered, but Ino was also completely baffled.

However, this did not dampen the spirits of the surrounding snakes, for this was a one-time 10-point reward.

Of course, while some are happy, others are hurt. For example, Miss Granger is pouting and looking indignant.

In her opinion, this was unfair. She was the only one in the classroom who raised her hand, but the professor chose to ignore it.

……

The Potions class is proceeding smoothly.

Perhaps it was because Snape was in a better mood.

For the next while, Harry acted like a powerful magnet, fiercely attracting all of Snape's attacks. Even when Neville knocked over the cauldron, he only received a superficial reprimand.

It's likely that Snape didn't want to waste his precious penalty points on Neville.

"Potter, why didn't you stop him when you saw him spill the cauldron? Does it make you look good when your classmate makes a mistake? One point deducted from Gryffindor!"

"Potter, looking around during class, one point deducted from Gryffindor!"

"Potter, why are your eyes fixed on the cauldron? Gryffindor, deduct one point!"

Snape only deducted one point each time, which was not very damaging, but extremely insulting.

Faced with endless ridicule and frequent point deductions, Harry felt like he was going crazy.

It seems like no matter what he does, it's wrong. If he's daydreaming, he's accused of not paying attention; if he's paying attention, he's scolded for being too rigid...

After finally getting through get out of class, I was penalized for disrespecting the class by packing up my things too quickly, and another point was deducted!

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(End of this chapter)