Hogwarts: I'm Harry's older cousin

Chapter 70, 69. Professor Ron Snipp said it was good.

As usual, they worked in pairs. Snape checked everyone's work, and with very few exceptions, most of them were given a thorough dressing-down.

The Neville group was the worst hit. As expected, Seamus lit the cauldron again, and as expected, the cauldron exploded twice. As expected, Seamus was not there again, and Neville was unfortunately hit once more.

It's like they've activated a "teammate-ruining aura."

It's strange, but whenever they're in a pair, an accident always happens, and Simo always comes out unharmed. Given the frequency of these accidents and how he always manages to escape unscathed, it's hard to imagine that he wasn't doing it on purpose.

As for whether it is true or not, only he himself knows.

Snape once again waved his wand to clean the table, and as always, he asked Dudley for a potion and poured it down Neville's throat. The way Neville drank the potion with his eyes closed was so practiced it was heartbreaking.

"Gryffindor, absolutely terrible, deduct one point."

"Snape said coldly."

Seamus acted as if nothing had happened, completely unconcerned, knowing someone would add the points back anyway. He even winked at the Gryffindor wizards around him as Snape turned around, while Neville shrank back, feeling sad that he had caused the house to lose points, and his fear of Snape grew even stronger.

"Look, Weasley and Potter didn't get scolded by Professor Snape."

A sharp-eyed Gryffindor noticed that Snape only lingered briefly with Harry and Ron's group before walking away, unusually refraining from criticizing them.

It's probably because Porter did a really good job this time.

With Dudley's guidance, Harry's potion-making skills, if not the best, were among the best of all the first-year wizards.

But it's certainly far from enough by Snape's standards.

So Snape liked to pick on Harry whenever he felt like it, even though Potter did better than most people, especially when they were in pairs. Harry had Ron as a burden, which greatly increased the chances of him being criticized.

However, most people just found it a little strange and didn't pay much attention to it.

Today we had two potions classes back-to-back. The first class was about brewing potions in pairs, and the second class was about individual work.

The potion we're brewing this time is a bit more difficult than the one we made in the last class.

But Snape's standards didn't drop at all.

Snape picked up Ron's potion, looked at it, and uttered a curt "good," without adding any points, simply putting it back silently.

"That Weasley didn't get scolded by Professor Snape!"

The Gryffindors were as if they had discovered a new continent.

Before, it was manageable because it was in pairs, and we could explain it away by having benefited from Snape's influence. But now it's solo, which is much more difficult than last time. There are very few people in the entire classroom who haven't been scolded by Snape, including a large number of Slytherins.

Apart from Ron, only Hermione and Harry in Gryffindor were not scolded.

Hermione was alright, since she hadn't been scolded since the start of the school year. Harry, on the other hand, was automatically ignored by them.

Why is it that Weasley, a mere nobody, isn't criticized?

If Ron's Potions class grades were good before, then everyone could understand, but the problem is that Ron's Potions class grades were below average.

"Look, the instruments on Weasley's table are different from ours."

The sharp-eyed young wizards had already spotted the key to the problem, pointing at Ron's desk and calling out. For this, Snape deducted another point from his Gryffindor grade for disrupting class.

The young wizards saw many unfamiliar instruments on Ron's table, clearly not the tools commonly used in Potions class.

"Harry has some too."

(Harry is quite popular in Gryffindor, and many people affectionately call him by his name. Moreover, he has a very good temper and doesn't mind.)

Another blind monk has discovered the key point.

"Granger has them too!"

"Wait a minute. Look, Malfoy has some too!"

Even the deduction of points couldn't stop the young wizards' curiosity. They whispered among themselves, and even the Slytherins were discussing it in small groups.

Nobody likes being criticized, not even their dean.

Snape often favors Slytherins, but when it comes to potions, sorry, you'll get criticized if you don't do it right.

Gore and Crabbe are typical examples; they were criticized in almost every class.

But there was nothing they could do; their work was truly awful. They were supposed to be brewing an antidote, but the broth in their crucible tasted like poison.

So as soon as this matter was brought up, it attracted the attention of all the young wizards.

New potion-making equipment?

Who gave them them?

Two questions lingered in everyone's minds, but because it was Snape's class, no one dared to go and ask them, no matter how curious they were.

I can only keep this question to myself and ask about it after class.

"Dressley, not bad."

Snape walked up to Dudley and very skillfully picked up the potion he was brewing.

When sunlight shines through the glass bottle, the crystal-clear liquid inside can be seen.

"Perfect!"

Snape nodded and put the potion in his pocket.

"Slytherin gets a point."

Then he walked away.

Ron stole the show during the two lessons, thoroughly enjoying the envious glances from the young wizards.

Great, fantastic.

He had never felt so relaxed and enjoyable in Potions class.

Even Snape's gloomy face didn't seem so annoying anymore.

This is all thanks to the equipment Harry gave him, and thanks to Mr. Dursley.

The moment Snape finished assigning homework, announced the end of get out of class, and walked out of the classroom, the young wizards immediately surrounded him.

Without a doubt, Ron was the one best at getting results from those instruments.

Of course, this only applies to the Gryffindor side; the Slytherins, on the other hand, are surrounding Malfoy.

Ron was a little overwhelmed by being the center of attention, and suddenly felt that today might be his lucky day.

Under the persistent and earnest questioning of the young wizards, he cleared his throat and slowly said in an increasingly proud tone, "As you know, my potion-making skills are worse than many of you here. To be honest, I'm not good at potions. I thought I'd be failing potions for the rest of my life. Until today, after using these things, it's been amazing."

He rambled on and on until the young wizards were about to lose their temper, at which point he finally got to the point.

"This was a gift from Harry's cousin, Mr. Dursley. It's a revolutionary product."

"It can greatly enhance the potion's power, and as you've seen, the effects are fantastic. Even Professor Snape praised it."

Harry silently gave him a thumbs-down in his mind for his exaggerated tone; it was even more stilted than a shopping sales pitch on TV.

However, the young wizards didn't notice.

On the other side, Malfoy spoke in the same tone to the Slytherins around him.

According to the original text, Draco was quite good at potions in his first year, and was often praised by Snape as a benchmark. However, after his second year, Draco's potion-making skills were no longer demonstrated. Meanwhile, Hermione, in her second year, brewed Polyjuice Potion, a potion that many wizards cannot make even as adults.

(End of this chapter)