As a Potions professor, Snape had to admit that these two lessons had gone unprecedentedly smoothly.
In particular, Gryffindor's overall standard, if judged only by their performance in these two lessons, had actually surpassed Slytherin's.
After all, across two whole classes, even with Seamus Finnigan present, not a single cauldron had exploded.
What caught Snape's attention even more was that Neville Longbottom's level in potions had somehow made great progress without anyone noticing, to the point that he had even brewed a bottle of above-average Calming Draught.
Even Harry was in a similar state. Though he made mistakes while brewing his potion, he was able to correct them himself and ultimately turned in a passing bottle of Calming Draught.
By contrast, Slytherin was a sorry sight. Draco and his desk mate Gregory Goyle both produced decent Calming Draughts, and Daphne Greengrass just barely passed... but the others were too awful to look at.
Before announcing the end of class, Snape assigned the homework with a dark expression. "Identify the 'magical properties' of the Required ingredients for the Calming Draught, and review the brewing process of the Calming Draught from the beginning..."
After assigning the homework, he paused slightly, his cold gaze sweeping over the gathered students, making Harry and the other Gryffindors hold their breath.
He raised Magical Tuning: Introduction to Potions. "Aside from Draco Malfoy, everyone is to copy out this entire book!"
"Remember, the entire book!" His voice was aggressive. "Hand it in to me at the end of the month! Write clearly! Otherwise, the punishment will be more than just losing points!"
The moment Snape announced the end of class, Harry and the others fled the Potions Classroom as fast as they could.
Only after making sure Snape was not behind them did Ron say indignantly, "Good