The Potions Teacher (Part 2)

Like Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape effortlessly brought the classroom into perfect order.

He spent half the lesson guiding the students from both classes as they worked in pairs to learn how to brew the simplest potion for treating boils.

Though it was called the simplest potion, both the ingredients and the procedure looked rather complicated.

Jon Hart and Astoria Greengrass were paired together.

Following Snape's orders, Jon retrieved Dried nettle, Adder's fang, Porcupine quills, and various other ingredients from the Potions cupboard; Astoria lit the fire and placed her cauldron over it.

As they brewed, Snape stalked around the classroom in a long black cloak, like a huge bat, observing their every step... Most of the Hufflepuff students received harsh criticism from him, and even quite a few Slytherin students could not escape it.

Once back at his station, Jon moved briskly. Grinding, dissolving, boiling—he had long since become thoroughly familiar with such simple tasks thanks to his experience from his previous life.

"Why are you grinding the Porcupine quills?" Astoria asked in confusion. "The book says we should chop them up and add them together with the Snake fangs!"

"Any idiot should know that powder dissolves more easily than chunks," Jon said with a shrug, continuing to grind them.

Astoria frowned and continued smashing the small piece of Snake fangs with a hammer.

"Help me roast the nettle in the pot for a while. That'll dry out the moisture... thanks!" Jon ordered as he carefully mixed the powdered Porcupine quills with the crushed Snake fangs.

Astoria opened her mouth, but said nothing. Instead, she followed Jon's instructions.

Several times, Snape passed by their station and stopped to observe their work for several minutes. He even noticed the small dish of Porcupine quills ground into powder... Yet he made no attempt to interfere, merely casting Jon a few sidelong glances.

After the nettle, Porcupine quills, and Snake fangs had all been added to the pot.

"It needs to boil continuously for five minutes," Astoria reminded him after glancing at her copy of "Potions and Poisons."

Jon watched his pocket watch while gradually increasing the flame.

When the mixture began to turn yellow, he quickly lowered the heat to keep it from boiling too vigorously.

"I hope you don't mess this up..." Astoria said nervously from the other side.

Jon was not worried at all... Hogwarts' Potions textbooks actually lacked much authority and accuracy. They even got simple things wrong, such as whether beans released their juices more easily when squeezed or cut.

That was only normal. After all, there were fewer than ten thousand wizards in all of Britain. It was like the teachers of a small town writing their own set of textbooks; it was hardly surprising that they contained so many flaws.

In that case, rather than rigidly following the rules, it was better to make a few minor adjustments based on his experience with biochemical experiments in his previous life.

Even in the wizarding world, there had to be some basic laws, right?

Half an hour later, Snape slowly moved between the tables, inspecting each cauldron and its contents in turn.

When he saw the ugly blue mixture brewed by Zacharias Smith and Eloise Midgen, a mocking smile appeared on his face. "Do you think you could drink this potion, Mr. Smith and Miss Midgen?"

"As for this one, not only will it fail to treat boils, it will make them worse!" he commented on Selwyn and Yaxley's work.

Snape found fault with nearly every student's result, mocking them one by one, until he reached the first row:

Upon seeing the clear pale-yellow liquid in front of Jon and Astoria, Snape frowned.

The expression on his face was strange, as though he wanted to find fault with it but could not.

"Well done..." he said stiffly. "Miss Greengrass... five points to Slytherin!"

"That's too much!" The moment Snape left the Potions classroom, Zacharias stormed over. "I'd heard Snape favored Slytherin... but this is too much, isn't it? Why did he only give points to Greengrass and not you, Jon?"

As he spoke, he shot Astoria a fierce glare, convinced it was all her fault.

Astoria acted as though she had not seen it and silently tidied up the cauldron, pouring the potion she and Jon had just brewed into a Crystal Vial.

Zacharias angrily denounced Snape for nearly five minutes before striding out of the Potions classroom with his head held high. The other Hufflepuff and Slytherin students had already left... only Jon and Astoria remained.

Astoria finally finished packing her things.

"I'll go talk to Professor Snape!" she said softly. "I'll tell him that you brewed almost all of today's potion... that I had little to do with it... and ask him to give the points back to Hufflepuff."

"There's no need," Jon said with a smile. He did not think that, given Snape's personality, he would deduct points from Slytherin and add them to another House.

"It wasn't all my doing. Today's potion was the result of our joint efforts. I think if there's a next time, Professor Snape will give points to Hufflepuff!" Even Jon himself did not quite believe what he was saying.

Astoria, however, seemed to believe him a little. She nodded very seriously.

After packing up, the two of them left the Potions classroom.

Neither the Hufflepuff common room nor the Slytherin common room was far from there.

Astoria stopped walking, seeming somewhat hesitant.

"What is it?" Jon asked.

"Professor Snape gave Daphne a week of detention," Astoria said timidly. "He also ordered Daphne to apologize to you... Can I apologize in her place?"

A week of detention was an even harsher punishment than he had imagined. It was nearly on the same level as the punishment Potter and Weasley received for coming to school in a flying car.

But it made sense. For Severus Snape, the word he hated most was undoubtedly "Mudblood"! After all, it was the pain of his entire life.

Jon had no intention of dragging this matter out any further.

"Of course you can!" he said, blinking. "You can tell Daphne that it's fine now!"

"Thank you..." Astoria immediately beamed and hurriedly said.

"Let's go!" Jon waved his hand. "I'm heading back to the Hufflepuff common room."

"Goodbye!"