The Old Bat's Afternoon Tea

The smile on Jon Hart's face froze almost instantly.

His mind began racing...

What the hell?

Snape had invited him for afternoon tea?

Since when did Snape have a habit of afternoon tea?

But Daphne gave him no chance to learn any more details and practically fled after turning around.

Jon checked his watch. It was already 12:45, less than half an hour before the time Snape had arranged.

There was no time to waste. He knew very well what happened when one was late for an appointment with Snape.

Jon hurried to the Great Hall, wolfed down some food, and rushed toward the Dungeon.

At around 1:10 in the afternoon, he arrived outside Snape's office. After pausing for a moment and taking a deep breath, Jon finally pushed the door open and entered.

It was a very dim little room. Hundreds of glass jars of all kinds lined the bookshelves on either side, with slimy plant and animal specimens floating in brightly colored potions.

Though those specimens looked rather "creepy," Jon Hart felt no discomfort at all. Instead, they felt strangely familiar... The human specimens, diseased tissue samples, parasite specimens, and the like he had encountered in his previous life were far more "disgusting" than these.

It was only the absence of that familiar formalin smell in the air that made him feel somewhat nostalgic.

As he stood before a specimen of a sow's uterus and examined it carefully, the office door opened.

"You're early, Mr. Hart!" Severus Snape's icy voice came from the darkness by the door.

"I'm sorry, Professor." Jon hurriedly withdrew his gaze.

"Sit!"

At Snape's command, Jon sat down obediently. Snape stepped into the light and took a seat opposite him.

"You aren't afraid of them?" Snape asked casually, glancing at the specimen shelves.

"Of course not!" Jon nodded and answered honestly. "I just find them rather familiar, so I looked at them a little longer."

"A sense of familiarity?" Snape's pale lips pressed together slightly before he said coldly, "Very well... Hart, go cut off a portion of a Quintaped's heart for me. Sixth row, fourth column, on the specimen shelf."

"Yes, Professor!" Jon hurriedly stood up and put on a pair of Dragon Hide gloves lying beside the shelf. Climbing onto the nearby stool, his small frame struggled somewhat as he brought down the glass jar filled with dark red liquid.

"What is the liquid in here?" Jon asked curiously.

"Human blood!" Snape said with a grim expression. "Quintapeds are evil magical creatures capable of drinking vast quantities of human blood. The blood they consume is stored in their hearts... Even after the heart has been removed, it can still occasionally spurt out large amounts of human blood."

"Is that so?" There was no fear or disgust on Jon's face, only curiosity... He had already opened the jar. "No wonder I could smell such a strong scent of blood."

Snape frowned as he watched the small first-year student before him take a twenty-centimeter dagger, reach it into the jar, calmly seize the bloody heart, and begin cutting.

"About how much do you need, Professor Snape?" Jon asked as he worked without changing expression.

"Ten ounces."

Five minutes later, Jon had cut off a wineglass-sized piece of Quintaped cardiac muscle, placed it on an iron tray, and handed it to Snape.

Even though it was merely a severed piece, the cardiac muscle continued to wriggle and spray blood outward... The entire Potions teacher's office was splattered with blood, and quite a bit had gotten on both Jon and Snape as well.

"Will this do, Professor?" Jon asked softly.

"Hmph!" The old bat snorted, then flicked his Wand. The bloodstains on his clothes and the table vanished, and the severed cardiac muscle flew into another glass jar.

"Sit!" Snape ordered again.

Jon pursed his lips and obediently sat down.

"Would you like something to drink?" the old bat said coldly.

"No... Professor..." Jon stammered.

Setting aside the fact that having afternoon tea right after such a bloody scene was enough to turn one's stomach, who would dare casually try a drink offered by a Potions master? What if he had added something strange to it? Wouldn't that be the end of him?

Fortunately, Snape did not insist.

"I wrote to Zieg's Potions Ingredients Shop in Diagon Alley. They told me that more than three months ago, you bought some Unicorn horn powder and African Tree Snake skin from them?" Snape asked again.

"Yes, Professor!" Jon replied, entirely unsurprised.

"Then may I know what potion you intended to brew with those ingredients?" Snape gave a contemptuous laugh.

"Unicorn horn powder is used to brew Slowing Potion, while African Tree Snake skin is an essential ingredient in Nightmare Draught!" Jon replied calmly again. "I couldn't find either ingredient in the Potions class supply cabinet, so I had no choice but to turn to Diagon Alley."

"Those are potions that only third- and fourth-year students can work with!" Snape growled sternly. "So your brewing failed, didn't it, Hart?"

"Of course not!" A trace of fear appeared on Jon's face, then he shook his head. "If my own judgment is correct, I should have succeeded with both... The finished products of both potions are in Potions class, in the cabinet bearing my name."

Snape froze. After a pause, he finally said, "I will verify that!"

"All right, Professor." Looking into Snape's black, hollow eyes, Jon met his gaze without the slightest fear.

"Are you certain you aren't lying?"

"I am certain, sir!"

After several minutes, Severus Snape finally looked away.

"I believe you are not lying," he said evenly.

Jon could not help secretly breathing a sigh of relief. After putting up so much of a cover and acting so discreetly... his efforts had not been wasted after all.

"Severus! Severus!" A familiar voice came from outside, interrupting Jon and Snape's conversation.

"I heard you actually invited a student for afternoon tea... How rare, Severus. I never expected you to have such a hobby!"

That cheerful voice was unmistakable...

It was Gilderoy Lockhart.