The sun was shining brightly outside, but the Potions classroom remained oppressively hot and humid. A faint breeze stirred the curtains, and dim daylight rippled across Harry's hard, cold face.
"No."
Harry said icily. Ever since Sirius had cleared his name and acknowledged him, Harry was no longer surprised by Snape's enthusiasm for targeting him in Potions Class.
When Snape had attended Hogwarts, he had been bitter rivals with Harry's father and Sirius's group. They had hated each other's guts.
"No?"
The Potions classroom sank once more into its usual oppressive silence. No young wizards spoke; only Hermione and Ron were making meaningful faces at Harry.
"Ten points from Gryffindor, Potter—"
Snape's hollow, abyssal black eyes regarded Harry with disgust.
"Because you were not paying attention in my class."
Snape said in an even more effeminate, sinister voice.
"A friendly reminder, Potter: if you waste ingredients with those idiotic mistakes again in my class, then by the end of this lesson, you may find that Gryffindor has lost all its points because of you."
Harry wanted to say that Snape was bluffing. He would never dare deduct all of Gryffindor's points because of Harry; Professor McGonagall would certainly intervene. But the thoughtful frown on Hermione's face, caught from the corner of his eye, made Harry pause in distraction.
By the time he came back to himself, Snape had returned to the podium and was rapidly writing on the blackboard the name of the potion they would be attempting to brew today: Wit-Sharpening Potion.
"You will work together to complete this potion—"
Snape's chilly gaze swept across the classroom, lingering deliberately on Harry and Neville. He smiled maliciously.
"Four people per batch. Each group will hand in its brewed potion after class. Any group that fails to finish will have the