Snape certainly hadn't gone mad.
He simply didn't want to watch Ian fail to divide up the spoils again. With a flick of the cloak behind him, he turned and took the longer route back to his safehouse.
Along the way,
many Young Wizards saw the gloomy-faced Slytherin Head. No one dared speak to or provoke him, because the Old Bat even kicked passing toads twice.
Some said
that no one saw Snape again that day.
Others said
that Snape had seized several disobedient Young Wizards, reinstated Hogwarts's wicked old practice of flogging, and conducted a whole day of inhumane experiments in his office.
No matter how full of holes and implausible those claims were, it did nothing to stop them from spreading like wildfire. The Gryffindor students deserved much of the credit for that.
They were always happy to vividly recount increasingly outrageous rumors about Snape to everyone they met.
"Have you heard? Snape actually gave Ravenclaw points!"
"What? Has Snape gone mad?"
"Snape has finally gone mad! He'll definitely use evil magic to kill us all!"
At the very beginning, perhaps it had simply been a kind Young Wizard from that Potions Class wanting to point out that Snape did not quite match the rumors. Unfortunately, Snape's image in the hearts of Hogwarts's Young Wizards had been far too deeply ingrained over the years.
Ian might have needed to bear some responsibility for that, but it was clearly impossible to make him do so. What did Gryffindor's efforts have to do with him, a Ravenclaw?
"Wait for my good news. I'll start making it soon."
After parting from Aurora, who strongly agreed with his alchemical philosophy, Ian began exploring Hogwarts Castle. During the first week of term, the Young Wizards' classes were not particularly demanding.
One class