Wednesday.

On Monday.

The little wizards finally had their first classes.

Since some magical classes could not be stopped halfway, especially those that required many hours of instruction,

and since all years at Hogwarts had the same teachers, two houses would occasionally attend class together to keep the schedule from becoming impossible to arrange.

Potions Class was one such subject.

Since this course continued all the way until the students graduated,

Professor Severus Snape, the only teacher responsible for it, had to teach Potions to all seven years at Hogwarts, leaving him barely enough time for his work.

Therefore...

From Monday through Friday, Professor Snape had to teach in the evenings as well, making him arguably the busiest professor at Hogwarts.

With such a full workload, Professor Snape somehow still had both weekend days off. Wizards really were masters of time management.

Monday morning.

The first-year Gryffindor and Slytherin newcomers split up and headed for the large Charms classroom.

The first-year Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw newcomers gathered together and hurried to the Potions Classroom in the basement.

The Potions Classroom was somewhat dim.

A group of little wizards unhappily surveyed their surroundings. They would be spending the entire morning in this gloomy classroom, taking Potions.

"I've heard my father mention Professor Snape, the Potions teacher..."

"I heard Professor Snape was a Potions genius when he was a student, but apparently his temper isn't very good..."

"I've seen Professor Snape. He's a very cold person."

"Professor Snape is the youngest Head of Slytherin in its history."

The classroom buzzed with endless chatter.

This was their first class at Hogwarts.

Everyone was filled with curiosity about Potions and its professor.

In fact, what they had said was entirely correct. Snape had been a Potions genius during his school years. By the time he graduated, he could even be called a Potions Master.

Moreover.

Snape really was young.

This Potions Master and Head of Slytherin was only twenty-nine this year.

While the little wizards were still discussing these things, the door to the Potions Classroom flew open with a bang, and a man draped in a black cloak strode in!

He walked extremely fast.

His steps were so vigorous that the cloak on his body billowed behind him, making him look incredibly imposing!

It was none other than Professor Severus Snape. As the black-clad man walked toward the lectern, he spoke coldly: "There should not be so much noise in this classroom. It is something no wizard who understands Potions would ever do..."

"..."

The entire classroom fell silent at once.

Snape took several steps and arrived at the lectern. He slowly surveyed all the new students in the classroom before continuing coldly: "This is Potions. You do not need to wave your wands, nor do you need to recite any ridiculous incantations. But you do need to understand the most complex Potions knowledge in the world and master the finest Potions techniques..."

"However, I think..."

"Many of you here will never manage that."

Snape slowly gathered up his cloak and continued coldly: "Only a very small number of people can appreciate the profound science and precise craft of brewing Potions... If even one person here manages it, that will already be an impressive number."

"..."

Many of the little wizards were already furious.

Professor Snape's words were simply too harsh. How could these eleven- and twelve-year-old children withstand such provocation?

Snape looked at the little wizards whose faces showed indignation and calmly continued: "You think that possessing magic means you are exceptionally gifted. But learning Potions is not as simple as picking up a wand and casting a spell... Open your notebooks."

At this point, Snape finally stopped his vicious tongue and spoke slowly: "For today, just write down that some of the common ingredients used in brewing Potions are poisonous, so that certain arrogant idiots do not touch them with their bare hands and lose their lives..."

"..."

Rustle, rustle.

Every little wizard hurriedly opened their notebook.

As Snape periodically sprayed them with venom during the lesson, the little wizards endured their discomfort and wrote down the highly dangerous Potions ingredients he described.

To be honest...

If Potions had been an elective...

Aside from the students of Slytherin, probably not many people would have been willing to attend his class.

Even Vinson Wright, despite knowing Snape's story, had to admit that there was a reason people always treated Snape like a villain...

That professor's mouth was simply too poisonous!

No matter the circumstances, a person had to be more careful with their words.

Just as Vinson Wright was sighing inwardly, Snape's voice suddenly stopped, because quite a few students in the classroom had begun to lose focus. That was not a good thing.

Snape's gaze moved across the room before selecting a typical example from among the students. He looked at the gray-haired boy who had raised his head to look at him.

The most famous first-year newcomer in Hufflepuff...

Without a doubt, he was the perfect example.

Snape fixed his gaze on Vinson and suddenly said coldly: "Mr. Wright, did you write down everything I just said?"

"..."

Why had he called on him?

Hearing Snape mention his name, Vinson felt that things were not looking good. He had already anticipated what would happen next.

"I wrote it down..."

Vinson glanced at his notebook.

"Then you should be looking down at your notes instead of looking at me."

Snape snorted and continued coldly: "I hope everyone here will remember this clearly. During your first Potions class, it is best not to lose focus. It may determine whether you live or die."

"..."

The little wizards immediately perked up.

Snape snorted coldly. He glanced at the little wizards who had instantly become terrified, then looked at Vinson again: "As for Mr. Wright, because of you, Hufflepuff will lose five points."

After saying this, Snape walked to his desk and recorded the deduction before seeming to remember something: "Mr. Wright, do you have any objections to the deduction?"

"No."

Vinson Wright calmly tightened his grip on his quill.

This was the Potions classroom.

No matter how absurd Snape's reason for deducting points was, and no matter how unpleasant the things Snape said were...

As a proper student, Vinson naturally would not undermine him, argue back, or hold a grudge over it. That was not how he did things.

Snape felt that this student was surprisingly honest, contrary to his expectations. The Potions professor thought for a moment before suddenly asking again: "Mr. Wright, tell me, how would you handle highly poisonous Wolfsbane?"

"..."

This question really stumped Vinson.

Because he had never encountered such a problem before. Given his physical constitution, he would actually have no trouble picking up Wolfsbane with his bare hands...

Of course, he could not answer that way.

If he did, Professor Snape might explode on the spot and curse Vinson Wright nonstop for ten minutes...

After thinking for a second, Vinson chose the most cautious answer: "Put on protective clothing, wear a protective mask, then put on ordinary gloves, cover them with Dragonhide Gloves, and finally use tweezers to place the Wolfsbane into a processing vessel..."

"..."

Snape's expression instantly became extremely strange.

Could someone please tell him...

Why could this little fellow, who cherished his life so much, draw the Gryffindor Sword, a symbol of courage?

The Potions professor's face became indescribably complicated. His voice turned somewhat hoarse as he said: "Mr. Wright, you cherish your life even more than I imagined. You really are not suited to becoming one of those reckless, arrogant fools from Gryffindor..."

"..."

Vinson Wright was speechless.

Could someone please tell him...

What exactly had Snape done to Gryffindor? Even now, he had not forgotten to take a swipe at the house...

So, could he have the deducted points back?

Clearly, something like that was absolutely impossible.

"All right, sit down."

Snape's gaze slowly moved away from Vinson Wright. He turned to look at everyone present: "Whenever you handle Wolfsbane, be sure to wear Dragonhide Gloves and avoid letting it come into any contact with your skin. If all of you are as careful with your lives as Mr. Wright, you can gear up fully just as he did... So why aren't you writing this down?"