Professor Snape Was Mean, Sly, and Hateful, but He Was a Good Person

When they reached a fork in the corridor, Charlie went a different way from the three of them. Before they parted...

Harry walked at the back, frowning as he kept thinking about what he'd just seen.

Suddenly, he stopped.

"Wait!" Harry called to the three ahead of him.

"What is it, Harry?" Ron asked, turning around.

"Did you notice Professor Snape's leg?" Harry's voice was urgent.

Hermione looked at him, puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw a bite on his lower leg!" Harry said, growing more excited.

"And it was a big wound, like he'd been bitten by some large animal."

Ron sucked in a breath.

"You mean..."

"The Three-headed dog!" Harry said with a firm nod.

"Only a monster like the Three-headed dog could cause a wound like that."

Charlie furrowed his brow. "Are you sure you saw it clearly?"

"Of course I'm sure." Harry pushed up his glasses.

"My eyesight may not be great, but I can definitely tell when I see something like that."

Ron looked surprised.

"Doesn't that mean Snape wants to steal whatever's under the Trapdoor?"

"And that Troll today, too." The more Harry thought about it, the more it made sense to him.

"How could a Troll just show up at Hogwarts for no reason? Someone must have let it in on purpose."

"You mean..." Hermione's eyes widened.

"Exactly." Harry gritted his teeth.

"Snape let the Troll in to distract everyone, then sneaked off to steal that thing."

"And the Three-headed dog bit him." Ron picked up the thread.

"That damned old bat."

Charlie sounded a little exasperated as he broke in.

"Wait, wait, wait. Isn't your reasoning a bit of a leap?"

"You're just speculating. You don't have a shred of evidence."

"Snape getting bitten is evidence, isn't it?" Harry argued.

Charlie shook his head.

"It might sound plausible at first, but Snape getting bitten doesn't prove he had anything to do with the Troll."

"Snape might be a little mean, disgusting, unhygienic, and unpleasant, and he might not be a very good teacher..."

"You admit he's not a good person, then," Ron cut in.

"But," Charlie said, emphasizing the word.

"Letting a Troll in is completely out of character for him."

"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked curiously.

Charlie thought for a moment, then said, "Knowing Snape, the Troll probably wouldn't even make it into the school before he killed it out of sheer intolerance for stupidity."

"With brains like that, a Troll wouldn't last three seconds in front of Snape."

Ron couldn't help laughing.

"That does sound exactly like Snape."

"Besides," Charlie continued.

"Even if Snape really wanted to steal something, would he choose such a stupid method?"

"If he really wanted to steal something, he'd use a potion or something. He wouldn't make such a big scene."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully.

"Charlie has a point."

"There could be another reason he got bitten."

"Then why was he bitten by the Three-headed dog?" Ron still wasn't convinced.

Charlie shrugged.

"Who knows? Maybe he went to check on the security measures. There's something important hidden there, after all."

"As a teacher, he's responsible for making sure the school is safe," Hermione agreed.

"With a Troll breaking in tonight, it makes sense to check the other security measures too."

Harry still wanted to argue, but the two of them had convinced him. He nodded glumly.

Damn. He'd thought he'd finally have a chance to report Snape.

"Fine. Maybe I was overthinking it."

"Harry, you're always sticking your nose into things."

"Not everything is a conspiracy."

Hermione looked sternly at Harry and Ron.

"And you shouldn't talk about a professor like that."

"No matter how Professor Snape treats us, he's still a teacher at Hogwarts."

"As students, we should show him basic respect."

Harry and Ron rolled their eyes. That was Hermione, all right—the same old familiar flavor.