Restless Hands of Sin

"Merlin, Adam, you're incredible!"

As they left the Potions classroom, Klon couldn't help but exclaim,

"Not only are you amazing at studying, but you even dared to answer Professor Snape's question—when he looked at me, I didn't even dare move!"

"It's nothing. I'm just really interested in Potions."

After all, the Sorcerer's Stone could not simply be eaten. He had to brew the Elixir of Life to extend his lifespan, and some potions really were extremely useful.

"Professor Snape may seem a little intimidating, but he's actually a very nice person."

As he spoke, Professor Snape walked past them carrying his books. His roommates... no, the entire corridor seemed to have been muted for several seconds.

"That intimidation factor seems like more than just 'a little'..."

Klon let out a breath. He had nearly choked from swallowing back what he wanted to say just now, then he could not help voicing the complaint that had been stuck in his throat:

"How can you tell Professor Snape is nice? When I handed in my Pimple Potion, he nearly shoved the bottle into my eye socket!"

I think a large part of that was because your Pimple Potion was green, while everyone else's—and the one described in the book—was blue...

Swallowing his true thoughts, Adam put it more tactfully:

"It's Potions, after all. The potions you brew are meant for people to drink, so naturally the standards have to be strict. Think about it—if the Potions professor smiled pleasantly, gave you a decent grade no matter whether your potion passed or failed, and never made things difficult during exams—would you dare drink a potion brewed by students like that?"

It could be compared to medical students' exams, which ranked among the strictest of all majors.

"Uh..."

Klon imagined that terrifying outcome and shook his head.

Leaving everything else aside, he would not even dare drink the Pimple Potion he had brewed himself just now.

"Then couldn't he keep the assessments strict while teaching more gently in everyday lessons?"

Bernard was similarly dispirited. As Klon's partner, he had clearly been thoroughly scolded by Professor Snape as well.

"There are so many students, after all. This method might simply be more efficient. As the youngest Potions Master, Professor Snape should be very busy. He probably earns hundreds of Galleons every minute."

"Is brewing potions really that profitable?"

Uther, who had been listening from the side, widened his eyes.

Even his family would envy such terrifying money-making power.

Bernard froze as well. He came from a Muggle family, but he had exchanged currency at Gringotts before and knew how many pounds one Galleon was worth.

Lawyers were already a high-income group, yet he had never expected brewing potions to be...

A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Bernard. Were Potion Makers not the Wizarding World's dentists?

Oh, no.

Judging from Professor Snape's opening speech, Potion Makers were the Wizarding World's general practitioners!

But even general practitioners did not earn anything this terrifying...

"Uh... Adam was probably exaggerating about hundreds of Galleons per minute. But when you think about potion prices, if Professor Snape really is such an exceptional Potions Master, then his income should indeed be very high."

Klon thought back for a moment.

"I heard from customers at my family's shop about a potion called Felix Felicis. It's hard to buy even for several thousand Galleons."

"Gasp—"

Uther and Bernard both sucked in a breath.

After the three of them discussed it, they decided that since Professor Snape had already used such precious time to teach them, they really should not demand too much from his attitude.

Adam did not remind them that Felix Felicis took a full six months to brew and had a very high failure rate. Strictly speaking, Professor Snape's attitude really was somewhat problematic...

But so what? Professor Snape was already the best Potions professor in the entire British Wizarding World, and that was beyond doubt.

"Which book is Wit-Sharpening Potion from?"

Eugene suddenly walked up to Adam and asked.

"Advanced Potion Making."

As he answered, Adam gave him a surprised look. Eugene was interested in potions too?

Come to think of it, Eugene had looked quite skilled while handling potion ingredients earlier, and they had worked perfectly together while brewing. It seemed that he really liked potions as well.

After getting his answer, Eugene nodded and silently fell a few steps behind, returning to the back of the group.

Tired of grilled sausages, Adam chose some Provencal Stew and roasted chicken legs for lunch. He also had some corn chips as a snack. The cheese-coated chips tasted quite good, though they were a little high in calories. He had no idea how Hogwarts students maintained their figures with food like this.

Did they rely entirely on Quidditch?

Having never taken a flying lesson, Adam had no way of knowing how physically demanding riding a broomstick was. Their first Transfiguration Class would be that afternoon.

The moment he entered the classroom, Adam pulled Eugene to sit in the front row. After thinking it over, Klon and the others did not follow them and instead sat in the second row behind Adam.

They wanted to sit with their roommate, but their ability did not allow it. Better to play it safe in the second row.

After taking his seat, Adam stared at Professor McGonagall in her tabby cat form on the lectern, his eyes shining as both hands grew restless.

Professor McGonagall, who was focused on acting like a cat while secretly scanning the students with her eyes, was slightly startled when she noticed Adam's gaze.

Had he discovered her?

In Adam's eyes, the tabby cat on the lectern had frozen after looking at him. Its pupils turned round, its ears stood upright, and its tail even swayed unconsciously.

"Gasp—"

Adam clutched his chest and collapsed happily onto his desk.

"What's wrong?"

Eugene looked over with concern. Adam shook his head with his eyes closed.

"N... nothing."

He had merely caught the disease of dying if he could not pet a cat...

He should have tucked Kero and Suppi into his pockets and brought them to class with him!

Thinking this, Adam struggled to look toward Professor McGonagall on the lectern, considering whether he could pretend not to know her true identity and take the opportunity to pet her once.

On the lectern, Professor McGonagall, now certain that she really had been discovered, fell silent. She hesitated over whether to transform back immediately, but ultimately stuck to her lesson plan: use her Animagus form to spark the students' interest in Transfiguration Class during their first lesson.

But since she had been seen through, Professor McGonagall felt too embarrassed to keep indulging herself. She pulled her paws from where they had been tucked against her chest and sat properly on the lectern.

Seeing this, Adam realized that he seemed to have exposed himself as well. He could only sigh and suppress his restless hands.

As the class bell rang, Professor McGonagall checked that all the students were present, then leaped down from the lectern, drawing cries of surprise from all around the room.

Professor McGonagall glanced at Adam. Sure enough, there was no surprise in his eyes. Instead, there was a trace of barely concealed... disappointment?

After thinking for several seconds, Professor McGonagall decided this was not something she should think too deeply about. It was better to focus on teaching.

Fortunately, aside from his interest in cats, Adam was equally interested in Transfiguration Class. Especially now that he had grown increasingly proficient with Sweet Card's magic, with a Transfiguration Charm to shape something and Sweet Card to turn it into a dessert, Adam could recreate desserts from his memories in nearly any form.

The only pity was that Sweet Card's magic could currently transform things only into desserts. To transform them into other foods, Adam would have to wait until his magical attainments were sufficient to attempt it himself.