The Giant Bat

They said this was the most unusual Quidditch match in ten years.

First of all, Slytherin, who had been aiming for their eighth consecutive championship, lost.

They lost to Gryffindor by a score of 170 to 20.

More precisely, they lost to Harry Potter.

He had found the Golden Snitch first, ending the match and earning Gryffindor an extra 150 points.

A tie had suddenly turned into a crushing defeat.

Second, the Potions Professor and the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor had given the entire school a textbook demonstration of falling from a great height.

They had vividly demonstrated how to save yourself if you forgot to bring your broomstick while in the air.

When Professor Snape plunged headfirst toward the ground, hanging upside down, almost everyone had squeezed their eyes shut, certain he would smash his head against the earth.

But to everyone's surprise, the Potions Professor seemed to have rehearsed being suspended upside down many times.

While still in midair, he cast a spell on himself called Deceleration Charm.

In an instant, Professor Snape slowed down.

His billowing black robes, combined with his upside-down pose, made him look exactly like a giant bat.

When he drifted slowly down, then leisurely righted himself and landed on the Stands with one foot, his black robes still spotless,

the terrified students finally realized what had happened.

The field fell silent for a few seconds, then erupted in enthusiastic applause.

This was an exceedingly rare occurrence, since applause at a Quidditch match was usually reserved for Quidditch. But even those who hated Slytherin and Snape the most had to admit that the performance had been remarkably elegant.

Professor Quirrell's performance, by comparison, was much less entertaining.

Because—after Professor Quirrell flew to the highest point, he disappeared.

According to what he later told his class, he had first found a way to leave Hogwarts, then Apparated back to the ground, and finally took the train back to school by himself...

Though the idea of taking the train back to school alone sounded rather dejected,

it didn't stop the students from becoming increasingly fascinated by Apparition, a form of spatial transportation magic that might save their lives someday. Neville Longbottom certainly agreed.

Although almost everyone thought that, aside from the Quidditch match itself, the most exciting part had been the two professors' impromptu performance,

after that, the two professors' relationship seemed to turn decidedly sour.

Before, when they ran into each other, they would at least exchange greetings.

Now, whenever they met, they acted as if they hadn't seen each other and walked off without saying a word.

Whenever a student asked about it, Professor Snape would fix them with a cold stare for several seconds. Once the student finally buckled under the pressure and lowered their head, he would pretend he hadn't heard the question and start talking about their Potions homework.

And the usually timid, pitiful Professor Quirrell would, upon hearing the question, make the rare discovery that he could speak without stuttering—and with conviction, too.

"You should ask Snape about that." After saying so, he wouldn't answer another word on the subject.

As for what happened if you actually went to ask Snape... see above.

"The gi-giant bat... er, you mean Professor Snape," Blaise said with a slight cough.

Losing the Quidditch match had certainly been upsetting for Slytherin, but whenever he thought back to that day, he remembered the sight of someone flying through the sky in a voluminous black robe—it really did look like a giant black bat.

"Who knows?" said the only person who knew the truth—and the one who'd done it.

By the fireplace, Glenn poured two cups of coffee.

When Professor Flitwick had taught Wingardium Leviosa (the Hover Charm), he had also covered another spell with a very similar effect: Levitation Charm.

The difference was that the former made inanimate objects float, while the latter could make living creatures float.

In that lesson, Professor Flitwick had said that they would pass if they managed to levitate a small beetle.

As for how he'd managed to send two grown men like Snape and Quirrell flying all at once... Ahem, there was no special trick. He'd simply used a lot of force.

Of course, more importantly, the two professors had been duelling and had their attention fixed entirely on Harry. They hadn't been on guard against the spell at all, which was why it had worked so well.

As for whether it might reveal anything—there was nothing to worry about.

Given Glenn's habit of casting Revelio at every step, he had already surveyed the entire Quidditch pitch before the match even began.

The Headmaster hadn't come.

Of the Heads of House, only the two whose Houses were competing—Slytherin's and Gryffindor's—had come to watch.

Professor McGonagall had been supervising the commentator from the commentary box, while Professor Snape had been busy duelling Professor Quirrell.

The rest went without saying.

In that situation, Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell could only accuse each other. In their eyes, the other was the only one capable of such a thing—and had the motive, too.

Even if Glenn had stepped forward and confessed, no one would have believed him.

Besides, compared to one of the two professors daring to attack a student in front of everyone, the matter of flying seemed relatively unimportant.

"Come to think of it, does the Headmaster know about this?"

"Ah, I think he does." Blaise picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip. "I heard that after the Quidditch Match, Dumbledore invited the two professors, who don't get along, to have a talk."

"And the result?"

Blaise shook his head. "Nothing came of it. Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell are still at loggerheads."

Hearing this, Glenn picked up his own cup of coffee.

Sometimes, he really wanted to complain about what on earth was going on at Hogwarts.

First there had been that corridor on the fourth floor where people met gruesome deaths, then the Troll in the Underground Classroom, and now a professor who attacked people on the Quidditch pitch.

He had even tried bringing these things out into the open, and somehow they'd still managed to sweep them under the rug...

Dumbledore wasn't Headmaster Black. Surely he couldn't be so unconcerned?

Besides, the newspaper had put it this way: "The greatest white wizard in history has once again given up the position of Minister for Magic for the sake of Hogwarts."

After taking a small sip of coffee, Glenn calculated how much time had passed.

Come to think of it, Professor Dumbledore had been a Hogwarts student a hundred years ago.

If you took his transfer into account, he had probably enrolled about two years later than Glenn.

Given how brutal those times were, there was no reason he should be so naïve.

Meanwhile, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were preparing for Potions Class.

In the past, this had undoubtedly been the most difficult and gruelling class.

It still was, of course.

But one thing had changed: ever since the Quidditch Match, Professor Snape had acquired a rather vivid, teasing nickname among them—the Giant Bat.

When Professor Snape entered the classroom, his perpetually unchanged black robes trailing along the floor made him look just like a bat spreading its wings as he walked.

Even students who used to feel afraid as soon as they heard Snape's name couldn't help sneaking a second look—and then bursting out laughing.

In a way, it had eased their fear of Snape a little.

Snape swept his cold gaze over the students below the lectern.

"I don't need laughter and cheer in my class."

His voice rang through the classroom, firm and leaving no room for argument.

"Don't think I don't know what you say behind my back. If you wish, you may go ahead and give that stuttering professor a nickname in his class. But in my class..." He didn't finish the sentence, instead sweeping his dangerous gaze over the students once more.

This time, the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students lowered their heads, not daring to meet the eyes of the professor who was in such a foul mood.

But Snape had no intention of letting them off. He planned to give these rather lazy students a taste of what was coming.

"Recently, Slytherin produced an outstanding student who successfully brewed a bottle of Invigorating Potion," Snape said coldly. "In that case, I'm sure you can all do it, too."

With that, he turned and began writing on the blackboard.

Half an hour later, he turned around and said, "That will do. I think even the dullest of you should be able to understand the steps I just explained."

Judging from the bewildered looks on the students' faces, it was clear that most of them hadn't understood a word.

Ernie and Anthony, students from different Houses, exchanged glances and began a silent conversation.

"Do you know how?"

"No. What about you?"

"Neither do I."

"..."

As it turned out, understanding Snape's lesson without having studied the material beforehand was extremely difficult.

Even so, they had no choice but to brace themselves, go to the supplies, and get started.

"Second row from the left, third column. That's where the Horklump Juice is. There's enough Dittany beside it," Snape continued. "Don't get your hopes up. The school has only one last cabinet of Horklump Juice—in other words, you have only one chance in this class."

Hearing this, the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students grew even more anxious.

If they could, they would already have been wailing and cursing the old bat.

But they couldn't.

Ernie and Anthony could only exchange bitter smiles, then step forward as representatives and go to the cupboard where the ingredients were stored. They opened the cupboard containing the Horklump Juice.

But the next moment, they stared at each other in disbelief.

It was empty!