Familiar Yet Strange

"Although you weren't late, you were one minute late."

"Sorry, Professor. I ran into Professor Quirrell on the way and chatted with him about the Defense Against the Dark Arts homework." At the classroom door, Glenn gave a slight bow.

Hearing this, Snape furrowed his brow.

"Don't get too close to Quirrell, especially when you're alone."

"Why?"

"Because he's a dangerous man, his mind so muddled he doesn't even know which spell to use when." Snape said coldly. "Sit down. Take the nearest seat."

After Glenn found a seat and sat down, Snape didn't start the lesson immediately.

"Mr. Howard, tell me, how much do you think you understand about Potions at this point?"

"Not much, sir," Glenn said modestly.

But he didn't specify what the measure of "much" actually was.

"Good, Glenn. I'm pleased you haven't been dazzled by the fools around you—after all, when comparing intellect with them, few wouldn't get carried away and think too highly of themselves."

After saying this, he paused, then continued: "Last time's Invigorating Potion was decent enough, barely reaching a level I could accept. But if you want to become a Potioneer worthy of leaving a name in the vast history of Potions, you still have a long way to go."

If any students from a dozen or more years above had heard this, their eyes would've nearly popped out.

Because Professor Snape wasn't exactly a teacher with normal teaching standards.

Perhaps due to his exceptional talent, he was quite impatient when it came to instruction.

To him, learning meant listing out all the knowledge, reading it through once, and understanding it.

This created an extremely polarized situation.

On one hand, the difficulty of his lessons was so high that only a handful could follow.

On the other hand, when it came to homework, Snape's standards were astronomically high.

Basically, every one of his critiques could be elevated two grades higher if spoken by a Potions professor at any other magical school.

In other words, when Snape said "barely acceptable," it meant the potion was already good enough to be sold on the market as a perfect product.

However, what Professor Snape didn't know was that this was actually the result of Glenn deliberately lowering the quality...

"Don't get complacent. Today, I'm going to teach you another, more difficult potion. I wouldn't be surprised if it takes you a few days to grasp its essence."

With that, Snape turned around and began writing on the blackboard—without even saying what potion they were making.

Seeing this, even Glenn couldn't help his eyelids twitching.

But fortunately, judging by the content on the stone blackboard, this should be—the Invisibility Potion.

One Bouncing Mushroom Cap, one Two-Ear Grass Twig, plus one Troll Bogey...

Honestly, even though the recipe was correct and this potion was indeed brewed this way, Glenn often wished they'd rename "Troll Bogey" to something less evocative, a more palatable alias for such an unpleasant ingredient.

About ten minutes later, Snape turned around, his expression flat but matter-of-fact as he said: "Understood?"

"..."

Half an hour passed.

When the purple slowly turned milky white and the boiling liquid gradually settled into calm, Glenn bottled the potion into a crystal vial.

After handing over the Invisibility Potion, Snape first examined the liquid, then looked at Glenn, and finally uncorked it to take a sniff.

"Not bad. It'll work." With that, he handed the potion back to Glenn.

"I thought I'd have to explain it again, but it seems you've saved me quite a bit of time, Glenn." As he said this, Snape's tone was, for once, no longer icy.

In truth, whether toward his most hated Gryffindor or his favored Slytherin, his tone was always cold.

The difference was just whether he deducted points or not.

"Since there's still time, I'll allow you to ask me some questions. Go ahead—what parts of what I just taught do you still not fully understand?"

"None, Professor," Glenn said truthfully.

Normally, hearing this, other teachers might be skeptical, but Snape almost took it for granted.

After all, that was how he was as a student—and he thought he'd explained it quite well.

"You're very much like me, Glenn—at least in your talent for Potions," Snape said slowly.

Though there was no strict evidence, geniuses often appreciated each other, regardless of age.

Seeing a student with such high aptitude for Potions inevitably reminded him of his own bitter school days.

"I have to say, most Gryffindors are idiots. But occasionally, there are some who can barely keep up with my train of thought, even if it often feels like rote memorization," Snape said, staring at Glenn.

"Take Miss Granger's homework, for instance—honestly, Glenn, did you tutor her?"

Glenn was slightly taken aback.

Honestly speaking—no.

Because Hermione's study habits were quite independent; when she encountered difficulties with assignments, she would prioritize looking up information herself over asking others.

As for the homework, I had happened to catch a few glimpses of it. While there were some similarities here and there—since it was the same potion, it was impossible for there to be no overlap at all.

So, rather than whether he had tutored her on assignments, Glenn was actually more curious about why Professor Snape had thought of this point.

"No, sir. Although Miss Granger and I do sometimes study together in the library, I believe this is entirely her own effort."

Upon hearing this, Snape's dark eyes fixed on him for a few seconds.

His gaze was deep—so deep that Glenn felt he wasn't looking at him, but rather through his youthful pupils at a reflection of himself, falling into a time long, long ago.

"A very familiar answer."

After a brief and rare moment of distraction, Snape stood up.

"I think the night is still long. There are a few more ingredients in the cabinet; you may use them all."

With that, he swept his black robes behind him and left the classroom—like a great black bat.

Watching the professor leave, Glenn let out a soft sigh.

Honestly speaking, that had been a good opportunity—a good opportunity for Legilimency.

But just before making his move, looking into Snape's eyes, Glenn saw it—this memory had been sealed with Occlumency.

The strength was uncertain for now, but it seemed the professor had put his full effort into it. Forcing a look would definitely be discovered...

"Who would have thought that such a harsh, cold professor also has precious memories he would fight to keep others from seeing?"

Perhaps no one would ever know.

After a brief sigh of reflection, Glenn got up and walked toward the cabinets Snape had mentioned.

Though this attempt at investigation had failed, at least he could still harvest several dozen bottles of Invisibility Potion.

But when Glenn opened the cabinet and saw the few ingredients inside, he couldn't help but frown.

"This year's Head of Slytherin really isn't generous..."

Even the Troll Bogey was from the troll on Halloween!