The Savior in Potions Class

--Harry Potter, are you playing me?

Professor McGonagall stared at the Scoring Hourglass, where the Slytherin side was packed full of emeralds at the bottom, and began to question her own existence.

"Harry Potter, a perfect answer. Changing the intrinsic properties of a spell's target is indeed a charm. Ten points! A charm adds specific attributes to an object or creature, while a transfiguration spell turns it into something entirely different."

"Harry Potter, the mixture of Dittany and Silver Powder can indeed heal a Werewolf's bite. You even know extracurricular knowledge. Five points!"

Nearly every professor had taken a liking to this earnest, inquisitive, sunny boy.

She was no exception.

After seeing the perfect Cat Pattern on the silver needle Harry had conjured, she awarded him ten points on the spot.

Hagrid also let Harry roam the Forbidden Forest for training, claiming that even a Fire Dragon couldn't break Harry's skin.

Quirrell stopped acting crazy and reeking of garlic, seemingly worried that Harry might actually punch him.

Even Filch, loathed by all, cracked a smile at Harry's habit of throwing a Cleaning Fist wherever he went.

[If you tear, rip, fold, stain, damage, throw, drop, or in any other way harm, abuse, or defile this book, I will, within my power, make you suffer the most terrible consequences.]

Pince, who left such a terrifying warning on the borrowing slip and forbade students from whispering, using magic, or eating in the library, had also opened the door wide for Harry.

After Harry cleared the Ancient Grime imbued with powerful magic from the Restricted Section, she turned a blind eye to his habit of reading aloud while casting spells and running across the ceiling.

Sirius, the newly appointed School Auror stationed at Hogwarts, hadn't even had a chance to tip the scales yet.

Surely... Snape would be no exception.

"Today... Harry should have Potions class."

"A student from my own house will surely earn a lot of points."

Just as Professor McGonagall was about to sigh, she saw a pile of Slytherin emeralds fly upward—that meant... points deducted.

She nearly startled into a Tabby Cat.

Inside the Potions classroom.

"Get out of my classroom, Sirius Black!"

"Or I'll deduct even more points from Potter!"

Sirius, worried that Harry might be mistreated, had shown up and clashed with Snape, who was throwing all sorts of sarcastic remarks at Harry.

The Slytherins below: No, Professor, those are our points too!

The Gryffindors watching the show: Go on, Professor Snape!

"You call yourself a professor!" Sirius fumed. "We all know why you deliberately scared Neville just now!"

"Not because of Harry, but Longbottom?" Snape narrowed his eyes. "Playing the saint now, are we? Right, you lot always love taking in some insignificant, stammering fool as one of your own."

"Before, it was Peter Pettigrew. This time, it's—"

His venomous gaze swept over Neville's round face.

[...To uphold the fairness and justice of house points and keep the house competition clean and honorable, the Savior Lord cannot stand idly by. Side quest [Punish Oily Guard Sequel: Protect Round-Faced Sword Attendant] triggered. Reward: 10 experience points, Silver Magic Knowledge 1.]

"Apologize."

A tall figure stepped in front of Neville.

"Apologize, Severus Snape."

The black-haired boy cracked his neck and flexed his knuckles with a series of pops. "Unless you want to get beaten up in front of the students."

"I've been through this many times before. James Potter! Your saintly, two-faced father!" Snape flew into a rage, his vision blurring as Harry's figure began to overlap with James's.

"Just like that Malfoy boy said (Draco shrank back), ambushed by your father and his three friends, hung upside down, my underwear exposed to everyone—in front of Lily!"

"So what if it happens again?"

"This time is different." Harry's smile remained warm. "This time, it's not for fun, not for jealousy. It's for justice, for righteousness—for another Severus Snape who suffered bullying."

"Now... apologize."

--Force Choke Modified!

Snape felt his arm jolt as his wand flew from his hand, his body pressed against the blackboard as if by an invisible giant hand.

"Another me?" Snape looked into Harry's emerald eyes.

It was as if he had returned to that day, the face of the figure who had stood up for him no longer holding back a strained smile.

Instead, it bore a faintly angry, gentle smile.

This time, he didn't blurt out "Mudblood."

"I'm sorry." Snape looked at Neville, as if seeing a red-haired girl. "I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I was indeed ridiculous back then."

"I forgive you, Professor Snape." Neville blushed.

Snape landed, and Harry lowered his outstretched right hand.

"He wasn't apologizing for Neville. He was apologizing for Li—" Sirius didn't finish the name.

"That's just the kind of person he is, isn't he?" Harry returned to his seat. "Besides, you should leave now, godfather. What we need at the moment is a qualified Potions professor."

"And you're getting in his way."

"Wow, you really—, you're even more than James, if James had this much manliness about him, I daresay—" Sirius praised without restraint, turning back every few steps as he left the classroom.

"Everyone look at the blackboard. Put away your outdated copies of Magical Drafts and Potions. Remember that removing the innards of a slug yields better results, and crush Dried Nettle together with Snake Fangs..."

The moment Sirius was out the door, Snape's voice rang out.

He seemed genuinely prepared to be a qualified Potions professor now.

The most immediate effect was that his Advanced Class began following convention, accepting students with an E (Exceeds Expectations).

This opened the door of hope for those students who clearly had talent in Potions but couldn't get into the advanced class, couldn't earn their Potions N.E.W.T. certificate, and thus couldn't become Aurors or Healers.

Some students even knelt right there on the spot before Harry, crying.

Witnessing this, Snape's lips twitched, and his body visibly hunched over.

But everything that happened inside the Potions classroom was treated by almost everyone as if it never occurred.

Even Sirius, Fred, and George didn't make jokes about it.

It was only Ron, with his big mouth one day, who caused Gryffindor to lose thirty points in one go.

Which happened to balance out exactly with the points Snape had deducted from Harry earlier.

"Who cares about a lousy thirty points." Ron's face was pale, his calves trembling under the table, and he only calmed down after stuffing three fried chicken legs into his cheeks. "Harry, have you noticed? That Tonks keeps staring at you."

He habitually handed his empty plate to Harry.

Everyone did that now, to satisfy Harry's cleaning obsession.

"I know."

With a snap of Harry's fingers, accompanied by the heartbreak of one house-elf, he gained 1 experience point.

Just five days into the school year, with everyone's support, the [Honor Battle] quest was already complete, making the house-elves understand that when it came to the way of housework, who reigned supreme? One look at Harry and all dreams turned to dust.

After receiving the reward [Household Magic: Silver], Harry's cleaning methods were now even more effortless; perhaps in the future, a single glance would be enough to finish the job.

[Honor Battle] had also upgraded into a long-term quest.

Facing Harry, some house-elves still refused to admit defeat, shouting in the kitchen that the dream of doing housework would never end, for the glory of Hogwarts elves...

—So...

Harry's eyes darkened, his smile growing even sunnier.

—Which dog-blooded bastard in Slytherin refuses to submit to me, yet also won't rebel!

He lifted his gaze, and the Slytherins all lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.