"It doesn't matter who it is, Miss Prince."
Snape's expression didn't change. He frowned and said, "Irregular cuts can improve the effect, but this is only Boil-Cure Potion. Doing this is a complete waste of time.
"But in view of your earnest attitude... Hufflepuff, five points."
All the students turned to stare, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Some of the Hufflepuff first-years vigorously rubbed their ears, briefly wondering if something was wrong with their hearing.
Though only half the class had passed, they'd already gotten a full taste of just how unpleasant this Potions professor could be.
Just as the Prefects had told them, in his class, only Slytherin ever gained points. The other three Houses could only try to lose as few as possible.
Like those two Slytherin first-years who had nearly blown up the Potions Classroom just now.
Although Snape, furious as he was, had given them detention—in the dungeons, no less—he hadn't taken away a single House Point.
But what had they just heard?
Snape had actually given Kanna five points!
Good heavens, this was sure to cause a sensation throughout Hogwarts!
If Hufflepuff was shocked, Slytherin was having a hard time accepting it. They stared at their Head of House with deeply aggrieved expressions, nearly on the verge of tears.
Why? Gaining points was supposed to be a privilege reserved for them. How could Hufflepuff possibly...
Their Head of House had changed. She hadn't been like this before.
But none of this had anything to do with Snape. He set down the Porcupine Quills and said flatly, "Don't do anything unnecessary like that again."
"Y-yes, Professor," Kanna stammered.
"Mm."
Snape nodded, then turned to Kyle. His expression instantly became one of disdain. "Look at her, then look at yourself. You've taken all this time to cut so little. You can't even manage a simple task like this. Did you borrow your brain from a Troll?
"What a waste of time. Hufflepuff, five points deducted!"
Kyle: "..."
What was that supposed to be?
What had he done to deserve this? He'd only been a little slow at cutting. He got five points taken off for that?
Didn't the school have any rules? Any humanity?
With a professor this blatantly biased, was no one at Hogwarts going to do anything?
As a matter of fact, no one was.
Even most of the young wizards in the classroom couldn't care less about Kyle's feelings. They all breathed a sigh of relief, while the Slytherin snakes hugged one another and wept with joy.
He was back. It was all back.
This was the real Snape. The one from a moment ago had to be an imposter.
Maybe Headmaster Dumbledore didn't want Slytherin to win the House Cup for six years in a row, so he'd secretly used the Imperius Curse on Snape.
That despicable old bee!
The snakes comforted themselves this way.
After that, Snape rarely came over to Kyle's side again.
It wasn't until class was nearly over that he began his usual rounds, checking the Potions the young wizards had brewed.
As expected, Kyle and Kanna's Boil-Cure Potion had turned out perfectly.
Pink smoke rose slowly from the cauldron. Even Snape couldn't find anything wrong with it.
"Hufflepuff, five points."
Snape glanced at Kyle, then walked away with an expression of utter disdain.
This was the second time Snape had given Hufflepuff points. Although he took those five points back a second later, the story still spread throughout Hogwarts before dinner.
Kanna once again became the center of everyone's attention.
Unlike the Transfiguration Class, where only a handful of first-years had noticed her, this time almost every student at Hogwarts was curious about who this first-year girl was. Even the notoriously ill-tempered Snape seemed to regard her differently.
"Thank goodness, Kyle. You've finally come out of that damn common room."
At dinner, Fred and George risked having their detention doubled to come over to the Hufflepuff table again.
But they looked absolutely dreadful. They had deep circles under their eyes, and could barely hold their knives and forks. They'd nearly chopped a perfectly good pork chop into mince.
"What happened to you two?" Kyle looked at the listless twins and said earnestly, "You're still young, but you need to learn some restraint. Keep this up and your bodies won't be able to take it."
"Yeah, but we can't help it," George sighed. "This detention is too horrible. Do you know how thick that book is?
"It's a full fifteen inches! It's taller than a wand when you stand it up, and Professor McGonagall expects us to copy it all in a week. Is she trying to kill us?"
"Forget it, let's not talk about that." Fred patted his brother on the shoulder. "At least before we finish copying that damn book, Professor McGonagall won't just stand by and watch us work ourselves to death."
She wouldn't before they finished. But what about after? The twins didn't say, and Kyle tactfully didn't ask.
"Honestly, you've distracted me so much I nearly forgot why we came."
George suddenly smacked his forehead and peered around the table.
"Which one is that hero named Kanna? Hurry up and introduce us. I'm still waiting to get her autograph."
"Yeah, yeah," Fred said, nodding repeatedly. "A Hufflepuff getting ten points from Snape? That's a miracle."
George chimed in from beside him. "Dumbledore should give her a Special Contribution Award. She cured Snape of his favoritism.
"That honor would be far more impressive than anything recorded in that stupid book."
"You're looking for Kanna? You're probably going to be disappointed." Kyle shrugged. "She didn't come to the Great Hall for dinner today."
According to Kanna's roommate, she'd gone back to her dorm not long after Potions Class ended and hadn't come out since. She'd refused to see anyone.
"She didn't come?" George asked in surprise. "So she's not having dinner?"
"She just didn't come to the Great Hall." Kyle gave him a strange look. "Don't forget, our common room is right next to the kitchens. We can get whatever we want whenever we like."
"Oh, right. How did I forget that?" George slapped his forehead. "Damn, my head is full of all these different names. It's a horrible feeling."
"Looks like we won't get her autograph today," Fred said regretfully. "Too bad we've got detention again tonight. Otherwise, waiting for her in the kitchen would've been a good idea."
Kyle opened his mouth. He didn't think Kanna would want to give them autographs.
Without getting the result they wanted, Fred and George hurriedly wolfed down a few bites of dinner and left.
Before they went, they also stuffed a whole pocketful of roast potatoes into their pockets, saying they'd save them for after detention.
Kyle asked why they didn't go to the kitchens and get something hot to eat, but both twins gave him an exasperated look.
"Two in the morning..." Fred said indignantly. "We'll be lucky if we make it back to the dorm alive!"
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