Hermione and Ron watched Harry's retreating back.
His walking posture was no different from usual, but to them, he suddenly seemed to have the air of someone marching heroically to his death.
He really had nerves of steel.
He still had to go see Snape after class.
"Potter." Snape was arranging his lesson notes. Hearing footsteps, he abruptly looked up. His gaze swept over Harry's face and eyes, and the disgust that had just subsided surged back. "Is there something else?"
"Thank you for your instruction." Harry nodded in thanks, trying to ease the tension.
Snape's features twisted as though he'd heard something utterly revolting. "Oh... to think I'd actually hear a Gryffindor say thank you. You lot would sooner take your own heads off and put them on top of the tower."
"Disgusting!"
"It's like hearing a Troll confess its love to a Unicorn."
"Drop that pitiful, loathsome expression, Potter. Get to the point."
Harry said, "Headmaster Dumbledore told me that you had some of my mother's Potions notes. I was hoping..."
"Yes." Snape narrowed his eyes, his expression growing sharper and more dangerous. "Li—"
He abruptly stopped. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "Evans did leave a few notes in my possession, but I don't think you're qualified to inherit them yet."
"You can barely brew a passable Boil-Cure Potion. In your hands, those notes would be like a Troll finding a wand—you'd only use it as a fire poker."
Harry stared straight at Snape without saying a word.
Snape grew even angrier. He picked up his wand and prodded Harry in the chest. "When you make a request, you lower your attitude. No one taught you that before? Then I'll teach you now!"
"Potter, remember this well!"
Harry pushed the wand aside. "I may understand how you feel, Professor, but please remember that these belonged to my mother."
He put a little extra emphasis on the words "mother" and "belonged."
Bang!
Snape slammed his fist down on the desk, grinding his teeth. "Potter!"
"Professor." Harry wasn't afraid of him. His hand had already slipped into the Sorting Hat.
"Very well, very well." Snape clenched his fist. Harry's little movement hadn't escaped his notice, adding another ladle of hot oil to his fury. "I thought you might have changed a little, but you're still the same conceited, foul-smelling, insufferable Gryffindor."
"There are twenty-three of Evans's Potions notebooks. After your final exams this year, come to my office. I'll set you a question myself."
"If you don't get an 'O,' forget about the notes."
"Not even Dumbledore can change my mind. That's final!"
Harry let go and nodded. "Thank you, Professor Snape."
Snape gave a cold snort, dropped what he was holding, and left the classroom without looking back. He truly didn't want to see Potter for even one second longer.
"I thought you were going to fight the professor." Ron clutched his chest, wincing as though it hurt.
Hermione nodded.
Harry was confused. "Didn't we have a pleasant conversation? Why did you think we were going to fight?"
"You put your hand in the hat!" Hermione couldn't keep her voice down. Did Harry misunderstand what "pleasant" meant?
What was in the hat?
The Sword of Gryffindor.
Harry shook his head. "I was just wondering whether I should pay the professor a storage fee."
"Why would you give him money?" Ron clenched his fists. "He hates you so much. Maybe he's keeping your mother's belongings for some sinister reason."
Harry's tone sharpened slightly. "Ron, the professor is a good person."
Hermione looked at Harry with concern. "Potter, I don't mean anything by this, but... could you be under too much pressure?"
"Professor Snape probably liked my mother." Harry slung his bag over his shoulder and headed out first, with the two of them following behind. "He was my father's rival in love."
"But I don't think that's all there is to it."
A rival in love!
The news was so shocking that Ron and Hermione nearly bumped into each other.
"Oh, how do you know?" Hermione readjusted how she was holding her bag, deeply curious and eager for gossip. "Did Headmaster Dumbledore tell you?"
Harry shook his head. "It's obvious."
But... emotions this intense were abnormal.
Like Yennefer and Triss, the two rivals Harry knew who had vied for the White Wolf's affections. They'd even been best friends once.
But even they hadn't been as bad as Snape.
He'd have to find out what had happened. He had to admit, Snape was the Potions Master Harry could most easily learn from. Even one or two offhand pointers had helped him immensely. What if he could learn everything Snape knew?
The three of them headed out of the castle together.
Ron and Hermione couldn't help wondering.
What kind of story had Snape shared with Harry's parents to make him hate Harry so much?
But Harry didn't know either.
As they walked, they discussed it and imagined all sorts of stories from novels—Jane Eyre, for instance, or Clarissa. Of course, Harry's mother wasn't the heroine in either story, so they naturally imagined Snape as the one who'd endured a tragic past.
They soon reached Hagrid's Hut—which really was small compared to Hagrid.
Harry knocked.
Hagrid opened the door amid a chorus of barking.
Harry was about to greet him when he glanced around the room, his eyes widening in surprise.
Ron and Hermione were taken aback. They hadn't known Harry long, but they'd never seen him show any expression other than "blank." Even when things had grown so tense between him and Snape, Harry had remained as unruffled as a mountain in a storm.
What was in there?
They leaned forward to look.
It was ordinary, even a little shabby, and it made Ron feel as if he were back home.
"Harry, what's wrong?" Hagrid held Fang back, looking a little awkward. "Is there something wrong with my house?"
Harry shook his head, smoothing his expression. "No, I just didn't expect... Hagrid, you're so extravagant."
Extravagant?
Ron and Hermione looked at Harry curiously, especially studying his eyes.
Could those amber lion eyes really show him a different world from theirs? Gryffindors privately rumored that Harry's eyes could see through magic and peer beyond life and death, and that the Dark Lord had fallen to those very eyes.
Hagrid was confused too.
He lived comfortably, but extravagant? Surely not.
"A dog bed and blanket made from Unicorn Hair." Harry raised a hand and rubbed his face. "A wind chime made of Mermaid scales. And those—are those a few Bowtruckles?"
"And those—are they Salamanders?" He pointed at the fireplace, where shadowy figures seemed to be jumping around.
Harry only named the things he recognized.
There was far more in the room than that.
More than a dozen jars sat on the windowsill, each brimming with a potent magical aura. They held the venom, blood, or saliva of Magical Creatures.
There were also many materials he couldn't identify: a huge shell that looked like it had come off a giant spider, some ancient but still-sharp teeth...
Hagrid's eyes shone. "Harry, brilliant! You like these adorable little creatures too?"
"No." Harry shook his head without hesitation. "I just really like the materials they provide."
Ron and Hermione didn't yet understand how valuable those materials were. They only eyed the dog bed with envy. They didn't know about the other things, but they knew the value of Unicorn Hair: one strand cost ten Galleons.
That shabby, unremarkable dog bed might be worth over a thousand Galleons.
"Oh, all right." Hagrid muttered, but didn't take it to heart. Most wizards felt much the same way as Harry, apart from a few unusual cases like a certain little freckle-face. "Settling in at Hogwarts? The professors say you're doing brilliantly."
"It's all right." Harry gave a noncommittal reply, his gaze still roaming around the room.
Ron poked his head out and took a large cake Hagrid offered him. "Hagrid, do you know what happened between Professor Snape and Harry's father?"
"Harry's father?" Hagrid froze. Distracted, he fumbled, and a large cake slipped from his hand, landing squarely on Hermione's head.
Hermione clutched her head and cried out in pain. "Harry said Professor Snape might have been his father's rival in love."
"Oh, Harry, how did you know? Who's been gossiping to you?" Hagrid cried, his voice booming like thunder.
Harry glanced back. "No one told me. It's just so obvious that it's hard not to notice."
"But being a rival in love alone shouldn't make him hate me so much."
"I want to know what happened between them too."
Hagrid lowered his head. "Harry, I'm only the Keeper of Keys. I don't know much about what goes on in the castle."
"But... Snape and James never got along. They often fought and hit each other with curses."
"Lily and Snape were close until fifth year, but they weren't a couple, just good friends. Then they suddenly went their separate ways. In seventh year, she got together with James, and they married not long after graduation."
He'd stolen the love of another.
Ron and Hermione's expressions turned complicated.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "You must know more than that."
"Damn it! I don't remember Lily and James being this perceptive." Hagrid clenched his fist and sighed. "Talking to you is like talking to Dumbledore. How are you both so good at seeing through people?"
"But Harry, I mean it. That's all I can tell you."
"Maybe you think Snape's attitude is awful, but trust him. Of everyone at Hogwarts, including Mr. Dumbledore, he may be the one who least wants anything to happen to you."
Ron muttered doubtfully, "But Professor Snape looks like he'd shove Harry into a Troll's lair himself."
"Professor Snape is reliable. Dumbledore trusts him a great deal." Hagrid emphasized his point.
Harry agreed. "I trust Professor Snape too. He might be eager for me to be disfigured, blinded, or even turned into a girl, but he definitely doesn't want anything to happen to me."
Oh...
Ron's mouth hung open. He didn't know how to respond.
Hagrid was just as speechless. His hand slipped, and another Rock Cake landed on Hermione's head.
Hermione fought back tears. "I wouldn't call that kindness..."
Before you continue