Snape's Questioning

After breakfast, Li Wei took his timetable and his Potions textbook, Magical Drafts and Potions, and headed to class with his two roommates.

As they passed the Gryffindor table, he greeted Hermione and Neville.

"Li Wei, are you going to the library to study at noon?"

Hermione took the chance to ask the friend she had met on the train. She had not forgotten how diligently Li Wei had studied during the journey.

"Of course. I'll wait for you at the library."

Li Wei did not refuse the invitation. After all, Miss Know-It-All was widely read and had a photographic memory. Perhaps she had some study techniques he could learn from.

The two waved goodbye. Their agreement to read together in the library utterly stunned the little Gryffindor lions, who spent all day thinking about having fun.

It was only the first day of school!

Couldn't they at least think about exploring the magnificent magical castle?

Didn't they want to play a few games of Wizard Chess?

They actually wanted to go to the library and read books. Merlin's beard!

Li Wei had no idea what the little lions were thinking. As he chatted and laughed with his two roommates along the way, he considered the strategy he planned to use in Potions and found himself unable to decide which one to partner with.

Forget it. I'll see who I end up sitting with!

Li Wei thought helplessly. What others had was theirs; what he had himself was his. Even if his strategy worked, he could not always rely on others.

If his talent for Potions had not been so poor, he would never have chosen this method to deal with the class.

The Potions classroom was underground. The farther down Li Wei went, the colder the air became, and the more he felt like a prisoner walking toward a dead end.

The shelves along the classroom walls held potion ingredients, while all sorts of animal organs floated in glass jars filled with preserving fluid, making the room gloomy and terrifying.

Li Wei was not afraid, though. If anything, the Potions classroom reminded him of a poorly lit laboratory.

Once all the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students had arrived, the students from both Houses heard the classroom door bang open, only to be slammed shut again.

Professor Severus Snape, his greasy hair hanging around his face and his body wrapped in black robes, swept into the classroom like a bat!

"Put away your wands. No casting spells recklessly in my class!"

Professor Snape spoke slowly, his tone grave and commanding.

Quite a few young wizards who had been fooling around with their newly acquainted friends immediately wiped the smiles off their faces along with putting away their wands.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making."

Snape's voice was like a whisper, yet in the absolute silence of the classroom, everyone could hear every word clearly.

Professor McGonagall's stern expression had taught the young wizards not to laugh and fool around.

Professor Snape, on the other hand, smothered even the thought of speaking with his terrifying presence.

"Since this class does not require the foolish waving of wands, many of you will not believe that this is magic.

"I do not expect you to truly understand the beauty of a gently simmering cauldron releasing white smoke and fragrant vapors. You will not truly understand the wondrous magic of liquids flowing into people's veins, enchanting the mind and clouding the will...

"I can teach you how to improve your reputation, brew glory, and even stop death—but only if you are not the sort of foolish idiot I so often encounter."

Professor Snape's opening speech was as classic as ever, like a baritone reciting a grand poem.

"Now, we shall take attendance." Professor Snape's cold, hollow eyes swept over the more than twenty little sprouts in the classroom. Seeing their trembling expressions, he added, "And ask a few questions along the way. Let us see who did not do even the slightest preparation before class..."

The deadly questioning had begun!

Before their names were called, every student prayed inwardly that they would not be questioned.

But the more they prayed, the more obvious their fear became. How could children in their early teens know how to hide it? In Professor Snape's eyes, it was perfectly clear!

Li Wei, however, remained utterly calm. He had memorized Magical Drafts and Potions and One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi from cover to cover!

Potions was a subject that tested practical skill enormously and required a sense for magic, yet Li Wei found it exceptionally difficult to perceive that sense.

He had tried it once while working during the holidays. When brewing a potion, he could only sense very vaguely how much of a potion ingredient to add, or when the heat was right.

Most of the time, though, he could not sense that inspiration at all. When brewing potions, he was like a blind man with his eyes open.

What Li Wei did not expect was that the more calm and fearless he appeared, the more Professor Snape saw him as putting on airs and playing clever little tricks.

Did Snape not know the habits of these young wizards?

There was no way they would prepare before class, let alone memorize knowledge points in advance. If they had that much time, they would have spent it playing.

"Mr. Lee Wickens," Professor Snape called.

"Here," Li Wei answered from beneath the lectern.

"Hmm! Let me ask you, Mr. Wickens: what are the core ingredients of the Draught of Peace?

"And if an excessive amount of Bubotuber pus is added by accident, what disastrous consequence will it cause?"

Professor Snape deliberately chose a difficult question. Once Li Wei answered incorrectly, he intended to ruthlessly deduct Ravenclaw's House points.

He had had his eye on those little eagles' points for a long time!

Every year at the end of term, Ravenclaw's score was always right on Slytherin's heels, posing a real threat to Slytherin's chances of winning the House Cup.

Li Wei was somewhat startled by Snape's question. He had not expected Professor Snape to call on him when he had clearly looked so confident.

Snape noticed the surprise on Li Wei's face and could not help feeling pleased. He opened his mouth, ready to deduct points.

But Li Wei gave his answer without hesitation:

"The core ingredients of the Draught of Peace are daisy roots and Hellebore. Excessive Bubotuber pus turns the potion into a powerful sedative, causing the drinker to fall into permanent sleep, with no antidote capable of reversing it."

Professor Snape's open mouth, poised to deduct points, froze. He paused before recovering and offering his assessment with venomous sarcasm.

"Hmm. Your rote memorization is not bad."

When the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students heard Li Wei receive such a relatively favorable evaluation from Professor Snape, they stared at him as if they were witnessing a miracle.

Professor Snape noticed those looks and immediately felt greatly displeased. Though he did not know why, he swept his cold, deathly gaze across the whole class and asked:

"Who can accurately explain the two completely opposite effects of powdered moonstone in different potions? Get one word wrong, and your House loses ten points."

The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students immediately groaned inwardly. How had they ended up getting caught in the crossfire and drawing Snape's fire onto themselves?

"No one can answer this question?"

"The supposedly clever eagles and hardworking badgers are truly disappointing!"

Snape launched a broadside, making all twenty-odd students from the two Houses flush red. Some of the more hot-tempered ones even glared back at Professor Snape.

But with one sweep of Snape's deathly gaze, those angry little sprouts were suppressed once more.

"Then you answer it! Ravenclaw's little notebook." Snape turned his gaze back to Li Wei. He had not forgotten this culprit and called on Li Wei again.

There really was a reason Professor Snape was so hated!

Served you right for letting some blond punk steal away your childhood sweetheart!

Li Wei lowered his head and avoided Snape's eyes, cursing him furiously in his heart. Then he looked up and answered in precise terms:

"Powdered moonstone enhances the stability of the pleasurable effects in the Elixir to Induce Euphoria, preventing the potion from becoming so potent that it causes uncontrollable laughter.

"In the Forgetfulness Potion, however, it weakens the memory-erasing effect, allowing it to erase only shallow memories from within the past hour."

After answering, Li Wei paused and said in an even, unyielding tone:

"Also, Professor Snape, my name is Lee Wickens, not Ravenclaw's notebook, though I think that title is quite nice!"

The students from both Houses nearly applauded Li Wei's response. He was no longer merely a miracle—he was a hero!

Especially that final remark, neither soft nor hard. He actually dared to talk back to Professor Snape! It could practically be listed as the greatest quote of the year in Potions class, written down and hung on the wall!

Yet after hearing Li Wei's answer, Snape did not comment on whether it was correct. He merely snorted coldly.

"Hmph! Lee Wickens, for talking back to a professor in class, Ravenclaw loses five points!"