Lunch ended.
Cordelia parted ways with them in the Entrance Hall and climbed the stone steps toward the Ancient Runes classroom on the Fifth Floor.
Gavin, Ernie, Justin, and Rolf passed through the Marble Archway and turned toward the Spiral Staircase leading to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom on the Third Floor.
At a corner in the corridor, they ran into a group of Gryffindors.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked in front, carrying heavy textbooks.
Harry looked distracted, clearly still wondering when he would get his new broomstick back.
Hermione held Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection and quietly speculated about who would send such an expensive gift.
Only Ron, after the commotion at lunch, had finally remembered the terror of that morning's Potions Class.
"Snape's completely lost his mind today!"
Ron kicked the floor in frustration and complained to Gavin.
"Malfoy only cracked a tiny bone in his arm, and Snape forced Harry and me to be his servants! He made me spend the entire class peeling slimy skinned leeches and dead caterpillars for Malfoy! Malfoy just sat there with his legs crossed, laughing at us and making snide remarks!"
Harry pulled his wandering thoughts back, adjusted his round glasses, and added wearily:
"Snape stood behind me the whole time while I was cutting. If I was even a millimeter off, he'd stand there sneering and making sarcastic comments."
"That's nothing! He nearly made Neville poison Trevor with his own hands!" Hermione cut in, her whole face red with anger. "Neville got nervous and brewed the Shrinking Solution wrong, and Snape announced in front of the whole class that he'd feed that poisonous potion to Neville's toad Trevor at the end of the lesson!"
Rolf, walking beside them, sucked in a breath.
"He tested poison on a