Potions Class was in the afternoon. Thanks to the formidable reputation of the "Dungeon Snake King," everyone was in their seats ten minutes before class began.
Allen and Draco sat in the front row and greeted Harry as he came through the door.
The moment Draco saw Harry, it was as though some mechanism had been triggered. The corners of his mouth rose to the standard Malfoy fifteen-degree angle, and he sneered, "Oh, look who it is! Gryffindor's Chosen One!"
Harry tried to ignore him, but after a moment of restraint, he snapped, "Malfoy! I don't think I've done anything to you!"
Draco snorted. "Let me remind you, Potter! Professor Snape isn't like those other senile old fools. He won't think more highly of you just because you're the Chosen One."
He glanced at Ron beside Harry, then put on an exaggerated imitation of Professor Flitwick, crying out "Harry Potter!" before pretending to topple over.
Harry flushed scarlet and glared fiercely at him, then cast an embarrassed glance at Allen.
"Draco!"
Allen felt utterly helpless.
Over the past two days, the young Muggle-born wizards had all restrained themselves from paying him any more attention.
But Draco, still furious that the Chosen One had rejected his friendship, seized every opening to mock Harry.
His wealth of vocabulary, scornful expressions, and colorful examples made one wonder just how much time he had spent devising them.
Allen looked at the red-faced Chosen One and tried to intervene. "Harry, if you don't mind, please take Mr. Weasley..."
Ron glared at Allen, then frowned and shouted, "Malfoy, shut that filthy mouth of yours! Everyone knows you're a Death Eater's son! Your dad-Lucius Malfoy-everyone knows how hypocritical and snobbish he is!"
The remark drew the attention of the entire classroom. The little snakes wore icy expressions, while some of the Muggle-born little lions exchanged bewildered looks.
The expression slowly vanished from Draco's face. Allen immediately grabbed him and signaled to Harry with his eyes, urging him to take Weasley away.
But the furious Chosen One ignored the poor Crown Prince beside him, and the Malfoy family's heir shoved Allen aside as well. The two hulking boys, Crabbe and Goyle, followed close behind.
No one knew who threw the first punch, but the two sides soon became locked in a brawl.
The little snakes of Slytherin watched coldly from the sidelines, but the little lions of Gryffindor quickly joined the fray, until some of the snakes could no longer stand it and began fighting too.
The little snakes who had wanted to remain aloof were caught up in the fight, and angrily charged in swinging their cauldrons.
The entire Potions Classroom descended into chaos in an instant. Cauldrons and potion ingredients were knocked all over the floor, and a young witch's tearful screams could just be heard. "Stop it, all of you! Class is about to start! You'll lose points for your houses!"
Allen stood dazed in the midst of the spreading battle, jostled back and forth before he even had time to raise his wand.
Fury surged through him. He stamped hard on the floor, seized an opening to slip out of the melee, then climbed onto a table and waved his wand, trying to separate the two sides.
The classroom remained a complete shambles, with insults flying amid the uproar.
The Standard Book of Spells flashed through Allen's mind as he swept his wand gracefully, finally declaring, "Full body-bind, all of you!"
The Potions Classroom fell silent at once. The young wizards froze in their various bizarre poses, and for a moment, a pin could have been heard dropping.
Allen let out a soft breath of relief, his wand lowering to his side.
"A little calm and the right amount of courage are both wiser than a mass brawl!"
"I'm going to find a teacher," he said calmly. "I hope you'll all remember this lesson."
Before he could climb down from the table, the door to the Potions Classroom was suddenly kicked open-
Snape strode in with his black robes billowing, his deadly gaze sweeping over the tangled young wizards, his face dark as a storm.
The black-robed professor surveyed the chaos coldly. Lions and snakes were tangled together, their pointed hats and different house scarves in complete disarray. Some were having their hair pulled, some were pinned to the floor beneath piles of bodies, some had their hands around an unidentified classmate's throat, and one little troll had a cauldron over his head...
He looked coldly at Allen on the table-yet another little troll, his clothes disheveled, waving a wand.
"Cornwall. Explain!"
Looking as though he had lost all will to live, Allen climbed down from the table and briefly recounted what had happened.
Snape gave a cold laugh and waved his wand to release the young wizards from the Full Body-Bind Curse.
Under the Dungeon Snake King's deadly stare, the young wizards stood trembling, shrinking into themselves like frightened quails.
The sound of young witches sobbing came from the crowd.
"An astonishing start. Should I thank you for not breaking any arms or legs?" Snape said coldly.
The Snake King softened his voice into a hiss. "Well, who got things off to such a splendid start? No need to tell me. What wouldn't Gryffindors with heads full of weeds do? Fifty points from Gryffindor!"
The little snakes smiled gleefully, then lowered their heads under the Snake King's gaze.
The little lions were furious but dared not speak.
The Chosen One, however, did-truly worthy of being the son of two lions. His green eyes shone with fury as he stared unblinkingly at the black-robed professor. "Professor, Malfoy provoked us first!"
"Oh?" Snape gave a mocking snort. The instant his eyes met Harry's, he paused, then curled his lips contemptuously again. "I wondered who it was. Our new celebrity, of course.
"...Perhaps you, stupid and arrogant troll that you are, have grown so confident under the professors' special attention, thanks to your title as the Chosen One, that you believe yourself exceptionally gifted and cannot wait to demonstrate how different you are?"
He suddenly strode forward, braced both hands on the table, and stared into those green eyes. "Is that so, Mr. Potter?" he asked slowly.
Allen could almost hear the grinding of teeth.
Harry stared at him furiously.
A moment later, Snape straightened as though nothing had happened and handed everyone an ice pack, apparently determined to teach them a lesson.
He hauled the battered, swollen-faced Draco out of the crowd and dropped him in front of Allen. "Cornwall, take him to the Hospital Wing!" he said coldly.
...Utterly blatant favoritism.
Allen kept his mouth firmly shut and pulled Draco out of the classroom at a brisk pace.
The two reached the Hospital Wing in silence. Madam Pomfrey looked at them in shock. "I've never seen young wizards get themselves into this state in the first week of term!"
Allen did not dare mention that an entire crowd of young wizards would be coming shortly.
She continued scolding as she swiftly and deftly treated the wounds on the little peacock's face.
"You boys-always making trouble! All right, boy! Wait here a moment. I'll fetch you some potion!"
The moment she left, the ward fell silent. Allen sighed softly, went over to sit beside Draco, and gently patted his shoulder.
Draco's eyes were red as he fought back tears.
All Allen could do was pat his back gently.
That comfort made the little peacock begin to sniffle. With his pale face and reddened eyes, he looked utterly pitiful.
"It's all right now," Allen murmured, patting him gently.
"That horrible Potter, that hateful Weasley!" Draco cursed through gritted teeth. "How dare they insult my father!"
Any child could understand that feeling. If someone spoke about Edward like that in front of Allen, he would not be able to resist responding with biting sarcasm either.
He sighed inwardly. Was it because he had become a young wizard and turned his back on Protestantism and God that his task was now plagued with endless trouble?
"Draco," Allen said helplessly, "you obviously want to be friends with Harry, so why do you keep..."
Draco jerked his head up and glared fiercely at him. "Who," he said, enunciating every word, "did you say wants to be friends with him?"
"...My mistake," Allen sighed.
He chose his words carefully. "The Chosen One is a typical Gryffindor. The Slytherin approach to making friends won't work on him."
"I don't..." Draco tried to protest.
Allen handed him a piece of chocolate and nodded. "I know, young Master Malfoy! Anyone who doesn't make friends with you is missing out, aren't they?"
The little peacock lifted his chin and huffed.
"If you don't like them, stop wasting your time arguing with them. You only make things harder for yourself."
Allen glanced sideways at the little peacock and said helplessly, "Aren't your Slytherin classmates good enough?"
Draco paused, then looked at him hesitantly. At last, he admitted the truth. "But he's the Chosen One!"
I grew up hearing stories about him, envying the tremendous glory he'd had since he was little.
Father doesn't seem to like him much, but what young wizard hasn't imagined being friends with the Chosen One?
Allen looked at him and coaxed gently, "Then would you like to hear my advice?"
Those gray-blue eyes glanced at him reluctantly as he said, "When you're dealing with Harry, you only need to follow one rule-be straightforward."
Draco frowned deeply and looked at him in disbelief, unable to imagine that gaining the Chosen One's friendship could be so simple. Over the past two days, he had certainly learned how little the Chosen One appreciated kindness.
Allen chuckled and spread his hands. "It really is that simple. Harry told me about how he grew up. His relatives weren't very good to him.
"So Harry is starved of love, really-he longs for care and is sick of snide remarks."
Draco gave a soft snort. His expression had relaxed, but his tongue remained as stubborn as ever. "What does that have to do with me?"
Allen raised his eyebrows and said nothing.
Just then, Madam Pomfrey returned. He stood to take the potion from her and listened to her instructions. "Apply it to the wounds every evening. They'll heal in two or three days!"
"Thank you for your help."
"It's nothing." Wearing a stern expression, Madam Pomfrey ushered them both out of the Hospital Wing. "You'll be helping me if you stop making trouble!"
Draco gloated. "Look at that! His Highness the Crown Prince's sweet talk didn't work!"
"Potions Class isn't over yet!"
Allen ignored him, grabbed him, and hurried toward the classroom, paying no attention to the little peacock's protests.
As expected, they were greeted by a barrage of Snape's venom before quickly returning to their seats amid a crowd of young wizards clutching ice packs.
Allen nodded to Harry from a distance, then looked at the potion ingredients before him and sank into thought.
Purplish-red porcupine quills, curved, sharp snake fangs...
And four wriggling horned slugs...
Allen swallowed and covered his mouth, his face expressionless.
Draco looked curiously at the slugs, then at him, and could not hold back a laugh. His mood improved considerably. "Well, ahem, I'll handle the slugs, then. You make the potion."
He took the initiative to prepare all the ingredients, then held the book out in front of Allen.
Allen waved a hand, pushed the book aside, and had Draco pass him the ingredients at precisely timed intervals.
His hands were perfectly steady as he stirred with a glass rod.
Before long, a perfect blue potion had been poured into a small test tube.
When the two handed in their potion, Snape glanced at Draco, who looked less pitiful after his treatment, and nodded. "A perfect Cure for Boils. Five points to Slytherin!"
He briskly marked an O beside Draco's name. "The ingredients were prepared very well, Mr. Malfoy."
The Snake King paused and looked at Allen. "Mr. Cornwall... your procedure and technique in brewing the potion were quite good."
He glanced at Allen's slightly pale face. "An E, Mr. Cornwall-for not daring to touch the potion ingredients."
Remembering what the slugs looked like, Allen gave a restrained nod. "Yes, Professor."
"Come to my office at six this evening!"
Allen nodded.
A sudden explosion rang out at the back of the classroom. Seeing potion spreading toward their feet, Draco hurriedly pulled Allen up onto a stool.
Snape strode toward the back row, sweeping his wand to clear the potion from the floor.
"Neville Longbottom! Did you add the porcupine quills without taking the cauldron off the fire?
"Potter! Why didn't you warn him when you were standing right beside him? Did you think that would make you look clever? Five points from Gryffindor!"
Before you continue