Hermione sat next to Draco, her fingers gripping her textbook tightly.
At that moment, she finally understood completely.
There's no reasoning with Snape.
Answering correctly is not acceptable, answering incorrectly is not acceptable, remaining silent is not acceptable, and rebuttal is not acceptable.
He's targeting you; any word he says can become a reason to deduct points.
But the thought that Gryffindor had lost nearly twenty points in just a few minutes was unbearable.
Her heart tightened; she truly felt sorry for Draco's House Points and was genuinely both aggrieved and angry on his behalf.
Draco glanced at her sideways, gently patted the back of her hand, and silently signaled her not to worry.
Seeing Draco's actions, Snape sneered and said sarcastically:
"It seems someone... prepared beforehand, but this only proves the most basic, Troll level of reading ability."
He didn't give Draco a moment to breathe, immediately throwing out the second question:
"If I were looking for a piece of Bezoar, where would you look?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Hermione almost reflexively raised her hand straight up, looking anxiously at Snape.
Hermione was genuinely afraid that Draco would deliberately beat around the bush again, continue to oppose Snape, and lose all his House Points.
Snape didn't even glance at her out of the corner of his eye, his eyes fixed on Draco the entire time, clearly intending to make things difficult for him alone.
Draco knew that this question was actually a bit beyond the curriculum and even touched on Fantastic Beasts.
But if he continues to argue with Snape, he'll only get slammed even harder.
Draco deliberately feigned nonchalance and casually replied, " Bezoar is naturally found in cows, where else could it be?"
Snape's face immediately broke into a forced, insincere smile, his dark eyes gleaming with malice.
"Ah... a deduction based on... the literal meaning."
"What a... primitive way of thinking."
" Malfoy, your Troll logic is quite novel."
"But the answer you gave was a crude, mediocre, and completely imprecise one."
"It's like asking, 'Where can I find gold?' and you answer, 'On Earth.'"
"In the precise science of Potions, such boundless folly is fatal."
Draco calmly retorted, " Bezoar is in the cow's stomach, so isn't it in the cow's body?"
Snape's voice suddenly rose:
Are you trying to show me your pathetic ability to find 'whole-part' relationships?
"This doesn't change the fact that you're lazy, you didn't study, and therefore you can't give the precise answers required by Potions!"
"In my classroom, I need precise coordinates like 'a cow's stomach,' not worthless nonsense like 'on Earth' or 'on a cow' that even Troll wouldn't bother to utter!"
He coldly pronounced again:
"So— Gryffindor, another ten points deducted."
Hermione froze, her hand still frozen in mid-air, feeling anxious, angry, and heartbroken all at once.
The answer was clearly correct, just not precise enough, yet points were deducted? Snape was abusing his power!
The Gryffindor students were filled with resentment, daring not to speak out, their hearts aching from the loss of points.
The Slytherin students chuckled again, realizing that Draco was now completely outmatched.
Draco secretly rejoiced.
Good heavens, so Gryffindor loses points, but his Fortune Points increases? Snape is practically a living luck ATM.
But Snape had clearly lost patience, and spoke even faster and more sharply, throwing out the third trap question directly:
What is the difference between Aconitum carmichaelii and Wolfsbane *?
Draco figured his Fortune Points were almost depleted, and too lazy to joke around with him anymore, he simply recited the textbook content precisely:
"They are the same plant, with no difference whatsoever. It is commonly known as Aconitum carmichaelii or wolfsbane, and is a key ingredient in the production of Wolfsbane Potion."
As soon as he finished speaking, Snape's face turned even paler than the cellar walls, a sign that he was about to explode.
He descended the platform step by step, his black robe trailing on the ground, approaching Draco like a ghost:
"Oh... what a wonderful performance, Malfoy."
"At first, you were like a clueless, innocent lamb, completely unaware of the first two questions..."
"Then, he gave a textbook answer to this professional question that even many senior students would find confusing."
"Are you treating me, and everyone in this classroom, like fools? What do you think this is? A game you can manipulate at will, a way to showcase your meager cleverness?"
"Were your 'wrong' answers in the first two questions just to make your 'correct' answer now seem even more dazzling?"
"This vain, pretentious, and attention-seeking behavior— Gryffindor, deduct another twenty points!"
Draco said helplessly, "This is acceptable... I give up, Professor."
An atmosphere of anger and humiliation permeated the entire Gryffindor region; everyone was holding their breath.
Neville mustered all the courage he had ever had, his voice trembling as he whispered, "This... this isn't fair, Professor..."
Snape whirled around, his dark eyes fixed on him with an icy chill.
" Mr. Longbottom, questioning the professor and openly disrupting the class! Gryffindor, another five points deducted."
One sentence silenced Neville completely. He lowered his head and shrank into his seat, not daring to say another word.
Now, no one dared to utter a single word in defense.
Snape surveyed the deathly silent classroom, quite satisfied with his absolute control, a cold smile curving his lips.
The Slytherin students opposite them were filled with smugness and contempt, their eyes sweeping over them like knives.
After spending half a class period using every means to suppress Draco, that troublemaker, Snape finally felt relieved.
Too lazy to make things difficult for Harry, whose face was equally grim, she turned and walked back to the platform to resume the lesson.
Snape coldly swept his gaze across the room, deliberately raising his voice as he spoke:
"Alright, now that there's no more stupid guy like Malfoy causing trouble—everyone, pair up and start preparing the Cure for Boils."
Upon hearing this, the entire Potions cellar fell into a stunned silence.
The next second, almost all the students were dumbfounded.
Not only the Gryffindor, whose faces were already grim, but even the Slytherin, who always considered themselves excellent, all looked at each other in bewilderment, their eyes filled with confusion and astonishment.
The same thought exploded in everyone's mind:
They haven't taught us anything yet!
They didn't even explain the steps, the recipe, or any precautions before telling me to start brewing the medicine?!
Hermione's brows were furrowed tightly as she rapidly flipped through her textbook.
Cure for Boils is a basic medicine for first-year students, but Snape didn't even demonstrate it or mention the key points. It was clearly a deliberate attempt to make things difficult and see everyone scrambling and making a fool of themselves.
Harry and Ron were completely stunned, exchanging a glance and both seeing the other's breakdown.
Neville turned pale with fright, his hands trembling as he held the textbook, unable to even turn to the correct page number for the formula, his mind in complete chaos.
The Gryffindor students all looked gloomy, their anger from earlier still lingering.
Caught off guard by this sudden practical exercise, I didn't even dare to complain in a low voice; I could only frantically search for my textbook.
The situation wasn't much better in Slytherin.