After a brief silence, Snape slowly stepped down from the podium and began to pace around the desks.
"I hope you understand that your purpose here is to learn this precise and rigorous science of potion-making, and not for anything else..."
"Of course, I don't expect you to truly appreciate the exquisite feeling of a cauldron simmering over a low flame, emitting wisps of white smoke and a delightful fragrance... But if I find anyone slacking off or causing trouble, hmm..."
At this point, Snape deliberately paused, staring intently at Harry.
"Ah, I almost forgot! Some of you come here with quite a reputation, one that is so well-known that it precedes them..."
Though it sounded like praise, everyone could hear the sarcasm in Snape's words.
Especially since Snape was staring silently at Harry, the target of his sarcasm was evident.
"Potter, tell me, what would be the result of adding powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
Harry looked bewildered.
Powdered root of what? Wormwood? He regretted listening to Ron and not doing his pre-class reading.
Despite his thoughts, Harry could only look to Ron for help, hoping his friend, raised in a wizarding family, could give him a hint.
However... Ron looked just as clueless, as if he hadn't fully woken up yet.
"Alright, let's try another question," Snape said, his tone unchanged, though a hint of disappointment flickered in his eyes.
"Potter, if I asked you to find me a bezoar, where would you look?"
But the only response was Harry's innocent gaze.
Looking into those captivating green eyes, Snape still refused to give up: "Tell me, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
"I'm sorry, Professor, I don't know! But I think Miss Granger does, why don't you ask her?"
Hermione: "..."
Harry was getting increasingly frustrated with the barrage of questions.
He couldn't understand why this professor insisted on picking on him, especially when Hermione's hand was practically touching the ceiling.
"Harry Potter, disrespecting a professor, Gryffindor loses 2 points!"
Snape's deep voice echoed through the classroom.
After deducting the points, Snape still ignored Hermione's raised hand and turned to the other side.
"Swinburne..."
"Professor, the answer to the first question is the Draught of Living Death, the second, a bezoar is found in the stomach of a goat, and finally, there's no difference between monkshood and wolfsbane; they are the same plant, known as aconite."
Ino answered all the questions in one breath.
To be honest, even though he wasn't very interested in potions and hadn't read the book beforehand, he wasn't stumped by Snape's famous set of three deadly questions.
Such fluent answers surprised everyone, including Hermione, who was now looking at Ino with a kindred spirit.
"Hmph... I didn't ask you to answer the previous questions, but since your answers were correct, Slytherin gets five points."
Snape said with a calm expression.
"Now, tell me, what does studying potions mean to you, or what do you think is the fundamental purpose of potions?"
It seemed like a simple question, but Snape had carefully chosen it.
Because whether it's money, fame, power, or even immortality, they can all be obtained through potions, and he wanted to see Ino's answer to verify some suspicions...
What does it mean?
Ino was also puzzled, finding it hard to believe such a question came from Snape.
But he quickly realized this was a good thing! If Snape had asked questions from "One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi," that would have been a disaster.
After thinking for a while, he had his answer.
"Professor, potions to me are merely a means, a way to prevent tragedies, to relieve the pain of those who are suffering, and to heal the wounded."
Snape's voice seemed to have a magical power because during that brief contemplation, many past scenes flashed through Ino's mind.
Someone burned by hot soup, unable to receive proper treatment, huddling in a corner, blowing on the wound while silently crying, not daring to make a sound for fear of attracting the scolding of older kids.
A little girl, beaten and left on a cold, hard bed for days without care.
In the middle of the night, the girl talked to herself, saying her mother would come to take her away someday, so she wasn't in pain, and she couldn't cry because her mother didn't like crying children; she had to wait for her mother...
But a week later, no one ever saw the girl again; the matron said she was too badly hurt... After that, there were no more sounds of sobbing and comforting in the night.
In the harsh winter, a group of children in thin shirts huddled together for warmth in the orphanage...
Yet, every spring, there were always a few familiar faces missing from the group.
Scene after scene flashed through his mind like a movie.
Meanwhile.
Snape had silently cast Legilimency, while also using Occlumency to its fullest to avoid being influenced while trying to see everything clearly.
Maybe he hadn't intended to go this far at first, but thinking of those green eyes...
Snape's only thought now was to protect and prevent tragedy from repeating.
As for Ino, he had no idea what Snape was thinking, he was simply answering from his heart.
Suffering always targets the ordinary, because the ordinary cannot create miracles.
However, he wanted to be the miracle for ordinary people, just as a miracle had chosen him.
...
The Potions classroom fell into a brief silence.
After a while.
"Excellent, an outstanding answer, Slytherin gets ten points!"
Snape's tone was unusually light, his entire demeanor more relaxed, and after awarding the points, he asked no more questions and returned to the podium.
This operation left all the young wizards bewildered, and Ino was equally puzzled.
But this didn't affect the good mood of the surrounding Slytherins; after all, it was a rare ten-point gain.
Of course, some were happy, while others were hurt, like Hermione, who was pouting in frustration.
To her, this was unfair; she was the only one raising her hand, but the professor chose to ignore her.
...
The Potions class continued smoothly.
Perhaps because Snape was in a better mood.
For the rest of the time, Harry seemed to be a powerful magnet, attracting all of Snape's attacks, even when Neville knocked over his cauldron, he only received a superficial scolding.
It seemed Snape didn't want to waste his precious deduction points on Neville.
"Potter, why didn't you stop him from knocking over the cauldron? Does your classmate's mistake highlight your goodness? Gryffindor loses one point!"
"Potter, looking around during class, Gryffindor loses one point!"
"Potter, why are your eyes fixed on the cauldron? Gryffindor loses one point!"
Snape deducted points one by one, not much damage but highly insulting.
Faced with endless ridicule and frequent point deductions, Harry felt like he was going mad.
It seemed no matter what he did, it was wrong; daydreaming meant he wasn't focused, focusing too much meant he was too rigid...
After finally making it to the end of class, he was deducted another point for packing up too quickly, deemed disrespectful to the class!
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