When the doors of the school hospital opened again, it signaled that Mikel had finally fulfilled his wish and was officially discharged. However, his condition didn't look good—his steps were unsteady, and he kept retching.
Before today, Kyle had never imagined that a person's face could turn blue. Even the most avant-garde portraits in the castle wouldn't dare use such bold colors. But Mikel managed it. His entire head, including his forehead, nose, lips, hair, and even teeth, was blue. From a distance, he looked like a giant, human-sized blue dandelion.
"Kyle…" Mikel stretched out a hand, his voice dry. "What are you laughing at? Help me up."
"Nothing. Just thinking of something funny," Kyle replied, stepping forward to help his friend while turning his head away to avoid looking at Mikel's face. "I earned Hufflepuff an extra twenty points yesterday."
"That's worth celebrating," Mikel nodded, though he didn't ask further questions. He wasn't in the mood for conversation. He had no idea what the nurse at the school hospital had made him drink, but it had tasted awful. His throat was now burning painfully, making it uncomfortable to even speak.
They walked slowly toward the dungeon classroom for Potions class. Along the way, something interesting happened. As they entered the clock courtyard, Mikel's blue head gradually began returning to its normal color. While it didn't fully return to his usual appearance, it was at least less attention-grabbing. The dim lighting of the castle's interior further concealed the remaining traces of blue. It seemed Madam Pomfrey had decided not to embarrass him too much.
Despite their slow pace, when they arrived at the classroom, they were predictably late. Snape had just finished calling the roll when he looked up and saw them standing in the doorway.
"Late to your first Potions class. Is this the standard for all the first-years this year?" Snape said in his typical drawn-out, sarcastic tone. "Hufflepuff will lose ten points."
Mikel glanced at Snape, his eyes widening in sudden recognition. "Wait, aren't you—"
Before he could finish, Kyle quickly stepped on his foot, silencing him before the words could escape. It was a good thing too, as finishing that sentence might have made things much worse for them in the Potions classroom.
Taking advantage of the momentary pause, Kyle quickly apologized. "Sorry, Professor Snape. We won't be late again."
Snape narrowed his eyes. "If you're late again, it won't be just a matter of losing points." He glared coldly. "Now stop standing there like idiots and sit down before I deduct more points from Hufflepuff."
Kyle wasted no time pulling Mikel to the back of the classroom, far away from Snape. Mikel's near-slip had shaken him, and he didn't want his friend saying anything else that might provoke Snape's wrath.
Once they were seated, Snape returned to his lecture, his voice cold and sharp. "Potions are a subtle and important branch of magic. I don't expect most of you to appreciate the beauty of a potion simmering, white smoke swirling, or the fragrance that can emerge from well-prepared ingredients. Nor do I expect you to understand the art of transforming ordinary materials into something far greater."
His tone grew more ominous as he continued, "But I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even prevent death—if, and only if, you aren't the incompetent fools I so often encounter."
The entire classroom fell into a tense silence. The Slytherin students sat up straighter, as if trying to prove that they were not the fools Snape referred to. In contrast, the Hufflepuff students exchanged nervous glances, none of them daring to meet Snape's eyes.
Mikel, in particular, looked like he wanted to disappear. He sank lower in his seat, clearly uncomfortable under Snape's gaze.
"Drake!" Snape suddenly barked, snapping Mikel out of his thoughts. "When making a boil-cure potion, should you add slugs or porcupine quills first?"
Mikel froze, his mind racing. What potion? He hadn't been paying attention. In a shaky voice, he answered, "Porcupine quills first, Professor."
Snape's lip curled into a sneer. "Porcupine quills first? If you'd bothered to even glance at your textbook before coming to class, you would know that snake fang powder is added first for a boil-cure potion." He gave Mikel a withering look. "You're late, and your basics are this poor? Hufflepuff loses another point."
"Why aren't you writing this down?" Snape's voice snapped through the room, and a sudden flurry of quills and parchment followed as students rushed to note his instructions.
"Open your textbooks to the first page!" Snape commanded. "Today we will be learning to brew a simple boil-cure potion. While the potion is simple enough that even someone with a troll's intelligence could manage it, I still advise caution. If made incorrectly, it can cause boils to erupt all over your body."
"The ingredients you'll need are in the storage cupboard. You'll work in pairs," Snape said, his eyes scanning the room. "Oh, and one more thing…"
He turned toward Mikel again, eyes narrowing as he studied him. "Given your current state, it's probably best you don't participate today—for the safety of the other students."
Snape took Mikel's cauldron away and then turned to Kyle. "You can pair up with Connor. Let Drake stay here and catch up on reading."
Kyle gave a quick nod and moved to sit next to Zhang, who had been watching the entire scene with wide eyes. As Kyle approached her table, she looked both surprised and mildly irritated. She had been hoping to avoid Snape's notice by sitting near the back of the classroom, but now she was paired with Kyle.
With all the other students already paired off, there was no avoiding it.
Zhang sighed in resignation. She had just been thinking about asking her friend to switch seats with her, but before she could, Snape's sharp voice cut through the room again.
"What are you waiting for?" he growled. "Get to work before I decide to dock more points."
With no choice left, Zhang got to work grinding the snake fangs on the table. Meanwhile, Kyle collected the other ingredients from the storage cupboard. As he returned to their workstation, Snape passed by and casually dropped a bag of extra ingredients on their desk.
Kyle raised an eyebrow but said nothing. The bag contained three full portions of everything they would need to brew the potion, making it unnecessary for them to gather more from the cupboard. Clearly, Snape wasn't taking any chances with their potion-making abilities.
The rest of the class was a blur of activity as students hurried to follow Snape's instructions, afraid of incurring his wrath. Kyle and Zhang worked silently, exchanging only the bare minimum of words to get through the task. Kyle could feel the tension in the air as everyone tried to avoid making mistakes, knowing full well how unforgiving Snape could be.
(End of the chapter)
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