Chapter -49.
"Hey, Potter! Where did you pick up all this knowledge? I thought it wasn't in the books," Snape said, his serious expression softening just a bit.
'At least not in the same way as that fool,' he thought.
"Dudley told me," Harry replied, being completely honest.
Snape nodded, looking thoughtful as his eyes flicked between Harry and Dudley.
"Alright, Dursley, do you have anything to add to what Potter just said? Let's hear your answers to the first two questions."
"Daffodil root powder and mugwort can be mixed to make a really strong sleeping potion called the Draught of Living Death. And a bezoar is a stone from a sheep's stomach that helps detoxify," Dudley answered confidently.
These questions were a breeze for him.
"Well done! Slytherin gets two points," Snape said, looking surprisingly pleased.
Hermione nearly leaped out of her seat; she had been raising her hand for ages, but Snape had gone straight to Dudley instead. Now the score gap was even wider.
"Alright, everyone, pair up! Today, we're going to learn how to brew a Rat poison treatment Potion," Snape announced.
To be honest, the rat poison treatment Potion isn't as simple as it sounds; it's actually one of the trickier potions in the first-year textbook. But Snape clearly had other ideas—he wanted the students to get their hands dirty and learn by doing.
After a quick demonstration, he walked around the pairs, offering guidance as they weighed dried nettles and crushed snake fangs, pointing out any mistakes along the way.
To give him credit, Snape was a pretty dedicated teacher. He had a knack for spotting errors, and as long as the students listened to him, they could successfully whip up their potions.
"You thick-headed brute! The goblin next door is smarter than you!" he snapped at one student.
"I've told you a million times to add the hedgehog quills first! Is your brain stuffed with troll dung?"
"If I were you, I'd dig a hole and bury my head in it so no one would know it's empty."
You really had to be able to handle his sharp tongue, especially when he made you repeat what he said. Snape's sarcastic remarks were like a well-rehearsed routine, and Dudley was getting a crash course in his unique style of insults. Most students had faced his critiques, with only a lucky few escaping unscathed—Hermione being one of them.
Hermione was quite the potion-making whiz. Dudley thought she was the second-best potion brewer he'd ever seen, even if he hadn't met many young wizards before. Still, she managed to finish her potion just a tad slower than Dudley.
Snape glanced at Hermione's potion, neither praising nor criticizing it, simply saying, "Passable," before moving on. This left Hermione feeling a bit down; she had hoped for some extra points. But honestly, Snape not criticizing her meant she had done well—just not quite well enough.
To earn praise from Professor Snape, just finishing the potion wasn't enough. Next, he approached Dudley, picked up his potion, and examined it closely. "Rat poison Cure Potion (Perfect)."
This was Dudley's first time making a potion of perfect quality, and it was one he hadn't encountered before. On one hand, it was relatively straightforward for him, and on the other, Snape's guidance had been invaluable. Just picking up a bit of a Master Potion Maker's expertise could make a huge difference.
Of course, Dudley also had the advantage of his Data Magic Eye; with it activated, he was like a player with a cheat code, nailing the timing almost perfectly. This helped his potion achieve a flawless, clear color.
Snape stared at the potion in the vial, lost in thought, wondering how long it had been since he'd seen such a perfect potion. The last time was with Lily when they had brewed it together. That was one of the few happy memories he held onto.
He had hoped that Lily's child would be the one to create it, but unexpectedly, it was someone else—still connected to Lily, though. Penny's child. Snape knew Penny; he and the Evans family had been neighbors, and Evans was the surname of Penny and Lily before they got married.
As he gently stroked the crystal vial in his hand, Snape's emotions became a bit tangled, and a flicker of something appeared in his usually vacant gaze. For a moment, he seemed to see that little Gryffindor girl, Granger, secretly grinning at Penny's child, who was pinching her cheek.
Watching them felt like a rewind to twenty years ago, back to that moment with the little boy wizard and the little girl witch—himself and Lily. But those days were long gone.
If either Dudley or Hermione had emerald-green eyes, it would have hit Snape hard; however, Dudley had inherited Penny's bluish-green eyes, while Hermione had lovely brown ones.
Moved by the sight, Snape stood there, holding Dudley's potion, lost in thought for a full three minutes. The young wizards were curious; could it be that Dudley's potion was so good that even the professor didn't want to let it go? Or was it so bad that Snape was trying to figure out how to scold him?
If any older Slytherin students had been around, they would have found their head of house acting quite strangely today. He hadn't scolded Gryffindor for a full three minutes!
Just then, a loud explosion erupted in the classroom, followed by thick clouds of acidic green smoke and a terrible smell.
It was Seamus; he had no idea what he added to the cauldron, causing it to blow up during the potion-making process. The cauldron was a wreck, and corrosive liquids splattered everywhere, burning holes in many students' clothes and shoes. Poor Neville was the worst off, covered in it and crying out in pain, while Seamus, realizing the mess, took off running.
"Are you a brainless goblin?" Snape snapped back to reality, quickly storing the potion away. With a flick of his wand, he cleared the spilled potion from the floor and turned to Seamus, fuming. "Not only did you add the hedgehog quills too early, but you also ignored the flame's temperature! How many times have I said this today? I really want to pry open your head and see if it's filled with dung!"
"And you, Potter. Why didn't you remind him? Because of this, Gryffindor loses a point."
"You are truly the worst class I have ever taught."
Just then, the potions class came to an end.
"Your homework is to write a four-inch paper on the scabies treatment potion. I hope to see some good work in the next class," Snape said, as always, not forgetting to assign homework. He paused for a moment.
"Dursley, stay behind; the rest of you can leave."
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Upcoming chapters :-
50. Want to learn potions from me?
51. Warm black tea and biscuits.
52. I'll wait for you at your doorstep.