Throughout the entire Potions class, Harry felt as though his soul had been completely drenched in venom, leaving his spirit utterly deflated.
So, after class, Harry couldn't hold back anymore and began complaining to Ian: "Professor Snape is always targeting me! I didn't even do anything! This class alone, he took thirty points from Gryffindor because of me!"
"Ian, you were right! He's absolutely picking on Gryffindor on purpose!"
"Harry, calm down, calm down." Ian patted Harry's back.
In truth, Ian thought Harry should count himself lucky to be Lily's look alike. Otherwise, with that face of his, Snape could've deducted enough points to put Gryffindor in the negatives!
"Professor Snape doesn't seem that biased against Gryffindor, does he?" Cassandra walked over, looking at Harry in confusion. "After all, Granger happened to earn ten points from Professor Snape, didn't she?"
"That's because Hermione is smart! She's a top student!" Ron interjected loudly. "If Snape didn't give her points, that would've been the real bias!"
"I also don't think Professor Snape is that bad," Hermione hesitated, fiddling with her fingers. "Putting everything else aside, he is an extremely talented Potions Master."
"True, Professor Snape is definitely an incredible Potions Master," Ian said with a shrug. "But that doesn't conflict with the fact that he loves taking points from Gryffindor."
Hermione gave Harry a complicated look. "Harry, based on this, maybe... Professor Snape is just targeting you specifically?"
Harry irritably ran his hands through his hair. "I really don't understand why he's so against me! What did I do wrong? I didn't do anything!"
"Harry, I'm afraid that in every class from now on, Professor Snape will continue targeting you," Hermione said softly.
Ian nodded in agreement. "Harry, as unpleasant as it sounds, you need to get used to Professor Snape's passive-aggressive attitude. After all, you've got seven years at Hogwarts, and Professor Snape has seven more years of teaching Potions here."
Hearing this, Harry's face turned pale. "What? No—!"
"If only we had a different teacher for Potions," Ron sighed. "Snape only likes Slytherin students! Look at Ian—Snape treats Ian and Harry like night and day."
Cassandra and Draco exchanged a glance before Draco said dryly, "Even though we're Slytherin students like Ian, Professor Snape doesn't give us that many points."
"Uh..." Ian awkwardly rubbed his nose. "Maybe it's because I'm good at Potions? Professors like students who excel academically, right?"
Draco rolled his eyes. "You might as well say it's because you're the Chosen One."
"If it were because of the Chosen One thing... Ian and Harry are twin brothers. Even if Harry's in Gryffindor, there's no reason for Professor Snape to hate him so much. And he seems to despise Harry's Chosen One status," Hermione said, still puzzled.
Cassandra stared at Ian's face and blurted out without thinking, "Could it be because he's good-looking? Maybe that makes him more likable?"
"What kind of reason is that?" Ron muttered under his breath.
"Doesn't Ian look handsome then Harry?" Cassandra retorted.
She glanced at the boy in front of her, his delicate features framed by a puzzled expression. Suddenly, Cassandra's cheeks reddened, and she awkwardly turned her head away.
"As if the old bat would favor Ian just because he's handsome!" Ron exclaimed loudly, his tone exaggerated.
Harry: "..."
"Hey! Weasley! Even if you want to stick up for Potter, you shouldn't insult Professor Snape like that!" Draco shouted angrily. "How dare you give the professor a nickname!"
"Am I wrong?"
Ron, seeing it was Draco, became even more enthusiastic.
"He is an old bat—cold and unfair!"
"Weasley! I'm going to tell my..." Draco's face flushed red, puffing up like an angry blowfish as he glared at Ron. "I'm going to duel you!"
"A duel it is! You think I'm afraid of you, Malfoy?!" Ron shouted back.
"Hey, both of you, calm down," Ian said, grabbing Ron with one hand and Draco with the other, his tone exasperated. "We're all friends here—why resort to dueling?"
"And Ron, Draco is right. Don't give the professor random nicknames," Ian said, turning to Ron with a serious expression. "Also, Professor Snape is Draco's godfather."
Honestly, if it were Ian's godfather being insulted like that, he wouldn't just stand there shouting—he'd have already hexed Ron on the spot.
"F-fine, I'm sorry, Malfoy," Ron mumbled reluctantly after hearing Ian's words, though his tone was still gruff.
Draco's expression finally softened a bit. He huffed, lifting his chin, and turned away.
"Draco, this was Ron's fault," Ian said, turning to Draco. "But he only acted out of concern for Harry. Seeing Harry lose points from Professor Snape made him upset."
"Still, whether to forgive him or not is up to you, Draco."
Hearing Ian's words, Draco's face fully relaxed. He let out another huff and mumbled, "Since you're asking, Ian, I'll reluctantly forgive you this time, Weasley!"
Ron also sighed in relief. Insulting their Head of House in front of Malfoy was one thing, but insulting his godfather? That had indeed been a step too far.
Thanks to Ian's mediation, the tense atmosphere between Ron and Draco finally eased.
Satisfied, Ian nodded. That's more like it.
Why argue? After all, these were the very people he'd be relying on in the future to fight Voldemort.
Coworkers should get along!
"Alright, Harry, don't worry," Ian said, turning to Harry with a smile. "From now on, I'll cover for you in Potions class! I promise Professor Snape won't take too many points from you!"
Harry looked at Ian, touched. "Ian, you're the best brother ever!"
"Harry, even if Ian has your back, you should still stay away from Snape," Ron muttered. "None of the Gryffindor students like him anyway."
Hermione quietly raised her hand at that moment, prompting Ron to quickly correct himself.
"Alright, except for you, Hermione," Ron quickly added.
"Actually, I can understand why people don't like Professor Snape," Hermione sighed. "He does tend to target Gryffindor, and his tone is always... passive-aggressive."
"But his potion skills are top-notch, and he's incredibly powerful. He's a very capable professor," Hermione continued, quickly turning her critique into praise for Snape.
Seeing the blank stares from Harry and Ron, Ian couldn't help but chuckle. "You know how Hermione is—she loves learning. To her, as long as someone teaches well, they're a good teacher."
Cassandra glanced at Hermione and said, "In that case, you should've been sorted into Ravenclaw. You'd fit right in with all your like-minded peers."
Hermione tilted her head in confusion. "I don't know why the Sorting Hat put me in Gryffindor. It did say I'd fit well in Ravenclaw too."
"Gryffindor's defining trait is bravery—or recklessness," Cassandra said, giving Hermione a once-over. "Do you also... like causing trouble like those fools—?"
"Cassandra!" Ian raised his voice, clearly exasperated.
Cassandra huffed and fell silent.
"Alright, let's go get lunch," Ian said, quickly steering the group toward the Great Hall. "We've got flying lessons this afternoon, and you'll need your strength to fly."
"Ian's right," Draco said smugly, shooting a glance at Harry and Ron. "Weasley, Potter, just wait—you'll see how amazing I am at flying!"
"Ha! Malfoy, I hope you don't make a fool of yourself!"