Hogwarts' first-year schedule was pretty relaxed. On Monday, for example, Wade only had two back-to-back Potions classes in the morning.
After breakfast, a group of Ravenclaw first-years headed down to the dungeons together. As the surroundings grew colder and gloomier, the students' faces gradually paled.
"I heard Professor Snape, who teaches Potions, is the head of Slytherin House," Michael, walking beside Wade, said to ease the tension. "You noticed him during the Sorting last night, right? The teacher with the black hair and hooked nose."
"Of course," Padma said. "I'd say we'd better not provoke him."
The group silently arrived at the Potions classroom. Along the wall, rows of glass jars held various animal specimens. Some timid children looked almost on the verge of tears, nervously sitting as far away from the specimens as possible. Wade, on the other hand, went straight for a corner seat—he wasn't afraid of dead specimens, but he worried about other students making mistakes and getting him into trouble.
Soon after, the Hufflepuff students also arrived in groups, their reactions similar to the Ravenclaw first-years. However, the early-arriving Ravenclaws had already claimed the prime spots, forcing the Hufflepuff students to spread out to the edges.
Two Hufflepuff students ended up near Wade's previously empty corner.
"Hello, I'm Theo, Theo Mancini. This is Ryan Carroll." The brown-haired Hufflepuff boy was the first to greet Wade. "May I ask, who are you?"
"Wade Gray."
"Wade?" Theo Mancini asked curiously, "You know about our professor for this class—"
The blond boy named Ryan suddenly cut in, "Theo, quiet. The professor's here."
No sooner had he spoken than the classroom door was flung open with a bang, and a man in black wizard's robes strode in. His expression was icy, his presence intimidating, and many students instinctively pulled their necks in. The classroom instantly fell silent.
Snape scanned the students in the classroom, took out his roll book, and began calling names. Seeing that no one was late for the first class, his expression finally softened slightly.
"Potions is a very precise art," Snape said in a low, almost whispered voice. "It requires strict procedures and exact proportions. If anyone presumes to alter a potion's recipe, or carelessly adds or subtracts ingredients, or foolishly waves their wand attempting to conceal a mistake—"
His cold gaze swept over the cowering first-years, focusing especially on the Hufflepuff students wearing yellow and black striped ties—
"I will ensure they learn the terrible consequences that an erroneous potion can bring."
Theo nervously swallowed, as if Snape's words were directed solely at him. Wade suddenly felt a bad premonition—he had chosen a corner seat to avoid disturbance, but it seemed he had a live mine next to him.
Snape, as if equipped with a radar in his head, immediately detected the young badger's trepidation. Without even looking at the roll book, he said, "Theo Mancini!"
"Yes!" Theo hurriedly stood up, almost knocking over his cauldron. "Yes, Professor."
"When brewing a boil cure, how should the slugs be treated?" Snape asked.
Seven or eight arms shot up in unison across the classroom, most of them belonging to Ravenclaw students.
Good news—Snape wasn't deliberately trying to stump the students; the question was directly from the first chapter of the textbook.
Bad news—Theo hadn't prepared for the lesson.
The boy stammered, "I—I don't know, sir."
"Sit down!" Snape said icily. "Not preparing for class, one point from Hufflepuff. Wade Gray!"
He casually called upon the Ravenclaw student sitting nearby.
Wade immediately stood up. "Boil for five minutes, sir."
"Correct answer." Snape nodded, but didn't award points to Ravenclaw. Instead, he immediately posed another question: "Michael Corner, the use of nettles?"
"They can—they can treat inflammation, hair loss—and and stop bleeding," Michael stammered.
"Good." Snape nodded, motioning for him to sit down, then asked, "Hannah Abbott? When should porcupine quills be added?"
The blond girl stood up with tears in her eyes, as if another word from Snape would make her burst into sobs.
Snape shifted his gaze, calling out another name: "Ryan Carroll?"
Ryan had quickly flipped through his book when the questioning began, and this particular question had been specially highlighted in the text.
"—After taking it off the heat, Professor," Ryan said, trying to sound composed.
Snape glanced down, seeing his open textbook. "I hope you will internalise knowledge beforehand, rather than cramming during class and praying for Merlin's favour!"
Ryan's jaw remained tight as he sat down, and Theo patted his arm consolingly.
In this class, Snape wasn't targeting any one person—he was targeting everyone. The storm of questions served as a harsh warning to all. By the time he officially began lecturing, Hufflepuff had lost thirteen points, and Ravenclaw had lost five.
In the ensuing silence, Snape began to instruct them on brewing the Boil Cure. He divided them into pairs according to their seats, then with a flick of his wand, detailed steps appeared on the blackboard. Everyone quickly began scribbling them down. Wade discovered that the blackboard's content had some subtle adjustments compared to the book's steps. If they followed the book exactly, they probably wouldn't produce a potion satisfactory to the professor.
"Sorry," Theo, who was paired with Wade due to their seating arrangement, whispered. "I didn't prepare for the lesson beforehand, but I'll try not to hold you back."
His amber eyes were very sincere, which eased Wade's initial annoyance at being paired with someone who hadn't studied.
"It's nothing," Wade said. "Brewing a Boil Cure is simple. As long as we follow the steps, there shouldn't be much of a problem."
Theo went to the nearby shelf to retrieve the ingredients. Wade weighed them precisely and used a small knife to push the snake fangs towards Theo. "You handle the materials, I'll take care of the brewing."
"Okay."
Theo acknowledged, put on his protective dragon-hide gloves, and began grinding the snake fangs into powder in a mortar. Wade, meanwhile, fastidiously picked up four slugs with tweezers and placed them in the cauldron to stew, while carefully controlling the heat with his wand.
A few minutes later, Wade carefully removed the discoloured slugs and set them aside, changed the water, reheated it, and reviewed the brewing steps. Theo had already finished processing the snake fang powder and was now finely chopping dried nettles.
Wade was somewhat surprised to find that although this Hufflepuff student seemed a bit clumsy, he was very meticulous. The processed powder was fine and even, without any coarse grains or impurities.
Perhaps this partner wasn't so bad after all, Wade thought.