: Snape's Target

Chapter 15: Snape's Target

As soon as the bell rang, Professor Baker hurriedly turned and left the classroom, leaving behind a group of first-year students chattering away.

"Does the professor mean that he's better than Mr. Lockhart?"

"Definitely! Only the weaker ones need to rack their brains to figure out how to solve problems; a powerful wizard can solve everything with a single spell!"

"But that's Lockhart! The famous adventurer!"

"That doesn't mean he's the strongest. He's certainly not as strong as Professor Dumbledore, is he? Besides, Lockhart is just an honorary member of the Defense Against the Dark Arts, while the professor is a board member, several ranks higher than Lockhart!"

Avada: ...

Indeed, the clash of combat power is unavoidable in any world and any field.

Although there's really nothing to argue about—Lockhart is just a fame-seeking fraud—Avada's agenda includes finding a way to expose Lockhart after he takes up his teaching position, giving him the trial he deserves, and restoring the honor to the victims.

Moreover, Professor Beck's strength is genuine—in Avada's perception, Professor Beck's vitality and mental strength are incredibly strong, on par with veteran powerhouses like McGonagall and Flitwick, second only to Dumbledore.

However, whether it was just his imagination or not, Professor Baker's mental structure seemed a bit strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong with it.

"Hey, Ken!"

His roommate, Joel Stebbins, nudged him and asked, "What's the next class again? I forgot my timetable."

Avada Kedavra pulled out his timetable and glanced at it: "Potions, go with Slytherin."

"Oh, how unfortunate."

Stebbins rubbed his forehead and said, "I heard from the upperclassmen that the Potions professor is the Head of Slytherin, and he's not only strict and demanding, but also incredibly biased towards his own house. Apparently, Slytherin has been the House Cup champion every year since he took over!"

Avada rolled her eyes. Even Hufflepuff, who dislikes gossip, could comment on Snape like that; it seems that regardless of his personality, Snape's teaching skills are truly lacking.

"Relax, at least we don't have to face him as Gryffindors," Avada comforted him, then slung her backpack over her shoulder and left the classroom, heading towards the Potions classroom.

……

The Potions classroom is located beneath Hogwarts, supposedly converted from a dungeon. It's dark, damp, and much colder than other areas. The walls are covered with various specimens soaking in unknown liquids, which look rather eerie.

"Tell me, why would a place with almost no ventilation be used as a potions classroom? Aren't they afraid that some student might accidentally create poisonous gas and wipe out everyone in the classroom?"

While Snape was still away, Avada nudged Baron beside him and asked in a low voice.

"Who knows?"

Baron sighed, "This is alright. Our lounge and dorms are even worse; they're built right under Black Lake. They're truly cold, damp, and poorly ventilated. I think I'd get rheumatism if I lived there for a semester!"

"Then perhaps you could try the cold-dispelling medicine, Mr. Shafik. If you could just read through your first-year textbook before school starts, you should be able to remember it."

A deep, flat voice suddenly rang out above Avada and Baron. The two shuddered, awkwardly raising their heads to meet a pair of dark eyes hidden beneath greasy hair.

"Also, the Potions classroom has comprehensive safety measures, so please don't use your ignorant minds to make arbitrary comments about things you don't understand. Hufflepuff deducts one point."

Avada's eye twitched: That's it.

However, he only deducted one point, so it seems Snape was lenient. If Harry dared to talk about his classroom like that in front of him, Gryffindor would probably turn into Gryffindor on the spot.

Avada and Baron sat in the front row, so after Snape reprimanded them, the others in the classroom realized he had arrived and quietly sat down—although it was their first class, they already knew a little about the professor's "reputation," so they were much more reserved.

"Let's begin taking attendance."

Snape suddenly had a piece of parchment in his hand. He stared at its contents, his brows furrowed tightly, his expression even looking somewhat ferocious—an expression the professor had never shown before.

"...Ken!"

He practically spat out the name through gritted teeth.

"broken!"

Avada's pupils dilated in shock, only then realizing that his own name seemed to be the second culprit behind Snape's tragic loss of his beloved!

He had previously been glad he wasn't Gryffindor, thinking he might be able to make Snape a little more lenient. Little did he expect to be faced with hellish difficulty and possibly experience the special treatment reserved for the savior.

"……arrive."

He nervously agreed.

Snape snorted, seemingly remembering that he shouldn't be angry with an innocent child who was already a victim, so he composed himself and continued reading, "Baron Shafik!"

"arrive!"

"John McNeil!"

"arrive!"

……

After confirming that everyone had arrived, Snape put away the roster and slowly swept his extremely imposing gaze over everyone in the classroom.

"Potion,"

He spoke softly, but in the quiet classroom everyone could hear clearly: "It is a precise and rigorous scientific technique. I know that in your previous classes, each professor has spared no effort in showcasing the charm of their respective disciplines and stimulating your interest..."

"But unfortunately for me, I think most of you are unable to appreciate the charm of potion-making. In fact, since it doesn't usually require a wand, some of you might not even believe it's magic."

"I don't expect you to truly understand the beauty of that cauldron simmering slowly over a low flame, its white smoke rising and its fragrant aroma wafting out, nor will you truly understand the wondrous magic of the fluid that flows into people's veins, captivating their hearts and minds... But I can still teach you how to enhance your reputation, cultivate glory, and even prevent death..."

"But there must be one condition: you are not the kind of talentless idiots I often encounter."

The unprecedented opening remarks immediately silenced the entire audience.

"Ken!" Snape suddenly called out to Avada, "You answer this: what's the recipe for the cold-dispelling potion?"

That's it, it's starting.

Avada stood up in despair, recalling the events as she answered, "Salamander blood, cabbage, kudzu root..."

Then he got stuck. During the summer vacation, he spent most of his time studying the evil spells recorded in his textbooks on spells, transfiguration, and defense against the dark magic. Although he tried his best to memorize things like potions and herbs, his mediocre memory did not allow him to memorize the entire book in a limited time.

"And powdered fire crab shells!"

Snape glanced at him: "You can't even answer such a basic question? Sit down."

Somewhat unexpectedly, Snape didn't deduct any points from him, probably because he wasn't a Gryffindor.

"In this lesson, we will learn about scabies treatment potions. This is a very basic but classic potion recipe, and the principles and techniques used in it are applied to almost all potion making."

Snape finally began to teach seriously, taking out various utensils such as crucibles, balances, and other bottles and jars from under the podium: "I will first explain the process, then demonstrate it myself, and then I will divide you into pairs so that you can practice on your own."

"This potion uses porcupine quills, snake fangs, dried nettles... the proportions are... It's important to note that when crushing the snake fangs, there might be... Also, the order of the three boilings of the slugs is crucial; reversing the order will cause... and if it's not cooled after the first boiling, then..."

Snape wrote on the blackboard quickly and methodically, while the students below nervously took notes, afraid of missing a single detail that might displease him.

"...Therefore, the role of the slug here is to mitigate the conflicting medicinal properties of the porcupine quills and the snake fangs, but according to Beaumont's First Fundamental Law, its own properties are insufficient...that's why it needs to be boiled three times and added..."

Snape finally finished explaining the process and principles of making the scabies treatment, and then placed the crucible in the center of the podium: "Now I will demonstrate it myself."

(End of this chapter)