"You might as well just go to class peacefully," Hermione said helplessly, shaking her head. "Regardless of whether you’re happy, you still have to go to class. Why not go happily, right?"

"You’re right," Ron took a deep breath, "It’s true—sticking your neck out leads to one cut, pulling it in leads to another."

"If one didn’t know better, they’d think you were talking about Louis XVI." Hermione’s eyebrows twisted into a wavy line.

"I think," Annie suddenly lowered her voice, speaking to Harry, "Harry, do you think the professors of Potion Class dislike anyone with the surname Weasley?"

"Hmm?" Harry looked back at her.

"Think about it, didn’t Professor Sharp often target Gareth Weasley in the past?" Annie reminded him.

Harry thought for a moment, and it really seemed to be that way.

"You’re kind of making sense," Harry said quietly.

The Magic Potion classroom was as cold and gloomy as ever; as soon as you entered, you could feel a chilling wind come over you.

Annie tightened her robe around her; she always felt that the current Magic Potion classroom was somewhat different from Professor Sharp’s.

Like the first class every semester, Snape always dramatically swooped in with his black robes billowing, striding purposefully from outside.

"Silence," Snape said coldly, closing the door behind him with a flick.

Actually, he didn’t need to command silence; as soon as the door banged shut, the entire class fell silent, and all small movements ceased.

Typically, Snape’s mere presence was enough to silence the whole class.

That’s the bat’s intimidating power; not every professor possessed such authority.

At Hogwarts, whenever Professor Snape was mentioned, no one failed to raise their thumb—downward, of course.

Even someone like Draco from Slytherin sometimes couldn’t resist wanting to chirp at their head of house, let alone others?

Of course, there are some who enjoy such torment.

"Before we begin class today," Snape swiftly approached the podium and sternly faced them all, "I need to remind you that next June, you’ll be taking an important exam where you’ll prove how much potion-making and usage knowledge you’ve acquired. Although there are a few in this class who are truly slow-witted, I hope you all can barely ’pass’ the O.W.Ls exam, or else I will be... very angry."

This time his gaze fell on Neville, who gasped nervously.

"When I say slow-witted," Snape added, "I specifically mean the three giant brothers of Gryffindor."

The classmates emitted low chuckles, mainly deriving from the schadenfreude of the Slytherins.

After all, it’s the head of Slytherin’s class, and he certainly wouldn’t dock points from the Slytherins, so in the classroom, the Slytherin students could relax a bit.

Not quite so tense.

"Quiet!" Snape demanded once more.

The classroom immediately fell silent again, with only the sound of students’ even breathing.

"Of course, after this year, many of you won’t be able to attend my class anymore," Snape continued, "I only select the best students for my N.E.W.Ts Magic Potion Class, which means that some of us will have to say goodbye."

As Professor Snape spoke, he tapped the blackboard with his magic wand.

"Naturally," he said, "this joyful farewell moment is still a year away before I no longer have to see you silly little giants."

"But I must warn you, if you don’t study seriously and achieve a satisfactory grade in O.W.L.s, I suggest you avoid mentioning your pitiful old professor’s name when asked who your Potion Class professor was later on."

Harry understood that Snape meant this seriously, after all... as a Master of Magic Potions, having students who fail exams is indeed quite embarrassing.

As long as you don’t reveal your old professor’s name in the future, you’d be lucky.

The classroom erupted in brief light laughter, but it quickly disappeared.

Professor Snape snorted, tapping the blackboard again with his wand.

"Today, you’ll be preparing the Soothing Potion, which calms and alleviates agitated and anxious emotions. Note: If you’re careless when adding ingredients, it might cause the drinker to fall into a heavy, sometimes irreversible sleep, so pay extra attention to your actions."

Professor Snape’s voice was loud, and towards the end, he emphasized ’extra attention’ while turning his gaze to Harry, who was daydreaming.

"Potter!" Snape suddenly called out Harry’s name.

"Ah?" Harry didn’t react immediately; instead, Annie beside him quietly nudged him.

He then stood up, looking at Professor Snape, wondering why his name was suddenly called.

"Potter, tell us!" Snape said firmly, "What is the effect of the Soothing Potion?"

"It calms and alleviates agitated and anxious emotions," Harry replied, reciting the precautions Snape had just mentioned.

Snape smiled wryly.

"Too clever for your own good, Gryffindor loses two points!" he said sinisterly, "Spacing out in class, Gryffindor loses another three points!"

Harry: ...

Are you deliberately picking on me?

But as much as he thought about it, Harry couldn’t say it out loud, after all, Snape was a professor.

Forget it, just let him talk; what’s the harm? It’s not like I’d lose a limb, let him say what he wants!

"If you don’t sit down," Snape looked at Harry, who was still standing like a tree, "I’ll dock Gryffindor more points."

Harry didn’t say anything, he simply sat down.

"Does he hold a grudge against you?" Annie whispered.

"Let’s talk after class," Harry squeezed a response through clenched teeth.

He really didn’t want Snape catching any more dirt on him, this old git!

On the podium, Snape was detailing the method for brewing the Soothing Potion.

Below the podium, Harry was daydreaming, since he’d learned how to brew Soothing Potion with Professor Sharp before.

After Snape assigned the task of preparing the potion in class, Harry, along with Annie, quickly brewed a pot of Soothing Potion.

Seeing Harry stop his actions with a completed potion before him, Snape swiftly approached, stirred it, sniffed it using a fan method, and then gazed at Harry with hawk-like eyes.

"Failed to brew the potion correctly according to the steps, Gryffindor loses two points," Snape’s sinister voice rang again.

Harry: ?

He was really finding it hard to hold back but considering that reprimanding a professor during Potion Class wasn’t great, he forced himself to keep it in check.

He realized that today, Snape was indeed here to deliberately pick on him!

Finally, when class ended, Harry was the first to rush out of the classroom.

That damn classroom, he really didn’t want to stay a minute longer.

However, as soon as he stepped outside, he saw Hedwig waiting at the classroom door with a letter.

He walked up, took the letter, and found it was written by Little Sirius to him.

After opening it and reading it, Harry almost fainted.

So that’s why Snape was targeting me so much! Harry ground his teeth as he looked at the letter, realizing his godfather had sent Snape a photo album of Lily and James, along with a few group photos from back in the day.

Oh, the one with James’ four friends and Snape being hung up, that was truly quite nasty.

Damn it, sand and pig heart indeed?

For a brief moment, Harry suddenly understood why Snape would suddenly target him.