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"Professor!"
Because of the dim lighting, Harry hadn't caught the look on Snape's face. The second he saw the man appear, the knot of tension in his chest loosened by half. On pure instinct he stepped forward, moving straight toward the professor.
Tom slapped a paw over his eyes, unable to watch. He would swear on Jerry's big cousin—this kid had definitely gotten the wrong idea from the bizarrely gentle treatment Snape had given him in Potions earlier today!
Not running away was bad enough; the boy actually dared to walk right up to him? It was like he was begging for a target to vent on. Sure enough, the moment Harry saw Snape's expression, every spark of reliance and excitement inside him was snuffed out by that cold, hollow stare.
"Oh? If it isn't our Savior," Snape drawled, voice dripping with venom as he advanced. His sharp gaze raked across every face and finally locked onto Harry. Naturally, it slid right past Tom and Ariana.
He wasn't stupid. One of them held his life in their paws, and the other… well, he simply couldn't afford to provoke her.
Harry felt his cheeks burn—not just from fear, but from a hot mix of injustice and anger.
He wanted to defend himself, but under that piercing stare he instinctively took two steps back until he was beside Ron again.
Yeah… maybe I should ask Tom for another dose of that potion before the next Potions class.
The thought slipped through his mind before he could stop it.
Seeing the boy's "cowardly" retreat, Snape's fury only flared hotter. "What's this? You had the courage to go looking for a troll, but none to face your own professor? Ah, of course—you're the famous Harry Potter, the Savior who defeated the Dark Lord. And whose power was that, exactly? Whose sacrifice made it possible?
Using a troll to prove yourself—do you think that honors the foolish woman who gave her life for you?!"
"It wasn't like that!"
The words burst out of Harry before he could think, louder than he'd meant. Fire blazed in his eyes. He could take Snape mocking him, but he would not let anyone mock his mother. "We weren't looking for the troll, and—"
"And what?!" Snape's furious voice sliced Harry's sentence in half. His eyes bored into the boy, swirling with emotions so raw that Harry felt a chill race down his spine.
At the same time, Harry burned with resentment and longing. He wanted to defend his mother, but he knew almost nothing about her past. The conflicting feelings only made him crave family even more.
Snape had no idea what was going through the boy's head. He knew exactly why Harry and the others were here. He also knew that when Quirrell had burst into the Great Hall screaming about a troll, Harry and his friends hadn't been at dinner.
But looking at that face—those eyes—he couldn't help seeing his younger self, the one who had eavesdropped on the prophecy and handed it to Voldemort.
Regret. Rage. Self-loathing. And layered on top of it all, the memory of that face he still saw in his dreams. The emotions boiled over; he couldn't hold them back.
Snape drew a slow, shaky breath and closed his eyes. "Enough. Disobeying school rules, talking back to a professor, reckless arrogance—for this, Gryffindor loses fifteen points."
The words fell like hammer blows.
Fifteen points! Harry felt his stomach twist. It wasn't even the lost points that hurt most—it was the helpless, suffocating unfairness of it.
He wanted to argue, but the words died in his throat. He refused to cost Gryffindor even more because of his temper.
For the first time he truly understood how Hermione felt when her hard-earned points vanished because of one stupid mistake. It really, really sucked.
"But Professor, that's not fair! We only got dragged into the troll thing by accident—"
Even though Hufflepuff might lose points too, Hannah couldn't stand watching her friends treated so unjustly. And as a Badger, she was pretty relaxed about house points anyway. So she stepped forward without hesitation.
"P-Professor, I'll vouch for them too!"
Draco's voice cracked a little, but he forced himself to meet Snape's eyes even though his face had gone white. The sight of Harry and Ron's joined hands had lit a strange fire in his chest, and with Hannah already speaking up, he made his choice.
The entire corridor went dead silent. This was Draco Malfoy—defending Gryffindors?
Tom's paw froze mid-motion. He had been about to step in—Snape still needed him to save his precious Lily, after all—but Draco's words actually stunned him.
Even Snape paused. His gaze left Harry and settled on the pale but defiant Draco behind him.
"Very good, Mr. Malfoy." Snape's face remained utterly blank; no one could guess what he was thinking. "I assume your family's sensible policy of self-preservation never taught you to spend the night running around with a pack of Gryffindors fighting trolls. But it certainly taught you the proper way to speak to a professor.
Because of your collective stupidity, Hufflepuff and—Slytherin each lose five points!"
"Professor, that's not—"
Draco's face went even paler. He tried to explain, but under Snape's stare his voice grew smaller and smaller until it died completely.
"Malfoy, this is the only time. If I ever see you lose your sense of propriety again—you won't want to find out what detention with Filch feels like."
Snape had already deducted plenty of points from Slytherin earlier because of Pansy. Combined with old memories, he finally decided to let Draco off with just the warning. The five points, however, were non-negotiable.
Watching Harry's group and Draco stand together against him, Snape felt a storm of conflicting emotions surge inside his chest.
If I had… back then… would things have been…
But that was the past.
He shook his head sharply. "All of you—unless you want to meet another troll, get back to your common rooms right now. If I catch so much as a shadow of any of you tonight where you don't belong…"
His eyes narrowed, voice low and threatening. "I'm sure Miss Parkinson would be delighted to have extra company during detention."
Without waiting for a reply, he whirled, black robes flaring, and vanished into the corridor's shadows. He still had to check on Quirrell—make sure the man stayed alive while keeping the Stone out of his hands.
"Fifteen points in one go!"
Ron's voice cracked with genuine despair. "Percy's going to murder me!"
Harry said nothing, but the injustice and anger burned in his chest like acid. Everything in Potions today had gone so smoothly that he'd actually forgotten what Snape was really like.
If they hadn't accidentally discovered Quirrell's secret, he would still believe Snape was the one trying to steal the Stone and destroy Hogwarts.
Even so, one thing still bothered him.
Why did he treat me so differently earlier? Did Tom's potion actually turn me into someone else?
And the way he'd looked at Ron—something about it had felt… off.
"Well… at least we're all safe, right?"
Hermione's face was tight; fifteen points was the most she'd ever lost. Still, at least Gryffindor wasn't the only house suffering.
Hannah was fine—Badgers were pretty chill about points, and she would never have stayed quiet if it meant abandoning her friends.
As for Draco? Their little dragon currently felt like he was about to split in two.
This was the year Slytherin was chasing its seventh straight House Cup. The snakes took points deadly seriously. If they found out he'd lost five—and that their own Head of House had docked them because he'd spoken up for Potter—
He could already picture the nightmare waiting for him in the common room.
"Hey… you okay?"
Harry's quiet voice snapped him out of it. Draco jerked his head up and found Potter standing right in front of him.
"Hmph! Mind your own business! My father's a school governor. Five measly points—I'll earn them back tomorrow!"
Tom watched the scene and sighed inwardly. Tsundere is so last season, Draco. No wonder you can't win Harry's heart like Ron does.
"Harry was being nice! What kind of attitude is that?!"
Ron couldn't stay quiet. He had no idea what "tsundere" even meant; to him, Draco was just looking down on them. He marched straight to Harry's side, ready to fight.
Draco regretted the words the instant they left his mouth, but it was too late. Face thunderous, he glared at Harry and Ron, spun on his heel, and started to storm off.
"Wait, Malfoy!"
Harry's voice stopped him cold. Draco's steps faltered, but he didn't turn around.
"Thanks for coming to warn us. And… sorry you got points taken because of us."
Draco's back stiffened visibly. He gave a tiny, arrogant sniff, then strode away faster than before.
But the spring in his step and the ears burning scarlet to the tips told everyone his mood had improved dramatically.
"Harry, why are you thanking him?!"
Ron was indignant on his friend's behalf. "Malfoy's are ungrateful snakes! No matter how nice you are, it won't change what he is!"
"Enough, Ron."
Hermione cut in before Harry could answer. "He's a Slytherin, yes, but he did help us. If he hadn't warned us in time, we could have been trapped between two trolls in that bathroom. Then…"
She paused and shot a pointed glance at Tom, her tone carrying clear disapproval. "We might not have walked away unharmed."
She was obviously still upset that Tom had chosen to fight the troll head-on instead of just teleporting everyone out.