Chapter 303: Privileges for the Wounded, Snape's Personal Grudge
"Is Draco alright?!" Pansy Parkinson cornered Aaron in the entrance hall, while everyone else waited anxiously for an answer.
"He should be fine after some rest. Madam Pomfrey is bandaging him up, you can visit him later."
At his words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Gryffindor was even more relieved than Slytherin, as the extent of Draco's injury would determine the severity of Hagrid's punishment.
"That's good," Pansy grumbled. "He should really be expelled."
"This is all Malfoy's own fault," Dean Thomas said bluntly.
"That indeed accounts for a large part of it," Aaron didn't refute. "If Draco hadn't insulted Buckbeak, he wouldn't have been injured.
However, Hagrid played it quite big. His first Class was certainly unique, but a Hippogriff is still quite dangerous for third-year students."
"He won't be expelled, will he?" Harry asked worriedly. If Hagrid were expelled from Hogwarts after his first Class, he might not be able to withstand such a blow.
"No," Aaron shook his head. "Draco said he wouldn't cause trouble for Hagrid, but Buckbeak might not be so lucky. Regardless of the reason, it genuinely injured Draco Malfoy, and everyone saw it with their own eyes."
The trio looked at each other, feeling particularly indignant about this outcome.
Buckbeak was even more innocent than Hagrid; everything was Malfoy's own doing, yet the blame was placed on it.
However, they could do nothing about it, only hoping the punishment wouldn't be too severe... A few days later, Dracofinally appeared in Potion Class.
His right arm was bandaged and in a sling, looking very serious, but in reality, it was almost healed.
Professor Snape asked everyone to make a Shrinking Potion, a Potion that could make the drinker smaller or younger.
Draco fully exploited his status as an injured person to seek help from Professor Snape in Class. Snape was very cooperative, directly assigning Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, whom he disliked the most, to assist him.
Ron cut the daisy roots for him, and Harry peeled the figs. Watching his two arch-enemies look vexed yet helpless, Draco felt incredibly pleased.
Aaron finished concocting a bottle of green Potion, shaking his head speechlessly at the scene. "Does it have to be this boring?"
Draco feigned lifting his arm, smiling smugly, "I'm injured, you can't expect me to cut these ingredients with one hand!"
"Crabbe and Goyle would be happy to help you."
"They're not as useful as Potter and Weasley," Draco said with a teasing smile. "Besides, this was Professor Snape's arrangement.
It's only out of consideration for you, otherwise, I would definitely have Granger slice the caterpillars for me."
"Orange!" Professor Snape suddenly roared. In front of him was a trembling Neville Longbottom, and it was clear his Shrinking Potion had failed.
"Gaius, tell this blockhead where he went wrong!"
"Uh… he must have added an overdose of rat spleen and leech juice."
"What are the consequences?"
"If you want to commit suicide, you can drink it and try."
"You heard him," Professor Snape said sternly. "I asked you to concoct a Shrinking Potion, not poison.
Before this Class ends, we will feed a few drops of this Potion to your Toad. Perhaps this will motivate you to brew it properly."
Neville shivered, tears welling up in his eyes.
After Snape left, he recovered from his panic and sobbed, asking Hermione next to him for help.
Aaron sighed, turned around, and swapped his Potion with Neville's. "Be more careful next time."
"Ah, thank you, but…"
"No 'buts.' If you don't switch, your Trevor will probably be poisoned to death."
Hearing this, Neville was moved to tears of gratitude, accepting a Shrinking Potion with watery eyes.
"Actually, I could have helped him fix it," Hermione said, a little unconvinced.
"Yes, yes, I don't doubt your ability, but… aren't you really tired?" Aaron asked meaningfully. "Don't you know how many Classes you have today?"
Hermione opened her mouth, then lowered her head helplessly.
The Time-Turner was indeed very useful, but it couldn't relieve fatigue. Her study load was much greater than others, so it was fake to say she wasn't tired.
"If I were you, I'd take a nap. It would be a miracle if you could last half a semester like this."
"Let's not, this is Potion Class!"
"I recommend you try it in Transfiguration Class. Professor McGonagall might understand you."
"That's even more impossible," Hermione said with a wry smile. "I can't disappoint her."
"She won't be disappointed, she'll just find it understandable."
Hearing this, Hermione rolled her eyes at him.
She could still hold on now, but over time, she would also feel overwhelmed.
"Wait, why aren't you tired?" Hermione asked curiously. She could see Aaron even when she was taking two Classes at once, but he always looked energetic, without any sign of fatigue.
"Uh… you'll know later."
"Fine, don't tell me."
Just then, Seamus Finnigan pulled out a copy of The Daily Prophet and quietly placed it in front of Harry Potter. "Someone found Sirius Black."
"Where?" Harry and Ron immediately asked. They both felt that Professor Trelawney's 'inauspicious' prediction was closely related to Sirius Black, so they paid extra attention to news about him.
"Dufftown, not far from here.
Muggles found him. They thought he was just an ordinary criminal, so they called the hotline."
"He's coming for you, Potter," Draco said playfully. "You can try to catch him alone. This is a great opportunity for revenge.
Though a bit risky, if I were you, I wouldn't let the Dementors deal with him."
"What did you say, Malfoy?" Harry frowned.
"Don't you know, Potter?" Malfoy sneered. "You actually don't know?
I almost forgot, you grew up in the Muggle World, so it's understandable that you don't know.
But the Ministry of Magic didn't even tell you about this, your parents…"
"Cough, cough!"
Aaron coughed, interrupting Draco.
"Do you know something too?" Harry asked Aaron. "What exactly is Sirius's connection to my parents?"
"Don't misunderstand," Aaron spread his hands. "I don't know anything.
There are so many things in the Magical World, and Siriusjust isn't within my scope of knowledge."
"Malfoy," Harry was about to ask him when Snape's voice came over.
"Time's almost up. Now let's test Longbottom's Potion."
Snape strode up to Neville, and both Gryffindor and Slytherin students spontaneously gathered around.
"Everyone, let's see what Longbottom's Toad turns into. If his Shrinking Potion is successful, it will turn into a tadpole, but if it fails, his Toad will be poisoned to death."
Snape said, scooping up a spoonful of Potion. Looking at the bright, dazzling green in the spoon, he frowned slightly.
He subtly glanced at Aaron, then poured the spoonful of Potion down the throat of the Toad, Trevor.
Plop!
The Toad turned into a tadpole, wiggling on Snape's hand.
The Gryffindor students cheered, because it meant Neville's Shrinking Potion had been successfully brewed.
Snape, with a dark expression, took out a small bottle and dropped a few drops of liquid onto the tadpole, and it transformed back into a Toad.
"Class dismissed," Snape said. "Gaius, stay behind."
After everyone else had left the classroom, Snape looked at Aaron helplessly. "You never used to like meddling."
"Professor, what do you mean?"
"Hmph! Do you dare to say you didn't help Longbottom?"
"Maybe it wasn't me?"
"Gaius, I am the Potion Professor. I know each of your skill levels very well." Snape placed Neville's Shrinking Potion in front of Aaron. "Look closely, you'll find the problem."
Aaron raised an eyebrow. He didn't think he would make a mistake on a Potion of this difficulty.
"No problem, not a single issue," Aaron commented, but as soon as he finished speaking, a hint of embarrassment appeared on his face. "I was careless."
"Besides you and me, it seems no one else in this classroom can brew a perfect Shrinking Potion, can they?" Snape said meaningfully.
You cheat, and you do it so openly.
Copying someone's homework and even copying the name, do you think the teacher is a fool?
"Um… Professor, I just genuinely didn't want to see Longbottom cry. It's too ugly."
"Is that so?" Snape snorted. "Don't let it happen again."
"Thank you."
"I haven't finished speaking," Snape added. "I can overlook this for now, but you owe me a favor."
Aaron rolled his eyes speechlessly, somewhat regretting helping Neville out of trouble.
"Professor, please tell me."
"There's a Defense Against the Dark Arts Class this afternoon, you know that, right?"
"Isn't that Gryffindor's Class?" Aaron asked, puzzled.
"Yes, and it's R.J. Lupin's first Class.
I'll take you there then. What you need to do is very simple: outperform all the Gryffindors in his Class, especially Harry Potter."
"That's not appropriate, is it?" Aaron chuckled, refusing.
Snape's intention was to disrupt the Class. It wasn't that he couldn't do it; on the contrary, he was very confident in his abilities.
But it was, after all, the Professor's first Class, and doing that would be somewhat unkind.
"There's nothing inappropriate. Lupin and I are old acquaintances."
Aaron: … "Professor, if I may ask, do you and Professor Lupin have some personal grudge?"
Snape was silent for a moment, then nodded. "I never liked him when we were students at Hogwarts."
"But that's no reason to drag me into it!" Aaron was exasperated. He suddenly felt that this Class was a conspiracy; whether he helped Neville Longbottom or not, Professor Snape would have made this request.
"Don't worry, I'll back you up."
"It's not about backing me up; I have my principles as a person."
"Dumbledore," Snape suddenly said. "Headmaster Dumbledore seems to have learned about ProfessorTrelawney's prediction about you. He's been wanting to talk to you privately, but I, the Dean of Slytherin, have prevented it."
"Say no more, Professor," Aaron interrupted, extending his hand solemnly. "You are my most respected teacher. Your matters are my matters. I will definitely help you."
"Don't force yourself!"
"Not at all forced," Aaron said without changing his expression, but he was cursing inwardly.
Motherf***er!
Blackmail, this was blatant blackmail.
But he had to admit it was very effective. He would rather offend the new Professor than deal with Dumbledore. That old bastard was much more troublesome than Gandalf.