If Harry hadn't inherited Lily's eyes and blood, Snape genuinely felt he might have already stormed over and hexed the boy into the floor several times over.
Taking a deep breath, Snape forcibly suppressed the chaos in his mind.
He was a Hogwarts professor.
An adult.
A respected master of Potions.
He absolutely could not allow personal emotions to affect his teaching.
Then his eyes drifted downward again.
And he saw Harry Potter's face.
Instantly, James Potter's arrogant grin flashed through Snape's mind once more.
The veins near his temple twitched violently.
"Mr Potter," Snape said coldly, "why are you standing there like a wooden statue in my classroom?"
Harry froze.
"Are you attempting to disrespect your professor?" Snape continued silkily. "Or perhaps you are dissatisfied with my teaching methods?"
Before Harry could even respond—
"Another ten points from Gryffindor."
Whew.
After deducting points again, Snape finally felt slightly calmer.
Indeed.
Releasing stress was good for mental health.
Meanwhile, Harry sat there completely dumbfounded.
The standards for punishment had now fallen so low that merely existing quietly counted as a crime.
At this point, Harry genuinely didn't know whether he should move or stay still.
Everything led to deductions.
Even clay statues eventually became angry.
Harry finally reached his limit.
If Snape was going to punish him no matter what, then he might as well stand up and yell back properly.
At least venting his frustration would feel satisfying.
But just as Harry prepared to explode—
A quiet voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Harry, calm down."
Logan.
Harry stiffened slightly.
"Snape wants you to lose control," Logan whispered calmly. "If you openly argue with him right now, the punishment probably won't stop at losing points."
Harry's breathing gradually slowed.
"And honestly," Logan continued casually, "those house points really aren't a big deal."
Harry blinked.
"I can always earn them back later if necessary."
Logan sounded completely unconcerned.
"Most of Gryffindor's points this year came from Hermione and me anyway. If I'm not worried about it, why are you?"
Logan genuinely didn't care.
At worst, Dumbledore would probably add everything back dramatically at the end of the year anyway.
And besides—
Harry Potter was practically Dumbledore's favourite child.
After hearing Logan's words, Harry suddenly felt deeply moved.
House points mattered.
They represented the honour of the entire house.
And yet Logan was comforting him without hesitation.
Was this friendship?
Harry felt warmth spread through his chest.
Very nice.
Slowly, Harry calmed down completely.
Logan was right.
Snape clearly wanted to provoke him into making a mistake.
Harry absolutely couldn't allow Snape's evil plan to succeed.
More importantly, Harry firmly believed Logan possessed the terrifying ability to recover every lost point eventually anyway.
At the same time, another horrifying possibility surfaced inside Harry's mind.
The reason Snape was targeting him so viciously today…
Could it be because Snape realised Harry had already uncovered the truth behind the troll incident?
That must be it.
Everything suddenly made perfect sense.
Even Scabbers' mysterious poisoning earlier today now seemed suspicious.
Harry's eyes widened slightly.
The culprit Ron mentioned earlier—
Could it also have been Snape?
What kind of sinister conspiracy was he planning now?
The more Harry thought about it, the more convinced he became.
Completely unaware his thoughts had already derailed into another dimension, Harry secretly decided to discuss everything properly with Logan, Ron, and Hermione after class.
They absolutely could not allow Snape's evil schemes to succeed.
Meanwhile, Logan remained blissfully ignorant regarding the terrifying detective novel currently forming inside Harry's brain.
If he knew, he probably would've simply nodded and agreed.
Yes.
Exactly.
Everything is definitely Snape's fault.
Please continue blaming him.
One more accusation wouldn't make any difference anymore.
At the Slytherin table nearby, Draco Malfoy had been enjoying the entire scene immensely.
Watching Harry Potter suffer repeated humiliation during class filled him with endless happiness.
Their Head of House truly was wise and compassionate.
Originally, Malfoy planned to personally provoke Harry himself today.
Unexpectedly, Snape had entered the battlefield personally and begun crushing Harry without mercy before Malfoy even lifted a finger.
Excellent.
Surely now Logan would finally realise how weak and foolish Harry Potter truly was.
Only Malfoy himself deserved the position of Logan's "good friend."
Everything should have gone perfectly.
But then—
Malfoy noticed Logan leaning forward and whispering something to Harry.
Immediately afterwards, Harry visibly calmed down.
His trembling stopped.
His breathing steadied.
Even his expression regained confidence.
Malfoy's smile froze instantly.
Logan…
Had comforted Harry?
No.
Impossible.
By what right did Harry Potter deserve comfort from Logan Anderson?
Logan should have distanced himself from Harry instead of speaking to him so gently.
A terrifying wave of jealousy exploded inside Malfoy's chest.
All his previous happiness instantly vanished.
Only endless envy remained.
Malfoy's face gradually turned red while his hand clenched tightly around the edge of the desk.
Crack.
The wood beneath his fingers creaked ominously.
Beside him, Crabbe and Goyle exchanged confused glances.
"Boss?" one of them asked cautiously. "Did something happen?"
Malfoy glanced at them silently.
How could these two idiots possibly understand his suffering?
Still, during the remainder of class, Malfoy repeatedly shot resentful looks towards Logan, making Crabbe and Goyle increasingly convinced something terrible had happened involving him.
Unfortunately, even combined together, the three of them still wouldn't survive fighting Logan directly.
Then one of the boys suddenly remembered something.
Recently, strange rumours had apparently started spreading among the girls at Hogwarts.
Perhaps informing Malfoy about them might help somehow.
Surely their boss could think of a solution.
A few moments later—
"What?!"
Malfoy nearly jumped out of his seat.
"Logan's No. Series Dream Gold Cards are being sold inside Hogwarts?!"
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"How did I not know about this?!"
Crabbe quickly explained everything he had heard.
The cards.
The rumours.
The so-called "fated bonds."
And most importantly—
The claim that any male wizard obtaining one of the cards could eventually become Logan's lifelong best friend.
Malfoy immediately stopped breathing for a second.
Originally, his first reaction was complete disbelief.
How could something this ridiculous possibly be real?
But after thinking carefully…
What if it was true?
What if it actually worked?
Wouldn't that mean he could reconcile with Logan completely?
And afterwards…
Hehehehe…
Without noticing, Malfoy unconsciously touched the corner of his eyebrow before covering his mouth slightly to suppress the smile trying desperately to appear.
Wonderful.
This was absolutely wonderful.
Nearby, Crabbe and Goyle stared at their boss in growing confusion.
Something about Malfoy's expression felt deeply suspicious now.
Why did his smile suddenly look so strange?
Meanwhile, Malfoy had already become completely excited.
"Where are they?" he demanded immediately. "Where do I find the card sellers?"
His eyes burned with determination.
Draco Malfoy had made his decision.
He was going to buy every single gold card in Hogwarts.
.....
Want to read ahead. Then Join my P@treon 60+ exclusive chapters that are waiting for you.
Free members can get 2 advanced chapters FOR FREE.
Link: ptreon.com/Lotus_Lover
Join Right Now