Harry, looking thoroughly annoyed, packed his things and was the first to bolt out of Snape's dark dungeon classroom.
Soon, Snape was the only one left in the cold, subterranean room.
He stood in silence, staring at a vial of clear blue liquid in his hand, his expression unreadable.
It was the boil-cure potion Harry had just brewed. It was of exceptional quality—easily the most decent work produced by any student today.
Nevertheless, Snape had still docked several points from Gryffindor on the grounds that Harry was being selfish and hadn't helped his classmates...
"It seems Harry didn't just inherit his mother's eyes, Severus. He inherited her talent for Potions as well."
Snape spun around instantly, shocked to find that Victor Wick had appeared beside him without a sound.
He frowned, glancing at the tightly shut classroom door and then back at Victor, his eyes full of suspicion.
"Don't be so tense, Severus. I was simply experimenting with a minor spell and happened to end up here. I just happened to see a few things."
Victor stood by the blackboard, his posture tall and poised. Snape had no idea how long he had been standing there.
"Hmph... He inherited his father's arrogance! His conceit!" Snape's face turned livid as he tossed the vial onto the desk with a look of utter contempt.
"Severus... is that really necessary? You know as well as I do that the grievances of the previous generation have nothing to do with the child," Victor said softly.
Snape curled his lip but said nothing.
Victor could guess what he was thinking. It was Harry's misfortune that while he had his mother's eyes, he had James Potter's face.
Every time Snape looked at Harry, old scars were ripped open anew, and a sudden, uncontrollable fury would flare up.
In a way, it was hard to blame Snape for reacting that way.
"Severus, do you really want those eyes—the ones you know so well—to look at you with nothing but loathing and hatred every time?"
Victor picked up the potion vial, turning it slowly between his fingers.
"Shut up!" Snape snapped, his temper flaring. "If you have something to say, say it! Stop beating around the bush!"
Victor set the vial down and shrugged. "I was going to tell you that I'll be a bit stretched too thin for a while. If you can, I'd like you to keep an eye on Quirrell and make sure Harry stays safe... but seeing your current state... maybe I should forget it."
"I don't need you to remind me, Logic! Now, leave my classroom! This instant!" Snape pointed toward the door, his face clouded with gloom.
The fact that Snape had resorted to using Victor's old alias was proof enough of the fury boiling inside him.
"Fine, I'm going... Of course, if you happen to have any spare Invigoration Draught lying around..."
"Get out!"
A faint smile played on Victor's lips as he stepped back into the shadows. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from Snape's sight.
Snape stared in shock at the corner where Victor had been, his hand still frozen in mid-air pointing toward the door.
That afternoon, the first-years had no classes.
Harry led a small group of friends out of the castle.
At Harry's warm invitation, Neville had joined them as well.
Between Victor's encouragement and Harry's friendly overtures, Neville was gradually becoming more confident.
"Hagrid? Are you there?"
In front of Hagrid's hut, Harry knocked gently on the door.
However, only Fang's barking answered from within. Hagrid didn't come to open the door.
"Hagrid! Are you home? I got your note and came to see you!" Harry shouted more loudly.
"Oh... right, of course! Harry! Just a second!"
This time, Hagrid finally replied, though his voice didn't come from inside the hut but from around the back.
Following his response, a few muffled, heavy snores echoed from behind the building.
Immediately after, Fang began to let out a series of terrified whines from inside.
Harry and Ron exchanged looks before leading the others around to the back of the hut.
"Whoa!"
They had just rounded the corner when they were all nearly jumped out of their skins.
Hagrid was standing before a massive, gargantuan three-headed dog, carefully brushing its fur with a large brush.
"Oh... I didn't think you'd get here so fast, Harry..." Hagrid looked a bit embarrassed as he set down the oversized brush.
"This... this is..." Harry stared in shock at the terrifying beast. He had never seen such a ferocious animal in his life.
"Is that a Cerberus?" Neville asked in amazement. "Hagrid, is this three-headed dog yours?"
"Ah! Indeed! This is my three-headed dog. I bought him off a Greek fellow I met down the pub. His name's Fluffy. No need to be scared; he's actually quite a sweetheart." Hagrid smiled broadly, patting one of the dog's massive heads.
The faces of Harry and his friends went stiff. They couldn't see anything even remotely 'sweet' about this terrifying monster.
Hagrid tied Fluffy up and then hauled over a huge bucket of fresh meat, dumping it into a trough.
"Let's go inside and sit. Don't worry about Fluffy; they go right to sleep once they've had their fill," Hagrid said excitedly.
After Harry introduced his new friends, Hagrid invited them all into the hut.
"Haha, I've been meaning to have you over for tea, but you've been busy with classes. Glad you could make it today." Hagrid moved about boisterously, seating them and handing out mugs of tea so large they could have been used as washbasins.
"Hagrid... about Fluffy... I was wondering, is it even allowed to keep a dog that big at school?" Hermione asked curiously, picking up a rock cake from the plate Hagrid had set down.
"Oh... you mean Fluffy? Under normal circumstances, o' course not. But this time, Dumbledore gave me special permission... Dumbledore needs Fluffy to guard something for him," Hagrid said with a secretive air.
"Guard what?" Harry's curiosity was piqued.
"It's the Philo— oh! That's a secret! Can't be tellin' you lot that." Hagrid finally caught himself.
He did a quick mental check of what he had just said, and finding that he hadn't let too much slip, he breathed a sigh of relief.
A sudden flash of realization hit Hermione. "Is it the thing in the fourth-floor corridor?"
Back in the Great Hall, because of the incident involving Shafiq, dinner had been held in the respective common rooms.
During the meal, Professor McGonagall had visited them specifically to issue a new decree.
They were strictly forbidden from entering the fourth-floor corridor... or they would suffer the consequences.
Hagrid was taken aback, looking at Hermione in surprise. "Oh... you... how did you know— No, no, no! I mean, it's got nothing to do with the fourth floor! Fluffy's got another place to be!"
Hagrid's attempt at a cover-up was so clumsy that the group immediately understood. Fluffy was allowed into Hogwarts specifically to guard whatever was on the fourth floor.
Hermione nodded and absentmindedly took a bite of the rock cake.
Then... she nearly shattered her front teeth. For a moment, tears almost welled up from the sheer pain.
"That's strange. What kind of thing would be worth having a beast like Fluffy guard it?" Harry muttered quietly, silently putting his own rock cake back down.
"I told you, Fluffy isn't guarding the fourth-floor corridor!" Hagrid jumped up, looking agitated.
"Right... of course, of course..."