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Mid-November,
"I said… Page Number 394," Snape drawled, staring back at the class.
All the students glared back at him, who had barged into the Defense Against the Dark Arts class in place of Professor Lupin.
Lupin had become too popular among the students for his own good.
Despite his ragged appearance, there was a charm about his way of handling a class and teaching the subject.
Of course, the more the students mentioned how much they liked Lupin's classes, the madder Snape became.
"Werewolves?" Hermione gasped, her eyes shooting back up toward Snape.
"But, sir, we are supposed to do Hinkypunks—" Parvati added, others nodding along with her.
"I was under the impression that I was teaching this class," Snape said. "Now, who can tell me how to distinguish between a Werewolf and a true wolf?"
Daphne grabbed Hermione's shaking wrist under the table.
From the side, Harry, Draco, Ron, and Black, the only students who knew Hermione's secret other than Daphne and Darcie, ground their teeth.
"A week ago," Harry hissed under his breath to Ron, Black and Draco leaning forward to listen from behind, "I was with Lupin. Snape came to his office and gave him a potion."
Ron gasped. "And you let him drink that?"
Harry shrugged. "I warned him," he said. "He drank that anyway."
"I get Snape has it against Lupin," Draco whispered. "But why's he being mean to Hermione? He always favors her over everyone because she's a Slytherin!"
From the boys' and Daphne and Hermione's point of view, Snape suddenly deciding to teach everyone about Werewolves would do nothing but put Hermione on a pedestal. Not to mention, it was an extremely sensitive topic for her, what with all the hate Werewolves were getting from the entire world these days. If someone even remotely found out about her being a Werewolf, then…
Using her Moonlight Sonata Spell, Hermione could assume a Werewolf transformation even when there was no full moon without losing her wits. However, it didn't mean she could prevent herself from forcefully turning into one during a full moon.
Snape had been giving her a potion to retain her mind during full moons all this time.
Who knew that after two years of showing benevolence, he would randomly pick a day to rat out his own House student like this?
"Come on, no one?" Snape scoffed, the nasty smile refusing to go away from his lips. "Well, well, well. It's a shame that third years can't even tell such a basic thing. What has Professor Lupin taught you all this time? I wonder where else he has cut corners… Miss Granger? I thought you would answer it, at least. But, it seems, Professor Lupin has managed to do the unthinkable — shutting you up, ruining one of my best students."
Hermione was shaking so much that her eyes had welled up, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Black's hand shot up.
"Put that hand down, Mr. Black," Snape said, a touch of disgust flashing across his face as he pronounced the name.
Black put his hand away, but a smile appeared on his face. "Why ask the question if you don't want an answer, Professor?"
The entire class gasped.
Snape looked at Black without blinking and then walked up to him. "Detention," he said. "Tomorrow."
"What?!" Harry gasped, colors draining from the Gryffindors' faces. "You can't do that! Our first Quidditch match is tomorrow!"
Gryffindor was going to meet Hufflepuff tomorrow for the season's first match, and Black was their Seeker.
Harry and Black had spent the last two weeks training in the storm for tomorrow's match.
Snape turned away from Black and looked at Harry, the smile returning to his lips. "10 points from Gryffindor," he said, returning to the lectern. "And the next time I hear what I can and cannot do in my class, you will be very sorry indeed… Potter."
After the class was done, Harry, Draco, and Ron waited outside.
Black walked out after a while.
"And?" Harry asked, gulping.
"He wants me to clean toilets in Dungeons," Black said. "Without using magic."
"Let's go!" Ron said, seething in anger. "Let's talk to McGonagall. She would understand that Snape purposely gave Black detention to make Gryffindor lose…"
"Leave it," Black said. "And we are not gonna lose. We still have Harry, and it's Hufflepuff, not Slytherin. Come on, let's work on a strategy."
…
All the strategies were knocked out of Harry's mind within five minutes after the match started the next day.
The thunderstorm was so loud and cold that he could hardly hear the roar of the crowd.
Sheets of rain clouded his vision, making his broom swerve in random directions.
Even the Battle Workshops on Broom Riding, where they fought against dark wizards midair, were much easier than this.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning blinded his vision, the rumble deafening him in the next moment.
When the vision returned, Harry saw an unbelievable scene — a silhouette of an enormous black dog against the sky!
Before he could even think about it, though, a black dot tore through that silhouette and came right for him.
Harry fumbled to take out his wand as the black dot enlarged, taking the shape of a giant cabinet, which flew open toward his face.
With a hiss, everything froze around him.
A Dementor came slithering out, its scabbed mouth opening right over his face.
Then… slowly… screams filled Harry's mind — a woman begging for her son's life before a green flash blasted her away.
…
Gryffindor lost the match.
Harry was admitted to the Hospital Wing.
When Draco and Ron returned after visiting Harry with Uncle Black, whom they had surprisingly met on the Quidditch Pitch, they found a crowd in front of the Common Room's entrance, surrounding Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Percy.
"What's going on?" a voice entered their ears from behind after a while.
The boys turned around and found a tired Black, carrying bags under his eyes.
"Someone tore up Fat Lady's portrait and—," Draco began. Before he could tell Black what had happened with the Quidditch match and Harry, though, the Fat Lady's terrified voice echoed against the tower's walls.
"It was him!" she screamed, crying. "It was — Sirius Black!"
As the uproar washed over the students, Black looked at the dog by his feet, who looked up back at him, both stunned.
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