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Still using the usual pair format, Snape went around checking everyone's work. With very few exceptions, most of them were harshly criticized.
Out of everyone, Neville's group was the worst.
As always, Seamus lit the cauldron.
As always, the cauldron exploded.
As always, Seamus was nowhere nearby.
And as always, Neville ended up getting hit.
It was as if he had some kind of "ruin your teammate" aura.
Curiously, whenever they worked in pairs, some kind of accident would happen. And without fail, Seamus always came out of it unharmed.
With that absurd frequency of accidents and that equally absurd luck... it was hard to believe it wasn't intentional.
But that... only he himself knew.
Once again, Snape flicked his wand to clean the table. Then, as usual, he took a potion from Dudley and made Neville drink it.
Neville was already closing his eyes before drinking it... with a naturalness that was honestly pitiful to watch.
"Gryffindor. Horrible. One point from Gryffindor."
Snape said coldly.
Seamus did not care in the slightest, as if nothing had happened. After all, someone would recover that point sooner or later anyway.
When Snape turned his back, he even made faces at the other Gryffindors.
Neville, on the other hand, hunched his shoulders, thinking the point loss had been his fault, and grew even more afraid of Snape.
"Look... Weasley and Potter weren't criticized by Professor Snape."
An observant Gryffindor noticed that Snape had only given Harry and Ron's table a quick glance before moving on.
That was rare.
Probably because Potter had actually done a good job this time.
With Dudley teaching him, Harry's skill in Potions was not the best, but it was definitely among the best in first year.
Even so, by Snape's standards... it was still far from ideal.
That was why Snape liked picking on Harry whenever he had the chance.
Even when he did better than most people.
Especially during pair work, when Harry also had to carry Ron, the chances of getting scolded rose quite a bit.
Still, the students only found it a little strange... and didn't pay much attention to it.
...
That day's Potions class was a double period.
In the first part, they worked in pairs.
In the second, individually.
And this time, the potion was harder than the one from the previous class.
But Snape's standards...
did not drop in the slightest.
Snape picked up Ron's potion, examined it quickly, and said only one word:
"Good."
He did not award any points. He only handed the vial back.
"That Weasley... he wasn't criticized by Professor Snape again!"
The Gryffindors were shocked.
Before, it could still be explained away. It had been pair work, so maybe he had benefited from Potter.
But now it was individual.
And harder.
Even so, almost no one escaped criticism.
Not even in Slytherin.
Among the Gryffindors, only Hermione, Harry... and Ron were not criticized.
Hermione was understandable.
Harry... no one said much.
But Ron?
Why?
If Ron's performance in Potions had been good, it would still have made sense.
But he was clearly among the below-average students.
"Look at the instruments on Weasley's table... they're different from ours!"
An observant student pointed out.
Because of that, he ended up losing another point for "disrupting the class."
Everyone looked over.
There were several unfamiliar tools on Ron's table.
They clearly were not standard Potions classroom equipment.
"Harry has them too..."
Someone else noticed.
"Granger too!"
"Wait... Malfoy has them too!"
Even with the risk of losing points, the students could not hold back their curiosity.
They started whispering among themselves.
Even in Slytherin, there were quiet discussions.
No one liked being criticized.
Not even by their own Head of House.
Snape might favor Slytherin in many ways.
But when it came to Potions...
it did not matter who you were.
If it was bad, he criticized it.
Goyle and Crabbe were perfect examples.
They were practically criticized every class.
And for good reason.
They were supposed to be making an antidote... but what came out of their cauldron looked more like poison.
So when this came up...
everyone became interested.
New Potions tools?
Who gave them those?
Those two questions stayed on everyone's mind.
But no one had the courage to go ask during class.
They would have to wait until afterward.
...
"Dursley. Not bad."
Snape stopped in front of Dudley.
He picked up Dudley's potion as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Under the light, the liquid inside the vial gleamed, clear and crystalline.
Perfect.
Snape nodded.
Then slipped the vial into his pocket.
"Slytherin, one more point."
And moved on.
...
Throughout the two classes, Ron became the center of attention.
He was loving the envious looks around him.
Perfect.
Absolutely perfect.
He had never imagined that a Potions class could be...
this easy... and even enjoyable.
Even Snape's gloomy face seemed less irritating.
All of it was thanks to the tools Harry had given him.
And, of course...
thanks to Dursley.
...
As soon as Snape assigned homework and left the room...
the students immediately surrounded Ron.
Without question, out of everyone using those tools, he was the easiest one to interrogate.
At least on the Gryffindor side.
In Slytherin, everyone crowded around Malfoy.
Ron, being treated like the center of attention, was actually a little dazed.
Maybe... today really was his lucky day.
After being pressed again and again, he cleared his throat and began speaking, his tone growing more and more proud:
"You all know... my skill in Potions has always been worse than a lot of yours."
"To tell the truth, I'm just not cut out for it."
"I thought I was going to spend my whole life getting bad grades in Potions..."
"But today... after using this..."
"It's simply incredible..."
He went on and on and on...
a long stretch of rambling.
Until everyone started losing patience.
Only then did he finally get to the main point:
"It was Harry's cousin, Dudley, who gave this to me."
"A revolutionary product."
"It greatly improves your Potions performance."
"You all saw it yourselves."
"It's excellent."
"Even Professor Snape said it was good."
Ron's exaggerated tone made Harry mentally dock him a few points.
It sounded just like a television advertisement.
But the other students...
did not notice.
On the other side, Malfoy was giving the exact same speech to the Slytherin students.
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