Ron hadn't even recovered from the shock of having ten points deducted from him when he heard Snape's verdict on Harry.
His eyes widened even further, and he couldn't help but retort, "But Harry didn't even see it!"
Snape swept a cold glance over him, let out a disdainful snort, and sneered softly, "It seems Mr. Weasley has his own opinions on the matter."
Then he shifted his tone, "Unfortunately, no matter how many opinions he has, Mr. Weasley still cannot manage his own cauldron."
Ron started; in the moment he had been distracted, the cauldron in front of him had begun to emit a strange smoke.
"Ah!"
Ron let out a sharp yelp in panic, fumbling to move the cauldron off the fire, and Snape's expression immediately soured as he watched the red-haired boy's series of actions.
He cleaned out the potion, which had already started to blacken, with a Scouring Charm before Ron could touch it, then roared, "Fool! Using your hand to touch it, is your brain filled with flobberworm mucus?"
Ron flinched, yanking his hand back in fright and staring at Snape timidly.
"For your recklessness, Gryffindor loses five points."
Snape spoke in a sinister tone, "And for talking back to a professor, Gryffindor loses another five points."
Ron's face flushed red, but he didn't dare make a sound.
Harry lowered his head, and Snape glared at him again, "Mr. Potter, not only did you fail to warn Mr. Longbottom, but you also neglected to warn Mr. Weasley beside you. For that, Gryffindor loses another five points."
Harry was speechless.
How does this guilt by association work?
The more he held back, the angrier he got, and finally, Harry couldn't take it anymore.
He looked up and met Snape's gaze with a smile, his eyes deliberately sweeping over the greasy hair in plain view.
Then Harry asked sincerely, "Professor Snape, I know you have always been devoted to Potions, so with that in mind, why don't you take better care of your hair?"
"I think if you let your hair get any greasier, it's entirely possible that someday, the oil from your hair might drip into your cauldron while you're brewing and cause some unimaginable consequences."
Harry smiled, "I would think a meticulous Potions Master wouldn't allow such a hazard near his cauldron."
The classroom fell silent at a visible pace.
Draco couldn't even muster his usual schadenfreude, staring at Harry in horror as a stifling, chilling atmosphere filled the cold dungeon.
The moment Harry's words left his mouth, Snape's face turned the color of a scorched cauldron bottom, and he glared at Harry with a terrifying look.
Harry remained calm and composed, continuing to handle the materials in front of him while relentlessly trampling on Snape's nerves, "Oh, don't glare at me like that, Professor. After all, even if what I said was a bit harsh, it's the truth."
"And no matter what, you can't curse me; you'd only get angrier."
Harry then tried to console Snape, "Professor, getting angry makes you look old and shortens your life. You should work on cultivating your patience."
Snape's face twitched violently, and he hissed, "Mr. Potter, insulting a professor costs Gryffindor fifty points!"
Gasps of disbelief came from the Gryffindor students, and Ron looked petrified.
But even though Gryffindor had lost so many points, the Slytherins didn't laugh this time; they all looked at Harry with a kind of awe, each thinking the same thing.
So this is the Boy Who Lived?
Harry was a bit surprised, "Huh? Only fifty points?"
He said with satisfaction, "I thought you'd deduct Gryffindor into negative points and give me detention. Seems you're not that quick to anger."
"Not that I'd go even if you did order me to detention, but at least it's a good sign."
Harry smiled, "At least you won't get angry again because I stood you up."
Snape was already furious enough to explode, and the detention he was about to order got choked back down.
He roared almost in impotent rage, "Mr. Potter! Insolence, insulting a professor, showing no remorse, defying school rules. Gryffindor loses fifty points! Another fifty points!"
Harry deliberately leaned back in exaggerated disgust and said in a mocking tone, "Sorry, Professor, could you step back a bit?"
"Your spit is about to fly out, and if it lands in my cauldron, it'd be beyond dirty; maybe it'll cause a terrible explosion?"
Snape panted heavily, his breath ragged, feeling like he could tear the Potter brat apart.
Harry didn't care about Gryffindor's house points and wasn't about to indulge Snape by obediently going to detention.
That meant all of Snape's usual methods of threatening and punishing students were useless unless he had the power to demand Dumbledore expel the Boy Who Lived from Hogwarts.
No wonder he was so angry.
For the entire class, Snape stood beside Harry, glaring at him darkly, as if trying to use his authority as the Serpent King to make this troll of a boy realize his mistake.
But Harry wasn't affected.
After unleashing his tirade at Snape, he was in an excellent mood, stirring his cauldron briskly with his wand, almost humming a little tune in celebration.
Ron, sitting next to Harry, was trembling in fear, nearly cutting off his own fingers several times.
Harry might not be a model student, but he was definitely the cleverest.
Throughout the class, Snape practically glared holes into Harry but couldn't find a single fault in his technique, only succeeding in working himself up even more.
Snape was baffled: this brat clearly inherited his mother's talent, so how could he be such a terrible person, just like that wretched Potter?
It was practically desecrating Lily's gift.
Snape was convinced that both the big and little Potter nuisances were sent to torment him; they were his bane.
After Potions class ended, Harry left cheerfully, with Ron and Draco trailing behind him in silence.
This time, the two didn't argue; instead, they were unusually quiet, too preoccupied even to notice each other, just staring at Harry with a mix of fear and awe.
In the Great Hall, they saw Gryffindor's ruby counter almost completely depleted, and the older Gryffindors were whispering among themselves.
To be honest, when they first arrived at the Great Hall and saw the ruby count reduced to a single digit, they were all stunned.
Then they started asking what had happened and quickly learned the details from the first-years who had arrived earlier.
Soon, news of the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, verbally eviscerating Snape spread like wildfire.
The Gryffindors had mixed feelings.
On one hand, Gryffindor had long suffered under Snape, and seeing Harry give him a thorough dressing-down was secretly satisfying, they couldn't deny that.
But on the other hand, Gryffindors were always synonymous with mischief, with the Weasley twins being the prime example.
They usually struggled just to keep a few points, and losing so many at once, thinking about how their house points would look for the rest of the year, many felt disheartened and couldn't help but harbor some resentment toward Harry.
Harry didn't care about any of that, but he didn't appreciate the kids whispering about him either, so he grabbed some food from the Great Hall and headed back to the dormitory.
Ron, walking beside Harry, was also uncomfortable with the looks from his classmates, but he couldn't figure out why.
He hesitated for a moment, grabbed two chicken legs from the table, and followed Harry out of the Great Hall.
"Harry, you—"
Ron stopped mid-sentence, seeing Malfoy had somehow sidled up next to Harry.
Ron's expression soured instantly.