Friday morning.
Ethan quietly woke Harry and Ron up.
Dragging them through their sleepy daze, he forced them to go to the second-floor study classroom.
Ethan looked at the two of them, asking curiously, “How did yesterday go?” The two had been in detention last night, returning only in the middle of the night, utterly drained of energy.
Ron and Harry slumped on their desks, saying listlessly, “We were lectured by Professor McGonagall for the entire afternoon, and then had to copy reference materials all night.
What’s worse is Malfoy—just thinking about his smug face makes me furious!” Harry forced himself to sit up.
“Ethan, the Professor said the school already knows who did it, but it wasn’t Malfoy.
But if it wasn’t Malfoy, who else could it be?
His father used to be a Death Eater—do you know what a Death Eater is?
A servant of the Dark Lord!
Yet he’s still powerful and influential today.
His father must have put pressure on them, which is why the school doesn’t dare tell the truth.” “Harry, I think it really has nothing to do with Malfoy.
We don’t need to bother with him anymore.
What’s important is today.” Ron froze for a moment, then suddenly said, “Harry, today we have Potions!
That Professor Snape is the Head of Slytherin!
He’ll definitely stand up for Malfoy!” Harry’s sleepiness instantly vanished from fright.
For some reason, Harry felt that the professor really disliked him.
Ethan comforted them from the side, saying, “A professor can’t just punish students for no reason.
I expect he might ask some questions.
Here are some I thought of yesterday.
You must memorize them right now.” He handed them two identical pieces of paper.
Ron and Harry’s eyes couldn’t help but widen.
“A proper combination of powdered root of asphodel and an infusion of wormwood can make a powerful sleeping potion—the Draught of Living Death.
Other ingredients include valerian roots and sopophorous beans.” “Monkshood and wolfsbane are both aconite.
The reason it’s called wolfsbane is because aconite was often used as poison bait for animals, and people sometimes smeared its juice on arrows to hunt wolves.” “A bezoar is…” Fear is always the best motivation for progress.
Realizing that Professor Snape might very well try to stand up for Malfoy and find excuses to make trouble for them, both Ron and Harry took it extremely seriously.
At eight in the morning, the three of them went to the Great Hall for breakfast.
A yawning Miss Hermione Granger came over with her tray.
She looked at the three of them in surprise and said casually, “I thought you two would at most manage to get up early for three days.” Harry and Ron found her quite a wet blanket.
They really disliked Hermione’s tone, especially how she loved to meddle in others’ business—like how their waking up early clearly had nothing to do with her, yet she acted like she had to comment on it.
Miss Granger didn’t realize this.
She stared at Ron and Harry, saying seriously, “You two—before you do something stupid again, you’d better care more about Gryffindor!
I don’t want you two to completely lose all the points White and I earned from Professor McGonagall using Transfiguration!” Harry and Ron’s faces instantly turned sour.
“Granger, the end of the year is still far off!” Ron yelled.
“I mean, we won’t necessarily lose the House Cup!
We’ll win back the points we lost!” Harry also said, “That’s right, those docked points, Ron and I will earn them back!” Hermione rolled her eyes, having absolutely no hope in them.
She knew only too well how hard it was to earn points.
Ethan remained silent on the side.
He hadn’t seen Luna this morning, so he couldn’t help but look over toward Ravenclaw.
He saw Luna sitting alone at the edge of the table, reading a book while eating breakfast.
Seeming to notice his gaze, Luna looked up and smiled at him.
Just as Ethan was thinking of walking over, he suddenly noticed hundreds of owls flying into the Great Hall, circling around the dining tables until they found their owners and dropped letters or packages.
A snow-white owl landed on the table of the four.
This was Harry’s owl, Hedwig, a snowy owl.
Out of the four of them, only Harry had an owl.
Ron’s pet was a rat named Scabbers, and Ethan and Hermione only had their wands.
Hedwig dropped a note onto Harry’s plate and promptly snatched a small piece of toast.
Harry opened the note and blurted out, “Hagrid invited me for tea this afternoon.
Ron, let me borrow your quill.” Ron quickly handed him the quill.
Harry hurriedly scribbled a line of words, handed it to Hedwig, and let her fly off.
“No classes this afternoon.
Want to go together?” Ron nodded quickly.
“I want to practice the button transfiguration tomorrow!” Ethan also agreed.
“Mr.
Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley last time, I should thank him.” Hermione cast a sideways glance at them, looking quite weary.
“I’m going to the library this afternoon.
Have fun!” Harry and Ron each shrugged.
Actually, they didn’t want to go with Hermione either.
After breakfast, the four of them hurried down to the dungeons.
The Potions classroom was a large dungeon.
The shelves on the walls were lined with various glass jars containing animal specimens preserved in liquid, looking somewhat creepy.
For these two Potions lessons, Gryffindor still had to take them with Slytherin.
Malfoy, who had arrived early, looked back at Harry, his face full of smugness and provocation.
Harry and Ron instantly flared with anger.
Ethan also raised his eyebrows.
He noticed that Malfoy had given him a harsh glare as well.
Ethan quietly sat in a corner.
Hermione, Harry, and Ron sat together.
Hermione wanted to keep an eye on the two of them to prevent them from losing points again.
*Bang!* The classroom door was suddenly pushed inward.
Severus Snape strode in, saying as he walked, “There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class!” His dark eyes swept over the room, and every young wizard who caught his gaze felt a chill run down their neck.
“Potions is a very precise science and art.
I do not expect many of you to appreciate its beauty.
However, for those select few who possess the talent…” Snape suddenly locked onto someone, speaking in a dark tone, “Mr.
Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” Hermione, who was sitting nearby, immediately shot her hand high into the air—firstly to prove she wasn’t an idiot, and secondly because she was worried Professor Snape would use it as an excuse to dock points from Gryffindor.
Harry was startled, but did his best to answer: “The—the Draught of Living Death.
The other ingredients also require valerian roots and sopophorous beans.” Hermione was utterly astounded.
Unbelievable!
Could Harry, who never read books, actually answer this?
If it were White, she could accept it.
Snape asked expressionlessly, “Where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?” “The stomach of a goat.” “What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?” “Professor, they are both aconite.
The reason it’s called wolfsbane is because aconite juice was often smeared on arrows to hunt wolves…” Listening to Harry speak so fluently, Snape couldn’t help but daze for a moment, as if he were seeing that utterly detestable bastard again.
Instantly, his mood darkened even further.
But Harry was thrilled and couldn’t help looking at Ethan, while Ron beside him was also looking at Ethan with great excitement.
Ethan, who was secretly enjoying this, suddenly had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, Snape stared at them for a while before suddenly turning his head and locking onto Ethan.
He seemed to have guessed something.
Staring at Ethan, he said slowly, “Mr.
Ethan White?
Very well, another Gryffindor troublemaker.
Tell me, what are the uses of Essence of Dittany?” Ethan sighed in his heart and replied, “Dittany is a plant with healing properties; consuming it raw can heal shallow wounds, and when extracted into Essence of Dittany, its therapeutic effects are even more outstanding.” “What are mistletoe berries used for?” “They can be used to make the Antidote to Common Poisons, the Forgetfulness Potion, and the Regenerating Potion.” “What is the recipe for the Laughing Potion?” “Alihotsy leaves, Billywig wings, Knarl quills, Puffskein dust, and powdered horseradish…” Ethan thought for a moment and reminded him, “Professor, I believe this is not on the first-year curriculum.” “Is such simple knowledge something you must wait until your second year to learn?
You have a very eloquent tongue, Mr.
Ethan White.
I hope you can keep it up; the Ministry of Magic is in dire need of talents like you.” Malfoy and his cronies snickered quietly.
The Gryffindor lions began to grow restless.
If it hadn’t been obvious before, they could now clearly feel Snape’s dislike and hostility toward them.
“Silence!” Snape’s authoritative gaze swept across everyone.
Ethan said with an unfazed expression, “Thank you for your concern, Professor.
I believe that if I can learn useful knowledge from you, I won’t have to make a living by showing off my eloquence in the future.” Snape’s face turned even darker.
He whipped his robes around, returned to the podium, and announced coldly, “Due to Mr.
Ethan White’s insolence toward a teacher, one point will be taken from your house!” Ethan rolled his eyes helplessly.
He knew he couldn’t escape it.
On the other side, Harry was also very angry and wanted to argue with the unreasonable Snape, but fortunately, Hermione held him down firmly.