Potions classroom.
The classroom was located in the castle dungeons. The temperature was rather low, and numerous glass jars containing preserved animal specimens stood along the walls.
Vade took Potions very seriously. As soon as he entered the classroom, he sat in the front row with Draco and the other two boys.
Daphne arrived a little later and sat in the empty seat beside him. At the same time, she took ten Galleons from her pocket and placed them on the desk. "Here, your fee for the divination."
Couldn’t she have chosen another time and place?
Vade grumbled inwardly, but he was not at all slow to take the money.
Even so, several nearby Slytherins and Gryffindors noticed the exchange.
Ron, who was sitting in the row behind them, stared so hard that his eyes nearly popped out.
In all his life, this was the first time he had seen such a large transaction.
A full ten Galleons. All the pocket money he had received over the past eleven years did not add up to that much.
"Why do you look so angry?" Vade noticed that Daphne did not look particularly pleased. "Who upset you?"
"Pansy, Millicent, Tracey. A group of busybodies who can’t mind their own business."
"Oh!" Vade drew out the word. "I think I understand."
"You understand?" Daphne frowned, then quickly realised what he meant. "Don’t take it to heart. Who we choose to be friends with has nothing to do with them."
"That’s true."
Daphne still seemed somewhat concerned, so she turned her attention to Draco. "You share a dormitory with Vade. Don’t let anyone bully him.
"If an upper-year student causes trouble for him, inform the prefect immediately."
Hearing this, Draco looked at Vade in surprise. This was what you called a purely ordinary relationship between classmates?
It wasn’t as though he did not know Daphne. He had never seen her defend anyone so seriously before.
Vade gave him a frustrated, bitter smile in return. Believe me, there really is nothing between us. We’re just ordinary friends.
"Is there a problem, Malfoy?"
"No problem." Draco shook his head. The Malfoy family still had some influence in Slytherin, especially since his father was one of the school governors.
The classroom door was suddenly pushed open, and the Potions professor, Severus Snape, strode inside.
He wore a black robe and had sallow skin, a large hooked nose, and shoulder-length hair that was black and greasy, as though it had not been washed for a very long time.
"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in my class."
"Personally, I do not expect most of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. However... for those select few who possess the predisposition." As Snape spoke, he looked meaningfully towards Draco. "I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death."
Having received the attention of his Head of House, Draco could not stop a smile from appearing on his face.
Vade also straightened his back.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
The sound of a quill moving across parchment rang out conspicuously in the classroom, interrupting Snape’s speech.
Snape’s expression darkened as he looked over. Harry Potter, with that detestable face of his.
"I must reiterate that perhaps some people believe they can rely on their fame at Hogwarts and feel perfectly confident... that they do not need to pay attention."
The entire classroom instantly fell silent. Almost everyone’s gaze landed on Harry, who had just stopped writing.
"Mr Potter. Our new celebrity."
"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
Harry looked completely bewildered. Wasn’t this question clearly intended to make things difficult for him?
He was only a newly enrolled first year. What new student could answer a question like that?
At that moment, Hermione beside him thrust her hand high into the air.
"I don’t know, sir."
"You don’t know. Then let us try another question.
"Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
Hermione raised her hand again. Looking somewhat aggrieved, Harry shook his head. "I don’t know, sir."
Draco and the other two boys trembled with laughter at his predicament, though they did their best not to make a sound.
Vade secretly shook his head. This decoy was proving exceptionally difficult to build up.
If Harry had even half of Hermione’s intellectual capacity, Vade could firmly pin the identity of The Fool on him. But now... it seemed necessary to find a second decoy.
As long as there were enough decoys, The Fool would not be him.
Daphne nudged Vade’s arm. "Do you think his reputation is undeserved?"
"Well... not everyone has a talent for Potions," Vade explained reluctantly. "Look at Hermione. She’s quite impressive."
"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Snape continued.
Harry was now completely certain that he was being singled out. Hermione was practically standing up with her hand raised, yet Snape did not even look at her.
"I don’t know, sir."
"What a pity. Clearly, fame is not everything.
"Is it, Mr Potter?"
Harry did not answer. Instead, he muttered, "Hermione knows the answer. Why don’t you ask her?"
"Right now, I am the one asking the questions," Snape said coldly. "Harry Potter, one point from Gryffindor for talking back to a teacher."
"Do you know the answer?" Daphne whispered expectantly. "Don’t you want to study Potions? Raise your hand if you know."
Vade hesitated for a moment. Answering the question would undoubtedly attract Snape’s attention, and establishing a closer relationship with this Potions master would also benefit his future plans.
However, the uproar caused by the prophecy had not yet died down. Standing out was not necessarily a good thing.
With that thought, Vade came up with an idea and timidly raised his hand.
"Mr Moria, do you know the answer?" Sure enough, Snape’s attention immediately shifted to him. As for Hermione, Snape simply ignored her.
The Head of Slytherin did not need a reason to favour Slytherin. As for Gryffindor earning points in his class, impossible. Absolutely impossible.
"I only know the answer to the first question. Before term began, I bought a few things from the apothecary in Diagon Alley, and the shop assistant told me about an infusion of wormwood."
"That is fine. Go on."
"Powdered asphodel root mixed with an infusion of wormwood can be used to brew a powerful sleeping potion. I think it is called the Draught of Living Death."
"Completely correct. Five points to Slytherin."
"Thank you, Professor." Vade smiled self-consciously.
He had answered only one question, and he had learned the answer by chance. Snape would not think of him as a genius, but he would at least remember him.
Hermione looked thoroughly unconvinced. She thought it was unfair, but there was nothing she could do.
Five points for one question meant fifteen points for all three.
Those fifteen points should originally have belonged to Gryffindor, but she had never expected Snape to be so blatantly biased that he did not even bother pretending otherwise.
(To be continued.)