Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 1011 Potions and Divination

Faced with Snape's long-absent sarcastic tone, Wade stood up and said:
"I'm sorry for my long absence from class, Professor Snape. However, I haven't neglected my studies in Potions during this time. If you have time after class, could you please review my study notes?"

The students looked at Wade with the reverence one would show a warrior, while Snape's lips were pressed into a thin line. He stared at Wade for a few seconds, finally letting out a soft, ambiguous snort from his nose:

"I assume that your self-study notes at least didn't contain anything as silly as mixing daffodil root powder with mugwort extract, right?"

In the classroom, Susan Burns suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Her fingers were itching to open her notes and make some changes, but she didn't dare to move, afraid of attracting the professor's dreadful gaze.

"Sit down!" Snape said before Wade could reply. "After class, hand in your notebook. I'll take a good look at it... to see how many ridiculous mistakes you've made!"

Wade sat down amidst the admiring yet sympathetic gazes of the crowd. Michael, across the aisle, moved his lips silently and said, "...Notes?"

At the same time, he secretly pulled out his notes from under his textbook and tapped them lightly with his fingers.

He and Wade both habitually write in a hybrid style, and their handwriting is somewhat similar.

Wade answered silently, "I do."

Michael nodded and put the notebook back in.

The topic of the remedy was covered at the beginning of fifth grade. Snape briefly and quickly explained the key points, and then moved on to the practical application.

Unlike when teaching a new lesson, this time he did not list the notes on the blackboard. As a result, while some students had already started grinding moonstone, others were still frantically searching for their old notes.

Snape patrolled the corridors silently, his dark shadow frequently looming over Wade's desk, suddenly posing a question from behind:
“Tell me, Mr. Gray, what must be added immediately after the crucible is removed from the fire?”

How do you process licorice root syrup?

Why stir seven times? What effect will increasing or decreasing the number of stirring times have?

Theo was always startled by sudden noises coming from behind him. Once, he almost knocked over the mortar and pestle in front of him, but luckily Wade caught him.

But Wade's hands didn't pause for a moment; while brewing the medicine with effortless skill, he could also answer Snape's sudden question accurately:

“Sneezing root syrup, Professor.”

"It needs to stand at room temperature for at least five minutes and must be added after the crucible is removed from the heat."

"Stirring counterclockwise seven times is the best way to maintain blending and stability; stirring too many times will cause the herbs to evaporate and weaken the effect; stirring too few times will at least affect stability and cause flocculent matter to appear, and in severe cases, it will cause the user to fall into a deep and difficult-to-resolve drowsiness..."

As he answered, the potion in the cauldron gradually took on a pearly luster, and clear silver steam rose from above.

Snape finally stopped his nitpicking questions, stood by the table, narrowed his dark eyes, and stared intently at the potion.

After Wade turned off the fire, Snape picked up a long-handled silver spoon, scooped up a little potion, examined its color and viscosity, and then brought it close to his nose to smell it.

He remained silent for a long time, and found that even by his most critical standards, he could not find anything to criticize, so he finally put down the silver spoon.

“…It’s alright.” Snape said rather reluctantly and dryly, “Bottle—where’s the notebook?”

Wade handed in his notes and saw Snape turn around with a look of lingering interest. Before Snape had even circled half the classroom, he lifted a student off his seat.

"Slow cooking! Mr. Rivers, what don't you understand? If you used your brain for even a second, you wouldn't let the liquid in the crucible boil!"

Without hesitation, he waved his wand, and the increasingly dark liquid in the cauldron vanished instantly, while the Potions Professor coldly and mercilessly uttered his verdict—

"Redo it!"

As soon as the bell rang, the students practically fled the cold, dark cellar.

As soon as they stepped outside, one of the students burst into tears:
"I know... I'm too stupid, I don't deserve to take the O.W.L. exam at all... I might as well drop out of school and go home..."

Her friends gathered around to comfort her. Theo stood at a distance, glancing sympathetically at the classmate who had been criticized by the professor three times, then turned to Wade with lingering fear and said:

“I used to get scolded in every class... It was awful. Every time I saw Professor Snape, I felt like my heart was about to stop beating.”

—Thankfully, Wade is back now!

“It’s a good thing that the professor is demanding…it’s much better than letting things drift,” Wade tried to reassure his friend.

"Sigh, I'd rather he let us off the hook..." Theo said with a bitter face.

“By the way, Wade.” Michael, who was walking ahead, stopped and turned around to ask, “What’s next? Are you going to continue to class? Or…”

Wade pulled a timetable from his pocket. It was the one Viser had brought back for him at the beginning of the semester, but it was only now that it finally came in handy.

His class schedule was quite different from his classmates', not because he had chosen twelve courses and his schedule was full, but because the content listed on his schedule was unusual.

Theo glanced at it and saw that it wasn't Wade's own class schedule, but rather the time and place for professors to teach upperclassmen.

As a student who had long been granted the freedom to arrange his study time, Wade could choose which classes to attend or go to the professor privately with questions after class.

He pondered for a moment, flicked the parchment, and said, "Shall we go to the divination class?"

This answer clearly surprised everyone, and they all asked in astonishment, "Fortune telling?"

……

The divination classroom was located in the North Tower, accessible only by climbing a creaky spiral staircase. Pushing open the trapdoor, a sweltering breeze and a cloyingly sweet aroma wafted out.

Although the classroom was located high up, it was even darker than the Potions classroom. All the curtains were drawn tightly, and swirling smoke filled the air, sometimes making it impossible to even see Professor Trelawney's face clearly.

Of course, among students who enjoy divination, they call it mystery.

After entering the classroom, Wade sat in the corner, almost disappearing into the shadows.

Professor Trelawney was surrounded by several girls who adored her. Completely ignoring the students who had just entered, she held one of the girls' hands, her eyes, magnified by her glasses, straining to focus on her palm, and said in a detached tone:
"...Look here, my dear, at the intersection of the fate line and the wisdom line, this tiny cross... Oh, this foretells an unexpected encounter concerning the path of life, which may bring a turning point, but also comes with... a fog, yes, a fog..."

Wade leaned against the wall, watching the scene with great interest.

Although palmistry wasn't a class he wanted to attend, sitting in the classroom and smelling the spices calmed him down and even made him a little drowsy.

He could tell that Professor Trelawney was mostly talking nonsense and deliberately using all sorts of dubious rhetoric to interpret the signs.

But she also has a peculiar talent for getting away with things, often managing to stumble upon the edge of the truth by sheer luck.

Just then, the trapdoor creaked open again—Harry and Ron walked in together.

(End of this chapter)