"Stand up, Harry Pot—ter."
As always, Snape's sharp, cold voice sliced through the Potions classroom. His black eyes found Harry Potter at once, filled with their usual venom, as if itching to strike him down both physically and mentally.
But today, something in Snape faltered.He suddenly remembered—Voldemort was gone, restrained by Dumbledore himself, and could never return.
If the Dark Lord was truly finished, then what meaning did it have to continue tormenting Harry Potter?
And yet… whenever he saw that boy's face, the urge to lash out was instinctive, uncontrollable.Just like now.
Harry was carefully brewing his potion, and luck seemed to be on his side today. Neville's work had improved drastically—his grades were up, his memory sharper, and partnering with him no longer felt like walking into an explosion.
So far, Harry thought his potion was turning out rather well.
But then Ron leaned over and whispered, "Snape's coming this way," and Harry's stomach dropped.
Sure enough, without even hesitating, the old bat barked out his name.
And just like that, disaster struck.
Startled by Snape's sudden shout, Neville's hands trembled. The 0.5 grams of powdered Charmeleon scale he was supposed to add became nearly 10 grams instead.
The result was immediate.
BOOM!
The unstable potion lost all control. The cauldron exploded, belching a column of thick, black smoke that engulfed Harry and Neville completely.
Fortunately, the potion hadn't reached completion—otherwise, it wouldn't have been smoke but flames shooting across the room.
Still, Harry didn't feel the slightest relief. He knew exactly what would happen next:Snape would blame him, no matter what.
But honestly, wasn't it Snape's fault for scaring Neville in the first place?
The thought made Harry's blood boil.
"I—I'm sorry, Harry, I messed it up again…" Neville muttered, head hung low. Hard to believe this timid boy was once the same one who had fought dark wizards in the Forbidden Forest.
"It's fine," Harry said, forcing calm into his voice.Then he made up his mind—this time, he wasn't going to back down. If Snape was going to take points, so be it.Better to lose them standing tall than cowering.
So he lifted his chin and met Snape's gaze head-on.
"Harry Pot—" Snape began, drawing out the syllables with that same sneer.
He fully intended to humiliate Harry, to take points, maybe a lot of them—because even without Voldemort's shadow, he was still Head of Slytherin, and a little bias toward his house was only natural.
But when his eyes locked on Harry's soot-streaked face, Snape froze.
The black smoke had smudged away every trace of James Potter's irritating grin.All that remained were a pair of brilliant green eyes, shining like gems through the grime.
Lily…
The word echoed in Snape's heart.For a moment, he couldn't speak.
The image of the brave, kind Lily Evans overlapped perfectly with the boy standing before him. The same defiance. The same quiet courage.The same eyes that had once looked at him not with contempt—but compassion.
The classroom fell utterly silent.The contrast was stark: Slytherins waiting eagerly for a show, Gryffindors holding their breath in dread.
Harry was puzzled, but he refused to look away. Instead, he widened his gaze, stubbornly staring Snape down.
"Professor—" Draco called nervously, snapping Snape from his trance. He was impatient to see Potter get scolded.
Snape turned on him with a glare of pure loathing. Then, as though any second longer away from those green eyes was an insult to Lily's memory, he turned back toward Harry.
"What's wrong with him?" Ron muttered to Hermione. "I swear, for a second there I thought he was going to kiss him."
Hermione smacked him on the head with her textbook.
After a few seconds of thick silence, Harry's eyes began to sting from dryness. He couldn't keep staring forever.
"If you're going to take points, then just do it," he said flatly, looking away.
That broke the spell.
Snape blinked once, then his lips twisted.
"Very well—" he said quietly. "So now you dare to speak to me like that?"
He paused dramatically. "Gryffindor—"
A hush fell. Every student leaned forward.
Then Snape's dark eyes glinted, and he said,"Plus five points."
"What?!"
The classroom erupted.Draco's jaw dropped so far it nearly hit the table. He looked more shocked than he had when hearing that the Dark Lord had returned.
Hermione's potion textbook slipped from her hands with a loud thud.Snape had added points… to Gryffindor?And to Harry Potter of all people?
"I knew it," Ron muttered. "I'm dreaming. This explains everything—Voldemort came back, Snape's giving Harry points… what's next, me becoming Minister for Magic?"
"My mistake," Snape said abruptly.
Draco exhaled in relief. "Obviously, Professor just mixed up Potter's face with someone else's—probably mine," he added smugly to Crabbe and Goyle.
But then—
"Not five points," Snape corrected coldly."Fifty."
The room went dead silent again.
Ignoring the gaping faces, Snape stalked over to Draco and said icily,"Malfoy, I expect you to remain quiet in my class, not speak out of turn. Slytherin will lose ten points for your interruption."
That'll teach you for interrupting me, he thought darkly.
Then, turning back toward Harry, he added briskly,"Li—Harry. You'd better get to the hospital wing. The explosion could've injured you."
His tone was full of concern—genuine, unmistakable concern—and every jaw in the room dropped lower.
"I—I'm fine—" Harry stammered.
"Get checked anyway," Snape snapped. "Now go. I'll escort you myself."
And before anyone could react, he swept Harry out of the classroom, cloak billowing like a storm.
The rest of the class sat frozen in stunned silence.Neville, still covered in soot, blinked around in confusion, utterly forgotten.
Who am I? Where am I? Should I… also go to the hospital wing? he wondered weakly.
Ron broke the silence. "Okay, that was insane. Did he take the wrong potion this morning—or is he a fake?"
No one had an answer.
Hermione fumed. "I've answered every question right all term, and he's never given me a single point!"
(End of Chapter)