No one knew why Gryffindor suddenly got points from Snape, just like no one knew why he always picked on Gryffindor.
The ones who couldn't accept this the most were the Slytherin students.
Honestly, it made sense—how could the old professor, who was always as "warm" to Gryffindor as a winter blizzard, suddenly change his ways and start giving Gryffindor points?
Some classmates with a stronger family tradition had already associated it with the Soul-snatching Curse, secretly wondering if Professor Snape had been struck with some kind of Mind Control Spell from Hermione.
This was just too uncanny!
Even by the end of class, the Slytherin students were all in a daze.
Merlin's beard, this was simply terrifying.
"Well done, Hermione," Ron was still talking to Hermione in the Great Hall, "Looks like this plan really works. Look, Professor Snape even gave you points! You're a real genius."
"Thank you for finally acknowledging it," Hermione said proudly, and she also felt that getting twenty points from Snape was nothing short of legendary.
Of course, she had a reason for her pride—even the people in Gryffindor who liked her the least had to grudgingly admit this fact.
Unfortunately, Harry didn't get a permission slip to leave the school.
"I must remind you, Mr. Potter." Snape pronounced Harry's name with a signature Slytherin drawl, "Let's put it this way: I know you possess powers that even Dumbledore and You-Know-Who can't control, but the Snake Monster is not something a young wizard of your age can handle—if the Snake Monster in the castle really went hunting in the Forbidden Forest, I think the unlucky ones would be you and your handful of little giant troublemaker friends."
"Alright, Professor." Harry said, a bit disappointed, and turned away, looking dejected.
Just as he reached the door, he suddenly heard Snape mutter as if talking to himself.
"Perhaps the equipment at Hogwarts really does need repairing. Next Monday night I should take it to Dumbledore's office for some maintenance."
Harry froze for a second but didn't look back.
He caught Professor Snape's hint and left Snape's office.
When he got back to the Great Hall, Hermione and the others immediately crowded around him.
"How'd it go, Harry?" they asked with concern. "What did Professor Snape say?"
"Wait for my signal," Harry said with a grin, "Don't worry, I told you Professor Snape is actually easy to talk to… Anyway, we should get ready. Tomorrow night is when Professor Lockhart opens the Dueling Club."
"Got it, Harry." Ron made an OK sign. "I think I'm doing pretty well right now—at least I should be able to beat either Fred or George…"
"You should be more confident," Fred's voice sounded right by his ear, "my little Ronnie."
"Yeah, I think you should be confident too," George said on the other side, "You should say, 'I can defeat those two copycat idiots Fred and George, piece of cake'."
"You said that, not me, okay," Ron hurried to distance himself, "You two even insult yourselves—isn't that just nuts?"
"Crazy, huh?" George grinned, "At least we're not like our dear baby brother, who spends every day thinking up ways to defeat his older siblings…"
"What do you two know, that's what you call ambition!" Ginny jumped in to save Ron's dignity, "Honestly, Ron, I really hope you can beat these two idiots—if you do, I'll ask Mum to reward you with extra drumsticks."
"Really?" Ron's eyes lit up at once. "Alright, but this time, could I maybe get something else? Like, say, a Flying Broom…"
"Let's wait until you're a Class Prefect to discuss that," Percy cut in from the side. "Look, because I'm a Prefect, Mum bought me an owl… If you can be a Prefect, Mum will definitely grant your wish and buy you a Flying Broom."
"Yeah, then everyone in the family will have been Prefect." Ginny said with a smile.
"Hey, Ginny!" George and Fred chimed in together. "You know, there's no way either of us is ever going to be Prefect!"
"Oh, hello, my darling neighbors," Ginny wrinkled her nose, "I think unless Dumbledore goes completely bonkers, he'd never let you two troublemakers be Prefect—and even if Professor Dumbledore did go mad, I'm pretty sure Professor McGonagall would keep her wits about her."
The twins looked a little wounded after being roasted by their little sister.
But since the two of them never had any shame to speak of, they exchanged a look and burst out laughing, then sat down and said to Harry, "Harry, those ideas you gave us earlier really work. We sold a few little gadgets among the students—they're super popular! In just one month, we've earned two Galleons."
"Two Galleons!" Fred whispered, "You know, even our family vault doesn't have that much money—"
"Yeah, and I don't get why we even have a vault," Ron muttered off to the side, "as if there's actually anything in there worth keeping…"
"But I don't think our family will be poor forever," Percy chimed back in, "I believe our great-grandfather—Gareth Weasley—definitely left some money in Gringotts. I mean… a huge sum."
"Really?" Fred and George asked in unison.
The pair could really use some cash right now; if they could find the treasure their great-grandad left behind, start-up capital would no longer be a problem.