Slytherin in the first grade and Gryffindor in the second grade had zero overlap. But Joe wasn't in a hurry. To negotiate a good price, you have to do it at the right time.
"Mild, this is the African Tree Snake Skin you asked for. It was stolen from Professor Slughorn's office with great difficulty. Where's the Luck Talisman I asked for?" A black-haired girl pulled Joe to a corner and asked in a low voice.
Joe checked what Katie Brown had given her and satisfactorily nodded. Then, she slowly took out a colorful silk knot from her pocket. At the end of the knot was a snap button that could be tied to her wrist. If she looked carefully, one of the strands of rope shone with silver light.
Katie quickly grabbed the knot and admired it excitedly. Her big eyes were filled with a satisfied smile. "Good luck with your transformation class, Katie," whispered Joe. Katie looked at Joe vigilantly, put the talisman back in her pocket and warned him, "We done. Don't tell anyone about the talisman I bought from you." Joe nodded obediently.
Katie left complacently, rejoicing that her transformation class would not be a mess. Joe stood there and blinked. She seemed to have seen a black figure flash past the side stairs. In Potions class, Joe's performance didn't lose the usual Gryffindor level-it was a mess.
Stir three times clockwise every ten minutes. Drop three drops of sweet rosin. Repeat four times. Wait until the potion turns pale gray. The smell is …
Bang!
'"Well, Gryffindor loss two points, dear Miss Mead, successfully blew up the crucible again." Professor Slughorn walked over quickly with a round belly, but the expression on his face indicated that he was no longer surprised.
Professor Slughorn blinked at Joe, who nodded obediently and sincerely said that she would clean up soon. "I hope you can tidy up this place after class, Miss Mead. The lovely freshman will also use this classroom."
A few Slytherin girls laughed mockingly, "Joe Mead, who specializes in making curses for others, why don't you make two for yourself to bless your poor potion score? Or are you saying that you didn't take a good look at the crystal ball before you went out today to make sure your crucible won't explode?" It was a blonde girl, Narcissa Black, who Joe knew was probably related to the lazy boy on the train. Joe ignored her and cast a cleaning spell to clean her robe.
"Let's go, Narcissa. Senior Malfoy is waiting for you," said another Slytherin girl to Narcissa. Hearing Malfoy's name, the blonde beauty's face turned red. She glanced at Joe arrogantly and left the classroom with graceful steps.
Jo shook her head regretfully. It seemed that she would not be able to do business with the wealthy Black Clan's little beauty in a short period of time. In the empty cellar, Joe waved her wand as she muttered, "Joe Mead, you need a potion tutor, the forever correct theory and the forever disastrous manipulation."
The ground was instantly restored to its original state because of the explosion of the crucible. Then she left the cellar with a brisk pace.
At dinner, Joe saw the red-haired, blue-eyed beauty at the long table in Gryffindor. Joe had remembered her name, Lily Evans, crossing her arms and pointing the back of her head at James Potter, who was trying to talk to her. On James' right, Sirius Black and the two boys were smiling as they watched the scene. It seems that the two boys should be their new friends.
Joe withdrew her gaze and noticed a girl with light golden hair and blue eyes smiling at her at Ravenclaw's dining table. Joe nodded.
"Joe, you blew up another crucible in Potions class?" The beautiful Cynthia Hayvera asked jokingly in Hogwarts' garden with strange flowers and grasses.
Joe nodded, her fair face flushed with shame. "Forget it, Professor Slughorn won't mind anyway, even if your magic potion results are terrible." Cynthia cut her hair and her slender fingers gently scratched her ears. Joe lowered her head, as if she was counting the stones on the ground.
"He has always been tolerant of outstanding students. Your excellent results in magic spells and reputation amongst students are enough for him to pay attention to," Cynthia said on her own. "Cynthia, my transformation technique is not bad either," Joe argued softly.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, your Dean McGonagall's transformation class. This morning, when that fatty girl from Hitchpack tried to turn a teacup into a coaster, she successfully exploded it into pieces." Cynthia said bitterly, '"That Alice is so dumb. I wonder what she's been up to lately. She even made a lot of mistakes in herbalism and was left behind by Professor Sprout to work for free."
Joe secretly pursed her lips and smiled. "It seems that Professor Slughorn is not interested in most of Hufflepuff's students. Hmm … Actually, I can't say that. Hufflepuff, who is good at herbalism, can still bring him a lot of benefits," Cynthia said sharply.
The two of them walked slowly along the path. In front of them was Professor Sprout's herbal garden. The two girls looked at each other, turned their heads, and walked back.
"How is your business recently?"
Joe nodded. "Not bad, just those little things."
"You can choose to study divination and arithmetic divination when you reach the third grade. I'm sure those two professors will like you very much."
Joe thought for a moment, then answered seriously, "Arithmetic divination seems to be quite interesting. Forget about divination lessons, I'm not good at using tarot cards." She took out a deck of the most ordinary poker cards from her pocket and smiled at Cynthia, "Do you want to have try?"
Cynthia took a step back and said, "No, I cannot pay for you." "It's free," said Joe sincerely. Cynthia waved her hand, "Forget it, Joe, who doesn't know that it's bad luck to do business with the Mead family without paying them?" "Alright," Joe put away the cards regretfully.
"Oh, no" Cynthia suddenly sighed and covered her face with her hand, turning her head to the side. Joe looked forward doubtfully and saw a red-haired girl chasing after a black-haired boy. Joe narrowed her eyes. The black-haired boy was Severus Snape. He was very recognizable, with greasy black hair, a big nose on his waxy yellow face, a thin body wearing a worn-out second-hand school uniform, slightly hunchbacked, walking fast and alone. Apart from that Lily Evans, she didn't see him being particularly close to anyone even Slytherin.
Thinking about it, Slytherin advocated pure bloodline. Even if a few mixed bloodlines entered the snake house, they would still be discriminated against and rejected. This Snape must be one of them.
However, the little witch following behind him today was not the beautiful Gryffindor beauty Lily, but a girl that Joe had never seen before. She also had a head of red hair, and her eyes were emerald green as if they could drip water. At first glance, she looked somewhat similar to Lily.
"Severus, can we go to the library together? I'm very interested in potions. And before I came to Hogwarts, I studied a lot of chemistry and medicine in the Muggle World. I'm sure I can …"
'"Go away, Miss Sue," Snape said with a cold face, "I don't think we're familiar with the extent to which you can address me by my sect name."
"Hum, aren't we familiar with each other just by getting in touch with each other? Furthermore, Severus, I told you last time that you could call me Mary …" Snape frowned and tightened his jaw in disgust. Joe had no doubt that if it weren't for the school rules, the black-haired boy would have immediately pulled out his wand and cast a few curses on the self-righteous girl.
"That Mary Sue" Cynthia whispered in Joe's ear, "I really don't want to admit it, but she's a freshman at Ravenclaw. I've seen her pester boys more than once." Joe looked at Cynthia curiously. From what she said, it seemed that Snape was not the only one who Little Ravenclaw was entangling with?
"Your Gryffindor Potter, Black, and the boy who always looks like a good boy with those two kids, but that's nothing." Cynthia waved her hand and seemed embarrassed as she said, "She even went to chat up Lucius Malfoy in front of Narcissa. She's crazy."
Joe couldn't help but laugh. Narcissa was not a freshman. If she dared to provoke her, Miss Mary would have a hard time. Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Black's fiance, was her weakness. Besides, where did this little girl get the confidence that these boys would like her?
"Severus!" a little girl walked over from the other direction. She saw Snape with a girl and tilted her head strangely. "Lily." Snape was nervous when Lily Evans saw him with Mary Sue. He hurriedly shook off the girl who was pestering him and walked towards Lily.
The disgusted Miss Mary looked at Lily with hostile eyes. "I didn't wait for you at the library. I thought Potter and the others were looking for trouble with you again," Lily explained to Snape, puzzled by Mary's rejection.
Before Snape could say anything, Mary said, "James and the others are looking for trouble with Severus. Isn't it all because of you, you troublemaker. If you want Severus to live a peaceful life, you'd better stay away from him."
Lily frowned angrily when she heard this. Snape's expression immediately changed. His face twisted and he pulled out his wand and shouted to Mary, "Petrified!" "Miss Mary better manage her own affairs. You don't need to worry about Seaver and me," Lily said coldly to Mary, who couldn't move.
"I think Miss Su's brain is like a slug's. She might think that meddling is a noble act and doesn't realize how stupid she is," Snape mocked mercilessly. Joe raised her eyebrows. It was indeed Slytherin, like a venomous snake that could spit venom.
Cynthia muttered, "Your mouth is too poisonous …" When Lily and Snape finished teaching Mary a lesson and were about to leave, they found Joe and Cynthia watching the show. Lily noticed the color of Cynthia's collar and pursed her lips. She seemed to be worried that Ravenclaw's senior sister would take revenge on her and Snape for casting a spell on Mary.
Snape, on the other hand, leaned over and stood in front of Lily.
Joe didn't think Cynthia knew more incantations than Snape, even though Cynthia was in second grade and the black-haired boy was only a first-year student.
Although Joe knew that Cynthia wouldn't care about the grudge against Miss Mary Sue, she still tugged at Cynthia's sleeve and said, "Did you bring me the Nordic Potion Summary I asked you for on vacation?" "Of course I did. It's in the dormitory. Come with me to the Ravenclaw Tower. I'll give it to you." Cynthia grinned.
"In return, let me show you what will happen next month."
"Alright, let's see if I get cervical spondylosis because of Professor Sinista."
The two of them walked farther and farther. When they reached the corner, Joe turned around and waved her wand at Mary. Then Miss Mary ran away crying.
"Seaver, am I really causing you trouble?" The little red-haired loli remembered Mary's words and asked guiltily. "It has nothing to do with you, Lily. We're not meant to be together," Snape said helplessly.
"I really hate those arrogant people. They cause trouble all day long, Seaver. Today, they provoked Filch again and deducted ten points for Gryffindor …" Little Loli's emotions came and went quickly. She complaining about Gryffindor looters and pulling the black-haired boy to the library.