Chapter 253 Anomalous Snape
When it came to moderation, Evan was not qualified to speak about Hermione.
In addition to his regular school schedule, he also had a multitude of tasks to attend to.
Every afternoon when there were no classes, he headed to the Room of Requirement to brew potions. In the evenings, he reviewed and compiled newspaper articles with Hermione in the library. After returning to the Common Room, he completed assignments given by the professors with Colin and Ginny. Late at night, he quietly studied dark magic books in his room.
Time simply was not enough, and Evan felt he needed a Time-Turner to make his schedule more flexible and endure all that he was doing.
Upon seeing Hermione's thick magic books and scrolls, Evan planned to brew some potions to help her focus and enhance her attention.
In summary, after the holidays, he returned to his familiar and hectic school life.
Early the next morning, as Evan and Colin entered the Great Hall for breakfast, they saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione seated at the table discussing their new schedule.
"After Professor Lupin's departure, there are new changes in this semester's schedule," said Ron, looking at the schedule with delight. "It's fantastic. In the third class today, we only have Defense Against the Dark Arts with Sirius!"
"This is Sirius' first lesson. The only annoying thing is that he has to work with the Slytherins," remarked Harry as he helped himself to sausages and tomatoes.
"What do you think he has prepared for us?" inquired Ron eagerly.
"I don't know, but I hope Sirius' first lesson goes well. If Malfoy dares to cause trouble in class, I won't let him get away with it."
"Calm down, Harry! Sirius isn't Hagrid; he won't let Malfoy cause trouble. I hope Malfoy does cause trouble, so we can see how Sirius handles it," said Ron as he spread a thick layer of butter on his bread.
"The third class is lucky! The second class has Potions this morning and History of Magic in the afternoon. We won't have Defense Against the Dark Arts until Thursday," expressed Colin disappointingly as he pulled out the schedule he had just received.
"Damn, I already saw Snape on the first day of class!" Ron wrinkled his nose, recalling something unpleasant.
Remembering Snape's face as he left yesterday, Evan nodded in agreement.
"By the way, Evan!" Harry looked up and said, "Hagrid just sent me a note inviting us to his cabin this afternoon for tea and to help him figure out what he'll need for the new semester."
"I'll be there. What do you think Hagrid has prepared?" replied Evan as he took a bite of his bread.
"Probably some other kind of caterpillars. After all the flobberworms died, he needs something new for the course," said Harry uncertainly, a hint of concern in his voice. "Didn't he promise not to rush in bringing new dangerous creatures until Buckbeak's case verdict is out?"
"That's what he said, but the issue is that Hagrid's definition of danger is different from others'," remarked Ron as he stuffed a large piece of jam-covered bread into his mouth. "Those fangs monsters might just be adorable babies in his eyes."
"That's why we need to help him choose the right creatures," exclaimed Hermione as she tucked a thick magic book into her backpack. "I'm off. See you later."
"What's up with Hermione? I just saw her schedule. Unlike us, she had three classes this morning," Ron frowned watching Hermione's retreating back. "That's what happened last semester. There was something wrong with her schedule. I don't understand. She must be hiding something from us..."
Upon Ron's words, both Evan and Harry lowered their heads hastily. They knew why, but they pledged to keep Hermione's Time-Turner secret.
Ron kept murmuring until Harry mentioned that when they visit Hagrid this afternoon, he could take out the Firebolt to try it out and let Ron ride it. So, he completely forgot about Hermione's secret.
Twenty minutes later, the corridor began to empty as people headed to their first class.
Evan was separated from the cheerful Harry and Ron, and followed the frustrated Colin to the underground classroom. It was better not to be late, as it was the Potions class.
They pushed the door open and saw Snape standing grimly on the platform.
"Mason, Creevey, you two are late, this class started five minutes ago!" Snape looked at both of them disapprovingly. "Ten points from Gryffindor. Now hurry to your seats and sit down."
"But, Professor..."
"Five more points from Gryffindor," Snape said coldly, "Do not ask questions before I allow it."
Evan and Colin did not argue further with him. They saw Ginny wink at them and hastened to their respective seats.
As they sat down, Colin whispered, "He doesn't know what he's doing. There are still ten minutes left before the class starts!"
"Let's be careful; Snape is in a bad mood today."
As Evan remarked, Snape's attitude was a hundred times worse than usual.
For students not from Slytherin house, that day's Potions class was a painful torment.
Snape first commented on holiday assignments one by one in a bitter and acrimonious tone. In his view, they were useless, even for first-year students. He directly docked many points and demanded they submit a new essay on moonstone next week.
He then paired them all up and ordered them to prepare a simple potion to cure boils together.
He strolled in his long black cloak, observing them weigh dry nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone.
There were several girls from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff who even cried because of Snape's attitude.
Under Snape's supervision, no one but Evan could successfully complete their own potion. Therefore, Snape deducted many points from everyone. Gryffindor was the most affected. At the end of Potions class, Gryffindor lost two hundred more points.
"I really don't understand, what is he exactly trying to achieve?"
At lunch in the Great Hall, Ginny complained to Evan, "Is he trying to scare all the girls and make them cry?"
"I was about to cry. If Evan hadn't reminded me not to add hedgehog spikes to the boiling water, the cauldron would have definitely exploded!" said Colin with lingering fear.
"Yes, Evan got twenty points deducted," said Ginny sharply, "because he successfully prevented his partner's cauldron from exploding."
Evan did not engage in their conversation. Snape was truly very abnormal today, and that must be related to Sirius.
What could have happened between them the night before?!
With Evan's understanding of Sirius, he might be eager to play a trick against Snape and achieve a small victory.
It was not clear what the outcome would be, but Snape seemed to have transferred all his hatred towards Sirius to the Gryffindor students.
His behavior this morning was extremely abnormal, and his attitude was worse than usual following Neville's previous incident. Normally, he would only treat Harry like that.
When Evan entered the Great Hall, he found the atmosphere as abnormal as Snape's.