The course schedule for first-year students at Hogwarts is quite relaxed. For example, on Monday, Wade only has two back-to-back Potions classes in the morning.

After breakfast, a group of Ravenclaw freshmen made their way to the underground classroom. As the environment gradually became cold and damp, the students' faces also began to look somewhat pale.

“I heard that Professor Snape, who teaches Potions, is the head of Slytherin House,” Michael, who was walking next to Wade, said to ease the tense atmosphere. “Did you notice him last night during the sorting? He’s that teacher with black hair and a hooked nose.”

“Of course,” Padma replied. “I have to say, we better not provoke him.”

In silence, they arrived at the Potions classroom, where rows of glass jars filled with various animal specimens were displayed on the cabinets against the wall. Some timid children looked at them as if they were about to cry and nervously sat as far away from the specimens as possible. Wade chose a corner seat—he wasn’t afraid of the dead specimens, but worried that a mistake by some classmates might affect him.

Before long, groups of Hufflepuff students arrived, their reactions similar to those of the Ravenclaw freshmen. However, the earlier-arriving Ravenclaws had occupied the prime spots, forcing the Hufflepuff students to spread out to the edges.

There were now two Hufflepuff students near Wade’s previously empty corner.

“Hello, I’m Theo, Theo Mancini. This is Ryan Carlo,” the brown-haired Hufflepuff boy greeted Wade first. “May I ask who you are?”

“Wade Gray.”

“Wade?” Theo Mancini asked curiously. “Do you know who our professor is—”

The blonde boy named Ryan suddenly interrupted, “Theo, don’t talk. The professor is here.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the door to the classroom was slammed open, and a man in a black wizarding robe strode in. His expression was cold, and he exuded an intimidating aura, causing many students to instinctively shrink back, leaving the classroom silent.

Snape scanned the classroom and took out the attendance sheet to start calling names. Seeing that no one was late for the first class, his expression finally softened a bit.

“Potions is a very precise subject—” Snape said in a voice that seemed almost like a whisper, “It requires strict procedures and precise ratios. If anyone alters the potion recipe without permission, or carelessly adds or removes ingredients, or foolishly waves their wand in an attempt to cover up a mistake—”

His cold gaze swept over the silent freshmen, focusing particularly on those wearing yellow and black striped ties, the Hufflepuff students—

“I will make them fully aware of the terrible consequences that erroneous potions can bring.”

Theo nervously swallowed, as if Snape's words were directed at him. Wade suddenly felt something was off—he had chosen a corner seat to avoid distraction, but it seemed like he was sitting next to a landmine.

Snape, as if he had a radar installed on his head, immediately detected a certain apprehension from Theo. Without looking at the attendance sheet, he called out, “Theo Mancini!”

“Yes!” Theo hurriedly stood up, almost knocking over the cauldron. “Yes, professor.”

“How do you handle the slugs when brewing the Scabious Potion?” Snape asked.

Seven or eight arms shot up in the classroom, most of them belonging to Ravenclaw students.

The good news—Snape wasn’t deliberately making it difficult for the students; the question was directly from the first chapter of the textbook.

The bad news—Theo hadn’t prepared the textbook in advance.

The boy trembled as he replied, “I—I don’t know, sir.”

“Sit down!” Snape said coldly. “No advance preparation, Hufflepuff loses one point. Wade Gray!”

He casually pointed at the Ravenclaw sitting next to Theo.

Wade immediately stood up. “Boil for five minutes, sir.”

“Correct.” Snape nodded but didn’t award any points to Ravenclaw. Instead, he immediately posed another question: “Michael Conner, what is the function of nettle?”

“It can—can treat inflammation, hair loss—and it can stop bleeding,” Michael stammered.

“Good.” Snape nodded and gestured for him to sit down, then asked, “Hannah Abbot? When should the hedgehog spines be added?”

The blonde girl stood up with tears in her eyes, as if she would burst into tears the moment Snape said another word.

Snape averted his gaze and called out another name, “Ryan Carlo?”

Ryan had quickly flipped through the book when the questioning began, and this question had been specifically emphasized in the text.

“—After turning off the heat, professor,” Ryan said as steadily as he could.

Snape glanced down at his open textbook: “I hope you can put knowledge in your head in advance, rather than cramming during class and praying for Merlin's favor!”

As Ryan sat down, his mouth was still tightly pressed, and Theo comfortingly patted his arm.

In this class, Snape wasn’t targeting any one person—he was targeting everyone. The storm of questions served as a harsh warning to all, and by the time he formally started the lesson, Hufflepuff had lost thirteen points, while Ravenclaw lost five.

In the ensuing silence, Snape began to instruct everyone on how to brew the Scabious Potion. He paired everyone up according to their seats, then waved his wand to list the detailed steps on the blackboard. Everyone hurriedly took notes. Wade noticed that the content on the blackboard had some slight adjustments compared to the steps in the textbook—if they followed the book exactly, they might not produce results that would satisfy this professor.

“Sorry,” Theo, who was paired with Wade, whispered, “I didn’t prepare the text in advance, but I will do my best not to hold you back.”

His amber eyes were very sincere, and Wade’s initial frustration at being paired with a “slacker” began to fade.

“It’s nothing,” Wade replied. “Brewing the Scabious Potion is quite simple; as long as we follow the steps, it should be fine.”

Theo responded and put on protective dragon-hide gloves, then ground the snake fangs into powder in the mortar. Meanwhile, Wade disdainfully picked up four slugs with tweezers and put them into the cauldron to cook, carefully controlling the heat with his wand.

A few minutes later, Wade removed the changed color slugs and set them aside for later use, changed the water, and reheated it while reviewing the brewing steps. Next to him, Theo had already finished processing the snake fang powder and was now chopping dry nettle.

Wade was somewhat surprised to find that this Hufflepuff student, although he looked a bit clumsy, was very meticulous. The processed powder was delicate and uniform, with no rough particles or impurities.

Perhaps this partner isn’t so bad after all.

Wade thought.