Chapter 276: Writing a Book About Snape
Chapter 276: Writing a Book About Snape
Snape's unusual behavior continued into the next day, showing no signs of abating. As more people became aware of it, the topic even overshadowed the upcoming Quidditch tryouts, becoming the focal point of everyone's discussions.
Speculations abounded as to the reason behind this change.
"It's a Point Deduction Addiction Syndrome!" proclaimed a second-year Ravenclaw student confidently. "My uncle works at St. Mungo's, and he told me about an elderly professor being treated there who exhibits similar behavior. He finds fulfillment and joy in deducting points, even during his stay at St. Mungo's. He continues the habit and assigns houses to everyone he meets, based on their performance."
Listening intently, the students gathered around, showing more enthusiasm than they typically displayed during Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class. Encouraged by his audience, the young Ravenclaw continued his tale.
"In just two days, my uncle was deducted three hundred points by that professor. That's more than he'd accumulated in seven years at Hogwarts!" he said, eliciting gasps of astonishment from his peers.
"Was that elderly professor also from Hogwarts?" someone asked.
"Of course," the Ravenclaw student affirmed. "A proper Hogwarts professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, no less... He's been residing at St. Mungo's for six years now."
"Six years at St. Mungo's just for liking to deduct points..." A young witch covered her mouth in surprise. "Does that mean Professor Snape might...?"
"You've hit the nail on the head," the Ravenclaw student said gravely. "His deductions from Slytherin are a tell-tale sign that the other three houses are no longer sufficient for him. Poor Professor Snape; at this rate, he'll likely leave Hogwarts within four years."
"I plan to work at St. Mungo's after graduation... I think I'll be just in time to take care of him," he added, his eyes shining with determination, as if caring for Snape were his life's calling.
His words garnered admiration and approval from his peers, fulfilling his sense of mission. However, his happiness was short-lived, as their first class of the day was Potions.
Somehow, Snape had gotten wind of the student's earlier remarks, and by lunchtime, Ravenclaw had lost fifty points. To make matters worse, Snape found excuses to impose a three-day detention on him, tasking him with sorting potion ingredients from the large barrels alongside the third-year students.
The unfortunate Ravenclaw student turned pale and felt his stomach churn just from peering into the barrels. By the time lunch rolled around, he stumbled out of the Potions classroom, his eyes vacant and his face ashen, even knocking over a suit of armor in the corridor.
It's worth mentioning that Ravenclaw shared the Potions class with Slytherin, and unlike their unlucky classmates, the Slytherins not only escaped deductions but also gained a substantial number of points.
The familiar scent of favoritism hung in the air... It seemed Snape had returned to his old ways overnight. Combined with Ravenclaw's "cautionary tale," the Great Hall saw far fewer discussions on the topic during lunchtime.
...
Kyle felt a twinge of disappointment. He had found the students' speculations rather entertaining. Aside from the "point deduction addiction," there were rumors that Snape had been knocked over by a Troffling, or that he had consumed fake or real potions...
The theories were endless and imaginative.
From the previous afternoon up until now, Kyle had tirelessly moved between the tables, recording everything related to Snape. His plan was to fill ten rolls of parchment and then approach Lockhart to help publish a book.
Unfortunately, the little witches and wizards lost their courage...
Kyle only filled three rolls of parchment, which was obviously not enough material for a book.
"What class do we have in the afternoon?" Kyle sighed regretfully and asked casually.
"Dark Arts Defense Against the Dark Arts." Connor looked at the schedule and said, "But you still have Divination and Muggle Studies."
"I'm not going to those classes." Kyle shook his head.
Professor Trelawney's Divination class was nothing more than a test of imagination.
Muggle Studies was similar; he flipped through the textbook twice and it was all basic information. Even Mick could easily get an 'O' in this subject.
Those Muggle-born witches and wizards who wanted to make their transcripts look better would definitely choose this class.
After finishing their meal, the two left the Great Hall and headed towards the common room.
Along the way, they met a small, gray-haired boy.
He stood at the door of the Great Hall with a camera in hand, seemingly waiting for someone.
"Is that him?" Kyle asked in a low voice as he quickened his steps.
Connor nodded calmly.
"Harry Potter giving out autographed photos" was another hot topic, and the instigator was the little boy in front of them.
Yesterday at noon, he had asked Harry for an autographed photo in front of half the people in the Great Hall. With Malfoy's heckling and Lockhart's meddling, they had almost given Harry a depressive episode.
Recently, whenever he went out, there were always people who liked to stir up trouble asking him for autographs.
It was enough to make a kid depressed.
But thinking about it, having such a fanatical admirer following you around all the time would be unbearable for anyone.
Oh, except for Lockhart... he would probably be happy about it.
... But only him.
With this thought, Kyle subconsciously quickened his pace.
When they returned to the common room, a group of fourth-year Hufflepuffs happened to be walking over from the other side.
Cedric was at the front, looking a bit disheveled with mud all over his clothes and a torn robe.
The others looked similar.
"What happened to you guys?" Kyle asked, "Who did you get into a fight with?"
"I'd rather get into a fight with him." Cedric roughly adjusted his robe and said angrily, "We were having Herbology class just now, and right after class, Gilderoy Lockhart suddenly showed up."
"What was he doing in the greenhouse?" Connor asked curiously.
"Teaching Professor Sprout how to trim the excess branches of the Venomous Tentacula!"
Cedric looked a bit annoyed.
"But as soon as he entered the greenhouse, he knocked over a table, and more than ten pots of Jumping Bulb stems fell over."
"Then he actually ran away!" Someone said angrily, "Damn it, he ran away!"
"That's right." Cedric shrugged, "We were helping Professor Sprout until now, trying to catch all the Jumping Bulbs that were running around."
"You've had a hard time." Kyle looked at them sympathetically.
There were quite a few fragile plants in the greenhouse that were sensitive to the external environment, so magic was usually not allowed there.
Cedric and the others must have worked very hard to catch all the Jumping Bulbs... This could be seen from their disheveled appearance.
...
(End of Chapter)
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