The new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Chen, quickly became popular throughout the school, far more than Professor Sigma. After all, Sigma's quirky habits didn't sit well with most students.
This, unsurprisingly, caused Professor Snape to be unusually unfriendly toward Chen for a while, though Snape was always scowling anyway.
As everyone knows, Snape loved dark magic deeply. A prodigy, he began developing his own dark spells while still a student, achieving unprecedented results, the mighty spell "Shadowfang."
Like the Dark Lord before him, Snape was insanely passionate about the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Ignoring some mysterious curses surrounding the post, he threw himself at it like a moth to a flame.
In the series "Why Are There So Few Foreign Professors?" Snape eventually challenged the position in the future and even defeated the headmaster, though he later succumbed to the same mysterious curse.
Allen had wanted to kindly advise this not-so-bad-at-heart professor to stop self-destructing before it was too late. But given their relationship, saying something like that would probably turn his weekend potion classes into an icy hell. Allen was sure Dumbledore would approve this plan.
Well, Allen's many complaints were simply because this was his first potion class of the new semester.
As everyone knew, Allen's half-hearted efforts had successfully turned Snape's attitude toward him from indifferent to openly hostile.
An impressive feat, that meant he would now face the full force of Snape's scorn.
And it started immediately after the roll call.
Snape called Allen's name in his trademark deep, mocking voice, which Allen was convinced was why the Potter gang always gave him trouble, and then added softly, "An impressive character indeed, a hero who defeated a sand golem. If I'm not mistaken, you're supposed to be learning how to run away, handling demolition like this seems doable even for some giants with slow brains."
After roll call, Snape had the young wizards team up and line up at their desks, Allen habitually stuck with his roommate, Marshall.
Unfortunately, Allen underestimated how his low favorability with Snape would backfire.
"All right, Allen, since you're seen as a genius by many, surely you wouldn't mind setting an example? Come on up and show us how to brew this swelling potion."
Not a great task, though the detailed steps were written out, Snape hadn't demonstrated the brewing himself. As for pointers? Allen knew better than to expect those. Snape wouldn't miss an opportunity to mock him otherwise.
As expected, standing alone, Allen received no guidance beyond some key points Snape mentioned, no sarcastic corrections on errors either.
"Potion brewing is a highly specialized science and exact art, I covered this in the first lesson.
However, unlike in first year, when lack of knowledge about herb properties and materials limited us to mere glimpses into this art, I now believe you're experienced enough to handle common potions, not the simple ones even a deaf fool could brew."
It was an upgrade, but Allen wasn't thrilled.
This meant facing much harder challenges than before, without any beginner's help.
Sure, he'd done well in first-year potions, mostly thanks to excellent herbology skills, but for a subject taught by such a harsh professor, not many students could stay highly motivated, except the real overachievers.
Allen had even thought about buying the power of an alchemist to boost his potions knowledge, but neither money nor time allowed him to acquire such a legacy just to avoid class. After all, inheritance had to be mastered over time, not simply handed down.
Looks like more mockery was coming, wait, no?
Allen glanced irritably at the potion formula posted on the board, and felt a strange familiarity.
After double-checking, he confirmed it was a modified version of a recipe he'd seen before, though many steps had changed, the potion's effects and description were identical.
It had appeared in the notebook of a certain "useless" wizard, and Allen had spent his spare time reading the system-verified modifications carefully.
Most importantly, unlike those classic jokes where you remember the question but forget the answer, Allen recalled every step vividly.
Well, dear "useless wizard" who probably became a werewolf, since you gave me that notebook, I'm sure you won't mind me putting it to good use.
Confident, Allen carefully followed the steps from memory.
Proof came quickly, he was truly worthy of his proud potions grades, and Allen could clearly read the answer on Snape's face.
After a volley of mockery, Snape strode to Allen's cauldron to deliver his signature critique.
But to Allen's surprise, there was none.
No botched potion, no typical Snape-style biting comment.
In the cauldron sat a pale purple, crystal-clear potion, the sign of perfect brewing.
After grudgingly awarding Hufflepuff a symbolic point, Allen thought that without Professor Sprout's massive herbal support, even that token point might not have been earned.
Snape then declared the class over.
By noon, the students were buzzing with talk, after all, Snape getting bested like this was a rare sight.
Some even bet that Allen's morning sluggishness lately was due to secret potion review sessions, after all, his performance last year was good but hadn't quite exceeded expectations.
Some students scoffed, potions, like Divination, was mostly about talent, unlike subjects such as History of Magic or Herbology, where hard work could compensate. Some people simply weren't cut out to excel at potions, no matter how hard they tried.
Allen could only say, "Thanks to Merlin's blessing." Normally he'd share notes with friends, but since this was linked to the system, he had to apologize.
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