Harry looked concerned as he watched Adrian continue feeding Bertie Bott's beans to Scabbers. "Adrian, if you keep feeding him like this, Scabbers is going to get sick."
Hearing Harry's comment, Hermione, who had been about to ask more questions about Adrian's sudden improvement in Transfiguration, turned her attention to the rat perched on Ron's shoulder.
The mouse, which had originally been skinny with matted fur, had definitely changed appearance. After his frantic dash around the dormitory, Ron had cleaned him up with a brush, and after several days of extra feeding, Scabbers was noticeably plumper.
"What's wrong with it? This is a normal amount of food," Adrian insisted, offering another colorful bean to Scabbers. "He was hungry and thin before, so he needed extra meals."
"Besides, this is my way of apologizing," Adrian added with a slight smile.
Scabbers showed absolutely no gratitude for this explanation. He glared at Adrian irritably, using his tiny paw to push Adrian's hand away with obvious annoyance.
When Scabbers realized his small paws weren't strong enough to resist Adrian's persistence, he reluctantly took a bite of the offered bean.
After all, no matter how angry he was, he still had to eat, right? He couldn't fight back anyway...
Actually, if he was honest, the beans tasted pretty good once you got past the occasional disgusting flavor...
Noticing the weakening resistance, Adrian couldn't help but think that Peter Pettigrew had certainly learned to adapt over the years. Nothing else seemed to work for him, but his survival instinct was impressive.
The rat had been terrified by his worst nightmare just a few nights ago, and after only one night, he was back to enjoying his meals.
Even though the chase had only been in a dream...
This probably meant that Peter didn pettigrew didn't recognize the dark magic of Mortificus. He likely just thought Adrian had used some spell to give him a nightmare.
After all, Adrian was just a first-year student with no reason to know what had happened eleven years ago, let alone know that Sirius's Animagus form was a black dog.
"What if he gets too fat?" Ron asked with some concern, watching Adrian's continued attention to his pet.
"It's fine, you won't need to use Scabbers to send letters, so he can afford to be a bit lazy," Adrian replied casually.
Adrian thought to himself that Voldemort's resurrection plan wouldn't have been nearly so easy to execute if it weren't for Peter Pettigrew's help.
When the time came, if he managed to feed Scabbers into a round ball, Adrian wanted to see whether the rat could still run when chased by Crookshanks and Sirius.
The group continued chatting as they made their way toward the dungeons where Potions class was held.
When they walked into the classroom, Harry and Ron immediately believed every rumor they'd heard about Snape being a dark wizard.
The classroom wasn't large, but the atmosphere was definitely dark and intimidating. Glass bottles lined the walls, filled with blue-green liquids, and some contained what looked like preserved animal specimens floating inside.
The fact that the classroom was built underground didn't help. If this weren't Hogwarts, Adrian would have assumed it was some dark wizard's secret laboratory.
"Find seats quickly, we need to be careful in this class," Ron whispered nervously.
Ron no longer doubted anything George and Fred had told him about Snape, and he quickly guided Adrian, Harry, and Hermione to their seats, hoping to avoid giving the professor any reason to deduct points.
However, Adrian knew that Snape would find excuses to target them regardless of how well they behaved in class.
Bang!
After the students from both houses had taken their seats, the heavy door was suddenly pushed open, and the sound of wood hitting stone echoed through the classroom.
A thin figure walked through the doorway, his sallow skin barely visible beneath a long black cloak. His cold eyes swept across the young wizards, pausing only briefly when they touched Harry's face. His hooked nose made him look like a giant human-shaped bat.
Snape walked to the front of the classroom, waving his wand with his right hand. The curtains around the windows automatically pulled closed. Without sunlight streaming into the basement, the room immediately became much darker.
When the light dimmed, Adrian clearly noticed that Snape's tense expression relaxed slightly.
After finishing this dramatic entrance, the Potions master looked around at the young wizards who had been subdued by his intimidating presence while taking attendance.
"I will call your names. I expect no one to be absent from my class," Snape announced.
His low voice began to echo through the classroom, and even the most troublesome students fell silent. Only Draco Malfoy and his Slytherin friends dared to smirk.
"Neville Longbottom."
"Adrian Blackwood."
"Harry Potter..."
Snape's flat tone changed slightly when he spoke Harry's name.
"Ah, yes," Snape said with a completely expressionless face, though there seemed to be a hint of mockery in his words. "Our new celebrity."
All the students turned to look at Harry when they heard this, and Draco and his followers snickered openly.
Being singled out made Harry uncomfortable, but he had no idea this was just the beginning.
Snape turned his attention away from Harry and addressed the entire class.
"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began, his voice barely above a whisper.
"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses..."
Snape paused, then continued with an almost hypnotic quality to his voice.
"I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death, if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
More silence followed this speech.
"Potter!" Snape said suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
Harry looked completely lost. What was asphodel? What was wormwood?
Harry glanced at Ron for help, but Ron looked just as confused. Hermione raised her hand high, but Snape completely ignored her.
Adrian was sitting too far away to help much, and could only mouth the words "Draught of Living Death" silently.
Harry was desperate, but Snape's intimidating stare made him afraid to look in Adrian's direction. He couldn't make out what Adrian was trying to tell him. After a long pause, he could only manage a few words with difficulty.
"I don't know, sir."
Adrian rubbed his forehead with his hand in frustration. He had tried his best to help.
It wouldn't have mattered even if he'd told Harry the answer in advance, unless Harry could memorize entire potions textbooks. Snape would always find a way to target him.