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N/B: Yoy!! Guys Don't forget to check my other works : [ Shadow Monarch Ă— One Piece].
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Third POV:
The room fell into a dead, suffocating silence the moment Professor Snape's voice, cold and precise, sliced through the air like a blade.
"Today," he began, his words dragging out like a hiss through the damp dungeon, each syllable weighted with intent, > "you will learn about Veritaserum — the Truth Serum."
A palpable ripple of surprise and apprehension shot through the class. Students whispered frantically to each other, their eyes widening as though they had been suddenly, violently stripped of every secret they had ever tried to hide. Even Malfoy, who usually sat with a permanent smirk of arrogant confidence, shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his pale fingers tightening around the edge of his desk. Neville Longbottom, several rows ahead, looked like he might faint on the spot, his face ashen as he undoubtedly imagined Snape forcing him to confess his deepest, most embarrassing shames in front of everyone.
Snape's dark eyes swept the classroom like twin knives, missing nothing, his gaze resting particularly long and heavy on Adam, a silent challenge. Then he turned sharply on his heel, his black cloak snapping behind him like the wings of a great bat, and began speaking again, his voice dropping into a more intimate, yet more threatening, register.
"The theoretical knowledge of this potion is more dangerous than its actual brewing. If used correctly, it can peel away lies like skin from bone, leaving the raw, naked truth exposed. If brewed incorrectly—" his voice sank into a low, gravelly whisper that seemed to crawl across the stone floor, > "—you could poison the victim and never hear the truth at all, only their dying rattle."
The room grew stiller than a tomb, the only sound the frantic scratching of quills as students hurried to note down his every word.
Snape tapped the blackboard with a sharp flick of his wand, and words appeared in jagged, elegant writing, listing out points for discussion. Then, with his usual, practiced venom, he began firing questions at the class, his eyes scanning for weakness.
---
Theoretical Questions
1. "What is the primary base ingredient of Veritaserum?"
1. "How many days must it simmer before it gains potency?"
1. "What effect does moonlight on the third night have on its consistency?"
1. "Name the wizard who first documented the effects of Veritaserum."
1. "What herb stabilizes the serum against magical resistance?"
1. "What color must the potion turn before it is considered usable?"
1. "Which Ministry of Magic regulation strictly prohibits its casual use?"
1. "How long does the effect last when administered to a healthy adult?"
1. "Why is a phoenix feather considered dangerous to add to this brew?"
1. "What is the counteragent that can delay Veritaserum's effect for a few seconds?"
---
Hands shot up — well, not hands. Only two hands broke the sea of bowed heads and fearful silence. Hermione Granger's, thrust high into the air and vibrating with barely contained eagerness, and Adam's, raised with a calm, unnerving confidence. Everyone else just looked lost, shifting awkwardly in their chairs, trying to become one with the stone.
Snape sneered, a slow, unpleasant twisting of his thin lips.
"Pathetic. The entire room, silent before the basics. Let us examine this embarrassment."
He spun toward Harry, his gaze predatory.
"Potter, you look as though you swallowed a Quaffle. Tell me — what herb stabilizes Veritaserum?"
Harry stammered, shifting under the weight of the entire class's attention. > "Er—well, maybe… er—"
"Wrong," Snape snapped instantly, the word like a whip crack. > "I suppose you were too busy practicing to fall off your broom again to bother with reading."
A wave of nervous chuckles swept through the class.
Then Snape turned his pitiless gaze on Ron. > "Weasley. Enlighten us. Unless, of course, thinking is still too much of a burden for your… limited capacity."
Ron went a brilliant, furious red. > "Oi! That's—"
"Silence," Snape cut him off, his voice dripping with contempt. > "You couldn't identify water in a glass if it were labeled for you."
The students snickered louder now, though some hid their smiles behind their hands or textbooks.
Snape's eyes, like black pits, narrowed on a trembling Neville. > "Longbottom. If you add moonstone powder on the wrong night, what happens?"
Neville's mouth opened and closed soundlessly, like a fish out of water.
"Explosion," Snape hissed, the word sibilant and cruel. > "I do hope you enjoy having your eyebrows blown off again. At least this time you'll match your brain — nonexistent."
The dungeon erupted in poorly suppressed laughter.
He even shot a swift, cutting glare at Malfoy, who flinched. > "And you, Mr. Malfoy — stop looking so insufferably smug. You are marginally less idiotic than the rest, but still light-years away from actual competence."
Malfoy froze, his customary smirk dying instantly, replaced by a look of stunned offence.
Only then did Snape finally deign to turn his attention to the two raised hands. His lips curled with deep sarcasm.
"Well. Granger and… Sainz. The class's self-proclaimed scholars. How charming."
---
System Notification (Adam's Cheat)
Ding!
[System Activated: Knowledge Scan]
[Target: Veritaserum]
[Information Retrieved: Full theoretical structure, historical usage, brewing steps, counteragents, Ministry restrictions.]
[Note: 99.8% chance of answering correctly.]
---
"Granger," Snape drawled, making her name sound like an insult, > "since you're practically bursting to enlighten us with your… voluminous notes, answer question four."
Hermione straightened, her tone sharp and clear with absolute confidence. > "It was discovered and documented by the wizard Livius Borage, sir, in the fifteenth century. He perfected the technique after nearly losing his own magic to an unstable batch—"
"Yes, yes, spare us your entire encyclopedia recital," Snape interrupted, waving a dismissive hand before she could finish her well-rehearsed addendum.
Then he turned to Adam, his expression unreadable. > "And you. The new… prodigy. Answer question ten."
Adam leaned back slightly in his chair, his voice calm and measured, as if he were discussing the weather. > "The counteragent is basilisk root extract, prepared in a highly diluted form. It doesn't cancel Veritaserum — only delays its effect for a few crucial seconds, long enough for a trained victim to attempt some form of mental resistance or occlumency."
The students gasped softly. Hermione glanced at him, her eyes wide with genuine surprise; he sounded like someone who had studied advanced magical law and potion theory for years, not a new transfer.
Snape's eyes narrowed to slits.
"Well. It seems two minds have actually bothered to function today. But—" his voice sharpened to a point, > "let us see how far that intellect truly goes."
---
Snape posed a new question, deliberately complex and philosophical:
"Why is Veritaserum forbidden in most wizarding courts, despite its undeniable effectiveness?"
Both Hermione and Adam's hands shot up again, almost in unison.
Snape sneered, a flicker of something akin to amusement in his dark eyes. > "Fight for it, then. Let us see which of you deserves to waste my time."
Hermione launched in immediately, her tone rapid-fire, textbook-perfect, and confident. > "Because truth extracted under magical duress is ethically compromised, Professor. Even if the serum works perfectly, the context of forcing someone to speak removes their free will and invalidates the testimony. The Wizengamot banned its use except under extreme, Ministry-sanctioned circumstances for this very reason."
Adam leaned forward, his voice sharper, braver, carrying a clever, cynical edge that cut through her textbook answer. > "That's the official reason on parchment. But in practice, the real reason is systemic political corruption. If Veritaserum were used freely in courts, half the Ministry's upper ranks and their pure-blood allies would collapse under the weight of their own lies. They claim it's 'ethics'—I say it's pure, unadulterated protection of the status quo."
The classroom froze. You could have heard a pin drop. Hermione shot him a furious glare, her cheeks flushing.
"That's outrageous! You can't just dismiss centuries of legal precedent and ethical debate with baseless cynicism!"
"And you can't pretend the law isn't rotten beneath its polished surface," Adam countered smoothly, not raising his voice but somehow dominating the space. > "If you really think it's just about morals, then you're willingly ignoring the very corruption your precious books don't bother to mention."
Their voices rose, colliding in the still dungeon air like fire and steel. Hermione's confidence rang out like a blade of flawless logic; Adam's bravery and sharp. The class leaned forward, jaws dropping — Harry and Ron included — utterly captivated as the two rivals completely forgot Snape was even there, locked in their own intense, ideological duel.
Finally, Snape's voice cracked the tension like a thunderclap.
"ENOUGH!"
The room shuddered back into a terrified silence.
His black eyes flashed with dark, genuine amusement.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor. Twenty points from Slytherin. And detention for both of you. Tonight."
Hermione's jaw dropped open in utter disbelief. > "But—Professor! We were participating! We knew the answers!"
"Silence," Snape said, his aura chilling the room by several degrees. > "Both of you are wrong. Arrogantly, completely wrong."
The words hung heavy and final in the air.
---
Snape swept back to the front of the classroom and began explaining, his cloak billowing dramatically as he spoke.
"Veritaserum is not truly about morality, nor is it merely about political corruption, though both play their small parts. The truth, children, is that truth itself is the most dangerous element of all. A potion that strips it away can be the most destructive weapon in existence. People lie not only to deceive others, but to protect themselves, their families, their very sanity. Imagine — every secret, every shameful thought, every private fear, ripped bare for all to see. That is why it is forbidden. That is why you are not trusted with it."
His voice slithered across the dungeon like cold smoke. No one dared interrupt. Not even a seething Hermione. Not even a thoughtful Adam. For the rest of the thirty minutes, they kept their heads down, avoiding each other's gaze, their earlier fire reduced to a smoldering, silent ember.
At last, Snape snapped his textbook shut with a sound that made everyone jump.
"Class dismissed. Research more on Veritaserum before the next session. We will begin the practical part then."
Chairs screeched violently against the stone floor as students scrambled to pack their things and flee.
---
Adam and Hermione hesitated near their desks, then slowly, reluctantly approached Snape's desk at the front. His dark eyes studied them with a rare, faint flicker of something that might have been approval.
"You two… show promise. Arrogant, misguided, irritating promise. Ten points to Gryffindor. Ten points to Slytherin."
Hermione blinked, utterly confused by the whiplash of points lost and gained. Adam only smirked, understanding the game.
Then Snape's expression hardened back into its usual granite mask.
"Your punishments remain. Adam — you will accompany Hagrid into the Dark Forest tonight. If you survive, perhaps you will learn something about real danger. Granger—" his lips twisted into a cruelly satisfied smile, > "you will clean the entire Potions storage cupboard without magic. Every vial, every shelf, every stained cauldron. Let us see if your brilliance endures a little muggle elbow grease."
Hermione gasped, horrified. > "But—that's—that will take all night! It's enormous!"
"Silence. Eight o'clock. Do not be late."
Adam's mind whispered to him, seeing opportunity where others saw punishment. This might be the best way to train… A real environment, real dangers… He could see them, his shadows, standing silently just behind Snape, visible only to him. Their eyes glowed with a faint, approving light. It sent a thrill of anticipation down his spine.
Hermione stormed off, her voice hissing a stream of curses under her breath so fast they almost blurred together.
"Arrogant, smug, ridiculous, annoying, insufferable, obnoxious, conceited prat—" She muttered every word she knew, inventing some new ones along the way, her cheeks flushed red with fury. Harry and Ron exchanged looks and tried not to laugh as they hurried to follow her out.
Adam watched, deeply amused, until Snape's voice stopped him at the door.
"If you perhaps survive your excursion inside the Dark Forest," Snape said, cold and deliberate, not looking up from his desk, > "you may submit a request to join the Quidditch team. I will consider it."
Adam froze, his hand on the doorframe. How does he know?
Before he could even think to ask, Snape added, his voice dripping with sarcasm, > "You thought I wouldn't notice your little morning… escapades? At least be useful. Train for something marginally worthwhile."
Adam inclined his head in a slight nod, a new respect warring with caution. > "Thank you, sir. I will surely survive."
He left the classroom, his thoughts a sudden, racing storm. I have to be more careful. I almost forgot Snape can sense every damn thing that happens in this castle.
In the corridor outside, he caught sight of Hermione storming ahead with Harry and Ron in tow, her bushy hair bouncing wildly with every angry, determined step she took.
Adam grinned to himself, the tension of the class melting away into pure amusement. > "If her hair is like this, then she's so bloody angry."
He let out a quiet, low laugh, his eyes softening slightly as he watched her disappear around a corner.
"And I love to make her angry."
And with that thought, the chapter ended.
[ End of Chapter. ]
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