Snape let out a cold, disdainful snort.
Without hesitation, he snatched the magazine straight from the student's hands. With a sneer curling his lips, he addressed the group in his trademark icy tone.
"Reading non-academic material during breakfast? Is Potions class too easy for you these days?
Copy the Potions Safety Regulations fifty times and hand them in at lunch."
He swept a sharp gaze around the table, then glanced down at the magazine in his grip.
In that moment, his pupils dilated and his face turned ashen. His hand clenched the magazine so tightly it nearly crumpled. Without another word, he spun on his heel and strode briskly out of the Great Hall.
Seated at the staff table, Douglas Holmes allowed himself a subtle, satisfied smile. Finally—Snape had noticed.
Harry had been watching Snape ever since he entered. When he saw Snape confiscate the magazine, he grumbled to Ron with clear irritation,
"I'll bet you anything—if that student hadn't been a Slytherin, Snape would've docked House points.
He didn't even take any points off, just made him copy some safety rules.
Typical!"
Beside him, Hermione frowned in confusion.
"I don't recall any rule against reading non-school books at breakfast.
Snape must've just made that up on the spot…"
Ron leaned in conspiratorially, lowering his voice.
"I'm telling you, that Half-Blood Prince has got to be connected to Snape. Maybe even to Professor Holmes.
I noticed when Snape saw the magazine, Professor Holmes actually smiled.
And Snape's face—he looked like he'd swallowed a Blast-Ended Skrewt.
What if the Half-Blood Prince is really Snape,
and the real author of that article is Professor Holmes? He is a writer, after all."
The others glanced over at Professor Holmes, who was chatting amiably with Professor Sprout as he ate.
They all shook their heads, dismissing the idea outright.
"With the way Snape looks," whispered one, "no way he was ever the school heartthrob."
Ron considered it a moment, then shrugged. "Yeah, you're probably right. Who'd give away something that could make them money?"
—
That day, nearly every student who attended Potions class could sense Professor Snape's foul mood. Even the Slytherins received no special treatment.
The only one truly surprised was Harry.
Their last class of the week was Potions—and it was the final Potions lesson before the break.
After hearing the morning's rumors, Harry had braced himself for an especially vicious, sarcastic Snape.
Usually, when Harry wasn't in class, Snape's barbs were spread evenly among the students.
But when Harry was present, those attacks seemed to focus on him alone.
With Snape in such a mood, Harry was sure he'd be in for it.
But to his astonishment, Snape didn't look at him, didn't mention him, didn't even seem to notice he was there.
It was as if Harry had become invisible.
—
Meanwhile, in Defence Against the Dark Arts,
all the lower-year students had passed their practical exams—even those from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, who'd had to master the spells themselves.
Surprisingly, Gryffindor proved to be a natural fit for the Serpent Slide transfiguration,
beating Ravenclaw to become the first House with all students passing the assessment.
The final House rankings:
Hufflepuff first,
Gryffindor second,
Ravenclaw third,
Slytherin fourth.
Slytherin ended up with one first-year, whose poor physical condition meant he couldn't pass the test—even with the help of potions.
Professor Snape was not pleased.
That unlucky first-year soon found himself the only Slytherin in Douglas's morning running group.
With the inter-house competition over,
students stopped holding back.
On Friday afternoon, as the last Defence Against the Dark Arts class ended,
Gryffindors and Ravenclaws began showing off their Serpent Slide and Sideways Spell all over the castle.
Hufflepuffs and Slytherins looked on with open envy—after all, magical plants and potions weren't so easy to show off at a moment's notice.
Eventually, things got out of hand:
A few students, caught up in the fun, used Serpent Slide in the corridors and shot right out of a staircase.
If the stairs below hadn't broken their fall, it would've been much worse than a few broken bones.
Others, wielding the Sideways Spell, crashed straight into classmates—one nearly knocked someone out cold.
After half an hour, Professor McGonagall put a swift end to the chaos,
banning both spells in crowded areas and corridors.
Many students were disappointed—though the Slytherins were not among them.
To them, only Slytherins truly understood the art of serpent-riding.
Other Houses? What did they know about snakes?
Some Slytherins even considered learning the transfiguration from Professor McGonagall.
"What? You think stepping on a snake insults Slytherin?"
"Nonsense. It's proof of Slytherin mastery. Only the fastest, strongest snakes deserve to be ridden."
"And why doesn't anyone turn their shoes into lions? Because lions aren't as good as snakes."
Professor McGonagall could never have imagined her youthful mischief would be reinterpreted this way.
—
Seeing the disappointed faces of the younger students,
George and Fred Weasley leapt into action.
"Why not head out to the grassy slope in front of the castle?" said George. "Professor never said you couldn't use the spells out there."
"Oh, Merlin's beard!" Fred exclaimed. "We could have a Serpent Slide race!"
"Or even play Quidditch on the grass—just with snakes instead of brooms!"
"Brilliant idea—maybe we can get all the Houses involved."
"Shame we have to help with spell practice, though."
"Yeah, such a shame."
The twins exchanged a gleeful glance.
The older students eyed them with thinly veiled contempt—those two really knew how to win over the younger years.
This week alone, George and Fred had helped five lower-year students with their spellwork,
earning top evaluations and being named official Spell Instructors.
With dual Professor certification and their popularity among the younger students,
many first- and second-years eagerly sought them out for help.
If the twins had more free time, the other upper-years would have been hard-pressed to compete.
Some of the older students had already started currying favor with the younger ones,
offering homework help in the common rooms.
George and Fred were no exception—always appearing with snacks or drinks from mysterious sources to share around.
For the first time, Ron truly felt the meaning of "brotherly love" from his twin brothers.
He was practically covered in goosebumps.
At the twins' suggestion, the younger students vanished from the castle like a gust of wind,
leaving only a handful who weren't interested.
And it wasn't just Gryffindors—students from other Houses hurried out to watch the spectacle as well.
Plenty of them planned to learn the transfiguration from Gryffindor.
With only a few younger students left,
the upper-years descended like hungry wolves.
"Hey there, want to practice some spells? I'm an official instructor!"
"Need help with a particular spell? I know them all!"
—
Out on the grassy slope,
a crowd of Gryffindors kicked off the race—no year restrictions!
Students from every House gathered to watch.
The famous Gryffindor Quidditch commentator, Lee Jordan, resumed his post.
"Leading the pack is third-year Andrew—look at that snake! It even flicked its tail!"
"He's speeding up—Harry's speeding up! As Gryffindor's Seeker, he's not about to lose. Look, he's moved into third place—
wait, now he's second—
Colin's right behind him, desperate to get a photo…"
"Merlin's beard! Seamus's snake just exploded!"
While all eyes were on the Gryffindors,
Draco Malfoy of Slytherin, wearing a wicked grin, crept to the edge of the field with his cronies.
"I'll show them—fake snakes will never compare to the real thing!"
He pointed his wand, muttering,
"Serpensortia!"
With a crack, the tip of his wand exploded, and a long black snake shot out, landing heavily on the grass.
It slithered rapidly toward the crowd.
Draco arched an eyebrow in smug satisfaction.
"See that? Now that's real snake speed. Let's see how their little tricks measure up!"
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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