"It's hard to believe!" In the Hogwarts library, a senior Ravenclaw student was whispering to their companion. "Today, a first-year student told me that in Potions class, they used pre-prepared potion ingredients!"
"That means…" his companion, a loyal-looking Hufflepuff, responded uncertainly.
"It means Snape has changed!" the Ravenclaw continued to complain. "Normally, he gives us the rawest potion ingredients, calling it a way to develop our practical skills. I thought he treated students outside of Slytherin equally! But what happened today?"
"He favored those first-year students!"
"Favored the first-years? Are you sure we're talking about Professor Snape?" The Hufflepuff looked doubtful, a look not often seen on a loyal Hufflepuff.
"Who else could it be?" the Ravenclaw grumbled. "Do you remember the first lesson of the year? The Scabies Potion?"
"Oh!" The Hufflepuff's expression cleared as realization dawned. "The one that required adding snake fangs and hedgehog spines? If the ingredients were added in the wrong order, it would burn through the cauldron and give anyone who came into contact with it a nasty case of scabies?"
"Yes!" The Ravenclaw nodded vigorously. "There are always those unfortunate students every year. I think Professor Snape deliberately made them suffer just to warn others of their miserable state!"
"Professor Snape... that extreme?" The loyal Hufflepuff couldn't help but start doubting, but after seeing his friend's expression, he quickly changed his mind. "He probably does think that way!"
"You didn't choose the advanced Potions class, did you?" The Ravenclaw had already figured out why the Hufflepuff was defending Snape. "Distance makes everything seem better. Even Snape, that kind of person… he's gotten worse in the advanced class! It's gotten way out of hand!"
But after speaking, the Ravenclaw frowned. "But wait, this doesn't make sense?"
"What?" The Hufflepuff played the role of the straight man again.
The Ravenclaw tried to clarify. "What I mean is, why would Professor Snape treat the first-years specially? He usually only favors Slytherin students, doesn't he?"
"Maybe there's someone important among the first-years?" The Hufflepuff turned the page of his textbook, but suddenly heard his companion exclaim.
"Harry Potter! I can't believe it—Professor Snape is a fan of Harry Potter!"
The Ravenclaw said this in a loud voice, but under Madam Pince's stern gaze, he quickly lowered his tone to a whisper. Despite that, he still couldn't escape being thrown out of the library.
"Someone's calling your name, Harry!" Ron, who had long been tired of his Transfiguration essay, looked up but only saw two figures walking out of the library looking dejected.
"Oh." Harry showed little interest. After the initial awkwardness, he had almost developed immunity to such things. As long as no one asked for his autograph directly, he could handle it with composure.
Instead of dealing with fans, it was better to think about how to get through the Transfiguration homework.
"Maybe we should play a game of Wizard's Chess…" Ron had completely given up, propping his chin on his hands and looking around the library.
"Ron, Professor McGonagall is still our Head of House…" Harry tried to advise him, his tone a mix of helplessness and a bit of satisfaction, especially after discovering that some of the students from magical families weren't progressing much faster than he was.
"Oh, come on, mate," Ron rolled his eyes. "Don't be such a buzzkill like Hermione."
"…Maybe you're right. A bit of relaxation might help, after all, we have the whole weekend to finish the Transfiguration essay!" Harry gave in almost immediately. For an eleven-year-old, it was normal to want to play instead of work, right?
"Hey! Look over there! It's Ivy!" But Ron's wandering eyes made a discovery.
Although Ivy wasn't particularly tall, his handsome appearance and outstanding aura made it hard for others not to notice him. Perhaps his 17 points in charisma were at work here.
"Seriously, he shouldn't be in Slytherin," Ron shook his head. Harry could sense a hint of pity and regret in his eyes.
"Hmm… I think, based on Ivy's magical level, we don't need to worry about him," Harry offered a neutral opinion.
"Wow, I didn't know you were this cold-blooded!" Ron seemed to be standing up for Ivy. "Didn't you notice? No Slytherin has ever spoken to him at the dining table! He must be isolated!"
"Really?" Harry remembered that at the opening feast, Ivy had been chatting happily with a blonde girl beside him. At that time, Harry had even felt a bit betrayed, thinking Ivy was abandoning their friendship.
But hearing about Ivy's situation from Ron made Harry start to worry about him.
"You see for yourself." Ron pointed to Ivy's table, where Draco was sitting with several other first-year Slytherins, and Cassandra led a group of first-year girls across from them. They were all seated near each other, but Ivy's table was always empty except for him.
Even if someone unknowingly approached Ivy's table, a Slytherin would use their eyes to send them away.
Harry furrowed his brows. He was familiar with this situation. In his Muggle primary school, his classmates used various tactics to isolate him, and "ignoring" was just the mildest of methods.
"This is bullying!" Harry said with certainty.
"Even though we're not in the same house…" Ron said softly. "Slytherins and Gryffindors have always had problems…"
"But we should show Ivy the magic of friendship!" Harry nodded to Ron. The two of them grabbed their books and assignments from the table and made their way over to Ivy's.
As they passed by Draco, Ron even gave him a provocative grin.
"Hey! Mate!" Harry tried to make his voice sound cheerful. "How's it going lately?"
As soon as he said it, Harry wanted to slap himself, and Ron had the same expression.
"What's this about?" Ivy looked at them inquiringly, busy searching through the Grimoire of Destruction for a suitable spell and not paying much attention to the outside world.