Karmit leaned toward the latter explanation.
In truth, in the canon, Snape had never been stingy about giving Harry special attention either.
It could only be described as obvious favoritism. Disgusted, yet still partial.
What a contradictory man.
Snape returned to the front of the classroom and began explaining the fundamentals of Potions.
Put his personality aside for a moment.
His depth of knowledge alone was enough to leave most potion masters in the dust.
Karmit remembered a saying from before he transmigrated:
The teachers you meet at elite institutions may very well be the greatest figures you encounter in your entire life.
That saying applied perfectly to Hogwarts.
And it wasn't an exaggeration in the slightest. As the only magical academy in Britain, Hogwarts' teaching staff was absurdly powerful.
Take the four Heads of House, for example.
Gryffindor's Head, Minerva McGonagall, was a universally recognized master of Transfiguration and a member of the Merlin Order selection committee.
Any submission to the Order of Merlin involving Transfiguration had to pass under Professor McGonagall's review.
That alone showed her value.
Severus Snape was a world-class potion master. The youngest potion master in history.
While other potion masters often lived past a hundred, Snape was still young. That meant decades of potential research and innovation ahead of him.
In Karmit's eyes, that made Snape's title the most valuable of all.
Then there was Professor Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw.
Don't be fooled by the cheerful little old man who looked like a walking comedian.
That seemingly useless title of Hogwarts Dueling Champion was actually the most terrifying one.
Because that particular tournament had been open to the entire wizarding world.
Put it this way—when it came to spell knowledge and mastery alone, if Flitwick stood here, even Dumbledore would have to step aside.
This wasn't about combat power, but purely about the breadth and depth of spell mastery.
Lastly, Professor Sprout.
Plump, bulky, and seemingly devoid of combat capability. Much like the Fat Lady guarding Gryffindor Tower.
Her practical combat strength was unknown.
But when it came to cultivating magical plants, Professor Sprout could proudly declare herself number one in the world.
The Whomping Willow, the only plant classified as having magical beast traits.
Legend said that in ancient times, Whomping Willows were planted at the gates of certain magical creature clans to serve as guards.
Extremely violent, attacking anything that came close.
That knowledge of cultivation had long been lost.
In the modern wizarding world, there was only one person known to be able to grow and maintain a Whomping Willow.
Professor Sprout.
You could criticize the four Heads of House from any angle. But you could never question their competence.
This was Hogwarts.
So when Snape lectured, even Karmit listened attentively.
Today's lesson didn't involve brewing a potion yet.
After all, learning came step by step. Instead, Snape taught the students how to refine a material called Ironthorn Grass.
After explaining for a while and personally demonstrating the process, Snape waved his hand, signaling the students to begin their own attempts.
Karmit picked up the Ironthorn Grass beside his desk.
He recalled Snape's technique carefully.
He had tried brewing potions before, but it had always been rigidly by the book. Many finer details of technique had completely escaped him.
After all, those techniques were a potion master's most valuable assets.
So what Snape was teaching now was extremely useful to him.
Karmit replayed Snape's movements in his mind and placed the Ironthorn Grass into the cauldron. Then he carefully adjusted the flame.
Refining Ironthorn Grass was very basic.
What it truly tested was control of heat.
Ironthorn Grass was extremely tough on the outside, so it required a strong flame at the start.
Once it began to soften, the flame had to be reduced immediately to burn away the protective outer layer. After that, the heat was increased to medium to remove impurities.
Snape had chosen Ironthorn Grass for the first lesson precisely so students could get used to adjusting fire intensity.
Karmit's memory was excellent. With Snape's technique in mind, he controlled the flame steadily.
Before long, the Ironthorn Grass vanished from the cauldron. Only a small amount of green liquid remained.
Karmit extinguished the flame and examined the result with satisfaction.
Learning like this really did require a good teacher. Without copying Snape's technique, he wouldn't have achieved this so easily.
Snape walked over and glanced into Karmit's cauldron.
"Acceptable," he said coolly. "Slytherin, ten points."
Karmit smiled. "Thank you, Professor."
Snape snorted and moved on to the next table.
Seeing Karmit succeed, Ron was grinding his teeth again. 'Damn it. Damn it. Him again.'
Distracted by his thoughts, Ron misjudged the flame.
He should have lowered it, but instead turned it up to medium.
His partner shouted, "Weasley, turn it off!"
Ron panicked and adjusted it instinctively— in the wrong direction. A surge of flame burst from the cauldron.
Ron's eyebrows and hair caught fire.
He screamed.
Snape cursed under his breath. "Idiot."
He strode over and extinguished the flames with a flick of his hand.
Ron's eyebrows were completely gone. The front of his hair was scorched bald. His face was pitch black.
Snape said coldly, "Are your ears for decoration? You stupid boy. Did you forget everything I said? Or are you trying to show off your uniqueness, Weasley?"
Ron's face flushed red, then pale—
though under the soot, no one could tell.
Snape's voice cut through the room. "Gryffindor, five points deducted."
Ron immediately protested.
"That's not fair. This is my first time working with potions. Mistakes are normal. They messed up too!"
As he spoke, Ron pointed at Draco and Harry's table.
The two of them had just burned one Ironthorn Grass and were about to put another into the cauldron.
Hearing Ron's words, anger flashed across Harry's face.
"How can he be like this?"
Draco sneered. "It is rather laughable. Perhaps this is why my father hates the Weasley family."
"He'll make us lose points," Harry said angrily.
Draco chuckled. "Lose points? Harry, you know nothing about Head of House Snape. Just watch. This will be entertaining."
Every Slytherin in the room smiled as they looked at Ron.
As if watching a clown perform.
__________
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