"Merlin's beard!"
Ronnie clutched her head and wailed, "Twenty whole points! I lost twenty whole points!"
Heaven knows how she survived that class! Before Pansy showed up to draw some fire, Snape's attitude toward her was one of utter disgust—like she was a rag soaked in slug slime.
The key issue was, if you despise me, fine, just despise me! Don't take points! Aside from the initial five points, he just kept deducting one point after another, slowly carving away a full twenty points from her!
It felt like death by a thousand cuts—absolute torture.
"Ron..."
Harley wanted to comfort her, but she didn't know how to start.
Even though Ronnie had been targeted so badly, Gryffindor's house points had actually gone up significantly over the course of the Potions lesson—almost entirely "earned" by Harley, even though she felt like she hadn't really done anything.
"This is too abnormal!"
Beside them, Hermione frowned deeply. "Professor Snape's attitude toward you two was way too abnormal! Taking points from Ron is one thing—even though he targeted Ron the whole class, that barely fits his usual style. But his attitude toward Harry..."
Hermione's voice suddenly pitched up a few degrees. "The change was way too fast! Last lesson he was doing everything he could to find fault with you, and this lesson he was racking his brains to give you points? That is completely unlike Professor Snape!"
She couldn't fathom it. The Potions Master, usually harsh to all students, giving points because a student honestly admitted they didn't know the answer?! It completely overturned her understanding—and everyone else's understanding—of Snape!
Unless...
Looking at Harley and Ronnie in front of her, Hermione formed a theory. But if her guess was right... maybe in future Potions classes, Harry would just have to be Harley!
"Why don't we go ask Tom?" Ariana suggested softly. "After all, he made the potion. Maybe he knows the reason for the professor's change in attitude."
"Right! Let's go find him now!"
Ronnie suddenly looked up, scratching her long hair in frustration. "I can't stand this body for another second! I want to change back! Right now! Immediately!"
At the very least, she had to change back before Fred and George discovered her transformation!
The four "girls" walked noisily toward the Great Hall, completely unaware of the two gazes watching them from the shadows of the corridor.
"Did they turn out like that because of the potion Tom made?"
Watching Harley and Ronnie walk away, Draco's feelings were complicated.
At that moment, he actually felt a bit lucky—lucky that his relationship with Tom hadn't soured, and had even improved thanks to his proactive gestures of goodwill.
If I went to buy that potion from him... I wonder if he'd sell it to me.
Thinking this, Draco quietly followed them.
He didn't even stop to think about who he would give the potion to once he bought it.
Meanwhile, after watching them leave, Snape returned to his office, locked the door, and walked over to a locked cabinet. He hesitated for a moment before taking out his wand and tapping the cabinet rhythmically a few times.
The next moment, the cabinet door opened silently, revealing neat rows of crystal vials. Inside the vials swirled silvery-white wisps—his memories.
His gaze landed on one particular vial. His fingers paused in mid-air for a long time before he finally withdrew his hand, leaving the memory where it was.
"Lily..."
Snape murmured softly, his voice unheard by anyone. No one knew what the Potions Master was thinking at that moment.
At the entrance to the Great Hall, Hannah was waiting. "So? Did Tom's potion work? Did Snape's attitude toward you change?"
She looked the two transformed girls up and down, her eyes full of curiosity.
"It changed alright—it got even worse for me!" Ron complained bitterly. "He deducted twenty whole points from me in one class!"
"Well, Tom said you just wanted Snape to change his attitude toward you; you didn't specify in which direction," Hannah said, her eyes shifting away as she relayed Tom's exact words.
"??? Then why did Harry—"
"Because Snape's attitude toward Harry couldn't possibly get any worse."
Hearing this answer, Ron fell silent.
"Alright, Hannah, where's Tom? Let's have him change us back first. Aren't we supposed to visit Hagrid tonight?"
"Uh, about that..."
Hannah's eyes darted around nervously as Tom's words echoed in her mind: [If they want to know if they can change back early, remember to tell them: Impossible! The potion's effects are irreversible. They can't change back until the potion wears off!]
"What's wrong? Did something happen to him?" Harley asked with concern, seeing Hannah's silence.
"Nothing bad happened, it's just..." Seeing the concern in their eyes, Hannah hesitated. "He was kept behind by Madam Hooch alone."
"Oh, is that all?" Ron waved his hand dismissively. "What big move did Tom pull this time? That's just business as usual. We'll just wait for him in the Great Hall!"
"Mhm!"
Seeing that the four didn't press further, Hannah secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Tom could explain that part himself; she wasn't going to do it for him!
She then changed the subject. "So, was it like that for both you and Harry?"
"No way!" Ronnie rolled her eyes. "Harry had a much better time in that class than I did! Snape was practically inventing reasons to give him points. Not only did he make up for all the points I lost, he even earned a bunch extra! From now on in Potions, Harry, you can just transform on your own!"
"Ron!"
"It's fine. We'll ask Tom clearly when he gets here. Maybe there was a mistake somewhere, otherwise the effects wouldn't be so different!"
Seeing that emotions were running a bit high, Ariana quickly interjected.
Hermione didn't join their conversation. Harley and the others hadn't noticed, but she had caught Hannah's earlier odd behavior. If Tom had just been kept behind for causing trouble, Hannah wouldn't have reacted like that. There had to be something more going on.
However, she didn't press for answers. They were all friends; if Hannah could say it, she would. Since she chose to hide it, she must have a compelling reason. So, Hermione chose to respect Hannah's decision.
Regardless of what happened, everything would become clear once Tom arrived.
Tom had no idea what was happening on their end. But right now, facing Madam Hooch alone, Tom was feeling exceptionally regretful.
He regretted it. Why did he have to be so flashy during class earlier? Wouldn't it have been better to just quietly coast through the flying lesson?