Chapter 30: Gryffindor Loses Many Points

Potions class.

Every Gryffindor student looked at Sherlock with concern. They all knew Snape was unreasonable, biased toward Slytherin, and targeted Gryffindor. Today’s attitude toward Harry Potter was a blatant display of this. But they had not expected that, besides Harry, Sherlock had also provoked him.

"What is so amusing?" Snape looked down at Sherlock, asking coldly.

"Is it not a joyous thing to be able to study the precise science and strict craft of potions under such an excellent professor?"

Harry: (°ー°〃)
Ron: (*゜ー゜*)
Hermione: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ
Lions & Snakes: w(ﾟДﾟ)w

Sherlock actually said such a thing! It was shocking.

Snape clearly did not expect such an answer from Sherlock either. He paused for a moment before saying coldly, "Holmes, do not try to be clever with me. I am not one of those fools who gets carried away by a couple of compliments from you."

"I apologize for the misunderstanding, but I am indeed speaking the truth."

Watching Sherlock meet his gaze calmly, his words earnest and sincere, Snape could not help but feel as though he had punched a pile of cotton.

"Since you are so passionate about learning, I suppose you should know the answers to those questions?"

His words immediately made all the Gryffindors break into a cold sweat. Although Sherlock’s performance in the previous few classes had been impressive, he had been quite lackluster during the Astronomy class the night before, making it hard not to worry. The Slytherins, however, looked on with schadenfreude. As long as they saw Gryffindors unhappy, they were happy.

Sherlock remained calm, speaking at a steady pace without any emotion:

"Asphodel root powder added to an infusion of wormwood creates a sleeping draught; a bezoar is found in the stomach of a goat; monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant, there is no difference."

He provided exactly what was asked. He did not mention that the sleeping draught was also known as the Draught of Living Death, that bezoars possessed powerful antidotes, or that monkshood and wolfsbane were both collectively called aconite.

However, just now, when Snape mentioned the first question to Harry, his expression had contained a trace of suffering and struggle. Even though it was imperceptible and fleeting, it had not escaped Sherlock’s eyes.

So, Sherlock decided to probe. He stared intensely at Snape and, with a "try it and see" mentality, said:

"Asphodel is a type of lily. In the language of flowers passed down from the Victorian era, it represents ‘my regrets follow you to the grave.’ Wormwood stands for ‘absence’ and ‘bitter sorrow.’ The sleeping draught is a ‘Draught of Living Death,’ representing a ‘hellish, miserable life.’ In summary..."

"Enough!"

Just as the Gryffindors and Slytherins were listening with great interest, a roar interrupted Sherlock’s description. The already chilly classroom seemed to drop several degrees. Snape’s normally gloomy face looked as if it were about to drip water, his cold, hollow eyes wishing they could bore holes into Sherlock.

"Put away your self-righteous explanations! This is a Potions class! I truly wonder if your brain has been hit by a troll’s club, or perhaps stuffed with a bezoar? Because of your arrogance and those useless explanations, five points from Gryffindor!"

Sherlock smiled. He had already obtained the answer he wanted.

And then, he got into more trouble.

"What are you smiling at?"

"I was just thinking..."

Before Sherlock could answer, Snape cut him off directly. "Contempt for the classroom, another point from Gryffindor!"

"Professor, that’s not fair!" Hermione, who had been restraining herself, finally could not take it anymore. Having been ordered to sit down earlier, she stood up. "Holmes clearly answered all the questions correctly!"

"Typical Gryffindor, isn't it? Questioning a professor is a tradition, right?" Snape turned his head immediately. "What is your name?"

"Hermione Granger."

"Very well. Because of your rude language in class and openly contradicting a professor, one point from Gryffindor."

Hermione: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ

"And you, Potter, you cannot even answer such a simple question, yet you presume to direct the professor’s actions? Three points from Gryffindor."

Harry: Σ(｀д′*ノ)ノ

When he heard he had been docked points, Harry was stunned. *What does this have to do with me? And why am I the one docked the most?*

He was about to speak when Ron kicked him from behind the cauldron. "Don't speak," he whispered, "unless you want Gryffindor to lose more points because of you!"

Harry: (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)

The point-deducting concluded, and the Potions class continued. The students were in pairs, learning to brew a simple cure for boils. Naturally, the plight of the Gryffindors did not improve. Almost every student was criticized in turn, only Malfoy was spared.

As for Harry and Sherlock, they were the primary targets. The former because Snape viewed him through colored lenses; the latter because of that explanation of lily flower language. However, Sherlock’s technique was impeccable, and Harry had the help of an expert, so there were no issues. Snape tried to find fault several times, but left empty-handed. Fortunately, he did not dock points from the other Gryffindor students, which made the little lions secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

At that critical moment, Neville, who was next to Sherlock and Harry, ran into trouble. No one knew what he did, but he melted the cauldron he shared with Seamus, spilling the potion onto the stone floor and burning holes in the shoes of nearby students. A thick, acidic green smoke rose, followed by a loud hissing sound.

"Idiot!" Snape roared. Just as he was about to handle it, Sherlock had already picked up his wand.

"Scourgify!"

The clean, efficient movement made Snape’s eyes brighten, but his expression turned cold in an instant. He shouted at Neville:

"I suppose you didn't take the cauldron off the fire before adding the porcupine quills, did you?"

Neville was in no state to answer. Drenched in the potion when the cauldron overturned, he was now covered in red, swollen boils. He was already in agony, and under Snape’s intimidation, he burst into tears.

"Take him to the hospital wing," Snape snapped at Seamus, then turned to Sherlock and Harry. "Potter, why didn't you tell him not to add the porcupine quills? Did you think that if he made a mistake, you would look better? One point from Gryffindor."

Harry: 凸(艹皿艹)

"And you, Holmes. Since you were capable of using a spell to clean the floor, why didn't you stop him from overturning the cauldron beforehand? Gryffindor loses another point because of you."