Chapter 9 : Small Problems In Potion's Class

The next morning, Macka was the first one awake.

He couldn't quite figure out why he woke up so early, especially since he had stayed up until late at night before falling asleep in a daze. He thought it was probably because of Luna, that little girl! Whenever he stayed at her house, he faced various waking methods every morning, and that seemingly absent-minded little girl seemed to enjoy it. Unconsciously, he had developed the habit of waking up at the same time every day.

Today was the beginning of classes.

Most of Hufflepuff's courses would be scheduled alongside Ravenclaw's, and accordingly, Gryffindor's classes would be with Slytherin's. This had its advantages; without Harry Potter around, Snape would be relatively less irritable.

"Now, let's take attendance..."

Snape still had that indifferent look, his face never showing a smile. He read through the names on the attendance list one by one, without even looking at the students. After finishing, he scanned the students with his cold, empty black eyes. In his eyes, Macka saw a gaze similar to that of the homeless men on Diagon Alley who had lost their lives and dreams.

"No," Macka silently denied in his heart, "compared to homeless people, his gaze is more... more thorough, it's just like the eyes of a dead person, cold, empty, filled with death."

Having lived in the dark world of Britain for so long at such a young age, Macka relied on his disguise and his ability to read others' minds. But now, Macka found that he couldn't get any information from Snape, which made him want to stay away from this person for the first time.

"Keeping away from unknown dangers is the most effective way to protect oneself." This saying had always circulated in the dark world.

"Mr. McLain, do you seem to have a different opinion about what I said?" While Macka was staring blankly at Snape's eyes, as if the other party had sensed something, he looked at him and then frowned, speaking up.

"Oh, no, I mean, I really like the subject of Potions, but the theory involved is very complex. I sincerely hope, Professor Snape, that you can help me clarify some of the doubts I encountered in my pre-reading."

Under haste, Macka was swayed by his thoughts just now and unusually acquiesced. But he did indeed have many questions he wanted authoritative answers to, so it couldn't be said that he was just talking nonsense.

Yesterday, in Hufflepuff's common room, Macka asked Darren, the senior prefect, about a lot of information about various professors. As for Snape, although almost no students liked him, his achievements in Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts were undeniable.

Just looking at his title of "Master Potioneer" recognized by the International Confederation of Wizards and awarded by the British Ministry of Magic, it was enough to give him a place in the magical world. In the book "Advanced Potion Making," there were many improved potion preparation methods attributed to him, although no one knew about it at the moment.

However, Snape didn't seem to appreciate Macka's words. He coldly smiled— if that could be called a smile— then in a contemptuous tone, he said, "Oh? Is that so? Then, by all means, speak up, but if they are just some boring questions, Hufflepuff might lose some points. Let me say it again, in my classroom, I don't welcome students asking questions!"

Macka couldn't help but swallow his saliva at these words. Fortunately, the other Hufflepuffs didn't seem to care about losing points; instead, they looked at him with worried eyes, as if the well-being of their classmates was more important than house points.

Macka looked around and, while relieved, couldn't help but feel a bit fond of this house. It wasn't until now that he first felt the thought "being sorted into Hufflepuff doesn't seem too bad."

"Cough," he cleared his throat, calming himself down, and then raised the most puzzling question he encountered while reading "Magical Draughts and Potions."

"Professor Snape, when I was studying the section on Sleeping Draughts, I found that one of the quantitative constants in the formula wasn't clearly specified in the actual mixing process, which puzzled me greatly. I dare not say for certain if I made a mistake somewhere." As Macka spoke, his brow furrowed, the most obvious sign of his immersion.

When discussing knowledge he cared about, he usually forgot about his surroundings and the person he was talking to. It was a bad habit of his.

Fortunately, Snape didn't show any impatience. He stared at Macka for a moment before speaking.

"I will address the part about Sleeping Draughts later, as long as you pay attention in class, you won't ask such questions again." Snape said coldly, not looking at Macka anymore but turning around to tap the blackboard with his wand. Lines of text and formulas immediately appeared.

"You may sit down now." Sitting next to him, Ernie tugged at Macka's sleeve and then whispered, "I never thought! I heard that Professor Snape is the strictest professor at Hogwarts, and no points have ever been regained once deducted!"

Macka didn't feel any relief at these words; he was indeed very concerned about that question!

Two Potions classes passed in the underground classroom, and after Snape said the word "dismissed," the students couldn't wait to leave. In this classroom, besides a large number of animal organ specimens and Snape's perpetually cold demeanor, there was no one else, and the whole classroom was filled with an unpleasant atmosphere.

"That quantitative constant is useless, it's a historical remnant error." As Macka passed by the door, he saw Snape standing outside, leaving behind this sentence before striding away.

Macka watched Snape's figure, feeling like his cloak spread open in the wind as he walked, like a walking bat. The sight made him smile involuntarily.

"It doesn't seem as difficult to communicate with him as I imagined." Macka thought to himself.

Of course, in reality, it wasn't as simple as Macka thought. The reason Snape waited at the door and left this answer was actually because Macka's question happened to be one of the triggers that led Snape to become obsessed with Potions. That is to say, Snape had this question when he was a student.

About this not coincidental coincidence, Macka couldn't possibly think of it at the moment.

Following Potions class was the Defense Against the Dark Arts class taught by Professor Quirrell, whose head had some surplus flesh. But there wasn't much to say about that class. Besides the professor himself, who exuded a strong smell of garlic and spoke stutteringly, the content of the class was also quite dull.

Macka couldn't understand how a person could tell the story of vanquishing a zombie so clumsily and suspiciously, even though Quirrell was considered a good student with good grades in his student days.

Leaving aside Potions class and the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, which hardly taught anything useful, what interested Macka the most was the Charms class taught by Professor Flitwick, who had fairy ancestry.

Although this professor was short due to his ancestry, he was still a well-respected good professor.

In his class, there were no strict requirements, and students could even move freely. Even if students joked with him, he wouldn't be displeased.

However, when Professor Flitwick explained in detail the maddening problems Macka encountered in "A Study of Magical Theories," Macka immediately gained respect for this professor.

The former Dueling Champion was indeed not to be underestimated; his insights and the application of his skills gave Macka a different understanding of the magical theoretical foundation of this world. After several explanations, it was as if he had opened a new door for Macka.

"Thank you, esteemed Professor Flitwick." Macka always sincerely respected the one who imparted knowledge to him.

Professor Flitwick smiled and patted Macka's arm—apparently, he couldn't reach others' shoulders easily— and said kindly, "No need to be so serious, theory is boring, only with practical applications can there be a deeper understanding. However, you are still the most profound student in the study of Charms among this year's new students, as excellent as Miss Granger of Gryffindor."

Afterwards, Macka learned some information about Hermione from Professor Flitwick. When he heard about Hermione's scope of study, he couldn't help but shake his head bitterly— she read too many books, which wasn't beneficial for understanding and application.

In Macka's opinion, mastering the basics was the key to laying the most solid foundation for further learning and research. Even geniuses needed to take it step by step, let alone he knew very well that he wasn't a genius, and Hermione probably wasn't either.

As for the remaining few courses, what Macka disliked the most wasn't the History of Magic, which most students found extremely boring, but Astronomy class on Wednesday nights— it was a customary subject for Astronomy classes. If Macka were to say, aside from the knowledge about magic inside, the observation, recording, and calculation methods in the class were far inferior to the Muggle world's research in this field.

Most importantly, this course was actually not very useful in today's magical world. This made a pragmatist like Macka extremely distressed.

"Hey, I heard you refuted Snape's theory in his class, is that true?"

In Herbology class, everyone was fertilizing some harmless and healthy plants in the first greenhouse. Suddenly, Ron came over, eagerly asking Macka.

Macka noticed that not far away, Hermione, holding a trowel, seemed to be paying attention to this side, and she also seemed to be very interested in this question.