Indeed, Snape Stole His Own Potions...

Evan's anxiety wasn't alleviated by the life-saving crescent pendant. If anything, he was more determined to brew the Blood-Replenishing Potion as quickly as possible to increase his strength, and his actions grew more aggressive.

Regrettably, Quirrell had been on his best behavior over the holiday.

Just as Evan was about to look for another solution, on the third day of the new term, Quirrell's name moved rapidly on the Marauder's Map before vanishing into the Forbidden Forest.

Perhaps because Quirrell's actions were meant to be clandestine, his name barely overlapped with others on the map, signifying that Evan was the only one aware of Quirrell's whereabouts.

Evan was thrilled to see that Snape wasn't in his office at the time—the opportunity had presented itself...

...

A few days later, during a Potions class, Snape's already stern face seemed even more sullen than usual. By the end of the session, the Gryffindor students had all suffered, with even Hermione and Evan not spared.

"Has Snape gone mad? He took forty-five points from Gryffindor in just one class!" Ron complained, stepping out of Snape's dungeon after the class.

Harry nodded, equally shaken, as ten of those points had been deducted from him.

Hermione was also upset; after all, Snape's reasons for deducting points were absurd. She had kindly corrected Seamus, only to have points taken for "disturbing others."

Evan sighed; his situation was the opposite, having points deducted for "ignoring the mistakes of fellow students"...

It was clear Snape was taking out his anger on the Gryffindor students.

Ron grumbled all the way, and Hermione finally found an opportunity to share what she had noticed.

"I heard Snape's potion storage was burglarized, with many valuable ingredients lost. He even threatened to search the whole of Hogwarts during a third-year class."

"I bet it's someone Snape's wronged before, looking for revenge. If only Snape was fairer in class, like Professor McGonagall, nobody would bother him," Ron speculated.

Hermione and Harry joined in the guessing game, though they came to no conclusion.

"Evan, what do you think?" Hermione asked, finding Evan's silence odd.

"Maybe Snape did it himself," Evan said offhandedly.

Snape?

Harry and the others were puzzled. Why would Snape steal his own potions?

Wait, that's not right—Snape wouldn't need to steal. The potion storage was his!

"Have you forgotten the trapdoor guarded by the three-headed dog, Fluffy? Someone has been trying to get past it, and only Hagrid knows how," Evan hinted without elaborating.

"The Polyjuice Potion! Snape must want to disguise himself as someone Hagrid knows to extract information," Hermione quickly grasped Evan's implication.

Harry grew excited, recalling seeing Snape with an injured leg a few days earlier.

Snape would need plenty of ingredients to brew potions to heal himself but couldn't let Dumbledore find out, so he pretended the ingredients were stolen.

After all, while the potion storage was in Snape's office, it was technically Hogwarts' property, with most of the funds for the ingredients provided by the school.

Harry felt he had unraveled the truth and eagerly shared his theory with Evan, Hermione, and Ron.

"That's it, Harry, you're right! We should tell Professor Dumbledore now and thwart Snape's evil plan!" Ron was as fired up as if he'd been injected with adrenaline, a sense of responsibility and mission flooding him.

Evan was somewhat embarrassed; he hadn't expected a casual remark to lead to such wild conjecture.

"I never knew you all had such vivid imaginations."

Snape's deep voice came from behind them.

Ron, who had been full of excitement, suddenly felt a chill, and the fire in his heart was instantly extinguished.

"Prof...Professor..." Harry turned around with difficulty, stammering.

Hermione was also frightened, and only Evan feigned fear, for he had intended for Snape to overhear their conversation.

Snape approached them, leaning down with his hollow eyes scrutinizing them, his hooked nose nearly poking Harry's forehead.

Harry's mind raced with thoughts of the terrifying ways Snape might punish them—would it be a Memory Charm, or some other curse, or even the Killing Curse?

After all, they had discovered Snape's biggest secret...

However, to Harry's surprise, Snape did not draw his wand or throw them out of the window. He simply left them with a "Ten points from Gryffindor!" before hurrying away.

"He let us go?" Harry was incredulous.

"Didn't he deduct points?" Evan reminded him.

"We know his biggest secret! If we tell Professor Dumbledore, he's done for." Harry didn't care about the deducted house points; it wasn't the first time, and he was used to it.

"Snape was heading toward the headmaster's office," Evan shook his head, certain Snape was off to report to Dumbledore.

"And when did we learn Snape's secret? Wasn't it all our speculation? Anyone wanting to get past Fluffy has a motive, and Quirrell seems quite suspicious..." Evan mused thoughtfully, stroking his chin.

Harry and the others were speechless. Why had Evan brought up Snape in the first place, leading them down that path, only to be caught by Snape himself?

"Evan, you're definitely hiding something from us," Hermione said, her amber eyes intently scrutinizing him, trying to read his expression.

"Uh... yeah, I just remembered I had an extra piece of cake at lunch and haven't had the chance to tell you guys yet," Evan joked, changing the subject and silently apologizing to the trio.

The potions missing from Snape's storage were indeed stolen by Evan, who had taken some to make Polyjuice Potion and heal injuries, among other "little extras" to throw off suspicion. After all, without considering Evan's interference, Quirrell was the most likely suspect in need of those items...

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