Let's set aside what lies behind the right-hand corridor on the 3rd floor; let's also put aside whether Professor Babbling and Quirrell were childhood sweethearts; and even more so, let's not talk about the secrets Quirrell carries or what he intends to do.
All of that would have to wait—for now, Eda was in no mood to ponder any of it, because she was about to face serious trouble herself.
It had only been a few days since the incident on the train where she embarrassed the Slytherin students, and Eda didn't believe for a second that Snape would let her off the hook so easily.
Snape hadn't come after her these past few days, but that was just temporary restraint—like a snake coiling up before it strikes. Very soon, Eda was sure she'd suffer a fatal blow.
They say "tolerance brings peace," but taking a step back sometimes only fuels your anger.
Right now, Snape was definitely fuming—hadn't he just gone off on Harry Potter? And poor Hermione Granger, who loved answering questions, had been dubbed "Miss Know-It-All 2.0" by him.
As the original "Miss Know-It-All," Eda feared her own fate would be even worse.
It wasn't that Eda was cowardly—Snape was simply not someone you could afford to mess with. He had a thousand ways to deduct points from Gryffindor, and Eda didn't want to add another method to his arsenal. Her head wasn't made of iron, after all.
If Gryffindor lost points, Snape would be happy, and Professor McGonagall would be upset. Why would Eda do something that pleased her enemies and hurt her allies?
Besides, Snape had indeed taken care of Eda in his own way. If not for that special relationship, she wouldn't have kept playing along—she'd have fought back long ago, and Gryffindor's points would've already hit rock bottom.
Eda was in such a heavy mood that she couldn't even enjoy her lunch. Her mind was filled with memorized potion recipes, ingredients, and everything even remotely related to Potions—all of it was for dealing with Snape's inevitable questioning.
As long as she could get through the interrogation part, the rest would be manageable.
Eda had already built up immunity to Snape's sharp-tongued jabs; they couldn't hurt her anymore.
Surviving this class would be a victory in itself—it would mean both suppressing Snape's temper and avoiding any point deductions. A win-win.
That was the plan, at least. But when she actually got to the dungeons, Eda couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Snape, after all, was perfectly willing to throw away his dignity just to take points from Gryffindor.
No matter how bizarre his questions were, Eda had come to accept them as perfectly normal. Going beyond the syllabus was practically standard procedure for him.
This time, the twins weren't being gleeful about her misfortune. Instead, they were silently cheering her on, ready to support her through the ordeal.
The two of them were terrified Eda might snap and start a head-on battle with Snape, ending up in detention—which would completely derail their "3rd Floor Corridor Field Trip Plan."
In the dimly lit dungeon classroom, the things floating in jars looked more horrifying than ever. But for the third-years, this was all routine by now. They even used the time before Snape arrived to chat about the morning's events.
Earlier that day, the Gryffindor first-years had Potions with the Slytherins. Everyone had assumed that, out of respect for Harry Potter, Snape might go easy on Gryffindor.
But no one could've guessed that Snape didn't care one bit about the Boy Who Lived.
On the contrary, he seemed even harsher than usual. Combined with Neville Longbottom's terrible performance, the Gryffindor first-years' Potions class had been nothing short of a disaster.
Especially Harry Potter—he had now joined Esmeralda Twist as one of Snape's primary targets, and showed every sign of surpassing his predecessor.
Harry's fame didn't earn him the slightest advantage with Snape. He was even the first among this year's Hogwarts first-years to have points deducted by Snape. All Eda could say was: truly worthy of the name, Harry Potter!
The bell rang to signal the start of class, and right on cue came the sound of a door being kicked open.
Snape kicked open the classroom door and strode quickly up to the podium. His eyes swept across the room; the dead silence clearly pleased him.
"Same classroom, same faces. I hope the contents you've studied haven't been completely forgotten by those troll-like brains of yours." Snape spoke slowly, arms crossed.
"Of course, I don't hold high expectations. After all, a certain famous someone couldn't even be bothered to do the assigned reading, so I don't expect the rest of you to have reviewed anything."
Even though Snape didn't mention a name, every student knew exactly who he meant. There was only one person in this class who was both enrolled in Potions and famous. Whether or not Snape said the name made no difference.
"Fame doesn't mean everything. A dazzling appearance can still mask a rotten core. Don't you agree, Twist?" Snape's gaze landed on Eda.
"You're absolutely right, Professor," Eda thought to herself, Here it comes. The attack begins.
"Very good. It seems your brain hasn't yet been clouded like a certain someone's," Snape continued. "Open your books. If your minds aren't sharp enough, then today's potion might help with that."
Eh..?
Eda had braced herself for disaster—but instead, Snape went straight into the day's lesson without targeting her at all.
He didn't even give her a hard time. Deep down, Eda couldn't help thinking: I really can't figure this guy out.
It wasn't that Eda had any pessimistic tendencies—it was just that the threat of punishment was always scariest when the ruler was still held high. Once it came down, it didn't seem so bad.
On the blackboard at the front of the classroom, today's topic appeared—Confusing Concoction. Well then, Eda had thought they were moving on to Clarity Potion next. Turns out Snape was trying to balance things out with a "double negative" approach!
The sound of fires being lit and cauldrons being set up echoed around the classroom. For a moment, Eda felt like she was in a New Oriental cooking class. But one glance at the bundles of herbs beside her quickly yanked her back to reality.
The primary ingredients for the Confusing Concoction were Scurvygrass, Spiny Spurge, and Sneezewort. This potion would make a person irritable and impulsive. Those who drank it would prefer to solve problems with their fists rather than their brains—even more Gryffindor than Gryffindor itself.
Eda chopped some herbs, ground others into juice, and filtered out the liquid from the pulp when necessary. Once the timing was right, she added each prepared component into the cauldron in the required order.
Snape, true to form, glided through the classroom in his black robes.
Wherever he went, chaos and tension followed, along with his signature biting remarks and criticisms.
Everything about the lesson looked like a typical Potions class from previous years—yet everything also felt very different.
The students suddenly realized something was missing today.
One by one, they glanced over at Eda's station and saw her standing there—present, not absent, not excused.
No wonder it felt like something was off—Snape hadn't targeted Eda at all today!
Not only had he not made things difficult for her, he hadn't even approached her area—as if she gave off some kind of repellent scent.
The biggest target didn't get hit today—instead, it was as if Snape had completely ignored her.
Could it be that she'd been "off-targeted"?
Not only did the students find this strange, even Eda and the twins thought it odd.
Apart from one unrelated question, Snape hadn't interacted with Eda at all—he didn't even criticize her potion-making. Highly unusual.
"What's up with Snape today?" Fred asked suspiciously. "Did he take the wrong potion?"
"I feel like Eda's been… abandoned by Snape," George said as he added some herbal extract into his cauldron. "Harry's become Snape's new favorite, and now our dear Eda's been tossed aside by the old bat!"
"If you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all! 'Abandoned'? Rubbish. The correct word is 'rejected'!" Fred said seriously while stirring the contents of his cauldron, reprimanding his twin.
Last year, Eda had fantasized about "out with the old, in with the new." But none of the first-years had lived up to the task—no one had earned Snape's "favor," so Eda had remained the primary target for another year.
Just when Eda had given up hope for a new generation of scapegoats, Harry Potter had burst onto the scene and, in just one lesson, snatched away Snape's "affection," rescuing the poor, helpless, and long-suffering Eda.
Harry Potter really did live up to the title of Savior of the wizarding world—his spirit of self-sacrifice was something every student at Hogwarts could spend a lifetime learning to emulate.
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