Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 238 Isolation and Divergence

“Professor Snape, I thought you would be one of the few truly intelligent people at Hogwarts…”

In the dimly lit cellar, Umbridge looked at Snape behind his desk, who remained unmoved, focused only on the cauldron in front of him, with a hint of regret in his voice. His anger was almost bursting out.

“I have said it before,” Snape began slowly, “that my potions are absolutely infallible, I swear on my reputation as a Potions Master.”

“Ha,” Umbridge chuckled dismissively. She never believed in any guarantees or oaths; if they were useful, why wasn’t the world absolutely peaceful?

“Professor Snape!” Umbridge’s face darkened. “Could I interpret what you just said as: the problem lies on my end?”

"perhaps."

Snape's brief reply thoroughly enraged Umbridge.

The next second, she suddenly overturned the crucible on the table, which was emitting a light wisp of white smoke.

Even with the loud crash of the cauldron hitting the ground, the grating sizzling sound of the potion corroding the floor was still clearly audible.

“Professor Snape, you’d better keep being this careful…”

"Otherwise, once I catch you red-handed..."

After making his threats, Umbridge stormed out of the cellar, slamming the door shut with a deafening roar.

The trembling door, with its excellent construction, blocked the curious gazes of the young wizards outside, leaving Snape alone in the office.

He casually waved his wand, cleaning up the mess on the ground.

Then he took out a bottle of clear medicine from the drawer.

If Umbridge were here, she would definitely recognize that this was the "truth serum" that Snape had given her.

"What a pity..."

"Snapped!"

Without hesitation, Snape smashed the vial, spilling the clear liquid all over the floor.

He had intended to study Thea's brewing techniques and potion-making methods. He was very curious about how Thea managed to make the potion's effects dissipate without destroying its final form simply by changing the order in which the ingredients were prepared…

However, Umbridge moved too quickly; before he could figure things out, she rushed in.

Keeping this potion now would be a disaster...

But where did Thea learn that?

Is it Voldemort? Or is it someone else?

Inside the office, Snape frowned again.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

At this moment, Thea, who was giving Snape a headache, was also having a bit of a headache.

What does it mean to reap what you sow?

Thea's current situation is like this.

After dodging yet another curse that "accidentally" bounced towards her, even the good-tempered Thea was getting impatient.

Yes, I was indeed too impatient back then. I was too eager to have the power to protect myself in front of Dumbledore, which is why I was blinded by greed and created a study group, hoping to make Dumbledore wary and not to attack her casually.

but!

I wanted to use you guys to soften Dumbledore's heart, but I also paid a lot!

All those review materials and key points of study, which one wasn't the result of my hard work staying up all night?

You got the benefits, and I saved my life in front of Dumbledore. Isn't this a fair trade?

What grievances do you have? I just wanted to find a place to stay so I could save my life, and you bunch of ingrates think I've fallen from grace?

Are they all harboring the idea of ​​being "saviors" and trying to save this lump of mud from me?

Are you kidding me?

Even Dumbledore couldn't do it, so who do you think you are?

Talk to me, someone who might not see the sun rise tomorrow, about pride? Talk to me about lofty ambitions?

Are you guys kidding me?

What do you mean by the collapse of faith?

shit!

To put it bluntly, who told you to treat me as a faith?

At most, I've only "bewitched" a few people I found acceptable!

You are not qualified!!!

The increasingly irritable Thea began to speak recklessly in her mind, and swear words she hadn't used in a long time also came out.

Thea really didn't understand why the "bosses" were getting so excited when the "leaders" were still holding back.

Just then, Thea's eyes sharpened, and her gaze swept across the group of people in the corridor.

Wow, quite a gathering of people?

Porter, Granger, Weasley, Davis, Cedric…

The leaders of almost all three colleges were there!

but----

Cedric is one thing, since he's already passed the OWI exam, but what's the situation with the rest of you?

It's already this late!

Aren't you going to study?

Are you planning to give up the exam?

"call out!"

Because Potter and his friends distracted Thea, she ended up stepping on something—

His body instinctively swerved to the side, and the small arrow, exuding an aura of money, pierced straight into the tree next to him.

penetrating.

Thea studied it for a few seconds and finally found the relevant image in her memory—Draco's new alchemical product.

I've heard that the price isn't exactly affordable.

Seriously, are Hogwarts students that rich?

Should she "take the risk" and mention the prices of these "trinkets" in the meantime?

The more Thea thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. She instinctively hugged the book in her arms tighter. After confirming that the direction was right, Thea rushed straight toward the library while still thinking about raising the price.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she completely ignored the few people who had hesitated for a long time before finally stepping forward to offer their friendship…

Potter and the others: "..."

Thea: "...Hmm...Should we raise the price? By how much? Should we attract more hatred?"

Thea subconsciously ignored the possibility that they might be laughing at her, after all, in her mind, how could decent people be so "unjust"?

Isn't their most common tactic to openly and fairly defeat the villain?

The group watched helplessly as Thea gave them a murderous glance before hurriedly leaving: "..."

“She…” Ron began hesitantly, “She doesn’t think we instigated these people, does she?”

“…No,” Hermione said, her face pale but her tone firm, “She’s not that arbitrary.”

Upon hearing this, Ron pursed his lips. He instinctively wanted to say something, but then swallowed it back.

"Then is it still necessary for us to stand here like fools?"

Helene Davis of Ravenclaw spoke impatiently, but quickly turned sarcastic, "Wasn't Gryffindor leading the charge? What? Now you suddenly think she's not so bad?"

Hearing Helene's sarcasm, Hermione gritted her teeth, while Ron and Harry also looked rather grim.

Seeing the somewhat awkward atmosphere, Cedric was about to speak when Helene cut him off, "What? Senior, are you trying to be the nice guy again, not wanting to offend anyone?"

Now, Cedric's expression also turned sour.

Having successfully angered everyone, Hailin turned and left. Under her wide sleeves, no one noticed the deep crescent-shaped mark on her palm.