While all the young wizards below were following Professor Horace's instructions and taking out their potion tools and copies of Advanced Potion-Making, Harry Potter, who had been sitting there with his head lowered in silence, suddenly raised his hand high.
There was no emotion on his face.
"I don't have a book. I don't have a scale. I don't have anything... because I didn't expect to be able to take your advanced class."
In other words, Harry Potter's Potions grade had not reached the required standard.
And since not a single student present was a fool, every one of them immediately caught the key point in Harry Potter's words.
They understood the problem at once, and all around the room, hands paused in the middle of reaching for books.
No one had expected this.
And it also confirmed what Draco had suspected earlier. For Harry Potter to have made it into this year's advanced Potions class, he must have gotten in through someone's influence and received special treatment that belonged to him alone.
As for the reason?
That was not really important. At least, not to these professors.
The mere fact that he was the one who had defeated Voldemort was enough to explain Harry Potter's special status.
Professor Horace did not seem to have any intention of explaining either.
"Ah, right, Minerva did mention this to me... Don't worry, my boy, not in the slightest. You can use my supplies for today, and I believe there are still some old textbooks in this classroom that you can borrow..."
That gentle attitude and eager reassurance made it seem as though he was worried Harry Potter might quit his Potions class over this, completely ignoring Harry Potter's silence.
And it was precisely because of the way Horace treated Harry Potter with such obvious warmth that the other students below began casting strange looks back and forth between the two of them.
Could it be that this new professor was especially easygoing?
While Professor Horace was rummaging around for the things needed for class, Hermione, who was one of the only two people there not concerned about whether Harry Potter would be allowed to stay, shot an embarrassed, annoyed glare at Draco beside her.
"I'm talking to you. Exactly where are you looking?!"
"Ahem..."
Draco gave a light cough and pulled back that heated gaze of his.
Perhaps because of the previous class, Draco kept unconsciously glancing at Hermione's pale, straight... no, at her calves, exposed to the air because she was sitting down.
Although Pansy had excellent proportions, and the feel of her was so good that Draco found it hard to let go, if one had to say who truly possessed a pair of long, straight, perfect legs, then it had to be Hermione sitting beside him.
That was why Draco kept sneaking glances under the table, only just stopping short of actually reaching out to compare them in person.
Well... by the sound of it, Draco really was walking farther and farther down the path of becoming a scumbag...
Completely unaware of the inappropriate things running through Draco's mind, Hermione spoke with a mix of pride and shyness.
"P-Pay attention."
Though Draco could not tell whether Hermione was pleased or annoyed, he still withdrew his gaze and spent a single second reflecting inwardly.
What is wrong with me? Why have I been so fixated on that sort of thing lately?
After exactly one second of youthful distress, Draco remembered the topic they had been talking about earlier.
"Other than Potter, did your friend say anything else?"
"...You mean Ginny, right? Let me think... other than that, she mentioned that her brothers graduated early. It seems they want to open a joke shop."
Hermione, who clearly could not understand the Weasley twins' decision, shook her head as she spoke.
Perhaps in the eyes of the know-it-all, nothing mattered more than studying, and there was simply no need to graduate early.
And although that piece of information was interesting enough, it was not what Draco really wanted to know.
What he wanted to know was how Ron Weasley, whose temperament had changed so suddenly on the battlefield, was doing now.
Draco had a strong feeling that the truth of the matter could be found in Ron Weasley...
...
Do not be fooled by the old man on the platform, smiling so cheerfully and looking completely harmless.
In truth, he was not a wizard famous in the magical world for overwhelming strength.
But his eye for talent, together with the vast network formed by his students, gave him a certain status in the wizarding world.
If his actual strength had not fallen short, and if he were not so timid in the way he handled things, then perhaps the position of Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts would not have gone to Minerva McGonagall...
Even so, possessing such sharp judgment and the ability to teach outstanding students still did not mean Horace was a qualified and competent professor.
Because he never paid attention to mediocre students. He would not even spare the time to remember their names.
In a certain sense, any student remembered by him was almost guaranteed to have a good future ahead.
And this somewhat "practical" way of doing things... was Horace Slughorn.
You could say it was a different kind of teaching according to aptitude.
In fact, no one knew that the moment he received the student roster, Professor Horace, standing at the front, had already divided his students into several ranks.
In his eyes, the future Hermione Granger and the present Harry Potter were people worth taking seriously and drawing closer.
As for the rest of the students, they all fell into the next tier, the kind of investments that would not be a loss even if they failed, promising stocks worth keeping an eye on.
But Draco...
Draco was in a tier all his own.
"Draco Malfoy."
Standing at the front, Horace immediately turned to look toward that pale blond figure from his memory, and in that instant, his eyes seemed to brighten.
In his entire teaching career, this was the second student who had truly amazed him.
No. He was even more outstanding than the last one.
Talent.
Background.
This was a genius wizard truly favored by Merlin.
At that thought, Horace felt a stir of excitement.
He wanted to bring Draco into their circle, just as he always did whenever he discovered an exceptional student.
But just as he was about to open his mouth and invite him, Horace suddenly thought of something and hesitated, closing his mouth again.
Because Draco's excellence reminded him of his previous student.
And it was that student's actions that had become the source of the regret and guilt that haunted him in his dreams, again and again.
That student had once been his favorite...
Tom Riddle.
In other words, the current Voldemort!!