The Potions classroom was in the basement, right between the Hufflepuff and Slytherin common rooms.
Leonard carried his cauldron on the way there, collecting plenty of stares along the corridor. Some were wide-eyed with surprise from Hufflepuffs, others sharp with hostility from Slytherins.
But none of it mattered to him. Hostile glares didn't scare him, and surprise or admiration didn't bring him any joy. What was there to get excited about with these little brats? Leonard figured soloing a troll was more entertaining than teaching Slytherin trash a lesson.
Not that he could quite decide which was more disgusting—fighting a troll alone or beating up Slytherins. Both ended badly. The first left you stinking, the second left you smeared in filth. By that logic, Slytherin punks were trolls, and Snape was the stench that clung to them.
Would a troll feel wronged by that comparison?
Still lost in thought, Leonard pushed open the Potions classroom door and casually picked a seat. There was no point hiding in a corner. With Snape's pettiness, even if he tried to avoid notice, the man would hunt him down to nitpick anyway. Better to sit upfront openly.
The real question was which unlucky soul would end up at his table. Whoever it was would get dragged under Snape's scrutiny along with him.
The Potions classroom was different from the standard ones. A dozen long tables filled the room, each shared by two students who partnered up for brewing practice. In pairs, success and failure were shared—if one partner was targeted by the professor, the other couldn't escape unscathed.
"With Ravenclaws again?" Leonard glanced around at the Ravenclaw students who had already taken their seats, stroking his chin.
Their stares were odd. They'd probably heard the story about him thrashing a group of Slytherins. Many deliberately avoided sitting near him. The clever ones had clearly guessed he'd be targeted and were steering clear to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
Leonard said nothing. Justin would likely pair with Ernie. Even if they wanted to partner with him, he'd refuse. No need to drag them down with him. They weren't close friends anyway—more like casual companions, and that was how it should stay.
But pairs were inevitable. Both houses had admitted the same number of students this year, so there wouldn't be any extras left out. Which meant it came down to bad luck. Whoever was left last would have to partner with him—the student marked for the Head of Slytherin's retaliation. Together, they'd make a suffering duo.
Leonard didn't mind. He just offered two seconds of silent mourning for whoever it turned out to be. A pang of guilt hit him, but what could he do? He couldn't very well kill Snape as an offering to the heavens. Dumbledore would never allow it.
Dumbledore was a man worthy of respect. Whether or not Leonard was a good person, he had to admit that Dumbledore, firm in his convictions, was a truly great wizard.
Besides, Leonard doubted he could even beat Dumbledore. The man's Apparition was almost supernatural. At least, judging from the Fantastic Beasts films, his duel with Grindelwald had been dazzling. Even if Leonard used every plant and every scrap of ancient magic he had, he wouldn't stand a chance against him now.
Since he wasn't the stronger opponent, he had to respect the man's rules—otherwise, the result would be ugly.
Turning that over in his mind, Leonard flipped through his Potions textbook to brush up on his knowledge. If he couldn't earn points from Snape, at least he could avoid losing any.
Just as he reached the section on the Draught of Living Death, he felt someone approach. Looking up, he saw a girl who wasn't white.
He had to admit, she was striking. Delicate features, deep-set eyes—an undeniably pretty face. Her skin tone suggested Asian heritage.
After a moment, Leonard placed her. She had to be of Indian descent—one of the Patil sisters.
This one was probably Padma Patil from Ravenclaw. Honestly, she was much fairer than her movie counterpart—and prettier too.
As for her figure… what figure could an eleven-year-old possibly have? Flat as a board. Leonard's chest muscles were more developed than hers.
"You must be William." The girl blinked playfully. "I'm Padma Patil. Nice to meet you."
She set down her textbooks and cauldron as she spoke.
Since she was a pretty girl, Leonard didn't bother with sarcastic questions like "How nice?" to trip her up.
"Hello, Patil." Leonard nodded, glancing at her as she placed her books down. "What's this?"
"I plan to partner with you. And just call me Padma." Padma smiled. "Not welcome?"
"It's not that you're unwelcome, but you must have heard about me, right?" Leonard asked.
"I have. You're really impressive." Padma looked at him with open admiration. "I heard you defeated six Slytherin students all by yourself."
"Just a few small fry," Leonard replied.
He called them nobodies, but truthfully, they had been a bit of a hassle. Maybe Hogwarts didn't push students hard enough, leaving them too much free time to cause trouble.
On his way to Potions class, Leonard had already felt Draco's pointed glare. Clearly, the beating hadn't been enough—probably because the pain wasn't deep enough.
But would going harder cause unnecessary problems? At the moment, Midgard hadn't had an opportunity to launch a direct strike against the Malfoy Manor.
A covert attack was no solution either. His own strength wasn't in doubt, but the aftermath would be more than Midgard could withstand. The Ministry of Magic wouldn't spare them.
Leonard couldn't risk dragging the werewolf wizards into disaster just for the sake of his own grudges.
Still, how was he supposed to swallow this anger?
After a moment's thought, an idea came to him.
As a squib descendant, he didn't have the backing to confront the Malfoy family directly. But someone did. That someone was Harry Potter—the Chosen One protected by Dumbledore, the boy who could get into all sorts of trouble without ever facing expulsion.
All Leonard had to do was nudge Draco and Harry into conflict, then sit back as it escalated beyond control.
And as for starting that conflict…
Leonard figured it wouldn't be difficult. With Draco Malfoy's petty nature, all it would take was a small push to redirect his attention.
If Harry Potter ended up hurting him—even crippling him by accident—it wouldn't be a real problem.
Magic could heal injuries, after all. The Malfoy family certainly wouldn't lack the potions to mend one of their own.
But thinking that way left Leonard feeling dissatisfied. Without a punishment deep enough to leave a mark, that idle second-generation brat would keep coming back to make trouble.