Bang!
The doors slammed open, and Snape strode straight into the classroom.
As always, his greasy black hair was parted down the middle, framing that sallow face.
His sudden appearance brought a ripple of panic to the already-silent classroom.
Everyone quickly set out their textbooks and full potion-making kits on the table, then looked up at Snape nervously.
"I didn't tell you to take your books out yet." Snape flicked his wand, and the door slammed shut behind him with a loud bang.
He quickly walked up to the podium, expressionless, and said coldly, "I have something to say to you all, and I expect your full attention."
At that, the classroom filled again with the rustling sounds of people adjusting in their seats.
When the noise finally died down, Snape swept his cold eyes across the room and said, "Potions, endless in variety, intricate and profound, are a field that demands exceptional talent from its students. The incompetent, even if they spend their whole lives studying, will never achieve anything of true substance."
Snape slowly stepped down from the podium. "Since you've managed to make it here, that means you all possess a certain degree of talent."
"But don't let that make you proud. Because, to me, your so-called 'talent' is no better than the excrement of a Bowtruckle, insignificant, and foul-smelling!"
He walked among the students. "I must emphasize again, I don't want useless people in my class. You had better face every brewing session with the utmost focus and seriousness."
"Because if I catch anyone being distracted and making stupid mistakes, the result will be your immediate removal from my Advanced Potions class!"
With that, Snape suddenly slammed his hand down on a Gryffindor student's desk. The student nearly jumped out of his seat in fright, and the rest froze like statues, barely daring to breathe.
Seeing this, Snape looked satisfied. He returned to the podium and barked, "Now, take out your textbooks and turn to page 87!"
The students hurriedly scrambled to grab and flip through their books, even Link and Emily, because that was the most basic form of respect toward Snape.
This year's Potions textbook was Advanced Potion-Making.
As an N.E.W.T.-level textbook, it sold for a steep 20 Galleons, ten times the price of the first-year book Magical Drafts and Potions.
That was one of the main reasons why there were so many Slytherins in the room.
The high cost of the textbook, combined with the expensive ingredients often required for practice, was something Muggle-borns and most single-income wizarding families simply couldn't afford.
Only the pure-blood aristocrats of Slytherin could let their children study Potions without worry.
It was an invisible wall of knowledge and class.
Because he had already begun studying N.E.W.T.-level Potions long ago, Link was very familiar with Advanced Potion-Making. He flipped casually to page 87.
The title there was written in slightly larger print, Advanced Rainleaf Neutralizing Solution.
"Today we'll be brewing the Advanced Rainleaf Neutralizing Solution. This is a rather high-level intermediate potion. Its properties are extremely unstable, handle it improperly and it can cause consecutive explosions."
"It's often used as a base for advanced potions like Felix Felicis or Veritaserum. Of course, you could also throw it at an enemy as a weapon, but I wouldn't recommend that."
Snape gave a flick of his wand, and a full crate of Rainleaf and other ingredients appeared stacked on the podium. "All right! Everyone, begin brewing!"
Once Snape's order was given, the students lined up in an orderly fashion to collect their ingredients.
Link and Emily, however, remained seated, watching Snape with a very strange expression.
As someone who could basically be called Snape's personal protégé, Link had brewed Advanced Rainleaf Neutralizing Solution before.
So he knew very well that while Snape had just given what sounded like a thorough explanation of its properties and risks, in reality, he'd skimmed over the most crucial part, the part where it explodes, with phrases like "unstable in nature" and "not recommended for combat use."
But the truth was, calling the Rainleaf Neutralizing Solution "unstable" was an understatement.
It was practically a bomb waiting to go off.
During the brewing process, even the slightest mistake would make it explode right in your face.
Link had suffered from that firsthand.
Snape was setting them up.
Perhaps sensing Link and Emily's stares, Snape suddenly turned his head toward them.
They quickly got up and joined the line to collect ingredients.
They weren't about to expose Snape's little scheme, after all, this particular potion wasn't all that difficult for them anymore.
If they actually called him out, who knew what petty, vengeful tricks Snape might pull next?
But Snape clearly wasn't planning on letting them off so easily.
"Link, Emily, back to your seats."
Snape called out while directing other students, then placed two slightly smaller pouches on their table. "Given that your skill level already far surpasses the others', your task today won't be the Rainleaf Neutralizing Solution, it'll be… Amortentia."
A rare smirk of malicious delight appeared on Snape's face.
Link and Emily exchanged a look, momentarily speechless.
Link's potion-making skills, under Snape's careful guidance and after studying the Slytherin Grimoire, had reached near–Potion Master level.
But even so, his success rate with something as advanced as Amortentia was still pitifully low.
That was simply because he hadn't practiced it much, he'd spent most of his recent time and energy on learning spells to strengthen his combat ability.
As for Emily, there was even less to say.
"What are you waiting for? Get started."
Snape said curtly, then personally opened the two pouches of ingredients and pushed them toward Link and Emily.
"Professor," Link leaned in and said quietly, so only Snape could hear, "isn't this going a bit too far? I don't mind, but Emily..."
"If you'd known this would happen, you should've practiced more," Snape interrupted sharply.
"You both have such exceptional talent in Potions, had you spent more time on it, you wouldn't be in this situation now."
"Since you're so worried about your fiancée, why don't you just brew her portion as well? Two doses in one session, I have high hopes for you."
Without another glance, Snape turned and walked off, leaving Link and Emily sitting there with conflicted expressions.
"Sorry. I'm dragging you down," Emily said softly, head lowered.
Link smiled reassuringly. "It's not your fault. Just two doses of Amortentia, it's nothing. Come on, be good, help me heat the cauldron first."
Emily nodded obediently, while Link activated his heightened sensory and Occlumency spells, entering a state of absolute focus to inspect the materials Snape had given them.
Once he confirmed they were intact and untouched, he began processing them for brewing.
Throughout, he didn't even glance at Advanced Potion-Making. Instead, he opened his own potion-making notebook.
In it were Snape's personally taught, improved brewing methods, shorter in time, with much higher success and quality rates, far superior to the standard textbook recipes.
Thanks to these improved formulas, Link's brewing went much more smoothly, even giving him a moment to glance at what Snape was doing.
But the look in Link's eyes, tinged with helpless resentment, was something even Occlumency couldn't hide.
He knew perfectly well Snape was using this as an excuse to push him and Emily back toward focusing on Potions.
And maybe, also, to assert his authority over the class.
But Snape's method was totally inappropriate.
Think about it, Link and Emily were, respectively, the most powerful wizard in Hogwarts and the acknowledged leader of Slytherin House.
If they failed on the very first day of Advanced Potions, what would everyone think?
It would destroy their reputations, make them a laughingstock.
And the worst part? Their reputation was a crucial part of Link's plan for the year.
Honestly, it made him want to laugh and cry at the same time.
Umbridge, his supposed enemy, hadn't even done anything yet, and here he was, getting stabbed in the back by Snape, someone he considered an ally.
Life really was strange sometimes.
Link sighed to himself and went back to intense brewing.
Emily continued to help him, she didn't have much experience with Amortentia, but her fundamentals were solid, and her careful prep work made Link's process much easier. Finishing two bottles within the class period didn't seem impossible.
Meanwhile, John and the others had started brewing their Rainleaf Neutralizing Solution.
But clearly, none of them had suffered through that potion's instability before.
BOOM!
A Slytherin boy's cauldron suddenly exploded.
Thick black smoke and a horrible stench filled the air, engulfing him completely.
The sudden explosion startled the nearby students mid-brew, and their trembling hands naturally caused a chain reaction of more explosions.
"The outer skin of the Rainleaf wasn't fully peeled, Hufflepuff, minus 5 points."
"You stirred too hard during simmering, Gryffindor, minus 10 points!"
"Not enough slug mucus, Ravenclaw, minus 5 points."
"Too much Rainleaf. Hm, you're still intact? Amazing. Slytherin, plus 5 points."
———
Snape moved swiftly among the tables, pointing out errors and deducting points while extinguishing the smoke with casual flicks of his wand.
Thanks to his "efforts," the chaotic classroom gradually returned to order.
In that sense, he was indeed a very responsible professor.
Of course, to reach that conclusion, you'd have to ignore the blatant favoritism he showed toward Slytherin, and the obvious enjoyment on his face as he did it.
And that wasn't easy to ignore. Many Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students shot furious looks at the smug Slytherins around them.
Thankfully, everyone who continued Potions in sixth year was serious about the subject. They'd long prepared themselves for Snape's bias and didn't argue back like hot-headed underclassmen would have.
Time passed, marked by the steady rhythm of exploding cauldrons and Snape's sarcastic rebukes.
Finally, in the last ten minutes of class, the two cauldrons in front of Link changed color, and a familiar, enchanting fragrance wafted out.
Link let out a deep sigh of relief. Emily, relaxing as well, leaned in to take a long sniff of the scent rising from the cauldron. Then she turned to Link and asked, "What do you smell in there?"
Link's lips curved into a smile.
Amortentia, the strongest and most infamous love potion of the century, was known for one unique property, its scent changed to match whatever the smeller found most appealing.
So Emily's question didn't need much explanation.
Link buried his face in her neck, inhaling deeply. "Mmm. That's the smell, plum blossoms mixed with apricot flowers. But wait, did you change your body wash yesterday, or not bathe at all? I'm getting a weird extra scent."
"Hey!" Emily pouted, giving him a playful shove. "Guess what I smelled from the cauldron?"
"What?"
"Your stink, obviously."
"Oh, really! You dare call me smelly?"
Link laughed and lunged to grab her, but Emily dodged away with a giggle.
Their laughter drew plenty of attention from nearby students.
Until, silently, Snape appeared in front of their table.
"Ahem!"
Snape's cold, sharp cough immediately made them stop.
His gaze swept over Link and Emily, then down to the two bubbling cauldrons of Amortentia. In the end, he said nothing, just gave another cold snort and walked back to the podium.
Knowing Snape's personality, both Link and Emily grinned. Emily even stuck her tongue out at him, and Link quietly flipped him the middle finger.
Snape didn't notice.
He glanced at the clock in the corner and said flatly, "I'm very disappointed. Such a simple potion, and five of you still failed to finish. You're the worst class I've ever taught."
"Everyone will write me an analytical essay on the Rainleaf Neutralizing Solution, standard handwriting, no less than fifteen inches long."
"If your cauldron exploded today, no less than twenty inches."
"And if you didn't finish brewing at all, no less than forty inches!"
"Now, class dismissed!"