Chapter 801: Ivan: Who's Trying to Murder Me?
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
By the time they were seated, the bell had rung.
It did not take long for Snape, clad in a black robe, to enter the classroom and shut the door with a backhand wave of his wand.
The classroom suddenly became very quiet. Everyone sat upright and put away their playful thoughts.
"Before we begin our lesson, I think it's important to remind you…" Snape said, placing his book on the lectern.
The pair of hollow eyes scanned the classroom. When they landed on Ivan, they lingered for a few seconds, then calmly looked away and continued.
"You will be taking an important exam next June, when you will be able to prove how much you have learned about potion-making and its uses."
"Despite the fact that some of you in this class are very mentally challenged, I hope you will all manage to 'pass' the O.W.L. exam. Otherwise, I will be… furious!"
Snape's eyes went straight to Neville's face, and Neville shuddered and gasped.
"After this year, of course, many of you will no longer be able to attend my classes … I will only select the best students for my N.E.W.T. Potions class, which means we will have to say good-bye to some of you …"
Snape spoke matter-of-factly about the important exams in a year's time.
The O.W.L., also known as the Ordinary Wizarding Level Test, was one of the twelve subjects required for fifth year students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The subsequent N.E.W.T. exams for seventh year students were equivalent to occupational certificates, directly related to whether they could find a good job after graduation.
For example, applying to the Ministry of Magic for an Auror requires an "excellent" or "good evaluation" of at least five subjects in the N.E.W.T.
For Ivan, of course, the exam was not worth taking.
With his current level of magic, Ivan was confident that he would get top marks in all of the other eleven exams, except for Divination, which required some luck.
However, in order to obtain GPA, Ivan pretended to listen patiently.
After a series of warnings, Snape quickly took out his book and began his first Potions lesson at the beginning of the school year — brewing a moderator!
During the lesson, Harry was subjected to Snape's venomous tongue as usual, and if he made the slightest mistake, Snape would appear behind him like a ghost and mock him.
"Potter! I told you to brew the potion, not boil the water…"
"Is this the right time to put the moonstone powder? Potter? Read the instructions again!"
"Potter, two drops of thischroot syrup is enough, remember that, and I don't want to repeat myself!"
… .
Under Snape's constant "motivation", Harry, who was already flustered, managed to brew the potion into a ball of effluent, which Snape publicly mocked.
Harry, now covered in dirt, had to look around for help, hoping that someone would save him.
Ivan shook his head helplessly at the sight, then sealed the potion and walked over to Snape.
"Professor, I'm done brewing the de-escalator. Can you take a look at it?"
Snape reluctantly let Harry off the hook, then turned to Ivan and examined the detergent he had been given. He opened the lid and sniffed it, then slowly said, "Nice!"
Yvonne was delighted. As a Gryffindor student and Harry Potter friend, Snape's "nice" could have been interpreted as "wonderful."
This indicated that his potion-making skills had been acknowledged by the potion-maker.
Harry gave Ivan a grateful look.
Ivan ignored this, however, as he had not come to Snape's rescue.
"By the way, Professor Snape, do you know where Headmaster Dumbledore is?" Ivan asked curiously.
Early that morning, when he checked the Marauder's Map, he was surprised to find Dumbledore still out of school.
Snape was the most likely person to know where Dumbledore had gone. As a double agent who was highly regarded by both sides, Snape must have had a lot of secret information and a way to contact Dumbledore urgently.
"I should warn you, Hals, it's time for class…" Snape said coldly, placing the detergent on the lectern. Then, as if he had just thought of something, he looked at Ivan, who had followed him, and spoke again, his voice softening.
"And I do not know the recent whereabouts of Headmaster Dumbledore, whom I have not seen much in the past two months… the most recent of which was at the dinner yesterday, when you were present."
'You don't?'
Ivan eyed Snape suspiciously, unable to determine if he was lying or not, as his current Legilimency level would not allow him to break through Snape's Occlumency.
Ivan looked around and saw that the others were still focused on brewing the potion, so he lowered his voice and asked, "What about Mysterius? Has he been well?"
Ivan had been trying to find out if his disguise was working and how much Voldemort believed him since the last time they fought off Lord Voldemort.
"Thanks to you, he's still alive," Snape said, looking at Ivan strangely.
Voldemort, of course, was alive and well, but his mind had been struck so hard that he was not quite himself…
Snape was so curious about what happened that night that, upon Voldemort's return, he stayed in his safe house, paranoid, for two months…
However, Snape was well aware that it would not be convenient for him to make contact with Ivan during this school year, and within a short period of time, someone was looking in his direction.
Snape suppressed his curiosity, moved his lips, and warned her in a very soft voice.
"Be careful in the near future, especially don't eat anything…"
With that, Snape ignored Ivan's reaction and stalked past him with a wooden face, berating Neville for accidentally spilling the cauldron.
Ivan's expression did not change as he returned to his seat and began brewing a few potions in the cauldron, thinking about Snape's final words.
Don't eat anything?
Could it be that someone was trying to poison his food?
(PS: I have something on today, one update…)
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