Chapter 9 Trivia in Potions

The next morning, Maca was the first to wake up.

He couldn't figure it out himself. He had fallen asleep late last night, but he woke up so early. He thought it was probably because of that little girl, Luna! When he stayed at her house, he would face various ways of being woken up every morning, and strangely enough, that absent-minded little girl seemed to enjoy it. Unconsciously, he had developed the habit of waking up at a certain time.

Today, classes were starting.

Most of Hufflepuff's classes would be scheduled together with Ravenclaw's, while Gryffindor's classes would be with Slytherin's. There was an advantage to this; in a place without Harry Potter, Snape would be relatively less irritable.

"Now, let's take attendance..."

Snape still had that unapproachable look, with a perpetual absence of a smile on his face. He read the names on the attendance list one by one without even looking at the students. After he finished calling the names, he scanned the students with his cold and hollow black eyes. In his eyes, Maca saw a gaze similar to the homeless people on Knockturn Alley who had lost their lives and dreams.

"No," Maca denied in his mind, "Compared to the homeless, his gaze is even... more thorough, just like the eyes of a dead person, cold, empty, and full of death."

Having lived in the dark world of England at such a young age, Maca relied on his disguise and his ability to read others' minds. But now, Maca found that he couldn't get any information from Snape, which made him have the thought of staying away from this person for the first time.

"Leaving unknown dangers is the most effective way to protect oneself." This famous saying has been circulating in the dark world.

"Mr. McClain, do you seem to have a different opinion on my statement?" While Maca was staring blankly into Snape's eyes, it seemed like he noticed something and looked at him, then furrowed his brows and spoke.

"Oh, no, I mean, I really enjoy the subject of Potions, but the theories involved are very complicated. I sincerely hope, Professor Snape, that you can help me clarify some doubts I encountered during my preparation."

In haste, Maca was influenced by his previous thoughts and showed an unusual submissive attitude. However, he indeed had many questions that he wanted authoritative answers to, so it couldn't be said that he was just talking nonsense.

Yesterday, in the Hufflepuff common room, Maca asked Darren, the senior student, about a lot of information about the professors. When it came to Snape, although hardly any student liked him, his achievements in Potions and Charms were undeniable.

Just looking at his title of "Master Potioneer" recognized by the International Confederation of Wizards and awarded by the British Ministry of Magic, it was enough to establish his own place in the global wizarding world. In the book "Advanced Potion-Making," there were many potion-making methods improved by him, although currently, no one knew about it.

However, Snape didn't seem receptive to Maca's words. He smiled coldly—if that could be called a smile—and then spoke in a disdainful tone, "Oh? Is that so? Then, by all means, speak up. But if they are just some boring questions, Hufflepuff might lose some points. Let me reiterate, in my classroom, I do not welcome students asking questions!"

Upon hearing this, Maca couldn't help but swallow. Fortunately, the other Hufflepuff classmates didn't seem to mind losing points. Instead, they looked at him with worried eyes, as if the safety of their classmates was more important than house points.

Maca glanced around, relieved, and couldn't help but feel a slight fondness for this house. Only now did he have the first thought of "being sorted into Hufflepuff doesn't seem so bad."

"Ahem," he cleared his throat, calming himself down and focusing his thoughts. He then brought up the most perplexing question he encountered while reading the book "Potions and Elixirs."

"Professor Snape, when I was reviewing the section on sleeping potions, I noticed that a quantitative constant in the formula was not clearly specified in the actual mixing process, which puzzled me. I'm not sure if I made a mistake somewhere," Maca explained, furrowing his brows, a clear sign of his deep involvement in the subject.

When discussing topics he cared about, he often forgot his surroundings and the person he was conversing with, a bad habit of his.

Fortunately, Snape didn't show any impatience. He stared at Maca for a moment before speaking.

"I will cover the topic of sleeping potions later, and as long as you pay attention in class, you won't need to ask such questions again," Snape said coldly, then turned away without looking at Maca, using his wand to tap the blackboard, which immediately displayed lines of text and formulas.

"You can sit down now," Ernie, sitting next to Maca, tugged at his sleeve and whispered, "I can't believe it! I heard Snape is the strictest professor at Hogwarts, and no one has ever challenged him without losing house points!"

Maca, however, didn't feel any joy about it. He was genuinely concerned about that question.

Two Potions classes had passed in the cold underground classroom, and as soon as Professor Snape uttered the words "class dismissed," the students couldn't wait to leave. Besides numerous specimens of animal organs and Snape's constantly gloomy presence, there was no one else in the room, and the whole atmosphere was unpleasant.

"That quantitative constant is irrelevant; it's a historical error," Maca overheard Snape standing by the door, leaving this explanation before walking away quickly.

Maca watched Snape's figure, his cloak billowing in the wind as he walked, resembling a walking bat. The image made Maca smile involuntarily.

"It doesn't seem as difficult to communicate with him as I imagined," Maca thought to himself.

Of course, in reality, it wasn't as simple as Maca believed. Snape had waited at the door and provided that explanation precisely because Maca's question happened to be one of the catalysts that fueled Snape's fascination with the study of potions. In other words, Snape had the same question during his student days.

Maca couldn't fathom this not-so-coincidental coincidence.

Following the Potions class, there was Defense Against the Dark Arts taught by Professor Quirrell, who had some excess flesh on the back of his head. However, there wasn't much to say about that class. Apart from Professor Quirrell himself, who emitted a strong garlic smell and stuttered, the course content was dull and uninspiring.

Maca couldn't understand how someone could make the story of defeating a resurrected zombie so disjointed and suspicious. He had heard that Quirrell was an excellent student in his day.

Putting aside Potions and the almost useless subject of Defense Against the Dark Arts, what interested Maca the most was undoubtedly the charm class taught by Professor Flitwick.

Although this professor was short due to his ancestry, he was a respected and excellent teacher.

In his class, there were no strict requirements, and students could even move around freely. Even if students joked with him, he wouldn't be displeased.

However, when Professor Flitwick explained in detail the frustrating problems Maca encountered in his book "Theory of Magic," Maca immediately held great respect for this professor.

The former dueling champion was not just a name; his insights and application of techniques gave Maca a different understanding of the fundamental theory of magic. After several explanations, it felt like a new door had opened for Maca.

"Thank you, esteemed Professor Flitwick," Maca always had genuine respect for those who imparted knowledge to him.

Professor Flitwick smiled and patted Maca's arm—clearly, he couldn't reach others' shoulders easily—and kindly said, "Don't be so serious; theory can be dull, and it's through practical application that deeper understanding is gained. However, you are still one of the most profound students in this year's intake when it comes to the study of charms, just like Miss Granger from Gryffindor, quite outstanding."

Afterward, Maca learned some information about Hermione from Professor Flitwick. When he heard about the range of Hermione's studies, he couldn't help but shake his head wryly—she read too many books, which wasn't beneficial for comprehension and application.

In Maca's view, a solid grasp of the basics was necessary to lay a strong foundation for further learning and research. Even geniuses had to take things step by step, and he was well aware that he wasn't a genius, and Hermione probably wasn't either.

As for the remaining classes, what Maca disliked the most wasn't the History of Magic, which most students found extremely boring, but the Astronomy class held every Wednesday night—an established tradition. In Maca's opinion, aside from the magical aspects, the observation, recording, and calculation methods taught in that class were far inferior to Muggle studies in this field.

Most importantly, in today's magical world, this class had lost its practical relevance, which made Maca, a pragmatist, extremely frustrated.

"Hey, I heard you refuted Snape's theory in his class. Is that true?"

During Herbology class, while everyone was fertilizing some harmless and beneficial plants in the first greenhouse, Ron approached Maca eagerly and asked him this question.

Maca noticed that Hermione, holding a small shovel not far away, seemed to be paying attention as well, indicating her interest in this matter.