Chapter eight hundred and eighty fifth hell is empty
Hogwarts Castle, Snape's office.
This is a dark room, with hundreds of glass bottles placed on the wall shelves, and slimy animal and plant specimens floating in colorful potions. Compared to Professor Slughorn's room, this place looks...
It's obviously much colder.
After lunch, Severus Snape returned to his office and began preparing for his afternoon classes.
The impact of Hogwarts' educational reforms extends beyond the classroom.
Compared with the past, professors of various subjects now have a lot more preparation work outside the classroom. For example, Snape has to check the works of junior students at this time - if there is a risk of instability, then he will
When distributing it to senior students for follow-up processing, they can also have a rough judgment in mind.
Tuk-tuk-tuk.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door.
"Please come in."
Snape put down the potion bottle in his hand and raised his eyebrows.
This is a very rare thing for Snape. Unless there is an emergency, it is rare for anyone to come to the office to see him, especially at this time after lunch.
"Do you have any questions that you don't understand, Harry...Potter?"
Snape raised his head in the shadows, glanced at the heads that appeared behind Harry, and added very naturally.
"Also, close the door, Miss Kaslana."
Elena obediently obeyed, with a little devil wagging her tail in her heart.
She turned around, and Snape had already stood up from the desk and walked into the light.
Snape frowned, his cold black eyes looking thoughtfully at the young wizards.
"So, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, that's it..."
Harry quickly took out the worn textbook from his schoolbag and handed it over, saying seriously.
"I'm sorry, Professor Snape, I lied to you in class before... I didn't come up with those subtle operations, I followed the notes in this old textbook - I decided to return this book
,because……"
"That's why you're here? To return books?"
Snape didn't reach out, his eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Then, please tell me, does the graffiti on this book cover up the content of the textbook, or is there some black magic attached to it that makes you feel uneasy or scared, or do you think it is too old?"
"No, no... sir."
Harry replied cautiously, glancing at the cabinet behind Snape.
The storage cabinet behind the desk happened to be open, and there was a stack of old textbooks lying on the top floor.
"Actually, I just plan to change it, which will be a little fairer...because I followed the instructions above..."
"Fair? What are you thinking about in your almond-shaped head?!"
boom.
Snape waved his hand and the cabinet door slammed shut.
"Listen! Mr. Harry Potter, you are learning knowledge and attending class... This is neither a Quidditch match nor a final exam for Potions class - completing the potions according to the class objectives is what you are doing.
Do you understand the task in class?!"
"But, but..."
Harry looked directly into Snape's black eyes, which were gradually becoming impatient, and said frankly.
"Sir, there are many exquisite potion notes here. With my current knowledge, there is no way to tell whether they are correct. If it stays with me, I am worried that I will not be able to withstand the temptation, so I plan to..."
"I understand, let me take a quick look first."
Before Harry could finish speaking, Snape snatched the textbook from Harry's hand and flipped through it angrily.
Half a minute later, Snape threw the "Magic Potions and Potions" back to Harry.
"I took a rough look at this student's notes... Well, the basic skills are pretty solid, just so-so. It can barely be used as additional reference content for daily classes. As for whether it can be used as a reference, you can consider it yourself."
"In other words, I can keep this book and use it as an additional reference book for Potions class?"
Harry asked carefully and softly. He always felt that Professor Snape seemed to be in a bad mood today.
Snape stared at him for a moment and waved his hand irritably.
"That's right, that's it! If there's nothing else, then hurry up -"
"I have one last question, sir!"
Harry said, quickly turning to the back cover and pointing to the line of small words.
"I don't know if you have heard of the term 'Half-Blood Prince' before. He seems to be the author of this book."
"I don't know. I never care about those ridiculous and childish nicknames from students."
Snape said coldly and forcefully.
The impatience on the Potions Professor's face has become particularly obvious, and every line on his face is engraved with frightening annoyance, as if he will throw them out of the office the next moment.
With Hermione standing behind Harry, Draco swallowed fearfully and gently pulled the boy's robe.
I have to admit, when Snape's face began to darken, he still looked very scary.
"It's okay, Harry..."
At this moment, Elena suddenly said softly.
"Anyway, let's not bother Professor Snape anymore. If you really want to know who the Half-Blood Prince is, you might as well ask Professor Slughorn - even if he has no impression of the name, the worst we can do is ask the professor for it.
Let’s look at past students’ homework and see if we can identify who the ‘Half-Blood Prince’ is through handwriting identification.”
Um?
Handwriting identification?!
Snape's whole body tensed up.
"Is this really reliable? This is not a case solved by the police."
Hermione Granger frowned, questioning in a low voice with some uncertainty.
"Not to mention that Professor Slughorn may not have saved the homework of previous students, but there are too many of them, right?"
"Don't worry, judging from the data is not complicated -"
Elena shook her finger proudly and answered clearly.
"There are only about a hundred students in each class of Hogwarts. Even if we go back fifty years, there are only 2,500 students..."
"As for Professor Slughorn, as far as I know, he has always had the habit of saving the homework of previous students - if it can't be found among those students, it means that the enrollment time of the Half-Blood Prince was not here.
During the tenure of Professor Lughorn."
As the famous "student collector" of Hogwarts, Slughorn is trustworthy in this regard.
After all, even he cannot be 100% sure whether his students will succeed in their careers.
Therefore, the safest way is to archive all homework. As long as a famous person appears in it, their past homework is a gift to awaken the friendship between teachers and students - no matter whether it is excellent or bad, it belongs to Hogwarts.
memory.
"If you really feel that the workload is too much, we can also mobilize everyone to help."
Elena thought for a moment and whispered innocently and cutely.
"For the second grade, we should be able to find a lot of volunteers. We can make a copy of each person's handwriting, and we can work together to identify the handwriting of past students. It can be done in two weekends at most...well..."
Snape stared at the silver-haired little witch in shock, as if he couldn't believe his ears.
Merlin, how could there be such a vicious little devil in this world?!
"Of course," the silver-haired devil said sweetly, and added, "We can even publish a missing person notice in the newspaper."
She suggested seriously as she opened the door and prepared to lead Harry and others away.
Now, the devil's sickle has been raised, waiting for the reaction of the "Half-Blood Prince".
Elena put her hand on the doorknob and counted silently in her heart.
one.
two.
[Get cash red envelopes] You can get cash by reading books! Follow WeChat and the public account [Book Friends Base Camp], cash/point coins are waiting for you!
three--
"Wait a minute! Stop!"
Snape's cold voice sounded behind them.
"Are you usually so free? Will finding out the author of this book give you extra points in Potions class?! If you feel like you can't find anything to do, then go help Filch clean the castle every weekend from now on.
!”
"No, sir..."
Elena replied politely, with a hint of appropriate embarrassment on her face.
"The most important thing is, well...this is for...Harry..."
"Harry?" Snape raised his eyebrows and turned to Harry, "What's going on? Tell me!"
"I……"
"Don't try to lie! I can tell!"
Harry Potter swallowed and said cautiously.
"I think... you said this half-blood prince, could it be my father or my mother? The handwriting in the book looks easy to read, and Professor Slughorn said that my mother's potions scores are also very good...
"
"James Pott?! Humph, absolutely impossible!"
Before Harry could finish speaking, Snape snorted and said contemptuously.
"He doesn't understand the subtleties of Potions at all, and he didn't even take the Potions Advanced Class."
"As for...your mother, Lily, Lily Evans."
Snape paused for a moment, looked away from Harry's eyes, took a deep breath and whispered softly.
"You are right. When she was in school, she was always the best witch in the Potions class. When you said that, I remembered that when Evans was studying at Hogwarts, she was the best witch in the Potions class.
I like taking notes in the potions textbook..."
"Wait a minute, professor, do you mean -"
Harry was stunned for a moment, and then his eyes widened in disbelief.
At the same time, a certain white-haired dumpling standing behind Harry also had a shocked look on his face.
She suddenly realized a problem. The person standing in front of her now was: the most powerful double agent in the wizarding world today, the best dean of Slytherin College, Severus Snape who had deceived countless HP fans.
.
Compared with other idiot wizards, Snape was originally a professional performing master.
"Okay! I repeat, I don't care who this old textbook belonged to before."
Snape waved his hand impatiently and said fiercely.
"If you continue to dwell on this problem, then just return it to me and write to Flourish and Blotts to buy a brand new copy of Potions and Potions. By the way, if I buy a copy of Slughorn's
I learned from the professor that, well, you are still wasting your precious time on boring things——"
"But it doesn't make sense. Why would the owner of this book put a book full of notes around in a random place?"
Hermione frowned and whispered thoughtfully.
"Don't interrupt me, Miss Granger!"
Snape glanced at Hermione standing next to Elena, narrowed his eyes in displeasure, and spoke slowly.
"Speaking of which, you two have slacked off a lot in Potions class recently. It's obvious that you are complacent in thinking that you can get good grades even if you don't work hard? What's even worse is that when you find that your classmates have exceeded
When it comes to myself, I immediately choose to deny and question others despicably, instead of reflecting on my own problems..."
"Sir, we didn't mean that!" Hermione blushed.
"I thought I just said, don't interrupt me, Miss Granger!"
Snape raised his voice indifferently and looked fiercely at the little guys standing behind Harry.
The original plan could be said to be flawless. If it weren't for the instigation of these troublesome students, Harry wouldn't have rushed to the office rashly. As expected, these two little witches were definitely the culprits.
Jealousy was something Snape had seen a lot over the years.
"Listen, during the long years at Hogwarts, the talents of both of you have been average at best..."
Snape said coldly, his eyes like two slits lingering on the two little witches.
"And now the facts have proven that just the old textbooks of a student who has graduated for who knows how many years can help Harry surpass you. What else do you have to be proud of - jealousy? Don't think I can't see it. Instead of spending all your time
Instead of focusing on these aspects, why not think about how to study hard, do you understand?"
"I don't……"
Faced with Professor Snape's violent scolding, tears began to well up in Hermione's eyes.
"Whether there is or not, you know best in your own minds."
Snape said coldly and indifferently, raising his finger in the direction of the door.
"Now, you can leave."
…………
Professor Snape's answer solved some of Harry's confusion.
For example, the content in this old textbook is not dangerous and he can use it with confidence.
For another example, there is a high probability that the "Half-Blood Prince" will not be his father, James Potter.
But what followed was another more tangled speculation - who is this mysterious half-blood prince?
"Maybe it's really your mother?"
At the dinner table that night, when Ginny heard Harry talking about this matter, she analyzed it very carefully.
"It's most likely a girl. At least I don't think this note belongs to a boy, more like a girl."
"His name is the Half-Blood Prince, Ginny."
Ron curled his lips, "How many girls would call themselves a prince? Besides, Professor Snape said it in the end, so that's not necessarily the case..."
"Oh? Then take out your notes and read them?" Ginny glanced at her youngest brother disapprovingly, "Anyway, I don't think there are many boys who can take notes patiently and neatly..."
"Ginny, what you said is too absolute."
Percy Weasley, who was sitting opposite, frowned and looked a little hurt.
"I do have an idea, Harry."
Percy pondered for a few seconds and tilted his head towards the head teacher's desk.
"Why don't you just ask your godfather, Professor Black? I remember that he was a classmate of your mother, so he should know something."