Chapter 681: This Feeling Is Way Too Familiar
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By May, Hogwarts had suddenly become oppressively muggy.
The temperature itself wasn’t particularly high, but the air felt as though it had been glued in place. Even breathing seemed to take effort.
As a result, the students grew increasingly irritable. Conflicts and arguments throughout the castle spiked almost overnight. Sometimes a simple bump in the hallway was enough to spark a full-blown brawl.
Watching these absurd scenes unfold, the professors were left with constant headaches. Unfortunately, there was little they could do. Human emotions weren’t something that could be neatly controlled. No matter how stern the reprimand, the moment tempers flared, every warning was forgotten.
In the end, the headmasters convened and spent half a day discussing possible solutions before finally settling on one.
The students had so much energy that they were fighting every day? Fine. Let them use all of it.
If they were exhausted enough to collapse like dead dogs, they wouldn’t have the strength to cause trouble.
Thus, assignments for every subject suddenly doubled.
At the same time, the Quidditch Finals, originally scheduled for June, were moved up to May, with two matches being played every weekend.
The combination hit the students like a devastating one-two punch.
The little witches and wizards visibly wilted, and Hogwarts immediately became peaceful again.
The Quidditch players suffered the most. Harry, Wood, and the others looked half-dead every single day.
And if they happened to have one of Riddle’s Potions classes on top of that... Well, they practically departed this world in peace. Whether they could resurrect themselves in time for class the next morning was anyone’s guess.
..
People only realize the value of something after it’s gone.
Back when Snape was around, everyone had thought he was the greatest villain under the sun.
But after experiencing Tom Riddle by comparison, the old bat’s image somehow started looking surprisingly pleasant.
No matter how strict, harsh, or sarcastic Snape was, he was still only human.
In a single class, he could only focus his attention on tormenting a handful of students before reaching the limits of his energy. Everyone else usually got off at least somewhat easier.
For example, with Harry and Neville serving as his favorite targets, the rest of the class didn’t have it nearly as bad. They simply disliked Snape.
But when it came to Tom... the students finally learned just how terrifying a teacher could be when he seemed to have eyes in every direction, ears everywhere, a constant surveillance network running, and Legilimency practically functioning as mind-reading.
The feeling was suffocating.
It was as if the teacher stood directly behind you every second of the lesson, watching with complete concentration. The slightest lapse in attention, the tiniest mistake, would be spotted instantly, followed by a merciless barrage of venomous criticism.
The pressure was absolutely overwhelming. One Potions class with Tom drained more energy than three or four ordinary lessons combined.
After all, what normal student could stay focused and pay attention for an entire class? Getting ten or fifteen good minutes out of a lesson was already an achievement.
Professor Snape, please come back!
Even Harry Potter himself had started to feel the urge to send Snape a get-well card, wishing him a speedy recovery. And he meant it.
In just over two weeks, he’d managed to cost Gryffindor more than twenty points. If this kept up, he was going to end up as the House’s public enemy.
At this point, the Hogwarts House Point display had become one of the school’s great spectacles.
All four hourglasses were completely empty at the top, while the gems piled high at the bottom.
Even Hufflepuff, the House with the best score, was sitting at negative one hundred.
With only a month left in the school year, there was basically no chance of any of them climbing back into positive numbers.
This year’s results were destined to become part of Hogwarts history. Decades from now, people would probably still stare at the records and marvel at them.
...
Mid-May, St. Mungo’s Hospital—
Snape changed out of his hospital gown and slipped back into the black robes that had become his trademark.
In barely a day’s time, the fogginess that had plagued him vanished completely. Aside from the weakness that came from being bedridden for weeks, his body was perfectly fine.
The healers and nurses were baffled.
None of them could understand why his recovery had been so sudden. Every examination came back normal, and with no problems to be found, they had little choice but to discharge him.
But Snape knew exactly what had happened. That brat had probably cooled off and decided to let him go.
At the thought, a faintly mocking smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
What a petty form of revenge.
All he had done was lie in bed on paid leave, yet in return he received several bottles of fresh dragon blood from a mighty dragon far beyond king-tier.
No matter how he looked at it, he’d come out ahead.
When he’d first realized Tom was behind all this, he’d assumed he’d be bedridden until the end of the school year.
But this was it?
The more he thought about it, the better he felt.
His mood brightened, his steps grew lighter, and he made his way to the public fireplace, using the Floo Network to return to his office at Hogwarts.
He stepped out of the green flames. And the first thing he saw was an office that was spotless, immaculate, and completely empty.
Wait. Empty?
The smile slowly vanished from Snape’s face, replaced by growing confusion.
This wasn’t just his office. It was also his storeroom.
Where was everything that had been inside?
A very... Very familiar feeling washed over him.
Memories from a few years ago surfaced instantly.
The same place. The same situation. And, apparently, the same outcome.
He’d been robbed blind by a certain someone. Again.
No wonder that brat had only left him bedridden for a short time before deciding he’d "calmed down."
So this was what he’d been planning all along?!
Snape’s expression froze. Then it darkened by the second.
.
.
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