Reag into his pocket, Alex pulled out a magical photo from st Christmas at the Potters’ home. In it, the two families smiled warmly, with Sirius looking particurly smug. Alex’s brow furrowed as he stared at the image.

  ' Dumbledore’s words really be trusted? Did Sirius actually betray everyone, or did something happen during those months he was missing?' The questions swirled in Alex’s mind, but he kept his doubts to himself. He decided to uhe truth on his own.

  Lost in thought, Alex walked to css. The professors didn’t seem to mind his distraost of the students were restless anyway. With the Dark Lord defeated, the school felt almost festive. s buzzed with excitement, and eveeachers were in good spirits.

  That evening, Alex joihe dinner as Dumbledore had suggested, only to be caught off guard by a surprising annou.

  “Snape… is repg Professor Slughorn as the new Potions Master? And he’s going to be the Head of Slytherin House?” Alex’s stomach sank as reality hit him. Just that m, he’d cshed with the man who was now both his head of house and Potions professor.

  At the podium, Professor Slughave a cheerful farewell speech, clearly pleased with the turn of events. The students cpped enthusiastically; despite his quirks, Slughorn was well-liked for treating them like family.

  Meanwhile, S at the staff table, occasionally gng at Alex. Alex looked dowing out a sigh. From the way Snape’s eyes lingered, it was obvious he hadn’t fotten their run-in earlier.

  “Hey, Alex,” Vivian leaned over and whispered, “you know the new professht? He seems to really like you—he’s been staring over here forever.”

  “Yeah,” Alex muttered dryly, stealing another cautious g Snape. “I’d rather not be ‘liked’ that much.”

  “Where’ve you bee couple of days? You missed all the fun! Everyone’s been celebrating,” Vivian said, her voice still full of excitement.

  “I wasly in a party mood,” Alex replied. “How are the pure-bloods handling all this?”

  “Oh, they were pretty miserable at first,” Vivian said, gng toward the senior students. “Then Yaxley started stirring the pot, g the Dark Lord wasn’t really dead and would keep proteg pure-blood dignity.”

  'He’s probably irely wrong,' Alex thought. Even though he didn’t know every detail of the inal story, he was certain Voldemort would return.

  “Yaxley and Vanessa had anht, but things have settled down a bit now,” Vivian tinued. “Why don’t you e back to the on room? It must be b being by yourself all the time. Plus, you’re missing all the gossip.”

  Vivian wasn’t wrong. Some of the Slytherin pure-bloods openly despised Alex and often mocked him behind his back. To avoid frontations, he’d been leaving early aurnio the dorm, whihose who eaunting him. But tely, things seemed to be shifting.

  “We’ll see,” Alex said with a shrug. “Some people don’t need a reason to be cruel—they just enjoy it and find excuses to justify their as.”

  The dinner ended peacefully, filled with ughter and joy—for most, at least. The m, Alex’s mood soured as he headed to his first css: Potions, now uhe stern supervision of Professor Snape.

  Alex sat o Vivian as Snape swept into the room, his long bck robes billowing behind him. His dark, pierg eyes glinted as he moved through the like a shadow. Arms crossed, he sed the students with barely cealed disdain, pausing when his gaze nded on Alex.

  “I don’t care what you’ve learned in Potions so far,” Snape began, his tone sharp and cutting. “Professor Slughorn may have had knowledge and experience, but he was far toiving of inpetence.”

  He paused, his cold eyes sweeping over the room. His silence dragged on just long enough to make everyone unfortable.

  “Potions,” he said finally, his voice low and anding, “is a delicate sd a art. For those rare few who truly dedicate themselves, I teach you to found the mind, enshe senses, and eve death itself.”

  His gaze rested on Alex again, a chill settling over the room. “However,” Snape tinued icily, “some of you might believe you’re already extraordinary. That there’s nothi for you to learn.” He moved closer, his tone dripping with disdain. “Mr. Wilson.”

  Alex sighed inwardly but met Snape’s gre head-on, his expression calm and resigned. Rising to his feet, he replied, “Professor.”

  Snape leaned in slightly, his dark eyes narrowing. “Tell me, Mr. Wilson, what do you get if you add powdered Asphodel root to an infusion of wormwood?”

  Without hesitation, Alex answered, “A powerful sleeping potion called the Draught of Livih.”

  Snape’s expression didn’t ge as he tinued, “And if I wanted a potion to induce euphoria, what would I need?”

  “A pot of euphoria requires two Manda fruits,” Alex said steadily. “One whole and unpeeled, the other peeled and sliced into strips.”

  Snape’s eyes flickered briefly before he fired another question. “What could you brew with tainted dragon’s blood?”

  This was beyond anything they’d covered in css, but Alex remained posed. “Tainted dragon’s blood be used to create the Dragon’s Fury Elixir. But it’s risky—it drive people mad.”

  Snape’s face darkened. “ime, spare us the extra entary, Mr. Wilson,” he said coldly. “It seems some students believe arrogance is a substitute for intelligence.”

  Alex stayed silent, his calm demeanor unshaken as he sat back down.

  “Are you all deaf?” Snape snapped suddenly, his voice cutting through the room. “Write this down. Every. Single. Word.”

  The css scrambled to obey, the sound of quills scratg on part filling the room. Beside Alex, Vivian leaned over and whispered, “Wow, I thought he was already mad at you, but now it looks like he’s ready to hex you.”

  Alex shook his head slightly, letting out a quiet sigh. He knew he couldn’t let Snape hold a grudge forever. Somehow, he’d have to figure out a way to make things right.

  The lesson moved on to the Swelling Solution, a potion that caused anything it touched to expand. Snape prowled the room like a storm cloud, his presence heavy and intimidating.

  As Alex whispered to Vivian, “Get the puffer fish eyes ready. I’ll stir three times and add them o a time,” Snape appeared beside them, silent as ever.

  “Feeling fident, Mr. Wilson?” Snape said, his voice low and sharp. “So sure you’re adding ingredients at exactly the right moment?”