i am snape

Abbott stared blankly at the two of them, then ripped off his earmuffs.

"Hey—"

"—Thump, thump."

Fortunately, before he could voice his opinion, Professor Sprout rapped on the table, silencing the buzzing discussion.

"Alright, when it's safe to remove your earmuffs, I'll give you two thumbs up. Now—put on your earmuffs."

Snape raised an eyebrow at Abbott and immediately put on the pink earmuffs. All at once, the outside sounds were completely blocked out.

Professor Sprout rolled up her sleeves, grasped a clump of leaves firmly, and pulled with all her might. What emerged from the soil wasn't a root, but a rather unsightly baby, with leaves growing from its head. The Mandrake's skin was pale green and mottled. The little creature thrashed its tendrils, evidently screaming at the top of its lungs.

Professor Sprout retrieved a large flowerpot from under the table, shoved the ugly infant into it, and buried it with damp, dark compost, leaving only the leafy tuft exposed. She clapped the dirt from her hands, gave them two big thumbs up, and then removed her own earmuffs.

"I imagine none of you would wish to miss spending Christmas with your families," she said calmly. "So, make sure your earmuffs are on while you work."

"Oh, and do watch out for the venomous tentacles; it's teething," Professor Sprout added. "If there's an accident, you don't need to use non-verbal spells in my class. Your safety is clearly more important."

"Besides, no one would hear your spells today anyway." She patted the leaves of a Mandrake in front of her, making it retract the tendrils it had stealthily extended towards her.

"Hello, my name is Patrick Abbott." Abbott finally seized the opportunity to speak. "Do you want to join our group? Honestly, I think your temperament really fits with ours..."

"All oddballs, are they?" Snape thought to himself. Abbott used to enjoy reading quietly when he was alone, so why was he so talkative now?

There wasn't much time for conversation after that. They put their earmuffs back on and focused on dealing with the Mandrakes. It was not easy at all. The Mandrakes didn't want to be pulled from the soil, but once exposed to the air, they didn't want to go back. They squirmed, gnashed their teeth, and waved their venomous tendrils, trying to break free from the wizards' grasp.

While dealing with the second Mandrake, Snape was momentarily careless, and it unexpectedly grabbed Abbott from behind.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" He quickly aimed his wand at the Mandrake, intending to separate it from Abbott. However, it held on too tightly, pulling Abbott along with it into the air. Abbott flew up and down in the air, flailing his limbs wildly, his mouth moving incessantly. He looked just like another fully grown Mandrake.

Seeing this, Pandora laughed so hard she could barely breathe. She clutched her stomach, rocking back and forth. Snape couldn't help but stop waving his arm. A monstrous figure with sharp teeth suddenly appeared in his mind. Although he still felt a little guilty, at this moment, he felt he could eat three bowls of rice just by looking at that scene. "Ah, is my soul no longer going to be as pure as before?" he thought.

Fortunately, this ugly little infant had limited strength. Before long, it lost its grip, let go of its tendrils, and dropped Abbott. Snape quickly aimed his wand at Abbott, which prevented him from landing face-first on the ground. But now the Mandrake was free. It tapped its tendrils on the ground, scurrying wildly among the silently screaming students.

Looking at Abbott, who was now furious, his lips moving rapidly as if on springs, Snape decisively chose to keep his earmuffs on. He thought pink was quite nice, actually, and suited him rather well.

The Herbology lesson ended in this chaotic manner. The emeralds in the hourglass representing Slytherin, embedded in the Great Hall's alcove, sank a few notches as a result.

"Why are they avoiding you?" Pandora asked. They were walking through the entrance hall to lunch, and several younger students, seeing Snape, hurriedly made way for them.

"Out of respect for me," Snape said calmly. "It's their heartfelt acknowledgment of my presence."

Abbott snorted with laughter, then remembered he was supposed to be angry and immediately straightened his face.

"Next time anyone calls you 'Loony,' you can tell me, and I can help you gain the same respect."

"Oh... well..." Pandora shrugged. "It's alright, I suppose they just find me a bit odd."

"Alright, if you say so." Snape said. "Come this way for lunch, Pandora."

"But this is the Slytherin table."

"Oh, this is Hogwarts' table." Snape tugged her sleeve. "Come along. I truly don't understand what's so interesting about all this fighting. Is there some 'Founders' Law cannot be changed' in the wizarding world too? I must have a good chat with the Headmaster about it sometime."

He glanced at the staff table; the Headmaster's seat was empty. Snape thought carefully; he hadn't seen Dumbledore for a few days. Since their late-night conversation, Dumbledore's seat had often been vacant. Had his words prompted Dumbledore to start an investigation early?

Never mind, it's useless to overthink it. He'd try to subtly pry next time they met.

After Snape had eaten three full plates of food, Abbott finally seemed to have calmed down.

"Do you want to come and watch the Quidditch tryouts this afternoon?" he asked Pandora. "We're going to see what brooms they're all using."

"I won't go," she said. "I still have a few experiments to finish; I need to hurry."

Watching Pandora skip up the stairs with her hands in her pockets, they left the castle and headed towards the Quidditch pitch. Although neither of them had much interest in Quidditch, Abbott's father had written to him last week, asking him to survey the school's broom market. Under the temptation and threat of Galleons, Abbott immediately surrendered.

As he read the letter, he said to Snape, "No one would turn down Galleons, including you. How about a seventy-thirty split?"

"Deal," Snape replied curtly.

By the time they took their seats in the stands, the tryouts were almost halfway through. Half of the students from Slytherin House, from first to seventh year, were present. The younger students were mostly clutching a few ragged old brooms chosen from the school's storeroom, while the sixth and seventh-year students appeared tall and intimidating.

"I remember the Quidditch team has a dedicated training room, don't they?" Snape asked.

"Yes, Severus, are you thinking about exercising again?" Abbott said. "Feel your stomach; you've only gotten a bit rounder lately."

"So, I'm planning to consult a professional later," Snape said, pointing to Montague, the captain of the Slytherin team.