The Insights of the Gods, Deducing the Forbidden Spells at Hogwarts

"Want to read more advanced magic books?"

"You've already finished these?"

"You've summarized the principles of magical condensation and want another profound magic book to optimize your findings?"

"There are many errors in The Basics of Potioneering, so you need a more authoritative book for verification?"

"There are mistakes in my notes?"

Snape's eyebrows twitched violently.

"How audacious! Charlie, Charlie. You're just as insolent as your father!"

"I must be out of my mind to have agreed to lend you these magic books."

"If I had known you were like this, I would have crushed any hope you had of learning magic."

Snape stood up and paced back and forth in his room, his expression dark and unreadable.

He was furious.

Not just angry, utterly infuriated.

But then again, it was understandable.

A child who had only been reading magic books for a single day...

Daring to boast that he had already finished them all.

And now, he wanted new ones?

Was that even possible?

Any Hogwarts first-year would need at least a year or two to get through these materials.

Fine.

Even if Charlie had somehow skimmed through them all, let's assume that.

But what about all this nonsense afterward?

What did he mean by "summarizing the principles of magical condensation and wanting to optimize them"?

That The Basics of Potioneering contained many errors?

If there were mistakes, wouldn't I know?

That my notes had inaccuracies?

Merlin's beard, what an outrageous joke.

No. I, Severus Snape, am the joke here.

For entertaining this nonsense for so long.

Damn it.

After a long silence, Snape took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

Then he sat down and closed his eyes slightly.

Half a day passed.

Snape picked up his quill again.

"Charlie,

I hope you grow to be an honest and upright person.

The words in your letter are far too arrogant.

I am deeply disappointed in you.

See to it that you conduct yourself properly."

…

Snape wrote a lengthy response, then immediately summoned his owl and sent the letter.

Only after completing this did he let out a long sigh, disappointment written all over his face.

He had initially held a good impression of Charlie.

The shock he felt when they had first met, when Charlie was still an infant, had left a lasting impression.

He had always thought Charlie was a gifted wizard.

But now, seeing Charlie's arrogance…

It left him completely disheartened.

…

A day passed.

Charlie was still at home, waiting for Snape's reply.

But he never expected that when it finally arrived, it would be filled with nothing but reprimands.

Meanwhile, at Hogwarts…

Snape had just finished teaching a Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

He packed up his things and left the classroom.

Throughout the entire journey, his mood remained sour.

Just thinking about Charlie's letter from the previous day…

Made his blood boil all over again.

He was overwhelmingly furious, rendering him speechless.

That arrogance, it was just like Charlie's father, James.

And Snape found it utterly repulsive.

"Oh, Professor Snape, I didn't expect to see you here."

A hoarse voice suddenly interrupted Snape's thoughts.

Snape looked up.

An elderly woman stood before him

Pomona Sprout.

Professor of Herbology at Hogwarts and Head of Hufflepuff House.

At this moment, her face was beaming with a smile.

Her eyes, as they looked at Snape, were filled with excitement.

A flicker of confusion crossed Snape's face.

From the looks of it, Sprout had come specifically to find him?

"May I ask if you need something?" Snape asked directly.

"Oh, oh, forgive me for being so abrupt."

Sprout first offered an apology.

"I would like to take up a bit of your time, don't worry, just thirty minutes at most."

Snape frowned slightly.

He hated being disturbed.

"My apologies, but I truly hope you'll agree," Sprout said, her eyes filled with sincerity.

"…Thirty minutes."

"Thank you."

Sprout was delighted and immediately led Snape to a meeting room.

"Forgive my rudeness. I'm just too excited."

Sprout's voice brimmed with enthusiasm.

Snape: "?"

"Oh, oh, it's like this. I'm sorry, I still can't calm down. Give me a moment."

Sprout took a deep breath.

Then she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

"This note, did you throw it away?"

Snape's expression darkened as he focused on the paper.

Oh, Charlie's letter.

Yes, it was.

Yesterday, in his fit of rage, he had crumpled it up and tossed it into the bin.

He hadn't expected the cleaning staff to retrieve it and that it would somehow end up in Sprout's hands.

"This is ridiculous. It's just trash. And you came all this way just to ask about it?"

"No, no, Professor Snape, you misunderstand me."

Sprout's expression changed slightly.

She knew Snape's temperament well.

Proud. Cold.

And now, he was about to lose his temper.

"I happened to pass by the trash bin and saw this lying on the ground. I meant to pick it up"

"But then I noticed it contained some insights on Herbology."

"To be frank, these insights are incredibly advanced."

"And you even pointed out errors in The Basics of Potioneering, which I compiled."

"So, I checked, and the bin's markings were unique to your office. That's how I guessed it was yours."

"I came to you uninvited because I wanted to discuss these insights and corrections with you."

Snape was momentarily stunned.

What was this?

Was she serious?

Did she have nothing better to do than mess with him?

"Enough!"

Snape barked.

Then he turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Furious.

Leaving Sprout standing there, utterly perplexed.

Frustrated beyond words.

"Did… did I say something wrong?"

"Why did Snape get so angry?"

"Forget it, forget it. His notes pointed out several mistakes in my Potioneering textbook. No need to overthink it, I should be thanking him."

"But I never expected that Professor Snape, not only an expert in Defense Against the Dark Arts, would also have such deep knowledge of Potioneering."

"He truly is remarkable."

"Hogwarts is lucky to have him."