Chapter 69: What Would You Do?
"Mr. Chopper, why didn't you grind the lionfish spines into a powder before adding them to the cauldron, as the book instructs?" Snape's voice was sharp, dripping with condescension as he stared at Kyle during Potions class. "Do you think you're some sort of Potions genius, tampering with the textbook?"
"Because of your arrogance, Hufflepuff will lose five points."
Kyle glanced up at the blackboard. Written in large, clear letters were the instructions: Lionfish spines are not ground, but boiled in boiling water for five minutes, then cut into sections.
The words were huge, unmistakable, and written by Snape himself. How could this possibly be considered tampering with the textbook?
"Professor..." Kyle took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice as calm and steady as possible. "That's what it says on your blackboard."
"Oh, then I made a mistake," Snape replied coolly, waving his wand with a detached air and erasing the sentence from the blackboard.
"Does that mean I'm always right? What about your judgment? If I told you to add your own heart tendon, would you do it?"
Snape sneered, his tone biting. "Because you have no mind of your own, Hufflepuff lose three more points."
...
Until the end of class, Kyle's hand remained clenched around the rock cake in his pocket, torn between the temptation to throw it at Snape's back and keeping it there. Although Snape had been deducting points for no good reason for as long as Kyle could remember, today had crossed the line. Snape had stooped to new lows, even going as far as to lose face just to dock points. How could he write something on the board himself and then erase it with his own hands?
This level of manipulation was truly eye-opening for Kyle.