After Neville had a good cry, he felt much better.
Feeling embarrassed, he apologized to everyone. They all assumed he was too upset from Professor Snape's criticism and nodded understandingly.
Harry even joined Neville in cursing Snape for a while—
If they were in Gryffindor College, he would immediately have a lot of support. But at the moment, Neville kept his head down and hardly spoke, while Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry.
"Magic is a rigorous discipline. Yes, I do think Professor Snape is a bit... harsh, but being strict isn't necessarily bad," Hermione said bluntly.
Harry retorted, "So you think it's okay for him to make Leif experiment with potions?"
Hermione hesitated, then said tentatively, "To Professor Snape, he surely can tell at a glance whether a cauldron of potion is poisonous..."
"Hermione!" Harry said angrily. "We're the ones who are friends!"
"Perhaps Professor Snape is trying to force Neville to take Magic Potion Class seriously by using this method?"
Padma lay on her arm, tilted her head, and said, "Although it was indeed a bit much, even if it's poison, Professor Snape surely has a way to save Leif."
"I simply don't believe Snape is that kind-hearted!" Harry said furiously. "He's just bullying Neville! It's outrageous! I'm definitely going to tell Dumbledore!"
"The headmaster probably won't interfere with a professor's teaching methods, think back to Lockhart," Michael said.
Neville listened quietly to the argument that had started because of him, yet seemed unrelated to him.
He knew that Harry sided with him not because he truly understood his painful feelings, but because Harry was also a target of Snape's and hated him.
Hermione and Padma's counterarguments weren't because they had any issues with him but rather because from their perspective, it seemed like a trivial matter.
The others were unaware of Neville's past and didn't understand his thoughts. Neville didn't intend to open up about his wounds and tell them—
His parents had been tortured into madness and had been treated at St Mungo's Hospital for over a decade.
Both sympathy and humiliation were unbearable for Neville.
However, when Vid quietly accompanied him, he felt a long-awaited sense of comfort and warmth.
Thinking about Vid, Neville realized he hadn't heard Vid's voice at all.
He looked around but couldn't see him, so he asked Theo beside him, "Where's Vid?"
"He said he had something to do and left first," Theo replied.
"Oh."
Neville quietly opened his book, ready to write today's homework.
…
The green liquid in the cauldron bubbled, and Vid, seeing the time was almost up, lifted it off the fire and stirred it a few times clockwise, letting it cool down.
During the waiting process, the potion's color gradually faded until it became transparent.
Vid put a small amount of the potion into a bottle and slipped it into his pocket. The rest was packed into a large crystal bottle and stored in the wardrobe space.
Then he took the small bottle of potion and left the Room of Requirement, walking down the stairs.
It was already nearing curfew time, the corridor was empty, and even most of the portraits had fallen asleep, with only the torches hanging on the walls quietly burning.
Vid's footsteps echoed "hollow, hollow," and his shadow stretched long by the torchlight, resembling a monstrously broad-shouldered, slender-legged figure.
The noise of footsteps and shadows startled two sneaky figures, who darted behind a nearby statue and pressed against the wall in a clump, their faces almost squashed flat.
Vid suddenly saw two names on the castle's statue, also getting startled, then noticed the two huddling figures and felt rather speechless.
"Fred, George, what are you up to?" Vid asked.
He had suddenly spoken up, startling the twins, but upon seeing it was Vid, they released a long sigh of relief.
"Turns out it was you, Vid, I thought it was Filch!"
Fred casually pushed George aside, then dusted himself off.
George mimicked raising a goblet and enthusiastically said, "We were planning to go have a drink at the Three Broomsticks, Vid, want to come?"
Vid shook his head and said, "I have something to do—and isn't this your OWLs year? You're out drinking? No classes tomorrow morning?"
"Oh, come on, Vid! Don't act like Hermione!"
Fred pretended to clutch his head in agony, "Even if it's OWLs year, it can't stop us from pursuing happiness!"
"Anyway, we don't want to work at the Ministry of Magic, nor do we crave getting some certificates. Study well, Vid, we're off to have fun!"
George said lively, then the brothers waved farewell and walked toward the statue of the Hunchback Witch.
Vid listened to their voices growing distant—
"I think I'll bring the Marauder's Map next time, that really scared me just now!"
"Sure—actually, Filch doesn't patrol much now, he's busy playing with crabs at night! Someone saw him trying to teach Cleaning Crabs to polish goblets..."
"No wonder our night roaming skills have gotten worse! It's been too long since Filch chased us—George, I have a brilliant idea—"
"What a coincidence, I have a plan too—"
The two whispered and slipped into the secret passage, faint talk of laughter echoed.
Vid watched them leave before continuing downwards, walking through several stone steps, turning a corner, passing the painting of pears in the kitchen where some Hufflepuffs were knocking on barrels.
Soon, he was in front of the door of the Professor of Potions' office.
Vid touched the potion in his pocket, raised his hand intending to knock, but the wooden door suddenly opened.
Draco Malfoy emerged, head down with a bitter scent all over, almost bumping into Vid, instinctively stepping back a bit.
"Don't forget to come to handle the hemlock tomorrow, Mr. Malfoy."
Snape's tone was courteous enough but still gave a chilling feeling.
Malfoy's face turned sour, he didn't say a word, and turned to leave.
Vid then recalled that Malfoy had been punished with a year's detention, helping in the professor's office every night, probably assisting Snape with quite a lot of magic potion materials.
If Harry and Neville knew the leech juice used in today's Shrinking Potion might be extracted by Malfoy himself, they'd surely forget their sadness.
The door wasn't closed, so Vid stood at the entrance and knocked a couple of times, saying, "Professor, may I come in?"
In the office, Snape was wielding his magic wand, returning the desk items to their original places.
Upon hearing the voice, he turned around and then frowned, "Gray, if I haven't mistaken the time, now it's already..."
He glanced at the time.
"—five minutes before curfew?"