Harry Potter: Return From Future

The amusing incident with Draco Malfoy was quickly settled, and as Harry expected from Hogwarts the most premier educational institution of magical Britain, there were no consequences for Draco Malfoy on firing a curse at another student in the very corridor of Hogwarts.

Harry even wondered if Dumbledore would even classify this incident as a 'political matter'. He could not help but feel amusement at this thought.

"Harry, why are you smiling?" Hermione asked as they walked to their first class of the day.

"Nothing," Harry replied, shaking his head.

"Are you sure you'll pass the test?" Hermione pressed. Although she wasn't particularly worried—since Harry had undergone a complete transformation in the past months and he seemed confident enough—she could sense a hint of anxiety growing within her as the test time drew near.

"Oh, yes," Harry answered confidently.

Still, he knew that Dumbledore wouldn't make things easy; he expected the old coot to pull some kind of trick.

Minutes later, the duo arrived at one of Hogwarts' classrooms for their first lesson of the day— study of ancient runes—and where Harry was required to take the test.

When Harry and Hermione entered, a strange silence greeted them, emanating from the front of the room. The classroom was almost filled with students from the students of all four houses who had study of ancient runes as their elective.

And the reason of this strange silence were at the forefront of the classroom.

Behind a large desk sat three individuals.

At the far left was Bathsheda Babbling—the person who was naturally expected to be present as the professor of the subject.

Her expression was not her usual joyous self- a grim and worried expression had taken over her face.

Next, in the center, sat Albus Dumbledore, and to his right was Severus Snape.

At the sight of them, an amused expression crossed Harry's face, while Hermione grew tense.

As the ideal student she was, she strove to respect all her professors equally, yet she could not deny that Snape was a teacher who had consistently targeted Harry unnecessarily in past three years.

His bias against Harry was clearly evident in his behaviour, which was unbefitting of a professor.

"Oh, Harry," Dumbledore greeted with a warm smile.

"You are here. We have been waiting for you," he added.

Almost every student in the classroom fixed their gaze on Harry Potter, and with Snape present, nearly everyone was convinced that Harry was doomed to fail.

"Good morning, professor and headmaster," Harry greeted as he walked to the front.

"Harry," Dumbledore said in a genuine, grandfatherly tone, "at least, to my knowledge, there has never been an instance where a student has changed his elective in his fourth year."

He continued, "Although the rules state that it is possible—after a student passes a test to prove their competence—we do not have a detailed procedure outlined for this process."

"Thus, leaving the decision solely in the hands of one professor did not seem suitable and fair to me, so I have formed a panel of three," Dumbledore continued, gesturing toward the trio, "to conduct the test."

Snape responded with an evil smirk, while Bathsheda, already sporting a grim expression, became even more sombre. How could she not be aware of Albus Dumbledore's true motives?

Harry smiled and said, "No worries, Headmaster. At least this resolves my confusion."

"What confusion?" Dumbledore asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh!" Harry chuckled. "I used to believe there was some sort of magic—something that kept professors impartial."

He continued, "But with your statement, I now understand that no such magic exists. I have always wondered why only the Slytherin students—about especially those who are mediocre in other subjects—excel and perform brilliantly in potions."

"I don't observe such a phenomenon in Transfiguration, Charms, or Herbology, that only students from a particular professor's house excel in that subject," Harry continued.

"For example, Hermione can concoct potions perfectly, yet Draco consistently scores higher in potions…" he added.

"You brat…" Snape exploded, standing from his chair in a frenzy. "Are you accusing against me?"

His face turned red with fury as he struggled to contain his anger.

The entire class fell into pin-drop silence.

Harry's observation was entirely accurate—not only in terms of marks but also points, detentions, and everything else.

Snape undoubtedly favoured his own house.

Bathsheda, on the other hand, appeared pleased; it seemed Harry had indeed developed quite a sharp tongue over the past few months.

"Did I accuse?" Harry asked innocently.

"I only stated an observation… an observation which is very easy to verify— I did not accuse."

Then, with a raised eyebrow, he inquired, "Did I accuse, Headmaster?"

Dumbledore frowned. Even a simple conversation with Harry had become a herculean task; every time, Harry would divert the topic with absurd comments— absurd, yet his comments always struck a nerve… a sore spot.

"Harry," Dumbledore sighed, "we do have a magical arrangement in place to ensure the fairness of our professors. And this panel was not established because we doubted Professor Babbling's honesty."

"Do we, Headmaster?" Harry asked, his eyebrow raised in question.

Before Dumbledore could reply, Harry continued, "Or perhaps such an arrangement applies only to other professors—and not to our dear Potions professor."

Harry's words dropped like another bombshell in the already stunned classroom. Not even the Slytherins could believe that Snape was impartial; his partiality for Slytherin shone as brightly as the sun. Now, Harry's assertion that Snape was not bound by this magical arrangement made all too much sense.

"You brat…" Snape fumed furiously. 

"Severus…" Dumbledore's stern voice intervened, preventing Snape from losing his composure.

"Harry," Dumbledore said, "we should proceed with what we are here to do."

"Naturally, Headmaster," Harry replied.

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