0354 The Gift Incident

Words : 1309 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

0354 The Gift Incident Twenty minutes later, the crowd gradually dispersed. Having listened to many jokes and wholeheartedly believing that quitting Professor Watson's physical education class was a wise decision, Ron walked out of the crowd and saw Harry and Hermione sitting there whispering. "When did you get back, Harry?" Ron had just plopped onto the sofa when he noticed the object in Hermione's hand and immediately jumped up in surprise. "Good heavens, a gold watch! Where did you get that?!" "Professor Watson gave it to Harry as a gift —" Hermione glanced at Ron and calmly said, "It's not a gold watch, Ron. I just used magic to detect it; the casing isn't made of gold—but it is a special kind of metal, and this watch seems to be magically protected." "Oh..." Upon hearing it wasn't a gold watch, Ron appeared much more serious as he carefully examined the silver dial adorned with glistening crystal-like decorations. "A gift... but from Professor Watson. Oh, I understand, it's about that incident!" Ron had also recalled Professor Watson 'owing' Harry a gift. He blinked, his puzzled gaze shifting to Harry. "But why would he give you a watch? I thought he'd give you something related to Quidditch." "We were just discussing that," said Harry. "Hermione thinks maybe Professor Watson wants to remind me to cherish time with this watch—" Ron snorted with laughter, but Hermione's annoyed look made him hastily suppress his grin. After tilting his head in thought, his expression grew much more solemn. "Generally, when a young wizard comes of age, his parents or elders will give him a watch that will accompany them throughout their lives." Ron noticed the confusion on Hermione and Harry's faces, so he shrugged and added, "This is an ancient tradition in the wizarding world. Mom and Dad gave watches to Bill and Charlie when they came of age. Percy has one too, but he rarely wears it, maybe because he doesn't like it much." 'Parents and elders...' Harry was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say. "In my opinion—" Ron said pensively, resting his chin on his hand, "It would have been more appropriate for Sirius to give it to you. You know what I mean, right? After all, he's your godfather." Hermione hesitated for a moment but didn't say anything. If there really was such a tradition in the Wizarding world, Ron's words were not wrong. Harry silently took his watch back from Hermione. After considering, he still fastened it onto his wrist. In the gentle candlelight, the golden casing's reflection held a touch of mysterious radiance. Harry furrowed his brow slightly. "Isn't it a bit too showy?" "No," Hermione raised her eyebrows and said decisively, "It looks great and suits you very well." Harry grinned and finally showed a happy smile. ... Snape gave Harry's thickening potion in the cauldron a disdainful glance. " Before you entertain us with the details of your latest pathetic bid for notoriety, could you please tell us what's in your cauldron? Goblin vomit perhaps?" Harry did not refute Snape's words because his experience over the past two years had taught him that no matter what he said, Snape would not stop insulting him. Instead, it would only invite more severe punishment. To be honest, after Sirius and Snape had a fight, it had been a while since Harry had been targeted like this in Potions class. With a disdainful flick of his wand, Snape vanished the Confusing Concoction that Harry had so painstakingly brewed over the course of the hour, the fruits of his labor dissipating into nothingness. Harry glared at Snape with an ashen face, only receiving a casual dismissal in return: "A worthless pile of rubbish, zero points, Potter. Before the next class, you need to submit a fifteen-inch essay on the properties of the Confusing Concoction to me individually." Hermione desperately signaled Harry with her eyes, and Ron kept kicking his ankles under the desk. However, Harry could not stand Malfoy's gloating smile any longer. "I didn't use the watch to poke Malfoy's eyes, Professor Snape!" "Ten points from Gryffindor, Potter—" Snape said coldly, "this is the punishment for lying." The rage was about to engulf Harry entirely and blue veins bulged on the back of his hands. Using up almost all his reason, Harry barely resisted the urge to smash the searing cauldron onto Snape's head. However, Snape clearly did not intend to let him off the hook. He slowly bent down until Harry could smell the complex mixture of odors emanating from Snape's body. "Perhaps you think having a murderer as a backer in school allows you to disrespect your professors, Potter. But if I catch you showing off that ridiculous—" "Sirius is not a murderer; he has been proven innocent!" Harry roared, jumping to his feet and staring directly into Snape's eyes, not caring that Ron was almost pulling his pants down! A terrifying light flickered in Snape's eyes, and he was about to say something when Hermione suddenly spoke up. "Professor Snape—" Hermione had clearly mustered every ounce of her Gryffindor courage to dare interrupt the about-to-explode Snape. In a trembling, sugary voice, she said, "Harry—this watch was, was given to him by Professor Watson as a reward, um. Last year, it was Harry who discovered the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets—" At that moment, Harry noticed the cold, icy glint in Snape's eyes, mere inches away from him, disappear, replaced by a look of sheer surprise, though it also only lasted for a brief moment. Then, Snape straightened up and turned away expressionlessly. For the rest of the time, the Potions classroom was filled with an extremely oppressive atmosphere. Neville made a mistake with the amount of Shrivelfig, causing a cement-like substance in his cauldron to erupt like a volcano, affecting almost half the students in the classroom. This time, however, Malfoy did not immediately start mocking Neville. He could see that Professor Snape's mood was probably off, and indeed, Professor Snape behaved unusually. If it had been in the past, Neville would have inevitably had to deal with Stinksap and frog brains until the end of the term. But this time, Snape said nothing and just waved his wand to clear away the solidified liquid. "I must admit, Harry—" The bell rang for the end of class, and Harry did not delay for a second, grabbing his bag and rushing out of the dungeon with an ashen face. Ron and Hermione hastily packed their things and chased after Harry. "If it weren't for Hermione—" Ron exhaled a tremulous sigh of relief once they had achieved a safe distance from the dungeons, his words laced with palpable gratitude. "You and Neville would probably be soaking in Snape's jars of potion ingredients right now." "It was Professor Watson's name that had an effect—" Hermione stared at Harry's profile and said in a soft voice, "He didn't pursue it further for the sake of Professor Watson. I know you want to defend Sirius, but Harry, you should not have shouted at a professor, no matter what." "Who are you angry at, Harry?" Sirius came down the stairs across from the entrance hall. He smiled and waved goodbye to a few sixth-year Ravenclaw students, then hurried over. As he approached the three of them, catching the potent scent on Harry and the others, and noticing that they were standing at the dungeon entrance, Sirius's face paled. He narrowed his eyes at Harry's slightly unnatural expression, his tone laced with barely contained anger. "What-, did that sniveling git give you trouble again?" ******************************* For More Chapters; /FicFrenzy

0354 The Gift Incident

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