Like that, Defence Against the Dark Arts came around, and the class everyone expected to be taught by Remus Lupin turned out different the moment they walked in.
He wasn't there.
Students took their seats anyway, Slytherins and Gryffindors filling the room, voices low but restless without a teacher present. That didn't last long.
Ron leaned toward Harry the moment he sat down.
"Do you remember Victor's face when he got left alone—"
A sharp smack landed on the back of his head.
Ron lurched forward.
"The class has already begun," Severus Snape said coldly from right behind him, his voice cutting clean through the room. "Kindly refrain from announcing your thoughts to the entire class, Weasley. They are rarely worth the effort."
Ron straightened at once, rubbing the back of his head, not daring to answer.
Snape moved past him without another glance, robes sweeping behind him as he reached the front. With a flick of his wand, the doors shut firmly, and the windows snapped closed in the same motion, the room sealing itself in complete silence.
He turned slowly to face them.
"Your professor," he began, voice smooth and controlled, "is not present due to… circumstances which, no doubt, he finds entirely acceptable."
A faint pause followed, just enough for the tone to settle.
"I, however, do not share that view."
A few Slytherins allowed themselves small smirks.
Snape's gaze swept the room, stopping just briefly on Harry before moving on.
"Since I have been forced to take this lesson," he continued, "we will not be indulging in the sort of… impractical nonsense you may have grown accustomed to."
"Turn to page three hundred and ninety-four," he said.
"The subject is werewolves."
Snape flicked his wand, and the projector behind him sprang to life. A harsh light filled the board as an image appeared—grainy, shifting, a hunched figure under moonlight, something not quite human, not quite beast.
Snape stepped slightly to the side, letting the image sit there long enough for everyone to look at it properly.
"Observe," he said, voice low. "A creature that has been studied for centuries, yet still manages to surprise those who think themselves prepared."
He turned back to the class, hands clasped behind him.
"Now," he continued, "can anyone explain what a werewolf is?"
The projector hummed softly behind him, the image shifting as the creature on the board moved under dim light.
Victor leaned back, barely listening, a yawn slipping out.
Then—suddenly—Hermione was right beside him.
Her hand shot up so fast it made him jolt, his chair scraping as he flinched slightly.
He blinked at her, thrown off.
"Sir," she said, unable to hold back, "we're supposed to be learning about—"
"—what your assigned professor intended to teach?" Severus Snape cut in smoothly, not raising his voice but stopping her just as effectively.
Hermione paused, her hand still raised.
"Yes," she said, a bit more controlled now. "Professor Lupin—"
"Is not here," Snape said flatly. "Which leaves me in charge of this lesson."
He turned slightly, gesturing toward the projected image without looking at it.
"And I have decided that you will study werewolves."
Hermione's hand lowered slowly, though the disagreement didn't leave her expression.
Victor watched her for a second longer than necessary.
She appeared out of nowhere.
Not literally, but close enough to count. One moment she wasn't there, next moment she was answering like she'd been sitting in that seat the entire time. Her timetable was already packed beyond what made sense for a normal student, and now this—
So McGonagall actually gave it to her.
A Time-Turner.
Minerva McGonagall didn't just hand those out for fun, which meant Hermione had pushed things far enough to earn one.
At the front, Severus Snape continued the lesson, still fixed on werewolves like that was the only thing worth teaching today.
Which, to Victor, made the intention obvious.
Snape wasn't just covering a topic.
He was nudging.
Slowly, deliberately, making sure the class focused on what a werewolf was, what it did, how dangerous it could be. Not saying anything outright, but leaving enough pieces on the table for anyone paying attention to start connecting them.
He's setting it up.
Victor leaned back slightly, watching him.
Snape wanted suspicion.
Wanted the idea in their heads.
And given how much he clearly disliked Remus Lupin, it wasn't hard to see where this was going.
He wants him out.
Simple as that.
Victor's gaze shifted briefly, his thoughts moving further back.
Sirius Black, Lupin, and James Potter—
That entire group.
Anyone who had even a glimpse of that history wouldn't be surprised. They hadn't just been rivals. They had made Snape's life miserable when they were students here.
And Snape?
Snape remembered everything.
Victor's expression didn't change, but there was a faint edge to the thought.
Honestly, even Draco wouldn't go that far.
For all his attitude, Draco still played within lines. That group hadn't. They'd crossed them like it was a hobby.
If it were me, Victor thought, a flicker of dry amusement mixing in, I wouldn't just hold a grudge. I'd make sure they remembered it properly.
*****
A/N : 🔥 On Patreon🔥
⚡ A 15-chapter early access is available for those who want to read ahead ⚡
👉 patreon.com/JakeA30