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He just has a bit of an eccentric temper, and he's especially strict with Harry Potter.
"Thank you, Professor."
Morris happily opened his notebook. "I don't have many questions. First, about the role of porcupine quills in the softener... then about the properties of fig peel... and..."
He asked several questions in a row, forcing Snape to interrupt him.
"Let me see your notebook."
Snape's voice abruptly interrupted Maurice's question.
Morris obediently handed over the notebook, his face showing no guilt or hesitation.
"..."
Snape silently flipped through the notebook.
Gradually, a look of undisguised surprise appeared on his face.
The questions on the laptop were numerous and varied, but most of them were simple.
But that's not the point.
The key point is that even he could feel the writer's passion for potions between the lines.
The other party is genuinely serious about Potions!
Keep in mind that Maurice had only been at Hogwarts for a little over a month.
In other words, he only had a short time to learn about potions.
Such enthusiasm was extremely rare in his long teaching career.
He's just like... himself back then.
Chapter 47 Snape's Reading List
Seeing Snape silently flipping through his notebook, Maurice couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong, Professor?"
To be honest, he didn't feel that his laptop was anything special.
He was simply writing down all his thoughts and questions while studying potions.
He was well aware of his potion-making abilities.
The contents of the notebook were probably not even beginner level for a Potions Master like Snape.
Snape finally looked up from his notebook and stared at Maurice with a complicated expression.
He paused for a few seconds, seemingly considering his words.
Finally, he spoke in a stiff tone: "You have too many questions, Mr. Black. And most of them are meaningless."
Morris shrugged indifferently.
After all, those were just random thoughts jotted down in a notebook.
"Give me the pen," Snape said suddenly.
"Oh, okay." Morris handed him the quill pen, looking at him curiously.
Snape took the pen, offered no explanation, and flipped the notebook to the last blank space, where he began to draw.
About a minute later, he returned the pen and notebook to Morris.
Morris looked down and saw that the blank page was now neatly listed with the titles of more than a dozen books.
It's all about potions.
Incidentally, Snape had pretty good handwriting.
"This is..."
"Read all of these books," Snape said emotionlessly. "From top to bottom, every single one. The first five are the basics, and the rest are advanced material. By the way, I finished reading all of these in my first year."
"If you still have questions after this, come to my office and ask me."
"Thank you," Morris said gratefully. "You are a good person, Professor."
Snape felt there was something subtly off about that statement.
It even seemed somewhat sarcastic towards him.
A good person?
He doesn't qualify.
This is simply a professor's basic obligation.
He nodded slightly and added, "If you really admire me as you say, then pay attention in my classes. Also, don't talk to Mr. Potter about trivial matters; it's none of your business."
Upon hearing this, Maurice realized that his conversation with Harry and Ron had been overheard.
He noticed that when Snape mentioned Harry Potter's name at the end, there was a hint of resentment in his voice.
From this perspective, Snape's feelings towards Harry Potter were not simply a matter of dislike; there were deeper reasons behind it.
However, Morris did not intend to investigate.
That's someone else's private matter.
...
In the library that afternoon, Maurice told Harry and Ron about his encounter with Snape.
Harry Ron always looked like the sky had fallen when he learned that he could no longer copy Morris's homework.
"Merlin's tattered socks!" Ron wailed. "What am I going to do? Whose homework can I copy?"
"Just write it yourself," Morris replied casually.
"I will not compromise!"
"...Whatever makes you happy."
Morris didn't know what Ron was insisting on.
It's just homework, is it really necessary to be so resistant?
Look at Harry, he's already flipping through the Potions textbook.
This is what a truly enlightened person is like.
"You should do your own homework, Weasley."
A voice broke into their conversation.
Ron glanced at the man and said irritably, "This is none of your business, Granger."
Hermione stood at their table, head held high, clutching a thick book, her voice clear, "This is of course related to me, Weasley. If some people in Gryffindor lose a lot of points for this kind of behavior, I'll have to work much harder to earn them back."
"No points have been deducted yet, have you?" Ron retorted. "Mind your own business."
However, Hermione acted as if she hadn't heard her and continued, "Copying homework is wrong in itself; it's disrespectful to the professor. I can't stand by and watch you all fall into depravity. Don't you agree, Morris?"
She turned to look at Maurice's seat, hoping to gain some approval.
However, the seats were empty.
I don't know when, but Maurice had already left.
Hermione paused for a moment.
"Uh…" Harry spoke up at the opportune moment: "If you're looking for Maurice, he went over to the bookshelves while you were arguing… discussing. He told me he was going to look for some books."
He pointed with his finger.
Not far away, among the bookshelves, Maurice was standing on a ladder, looking up, intently examining a book on the upper shelf, completely unaware of the commotion.
Ron puffed out his chest, as if he had grasped some key argument, and said smugly, "You're wrong, Granger. Morris is my friend, and he's willing to let me copy his homework! He said it himself!"
Harry didn't think this was something to be proud of, or something to announce loudly.
Hermione blushed slightly with anger upon hearing this.
She stomped her foot and raised her voice, "I don't care about you anymore! Do whatever you want!"
After saying that, she turned around and walked quickly in another direction from the library.
Harry and Ron looked at each other in bewilderment.
"She's angry?" Ron asked, somewhat bewildered. "Just because of this?"
"Obviously." Harry nodded.
"Wait—I should be the one who's angry." Ron couldn't understand.
It was clearly Hermione who came looking for trouble.
What kind of person storms off in a huff after losing a debate?
Meanwhile, Maurice was searching for the books he needed, based on the list Snape had given him.
He planned to borrow them all at once and then study them slowly in his dormitory.
For him, his dormitory, where he was alone, was clearly more suitable for reading and studying than the library.
While searching for the books on the list, Maurice bumped into Hermione.
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