Hogwarts: Transmigrated as the Top Student

Like Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape had no trouble bringing order to the classroom.

He spent half the class guiding students from both houses—working in pairs—to brew what was supposed to be the simplest magical potion: one for treating scabies.

That said, the ingredients and process were anything but simple.

Jon Hart was paired with Astoria Greengrass.

Following Snape's instructions, Jon collected various ingredients from the supply cabinet—dried nettles, viper fangs, porcupine quills, and more—while Astoria lit the flame and placed her cauldron on top.

As they worked, Snape, his long black cloak billowing behind him like a bat's wings, prowled through the classroom observing their progress... Most of the Hufflepuff students received harsh criticism, and even several Slytherins weren't spared.

Back at their workstation, Jon moved efficiently. Grinding, dissolving, boiling—he was already well-practiced in these tasks thanks to his prior life's lab experience.

"Why are you grinding the porcupine quills?" Astoria asked, confused. "The book says to chop them up and add them with the fangs."

"Even an idiot knows that powdered ingredients dissolve better than chunks," Jon shrugged, continuing to grind.

Astoria frowned but kept hammering the viper fang.

"Roast the nettles in the cauldron for a bit to dry them out, will you? Thanks." As he carefully combined the powdered porcupine quills with the crushed fangs, Jon issued the request casually.

Astoria hesitated, her mouth opening as if to speak—but she said nothing and followed his instructions.

Snape passed by their table several times, pausing to observe them for a few minutes. He even noticed the powdered porcupine quills... but said nothing, merely casting Jon a sidelong glance before moving on.

Once the nettles, quills, and fangs had been added to the cauldron...

"It needs to boil for five minutes," Astoria said after checking Magical Drafts and Potions.

Jon kept one eye on his watch while steadily increasing the heat.

When the mixture started turning yellow, he immediately turned down the flame to avoid overboiling.

"Hope you don't mess it up…" Astoria murmured anxiously.

Jon wasn't worried. Hogwarts' potion textbooks weren't exactly authoritative—sometimes even basic info, like whether beans released more juice when squeezed or sliced, was incorrect.

But that was understandable. The British wizarding population barely topped ten thousand—like a small town writing its own curriculum. Flaws were inevitable.

That's why Jon preferred tweaking procedures based on his prior experience with biochemical experiments.

Even in a magical world, some principles still held true.

...

Half an hour later, Snape began making his rounds, inspecting each group's cauldron.

When he reached Zacharias Smith and Eloise Midgen's station and saw their thick, blue concoction, he sneered.

"Do you think this is safe to drink, Mr. Smith, Miss Midgen?"

He offered similar disdain for Selwyn and Yaxley's potion: "Not only will this fail to treat scabies—it'll make it worse."

He went down the line, picking apart every group's potion with cold, biting sarcasm.

Until he reached the front row...

He saw the clear, pale yellow liquid in front of Jon and Astoria and frowned.

His expression turned peculiar—like he wanted to criticize something but couldn't find anything.

"Well done," he said stiffly. "Miss Greengrass... five points to Slytherin."

...

"This is outrageous!" Zacharias stormed over the moment Snape left the classroom. "Everyone says Snape's biased toward Slytherin—but that was ridiculous! Why did Greengrass get the points when you did most of the work?"

He glared at Astoria like it was her fault.

Astoria ignored him, quietly packing up their cauldron and pouring the finished potion into a crystal bottle.

Zacharias ranted for five full minutes before strutting out of the room. Most of the other Hufflepuff and Slytherin students had already gone—only Jon and Astoria remained.

Astoria finally finished packing up.

"I'll go talk to Professor Snape," she said softly. "Tell him you made most of the potion... it wasn't really my doing. He should give the points back to Hufflepuff."

"No need," Jon replied with a smile. He didn't believe for a second that Snape would deduct points from Slytherin or award them to another house.

"It wasn't just me. The potion was a team effort. I think if we do well again, Professor Snape might give Hufflepuff some credit next time." Jon didn't even convince himself with that one.

But Astoria seemed to believe him. She nodded earnestly.

They packed up and left the Potions classroom.

Both the Hufflepuff and Slytherin common rooms were nearby.

Astoria came to a stop, looking a little hesitant.

"What's wrong?" Jon asked.

"Professor Snape gave Daphne a week's detention," she said timidly. "He also ordered her to apologize to you... Can I do it in her place?"

A week of detention—harsher than Jon expected. Almost on par with what Potter and Weasley got for flying a car to school.

Then again, it made sense. To Severus Snape, there was no word more repulsive than "Mudblood." It was the wound that defined his life.

Jon had no intention of dragging this out.

"Of course," he said with a wink. "Tell Daphne it's all fine."

"Thank you…" Astoria's face lit up with a warm smile.

"Alright, I'm heading back to the Hufflepuff common room," Jon said with a wave.

"See you!"