"Alright, uncle."
The little wizard spoke, his voice tinged with guilt.
Yes.
Snape had caught Ian wandering around at night.
"Even if it's not class time right now, you still need to address me as Professor Snape!" Snape's expression wasn't too ugly, but he nonetheless fixed an unhappy gaze on Ian standing before him.
"Okay, Professor Snape uncle." Ian weighed his options, wondering if bolting now would mean Snape holding a grudge and settling accounts after term started.
"I heard you mumbling about materials you shouldn't have. Are you plotting to go 'pick up' a few more somewhere?" The reason behind Snape's displeased look was obvious—he'd misunderstood Ian's intentions.
"Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. I was just reviewing today's readings while sleepwalking." Ian ultimately decided not to spin around and sprint off.
He knew other professors might just get even later, but his dear uncle would compound his revenge like interest on a loan. Ian's future didn't deserve to be punished with high-interest payback.
"Show me that bag of yours." Of course, Snape wasn't about to believe the little wizard's nonsense. His sharp eyes zeroed in on the money bag in Ian's hand.
The contraband inside was enough for Ian to rot away in Azkaban—no way was Ian letting Snape inspect it. He wasn't afraid of Snape reporting him to the Ministry of Magic; he was terrified Snape would just confiscate everything.
"I really wasn't planning anything bad tonight. I've got more stuff than I know what to do with. If you've lost something, I'm sure there must be someone else at school… No, there must be a rat in the school you haven't found yet." Ian almost let something slip, but he corrected himself quickly. Whether Snape bought it or not, Ian was certainly convinced.
"Tonight? Ha, should I be giving you a medal or something?" Snape, suspicious after being robbed, wasn't about to trust Ian's suddenly sincere act.
"See? Do I look like a kid hurting for materials?"
Ian both shifted the topic and tried to lend credence to his words, dumping out all the materials he'd pilfered from Snape's office in his last two loops.
They were scattered all over the floor.
The quantity was easily twice what Snape currently had in his office.
That should be more than enough proof Ian had no designs on Snape's office! Just as Ian was about to collect the materials back, Snape unexpectedly darted forward to stop him.
"You want them? I can give them all to you. I'm always thinking about how good you've been to me!" Ian looked wistfully at the pile of magic potion materials on the floor, most with very weak properties.
They had value too.
Maybe you couldn't brew anything truly effective from them, but with a little shift in perspective, the value they could create was just as real as if they worked—morality, well, Ian didn't always have it, but that didn't mean he didn't know right from wrong.
"Hmm?"
Snape wasn't moved by Ian's flowery speech; in fact, his brows were furrowed tight as he crouched down to pick up a shriveled fig from the floor.
"You call this crap magic potion material?"
Snape wasn't fooled by appearances, not even bothering to sniff—he just gave it a hard squeeze, and the shriveled fig collapsed into mush.
"They look like magic potion materials, and they have the effects of magic potion materials, just not very strong effects, so how can you say they aren't qualified materials?"
Ian watched the smashed fig with a heartbroken expression.
"Is that what those wizards in Knockturn Alley told you? I thought you were smarter than that…" Snape clearly believed Ian had gone shopping in Knockturn Alley.
He sneered—ready to unleash more biting sarcasm.
"No, uncle, the Dark Wizards in Knockturn Alley can't fool me, and I haven't bought any fake potions there either." Ian shook his head and cut Snape off.
"How do you explain these, then?"
Snape figured Ian had been fleeced by some unscrupulous crooks and was now stubbornly denying it.
But.
Under Snape's sharp glare.
Ian hesitated for a moment before replying.
"They're the fake potions I was planning to sell in Knockturn Alley…" The little wizard's voice went a bit quiet—he knew it wasn't exactly something to be proud of.
"???????"
Snape was instantly dumbstruck by this confession.
He'd just been worried Ian would get swindled by Knockturn Alley's Dark Wizards, but now it turns out the kid was planning to hustle them instead! Something weird really is going on at Hogwarts this year!
"You've got some wild imagination, I'll give you that!"
Snape swallowed and then put his stern face back on. "You think your little tricks can fool anyone in Knockturn Alley? You think your counterfeiting skills are better than theirs?"
"Let me tell you straight—even if you cook up these ingredients into halfway decent-looking potions, the folks in Knockturn Alley will sniff them out in no time!"
"Don't go thinking the wizards in Knockturn Alley are idiots. Just because they sell fakes doesn't mean they lack skill or technique. Making fakes takes no less skill than making the real deal." Snape looked at Ian's dumped-out materials with extreme disdain. All these inert ingredients screamed 'fake' to his eyes.
Of course.
That's just a Master of Magic Potions talking—he figured he could dupe ordinary wizards easily enough; the appearance was quite convincing, and he couldn't really tell how Ian had made them look so authentic.