Hagrid's uncomfortable expression made Harry realize something.
There must be a special reason why Snape disliked him so much, not simply due to a matter of personal antipathy.
And Hagrid certainly knew something about it.
However, no matter how Harry tried to probe indirectly, Hagrid refused to continue the topic, instead persistently stuffing rock cakes into Harry's pocket.
As for Adrian?
At some point, he seemed to have become deeply engrossed in reading a newspaper.
Indeed, Adrian's attention had been captured by this copy of the Daily Prophet.
The headline boldly stated: "Gringotts Break-in Incident."
Interestingly, the text around the headline was half cut out, as if the owner had intended to clip it but stopped halfway through.
It mentioned that on July 31st, some individuals had infiltrated Gringotts, apparently attempting to steal something, but someone else had already removed the item beforehand.
"The Philosopher's Stone..." Adrian murmured to himself.
Of course, Adrian was familiar with the Philosopher's Stone. After all, Harry Potter's story began with the Philosopher's Stone.
As a wizard, claiming to have no interest in the Philosopher's Stone would naturally be a lie. And Adrian was no exception.
Extended lifespan, creation of a true elixir of immortality, turning stone into gold.
Who could truly resist these?
However, what Adrian was genuinely curious about was how the Philosopher's Stone was created.
The pinnacle of alchemy, the symbol of immortality—how did Nicolas Flamel achieve this miracle?
Adrian's eyes remained on the newspaper, but his thoughts had drifted far away.
Perhaps he could let the Tree of Wisdom have a look at the Philosopher's Stone...
There might be some unexpected gains.
"Professor Westeros?" Ron's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Hmm, what is it?" Adrian came back to his senses and looked at Ron.
"Hagrid asked me to give this to you, Professor." Ron said, handing something to Adrian.
Adrian looked down at the rock cake that had been forcibly given to him and his lips twitched slightly.
"Uh, thanks," he said to Ron with resignation.
Hagrid's afternoon tea continued for quite some time, but Adrian left early. He needed to consider what homework to assign to his lovely students.
Although he hadn't given homework to the third and fourth-year students, the fifth-years couldn't escape it.
After all, the O.W.L.s exams were looming.
Nine months would pass in the blink of an eye.
As the most straightforward indicator of a professor's competence, the O.W.L.s exams were crucial.
Therefore, Adrian couldn't let his students slack off during this critical period.
Evening, dinner time.
Adrian strolled leisurely into the Great Hall.
This was one good thing about Hogwarts—as soon as you sat down, food would appear in endless supply.
Of course, Adrian knew that all of this was possible because the house-elves had prepared the food in advance.
Thinking of this, Adrian couldn't help feeling a bit envious.
After all, these strange creatures worked without wages, had boundless energy, and were incredibly loyal.
For wizards, they were absolutely ideal helpers.
However, Adrian quickly dismissed these irrelevant thoughts. He hadn't come today to contemplate house-elf labor issues, but to enjoy a hearty dinner.
Those rock cakes had already given him some psychological trauma, and he urgently needed a proper meal to recover.
However, before he could pick up a piece of roast beef, a familiar voice interrupted him.
"Professor."
Adrian looked up to find Harry standing across from him, with a serious expression.
"What is it?" Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Harry?"
Harry didn't answer immediately. Instead, he grabbed Adrian's arm and led him to a secluded corridor outside.
After looking around to confirm they were alone, Harry finally lowered his voice and said to Adrian: "Professor, I wanted to ask you something about Professor Snape."
Adrian was slightly taken aback. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Why the sudden interest in asking me about Snape?"
Harry pressed his lips together, seemingly considering how to phrase his thoughts. Finally, he sighed with resignation: "This afternoon, I went to ask him directly if I had done something wrong to make him so angry during class."
Adrian was extremely surprised. He examined Harry as if checking whether the boy had been hit by some strange spell that would make him brave enough to confront Snape directly.
"And then?" Adrian inquired curiously.
"Professor Snape took another five points from me, claiming I was disrespecting a professor," Harry said with a hint of resentment.
In truth, he was now somewhat regretful. He had naively thought that all professors would be kind and gentle, just like Adrian.
However, the reality was quite the opposite.
When Professor Snape saw him, it was as if he wanted to devour him whole.
Harry stared intently at Adrian, eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment. "Professor Snape hates me so much, there must be a reason. Professor, you must know something."
Adrian looked at Harry's expression and rubbed his temple. In fact, these matters weren't really his to explain.
After all, it was more or less someone else's private business.
And explaining these things to Harry seemed somewhat... inappropriate?
Adrian pondered for a moment before finally speaking. Regardless, Harry was his student, and he couldn't just lie and say he knew nothing.
That would be pointless.
"When I first entered Hogwarts, Snape was already a fifth-year student."
Hearing Adrian respond, Harry's eyes brightened.
Adrian continued: "At that time, he and your father, James Potter, never got along."
Upon hearing the word "father," Harry was momentarily stunned.
Although he had already suspected it might involve his parents, confirming that it was indeed because of them still felt somewhat unreal.
"When an arrogant Gryffindor meets a Slytherin with excessive pride, it usually doesn't end well."
Harry frowned and quickly asked, "And then?"
Adrian shrugged, "That's all I know. I just know that back then, everyone at Hogwarts knew they didn't get along. Snape's hatred for you is probably because of your father."
Seeing that Adrian had stopped speaking, Harry lowered his head, his mood becoming heavy, thoughts in disarray.
This wasn't merely about Snape, but more about the name Adrian had mentioned—James Potter.
What kind of person was he, really?
After a moment, Adrian looked at the dazed Harry, patted his shoulder, and pushed him toward the dining hall, "Come on, let's go back and eat."