(Snape POV)
I scoffed to myself when the old man told me to treat the young man with understanding as if he was some normal brat. Nicholas Ravenclaw was many things but normal was not one of them. In his same situation I very much doubt any other student would have hesitated for a second to either flee in panic or violently attack Lockhart. That he instead turned the man in despite his justifiable anger showed a level of self control few possess. The thing that concerned me instead was the boys rapidly growing power.-
He hid it well but it showed if you were to pay attention , small things like the fact most of his spells were overpowered by a large amount. Or even the silent transfigurations he employs without hiding at all. There had even been a increasingly more adept and powerful level to the enchanted items as well. I had noticed it by observing one of the first rings of protection he sold as well as the newest set. The new enchantment was more stable and I wasn't even sure the boy knew it could now block two attacks before crumbling instead of one.-
This showed a drastically improved efficiency in the enchantment which was frightening to say the least. I myself had only seen such a level of improvement in a field twice in my life. The first was myself when I first started to delve into the art of potions and spell work. The second was Lily Evans whom I still sorely miss. She was the most brilliant magical individual in the our generation with a mind that allowed her to master nearly any field with little effort. She was especially gifted in charms and created dozens of spells from scratch in our time as students.-
The boy instead was supremely gifted in enchantment and transfiguration and had a not small amount of talent in potions as well. No , talent wasn't the right word to describe his ability in potions , it was almost as if he was intimately familiar with the subject already. I had already figured out how he approached the subject and though I am loathe to admit it the muggle knowledge of chemistry did work well in the subject. Unlike most wizards I did not ignore the prowess that the muggles had in their sciences and even used some of that information myself.-
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As such I couldn't help but notice the almost scientific way he approached the brewing of potions. My mind was occupied with these thoughts as I walked through the castle in search of the person in question. It surprised me to find him with the other students he called friends sitting on a bench at the lakes edge. I was even more surprised to see how calm he was as if his anger had simply evaporated. The boy glanced at me as I approached and something about his golden eyes unnerved me as I got stared down.-
"You'll have to excuse me while I go speak with the professor." The boy said and his friends looked surprised as they only just noticed me at that moment. He stood up and walked over to where I was standing calmly but I noticed the wand in his hand. Considering he had already been attacked today his caution was understandable. "MUFFLIATO!" I spoke making it impossible to eavesdrop on the conversation. "I was sent to inform you of the need for your assistance in removing the curse on the Defense against the dark arts position. I was also told you may be of assistance in finding as suitable replacement for the recently dismissed professor." I said bluntly.-
The boy didn't look surprised at all to hear what I said which made sense since all of this was his idea to begin with. "Give me a moment to settle things with my friends and I'll be right along." he said and I nodded. After the boy handled his friends we went back into the castle but not to the defense against the dark arts classroom like I had expected but rather to the Headmaster's office.-
The boy seemed to have anticipated my confusion and explained the reason behind this action. "I am familiar with the school wards as they are currently and as a result can't remove the curse without someone familiar with it's previous state with me." he said and I understood what he was talking about. It was like trying to remove an impurity in a potion that you hadn't brewed , you would first need to know what the impurity was before you could focus on removing it which might require the brewer themselves. "Lemon drops." I spoke the password which caused the griffin statue to move aside revealing the stairs to the office.