Leaving the Potions classroom, Harry felt as if he had been struck by frost, wilting like a limp eggplant.
"Ethan, I'm sorry. It's my fault you got called on."
Harry felt ashamed. Professor Snape was clearly targeting him, but because he couldn't answer the question, Ethan ended up being called upon instead.
Thankfully, Ethan was able to answer, preventing any points from being deducted.
However, later, when Ethan and Hermione got into a minor disagreement that resulted in points being lost, Harry couldn't shake the feeling that it was his fault.
"It's not your fault. It's Snape's own problem."
There was another truth he couldn't bring himself to say: This was a case of the son paying for the father's sins.
After all, Harry's dad had stolen the affections of Snape's childhood sweetheart, and he had used a spell invented by Snape to publicly humiliate him, even exposing his hairy legs and underwear. It was an eternal shame for Snape.
"I don't know why, but from the moment I first met Snape, he's been hostile towards me. Especially today, it was like he was trying to gouge out my eyes."
Harry fell into a deep state of gloom. All his other professors had been kind to him, except for Snape.
"Actually, you could ask your aunt about this."
Ethan offered a suggestion.
Snape was the "freak" Harry's aunt Petunia had often mentioned. Of course, that was when Snape was still a child. They hadn't kept in touch since, but Petunia must have known about Snape's feelings for Lily.
"Why would I ask my aunt?"
Harry couldn't understand. His aunt was just an ordinary person, and Snape was a professor at a magical school. They lived in two completely different worlds, with no connection.
"Since you said Snape was hostile towards you from the first time you met, it means you two didn't know each other. So he doesn't know you, but he has a grudge against you."
"Then think about who that grudge might be connected to."
Ethan continued to guide Harry, eager to see what might happen when Harry learned about Snape's past. After all, this was just a small incident, and wouldn't have any impact on the grand scheme of things.
"My parents?"
After thinking about it, that was the only conclusion Harry could reach.
He knew his parents were witches and wizards, and they had left him a vast inheritance. If they were still alive, they would be around Snape's age, possibly even classmates. If they had a grudge against Snape, it would definitely be possible.
"You can ask your aunt during the holidays. It's just one question."
Within Hogwarts, nobody would tell Harry, except for his aunt. He had no other choice.
"You know I don't have a good relationship with my aunt. She wouldn't tell me."
Harry shook his head. Since he was little, the Dursleys made him live in the cupboard under the stairs, wear old clothes, do all the housework, and they never intervened when his cousin Dudley bullied him.
"Are you sure about that?"
When Harry heard this, he nodded without hesitation. It was the truth. They just didn't like him.
Harry was still young, and he didn't understand many things. But he figured he would understand eventually.
"First of all, you're not her son. Why should she raise you? Did your family pay her?"
"Raising you for so long must have cost them a lot of money."
Ethan directly pointed out the most realistic problem. Harry, having grown up in the Muggle world, knew some legal matters, including orphanages. His aunt had no obligation to raise her nephew. Harry's dad was a wizard, and he had no Muggle world assets. It was a complete waste of time, no benefit at all.
Even in the Muggle world, there were many cases of people trying to take advantage of their relatives' property and then letting the children fend for themselves.
Harry had his own room, he ate with them, and they even took him to the zoo. They didn't exclude Harry when they went out to play. That was way better than an orphanage or anything like that.
In this situation, Petunia was actually a positive representative.
"But they're mean to me!"
Harry had taken some of Ethan's words to heart, but the different treatment he received from the Dursleys compared to Dudley was something he still struggled to reconcile with.
"You have a talent they don't. That's jealousy. You might bring disaster to the family. That's fear. It's no wonder they can't be nice to you under these circumstances. But they do care about you, even if they took a risk to raise you."
This was Ethan's understanding of the situation.
When Petunia was young, her sister had shown magical talent, and Petunia envied her. She even wrote to Dumbledore asking to attend Hogwarts, but was refused. At the time, she was quite jealous of Lily, but she still sent Lily off to the train station to go to school, indicating that she still had deep feelings for her sister.
Later, they both started their families. When Petunia learned that her sister and brother-in-law had died, she realized that the wizarding world was far less safe than the Muggle world.
Furthermore, her sister's family had obviously made enemies in the wizarding world. Raising their child, if their enemies found out, would be a safety hazard, especially after Harry was exposed to the magical world. (They weren't threatened into adopting Harry. They found out about the deaths of their sister and brother-in-law through a letter, and Harry was found on their doorstep as an infant, with his sister's magic. He was already on their doorstep, and they ultimately decided to take him in.)
"So what should I do?"
Harry scratched his head, troubled. He was completely confused. It turned out his aunt did care about him, which was a complete reversal of his past understanding.
"Explain everything clearly. And send them some small gifts from time to time, like Chocolate Frogs. You have enough money. But don't send them anything related to magic. That's something they can't handle."
"Okay! I'll think about it!"
"By the way, Ethan, do you want to visit Hagrid with me this afternoon? The giant who helped us at the station."
"Sure. I'm free this afternoon. Let's go together."
Ethan readily agreed. This was a prime opportunity to see the hidden wealth of Hogwarts.