In the dimly lit potions classroom, the air was thick with the scent of simmering ingredients. Severus Snape paced in front of the students, his dark robes trailing behind him like a shadow. He stopped abruptly, eyes narrowing at a group of students struggling with their cauldrons.

"How fascinating," he drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "to witness such a spectacular failure. If only your talent for incompetence were a potion, we might finally have something worth brewing."