I just figure, when Snape saw that nothing on the desk appeared to have moved, that coupled with whatever Noddy told him would be enough. It wouldn't be his first instinct to assume that his own elf had rearranged the books and hidden Harry's papers. Like you said, it's his trusted servant versus the son of his archenemy. It would be easy for him to either forget that Harry had brought up something from the Herbology text or to assume that Harry just peeked in the books and then decided to go play instead. But I don't think he put much thought into it. :o)

I could also do with kicking Noddy . . . even though I have a shred of sympathy for him. I wouldn't want to suddenly get a kid to raise. I'd never act like Noddy, but I might be resentful if I heard Snape (my master . . . now there's a thought) going on about him. Snape's anger is why I gave extra warnings about corporal punishment; he's going about it in completely the wrong way, very emotionally damaging (he didn't really hurt Harry, not physically.) I hope I don't alienate anyone because of that.

Glad you enjoyed the chapter and the FAQ. :o) I try to keep a sense of humour, like the poem I wrote where I kill my upstairs neighbours . . . er, that is, kindly ask them to stop the noise. Right, that's it. I've updated the FAQ quite a bit, and will probably use it in place of author's notes from now on. Thanks for the review!