Chapter 10: The Library
Chapter 10: The Library
The water in the crucible soon began to steam, and Ved added snake fang powder and nettle, stirring clockwise twice and counterclockwise three times. The nettle shards melted like ice.
Suddenly, a shrill scream pierced the classroom, accompanied by a hiss of green smoke. Some students' skin was corroded by their failed potions, causing them to cry out in pain. Theo was startled, "What's going on?"
"Don't get distracted!" Without even glancing at the commotion, Ved continued, counting silently to himself before adding the slug slime to the mixture.
"Theo, lift the crucible."
Theo immediately complied, still wearing his dragon-hide gloves. Ved waited a moment before adding two porcupine quills and stirring clockwise five more times.
The potion underwent a visible transformation. The nauseating brownish-green liquid quickly turned into a translucent green, resembling jelly—the exact color described in the book as an indication of a successfully brewed potion.
Theo looked at the potion in awe and then at the book, exclaiming, "We did it! Ved, you got it right on the first try!"
At the other end of the classroom, Snape, who had just dealt with a potion accident and scolded a few students to tears, heard the commotion and strode over. He bent down, examining the potion carefully before grudgingly conceding, "Not bad. It meets the standard. One point added—to each of you."
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"It's said that Professor Snape rarely gives points to houses other than Slytherin. I mean, it's great that we can make up for the points we lost," Theo excitedly told his friend Ryan as they walked after class. "And now that we have our potion done, we can use the remaining time to preview the next lesson on Cough Potion. Next time Professor Snape asks a question, I won't be caught speechless!"
Ryan shared in his enthusiasm, adding, "Our potions have always been a little off. They emit a strange odor, probably because we don't brew them long enough..."
"Hey, Ved!" A voice called out from behind, and Michael hurried to catch up. "I wanted to ask how you got that pale green color. I followed Professor Snape's instructions precisely, but for some reason, my potion turned out darker."
"If you didn't make any mistakes in the steps, it's likely a difference in how the ingredients were prepared," Ved replied, glancing at his partner, Theo. "Theo prepared the ingredients perfectly, and our final product had almost no impurities."
Michael looked at the Hufflepuff in surprise.
Theo, seemingly unaccustomed to praise, blushed slightly and quickly changed the subject. "By the way, do you guys have classes this afternoon? Want to go to the library to do our homework together?"
Before the end of class, Snape had assigned them an essay on Scabbers Potion, with a minimum length of six inches.
"Why the rush?" Michael hesitated, clearly reluctant. "It's not due tomorrow, we still have a few days till Friday!"
He naturally included himself in the plan, even though Theo had initially only invited Ved and Ryan.
"I'm going to the library," Ved said. "It's only six inches; I'll finish it quickly and get it out of the way."
Ryan nodded in agreement. "The library."
Michael seemed to have a bit of a procrastinator's streak, as he lingered, his gaze drifting longingly towards classmates who were discussing exploring the castle or taking a stroll by the Black Lake. Two girls giggled and invited Michael to check out the Quidditch pitch with them, but for some reason, he hesitated and eventually joined Ved's group, jogging to catch up.
"Not going to have some fun?" Ved asked.
Michael sighed. "If everyone else was going to play, I'd love to join in. But since someone's going to get an early start on homework, I'd feel guilty having fun."
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The Hogwarts library was located on the west side of the castle, and its interior was far more spacious than it appeared from the outside. Ved was certain that some sort of space-expansion spell had been used. The library was spread across several floors, with staircases crisscrossing between them. Countless bookshelves stood silently, housing thousands of books, and between them were rows of brown tables.
On the first day of school, there were few students in the library. As the four young wizards stood at the entrance, their eyes wide with wonder at the endless rows of books, Madam Pince, the librarian, immediately took notice of them.
She quickly approached, towering over the quartet, and asked, "First years?"
Theo, standing at the front, nodded.
"No tearing, folding, defacing, damaging, or throwing of books is allowed. No loud noises or eating in the library, understood?" Madam Pince said sternly.
Theo hurriedly nodded, as if envisioning Professor Snape.
"Stay away from the Restricted Section. You may browse the books in the regular section, but do not mark or draw on them! If you wish to take a book out of the library, you must obtain my permission first. Remember that?"
Everyone nodded together.
Madam Pince then asked, "What books are you looking for?"
"Er... Scabbers Potion... and books related to potions," Michael replied.
Madam Pince's wand waved in a circle, and a dozen books flew over from several shelves.
"These should be enough. Now, go and study," Madam Pince said, a faint smile appearing on her face.
The four boys carried the books and found a spot by the window to sit down. Michael flipped through one of the books and, considering that there were four of them, each type of book had two copies, and even the thinnest one was an inch thick—how long would it take to read them all?
He browsed through a few books, feeling like he hadn't absorbed a single word, and wondered if he could first copy a few hundred words from the textbook and then randomly copy a few sentences from another book to make up the length. Just then, he heard the sound of a quill brushing across parchment from beside him.
"Ved?" Michael asked in surprise, "Have you already figured out what to write?"
"Hmm?" Ved didn't look up from his work, "It's not that difficult."
He had several books spread out in front of him, and within moments, he had written four or five lines, and his handwriting wasn't particularly large either.
Not only Michael and Theo were left speechless, but even the usually quiet Ryan couldn't help but glance at what Ved had written.
Ved noticed their reactions and realized that he had momentarily forgotten—the children in front of him were only eleven years old, unlike his university classmates who could easily whip up a thousand-word essay. These children, even if they came from wizarding families, may not have received a formal education, and even if they had attended Muggle primary school, they might not have written many essays.
He didn't mind sharing his essay-writing experience with them.
"Writing an essay is actually quite simple," Ved said as he pulled out a blank piece of parchment and began to write while explaining softly, "Just build a simple framework and fill it with appropriate content. First, introduce the Scabbers Potion; second, talk about the history of the potion, such as who invented it and who improved it; third, describe the brewing process and precautions; fourth, analyze why the potion may not meet the standard and what accidents may occur if it's improperly brewed, as well as how to handle those accidents; fifth, you can analyze the effects and interactions of several ingredients in detail, for which you can refer to 'A Thousand Magical Herbs' and 'Introduction to Common Potion Materials'; sixth, describe the symptoms that the Scabbers Potion treats, including the cause of the disease, symptoms, how to use the potion, past cases, etc., and you can also compare it with similar potions, such as their materials, brewing time, cost, effectiveness, and so on. Finally, you can provide a brief summary and include your own thoughts. There's so much you can write about, just choose two or three points, and you should be able to complete a decent essay."
The three boys remained silent for a while, then suddenly pulled out their parchments and began copying furiously—not the homework but everything Ved had written.
"You're a genius, Ved!" Michael exclaimed as he copied, "This is like a secret manual for essays!"
Theo nodded, "That's right! I feel like no matter what essay we're assigned in the future—don't even say six inches, I could write six feet worth if I wanted to!"
Ryan paused in his writing, thought for a moment, and said seriously, "Six feet is too much! I couldn't write that much."
Ved and the others couldn't help but laugh.
(End of Chapter)
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