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Chapter 371: Unique Potion Talent
Chapter 371: Unique Potion Talent
The first class in the morning was Potions, attended by both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor students.
From the moment the class began, the Gryffindor students became the target of intense scrutiny.
As soon as Katie, the Quidditch team member, entered the classroom, she was deducted five points for wearing a hat. And then there was Cormac McLaggen, who was deducted three points because his book had a crease.
The reasons were clear to everyone.
In their third-year Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Neville faced a Boggart that had transformed into Snape, and he managed to dress it up in a rather eye-catching granny outfit.
This incident could have been a big deal, and even if Snape was angry, he would only take it out on Neville.
However, the problem was that some prankster had brought a camera to the classroom, and Snape's cross-dressing photo had spread throughout Hogwarts.
Although the matter was quickly stopped, and all the photos were forcibly confiscated, that was only on the surface.
There were still many copies in circulation behind the scenes.
To find the culprit, Snape tried all sorts of methods, from threats to bribes, and from tracking to investigations, but to no avail.
The students were more united than ever, and no one would admit to knowing anything.
Even Professor Lupin himself seemed to be in the dark, claiming ignorance and acting as if he hadn't seen anything, which only made Snape more frustrated.
So, the Gryffindor students who were the first to spread the photo suffered the consequences.
To put it bluntly, even if Kyle had been deducted a hundred points, Hufflepuff's house points were still far ahead of Gryffindor's.
And this was just Snape's work for one day.
From the beginning of the year, Gryffindor's house points had been plummeting towards their historical low.
Even Professor McGonagall couldn't say anything, as she had also seen the photo, and to be fair, it was understandable why Snape was so angry.
"Vitality Potion!"
It wasn't until Gryffindor had been deducted twenty points that Snape returned to the podium and said in a drawn-out tone, "Mandrake root, ginger root, and unicow horn... Mr. McLaggen."
He suddenly asked, "When brewing the Vitality Potion, what should be done with the unicow horn?"
"Roast it and then grind it into powder, Professor," McLaggen stood up, glanced at the blackboard, and answered confidently.
"Haha, Snape has made a mistake this time."
Kyle heard someone whisper behind him, "Lucky for him, all this information is on the blackboard. He just needs to take a glance to know it."
"Oh?"
Snape raised an eyebrow and took a step forward to block the blackboard, then continued, "And how long should it be roasted?"
"Twenty minutes," McLaggen replied without hesitation, "and then you need to scrape off the outer layer before grinding it."
"Do you think you're so smart...?" Snape said with a sinister smile, "You remembered all this just from a glance."
"I didn't look at the blackboard, Professor!" McLaggen insisted, "I read the book in advance, so I know."
"If you read the book in advance, you should know that the Vitality Potion requires a rhinoceros unicorn's horn, not a unicow's..." Snape smirked, "Gryffindor, deducted five points!"
McLaggen's face froze, protesting, "But, you wrote unicow on the blackboard! I couldn't have read it wrong!"
"Oh, that..." Snape turned and erased that line.
"Didn't you just say you didn't look at the blackboard?" he said lazily, "Deceiving the professor, Gryffindor, deducted another five points."
After that, they continued with the potion ingredients.
The mandrake and ginger roots were easy to handle, but the rhinoceros unicorn's horn was a real hassle. It was too hard and resilient, and just cutting it down was a challenge, let alone grinding it.
"The pre-roasting step was given by Snape, it's not in the book."
Ryan leaned over and whispered, using the excuse of borrowing something, "Have you seen today's Daily Prophet?"
"No," Kyle shook his head, "What happened?"
"Someone saw Sirius Black." Mikel lowered his voice, "In Croteaux County, just south of Hogsmeade. It was a Muggle who saw him... Of course, he didn't know what was going on and thought Black was just an ordinary criminal, so he called the emergency hotline."
"By the time the Ministry arrived, he was gone."
"That's not far at all, less than fifty miles from Hogsmeade." Cormac McLaggen, sitting next to them, joined the conversation.
"Do you think he'll come to Hogwarts?" Conna looked a bit nervous.
"That's impossible."
"The latest chapter is in book 6, chapter 9."
"Don't forget there are Dementors at the school gates. If he comes, it's like walking into a trap." McLaggen said confidently.
"But I still feel something is off." Mikel said thoughtfully, "With so many places to go, why did he appear so close to Hogsmeade?"
"Maybe he doesn't know there are Dementors here." McLaggen chuckled, "I wish he'd come. Once the Dementors find him, he won't escape.
After he's captured, the Dementors will leave the school. Honestly, just thinking about those creatures at the gates makes me feel uneasy, even the wind blowing by feels chilly."
The group didn't dare to say more and dispersed before Snape turned around.
"Kyle, do you think the Dementors at the gates can really stop Black if he comes to Hogwarts?" Conna asked in a low voice.
"It's hard to say." Kyle shook his head, "They've let Black escape once, and that was right in their stronghold... Not to mention there are only two Dementors now.
But don't worry, nothing will happen. I guarantee it."
Hearing Kyle's words, Conna finally felt more at ease and started peeling ginger roots with her small knife.
As class was about to end, Snape began inspecting everyone's potions.
Kyle and Conna's cauldrons were a vibrant yellow, the normal color, with no issues.
Snape didn't even glance at them and walked past.
But it was different for the others; their potions were of all sorts of colors.
Especially Mikel's... Kyle noticed his potion was a strange purple with brown smoke rising from it.
Even the experienced Snape was taken aback when he saw this potion.
For the others, he could at least tell what went wrong... like adding too much of an ingredient or not stirring enough, but this was different.
He couldn't figure it out at all.
Mandrake root, ginger root, and rhinoceros unicorn horn... Could these ingredients create such a potion?
It was truly an eye-opener!
"Hufflepuff, minus ten points."
Snape stared at the cauldron with the strange potion and then at Mikel, "Detention as well. Saturday morning, eight o'clock, in the dungeon classroom, until you master the Vitality Potion."
(End of Chapter)
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