Chapter 40: The Half-Blood Prince's Notes
Chapter 40: The Half-Blood Prince's Notes
"Also, Potter, due to your recent insolence, Gryffindor will lose one point."
Snape added this final note before starting to pair up the young wizards.
Harry, though angry, was helpless.
Seeing this, Jerry patted his shoulder through Hermione, offering a bit of comfort.
There was nothing he could do; after all, it was his father who used to bully Snape back in school. Now that his father was gone, Snape could only take his frustrations out on Harry.
Perhaps this was what they called "the sins of the father visited upon the son", or more accurately, "the father's debts repaid by the son."
During the group assignments, because Gryffindor had more students and Slytherin had fewer, and both numbers were odd, Jerry and Hermione ended up in the same group, tasked with brewing a Boil-Cure Potion.
In the book Magical Drafts and Potions, besides detailed explanations of the basic steps, details, and precautions in potion-making, it also provided methods for brewing seven different potions:
- Standard Antidote
- Boil-Cure Potion
- Forgetfulness Potion
- Weed-Removal Potion
- Sleeping Draught (Living Death)
- Swelling Solution
- Awakening Elixir
After the groups were assigned, Snape first explained the entire potion-making process and then demonstrated by brewing a potion himself.
Potion-making, in essence, was very similar to the chemistry experiments Jerry had done in his previous life, involving the precise mixing of ingredients using various tools like vials and scales.
Care and precision were the most crucial aspects of potion-making.
However, unlike ordinary chemistry experiments, where following the steps would yield the desired result, potion-making required more than just following the instructions. If you only followed the steps, you would end up with a useless mixture.
You needed to channel your magical energy and use your wand to complete the potion, ensuring it was effective.
Thus, if you were a Muggle without any magical power, even with the ingredients and instructions, you couldn't brew a proper potion.
"You incompetent fool, can't you see? That's Dried Nettles, not Crushed Snake Fangs!"
"Idiot, do you even know what 'crushed' means?"
As the young wizards began to follow the steps to brew their potions, Snape, dragging his long black robe, moved around the classroom, checking on their progress.
His scolding was almost constant, and every student he passed by was berated harshly.
Even the Slytherin students were not spared; if they made a mistake, they were scolded just as severely.
The only exception was when he reached Jerry and Hermione's group, where he nodded in satisfaction and offered a few words of praise.
At that moment, Jerry had activated his Brain Booster, putting his mind and body in peak condition. With Hermione, who had a natural talent for potion-making, brewing the simplest potion was no problem at all.
"Done!"
Not long after Snape moved on, a pink smoke rose from the cauldron in front of Jerry and Hermione, indicating that the Boil-Cure Potion had been successfully brewed.
"Ah!"
At that moment, Neville and Seamus from the adjacent group let out a startled cry. Their cauldron had somehow sprung a leak, spilling the potion and releasing a green, acidic smoke.
"Triple Kick!"
With his enhanced senses and reflexes from the Brain Booster, Jerry reacted instantly. Seeing Neville and Seamus in trouble, he quickly kicked them both, sending them out of harm's way.
Using a gentle force, I kicked Neville and Seamus away to prevent them from being sprayed by the green smoke. Then, I immediately turned around, scooped up Hermione, and leaped onto a nearby stool to avoid being corroded by the highly caustic potion.
Despite this, Harry and Ron, who were on the other side of Neville, still got splashed by the potion, which burned several holes in their shoes.
It was clear that even the simplest potion-making wasn't entirely safe. One experimental mistake could cost you your life.
And this was just the most basic potion.
It's no wonder there are so few potion masters in the wizarding world. The dangers of potion-making are a significant factor.
If you lack talent in potion-making, not only will you fail and waste valuable ingredients, but you might also put your life at risk.
"Idiots!"
Snape roared as he strode over, waving his wand to clear away the spilled potion and the green smoke.
"Did you put the porcupine quills into the cauldron without taking it off the fire, I presume?"
Neville and Seamus slowly got up from the ground, remaining silent, clearly admitting their mistake.
"Because of your idiocy, Gryffindor loses one point. Get back to work and start over!"
After berating them, Snape turned to Jerry and nodded approvingly.
"You reacted quickly. If it weren't for you, they would have ended up in the hospital wing. Slytherin gains three points!"
He then noticed the potion Jerry and Hermione had already completed on their table, his eyes lighting up.
"Surprisingly, you've finished so quickly. Yes, very good, a highly perfect potion. It seems you have a natural talent for potion-making. Slytherin gains another three points!"
"Cough, um, Professor, the potion was made by Hermione and me together!"
Jerry, seeing that Snape had completely ignored Hermione, reluctantly reminded him.
Snape glanced at Hermione.
"Very well, Gryffindor gains three points!"
With that, he resumed patrolling the classroom.
However, when he reached Harry and Ron, he paused and turned to look at Harry, who was boiling the slug's tentacles.
"Potter, why didn't you tell Neville not to add the porcupine quills? Do you think making him look bad makes you look good? Gryffindor loses another point due to you."
Harry was left speechless.
When the Potions class ended, and all the young wizards left the classroom to head to the Great Hall for lunch, Jerry excused himself, saying he needed to return to the dormitory, and slipped away from the crowd.
He cautiously observed the corridor in the dungeon, confirming that Snape had returned to his office, then made his way back to the Potions classroom.
"Alohomora!"
Casting the Alohomora spell on the classroom door, Jerry pushed it open and entered.
After a careful search of the room, his eyes landed on the Storage Cabinet next to the podium.
The Storage Cabinet was where Snape kept some of the commonly used potion ingredients for class.
Jerry opened the Storage Cabinet and began rummaging through it. Finally, in the bottom drawer, he found what he was looking for: a second-hand sixth-year potions textbook—Advanced Potion-Making.
Flipping to the first page, he saw a handwritten signature.
"This book belongs to the Half-Blood Prince"
(End of Chapter)
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