Chapter 593: Advanced Potion-Making
Chapter 593: Advanced Potion-Making
In Potion Class, the students stopped their work, their eyes drawn to the tension between Harry and Snape.
“What are you doing, Potter?”
“I, I’m reading the steps,” Harry stammered.
“What’s in your hand? Give it to me!”
Harry clearly resisted, instinctively hiding the parchment behind his back, but Snape approached and snatched it away. He began to read the text on it.
Harry fumed. He hadn’t done anything wrong, unlike Crabbe and Goyle, who stirred their cauldrons so loudly that it violated classroom rules. Why was Snape picking on him?
Soon, Snape’s expression turned to one of surprise and suspicion. He glanced back and forth between the parchment and Harry, his gaze making Harry very uncomfortable. Instinctively, Harry used Occlumency.
A mocking smile tugged at the corners of Snape’s mouth.
Harry felt a sudden sense of satisfaction. He actually began to look forward to Snape’s confrontation, hoping to be asked where he got these notes so he could say, “I received some help from Professor Hup and the Half-Blood Prince. To be honest, I think they teach better.”
He didn’t care about Snape’s recent essays on the new ingredient, the slime of the blast-ended skrewt larvae, which had been praised by newspapers as being just one recommendation away from the Order of Merlin. All he knew was that he and Snape despised each other, and every time their mutual hatred waned, Snape always found a way to reignite Harry’s loathing with a few words or a glance.
But Snape ignored Harry.
He circled around to the other side and reached for the textbook on the table. Ron and Neville let out weak groans, as if they were being strangled, but Harry shook his head at them, and they immediately relaxed.
Hermione sniffed lightly.
Snape flipped through the textbook, but it was just a standard one. He then found two more pages of parchment inside. Harry knew without looking that they contained simplified procedures for the Calming Draught and the Enhancing Potion, which he had slipped in.
Snape read carefully, and the classroom was filled only with the bubbling of the cauldrons. Soon, white steam began to fill the room, but the students seemed to have forgotten their assignments, staring intently at this side.
Snape put down the parchment, his hooked nose barely visible through the steam.
“I underestimated you, Potter,” he said calmly. “Clearly, you’ve once again obtained something you don’t deserve through your unexpected fame. Perhaps I should check the membership list of the ‘Harry Potter Fan Club.’ The names on it might surprise me.”
“That’s very interesting, I’ll have a look,” Harry gritted his teeth, unable to resist thinking: Ask where these notes came from, he’s dying to know...
“You should address me as ‘Sir’ or ‘Professor,’” Snape said coldly, turning and cutting through the fog to return to the lectern. “Harry Potter, tampering with the textbook, violating procedures, and talking back to a teacher—how many points should I deduct?”
Despite not seeing his eyes, Harry could feel a malevolent gaze on him.
The Gryffindor students glared at Snape.
“I thought a normal professor would reward creative and rule-abiding ideas!” a pinched voice echoed through the fog.
“Who!” Snape shouted angrily, but the voice disappeared. He waved his sleeve, and the windows suddenly opened, the white mist in the classroom being sucked out in an instant. The students stared at him in shock, and Harry noticed Seamus discreetly moving his hand away from his throat. He was certain that the large robe must have concealed a wand.
“No one? Hmm?” Snape said slowly, and the students were immediately intimidated. Clearly, Snape was satisfied with the atmosphere in the classroom. He pulled out a piece of paper from somewhere, unfolded it, and slowly picked up the quill from the lectern, dipping it in ink:
“Let me think, five points from Gryffindor—”
“Wait!” Harry shouted, feeling he had to do something. Snape obligingly stopped, his eyes revealing the seasoned and cunning look of a hunter about to corner his prey. Harry knew his struggles were futile. Then, a flash of inspiration hit him, and the memory of Professor Hup presenting the textbook came to mind. Harry shouted, “You can’t deny this method unless you want to deny yourself—”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Harry and Snape froze.
Hermione also froze, realizing something. She took a light breath and looked at Snape in disbelief.
"Shut up, Potter", Snape said, "Sit down—let's see what you can brew in this class!" He ignored Harry and began walking around the room, pointing out the students' mistakes.
Harry sat down dazedly, staring blankly at his cauldron.
"Nice one, Harry!" Ron said from beside him, "We need to hurry, there's not much time left. Hmm? I thought it was too thin before, but now it's just right."
Harry didn't pay much attention in the afternoon class. Sirius even asked him what was wrong, and he managed to get away with a stomachache. In the evening, he and Ron, along with Hermione, were in the library working on their homework. Ron was surprisingly efficient today, finishing his work an hour before Harry.
He even had the energy to flip through the fifth-year potions textbook Professor Hup had given them.
"Too bad, I can only make out Professor Hup's handwriting. The other person's writing is too messy", Ron grumbled, his eyes almost touching the page as he stared at the black smudges.
Hermione's attitude was complex. She helped organize notes but refused to follow the content.
"Hermione, everything Snape teaches is wrong", Ron said, pointing to the steps in the textbook.
"That's an error in the textbook", Hermione replied calmly.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"If you paid attention in class, you'd notice that Snape always writes the ingredients and method on the board. You don't think they're exactly the same as the textbook, do you?"
Ron gaped at her, and even the somewhat gloomy Harry stared at her.
Hermione sighed, "Harry, you can't just listen to half of what's said. Professor Hup hinted that Professor Snape is the Half-Blood Prince, but he also said that Snape teaches the proper methods—"
"Wait!" Ron shouted, "Half-Blood Prince? Who? You mean Snape? Him?" He stared at Harry and Hermione's faces, finding the evidence he needed. "You... you both knew? When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me?"
He fired off a series of questions, but neither Harry nor Hermione answered. Harry was too gloomy to respond, and Hermione was quickly packing up her things, stuffing parchment, ink bottles, and the textbook into her bag and zipping it up before standing up briskly.
"Where are you going?" Ron shouted.
"Obviously, to make a quick escape. Heads up, Madam Pince will be here in about ten seconds." She dashed out quickly.
Harry and Ron were stunned for a few seconds before they both shouted and hurriedly packed their things. Sure enough, a few seconds later, the librarian Madam Pince appeared with a scowl on her face.
"Shouting in the library! What is this? Scribbling in books? Severe desecration! Despicable behavior—"
"This is my book!" Harry shouted, snatching the Potions Class notebook from her and running out of the library with various items in hand. Ron followed, and they both got hit a few times by the flying feather duster.
"Really bad, couldn't Hermione have warned us earlier?" Ron grumbled, rubbing his sore head. "It's already swollen."
When they returned to the common room, Hermione was sitting gracefully, reading a book.
Ron immediately flew into a rage, berating her, making Hermione's eyebrows twitch. Harry, though also a bit annoyed, had other things on his mind. He used the Silencing Charm to interrupt Ron and asked, "Hermione, have you been thinking about Firenze and Luna's prophecy lately?"
"You're still hung up on that", Hermione said, seemingly having forgotten about it.
"Merlin's beard", Ron said excitedly, forgetting his previous attitude as if he hadn't just been scolding Hermione. "That's a prophecy about the Deathly Hallows. We can take it as evidence that they actually exist!"
"Maybe", Hermione said lightly, "Remember our last discussion? The Elder Wand might be real, but the Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility Cloak—"
"Harry's Invisibility Cloak could be one of them", Ron said, recalling their previous discussions.
"Alright, I don't want to argue with you", Hermione said, "But the Resurrection Stone." She said firmly, "It's impossible. At most, it's just a fraudulent imitation with greatly reduced effectiveness, or even a dark artifact used to control shadow armies."
Harry and Ron stared at her. They were used to hearing these arguments, but they still couldn't come up with any counter-evidence. So they could only listen to Hermione repeat herself.
First, in the fairy tale of the Three Brothers, the Resurrection Stone cannot truly bring the dead back to life, remember? The second brother who obtained the Resurrection Stone eventually committed suicide. Secondly, no existing magical theory supports resurrection; at best, there are some similar alternatives, such as ghosts, magical portraits, memory constructs in the Room of Requirement, and even... Hermione mouthed a word, and Harry and Ron knew she was referring to a Horcrux.
"...it's merely a way to forcefully tether a fragment of a soul to the living world, barely clinging to existence."
"Does the Time-Turner count as a barely viable option?" Harry asked softly.
"But it absolutely cannot bring a definitively dead person back to life—alive and well!" Hermione said firmly. "Remember the Grey Lady? Once a person chooses to 'move on,' no one can stop them."
"Lastly, have you noticed Luna's prophecy—let's assume it is a prophecy—mentions her almost touching the Resurrection Stone? This suggests she ultimately cannot obtain it or fulfill her wishes with it."
After a moment of silence, Harry said, "Hermione, you might be right, but that doesn't negate the mention of the Resurrection Stone—or something similar—in the prophecy. If it's true, who could be in possession of it now?"
"Headmaster Dumbledore?" Ron guessed. "Or maybe Professor Hup!"
"It's not that simple", Harry said. "The owner might not even know they have it."
"What do you mean?"
"The Elder Wand looks like an ordinary wand, right? If it stood out, it wouldn't have remained a mystery for so long." Harry said. "The Resurrection Stone might be the same. It could be something as simple as—like—"
"Philosopher's Stone?" Hermione suggested.
"Exactly!" Harry slapped his thigh, excited. "I've seen the Philosopher's Stone and even touched it! Despite its fame, it looks quite ordinary. It's just a brightly colored red stone, not even as impressive as moonstone."
Ron and Hermione, of course, knew what moonstone was. It's a useful potion ingredient and can be used in jewelry—when polished, it emits a soft, moonlight-like blue or white glow.
"So, we have no idea where to start", Ron said, disappointed.
"Seriously", Hermione looked up from her book, "have you realized the O.W.L.s exams are less than four weeks away? Even if you can retake them, I doubt you'll have enough time to earn the necessary N.E.W.T.s by graduation."
Harry and Ron immediately slumped, their spirits deflated, and they lazily started their homework. After a while, Hermione put down her book, stood up, and left with a victorious air.
"Here, I'm done with it."
With exams approaching, everyone was studying hard. Despite yawning frequently, Harry tried to focus on the textbook. Hermione's copy of Advanced Potion-Making was particularly tempting, as Harry had always wanted to read about the Polyjuice Potion.
"How do you manage?" he asked, rubbing his forehead wearily.
"Manage what?" Ron asked, engrossed in the History of Magic textbook, which seemed almost miraculous to Harry. If Ron could concentrate for more than five minutes without dozing off, it was a sign of abnormal behavior.
"You're like you've had a stimulant." Harry yawned again, wiping away the tears from his eyes.
"Stimulant? Never mind. But I did drink something."
Ron looked around furtively and pulled out a small bottle from his pocket.
Harry stared at the glass bottle, recognizing its contents. He had just seen it in today's Potions class.
"Enhancing Potion?"
"Shh! I sneaked it out of class", Ron said, passing the bottle under the table to Harry. Harry immediately understood why Ron had been so energetic all afternoon. Ron whispered, "We need it. It's perfect for us."
Harry was suddenly intrigued. The potion's effect was to temporarily boost the user's energy, making them feel invigorated.
"How does it work?" Harry asked quietly, feeling he had to ask because their grades had been hovering between 'Pass' and 'Fail' for weeks. He wasn't brave enough to drink a potion made by Ron—or himself.
If only Hermione were here. Harry thought. She was absolutely trustworthy in this area, having successfully brewed the Polyjuice Potion in second year, which lasted for an hour—content from the advanced class.
But then again, if Hermione found out, she would likely use her prefect powers to confiscate the small bottle from him immediately.
“It’s extremely effective!” Ron pointed to himself.
For the next ten minutes, Ron enthusiastically peddled his potion while Harry hesitated—though he seriously suspected Ron’s enthusiasm was a side effect of the potion, it wasn’t entirely unwelcome. He took a small sip.
“What does it taste like?” Ron asked eagerly.
“Um… it might be okay?” Harry replied uncertainly, not noticing any effects.
“Take another sip.” Ron urged.
Harry took another small mouthful when someone tapped his shoulder. “I heard you had a row with Snape, Harry?” Harry choked, the potion sticking in his throat, and he began to cough violently, taking a while to recover.
“Oh, I’m really sorry,” Fred said, spreading his hands. “What are you drinking? Scar removal potion?”
Harry rolled his eyes at him. George, sitting nearby, took the small glass bottle from Harry’s hand and examined it closely. The light blue liquid only covered the bottom of the bottle. George shook it and sniffed it. “Energizing potion?”
“You’re quite knowledgeable.” Ron pretended to compliment him.
“I hope you’re following the instructions carefully.” Fred suddenly piped up.
“Or what?” Harry asked worriedly, but Fred and George Weasley’s faces simultaneously showed a mix of lingering fear and schadenfreude.
“It’s not much, just that you might not be able to sleep.” George said briefly.
“—A bit overexcited.” Fred added, despite the two of them looking a bit pale.
After they left, it was a while before the last person in the common room also left. Only Harry and Ron remained, but neither of them felt the slightest bit sleepy. “We can’t keep this up; we have classes tomorrow.” Harry decided, pulling Ron back to the dorm.
But they couldn’t sleep at all, tossing and turning in bed. Eventually, they sneaked back to the common room.
“Who would have thought that being full of energy could be a form of torture.” Ron said, staring at Harry with wide eyes, coming up with a new idea every three seconds. He took out his History of Magic textbook, planning to study through the night, then wanted to practice magic with Harry, and now he suggested going for a walk.
“You can read with me.” Harry said, reading the book Hermione had left behind, Advanced Potion-Making. Just the chapter titles were enough to get anyone excited: Living Hell Potion, Polyjuice Potion, Amortentia, Felix Felicis, Joy Elixir...
But he was mainly reading the annotations by two people, feeling a bit queasy at the thought that one of them might be from Snape’s school days.
Ron’s symptoms worsened, and he became hysterical, filled with irrational fears. “What if I never sleep again?” he said in terror. “Or what if I never wake up once the potion wears off?”
“That’s the effect of the Living Hell Potion.” Harry couldn’t resist showing off his newly acquired knowledge. “If you need it, you can brew a batch yourself, provided we get into the advanced class.”
Finally, Ron made an unreasonable request, something he would never say in his right mind.
“Stun me.” Ron said with a tragic expression.
“What?” Harry looked at him in surprise.
“I don’t care! I want to sleep, and we have classes tomorrow.” Ron said, rambling as he paced around the common room, occasionally coming over to bother Harry. Eventually, Harry drew his wand and agreed to Ron’s request.
A red light flashed, and Ron happily passed out.
After sending Ron back to the dorm and seeing the content smile on his face, Harry felt a sudden panic. What if he ended up the same way?
Who would stun him?
But seeing Neville, Seamus, and Dean sleeping soundly, Harry felt a bit more at ease. If necessary, he could wake one of them to help him before he caused more trouble.
Harry, feeling uneasy, picked up his small magical lamp and returned to the common room, staring at the old textbook.
He glanced at the sky; the moon was still high, and the distant Forbidden Forest was a gray-green hue. He estimated it would be four or five hours until dawn, which meant he had a long stretch of free time to do as he pleased. Maybe taking a walk was a good idea? He thought of Ron’s suggestion, and his stomach churned.
Was the potion’s side effect already kicking in?
He muttered softly, “Expecto Patronum.” A stag leaped out, its silver body as clear as crystal, its fur visible. Harry gently stroked the stag’s antlers and head, feeling the touch as real as it could be.
The unease in his heart disappeared, and he continued reading Advanced Potion-Making.
(End of Chapter)
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