Chapter 61: A Cure for Scabies
Chapter 61: A Cure for Scabies
The Potions class continued, with Snape guiding the class in brewing a potion to cure scabies. After explaining the recipe, he divided the class into pairs and instructed them to begin brewing.
Naturally, Albert was paired with Lee Jordan, as they sat together.
"Let's review the steps a few times before we start brewing," Albert reminded his partner. "As long as we follow the steps correctly, our final product shouldn't deviate too much from the book."
The most crucial aspect of brewing potions was to avoid adding the wrong ingredients or stirring haphazardly.
Albert opened his book, "Magical Potions and Elixirs," to review the recipe for the scabies cure, paying no attention to Snape, who had approached him from behind, his black cloak trailing silently.
Once Snape moved on, Albert retrieved the necessary ingredients from his potion kit: several viper fangs, a Pongo onion, some bundled dried nettles, a jar of horned slugs, and a few porcupine quills.
"You take care of boiling the horned slugs; they need to be simmered for at least 33 to 45 minutes," Albert said as he handed his tweezers to Lee Jordan.
"Will do," Lee agreed, taking the tweezers and plucking the slimy creatures from the jar with a grimace. "These things cost a galleon a jar at the apothecary."
"Make sure to clean them first. You don't need a lot of water in the cauldron, just enough so it doesn't boil over," Albert added.
He then began grinding the viper fangs in a mortar, a tedious task as the book instructed to grind them into a fine powder.
Compared to Albert's deft hands, the other students seemed a bit clumsy.
Of course, this could be attributed to Albert's upgraded Potion-making skill, now at Level 1.
Snape continued to prowl the classroom, observing as students weighed dried nettles and ground viper fangs. Nearly every student received a rebuke, except for Albert and George.
After all, even Snape couldn't find fault with their work, aside from their slightly slower pace.
"Next, weigh the dried nettles," Albert murmured, keeping an eye on Snape's retreating back. "Be careful with the weight; we don't want to get it wrong."
"Okay," Lee replied, feeling relieved that Snape hadn't singled them out for criticism.
Albert, meanwhile, struggled to slice the Pongo onion into thin pieces.
Half an hour later, Lee spoke up. "The horned slugs are done boiling."
Albert quickly joined him, using a glass tube to poke at the slugs and confirm they were thoroughly cooked. He then poured out the water from the cauldron, leaving only the boiled slugs.
With the ingredients prepared, the next step was to combine them into the potion.
Albert added the viper fang powder to the cauldron, stirring slowly to mix it thoroughly with the water. The potion gradually turned a deep blue.
"Is it supposed to be this shade of blue?" Lee asked, leaning in for a closer look.
"Yes, deep blue," Albert confirmed, deftly adding the sliced Pongo onion to the cauldron and continuing to heat it for about ten seconds. The potion transformed from deep blue to red, just as described in the book.
Once the color stabilized, he slowly sprinkled in the dried nettles, stirring the potion until it turned pink.
"Now, add a small spoonful of Flobberworm mucus and keep stirring. The potion should turn green," Albert recited the steps as he worked. "Next, add a large spoonful of the boiled horned slugs and stir until the potion becomes blue-green."
After completing this step, Albert removed the cauldron from the heat.
As Snape had warned, adding the porcupine quills directly to a heated cauldron would ruin the potion.
Albert took the two porcupine quills from Lee and slowly dropped them into the cauldron, stirring clockwise three times. The originally blue-green potion gradually turned blue.
Finally, he waved his wand over the cauldron to finish the potion.
"Did it work?" Lee asked anxiously.
"What do you think?" Albert scooped a spoonful of the potion into a crystal vial and handed it to Lee so he could examine the color.
"It worked!" Lee exclaimed, thrilled to see the scabies cure in the vial, its color matching the description in "Magical Potions and Elixirs."
"Yes, we did it. It wasn't easy," Albert agreed as he extinguished the flame. However, he still had his doubts about the potion's effectiveness.
As he was bottling and labeling his potion, Albert suddenly caught a whiff of something repulsive. He turned to see Fred and George's cauldron bubbling with a disgusting brown concoction.
"Wait, you need to remove the cauldron from the heat before adding the porcupine quills," Albert interjected, preventing George from making a disastrous decision that could melt their cauldron.
However, it was too late to salvage their scabies cure.
"Weasley, what is this?" Snape asked, his expressionless face appearing behind the twins.
"Scabies cure, sir," George mumbled.
"And what color is the scabies cure supposed to be when it's finished, according to the book?" Snape asked coldly.
"Blue," came the reluctant reply.
"I dare say that if you drink this potion, you'll poison yourself before you even have a chance to treat your scabies," Snape remarked, waving his wand to clear the cauldron of its foul contents.
"Anderson, let's see your potion."
"Right here, sir," Lee quickly presented his blue scabies cure, taking a moment to flash a triumphant finger at the twins behind Snape's back.
"Barely acceptable," Snape commented, picking up the glass bottle and glancing at the potion within.
"What do you mean by barely acceptable?"
After class, Lee grumbled to the twins, "What's the deal with that? Are all handmade scabies cures unacceptable? And why do we have to write a two-foot essay just because we managed to brew it correctly?"
"Keep your voice down if you don't want trouble," Fred warned, nodding towards Snape, who was approaching.
"Ahem," Albert cleared his throat, addressing Lee. "Perhaps, Professor Snape thinks we have a talent for Potions and wants to nurture us."
Albert deliberately pitched his voice so that Snape could overhear.
"Look, no one else is getting this kind of treatment, are they?"
"I hope your essay on the scabies cure doesn't disappoint me, Mr. Anderson," Snape said, turning to fix Lee with a stare. "As for you, Weasley, there's no need for an essay."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lee muttered, watching Snape's retreating back.
"What do you mean, 'what does it mean'? It means you're not worth the extra attention, of course!" Fred finally burst out laughing after Snape had left. He slapped Albert on the shoulder, "Looks like Professor Snape really does plan to give you special attention. Maybe he wants to invite you to the Potion Club!"
"In that case, I'll have to decline. I've already joined the Transfiguration Club," Albert replied earnestly.
The next moment, all three of them burst into louder laughter.
They knew that Snape disliked Albert, but couldn't find a good reason to reprimand him, so he resorted to this tactic of "special attention."
After all, which student enjoyed writing extra essays, especially on a potion they had successfully brewed?
(End of Chapter)
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