Drowners?

After deciding to be a good student, Kevin actively participated in every class, just as analysed earlier. Dumbledore cared only about his prophecy, and as long as Kevin didn't have too much involvement in "Harry Potter and his annual adventures," he didn't catch Dumbledore's eye. Therefore, Kevin didn't need to be discreet about his regular studies.

As Kevin became more active, Ravenclaw started accumulating points, and the professors loved this Muggle-born young genius. His only real competition was Hermione Granger. Upon their first meeting at the library, Hermione seemed to see Kevin as her biggest rival, wanting to compare herself with him in every aspect.

However, Kevin's domination of earning points came to a halt in History of Magic class. It wasn't because he couldn't recite "A History of Magic" word by word; with his absolute memory and Scholar's Touch, he had no issues in that department. The main problem was the professor, Cuthbert Binns, who was exceedingly dull. This ghostly teacher's lessons were incredibly monotonous. He would enter the classroom, start reading from the textbook in a droning voice, and continue until the end of the class, with no interaction, questions, or point-giving. This made History of Magic the most tedious class at Hogwarts.

Kevin couldn't have asked for a better professor while in college. If he had such teachers during his college days, he would have had a good laugh. However, when he was striving to be a good student himself, the situation was quite awkward.

Another obstacle was Potions class. The Potions classroom was located in the dungeon, and Kevin and the other students suspected that it was simply Severus Snape's personal preference for the dark and cold ambiance of the dungeon. When Kevin first entered the room, he felt uncomfortable, as even the immense magical power within Hogwarts couldn't dispel the dark, cold feeling. The class was filled with shelves holding glass jars, containing various ingredients and substances, giving it the atmosphere of an anatomy room in a medical school. If it was a Slytherin class, it was well suited to the ambiance, but for others, it was a bit creepy.

On the first Potions class, as Professor Snape silently glided into the room like a giant bat, the room temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. He was much like Professor Flitwick; he picked up the roll call and halted when he reached Harry's name.

"Oh yes," he murmured, "Harry Potter, our newly famous student. You're here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making." Snape's voice carried a hint of disdain. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses.…"

"I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Then came Snape's questioning session. Like Professor McGonagall, he enjoyed intimidating the new students by picking an unlucky victim for questioning – well, it wasn't entirely random, more based on Snape's dislike for someone. Originally, Kevin thought that Snape would target Harry, and he had prepared himself for some entertainment. But in an unexpected turn of events, he noticed Snape giving him a sinister look.

With a sinking feeling, Kevin realized he was the unlucky one. He was a little puzzled but figured it might have to do with his earlier displays of being an attention seeker. It might be possible that Snape didn't like students who were too eager to stand out.

Perhaps it was some animosity left over from James Potter's group? Anyway, because of his previous attention-seeking actions, Kevin had now caught Snape's attention.

"Green! Stand up!"

"If I add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood, what would I get?"

Snape suddenly asked a question, but these "mind boggling" techniques were of no use to Kevin. Not to mention that the Potions class textbooks were already stored in his mental database, his memories from his previous life gave him a clear understanding of what Snape was about to ask.

"A vial of living death, Professor."

"If I asked you to find bezoar, where would you look?"

"In the stomach of a goat."

"What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?"

"There's no difference; they're the same – both are another name of aconite."

Snape tried a right front kick, a right roundhouse kick, and a left jab, but Kevin blocked them all. However, Snape wasn't giving up. When his original attempt to corner Kevin didn't work, he increased the difficulty.

"What is a Drowner's brain used for?"

" Drowner's brain? Does the world of Harry Potter have such an item?"

Upon hearing this question, Kevin was momentarily bewildered. "Isn't this a specialty of the Witcher world?"

"Why is Snape asking this question? Could he have also been reincarnated here?"

"No, think carefully. Since Ciri is here in this world, it means that all of this is not a coincidence; this world must have undergone some changes that are not known to me."

"Considering that the main storyline hasn't deviated too much, these changes aren't significant for now... I'll have to study them more closely when I have the time."

In that brief moment, Kevin's thoughts raced. Snape posing this "beyond the curriculum" question indeed surprised him. Still, in his previous life, he had played "The Witcher 3."

"A Drowner brain can be used in the production of healing potions," Kevin replied, after some thought. Then, he added in a hushed voice, "It also has a strong aphrodisiac effect on males."

After hearing Kevin's response, the old bat fell into a short silence. He genuinely hadn't expected such an exceptional answer from this Ravenclaw "top student." After all, the Drowners, from which a Drowner brain was collected, had only appeared as a new magical creature in the past decade. Knowledge regarding Drowner Brains was mostly confined to the potion-making community and cutting-edge academic papers. Kevin, a first-year student, knowing all of this was indeed quite knowledgeable.

Particularly, the aphrodisiac effect of the Drowner brain was a recent discovery, originating from an incident involving a male potion maker mistakenly ingesting Drowner brain extract last year. He had been the only one there at the time, save for his swallow-tailed hawk.

Snape gave Kevin a deep look and then addressed the other students loudly, "What are you all waiting for? Why haven't you taken notes on this knowledge?"

Kevin couldn't help but smile slightly, watching Snape's futile anger. However, his smile quickly faded because after failing to intimidate Kevin, Snape shamelessly began to explain the content of the first lesson. He hadn't awarded any points to Ravenclaw! Favouritism had gone to such an extent; it was truly shameless! But at least through this scene, Kevin had successfully shown off in front of his fellow students.