Potion Brewing Challenges and Magical Environment Dynamics

No one knows what Snape went to Dumbledore's office for, and Jon didn't show any interest in finding out. It's probably just about the things related to Harry Potter's enrollment next year, right? Jon hid himself by the pillar near the window, waiting for Snape to enter and close the door. Then he turned around and went downstairs from the other side.

There's no need to encounter these professors, at least not now. He still had a private lesson with Helga tonight.

He hurriedly returned to the common room of Hufflepuff along the way, greeted some classmates playing wizard chess in the lounge, and realized that all three of his roommates were in the dormitory.

"Why are you all staying in the dormitory? I thought you went sightseeing with others."

He saw it when he came back earlier. Many freshmen were wandering around the castle, and exploring the castle was probably a necessary activity for first-year students.

"We were waiting for you."

Stephen pouted and said, "You asked us to bring your things back, but you put a sealing spell on your bed curtains, so we couldn't get in."

"Oh, my bad. I'll treat you to a meal tomorrow."

"Alright, it's a deal."

Stephen was initially happy when Jon invited them to a meal, but then he realized, "The food at Hogwarts is free, and we can't go outside the school. What are you planning to treat us with?"

Flynn and Scali also looked at Jon with puzzled eyes.

"Don't worry, it won't be the taste of the school."

Jon smirked mysteriously and then carried his cauldron into the bed curtains. He had written a letter in the morning for his owl, Kane, to deliver it back home just to satisfy his appetite.

Even if this didn't happen, he planned to treat his roommates anyway. It was a small habit he developed in his past life.

Shortly after, Flynn's head popped in, looking at Jon busy at the desk and asked, "We're planning to go out and see the castle. Do you want to come?"

"No, I'm a bit tired. You guys go ahead."

Flynn's little head retreated, and then Jon heard the rustling sound outside, indicating that the three of them had gone out.

"Curtains sealed."

Jon recited the incantation to seal the bed curtains, so that no one could come in while he wasn't paying attention. Then he took out the old cauldron set and the scraps he secretly collected during class from his ring.

The scraps from both groups accumulated into a small portion. Fortunately, their work in both groups wasn't great, which prevented Snape from discovering it.

Of course, it might also be because they didn't deserve to attract Snape's hatred...

"Regarding the preparation of magical potions..."

Jon muttered in his mouth as he deftly separated various materials in his hands. Although potion brewing was not something that students in science and engineering fields needed to be involved in, conducting experiments was something that all science and engineering students worldwide had to do. When it came to steady hands and attention to detail, Jon believed he was not much weaker than medical students.

Moreover, in class, they had to strictly follow the tedious steps in the book. But privately, they didn't need to. They sought simplicity in various methods, such as pressing instead of chopping, which was easier to extract juice. They didn't need to consider and make decisions after careful thought.

Snape discovered this issue during his student days, and yet he became the professor of Potions, but still didn't improve it.

At this moment, Jon didn't have the mood to complain. His focus was on potion brewing.

After a while.

"Did it fail again?"

Jon looked at the pot of black, sticky potion in the cauldron, his brows furrowing tightly.

"Never mind, there are no extra materials left. I guess there was a problem somewhere, and without enough materials, there's no way to make a control group. As for the theoretical guidance..." Jon glanced at the potion book beside him, which was riddled with errors and inconsistencies, looking exhausting just to look at. "Let's not look at it."

Indeed, achieving something in potion brewing required a lot of money. Jon remembered that Snape wasn't particularly wealthy when he was young, yet he became a master of potion brewing, probably because he had a naturally high talent for it.

Clearly, Jon didn't possess such talent.

...

"I think your belief is very wrong, my dear. Even if my bloodline has weakened, it wouldn't deteriorate to the point of having no talent in potions."

Helga expressed great dissatisfaction with Jon's lack of effort in this aspect, and Jon could understand that. After all, Helga was once a highly skilled potioneer.

"Perhaps potion talent doesn't pass down through bloodline, or maybe there are other reasons. Anyway, my first attempt at potion brewing wasn't successful."

"Oh, dear, I don't think anyone can succeed in potion brewing on the first try. You may need more practice."

"Alright, I'll try my best to study potions."

Helga nodded in satisfaction. Due to limited time, the two quickly got down to business.

"I've gone through the books you brought i. Honestly, these spells are not very practical, and their power is weak."

"That's normal. Perhaps you didn't realize that over time, the magical environment has actually deteriorated."

Jon shared his speculation with Helga. The magical environment should have been good a thousand years ago. At least, the four founders of Hogwarts were legendary wizards. But now, there were only Dumbledore and Grindelwald left in this environment. Voldemort could be considered one too, but Grindelwald had already failed when Voldemort rose to power.

Theory always comes from practice. Jon obtained some relevant theories from the books, which should at least indirectly support his argument.

Helga sat quietly on the sofa, indicating her interest in hearing more. Jon rephrased his words a bit and began to speak:

"I roughly went through some materials from a thousand years ago to the present. From the Middle Ages to now, you might not be able to sense it since you're in a portrait, but magic power fluctuates."

Jon cautiously mentioned a little, and after getting a nod from Helga, he continued:

"The magical environment in which we wizards exist is constructed by magical factors that exist between heaven and earth. The density of these magical factors determines the difficulty of casting spells for wizards and the number of wizards.

When the magical environment is better, the number of wizards, including the possibility of new wizards awakening among Muggles, is also greater. So, even during your time, when wizards were in dire survival conditions, they were still able to maintain their heritage and even confront the church..."