61. Potions Tutorial, A Chance Encounter In The Restricted Book Zone

Half an hour later, Wayne walked out of the Charms classroom, feeling slightly tired. He couldn't help but think that Professor Flitwick was asking too much. The spells he required and the level of proficiency expected were ridiculously high as if he were competing with Professor McGonagall.

Feeling dissatisfied, Wayne heard a voice. "Lawrence, your talent has been wasted for too long. Why haven't you learned the Blocking Curse?" It was Professor Flitwick, who informed Wayne that he was exempt from homework but had to master this spell before Halloween.

Wayne almost tripped. This spell was typically taught to sixth and seventh graders, making it extremely biased. It was only normal that he hadn't learned it. However, to avoid additional homework, Wayne reluctantly agreed.

A similar scene unfolded in the herbal medicine class. Professor Sprout was pleased with Wayne's ability to remember so many herbs and their habits. However, homework was still assigned. Given that the herbal medicine class had very few written assignments, practical exercises were emphasized more.

When Hermione learned about Wayne's experiences that day, she felt a mix of envy and loneliness. Seeing the determination in her eyes, Wayne understood that Hermione was determined to excel even more.

As night fell, the Hufflepuff Lounge bustled with energy. Students eagerly shared their homework and contributed to each other's mischief. However, when Wayne entered, there was a momentary silence. The other students watched him, recognizing his bravery in going to Snape's place for extra lessons. This continued until just before Christmas, and everyone respected Wayne for his dedication.

Attending Potions class alone was torturous enough. The gloomy environment, Snape's caustic remarks, and the unpleasant smell of the potions made it one of the most hated classes for young wizards. To make matters worse, Wayne voluntarily went for extra lessons, causing concern among his peers about his mental state.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In the office, Snape, absorbed in reading a newspaper, heard a knock on the door without looking up. "Enter!" he said.

Wayne pushed open the door and entered Snape's office, settling into the only unoccupied chair. He remained silent, observing the room's furnishings as Snape continued reading. Despite its large size, Snape's office had limited space for activities due to the abundance of windows and cabinets.

There were various bottles and jars placed on the table, containing all sorts of things. There were even a few eyeballs. The broken arm was soaked in the solution, which looked particularly eerie.

But in Wayne's eyes, this is all money! He quickly noted down the prices:

- Lacewings: six galleons each

- Pufferfish eyes: four galleons each

- African tree snake skin: thirty galleons for a small section

- The horn of a horned beast: one hundred and fifty galleons, but still worth it.

No Potions Master is poor, and Wayne has the same idea as he had in the principal's office - to steal from Snape's special storage room for storing various materials. Maybe there are even better things in there. If he could rob that place, he probably wouldn't be short of materials for the next few years.

"If I lose something, I'll be the first to find you,"

"Lawrence, put away those greedy eyes," Snape's voice interrupted. "You're here to take classes, not to buy goods."

Snape's cold voice suddenly came from behind them. At some point, he had put away the newspaper and was now standing next to Wayne, quietly observing. "Professor, you've misunderstood me," Wayne calmly replied. "I'm Hufflepuff. Why would I come to steal your things?"

"But do you sell African tree snakeskin? I've written several letters to Diagon Alley, but they never have it in stock," Snape asked with interest.

Snape took a breath, then returned to normal. "Want it? Give me Phoenix Tears in exchange."

"Forget it," Wayne shook his head. "Fox is my partner and my first pet. How can a mere African tree snake skin compare to his tears?"

"You'll have to pay more!"

Snape was taken aback by this sudden change in perspective. But then, he was deeply surprised when Wayne replied

"Lawrence, please decide on a price."

For many wizards, Galleons are a necessity second only to their wand, but for the truly powerful, it's just a number. Those precious treasures cannot be bought with Galleons. Such as the Three Deathly Hallows, the Philosopher's Stone, and the Pensieve. Another example is the tears of the Fox in Wayne's hand, which perhaps to Snape, even the Three Sacred Artifacts were not as valuable as Ho-Oh's tears.

"It's too vulgar to talk about money," Wayne shook his head. "You're my professor, how can I accept money from you?"

"I don't want more. I'll split the potion refined with Phoenix tears into 30-70," Wayne proposed.

"Thirty percent?" Snape frowned. "No, that's too much. I'll give you 20% at most."

"Professor," Wayne kindly reminded. "Seventy percent is mine."

Snape's face turned green with anger. How could he accept taking only 30%? It would be like begging for food!

"Don't waste time," Snape abruptly changed the subject to avoid being tempted to curse Wayne further. "Let me first find out what the potion level of Hufflepuff's little genius is."

Several other professors took turns testing Wayne, and of course, Snape knew about it. However, Snape didn't mean to be too shocked.

Who is no longer a genius? He was highly skilled in magic during his school years, even dabbling in dark arts.

Wayne confidently answered Snape's question.

In terms of purely theoretical knowledge, Wayne possesses a memory palace and is well-versed in the sources and properties of various materials. He also has a knack for memorizing different potion-brewing techniques.

After questioning for over ten minutes, Snape voiced his assessment:

"I can only study diligently but lack original thinking."

"The content in textbooks is outdated. If you rely solely on them, your accomplishments in life will be limited."

Faced with Snape's cynicism, Wayne secretly raised his middle finger.

Sooner or later, one day I will take advantage of you.

Waving his broad sleeves, Snape summoned a blackboard on which the detailed process of making the potion was written.

"You can take the materials yourself, but you can only take one portion."

"In two hours, I want to see the complete picture of the medicine."

"If it can't be finished..."

Snape sneered and sat back down to read the magazine without finishing his sentence.

Wayne twitched the corner of his mouth after reading the content on the blackboard.

The hate potion is a magic potion that brings out the worst in the person who takes it. It is the opposite of the love potion.

He had seen this potion from Advanced Potion Making. According to the classification, it was something that only grades six or seven should learn.

The cooking process is very complicated. It not only requires strict material handling but, most importantly, it also requires the use of a wand for stirring.

While stirring, release the right amount of magic.

The right amount, a small amount, a certain amount.

Can't we use quantifiers more accurately?

Did Snape deliberately use a difficult potion to persuade him to defeat him?

Resisting the urge to take out his wand and exchange spells with Snape, Wayne went to get the materials honestly.

Salamander blood, griffin powder, dragon liver, and nettles.

Following Snape's steps, Wayne began to process the materials step by step. To avoid making mistakes, he even turned the wand into a ruler, accurate to the millimeter.

This made Snape take a high look.

In his mind, potions should be such a discipline that is both rigorous and creative, full of charm.

The prerequisite for being creative is to start to have your ideas after thoroughly learning what people with abilities above you teach you.

Wayne was a bit at odds with him, but he also knew what was best for him.

Isn't this what a true Slytherin should have?

Obey the strong, desire strength, and become stronger.

Snape's heart ached when he thought of the pure-blooded little wizards in his academy who thought highly of themselves but had little real ability.

"The liquid will appear light blue, and the dragon liver can be added only after the bubbles disappear."

Hearing the reminder, Wayne immediately stopped his hand, waited until the last bubble completely disappeared, then decisively put in the dragon liver and boiled it.

After two hours, the brewing of the potion of hatred came to its final moment.

With Snape's reminders and corrections from time to time, there were no mistakes in the previous work, but now it was just the final step.

Mix with the right amount of magic.

The medicinal properties of various materials are combined with magical power to create the finished product. This step is known to be the most difficult. The amount of magic power added and the speed of stirring with the wand are determined by experience. Wayne must carefully control the process, finding a balance between too fast and too slow, relying on his intuition to operate.

Suddenly, there was a loud boom! A line of red smoke exploded and quickly spread, filling the entire office. Snape frowned and waved his wand, casting a spell to disperse the smoke. Wayne halted his movements.

At this point, the potion of hatred had turned a dark red color, resembling blood, which did not bode well. Snape approached to inspect it and even inserted his wand, expressing his dissatisfaction. "Failed!" he exclaimed. "You had no issues with the previous steps. Why did you need to add so much magic power at the end?" he questioned.

"It can only be considered barely acceptable," Snape replied. He believed that what Snape considered excessive magic power might be the right amount for him and vice versa. "If you allow me to brew it again, I will certainly do better," he added.

Expressing his disgust, Wayne shook his head and said, "Oh, too much magic power is never a good thing." Hearing his words, Snape's anger surged, and he gritted his teeth as he uttered two words: "Class dismissed!"

Kicked out of the classroom, Wayne walked through the quiet corridor. Instead of heading straight to the lounge, he made his way to the library on the second floor. Snape had just mentioned the names of several books and the potions needed for the next class. Wayne recalled that two of those books were located in the restricted section of the library.

Old Dumble was truly remarkable. Placing books that could be obtained elsewhere in the restricted section was quite a testament to his abilities. As he reached the library's entrance, Wayne paused. Was there someone inside? He had wandered around at night on numerous occasions, encountering small wizards engaged in various activities throughout the castle. Some went to the kitchen, others visited the fifth floor to admire the armor statues, and a few even sneaked to the tower to engage in secret rendezvous. However, it was the first time he had encountered a young wizard wandering in the library at night.

Casting a silencing charm on the door, Wayne pushed it open and walked in, wanting to see which academy had a young wizard who was so eager to learn.

"Fred, George?" Wayne shouted in surprise when he saw the two figures sneaking around in the forbidden book area.

The twins jumped up in fright upon hearing someone call their names.

Just as he was about to run away, Fred asked tentatively, "Wayne?". Wayne lifted the disillusionment spell, revealing himself as if someone had walked out of the bookshelf.

"My heart almost jumped out of my chest just now. Next time, can you lift the disillusionment spell before speaking?" George said, clutching his chest.

Realizing that Wayne had even mastered the Disillusionment Curse, Fred looked at him in surprise. "Wait a minute, you even mastered the Disillusionment Curse?!"

Wayne tilted his head and asked innocently, "Is it difficult?"

The twins fell silent, realizing that Wayne wouldn't understand their pain.

How could Twins never try this magical skill of traveling at night? They had spent a full two months learning the Disillusionment Charm in the second grade but later gave up because it was too difficult.

"Why did you two think of a night out in the library?" Wayne crossed his arms and asked doubtfully.

"It's not because you said those cursed books are in the forbidden book area that we came here," Fred replied. He then took out a bulging money bag from his robe pocket and handed it to Wayne, saying, "But you came at the right time. This is the profit from selling the quills. A total of 300 galleons. We took 30 galleons ourselves, and there were 270 galleons in it. Take it away quickly. We don't dare to put so much money in the dormitory for fear of something going wrong."

"Sold so quickly?" Wayne took the bag in surprise. "It's only been two days, and you've sold one hundred and fifty quills?"

A proud smile appeared on George's face. "We are the Weasley twins, so it is easy for us to do this kind of thing."

Fred also had a mischievous smile on his face. "Even Percy was tricked by us into spending a semester's pocket money and bought two copying quills."

"Percy has that much pocket money?" Wayne asked, surprised.

"He is a model student, first in the grade, and the bonus and pocket money given by mother will be much larger," Fred explained. "But it's probably about the same. Percy's face was as black as a troll at that time."

The two of them continued to chat, making Wayne laugh.

These two people are qualified businessmen, even their brothers will not be spared.

After telling them that he would take out some more quills tomorrow and pointing out a few books that would be helpful to them, Wayne went to find his goal.

At one o'clock in the morning, the twins couldn't hold it any longer, so they greeted Wayne and left the library. Another hour passed, and Wayne also left. He had already transcribed the contents of several books onto parchment using a copy quill, allowing him to read them at a leisurely pace later on.

Unfortunately, the library's books were enchanted and couldn't be copied directly with a copy spell. This limitation didn't bother Wayne because it made his copy quills more valuable. For example, Percy had spent a few galleons on a book, but Wayne's quill could copy more than a dozen books, which is why Percy begrudgingly bought two. With his roommates sound asleep back in the dormitory, Wayne used a silencing spell to block Toby's snoring, then washed up and laid down on his bed.

The points he had earned in the magical card game had increased to over 2,000, and considering he didn't plan on keeping the point, he decided to spend out right away.

In the tenth round, there was only one purple card, but the reward was worth it – a purple alchemy experience book. Upon using it, Wayne was flooded with images of alchemical experiments, as if he had experienced them firsthand.

After ten minutes, the images stopped and transformed into memories in his mind, resolving some of the problems that had been troubling him. Wayne felt a surge of excitement; it seemed like he was having a particularly lucky day.

The following ten cards confirmed his luck, with two purple cards in that batch. The first one contained an advanced magic spell that could immediately stop any curse and end all curses. The second card granted him a skill of the other world.