Intuitive Potion Making

Hannah nodded slightly: "Yes, when having breakfast in the Great Hall, he happened to mention it to the others..."

Professor McGonagall still awarded a few points and encouraged her: "Five points to Hufflepuff. You can be a bit more patient, there's no need to rush."

Hannah forced a smile: "Yes... Professor McGonagall!"

Professor McGonagall continued her patrol, while mentally visualizing the layout of the Great Hall.

Flanking the Ravenclaw table were the Slytherin and Hufflepuff tables.

She now understood why Ravenclaw's performance had been so outstanding...

***

The dungeons of Hogwarts Castle, the Potions classroom.

"Luna Lovegood?"

"Here!"

Snape turned his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over Luna, who had just lowered her hand, before continuing the roll call.

After the roll call, he began with his customary speech to set the mood, successfully making the classroom atmosphere as cold as the dungeon itself.

Most of the students sat up straight, their bodies tense, their eyes locked onto the lectern with a mixture of fear and anxiety.

Luna, however, was perfectly relaxed. Her wide, curious eyes wandered around the room, as if she were entirely detached from the chilly dungeon atmosphere.

Snape shifted his gaze and noticed the textbook in front of Luna. It was a highly familiar, hand-drawn textbook.

He remembered clearly that during the first class of the previous year, Wizette had held an identical one.

Snape narrowed his eyes slightly and curled his lip: "Books..."

Below the dais, quite a few students shuddered, feeling as though the surrounding air had grown... even colder than before.

The Potions class proceeded. True to his consistent teaching style, Snape went over the ingredients of the Cure for Boils and wrote the brewing process on the blackboard.

During this, he called on several students to question them on the material.

"Mr. Longbottom, the quantity of horned slugs and the preparation method are..."

"Pro... Professor Snape... Three... stewed..."

"It is three horned slugs. Two points from Ravenclaw!"

...

"Miss Nott, how do you prepare snake fangs?"

"Professor Snape! The snake fangs must be crushed into a fine powder."

"Crushed as finely as possible! Can you not read a single word written on the blackboard? Two points from Hufflepuff!"

...

After a round of questioning, Snape felt much more satisfied. He shifted his gaze back to Luna.

He opened his mouth, paused for a moment, and then said: "Miss Lovegood, what is the purpose of the Cure for Boils?"

Luna stood up, her clear, ringing voice echoing: "Professor Snape, it can be used to treat various skin conditions."

"Such as pustules, measles, boils... Oh, and it can also cure plant diseases! The potion is very effective for that too!"

"Curing plant diseases?" Snape frowned slightly, asking further.

"Yes!" Luna shared enthusiastically. "It can be used for powdery mildew and black spot disease. The results are quite good."

Snape narrowed his eyes: "You have tried this?"

"I have!" Luna nodded repeatedly. "Wizette sent me a bottle last year. It works just like Carbendazim did before."

Hearing Wizette's name, Snape's jaw tightened, and his voice dropped significantly.

"That is because you failed to consider the cost of production. The price of one bottle of Cure for Boils can buy three bottles of Carbendazim. Sit down!"

"Thank you, Professor Snape!"

Luna sat back down, and the surrounding students cast curious glances at her.

So far, she was the only one who had answered a question without losing points.

"Since the textbook does not mention this, why aren't you taking notes?" Snape tapped the lectern lightly. "Or do you need me to help you remember?"

The rustling of writing gradually faded. He tapped the lectern again: "Now... pair up and prepare your ingredients. I want you to hand in a finished potion before the end of the class!"

Before he even finished speaking, the students scrambled into action, many looking rather panicked.

The chill in the classroom persisted. Even as the students lit the fires beneath their cauldrons, it did little to dispel the bone-chilling cold.

Luna was perhaps the only one unaffected. She hummed softly, preparing her ingredients at a leisurely pace.

Her optimistic attitude rubbed off on her partner, Imelda Meller, who began crushing the snake fangs with a mortar and pestle, her expression growing increasingly focused.

Imelda Meller was also Luna's roommate. Her skin wasn't as fair as Luna's, and she wore a black headband in her shoulder-length brown hair.

Snape finished his instructions. Folding his arms, he swept through the classroom, his black cloak billowing behind him as he patrolled.

His footsteps seemed to sync with the students' heartbeats; whenever he stopped, someone felt their heart skip a beat.

"Stir the cauldron! Do you not know the potion will burn?"

"Crush those snake fangs! They are still in large chunks. Are you planning to use them for your final exam at the end of the year? I could give you a 'Fail' right now!"

"This smells like a troll! Do you understand what 'stewing' means? Why didn't you add water? Are you trying to make roasted slugs?"

...

Snape's voice was curt and cold, and every time he spoke, it was accompanied by some mishap from a student.

He circled the classroom once, finally stopping in front of Luna and Imelda's wooden table.

The two had finished their preparations. All the ingredients had been added, and they were stirring the cauldron clockwise.

The color of the potion in the cauldron was normal. Snape shifted his gaze to their timing chart.

Compared to a standard potion, the contents of their chart looked much stranger. Instead of the precise steps on the blackboard, it was chaotic and disorganized, carrying a sense of whim and intuition.

Furthermore, the ingredient containers were arranged in a circle around the cauldron.

If one were to connect these containers, they would form a pattern resembling a constellation.

As the brewing of the Cure for Boils continued, the potion turned from cloudy to slightly clearer, and a wisp of pale pink smoke drifted from the cauldron.

Imelda lifted the cauldron away from the fire.

Luna took a portion of porcupine quills and dropped them into the cauldron. The quills quickly dissolved into sparkling specks, dotting the potion.

She did not stop there. Waving her wand, she drew a line over the cauldron, then pinched a bit of snake fang powder with her slender fingers and sprinkled it evenly over the surface of the potion.

Another wisp of pale pink smoke rose, and the potion cleared even further.

Although it did not match the level of Wizette's previous potion, it was far superior to those of the other students in the room.

Luna stirred the cauldron and said to Imelda: "It seems... this is the best we can do."

Imelda stole a glance at Snape and asked cautiously: "Professor Snape... is this alright?"

Snape spoke with extreme brevity: "Bottle it, label it clearly, and bring it to the front."

As Imelda went to hand in the potion, Snape scrutinized Luna: "Why did you not follow the steps on the blackboard?"

"Because I didn't prepare the ingredients well." Luna's eyes were slightly dreamy, as if she had just emerged from her own little world. "Wizette prepares them much better than I do."

"So you incorporated a magic ritual?" Snape frowned slightly. "Is this the remedy Wizette told you about?"