Harry Potter and the Obscurus

Chapter 55 Potions and Hints

After safely escorting Hermione back to her dormitory, Harry began reviewing Hogwarts Advanced Potions. Starting this term, he would be studying dangerous potions—a subject usually reserved for Potions Masters—with Professor Snape. To avoid a harsh reprimand from his teacher and to accelerate his learning, deepening his understanding of basic Potions during his review was crucial.

"what!"

A very unpleasant scream, accompanied by the loud thud of books slamming onto a desk, drew the attention of all the students in the Gryffindor common room.

Several seventh-year students who were about to take the NEWTs exams glared at Harry, but when they realized that the books Harry was holding were the same as theirs, "Advanced Potions Making" and "Let Yourself Have a Carnival in a Bottle," they suddenly felt that Harry's behavior was understandable.

"Is Harry taking the NEWTs test this year too?"

An older student asked his friend in a low voice.

"I don't think so. It seems he's been studying up to the seventh grade curriculum on his own. I thought he was just pretending a few days ago, but judging from his howling, he must really be studying hard."

"how do you know?"

"Because a few days ago when I was learning about antidotes and Gobalot's Third Law, I also let out a scream..."

……

Harry didn't hear the older students talking, and in fact, he wasn't complaining because he thought potions were too difficult to learn.

Since taking his second-year break early, he'd felt like many inexplicable and out-of-control things were happening around him. Logically, having already fought and defeated Voldemort twice, he shouldn't be overwhelmed by things like Thunderbirds, Dementors, Borgin Burke, and the Time-Turner. Besides his own considerable strength, Harry hadn't actively sought out trouble.

but……

Why is he feeling so powerless time and time again?

The search for the Thunderbird failed, the Invisibility Cloak was stolen, and the future Hermione may already be dead...

Could it be that Voldemort is manipulating things behind the scenes? If so, how and through whom did he approach me this time?

Harry closed his book and walked to the window, hoping to lift his spirits by gazing at the beautiful scenery outside the castle. Unfortunately, Hogwarts was experiencing even more continuous rain this year than usual.

Occasionally, dark clouds interspersed with lightning and thunder hovered like parasites over the Forbidden Forest. Even worse, due to the Dementors' influence, many flowers and plants that should have bloomed in autumn had prematurely withered due to the low temperatures.

Frustrated once again, Harry shook his head in resignation. He put away his books, stomped back to his dormitory, and said to Ron:

"Come on, Ron! What do you want to play? Wizard chess? Gobstone? I'll play with you to the very end today!"

The sudden happiness caught Ron off guard. He made a "Huh?" face and looked at Neville, Simon, Dean and the others in the same dormitory, as if to confirm whether it was all a dream.

"Forehead……"

Ron scratched his head and said:

"Dean and I made some voice-changing candy. If you don't mind trying it with us..."

Before Ron could finish speaking, Harry went straight to his bedside, picked up a blue voice-changing candy from the plate of colorful star-shaped candies, and ate it.

"How should we..." (Squeak squeak squeak!)

Harry, who was making sounds by clapping his teeth as usual, suddenly let out a series of monkey-like squeals.

"Hahahahaha!"

Ron and Dean were practically rolling on the floor laughing. As the "voice-changing candy party initiators" of the third-year boys' dorm, they had been racking their brains trying to come up with an excuse to avoid being scolded by Harry. But now, the most serious and earnest guy in the dorm had become the "first to try something new."

"How long will it take for this thing to..." (Squeak squeak squeak!)

"Hahahahahaha!"

Another burst of laughter erupted.

Somewhat annoyed, Harry grabbed a yellow candy and stuffed it into Ron's mouth. Soon, the one who had been laughing the loudest among them also started squeaking.

"Quack? Quack quack!"

Ron pointed to his constantly heaving neck, then to Dean and the others watching the show, as if to say, "Don't let these guys get away."

"Moo~~"

"Awoo!"

"Wang Wang Wang!"

Seeing the increasingly cheerful atmosphere in the boys' dormitory, Mo Ran didn't come out to spoil the fun, just as Harry had feared. After more than two years of studying and living at Hogwarts, he gradually realized that the most attractive thing about the so-called magical world of Harry Potter was the feeling that even daily life was filled with magic.

Whether it's Mrs. Weasley's cleaning and cooking magic in the Burrow, or the endless toys brought by Harry's classmates, these are all part of J.K. Rowling's charm. So, if he can sacrifice himself for the happiness of everyone else, why not let Harry enjoy life's pleasures more?

……

"Potter!"

Professor Snape angrily slammed the parchment onto his desk and roared:

"Didn't you know you had tutoring today? Why did you eat that junk candy the night before? Look at your tongue! It's no different from a drunkard's. How can you learn to brew advanced potions in your current state?"

"I'm sorry, Professor."

“Lift your head up… cough cough! Lift it up a bit, look me in the eyes.”

Snape spoke in a disjointed manner.

“I was originally going to have you help me process the raw materials today, but since you’re in such a bad state, you can just watch from the sidelines for now.”

Harry asked, somewhat curiously:

"Professor, are we going to brew some improved potion recipe today?"

Snape looked displeased.

"What improved potion formula? I've already given you a clear answer: don't bring anything unrelated to your studies to school anymore."

Harry secretly rolled his eyes and agreed.

"Okay... I got it."

Oblivious to Harry's strange expression, Snape took the medicine out of the storage box and introduced it as he did so:

"If I remember correctly, the Defense Against the Dark Arts class for third graders will cover werewolves in the second semester, so I think teaching according to the textbook's pace is a good choice. Now, answer my question, Potter: what kind of creature is a werewolf?"

Defense Against the Dark Arts was one of the few subjects that Harry both liked and was talented at, and he quickly gathered relevant knowledge from his mind:

"Werewolves, sometimes called werewolves, refer to humans infected with wolfification. On the night of a full moon, they unconditionally and indiscriminately transform into a semi-erect werewolf form. Wolfification is transmitted through toxins in werewolf saliva. Although a mixture of white cinnabar and silver powder can heal werewolf bites, the victim must live as a werewolf from then on. Currently, it is known that..."

"The only way to keep a werewolf rational after transforming is with wolf venom. Very good, it seems you don't usually use your brain on meaningless things."

Professor Snape continued Harry's words.

"The wolfsbane potion isn't an ancient recipe. In fact, it's a magic potion that was only created in recent years by Damocles Belby. This potion is extremely difficult to concoct, and the raw materials are very expensive, making it unaffordable for many werewolves. Do you know why?"

Harry could hear the implication in Snape's words: Mo Ran had already revealed Lupin's true identity to him.

"Because of their identity as werewolves, this group finds it difficult to obtain long-term, stable employment. Therefore, most werewolves..."

"They all looked ragged and destitute."

Harry, who had been interrupted by Snape again, sensed something was wrong and asked Mo Ran directly in the mental world:

"He seems a bit strange today? Is it related to that part of what you didn't tell me?"

"There is indeed a connection, but as I said before, there are some things you need to discover for yourself."

"Ok."

Harry pursed his lips and turned his attention back to the “Spiritual Lesson” in front of him.

"The wolfsbane medicine, as the name suggests, is mainly made from wolfsbane and aconite, which you already learned about in first grade. It requires seventeen leaves, which you crush to extract the juice."

Once in the potion-making state, Snape became much more focused, his movements slow and steady, like a precise machine.

"The second ingredient is the juice of mandrake leaves. Here we take two mature mandrake leaves and one pint of water. I have taught you how to boil it. Be careful to control the temperature. Do not boil it. It is best to boil it between seventy and eighty degrees."

"During this time, we can choose a moonstone and grind it into powder. Many lazy or reckless fools may buy ready-made moonstone powder, but only freshly ground moonstone will have the best effect."

Simultaneous processing of two processes during potion-making is extremely dangerous and demands a high level of skill from the potion maker. However, for Snape, even without the aid of his wand, he could navigate the cauldron and mortar with ease. Soon, the mandrake extract and moonstone powder were placed into trays and test tubes, respectively.

"The simple steps are now complete."

Snape said:

"Next, watch carefully."

Two drops of deergrass concentrate, three motra rat tentacles, and seven sleep peas were placed next to the cauldron in that order. Since the subsequent steps required exceptional concentration, Professor Snape refrained from providing further verbal instructions to Harry.

As the purple magical flames ignited, Professor Snape poured the first drop of deergrass concentrate, along with wolfsbane and aconite juice, into the cauldron.

Snape's eyes were fixed on the state of the liquid in the crucible. A split second before it was about to form a flocculent precipitate, he instinctively uttered aloud:

"Now."

The second drop of deergrass concentrate entered immediately. A spicy, bitter aroma instantly filled the potion storage room.

Harry was completely engrossed in watching, and even though he wasn't the one brewing the potion, he kept his eyes wide open, afraid of missing a single detail.

Two minutes later, the steam rising from the crucible began to change color from white to light blue. Professor Snape then picked up a glass rod and began to rotate it clockwise. The three Motra rat tentacles fell into the potion on the third, seventh, and eleventh rotations, respectively.

The glass rod rotated seventeen times in total, after which the liquid in the crucible entered a relatively stable state.

Time was of the essence. Taking advantage of the brief moment when the cauldron was unattended, Snape picked up a small knife and used the back of the blade to squeeze the juice from the seven Sleepy Beans. Harry remembered this was a trick the professor had once taught him—squeezing was easier than slicing these beans with their hard shells. Furthermore, this allowed skilled potion-makers to obtain the freshest juice during potion-making, thus enhancing the potion's effectiveness.

Swish, swish...

The black cloak, which many Gryffindor students criticized as resembling a giant bat, fluttered gracefully before the cauldron, and soon the seven Sleepy Beans were processed.