The Old Ones of Hogwarts

Chapter 99, Section 98: An Unexpected Twist! Snape's Fear!

Snape never imagined he would encounter such a student, especially one who was his own blood relative. In all his years of teaching, he had never heard of such a thing and never dared to even think about it.

How dare someone in first grade make aphrodisiacs!

It's still best to cook in batches!

Even that person whose name couldn't be mentioned back then probably wouldn't have done something like that! How could such a naturally evil brat have gone to Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin? Although the head of Slytherin shouldn't have such thoughts, Snape really couldn't understand the Sorting Hat's decision at the Sorting Ceremony.

"Don't tell me Dumbledore gave you permission to do this."

A house that always grants requests.

On the eighth-floor corridor, Snape had a grim expression on his face. He was preparing to severely punish Ian, but Ian, who was trying to avoid punishment, had brought him here.

"Perhaps he would allow it?"

Ian looked toward the principal's office.

He still had a powerful weapon for attacking Dumbledore that he hadn't handed over.

"Ha, Dumbledore certainly ruined his reputation in his later years, doing such despicable things, but does he dare to admit it? Prince, don't forget that I am your legal guardian."

Snape's eyes still held a hint of resentment. Two tests, two definitive answers—he truly couldn't imagine that the respected Dumbledore would leave behind a bloodline in the Prince family.

My aunt has a husband! That damned Dumbledore! No wonder that old geezer said he only managed to save one baby! After several nights of careful thought and piecing together the clues...

Snape finally understood why Ian was so exceptionally talented—or at least he thought he did.

"I'm going to share a Hogwarts secret with you, dear Uncle. I really don't want to brew any love potion. The smell you're smelling is just a damn illusion!" Ian muttered to himself about his Potions classroom, pacing back and forth down the corridor three times. The door to the Room of Requirement appeared silently.

Under Snape's shocked and incredulous gaze, Ian, as if possessed by Hagrid, rushed to the door, opened a crack just big enough for him to squeeze through, and squeezed himself inside.

"Boom!"

Before Snape could even react, Ian had already closed the door as he slipped inside. It slowly disappeared, then reappeared a dozen seconds later as Ian opened the door again.

"You've disposed of all the evidence?" Snape didn't immediately ask about the door.

After regaining his senses, he looked at Ian, who was walking out the door, with a somewhat out-of-control expression.

"Don't tell me that stuff went down the drain!" The Hogwarts Potions professor's voice was urgent, tinged with panic and tension. Recalling the series of horrors Ian had given him before school even started, Snape could almost accept that Ian had been sorted into Gryffindor.

"I just tidied up the room, which was in a bit of a mess. Of course I know that love potions can't be poured down the drain—no, I wasn't researching love potions at all!" Ian was actually just hiding his good assistant. He didn't think Snape would let him keep Dementors at Hogwarts.

Such a useful assistant might even be able to assist in alchemy; Ian doesn't want to lose his Palu, who doesn't need to eat or drink.

"This is the secret room Dumbledore told you about? The Chamber of Secrets?" Snape was clearly unaware of the existence of the Room of Requirement; he was simply connecting it to the rumors that had circulated in Slytherin for years.

"This is called the 'Come and Go Room,' Uncle Professor Snape." Ian reopened the door, and Snape, now quick-witted, grabbed Ian by the back of his robe and lifted him into the air.

"I think I can walk on my own," Ian gestured with his hands in mid-air. Snape, however, clearly didn't want to respond; he pushed open the door and went inside with a slightly serious and wary expression.

It catches the eye.

It was a very old and solemn potions classroom; Snape felt it was a relic from centuries ago.

He even found portraits of Potions professors from several generations ago on the classroom walls.

"They were here all along—" Before Snape could even finish his thought, his gaze was immediately drawn to the six large cauldrons still bubbling in the middle of the classroom. The flickering flames caused the liquid inside the cauldrons to slowly heat up, emitting a faint, unique aroma.

It was the smell he caught in the corridor—this might be a secluded room, but its ventilation system was still connected to Hogwarts Castle.

"I think I can tell what you're cooking." Snape gritted his teeth and walked to the pots and pans, looking at the prepared ingredients on the table beside him.

He grabbed several types of materials and added them in batches to one of the cauldrons, chanting an incantation. Then...

A pearly luster and spiraling steam slowly appeared.

A richer, more complex fragrance, varying from person to person—Ian smelled the scent of books. Snape, however, seemed to have smelled something else; his brow furrowed, his expression quite menacing.

"Now what explanation do you have? Damn Prince! You didn't just brew aphrodisiacs, you improved the recipe, shortening the brewing process from three months to just a few hours!"

"Perhaps I could apply for the Best Potion Innovation Award for you? I really hope you can enjoy that honor in Azkaban!" Snape's inner emotions were complicated.

on the one hand.

He was shocked and incredulous at the improvement, but on the other hand, he felt a mixture of disappointment and horrified that Ian had used such talent on aphrodisiacs.

"I can take you there right now!"

Snape was clearly unaware that Azkaban could no longer intimidate Ian.

The Potions professor clenched his jaw tightly, his gaze fixed on several cauldrons that had been thoroughly cleaned and were even set up as if ready for use at any moment.

"Six pots! You cooked six whole pots! And you still complain it's not enough for you!" Snape's eyes twitched uncontrollably, and his trembling voice was filled with intense anger. He suspected that Ian might not even be willing to let Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, or even Mrs. Pomfrey and Mrs. Pins off the hook.

No—or rather, Ian had no intention of letting anyone go! Perhaps the male wizard was also being considered! His gaze towards Ian held not only annoyance but also a hint of shock and rage.

"You're the one who brewed the love potion! I wasn't brewing a love potion at all!" Ian retorted loudly, pointing at the love potion that Snape had brewed.

"The love potion you learned about in the forbidden section? I knew Dumbledore shouldn't have approved it for you!" Snape, turning his attention to the headmaster, didn't believe Ian's words at all.

indeed.

No one at Hogwarts knows potions better than him.

"I'm researching a possibility!" Ian already knew that Morgan's love potion formula contained several truly useful pieces of knowledge, but in reality, he had only just begun to grasp and sense one of them.

If Snape hadn't caught him.

He was certain he could complete the analysis of this knowledge tonight. There was no other way; to clear his name, Ian had no choice but to grit his teeth and begin processing the new materials. Fortunately, Snape kept an eye on the large bag of materials Ian had "purchased," which gave Ian the opportunity to take concrete action to clear his name.

However, seeing Ian light a clean cauldron, Snape's anger clearly intensified.

"You want to teach me how to brew potions?"

His expression was extremely ugly.

"I just hope you can guide me." Ian wasn't just trying to throw caution to the wind; he knew very well that Snape's knowledge of potions far exceeded his own.

At least for the time being, that remains the case.

"You've improved the formula to this extent, and you still need me to guide you in brewing the love potion? Ha! Don't think that you can please me and get me to let you go with your smooth talk! This is a love potion! It's a crime! Do you understand?" Snape's expression was still annoyed, but his anger had obviously subsided considerably.

"If you hadn't ruined the pot that brought me closest to success, I would have shown you right away what I was doing!" Ian retorted while processing the ingredients.

To be honest, Snape did manage to brew the love potion, but it differed considerably from Morgan's recipe. The original potion could have been completely different by removing some ingredients; it was just a base, and the easiest way to make it was a love potion.

If Ian hadn't realized this, he wouldn't have wanted to stay up all night researching.

"Click click click~"

Without the Dementors' help, Ian had to process the materials himself. Snape, standing nearby, was of course not going to help, and the old bat's face was full of impatient and gloomy expressions.

"You idiot, cut it coarser, don't let the medicinal effects of the calamus root release so quickly!"

Fortunately, Snape did not stop Ian's actions; unfortunately, with no other young wizards to keep an eye on, he was able to focus all his attention on finding fault.

"Discard the very top layer of the daffodil root, soak it in honey, and then mix it with the liquid from the petals. Are you suggesting that bees work hard collecting nectar by only adding that little bit?"

"You're really willing to throw away Yu's bile, you must have a deep grudge against him, or maybe your empty brain thinks that the more of this stuff, the more effective it will be."

Snape's sharp tongue was much more biting than usual, probably to vent his anger. Ian did not argue back and completely followed the corrections.

Potions Mastery +4

Potions Mastery +6

Potions Mastery +3

Although Ian only poured a tiny bit more or less material, he was subjected to Snape's exaggerated reprimands, the more frequent increases in his proficiency on his panel did indicate that Snape wasn't just making trouble for no reason, and that Ian still had a lot of room for improvement in handling materials.

"What are you doing with unicorn saliva—wait, where did you get such a big bottle of unicorn saliva from!" Snape noticed that Ian had started doing things other than preparing the love potion.

Before he could even be shocked by the large water bottle Ian had pulled out, he saw Ian stir a bowl of frog brains and then pour it into the pot along with the unicorn's saliva.

"Are you trying to use this vile method to confuse me about whether you're brewing aphrodisiacs?" Snape was about to explode in anger when he caught a peculiar fragrance.

Ian changed the steps of the operation, starting with the semi-finished potion he had just seen.

This is also why he didn't intervene immediately.

"Of course not."

Ian began to wave his wand under Snape's furrowed brow.

To perform a ritual.

The potion in the pot began to change, and its smell changed as well. At that moment, Snape, who had been looking at Snape with a "I'm going to see how you perform" expression, suddenly became somewhat suspicious.

"Add some more bile!"

Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock, and he hurriedly contradicted himself, rushing to the bile storage area and grabbing the bottle.

Precise dripping.

The smell changed subtly again.

Ian's ceremony is still ongoing.

He had intended to retrieve the other prepared materials, but found Snape, his eyes gleaming and his expression serious, already placing the materials in front of the cauldron and beginning to add them one by one. Ian hadn't even told him what to add, and the order and amount of materials Snape added were slightly different from what he had expected.

"uncle-"

Ian wanted to speak.

But Snape interrupted him with a look.

"continue!"

The Potions teacher's voice was somewhat complicated.

Under his warning gaze.

Ian quickly resumed the ritual using his wand and incantations, and without sensing any failure, he watched as the liquid in the cauldron began to slowly change. From its initial turbidity, it gradually became clear and transparent, eventually revealing a mesmerizing deep blue hue, like the most mysterious treasure in the deep sea.

"It's a success!"

Ian's tone was full of surprise; he really hadn't expected that one of the possibilities in Morgan's seemingly wicked and profound formula could be verified so smoothly.

It has to be a half-blood prince!

"Where is the original formula for your aphrodisiac?"

Snape, for some time now, had lost his previous anger and annoyance. He personally ladled out the potion and poured it into a crystal bottle.

Looking at the potion in the crystal bottle, Snape finally believed that no matter how extraordinary or outstanding Ian was as a junior wizard, it was absolutely impossible for him to have researched such a thing so soon after the start of the semester.

"The recipe I found in the forbidden section is just something I've memorized." Of course, Ian wouldn't give away the fragments of Morgan's dress; at most, he would share the recipe with Snape to study it together.

The good uncle has no children.

What research results could possibly lead to forgetting him?

"Do you know what you're analyzing?" Snape realized the formula didn't belong to Ian, but that didn't diminish his astonishment at Ian's talent in potions. Let alone ordinary wizards, even many potion experts probably didn't possess such a keen sense of potions.

The fact that a particular property could be extracted from a potion recipe meant the Princes were clearly not going to decline. Snape felt a mixture of relief and other indescribable emotions.

"I think this is a vitality potion that can keep our magic at a super-high level of activity for a long time. Perhaps we can name it the Infinite Power Potion." Ian's naming skills were clearly inversely proportional to his potion-making talent, but that didn't stop him from enjoying the bright future of becoming a monopolist.

"Perhaps we need to apply for a patent and then sell it to the Aurors. There are definitely a lot of people who need it; I think it will definitely sell better than shampoo or anything like that!"

Ian's voice was filled with excitement.

This is actually Morgan's achievement and patent, but as Morgan's only surviving apprentice, he can certainly be seen as the sole inheritor of Morgan's legacy! How can we let our teacher's research be buried in history? Ian felt it was his inescapable responsibility to carry on this great work!

Just when Ian had convinced himself that he was a very responsible person.

"Go to the forbidden section, find the recipe, and then—" Snape's voice was very deep. Ian had originally thought that he wanted Snape to bring the recipe to him.

however.

"Destroy it! With your Fiery Blaze! Or whatever other magic you have!" This was a request that Ian had never expected.

It's completely baffling.

But Snape's expression was extremely serious and earnest—even somewhat frightening. It was far more oppressive than when he had previously felt Ian was concocting the love potion.

"Is this for the purpose of monopolizing the market?"

Ian was very confused by Snape's attitude.

"Keep this recipe buried in your stomach!" Snape glanced around at the cauldrons, then picked up his hand and used magic to completely destroy all the semi-finished products and materials.

"If I find out you've shared the recipe with your friends, don't blame me for subjecting them to cruel mind-altering." Snape's expression was more serious than ever before.

"Prince, I don't want to die, and I think you do too." With just this chilling whisper, Snape grabbed the finished product in his hand and hurriedly left the Room of Requirement, leaving a bewildered Ian standing in the empty classroom, completely unable to understand what Snape was up to.

basement.

Snape's office.

The Potions professor, who had just entered through the door, closed it again. As if still uneasy, he locked the door from the inside before taking Ian's potion to his desk.

He just sat there.

Staring at the blue potion he had placed on the table, his eyes held fear, apprehension, and worry. However, his inner turmoil only intensified with the passage of time.

"I know I shouldn't do this, it's dangerous." When his emotions could no longer be contained and his mind was in turmoil, Snape finally walked to a wall.

He recited the incantation.

The bricks on the wall began to rotate and shift, revealing a secret area hidden within the wall. However, this area, no bigger than a shoebox, contained a bottle of starlight-filled potion.

The Water of Resuscitation

This is the label on the potion, with Snape's unique handwriting. Judging from the luxurious crystal material used for the bottle, it is clearly a masterpiece that the potion maker was extremely proud of.

Looking at the artwork in the secret compartment.

Snape paced back and forth in front of the cubicle for a long time, unable to make a decision.

The sky was beginning to darken.

He tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and took several deep breaths.

"But I don't want to die with my eyes closed."

Snape resolutely took the vial from it, set up his own cauldron, poured in his creation, and then added several ingredients and performed a ritual.

The process did not last long.

After completing a series of steps, Snape pulled out his own scalding hot potion and poured it into Ian's potion. Starlight then shimmered in the blue potion.

Brilliant and dazzling.

"It really worked!"

When the potion was finished, Snape's face showed no joy, but rather a deathly pale expression. Even his voice and the hand holding the potion trembled uncontrollably.

"How could it possibly succeed!" Snape rushed toward his cabinet, stumbling slightly in his panic.

After taking a dropper from the cabinet, Snape used it to draw some potion from the bottle, and then grabbed a toad and dripped it onto his skin.

after a while.

"Prince, I really wish you just wanted to feed us all love potions." Staring at the imprisoned toad, Snape's face turned even paler.

"Why did it have to be such a terrible calamity!" He was holding a transparent stone close to the toad, and a faint blue light was slowly flowing within the stone.

That is.

Detected magic.