The sound of a girl crying came from the school infirmary.
At first, she thought it was Myrtle, but when she reached the door carrying the valerian, she found Severus standing beside a hospital bed while Poppy Pomfrey bustled about.
"Drink this," Poppy Pomfrey warned. "If you still want to remember what you learned this term."
The girl shook her head vigorously.
"What happened?" Pomona wanted to see who had come to the school infirmary.
Severus turned around, his robes spreading like a curtain and blocking her view. Before she could understand what was happening, he had taken her outside the infirmary.
"What are you doing?" she cried.
"Forgetfulness Potion, with double the water of the River of Forgetfulness (lethe)," Severus said, making her stand against the wall. His cloak enveloped her, shielding her from the cold outside.
She felt a little drowsy and nearly forgot that her own student was lying inside.
"Why did she have to drink Forgetfulness Potion?" Pomona hurriedly asked.
"Many of the ingredients in Forgetfulness Potion are healing," he said, touching the valerian in her arms. "Forgetting is a kind of healing."
She almost believed him.
If the main ingredient of Forgetfulness Potion, the water of the River of Forgetfulness, had not come from the underworld.
Who would think the underworld was a good place to recuperate?
If Sopophorous Beans were not steamed at high temperatures, they might produce effects similar to Forgetfulness Potion.
What if their juice were extracted and clarified until it looked as clear as water, then sold under the name River of Forgetfulness water?
The River of Forgetfulness did not exist at all, yet many people had been misled into believing it did and kept searching for it.
After resting, she remembered a few things. She was not entirely ignorant