Applications of the Magic Eye

Vizet stood up and explained calmly, "Professor Snape, it's like this. My grant was only thirty Galleons."

"If I used it to buy new books, the money left wouldn't be enough for the consumables on the list, so I copied out all the textbooks."

"Touching. It sounds like some vulgar inspirational story." Professor Snape's face was expressionless, his voice drawn out. "Since you can even make your own textbooks..."

"I imagine you know the contents very well? What ingredients are used in the Pimple Healing Potion? What symptoms is it mainly for?"

Hearing this, the other students hurriedly opened their books.

Before they could turn to the page for the Pimple Healing Potion, Vizet had already begun speaking.

He said with clear organization, "Half a cauldron of water, four ground Snake Fangs, three Horned Slugs that need to be steamed, two portions of dried Nettle, and one Porcupine Quill."

"The Pimple Healing Potion is mainly used against ordinary pustules, measles, and pimples. It also has a fairly good effect on some symptoms of scrofula. As long as it doesn't involve magical damage, it's a specific remedy."

"Before adding the Porcupine Quill, if the Heat Control is right, pink smoke will rise from the cauldron. The purer the pink smoke, the more skilled the Potioneer's technique."

Professor Snape curled his lip, his icy gaze sweeping over the entire classroom. "Why haven't you started preparing the ingredients? Are you waiting for me to serve you?"

Except for Vizet, everyone shivered in unison and fumbled to take out their ingredients, measuring out the required amounts.

Professor Snape did not remain idle. He waved his Wand, making all kinds of ingredients fly onto the table, and wrote the key points on the blackboard:

Grind the Snake Fangs as finely as possible, lift the lid often to observe the steaming Horned Slugs, the black beneath the transparent skin should ideally be visible, stir clockwise five times once it boils and bubbles, remove from the flame before adding the Porcupine Quill...

Although the method for making the Pimple Healing Potion was not difficult, preparing the ingredients took a great deal of time, and every operation called for precision.

Even excluding ingredient preparation time, they would still have to simmer it for at least half an hour before the potion was complete.

In such a tight span of time, they also had to record how long each step took, as well as endure Professor Snape's patrols back and forth.

Professor Snape walked with wind in his robes, roaming the classroom like a Ghost, making almost everyone feel a chill down their spines.

Faced with the slime-covered slugs, Hanna held her tweezers but did not dare make a move, her body trembling badly.

Vizet noticed Hanna's troubled expression and pushed the Snake Fangs over. "Why don't you handle this? Don't rush. There's enough time."

Hanna nodded with a grateful expression, then focused intently on grinding the Snake Fangs.

Vizet picked up six slugs with tweezers and placed them into the steamer.

Under the effect of high-temperature steaming, the slugs' mucus solidified, and their bodies also shrank.

He cast Magic Eye and found that the slugs in the steamer had changed.

The slugs' loose Magic Circuits were also drawing inward, and a regular symbol was about to form.

Could this be why the slugs had to be steamed?

Vizet thought this to himself. He did not lift the lid, only using Magic Eye to observe the changes in the symbol.

"Why aren't you opening the lid?" Professor Snape appeared behind him, his sinister voice sounding out. "Or do you intend to follow the book and steam the slugs for exactly ten minutes?"

Hanna's hand trembled, and she nearly smashed the Stone Mortar.

The reactions of the people around them were not small either. They held their breath, almost not daring to exchange a word.

"Of course not, Professor Snape." Vizet did not raise his head, paying attention to the changes in the slugs' Magic Circuits. "If the lid is lifted too frequently, it will affect the quality of the final product."

"Quite right." Professor Snape pressed his lips together and simply planted himself behind Vizet, glancing now and then at the timer beside them.

At exactly seven minutes, Vizet picked up the tweezers, took out two of the slugs, swiftly covered the lid again, and recorded the time.

Professor Snape's eyes narrowed. The two slugs that had been removed were semi-transparent, with a deep black beneath the clear skin.

His cheeks moved, but he kept his arms folded across his chest and still said nothing.

At seven minutes and forty seconds, Vizet opened the lid again, took out the remaining slugs, and recorded the time once more.

There were six Horned Slugs in all. After steaming, they were identical in shape and size, and their appearance was exactly the same as well. All of them were excellent specimens.

"Not bad!" Professor Snape gave Vizet a deep look, then began roaming the classroom again.

The Potions Classroom remained oppressive, but Vizet was not affected by the atmosphere. Instead, he began to enjoy this quiet mood.

Whether the slugs or the Snake Fangs, or even the dried Nettle and the Porcupine Quill, each had its own magical symbol.

With the help of Magic Eye, Vizet put the ingredients into the cauldron one by one to simmer, watching those symbols be broken apart, reshaped, and transformed into exquisite, complex patterns.

He took delight in the process, feeling as though he were a painter sketching the various ingredients into interesting pictures.

It was just as Professor Snape had said at the beginning—whether destruction or new life, it was all contained inside the steaming cauldron.

The mixture in the pot turned a deep green, then transformed into a murky blue, and began to bubble with loud "glug, glug" sounds.

Vizet glanced to the side. "Hanna, it's bubbling already. Now you should stir clockwise five times."

"All right! All right!" Hanna nodded repeatedly, picked up the spoon, dipped it into the cauldron, and stirred carefully.

Once the stirring was complete, the large bubbles turned into Fish Eye Bubbles. The murky blue gradually became clear, and the impurities gathered bit by bit toward the center.

The potion in the cauldron transformed into a clear pale blue. At that moment, the impurities suddenly flew up, forming pure pink smoke at the mouth of the cauldron.

"It's so beautiful!" Hanna was so excited that her face flushed red. She eagerly grabbed the Porcupine Quill and was about to throw it into the cauldron.

Vizet hurriedly reminded her, "Hanna, you have to remove it from the flame before adding the Porcupine Quill."

"I almost forgot!" Hanna said gratefully. She quickly picked up a rag, lifted the cauldron, and added the Porcupine Quill.

The Porcupine Quills slowly melted in the lingering heat, turning into specks of starlight that dotted the potion.

Professor Snape came over again, picked up a spoon, and scooped out some Pimple Healing Potion to examine it. "Your first time making a potion? You've never learned before?"

Vizet asked in return, "I helped Mr. Lovegood squeeze Gurdyroots for tea. Does that count?"

"Gurdyroot tea?" Snape's hand trembled slightly, and he looked at Vizet with great seriousness. "Do not let yourself be influenced by those absurd theories. Can you manage that?"

Vizet was somewhat puzzled. "Do you mean Mr. Lovegood? I think the things he and Luna have said all make quite a lot of sense."

"You do have some talent!" Snape did not respond to that, his voice dry.

Then he changed the subject and continued, "Since you've already finished your potion, why not look at the classmates around you? Are you trying to make yourself stand out from the crowd?"

Vizet still replied calmly, "All right, Professor Snape."

Hanna followed behind him, and the two of them wandered around the classroom just as Snape had.

If Snape brought fear to the students, then Vizet brought hope.

With the help of the Magic Eye, Vizet observed how complete the material symbols were and used that to help improve the potion-making process.

Before long, all the students Vizet had helped had successfully completed their potions.

In the students' eyes, the originally scalding-hot cauldrons now looked far more pleasing.

Even the rising pink smoke seemed as festive as celebratory fireworks.