Potions Master Snape's Secret

Wizet turned to look at the spiral staircase, where Snape stood in a black robe.

Snape was holding a cup of Potions, which looked like it had just been brewed and was still steaming.

The Potions was a clear emerald green, and along with the steam that settled on the surface of the cup, there was a faint, soft, milky white halo.

This is the Baruffio's Brain Elixir Madam Pomfrey often mentioned and repeatedly warned Wizet against taking casually.

The soft glow on the surface of the cup is one of the characteristics of Baruffio's Brain Elixir, but the glow will disappear as the Potions cools down.

"Professor Snape," Wizet said with a slight bow, "Headmaster Dumbledore sent me."

"Your hands..." Snape narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Wizet's hands, which were imbued with the Fire-Making Spell Patronus Charm, "Giving them sentience... was this your own idea?"

"Yes, Professor Snape." Wizet. "I could sense something different from the Flame Serpent when you gave me that duel instruction."

"That Flame Serpent is very special. My original thought was that it should be a combination of Fire-Making Spell and Transfiguration... but it doesn't feel right. The Flame Serpent is not spiritual enough."

"I tried to approach it from a different angle, to recreate that feeling as much as possible. So I thought of the Patronus Charm, after all, it was your guidance that allowed me to explore the soul."

"Back then you told me that you could consciously explore your inner self by chanting mantras. So I tried to change my approach and still use mantras to consciously give meaning to the external world."

"However, the process of giving it an external appearance was more difficult than I imagined, so there wasn't much I could actually do. But at least... it looks much more vibrant now."

He raised his arm, and the fire serpent, just as he had said, was much more agile than before, radiating a faint heat as it coiled around his arm along his palm.

Snape's voice remained cold, and he said in a low voice, "The general idea is correct."

For some reason, compared to his usual cold tone, Wizet felt that Snape's words at this moment were somewhat stiff, as if he was unwilling to talk about these things.

Wizet was about to say something, but Snape continued, "Observation... you need to continue observing."

"For example, if you want to observe the Flame Serpent, you need to observe snakes and learn as much as possible about them, including what they can do and their habits."

"By imbuing it with what you know through the Patronus Charm... it will become increasingly similar to what you observe and understand..."

Wizet swallowed hard, then, as she thought, reorganized her thoughts, saying, "Professor Snape, wouldn't you say this is a process of moving from the abstract to the concrete?"

"Suppose I am observing a Ashwinder, from its birth to its demise... As my understanding of the Ashwinder deepens, coupled with the spiritual empowerment of the Patronus Charm..."

"Could I really... conjure up a Ashwinder? Even make it lay Ashwinder... and use them as Potion Ingredients?"

Snape stared wide-eyed, scrutinized Wizet again, and finally spoke slowly, "This is the realm of Potions Master, and it's not actually conjuring up Ashwinder."

"What we need is the properties of the ' Ashwinder Egg '... I don't know how other Potions Master do it, but at least I did it by using the Patronus Charm."

"Of course, no Potions would have that much free time. Usually, it's because they lack a certain necessary material or need to temporarily change the recipe that they operate in this way."

"I see!" Wizet let out a long sigh of relief. "Only by constantly learning about Potion Ingredients and deeply studying the properties of Potions can one go further on the path of Potions!"

He suddenly remembered some books he had seen in the library. Although they were classified under the History of Magic section, their contents were extremely magical, the kind of magical that even wizards would find magical.

The book mentions a wizard named Golpalott who could create Potions with various effects using only a cauldron, water, and sugar.

If one were to become a Potions Master and possess sufficient knowledge of all things in the world, perhaps it would be possible to reach a point where, given water and sugar, a cauldron and fire, one could create all sorts of Potions.

Although he understood this, Wizet still had other questions in his mind.

"Professor Snape, we've been talking about Potions... Could we take Transfiguration a step further by imbuing it with spirituality through the Patronus Charm?"

"Still not giving up? What do you want to do?" Snape raised his eyebrows, his eyes becoming more complicated. "A true Ashwinder is a living being, and it can sustain living beings!"

"Life is an extremely complex thing, so complex that..." He trailed off, "In short, don't even think about such things! The idea of transforming into a real Ashwinder is just wishful thinking on your part!"

"What you can observe is only one side of the Ashwinder. How can you be sure that it doesn't have another side? Life is vibrant and multifaceted... No one can truly grasp it!"

"Even if you could conjure up the Ashwinder from your memory, so what? It's nothing more than a flimsy puppet, acting according to your will... it has no real meaning whatsoever!"

Snape's voice rose higher and higher, eventually sounding like a reprimand.

When he finished speaking, his face showed immense pain.

In just a moment, he reverted to his original appearance, his eyes filled with coldness, gloom, and inhumanity.

Wizet blinked, feeling somewhat dazed, as if what she had just seen was merely an illusion. "Professor Snape..."

Before Wizet could speak, Snape abruptly interrupted, "Do you know what this Potions is?"

Wizet immediately said, "Professor Snape, it's Baruffio's Brain Elixir."

The halo on the surface of the cup became fainter, and even the heat was reduced considerably.

"Very good! Ravenclaw loses one point!" Snape shoved the Potions into Wizet. "Since you're here, give it to Dumbledore, Ravenclaw one point!"

One point is deducted for answering the question correctly...

Then they added that point back...

Watching Snape's hurried departure, Wizet felt somewhat confused.

That's probably what makes the hawthorn wood wand so special.

He let out a long breath, dispelled the fire snake in his hand, glanced at the slightly swaying Potions, and walked into the Headmaster's Office with the cup in both hands.

Dumbledore must have gone out to meet someone, so the door to the Headmaster's Office was open.

Wizet glanced at the bird perch to the side; the old and frail Phoenix Fawkes wasn't there, but instead, a pile of ashes lay on the ground...