Snape's Little Schemes

Inside the Chamber of Secrets, dozens of leather trunks were neatly arranged around Loren and Snape. These trunks were specifically used to store medicinal herbs, and the lids of the trunks were engraved with simple and crude Alchemy Array, and were also imbued with various spells.

Not long after leaving the Headmaster's office, Loren was conscripted by Snape to help dispose of the Basilisk's corpse and collect and store Basilisk Materials.

Before them lay the massive Basilisk carcass, dozens of feet long, at the foot of the Slytherin colossal statue. Even though it had been dead for some time, its body showed no signs of decay. It was as thick as an oak tree trunk, and its scales still gleamed with a cold, hard, green metallic sheen.

The snake's head was slightly flattened and triangular in shape, with a fatal penetrating wound extending from its skull to its upper jaw. Its once full, yellow eyes had been gouged out by Fawkes, and fluid was flowing from the wounds, leaving only two shriveled eyeballs.

Loren was somewhat disappointed. He was very interested in the deadly and Magic Power Magic Power in the Basilisk's eyes, and even had the idea of using the two Magic Power to make weapons.

Now that there's no constant supply of Magic Power to choose from, this idea seems to have died in the womb.

Upon closer inspection of the Basilisk's corpse, Loren noticed details he had previously overlooked: the Basilisk's scales were not smooth; it had two rows of short, blunt spikes along its back, and the scales on its head also had blunt, coarse, spike-like protrusions, making it look rough and uneven.

In the middle section of the abdomen, about one-fifth the length of the entire snake's body, large patches of scales had been removed from the base and piled up to the side; this was Snape's previous work.

"The Basilisk's scales are extremely hard, and ordinary spells and knives can hardly cut them. I called you here to help process the Basilisk's corpse to speed things up, and also to test if your Sectumsempra has deteriorated." Snape's cold voice echoed in the Chamber of Secrets.

Loren withdrew his gaze from the Basilisk's body, glanced at Snape with a hint of disdain, and curled his lip. Trying to exploit underage student workers is one thing, but coming up with such Diadem reasons is another.

"The Basilisk's corpse won't decompose, Professor. You can just cut it up piece by piece. The Christmas holidays are still long, aren't they?"

Loren attempted to resist, Snape, the inventor of the Sectumsempra, Potions Master, and a master of material handling, had only managed to cut such a small amount after so long, and it was just scales...

If I were to get involved, I'd probably spend the entire time before Christmas in the Chamber of Secrets.

Snape's eyes remained expressionless as he raised his hand to roll up the sleeves of his robe, seemingly preparing to begin work.

After rolling up his sleeves, he reached out and gave Loren a tap on the head. "Stop giving me that offensive look and respect your teacher. Besides, we don't have that much time to waste. We need to get all this sorted out before the Ministry of Magic and the Board of Governors arrive at the school."

Loren winced in pain, clutching his head as he nodded. He understood; an investigation into Crabbe's case had been launched, and the Basilisk would soon be exposed to the Ministry of Magic and the Board of Governors.

Many people would be tempted by such rare items and get involved. Even if Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall could handle it, it would create a lot of trouble.

Don't naively assume that everything in the school belongs to Hogwarts. Driven by substantial profits, many Pure-blood Families can use the name of Slytherin to demand a share of the profits.

With generations of Pure-blood marriages, if you really analyze it, every family is related by blood. Even the Weasley family and Malfoy family, if you go back a few generations, you can definitely find relatives.

"If I had known this would happen, I should have gone home for the Christmas holidays." Loren wailed, helplessly following in Snape's footsteps, and began to learn how to cut the Basilisk's scales.

The scales are layered, and only when the top layer is removed can the entire scale be clearly seen. In a large area in the middle section, the scales have been removed, and there is a clear boundary between the black flesh and the green Snake Scale.

Loren reached out and pressed the exposed flesh of the Basilisk; it was hard, and felt like some kind of rough rock.

Snape grasped a Snake Scale in his left hand, propping it up, then aimed his wand at the junction of the scale and the skin, softly chanting, "[Sectumsempra]".

An invisible blade swept past, and a diamond-shaped scale fell off, revealing a clean cut at its tail.

Snape casually tossed the scale into the nearest suitcase, not even Snape at Loren, and began processing the next scale. "Actually, plucking it out would better preserve the scale's integrity, but that would also require dealing with the flesh and blood adhering to the scale, making it more tedious."

"[Sectumsempra] "

Another scale peeled off. Snape raised his eyelids and looked at Loren: "Did you learn it?"

Loren didn't answer. Instead, he grasped a scale, aimed his wand at the base of the scale, and chanted, "[Sectumsempra]".

A scale was peeled off, but the cut surface was not smooth enough and there were some flaws.

It's a matter of experience; you'll get used to it after a few tries. Snape ignored this flaw, waving his hand and pointing to the Basilisk's head. "You start cutting the scales from there, and I'll take care of the tail, which has more and denser scales."

Loren glanced at the Basilisk's head, and his eyes widened instantly. But remembering his earlier statement about respecting his elders, Loren temporarily suppressed the urge to slander Snape ...

Saying the scales are more numerous and denser makes it sound like your job is more complicated. Clearly, the scales on the tail are more neatly arranged, following a more consistent layering pattern, making them easier to handle.

The oddly shaped scales on its head are mostly not layered together; the scales are strangely shaped and their fit with the skin and flesh is also messy, making it look very troublesome.

Sensing his reluctance, Snape said calmly, "After you've dealt with the Basilisk's corpse, you can take some materials; choose whatever you like. Do you have any other questions?"

"Absolutely not!" Loren's answer was very straightforward. The Basilisk's eyes, of course, were the Basilisk's eyes.

After saying that, he chuckled and quickly ran to the Basilisk's head, examining the irregularly shaped scales that covered its head.

What Loren noticed first was the rostral scale, located at the very front, which was different from the other oddly shaped scales on the head. The rostral scale was neat and symmetrical, and the Basilisk had only one rostral scale on its entire body.

After considering his lack of expertise in processing scales, Loren opted for a less attractive one.

The angles at which the scales and flesh of a snake's head meet are all different. The Sectumsempra isn't the difficult part; the difficulty lies in finding the right angle and anticipating the cut surface beforehand.

"[Sectumsempra] "

"[Sectumsempra] "

The invisible, whistling blades ravaged the Chamber of Secrets space, slicing off scale after scale. Periorbital scales, temporal scales, jaw scales... Slowly, Loren peeled away the scales from the entire Basilisk's head.

His proficiency with the Sectumsempra also increased rapidly, becoming more and more adept at it. He could cut wherever he wanted, and make the cut however he wanted. The direction, trajectory, extension, and power of the blade's edge could all be adjusted and changed with a single thought.

Snape watched Loren's progress from afar, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips.

Aside from the most difficult head, the scales on the Basilisk's torso were much easier to work on. Snape, seeing that Loren's work was on track, began to explain some things about the Basilisk.

"The snake material we commonly use is African Tree Snake Skin... The scales of Fantastic Beasts are mainly divided into three types: smooth, granular, and prismatic. The first two are easy to understand. Prismatic scales refer to scales with a vertical ridge in the center."

Loren looked at it and noticed that the Basilisk seemed to have all three types of scales, which should be considered a unique characteristic of the Basilisk.

He wasn't particularly interested in these biological details, and instead asked, "Professor, what are the uses of the various materials on the Basilisk's body?"

"[Sectumsempra] "

Snape cut off another scale, tossed it casually into his suitcase, and said, "Who knows?"

"Ah?"

Snape explained slowly and deliberately, "Basilisk are too rare. After Salazar Slytherin's death, the detailed Basilisk hatching ritual seems to have been lost, and afterwards, the Ministry of Magic strictly prohibited the hatching and raising of Basilisk— "

Unable to contain his curiosity, Loren interrupted, "Professor, wasn't it said that the Basilisk is a monster born from a toad hatching a male egg?"

Snape gave him a subtle look. Although there were no words, Loren understood: Snape was calling him a fool.

"Loren Morgan— " Snape said in an almost poetic aria, his tone sarcastic and mocking, "You don't actually think that such a strange 5X dangerous Magical Creatures can be cultivated in such a simple way, do you?"

Here it comes: whenever Snape thought he was stupid, he would call him by his full name, or simply call him Mr. Morgan.

Loren forced a nod... He had indeed thought so before, because male eggs perfectly explained the rarity of Basilisk. Male eggs were rare, therefore Basilisk were rare.

Snape chuckled. "Use your orange-juice-filled brain to think about it. Which step sounds easier: getting a rooster to lay an egg or getting a toad to incubate an egg?"

"Choose the right constellations, choose the right breeds of roosters and toads, feed the two animals with Potions ... Any wizard who knows a little about Potions knows how demanding these conditions are."

After giving Loren a sarcastic remark, Snape felt extremely satisfied and then continued with the question of the Basilisk's medicinal value.

"—In England, there have been no records of witnessing the Basilisk for at least four hundred years." Snape snorted coldly, speaking with arrogance. "A skilled Potions Master can analyze the effects of an ingredient by comparing it to similar ingredients, based on the Magic Power contained within the ingredient and its properties. If it is unique and different from others, that's even better, as it will mean a unique Potions."

Loren scratched his head. He probably wasn't a fully-fledged Potions Master yet, so he didn't have that awareness.

In the dimly Chamber of Secrets, Snape explained how to theoretically analyze the medicinal value of the Basilisk.

Until lunchtime, Snape talked about the Basilisk, including scholars' speculations about Basilisk hatching ritual, placing eggs under a toad on Sirius's brightest night... and comparing the Basilisk to the Cockatrice...

By the afternoon, things seemed to have changed.

After finishing lunch, Loren declined Harry and Ron's invitation to have a snowball fight, rested for a while, and then returned to the Chamber of Secrets to digest his food.

Snape hadn't arrived yet, Loren didn't wait. He climbed onto the Basilisk 'Basilisk body and continued to cut off its scales.

Thanks to his talent for Spell Correction, Loren repeatedly cast the Sectumsempra while harvesting scales, and his spellcasting was now exceptionally smooth:

"[Sectumsempra] "

"[Sectumsempra] "

When Snape came in, Loren had already filled several boxes with scales, and he was even faster than Snape.

The Sectumsempra was a spell invented by Snape himself, as he keenly sensed Loren's leap in progress.

At first, even after observing for a long time, Loren's casting of the spell still left flaws.

Now, as Loren raised the scale with his left hand, his right hand, almost instinctively, began casting a spell without thinking. The severed scale was flawless.

Snape stopped in his tracks, staring blankly at Loren as he processed the scales, remaining there for several minutes.

Although Dumbledore didn't say it explicitly, Snape could tell that he wanted to groom Loren as his successor. Whether as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot or the headmaster of Hogwarts, he wanted to cultivate Loren to serve the same purpose as him.

Doing some incredibly boring work, paying the price for the mistakes of the world's idiots, covering for them... something like that.

Snape completely disagreed with Dumbledore's idea; Loren was talented and was Nicolas Flamel's chosen one. Even though no one revealed it, Snape knew that Loren might follow a similar path to Nicolas Flamel.

Nicolas Flamel almost completely redefined Alchemy, Snape felt that Loren could also achieve great things in Potions Master; the boy had talent.

But the scene before him told him that Loren's talent wasn't limited to Potions Master...

Loren casually tossed the scales he had just cut into his suitcase, then looked up and saw Snape, greeting him cheerfully, "Good afternoon, Professor!"

"Hmm." Snape answered softly... Oh well, he'll probably have a long life anyway, so let him choose for himself.

Snape didn't say much, and went back to his position to continue dealing with the Basilisk.

While processing the scales, Snape stopped mentioning the Basilisk's medicinal value and began talking about the Potions Club and the school's Potions business.

A completely emotionless voice echoed in the Chamber of Secrets: "The proceeds from the sale of Wormwood Essence have gradually arrived. Because this is the first time the school has been outside the supervision of the Board of Governors and has held such a large sum of money, without the shrewd people sent by the Board of Governors, Professor McGonagall made some mistakes in handling such a large sum of money."

Professor McGonagall cannot disclose her current financial situation until she is fully financially independent. Previously, the allocation of funds and the procurement of living supplies for the school's faculty and students were all conducted under the supervision of the Board of Governors and handled by dedicated accountants; Professor McGonagall only needed to issue approvals.

Suddenly having an extra sum of money at their disposal, Professor McGonagall lacked relevant experience and didn't handle some details very well during its use. The Board of Governors seemed to have discovered something through the accounts.

"Is it a big problem?" Loren asked.

"Not too big, not too small. Normally we can manage. However, if the Board of Governors investigates seriously, it might cause some trouble," Snape said unhurriedly. "This business will be temporarily suspended until the accounts are settled next school year. We've almost run out of Rue, so the Potions Club will be suspending its previous activities."

"Does that mean we should start developing Resurrection Potion?"

Snape grunted in agreement, not elaborating on the Potions Club's arrangements. "Professor McGonagall plans to select a few graduates from this year's class to represent the school in its business. The main focus will still be Potions, including the procurement of raw materials, the brewing and development of Potions, and their sales."

Loren listened as he processed the scales, and although he didn't understand why Snape was telling him these things, he still kept them in mind.

"... In order to avoid attracting the attention of the Board of Governors, sales will not be conducted within the England until profits can cover all school expenses. Sales will primarily be concentrated in Africa, the United States, Egypt, and other regions..."