Potions Master

"You brewed this potion?"

Ten minutes later, Snape appeared before Tierra holding the jar of potion, its contents lowered by a layer.

"Um... y-yes," Tierra answered, secretly watching Snape's expression.

"If you want to look, then look openly!" Snape said in a chilly voice. "Don't sneak glances!"

"O-okay, Professor Snape," Tierra replied.

Snape's expression was not exactly pleasant at the moment, but it was not particularly bad either. There was simply a trace of...

Well... Tierra could not quite describe it. A trace of complexity, perhaps?

"Where did you get the potion formula?" Snape asked.

"I experimented with it myself," Tierra explained. "When I was buying ingredients for a Calming Draught, I discovered that Dried Billywig Shells and Balnearia Mushrooms were cheaper than the Mandrake Roots and Golden Beetle Eyes originally required for the Calming Draught. According to the descriptions in Principles of Potions, those two ingredients are the main components of a powerful analgesic. That analgesic helps wizards maintain their concentration under extreme conditions, so I thought..."

"So you wondered whether the four ingredients might share some kind of occult and material connection, so you replaced the original Mandrake Roots and Golden Beetle Eyes with those two ingredients?" Snape picked up where Tierra had left off. "But the results were not significant, so while increasing the original amount of Valerian Sprigs, you also added twenty-three grams and thirty grams of the two ingredients respectively. That was how you obtained this bottle of red Calming Draught, correct?"

"Yes," Tierra answered quietly. Snape's account was missing one step of Tierra's calculations, but it was close enough.

After staring at Tierra for a while, Snape asked:

"Are you interested in Potions?"

"Yes," Tierra answered sincerely.

"Have you studied Potions before?" Snape asked again.

"No. It's just that my parents came from a Traditional Chinese Medicine family in the Muggle World, and when I was wandering before, I worked part-time at a Traditional Chinese Medicine shop for a while," Tierra said, then added, "Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Muggle World feels somewhat similar to the Potions taught at Hogwarts."

"Mm." Snape nodded, seeming to accept Tierra's explanation. "Traditional Chinese Medicine... is Potions for Eastern wizards."

"Do you still want to continue studying Potions?" Snape asked.

"Yes!" Tierra practically shouted.

"Good. Come to my office every Sunday from six-thirty to seven-thirty in the evening," Snape said. "I only have one hour. Do not be late. Prepare your questions, and do not waste my time."

If he had to rank them, this was Tierra's most exciting moment since stepping into Hogwarts.

Tierra had only wanted Snape to help appraise this potion. He had even prepared himself to be refused, yet he had never expected Snape to offer one-on-one Potions tutoring directly.

"I still need to study this potion. You may leave now," Snape said, unceremoniously dismissing Tierra after seeing him agree.

Even after leaving the Potions classroom, Tierra still felt as though none of it were real.

Tierra glanced at Snape's office, then raced up the stairs.

What Tierra did not know was that not long after he left, Snape emerged from his office carrying Tierra's bottle of dark-red potion and headed straight for the entrance to the headmaster's office on the third floor.

After answering the password correctly, he passed through the gargoyle and stepped onto the spiral staircase leading to the headmaster's office...

At dinner, George Weasley and Fred Weasley came looking for Tierra.

"Hey, Tierra, we heard you're making Magical Items too?" George... or perhaps Fred, asked. "This morning, Percy suddenly came storming over and gave us a furious scolding."

"He thinks we led you astray. Honestly, if you really have problems with Transfiguration, you can ask us." The other twin said.

"Yeah, we're experts at Transfiguration!"

"We also heard from little Ron that you brewed Calming Draughts for him and Harry?"

"That's something plenty of sixth-years can't even brew."

"Even Percy can't do it. Hehehe..." He laughed after saying that.

"Oh, right. Want to partner with us? Fred and I are working on prank products."

Tierra was a little dazed by the twins' rapid-fire chatter coming from both sides, but he understood that sentence.

"How is your research going?" Tierra admitted that he was tempted. The fact that Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, run by the Weasley Twins in the original story, had managed to dominate Diagon Alley proved that their claim of being "experts at Transfiguration" was no empty boast.

After all, Tierra was currently a giant in theory but a dwarf in practice. His Transfiguration, alchemy, creation of Magical Items, and even potion-brewing techniques all depended on the knowledge and experience he had accumulated in his previous life, decades ahead of this era, to hold things together.

"We've already achieved some results." As he spoke, Fred—or George—mysteriously pulled a pale yellow, round object the size of an egg from his pocket. "This is a Dungbomb. We improved it. Once it hits someone, that smell can..."

"Alright, I'm in." Tierra suddenly remembered that the twins possessed an artifact—the Marauder's Map. This magical item, created by the four Marauders, had fallen into the Weasley Twins' hands as early as their first year.

So Tierra had only been making casual conversation earlier. He had not really intended to find out what major breakthrough they had come up with.

The twins were extremely enthusiastic about Tierra joining. They sat with Tierra sandwiched between them, eating dinner while filling him in on embarrassing stories about the school's professors and staff... mainly the caretaker Filch and the librarian Pince, as well as their own "glorious achievements."

Their biological younger brother Ron could only be squeezed off to one side.

Tierra clicked his tongue repeatedly as he listened to those "glorious achievements."

The fact that these two kids had made it this far without being beaten to death really was thanks to Dumbledore's reforms, which had abolished many school rules allowing corporal punishment.

"When do we meet?" Tierra asked. Listening to their stories was certainly entertaining, but it was not as important as improving his own practical magical skills.

"Any time," one of them—perhaps George—said.

"Usually Saturdays and Sundays," the other said. "But we get together whenever we don't have classes."

"After all, inspiration always strikes suddenly. We can't control that."

Here is the fifth update. Since I may need to do experiments tomorrow and the day after, there may only be one update each day. Good night, everyone.

Also, this book has reached one hundred thousand words now. If you like it, you can join the group chat at 514105437 to discuss writing ideas together, complain about real life, and relieve some stress.

There is already one administrator in the group—my roommate. We may be rather busy sometimes, so group-join requests might not be approved promptly.