11: Two Choices

Sean had originally thought brewing potions would not be too difficult, considering it had such strict procedures.

But things were far from as simple as he had imagined.

He knew he had to toss dried nettles and ground Snake Fang into a large cauldron to stew together, then add Porcupine Quills after extinguishing the fire.

But that was only a brief description. Once it came to actual practice, problems sprang up everywhere.

How finely did the Snake Fang need to be ground? How long after putting out the fire could he add the Porcupine Quills?

How much force should he use when stirring? How wide should the stirring motion be? When should he stir?

The book contained absolutely no record of such questions, and Professor Snape had not explained them in the slightest.

Sean felt that these were probably things Wizards did not need explained to them.

Perhaps there was some instinct, like when he had practiced the Levitation Charm—some strange sensation that guided a Wizard.

The result was that, because everyone knew these things, or would quickly come to understand them even if they did not,

no one taught them.

And Professor Snape had probably never even paid attention to these questions.

Otherwise, as a Potions Master, there was only a tiny chance that he had failed to notice them.

But I seem to be a terrible student, so these questions have become my problem.

Sean could only sigh inwardly.

His guess was confirmed in the very next second. When he strictly followed the steps in the book and whatever instinct might exist to brew the potion,

the cauldron, amid his just as I thought and Justin's puzzled stare,

turned into a blue potion.

"I remember Scurvy Paste not being this color."

Justin scratched his head, finding the result hard to believe.

The cauldron bubbled away as the blue potion slowly thickened,

and Snape's expression grew worse along with it.

"Idiots!"

He strode over, the hem of his robes cutting a sharp arc through the air.

"I imagine that, aside from your stirring and heat control, your ingredient preparation has most likely gone wrong as well..."

Professor Snape flicked his wand, and a stool appeared before him. He seated himself elegantly,

his gaze fixed firmly on the pot of blue potion. After observing it for only a few seconds, he sneered.

"Idiotic choices of Porcupine Quills, Troll-like choices of nettles, and disastrous Snake Fang selection.

You actually chose nonvenomous Snake Fang?! Two fools fit to be hung in a portrait gallery!"

He roared without mercy, sweeping his wand and vanishing the potion from the cauldron.

"You should count yourselves lucky that you did not make an error in the procedure, or you would have learned the lesson fools earn from potions!"

His voice was as chilling as the cold wind of the Dungeon.

"One point from each of you."

Justin had known something was terribly wrong the moment he saw Snape approaching, but such a barrage of mockery still made his face flush.

The light also vanished from Sean's big eyes. Just as when he had practiced spells before, he had not the slightest instinctive sense for brewing potions.

He could more or less guess what his Potions Talent was like.

Even after class, the Young Wizards did not dare speak loudly. The shadow of Potions class still hung over everyone's heads.

"Sean, don't worry. We'll earn back the points we lost."

Justin's voice sounded beside Sean's ear, as though he were encouraging himself as well.

"Mm."

Sean appeared somewhat distracted, but the turmoil in his heart had already settled.

If he stopped moving forward over things like difficulties, obstacles, and other people's mockery,

he would not even have learned the Levitation Charm by now.

The reason he had seemed distracted was because he was chewing over Professor Snape's words.

Failed heat control, improper stirring, problems with ingredient selection...

These were the basics of potion brewing, and they were also the problems Sean faced.

There were now two paths before him.

One was to brew potions mindlessly, just as he had learned spells, relying on luck to accumulate experience.

The moment that path appeared, Sean rejected it.

Potions were not like spells.

This was hardly a safe branch of magic.

Both handling ingredients and brewing potions were dangerous and unpleasant. One careless mistake could turn them into something like poisonous fumes.

Trying things by luck like this was no different from gambling his fate against potions.

That left only the other path.

He had to understand potions, this branch of magic, as quickly as possible, solve every potential problem,

then gain proficiency through potion-brewing practice, and finally obtain a Title to improve his talent.

This path was more complicated and difficult than the first, but it was clearly workable.

And once he had one correct attempt, everything afterward would go much faster.

"One problem at a time, but I need to be quick. Hogwarts has more than just this one subject."

Sean's voice was too quiet for anyone but himself to hear.

The long tables in the Great Hall were covered with food:

roast turkey, little sausages, buttered peas, gravy, cranberry sauce, Christmas pudding, turkey sandwiches, roasted flatbread...

There was a dazzling array of dishes.

Neither his terrible talent nor Professor Snape's venomous tongue had affected Sean's enthusiasm for eating in the slightest.

Merlin's beard... this is delicious.

Sean fought quickly and elegantly.

For half a year, he had never eaten a full meal. Even at yesterday's opening feast, he had only eaten until he was seventy percent full.

The orphanage could not increase its income, so it often chose to cut expenses.

As for how to cut expenses, Nurse Anna had once proposed the theory that a child only needed one meal a day.

Waking in the middle of the night with stomach acid reflux was not pleasant.

When he was at his hungriest, Sean often regarded the stray dogs outside the orphanage as emergency rations.

"Hermione! Over here!"

Justin called out to Hermione, who had been looking for a corner to sit in.

Her face quickly reddened as she jogged over.

"You're too loud!"

Hermione glared at Justin.

"Sorry, I was afraid you wouldn't hear me."

The dimples in Justin's cheeks deepened.

"Our first class this afternoon is Herbology. I noticed it appears more often than any other subject on the timetable...

I guessed it would not be simple, so I memorized the book again. I hope it'll be useful.

Oh, right, I heard you had Potions class..."

Hermione lifted her chin and fired off a string of words like a machine gun.

"Herbology sounds great. Will you get to learn about those magical plants? Like... As for Potions class, I have to say..."

Justin listened attentively, and the two of them soon began discussing it.

Their voices gradually faded in Sean's mind as he thoughtfully took out his timetable.

Wednesday morning: Herbology. Wednesday afternoon: Herbology. Friday afternoon: Herbology.

It really was the most frequent class of them all.

Hogwarts' course arrangements had to carry some deeper meaning. Herbology was scheduled so often because it was necessary.

But why?

"...disastrous ingredient selection... your ingredient preparation has most likely gone wrong..."

Sean sorted through Professor Snape's words, and a few seconds later, he understood the reasoning.

Herbology taught Wizards how to handle ingredients, and ingredient preparation was the first step in potion-making.

So it was not hard to conclude that to learn potions, one first had to learn Herbology.