Watered-Down Potion

Albert and the other three fell silent. They knew very well that what Potions Master Dagworth had just said was actually meant to scare them. There might have been such cases, but they were definitely a minority.

Having personally prepared the ingredients for Baruffio's Brain Elixir, Albert knew exactly how many Galleon it would cost to gather them. Just imagine, brewing one Baruffio's Brain Elixir requires at least 15 Galleon —the exorbitant price of the ingredients was simply stifling.

Failure once is enough to be heartbreaking, not to mention the difficulty of brewing this Potions. Even the slightest flaw can render the Baruffio's Brain Elixir unusable.

Even the most skilled Potions Master would not drink the Baruffio's Brain Elixir directly after brewing it.

"The France sorcerer Buffet, who originally invented the potion, developed some mental problems after drinking one of his own concoctions." Dagworth pointed to his head. "Later, he made a famous blunder, saying 's' instead of 'f' when chanting the spell, and found himself lying on the floor with a bison standing on his chest."

"I know, Professor Flitwick mentioned it." Lee Jordan had no idea that the matter Professor Flitwick mentioned originated from here.

"The wizard Professor Flitwick mentioned was named Baruffio. I think there's probably a problem with the translation," Albert recalled, then shook his head. "The translator was probably a second-rate idiot."

The two names have very similar letters, so it's not surprising that translation problems arise, especially for those who aren't very fluent in French.

"Initially, the wizard Buffet put together some ingredients that could stimulate the brain, hoping to create Potions that could make people smarter. Of course, after a long period of improvement, Baruffio's Brain Elixir was finally completed. However, because the probability of failure in its formulation was still very high, and inferior products could easily cause users to become overly excited, directly leading to brain damage, this Potions was banned by the Ministry of Magic not long afterward to prevent inferior products from circulating and poisoning others." Dagworth recounted the origin and history of Baruffio's Brain Elixir to the four of them.

"So, it really can make people smarter?" All three of them were a little excited; who wouldn't want to be smarter?

"Yes, the real Baruffio's Brain Elixir can indeed make people smarter," Dagworth abruptly poured cold water on their enthusiasm. "But users face significant risks, and the enhancement is limited."

These words calmed Fred and the others down considerably.

"Later, a Potions named Astor Bell, whose son Albert failed his exams in Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology class, tried to make his son smarter by brewing this potion." The Potions Master continued recounting the history of Baruffio's Brain Elixir.

"He succeeded?"

"It succeeded, but it also failed," Dagworth said meaningfully. "At the time, there was Potions named Billius Finbock with him, and they did indeed brew a poor-quality Baruffio's Brain Elixir."

"His son turned into an idiot?" Everyone seemed to have guessed what would happen to that unfortunate man.

"No," Dagworth shook his head. "They tried to dilute the drug and gave it to Albert, and as you can imagine, Albert passed all the tests. This was undoubtedly a huge business opportunity, so they started selling Baruffio's Brain Elixir on the black market."

The Potions Master continued, "Later, when Billius Finbock was harvesting Runespoor eggs, he was bitten by one of his pet Runespoor, and the Runespoor eventually escaped."

"The Ministry of Magic arrived and rescued Billius Finbock, and went to great lengths to find the snake. But because of this incident, the Ministry of Magic charged the two unfortunate men with illegally keeping Runespoor and confiscated the Baruffio's Brain Elixir. It was only then that the matter came to light, and the Baruffio's Brain Elixir was officially Blacklist from the exam."

"Since that incident, Baruffio's Brain Elixir on the black market has been diluted to greatly reduce the damage of the Potions to the human brain. People use it as a short-term brain-enhancing drug."

"Of course, drinking too much of a low-quality Baruffio's Brain Elixir is still harmful to the brain, especially since some idiots make drugs that are particularly effective."

As expected of Potions Master Dagworth, the inside story he revealed really shocked everyone. No one expected there to be such a secret.

"Now you know why I'm so determined to get that Gold Card back, right?" Dagworth glanced at Albert and said casually.

Without that Gold Card, Dagworth's use of precious materials to brew potions might be considered illegal by the Ministry of Magic, or at least the means of obtaining the raw materials would be illegal.

Albert and said nothing more; he understood what Dagworth meant.

"I will explain how to brew the Baruffio's Brain Elixir later, but you must not speak or ask any questions. If you cannot do so, it is best to leave now. You can go to the Three Broomsticks for some Butterbeer, or go to Honeydukes for some sweets." Dagworth looked at Fred and the other two and said, "I suggest you choose the former."

All three understood that Dagworth meant to get rid of them, so they readily said goodbye and left.

"What you did was a bit rude," Albert said, frowning slightly as he watched Fred and the others leave.

"I don't think they can hold out that long. Rather than staying here and suffering, they might as well go out and have some fun," Dagworth explained casually. "Besides, their Potions skills aren't good enough. Staying here would probably be a waste of time and would only get in our way."

"You're right. Perhaps you could remind me of that in your letter." Albert didn't blame Dagworth, because what Dagworth said made a lot of sense.

"I'll explain as I brew the Baruffio's Brain Elixir. You can ask me questions afterward, but remember not to bother me," Dagworth said, taking out the necessary herbs from a box and quickly entering the Potions- brewing process.

Albert also quickly got into the zone.

As Dagworth said, Baruffio's Brain Elixir is actually a mixture of many ingredients that can excite the brain and improve memory.

"Furthermore, the Leaping Toadstools itself is poisonous. When making Baruffio's Brain Elixir, it must be processed using alchemical methods before it can be used," Dagworth explained as he processed a red-headed Leaping Toadstools with white spots. This stuff is soaked in an oil-like liquid; oil immersion is the best way to store Leaping Toadstools.

In fact, Albert stored the Leaping Toadstools he obtained in the same way, which resulted in the waste of a lot of olive oil.

The Frog Brains must be freshly prepared, but the problem is that the dissection of the frog must be done quickly, and usually an assistant is needed.

However, Dagworth didn't need an assistant; he dissected the three frogs in just one minute, took out their brains, and threw them into a heated crucible.

During the Potions- making process, Dagworth would only speak at important points, sometimes more like talking to himself than explaining, such as the timing of adding Dragon claw powder, the method of stirring, how to add Runespoor eggs in time, and how to judge whether the potion has taken shape.

The entire process lasted nearly an hour. The final product, the Baruffio's Brain Elixir, was a concentrated green liquid. Dagworth held the test tube horizontally in front of him and, after careful observation, said to Albert, "It's done. However, for safety, it still needs to be diluted slightly, at a ratio of ten to one!"

He put some Baruffio's Brain Elixir into a test tube, diluted it with water, and the liquid immediately lightened in color.

Dagworth picked up the test tube and took a small sip, seemingly tasting the effects of the drug. After a moment, he nodded and said, "That's fine. However, for safety's sake, I still don't recommend that you use the undiluted Baruffio's Brain Elixir directly."