Bombarding the Dungeon

When Eliana opened her eyes again, she thought Snape had accidentally choked her to death—was the force that strong?

Her eyes scanned the surrounding environment:

An empty room, rows of neatly arranged small beds with cold railings and pure white sheets. The overly quiet atmosphere added a touch of chill to the place.

Is this... the morgue?

Eliana threw off the covers and was about to get out of bed—Oh my god, she had to quickly tell them she was still alive, lest they mistakenly declare her dead! Had heaven killed her and taken her wand?

"Miss Richie, you're awake." Madam Pomfrey walked over with breakfast. "You seem to have recovered well. Eat your breakfast and you can leave."

It took Eliana a moment to realize this was the school nurse in the Hospital Wing.

She distractedly followed instructions and ate a couple of spoonfuls of porridge, then impatiently put down her spoon. "Madam Pomfrey, my wand..."

"It's with Severus. You're not supposed to use magic right now."

Eliana didn't understand. She looked at Madam Pomfrey with clear, innocent eyes.

Madam Pomfrey looked very annoyed. "I can't believe Hogwarts has a Troll, and it had to encounter a first-year student... But you were lucky. You weren't injured, just completely drained of magic."

"Wizards your age are still in their magic growth period. Draining your magic so thoroughly might affect your future magical development."

Eliana's face tensed up instantly.

"You'll have to drink Magic Stabilizer for a week straight. Until your magic is officially stable, you'd best not use any spells. But wizards your age—"

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and looked sternly at Eliana's pitiful eyes. Her expression softened slightly. "—still need supervision from an adult wizard."

"Coincidentally, you need Professor Snape to help you brew the Magic Stabilizer for the remaining week. Until he deems you fully recovered, your wand will be kept by him."

Eliana stood meekly in the dungeons, nervously twisting her hands together, her head bowed obediently.

The dungeon was quiet. Pale blue flames licked the bottom of the cauldron, and the potion inside bubbled with a gurgling sound.

Snape waved his wand expressionlessly, and the flames narrowed into a very thin stream. He picked up a bottle from the workbench and dripped a drop of blue liquid into it. The potion in the cauldron suddenly emitted a bright glow, then turned a light citrus color, shimmering with rings of silver light.

Snape's lips remained pressed into a straight, cold line, but Eliana inexplicably felt a hint of smug pleasure from him. She couldn't help but curve her lips upward in response.

He pondered for a moment, then tossed in a few more finely chopped leaves she didn't recognize. His well-defined fingers held the stirring rod, guiding the potion in slow, steady circles within the cauldron.

The potion released steam like silver gauze, thick and almost tangible in the dim dungeon.

Eliana was almost mesmerized—setting aside Snape's unpleasant personality, he was truly an exceptional master of potions.

No one—not even Neville, who knew nothing about potions—could avoid being amazed by Snape's fluid movements, his all-knowing control, and his unquestionable confidence when making potions.

"Perhaps Miss Richie, having defeated a Troll, feels her accomplishments are limitless and can treat her Potions Master as a house-elf performing for her?"

The sinister voice sliced through Eliana's daze like a knife, snapping her back to reality. Snape was staring at her coldly. The cauldron was empty, and three bottles sat on the table.

Eliana, not yet fully reacting, blinked her wide eyes and turned towards him, like a lost puppy.

Snape sneered. "What? Did the valiant Miss Richie lose her brilliant brain in battle, to the point where she now needs to be spoon-fed her medicine? Shall I undertake this great task?"

Despite his words, his expression suggested that if Eliana dared to agree, he would replace the Magic Stabilizer with poison and force-feed it to her.

"No, no, Professor."

Eliana scrambled over, her hand reaching for the potion bottle pausing. She instinctively glanced back at Snape.

Snape sat back down at his desk impatiently. "What are you delaying for? Are you worried I'll poison your potion?"

"No, Professor, I have absolute faith that you wouldn't harm me." As if to prove her words, she snapped open the lid and drank the entire contents without hesitation. "I wasn't stunned; it's just that when you were brewing the potion, Professor, you were like a god in control of everything. I was mesmerized."

She looked up at Snape with adoration. Before she could see his reaction—BOOM!!!

It was like raindrops from heaven, quickly seeping into the parched earth. The long-craving plants ferociously stretched their roots to snatch, stirring up fierce waves.

"BOOM!!!"

An invisible but extremely powerful wave of energy erupted from Eliana, sweeping through the confined office like a tornado.

The massive cabinet against the wall, reaching to the ceiling, exploded with a crash. Snape, who had been lazily leaning in his chair, shot to his feet. The wound on his leg throbbed with sharp pain, but he couldn't afford to care at that moment.

His treasured collection of potions specimens and ingredients, large and small, fell like a row of toppled bowling pins with clattering sounds. He waved his wand, suspending them in mid-air. Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, the enraged humanoid Mandrake beside him trembled again. The blast of energy, like rotating wind blades, crunched and shattered all his glass jars.

Like a shower of flowers, flying glass shards, splashing preservation fluid, and shattered potion ingredients rampaged through the office. Snape was instantly drenched.

"Richie! Stop!"

Snape roared, the veins on his temples throbbing beneath his soaked black hair.

His! Collection!

Eliana entered a mystical state. Magic surged like a spring from underground, endlessly filling every corner of her body. Just lifting a finger, she felt immense power gathering at her fingertips.

Her mind seemed to have become a golden vortex. Everything around her appeared to be adorned with golden flowers, rising and falling with her breath, then slowly rotating around her. Her soul drifted along with it.

This was her last thought before she fainted.

In a daze, she seemed to see Snape's eternally cold face change color.

She knew Professor Snape cared about her.

She was such a favored student, even by Professor Snape, who had a bad temper and spoke harshly!

Eliana fainted triumphantly.