Snape's Improved Potions

Matthew had been conscripted.

On his way back to the common room, he ran into Professor Snape.

Today's first-year Potions and Flying classes had seen some accidents, leaving several students injured. The school hospital's matron, Poppy Pomfrey, had commissioned Professor Snape to brew some potions to restock the supplies.

Unlucky Matthew happened to cross paths with Snape, who was heading off to brew potions, and Snape gained an extra pair of free hands.

Matthew and Professor Snape worked together until ten o'clock, finishing all the potions Madam Pomfrey needed.

Professor Snape's face showed some fatigue. The teaching duties at Hogwarts were no easy task; Potions was one of the core subjects, and his class schedule was packed.

Snape picked up a stack of manuscript paper from the desk. "An improved Spirit Nourishing Potion. More effective than the original."

"Thank you, Professor." Matthew took the paper with a pleased grin. He hadn't even noticed when Snape had written it.

He'd mentioned it while they were working, and Snape had just told him to shut up and focus on brewing.

"Matthew, for assisting a professor and lightening their workload, Slytherin gains ten points."

Snape never missed a chance to add points to Slytherin.

"Don't worry, we'll find Trevor." Harry comforted Neville.

Neville's toad was lost again.

He'd had Trevor with him when he went to the Great Hall for dinner, but by the time he came back, it was gone.

"My Scabbers is very well-behaved. He's never run off." Ron casually patted the rat in his pocket.

Neville grew even more dejected. "My memory is terrible. I'm always forgetting things."

Hermione shot Ron a glare, signaling him to keep quiet.

Her eyes lit up as an idea struck. "Why don't we go find Senior Matthew? See if Preserved Egg can help locate Trevor."

Ron looked surprised. "You know Matthew too?"

"On the Hogwarts Express, Preserved Egg was the one who found Trevor. We were in the same compartment as Senior Matthew," Hermione said. "Do you know him too?"

Ron nodded. "We're neighbors. We both live near Saint Catchpole Village in Autry."

He added excitedly, "Do you know about Flying Chess? Matthew gave it to me as a Christmas gift last year. I heard he bought it from a Muggle—it's so much fun!"

Matthew was a distant relative of the Weasleys. At Christmas, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would invite him to celebrate at the Burrow.

Ron wanted to keep sharing the joys of Flying Chess, but he noticed that Harry, Hermione, and Neville had all gone pale, staring in terror behind him.

"It's curfew now."

The four of them had the misfortune of running into Snape, who was just returning from the school hospital with Matthew.

Matthew watched the scene with interest.

Ron turned stiffly and saw that emotionless face.

It was Professor Snape! Ron felt doomed. On his very first day, he'd been caught breaking curfew by the terrifying Professor Snape.

He forced a smile that looked worse than crying. "P-Professor."

Snape stared at the four of them expressionlessly and said slowly, "Foolish souls always flock together. Gryffindor loses ten points!"

Harry tried to argue. "Neville's toad is lost. We were helping him find it."

Snape fixed his gaze on Harry's face and said coldly, "Potter, for talking back to a professor, Gryffindor loses another ten points."

He turned to Neville. "Once you find your toad, go straight back to your dormitory. If I catch you out after curfew again, it will be detention."

With that, he turned and left. From behind, his billowing black robes looked like a rolling cloud of black smoke.

Harry's mood sank. He couldn't understand why Professor Snape always targeted him.

Matthew comforted him. "Professor Snape didn't give you detention. Losing a few points isn't a big deal. Just earn them back in class."

Ron gave Matthew a strange look. Earning points wasn't that easy—how could he say it so casually?

Hermione asked, "Senior Matthew, could Preserved Egg help find Neville's Trevor?"

Matthew said gently, "No problem. Preserved Egg has made a lot of cat friends at Hogwarts."

Quite a few students at Hogwarts kept cats as familiars. These magical world cats were highly intelligent and had their own social circle.

Matthew drew out his wand. "Call Companion!"

A faint, steady glow emanated from the wand tip.

"This is a spell to summon a familiar. As long as you maintain it, the familiar will sense its master's location," Matthew explained to Neville. "Neville, you should learn this spell."

Neville's face lit up. "There's a spell like that? I want to learn it!"

But then he remembered how hard he found even First Year Magic, and his expression fell. "But I'm afraid I won't be able to learn it."

"It's okay. This spell is very simple," Matthew said, looking at their eager faces. "I can teach you when I have time."

The four of them nodded happily.

At that moment, a black cat jumped in through the window. It padded over to Matthew's feet and rubbed its back against him.

Matthew held Preserved Egg in his arms, stroking the fur on his neck a few times. "Preserved Egg, Neville's toad has gone missing again. Help him out, will you?"

Preserved Egg rolled his eyes in Matthew's arms. He was just a cat, not a dog—why did he have to do the job of finding things?

Other people's cats only needed to lie in their owner's arms, act cute, and trick them into giving delicious food. But here he was, working overtime at night to help find someone's pet. He'd just been on a date with Mrs. Norris, too.

Preserved Egg jumped out of Matthew's arms and walked deeper into the corridor.

Matthew said to the four of them, "Follow Preserved Egg. He'll help you find the toad. I have things to do, so I'm heading back first."

Matthew wanted to get back early to practice his Meditation Method, so he didn't stay to look for the toad with them.

After saying goodbye, Matthew didn't return to the dormitory but went to the eighth floor of the castle.

Matthew came to the wall opposite the Barnabas the Barmy Tapestry, focused his mind, and thought, I want a room where I can refine potions.

After walking back and forth three times, a very smooth door appeared on the wall.

The room wasn't large, but it was fully equipped with potion-refining tools, and even provided a bed for resting.

Matthew took out a piece of manuscript paper—this was Professor Snape's "Improved Spirit Nourishing Potion" recipe.

He read it over once, then began refining the potion. The improved recipe used only common potion ingredients, some of which he still had in his pocket.

After working for a while, he successfully refined the "Improved Spirit Nourishing Potion," but since it was his first time, his technique was still rough, and the potion had quite a bit of impurities.

He poured out the low-quality "Improved Spirit Nourishing Potion," summarized his experience, and refined it again.

"It's usable." This batch of potion had reached his standards.

Matthew drank the "Improved Spirit Nourishing Potion." The potion poured into his mouth, a hot sensation lingering in his Mouth and Esophagus. After a few breaths, the recovery speed of his Sea of Consciousness shot up significantly.

He carefully observed the state of his Sea of Consciousness—the recovery speed had increased by three-tenths.

The original "Spirit Nourishing Potion" only boosted recovery speed by two-tenths.

He continued to refine four more vials of "Improved Spirit Nourishing Potion." After drinking them all, the recovery speed of his Sea of Consciousness reached an astonishing 250%!

Professor Snape's improvement was incredible. Matthew couldn't help but marvel—his own knowledge of Potion Ingredients wasn't enough to support such modifications.

Next, Matthew began practicing his Meditation Method in the Room of Requirement.

He calculated that at this rate, in another three or four days, he would advance to a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice.