A Certain Scientific Harry Potter 23

After the first day of classes concluded, Harry followed the "headmaster's verbal decree" relayed by Professor McGonagall and dutifully ran off to Filch's office to serve his detention.

This time, he even made a trip back to the Ravenclaw boys' dormitory beforehand, packing up all his luggage and taking it with him right under the stunned gazes of a few unimportant roommates!

After a day of interaction, Harry felt he wasn't suited to live with the Ravenclaw freshmen... no, to be precise, he didn't want to live with any students at all!

These children, who had either already begun or were about to begin their wizarding education, possessed a mindset distinctly different from Harry's. Aside from Hermione, he found it hard to find common ground with anyone else, and there was no need to force himself to mingle.

Harry, on the contrary, felt that before he found an opportunity to drop out, he could spend his time doing more meaningful things.

For instance, helping Mrs. Norris regain a healthy physique through proper feeding, easing Filch's mania and hostility toward students through psychological counseling, and using "physical" persuasion to stop Peeves from continuing to provoke him, and so on~

As for Professor McGonagall going to see Dumbledore, it went exactly as Harry had expected: it naturally came to nothing.

Dumbledore knew full well that Harry was an Obscurial, so Professor McGonagall had certainly made a wasted trip, and her worries about not wanting other students to know Harry was an Obscurial were simply useless.

A power as highly recognizable as an Obscurus would be exposed sooner or later, so Harry had never intended to hide it from the start.

As for Scamander, he had already sold Harry out the day after he met him at Highgrove House.

"Old Dumbledore's mind isn't simple. When he discovers you possess an Obscurus while I kept it from him, he will definitely suspect the relationship between us~"

Scamander had once said as much, and Harry found it deeply convincing.

Time slipped away quietly amidst attending classes, roasting people, and raising a cat. In the blink of an eye, Harry had been enrolled for nearly a week.

Regrettably, during these days, aside from a handful of people like Hagrid and Professor Flitwick, he hadn't developed much of a sense of belonging to Hogwarts.

Likewise, once the novelty of the "renamed Boy Who Lived" wore off, many problems followed.

For example, in Ravenclaw, Harry had already been treated as a peculiar outsider.

Due to the Sorting Ceremony and many subsequent reasons, Harry wasn't popular here. People in the house basically didn't speak to Harry, and sometimes they would even point fingers behind his back.

"He relies on being the Boy Who Lived to stir up trouble," "It's only because Professor Flitwick dotes on him that he can keep acting so recklessly," "He actually lives with a guy like Filch"...

Regarding this secret slander, Harry had no intention of paying it any mind. Besides, with his temperament, he didn't necessarily look up to these so-called classmates at the moment~

The "intellectuals" of Ravenclaw were not, as the outside world and the Sorting Hat boasted, scholars who "ignore affairs outside the window and focus solely on reading holy books." On the contrary, there was a distinct sense of literary arrogance among them.

Their minds were generally active, and while they secretly criticized Harry for embarrassing the house, they were dissatisfied with why he could receive preferential treatment from Professor Flitwick. Similarly, they were actually quite disapproving in private of Hermione, the contributor who liked to show off in class and could help the house win a large number of points.

However, even so, Harry still had to say that the students of the Eagle House were considered decent enough.

After all, their thoughts were only kept in the dark and didn't show too much on the surface. But in contrast, the students of Gryffindor were openly bitter.

The Eagle and Lion houses had to attend Herbology, History of Magic, and Defense Against the Dark Arts together. In these courses, which were mainly based on identification and memorization, the first-years of the Lion House were no match for Hermione at all~

On top of that, Hermione had originally almost been sorted into Gryffindor, which made many Lion House students even more resentful.

This group of first-year lions hated Harry for cutting in line during the Sorting Ceremony and also looked down on Hermione's efforts to help Ravenclaw grab points. Consequently, whenever Hermione answered a question, there would always be a few jerks on the sidelines jeering and booing.

The students of the Lion House even gave Hermione a nickname, calling her Miss "Know-it-all."

Heh, don't you dare think this is a complimentary term. You should know that in the English context, the meaning of "know-it-all" is someone who thinks they know everything!

In short, among the students of the same grade in the Lion House, the only ones he, Harry, could look upon with any favor were Neville, who had a gentle temperament and was honest, and perhaps Ron, whom he had met once, was slightly better.

As for Slytherin, Harry really didn't have any conflict with this house; it was just that loud-mouthed troublemaker Malfoy who always liked to argue with him~

Of course, he only dared to talk big now. After getting beaten up twice, Malfoy, who knew Harry was a ruthless character, didn't dare to be particularly arrogant anymore.

On Friday afternoon, Harry finally welcomed the class he was most interested in since enrolling: Potions.

Having worked in a similar field, Harry was very curious about the mechanism of action of potions and had always wanted to see the actual effects of the medicinal materials described in the books when combined according to specific formulas.

Therefore, when other students were constantly complaining that the Potions class was cold and damp because it was held in the basement, the first things that came to Harry's mind were that a constant low-temperature environment was conducive to better storage of specific samples, along with a series of other theoretical concepts that came flooding in.

And the various animal specimens soaked in glass jars made him feel even more affectionate.

Hmm, I just don't know if there's any part of the Potions class that involves dissecting materials. After all, it's been so many years since I've touched a blade, and Harry's hands were really itching~

By the way, the students attending Potions with Ravenclaw were from Hufflepuff, which was the only class the Eagle and Badger houses could take together for now.

For Harry, taking classes with the Badger house students was the most peaceful classroom experience so far.

Hufflepuff students were generally steady and low-key, liked to be kind to others, and although their attitude toward Harry couldn't be called great, it definitely couldn't be considered bad either.

Hufflepuff was the kindest house, and compared to the other three houses, this could be considered well-deserved.

However, although the students were fine, the teacher of this class was a bit difficult to deal with.

"Potter... no, Granger, are you using that obviously substandard cauldron just to show off?"

The thin, sallow-faced professor with a hooked nose who dressed like a bat, Severus Snape, was currently scrutinizing Harry with a gloomy gaze.

"Professor Snape, the cauldron Harry and I are using is..."

"Miss Granger, I was not asking you." Snape's voice was as cold as the Potions classroom, completely freezing the words Hermione wanted to say.

"Harry Evans P. Granger, our new... famous figure."

Snape stared fixedly at Harry with hollow, pitch-black eyes. When he read Harry's middle name, his hand trembled imperceptibly, and his originally fluid tone showed a hint of a pause.

"Because of the indulgence of other professors, you have received many privileges in this school, and thus can ignore the rules and act recklessly... Granger, you might think this is very cool, but I must tell you, potion-making is completely different from the classes you usually take where you can easily pass by just stupidly waving your wand!"

(p.s. Regarding Hermione's nickname "know-it-all," it first appeared in Chapter 47 of Chamber of Secrets. Snape's evaluation of Hermione was "an insufferable know-it-all," other students "everyone has called Hermione a know-it-all at least once," and Ron "at least twice a week." In addition, in other translation versions, the attitude of other students toward Hermione was simply translated as "everyone has scolded Hermione as a know-it-all at least once"... from this, it can be seen that "know-it-all" is definitely a purely derogatory nickname.)

Chapter 41: Snape Also Needs to Be Educated

Although he loathed Harry's face, Snape had not intended to give Harry any trouble after learning his full name.

The start of this Potions class was also quite smooth; Snape did not play any mind games and quickly got straight to the point—brewing potions.

However, when Harry and Hermione both set out experimental equipment that Snape considered completely non-standard, his expression darkened instantly.

As expected, he was just like that person from the past, a jerk who always loved to show off...

"Professor Snape... I believe I really need to have a proper discussion with you regarding the purpose of the experimental instruments in front of me, as well as some of the production details for today's potion."

Facing Snape's intimidation, Harry slowly stood up, confronting him without a hint of fear.

The man was clearly looking for trouble, so Harry certainly didn't need to be polite to him. Furthermore, since the issue now involved Harry's professional expertise from his past life, there was no way he would back down even half a step!

Next, it was time for a science lesson, round two!!

"First, the balances sold at Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment have a sensitivity that can barely reach one-tenth of a gram at best. However, the Mechanical Analytical Balance that Hermione and I are using has a sensitivity that can reach one-thousandth, allowing us to measure mass precisely to 0.001g! Therefore, just on the item of weighing ingredients alone, we are already one hundred times more precise than everyone else!"

"Hmph..." The corner of Snape's mouth twitched imperceptibly.

"Second, the potion you instructed us to brew is for curing boils. A boil is an acute suppurative inflammation of the hair follicle and its deep surrounding tissue. Using slugs—or rather, gastropods—does indeed have a good therapeutic effect. The method you taught us is to boil the slugs in water; the essence of this is to eliminate the impact that the denaturation of animal proteins in the slug's body fluids has on the pharmacology."

"However, excessive boiling can also lead to the loss of the slug's medicinal properties. Therefore, a more appropriate processing method would be to wash the slugs repeatedly, dry them slowly over low heat using an evaporating dish, and finally grind them into powder along with snake fangs. Only then can the integrity of the medicinal effect be maximized!"

"Finally, let's talk about the cauldron you care about most." Harry paused, giving the increasingly dazed Snape some time to digest this before continuing to speak eloquently, "The pewter cauldron required for first-years can indeed ensure safety by sacrificing brewing speed, but the material of this cauldron is a tin alloy. Tin alloy's corrosion resistance is not particularly outstanding, which is why you have been emphasizing: you must add the final ingredient—the porcupine quills—only after the cauldron is removed from the fire!"

"Because porcupine quills and the brewing potion are both acidic, once dissolved, they will mix with the potion to form a surprisingly corrosive mixed acid. If this mixed acid reacts actively in a high-temperature environment, it can easily melt right through the bottom of a pewter cauldron!!"

Crash!

Just as Harry finished speaking, a plume of sickly green smoke suddenly rose from a corner of the classroom, followed by a scream.

Anthony Goldstein from Ravenclaw—the cauldron in front of him had suddenly developed a large hole for some unknown reason!

A large, thick puddle of potion spilled out, and the entire classroom was instantly filled with a pungent odor, while red, swollen boils began to spread across Goldstein's legs and feet.

"It seems there is already an unlucky fellow who failed because he tried to take shortcuts~" Harry raised an eyebrow with a smile.

"Idiot!"

Snape waved his wand with a dark face, sweeping away the potion spilled on the floor, but he ignored Goldstein, who was wailing nearby.

"Professor Snape, although the accident just now was due to Goldstein's cleverness and improper operation, the real reason for the accident is the inherent limitations of the pewter cauldron's material."

As he spoke, Harry lifted the lid of his own cauldron and dumped all the pre-processed porcupine quills inside at once!

"But the graphite cauldron that Hermione and I are using is made from natural flake graphite. Not only does it have excellent corrosion resistance, but it can also withstand temperatures exceeding three thousand degrees! Using it to brew potions allows us to completely skip the intermediate step of removing it from the fire, without worrying about any danger at all!!"

Snape looked down at the cauldron in front of him and found that things were exactly as Harry had said. The pale green liquid was boiling and rolling inside the graphite cauldron, yet the inner wall of the cauldron showed no changes at all!

Moreover, because the heating was not interrupted during the brewing process, the heat control for this potion could be described as perfect.

At this very moment, the pale blue potion was taking shape in Harry's cauldron at an extremely fast speed!

When the materials in the cauldron were finally brewed into a pale blue, transparent liquid, Snape finally couldn't help but nod slightly.

He knew that Harry's potion had been brewed successfully, and the degree of completion was even better than that of many senior students!

"As for that idiot just now, you should be thankful that Hermione managed to brew the potion!" Snape turned back and barked with a cold face.

He tapped Harry's potion with his wand, and the slightly boiling liquid began to cool rapidly, while a dreamlike, pale pink mist suddenly rose above the potion.

Seeing this, Harry's heart stirred. He felt that Snape's final touch represented the essential difference between a magical potion and an ordinary concoction!

Magical potions, like ordinary concoctions, are products formed by various medicinal materials following the laws of monarch, minister, assistant, and envoy. However, because magic power is injected into them, they possess some special properties that distinguish them from ordinary concoctions.

"Give the potion Hermione brewed to that idiot to drink. With his injuries, there's no need to go to the hospital at all!"

Hearing Snape's instructions, two of Goldstein's roommates hurried over. After obtaining Harry's consent, they carefully used a glass bottle to take some of the potion.

The effect was excellent. Goldstein had barely finished a bottle of the boil cure before the patches of red swelling on his body gradually disappeared.

"Due to Mr. Granger's brilliant performance, Ravenclaw will be awarded five points!" Snape announced the commendation for Harry gloomily, but his eyes remained aggressive. "Mr. Granger, it must feel quite good, right... to contradict a professor so blatantly in front of everyone, and to show off your talent in such a low-class way?"

"On the contrary!" Harry shook his head noncommittally. "I had thought that Potions was a life science that gathered countless knowledge while also possessing a spirit of exploration! But in this class so far, all I have seen is a professor full of prejudice, and a stubborn attitude that clings to the past and refuses to accept new things!"

"Granger... do you know what you are saying?" Snape's pitch-black pupils gradually shrank into pinpricks.

"I certainly do, because I am talking about you, Professor Snape!" Harry retorted without any courtesy.

In any case, he was certain that Snape couldn't do anything to him, and since the matter involved his profession, Harry wouldn't let his momentum weaken!

"You say I am showing off my talent, but I must say, what I just demonstrated is not talent at all, but... science!!"

(p.s. The parts about slugs and cauldrons have some scientific basis. As for the porcupine quills, that is just something Sanmiao deduced based on the situation in the original text, so you don't need to take it too seriously~)

Chapter 42: Absent Regret Cannot Be Conveyed

Science... what a load of scientific crap!

Snape was almost driven to fury by Harry's retort. In his view, Harry was simply showing off his talent on purpose!

Did he think he could successfully bluff him just by spouting a bunch of things like 'sensitivity' and 'protein denaturation'?

Don't make me laugh!

The only reason he could be so arrogant in class was because he inherited Lily's great talent in the field of Potions, wasn't it?!

Lily...

Suddenly recalling the name of an old acquaintance, a certain part of Snape's heart softened involuntarily.

At the same time, the gaze he directed toward Harry gradually softened as well.

It had to be said, aside from those likable eyes, the boy's name actually had some redeeming qualities.

There was the pleasing Evans, while the detestable Potter was reduced to nothing but a P!

I really want to award one hundred points to Ravenclaw~

"Excellent, Mr. Granger... you are truly excellent~" Snape hovered in front of Harry like a bat. "It seems our Mr. Granger has such a profound understanding of Potions that he has become so ambitious as to not even hold me, his professor, in his eyes! So... the contents of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi must be no challenge for you anymore. In that case, could you tell me... if I were to ask you to find a bezoar, where should you look for it?"

Although he had seen a 'tiny' glimmer of potential in Harry, Snape was not about to let him off the hook for that reason.

This little brat had definitely inherited the personality of that scoundrel Potter; to dare to talk back to a professor on the very first day just because of a little cleverness—if he wasn't strictly disciplined, wouldn't he turn the world upside down in the future?

"Sigh... you should look in the stomach of a goat, happy now?" Harry sighed as he provided the answer.

Tch, he spoke with such high-sounding words, but in the end, wasn't it just because he felt embarrassed and couldn't back down, so he threw out a question to make things difficult for him?

However, Harry was not intimidated in the slightest; he had memorized that book entirely by the third day he received it, and had even made a series of corrections and annotations~