Potions Prodigy, Voldemort's Astonishment

A dozen minutes later... the Room of Requirement was filled with a rich, fragrant smell of potions.

To outsiders, brewing Potions probably seemed like a process that could be done on an assembly line.

As long as you followed the instructions in the book, adding new ingredients at the right time and when the potion base had reached the right state, you could brew a successful potion.

But in reality, it was nothing like that.

The final result of a potion could be affected by many factors, such as the time, the air, the temperature, and the condition of the ingredients...

If even one step wasn't done under the best conditions, the final potion's concentration, quantity, and potency could all differ vastly.

If you were unlucky, even following the textbook to the letter could reverse a potion's effects, turning medicine that saved lives into poison that killed.

"That's right, host. You're doing well. After simmering the Mandrake, stir it counterclockwise five times. Once it turns pale green, add the Alihotsy..."

Voldemort and Quirrell had already walked Tom through brewing the potion once. Now Tom was trying it himself.

"Hey... wait a second, host. You stirred too quickly. You can't add the Billywig Stinger yet."

Voldemort hurriedly spoke up when he noticed Tom had made a mistake.

"No, I think my method is correct."

Tom ignored him and continued brewing the potion, his eyes fixed on the bubbling liquid as if he meant to see through to its very essence.

[Potions Prodigy (Lv. 1): You seem to have been born to brew Potions. Your eyes can see the inner structure of ingredients, and you can understand and learn Potions several times faster than usual.]

While brewing the potion last time, Tom had used this Persona to vaguely see the state of the ingredients through the liquid.

This time, Tom recreated the ingredients' previous conditions exactly, hoping to test his theory.

Another long brewing session of more than ten minutes...

After he turned off the heat and let it cool, another batch of Vitality Potion was ready.

Using telekinesis with his wand, Quirrell lifted a few drops of potion out of the cauldron and examined them closely.

"Wow..."

Both Quirrell and Voldemort couldn't help but gasp.

"What? Did I brew it really well?" Tom asked curiously.

"It's not the most potent Vitality Potion I've ever seen, but..." Voldemort swallowed. "Your batch is completely identical to the previous one, both in its sheen and its thickness. At least, I can't see any difference between them with the naked eye."

Because the ingredients and the environment were different, even Voldemort couldn't brew two batches of potion that were exactly alike. There would always be some slight differences, though an outsider wouldn't notice them.

"Host, have you really forgotten all your magical knowledge?" Voldemort asked uncertainly.

This kind of exact replication was something only true Potions Masters, far beyond the level of ordinary wizards, could manage.

If Snape knew that the Potions he'd had stolen were being put to such effective use, he'd surely be pleased.

He might even thank me for stealing them.

["Potions Prodigy" progress +30]

"Yes, I forgot. All that remains is a vague feeling from the past." Tom started acting.

"Tsk, tsk. Then there's only one explanation." Voldemort clicked his tongue, then continued slowly. "This talent for Potions probably isn't yours, host. It must come from your body."

As the foremost user of Horcruxes in the modern age, he knew a great deal about souls.

As far as he knew, there were many kinds of magic that could kill or separate a person's soul, but none could remove it completely.

That was because the soul and body were one. After spending a long time together, they reached a state where each was part of the other.

For example, Voldemort had used Horcruxes so many times that his soul had become severely fragmented. His body had been affected too, becoming hideously ugly.

The body host was using must still contain scraps of its original owner's soul.

Under the influence of those scraps, host had gained a talent for Potions that surpassed his former abilities.

"I see."

After hearing the explanation, Quirrell nodded, then glanced out of the corner of his eye at the hideous face on the back of his head.

"If that's the case, Lord Voldemort, once your body grows up, will your appearance be affected by your soul and become as ugly as the Horcrux on the back of my head?"

Quirrell had lived through the wizarding wars. Some survivors who had fought Voldemort said that his appearance was hideous, like a monster.

So, according to the theory, Voldemort's soul must already have been severely fragmented while he was alive. Although he had now come back to life, his soul should still be as ugly as before.

Thud!

Realizing he'd said something wrong, Quirrell hurriedly dropped to his knees and repeatedly bowed his head to Tom in apology.

"I'm terribly sorry. I ran my mouth without thinking."

As he spoke, Quirrell even slapped himself several times.

"Hey! Hey! Stop hitting yourself!" Voldemort on the back of his head grimaced in pain.

Since he was possessing Quirrell, they shared the same sense of pain.

Good grief, the man didn't hold back at all when hitting himself.

"All right, stop." Tom reached out and restrained Quirrell.

"If your face gets swollen, it might attract Dumbledore's attention."

"Yes." Quirrell realized he'd made another mistake and apologized twice more.

Though Tom looked calm and composed, he actually had no idea what to do.

His soul was intact, and the body he had in this life was his own. If he didn't eventually become as ugly as Voldemort, Quirrell and Voldemort might realize something was amiss.

They were fooled for now, but they weren't stupid. If they spent enough time together, they'd eventually catch on.

He was using them to improve himself quickly, but he was taking a certain risk as well.

I need to put a few safeguards in place, just in case, Tom thought.

Knock, knock, knock.

The bell signaling that class was about to begin rang from outside the Room of Requirement.

"All right, enough talk. That's it for today."

Tom bottled all the Vitality Potion. He drank one mouthful and hid the rest in a corner of the Room of Requirement.

The potion had a smell, so he couldn't carry it around with him, even in a magical pouch. He could just come and drink some every day at noon.

Before leaving the Room of Requirement, Tom glanced at the potion again.

Since he could use [Potions Prodigy] to replicate a potion exactly, would watching a real Potions Master brew it a couple more times let him reliably replicate the most potent version?

At that moment, Tom thought of Snape.

Although Snape demonstrated potion brewing at the front of the classroom during Potions lessons, Tom could only see the side of his cauldron because of the angle.

Besides, first-year students usually learned to brew only the most basic Potions. They wouldn't see him brew advanced Potions until they moved on to higher-level classes.

Most importantly, as a Potions Master, Snape had surely mastered many advanced Potions that weren't recorded in textbooks, and might even have invented some himself.

If Tom could fool Snape the way he'd fooled Quirrell and Voldemort, perhaps he could get the Potions Master to teach him.