A Unique Potion Talent

The first period in the morning is Potions Class, which Hufflepuff and Gryffindor take together.

From the very first moment of class, Gryffindor students were subjected to relentless targeting.

Katie Bell from the Quidditch team was penalized five points as soon as she entered the classroom because she was wearing a hat. McCormack McLaggen was also penalized three points because there was a crease in his book.

The reasons are clear to everyone.

In the third-year Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Neville dressed Boggart, who had transformed into Snape, in a rather eye-catching granny outfit.

This matter could have been a big deal or a small deal, and even if Snape was angry, he would only target Neville.

The problem was, some scoundrel brought a camera to the classroom... and then Snape's photos in women's clothing spread throughout Hogwarts.

Although the matter was quickly stopped and all the photos were forcibly confiscated... that was only the surface level.

There are still quite a few behind the scenes.

In his quest to find the culprit, Snape tried every possible method—coercion, bribery, surveillance—but to no avail.

The students were unusually united this time, and no one knew the answer.

Professor Lupin himself also had an attitude of "I don't know, I didn't see anything," which made Snape grit his teeth in anger.

Therefore, Gryffindor were the first to leak the photos, were the ones who suffered.

To put it simply, even if Kyle lost a hundred points, Hufflepuff's House Points still far surpass Gryffindor's.

And this was just Snape's achievement for one day.

At the start of the year, Gryffindor has already begun its descent towards its all-time low score record.

Even Professor McGonagall couldn't say anything, because she had also seen the photo, and frankly, it's no wonder Snape was so angry.

"Vitality Potion!"

Snape didn't return to the podium until Gryffindor had accumulated twenty points, and he drawled, "Monkshood, ginger root, bison horn... Mr. McLaggen."

He suddenly asked, "How should the bison horns be treated when brewing the vitality potion?"

"Roast it, then grind it into powder, Professor," McCormack McLaggen said confidently, standing up and glancing at the blackboard.

"Haha, Snape has miscalculated this time."

Kyle heard someone whisper behind him, "How lucky, all of this is on the blackboard, you can figure it out with just a glance."

"Oh?"

Snape on the stage raised an eyebrow, moved aside to block the blackboard, and continued, "How long does it need to be roasted?"

"Twenty minutes," McLaggen said without hesitation, "After that, we need to scrape off the surface layer before we can start grinding."

"Do you think you're so smart...?" Snape said sinisterly, "You remembered so much after just one glance."

"I didn't look at the blackboard, Professor!" McLaggen said seriously. "I read the book beforehand, that's why I knew."

"If you had read the book beforehand, you would have known that the Vitality Potion requires the horn of Graphorn, not a unicorn..." Snape sneered, "Gryffindor, deduct five points!"

McLaggen's expression froze, and he retorted, "But it's written 'One-Horned Bison' on the blackboard, I can't be mistaken!"

"Oh, this... I made a mistake." Snape turned and erased the line.

"Didn't you say you weren't looking at the blackboard?" he said lazily. "Deceiving the professor, another five points deducted from Gryffindor."

Next, they processed the ingredients.

Monkshood and ginger root are easy to deal with, but the horn of the Graphorn is a real problem. That stuff is too hard and extremely tough. Just cutting it off is difficult, let alone grinding it.

Pre-roasting was a step given by Snape; it's not in the book.

"Kyle," Ryan leaned forward and whispered, as if asking for something, "Have you read today's Daily Prophet?"

"No." Kyle shook his head. "Did something happen?"

"Someone saw Sirius Black," Mikel said in a low voice.

"Where...?"

"Croft County, just south of Hogsmeade." Mikel seemed excited. "It was a Muggle who saw it... Of course, he didn't know what was going on, just assumed Black was an ordinary criminal, so he called the hotline."

By the time the Ministry of Magic personnel arrived, he was already gone.

"That's really not far, less than fifty miles from Hogsmeade," McLaggen chimed in.

"Do you think he might come to Hogwarts?" Kanna seemed a little nervous.

"It's out of the question."

"Don't forget there are Dementor at the school gate," McLaggen said definitively. "His coming here is like walking into a trap."

"But I still feel something's not right," Mikel said thoughtfully. "There are so many places he could go, why did he have to appear so close to Hogsmeade?"

"Perhaps he doesn't know there are Dementor here," McLaggen chuckled softly. "I'd like him to come quickly; once the Dementor find him, he'll definitely be trapped."

"Once he's taken away, the Dementor will leave the school. To be honest, just thinking about those monsters guarding the gate makes me feel uncomfortable all over; even the wind feels chilly."

The group didn't dare say much and went their separate ways before Snape turned around.

"Kyle, do you think those Dementor at the entrance can really stop Black if he wants to come to Hogwarts?" Kanna asked in a low voice.

"It's hard to say." Kyle shook his head. "They've already let Black escape once, and that was right in their own territory... not to mention there are only two Dementor left now."

But don't worry, everything will be fine, I promise."

Hearing Kyle's words, Kanna finally felt much more at ease and began to peel the ginger root with a knife.

As class was about to end, Snape began checking everyone's Potions.

Kyle's and Kanna's crucibles contained a bright, clear yellow color, which is normal and there is nothing wrong with it.

Snape didn't even look at them and just walked past them.

But the others were different; they came in all sorts of colors.

Especially Mikel's... Kyle noticed that his Potions was a very strange purple color with brown smoke floating on it.

Even the well-informed Snape was taken aback when he saw the Potions.

He could at least tell where the problem was with other people's Potions... like adding too much of an ingredient or not stirring it enough, but this one was different.

He couldn't see anything.

Monkshood, ginger root, and the horn of Graphorn... can you really make this kind of thing?

This is truly eye-opening!

"Hufflepuff deducts 10 points."

Snape stared at the Potions, then at Mikel. "And detention. Saturday mornings at eight in the underground classroom, until you learn the Vitality Potion."