Damocles

After Snape contacted Damocles, he led Lucien through several turns along the route until they arrived at a narrow alley. At the end of the alley was an ordinary-looking brick wall with clumps of weeds growing in the cracks between the bricks.

Snape took a palm-sized metal piece from his pocket, on which were drawn intricate magical patterns.

He pressed the metal piece onto an inconspicuous brick, his fingers pressing lightly as if he were calibrating some position.

The bricks trembled slightly at first, then slowly shifted to one side, revealing a dark wooden door behind them.

The walls seemed to come alive; the bricks and plaster were rearranged and combined, transforming into the porch of a house in seconds.

Behind the gate fence stood a short, stout wizard with half-black and half-white hair, a gentle face, and wearing a dark brown robe.

Upon seeing Snape, he nodded first, then his gaze fell on Lucien, and he spoke with a smile:

"Sorry, is my home hard to find? After the Wolfsbane Potion was revealed, some Werewolf started looking for trouble with me."

Lucien returned the smile politely, "The magic that hides the house is quite powerful; thankfully, Professor Snape led the way."

After sitting down in the living room, Lucien got straight to the point, stating his purpose and handing over a bottle of improved Wolfsbane Potion.

Damocles picked up the Potion Bottle, unscrewed the cap, and brought it to his nose to sniff it gently.

He squinted, as if trying to identify something, and after a moment spoke, "Sad fish skin, fairy wing powder, blue moonstone... and," he paused, smelled it again, but couldn't be sure.

Lucien: "And one more thing—vampire heart's blood."

Damocles ' eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh. "Brilliant idea! This ingredient replaces the original Darkcap Jellyfish venom, improving the potion's toxicity. I didn't expect you to use vampire heart blood directly, hmm, but the amount should be small?"

Lucien nodded. "Yes, too much would be harmful to the user."

Damocles put down the Potion Bottle, his tone filled with genuine surprise, "With your improvements, this can now be considered a completely new potion. The simplified and adjusted brewing method and material selection will greatly increase the availability of the Wolfsbane Potion, allowing more victims infected by Werewolf to use it..."

He was genuinely pleased at this moment and was not upset that his own potions would "lose their market" if Lucien's improved potion were released.

After saying that, he glanced in Snape's direction. "A good teacher produces a good student."

Snape sat to the side, a cup of tea in his hand, having remained silent until the compliment appeared. A barely perceptible smile played on his lips, almost instantaneously. He took a sip of tea and said calmly, "He figured out this potion himself."

Damocles glanced at him with a smile, not exposing the hint of pride hidden in his "figure it out yourself" statement.

Both Damocles and Snape were Slytherin House, and their Potions Professor was Horace Slughorn. Both were talented and dedicated to Potions, and were highly regarded by Horace. Damocles and Snape could also be considered fellow students, and they would occasionally exchange letters to discuss Potions-related matters.

Damocles: "It's good to stay in school; you're always surrounded by young people, and you can discover promising talents early on. No wonder Professor Horace has been teaching for decades..."

Damocles suddenly looked at Lucien: "Your ideas and methods for improving the Wolfsbane Potion are very mature. Would you be interested in joining the Extraordinary Potioneers Association?"