Silan and Hermione entered Snape's office and found him busy writing a paper.
The table was piled high with messy Parchment manuscripts, almost burying him completely, and half a sandwich sat on one corner of the table.
Clearly, Snape didn't go to the Great Hall for lunch, but instead grabbed a quick bite in his office.
Looking at the various details in the office, Silan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Professor Snape's status as Potions Master wasn't solely due to talent. The time and effort he devoted to Potions alone are unmatched by most people."
Putting everything else aside, just this one point alone shows Silan's deep respect for Snape.
In times of hardship and adversity, people are always able to spur themselves on to keep improving in order to climb higher.
This is not surprising.
But Snape was already a renowned Potions Master, and fame and fortune could come rolling in if he wanted to. It was truly remarkable that he could maintain such a passion for research under these circumstances.
"Ah... it's already this time."
Snape looked up from his Parchment manuscript, smiled at them, and pointed to a new chair on his desk. "Please have a seat," he said.
Silan's gaze was somewhat strange.
He remembered that the chair here was originally a brand new single chair, exquisitely crafted and very comfortable.
But now it's been replaced with a two-seater chair.
"Was this prepared especially for us?" Hearing this to himself, Silan forced himself to sit down in the chair, while Hermione sat down right next to him.
This double chair was also exquisitely crafted and very comfortable, but it was a bit cramped for two people, which forced Silan and Hermione to sit very close together.
Snape watched the two of them sitting side by side, and the smile on his lips grew wider and wider.
Look! Look!
This is truly a match made in heaven, a perfect couple, just like Lily and I.
Potter should just go somewhere cool and stay there!
Don't get involved!
"Miss Granger, has Potter been bothering you lately?" After a long silence, Snape suddenly asked.
Although she was a little confused as to why Professor Snape was asking this, Hermione honestly replied, "No, Professor."
"Recently, someone gifted Harry a Firebolt, and the entire Gryffindor Quidditch Team is overjoyed, training every single day..."
Firebolt?
Broomstick that can accelerate to 150 miles per hour in under ten seconds?
Snape frowned, thinking, "Which bastard sent Potter something so dangerous, trying to kill him?! Dumbledore isn't doing anything about it?!"
Shaking his head, Snape asked again, "What does Miss Granger think of Prewett?"
Hermione was startled, wondering why Snape would ask such a question. Her eyes darted around for a moment before she stammered, "I think... Silan is very nice..."
"What's so good about it?" Snape asked with great interest.
This was the first time Miss Granger had ever discussed Silan with a professor like this, especially with Silan right beside her watching!
This made Hermione so embarrassed that she dared not speak, and she stammered shyly, "Silan is very gentle... and very kind to me..."
This bizarre scene made Silan increasingly embarrassed; it felt like they were about to officiate a wedding!
Seeing that Snape was about to ask another question, Silan quickly interrupted him, "Ahem! Professor, we should make Potions."
Hermione's heart tightened. Given Professor Snape's temper, Silan's actions could be considered as defying him.
"Professor, please don't be offended..."
Hermione hurriedly tried to plead for Silan, but before she could finish speaking, she saw Snape wave her away.
Snape wasn't angry at all; instead, he chuckled.
Oh ho, they're protecting her now.
"Alright, come with me." Snape glanced at Silan, smiled, and stood up, leading them towards the workshop.
Hermione was taken aback, thinking in surprise, "Professor Snape isn't angry at all, he's even smiling? That's so strange, what's going on?"
She sensed that Professor Snape was acting very strangely.
She had noticed it as soon as she entered; Professor Snape had deliberately changed their chairs, and he even smiled broadly when they sat down.
Completely different from his usual sarcastic and cold laugh, this was very sunny and genuine.
Moreover, judging from how familiar he was with Silan, it was clear that he treated her more well than he would with ordinary students.
Everything left Hermione utterly astonished; even without dinner, the sheer shock alone was enough to fill her up...
"When did Silan and Professor Snape become so close?" Hermione wondered, tilting her head.
"Let's go, Hermione."
Hermione snapped out of her reverie when Silan called her name, stood up from her chair, and followed Snape into the workshop.
This was Hermione's first time here.
Compared to Snape's office, which was crammed with bookshelves and cabinets for storing Potions, his workspace was much cleaner and more spacious.
In the very center stood a large table, and against the wall next to it were three cabinets containing cauldrons and tools for processing Potions.
In a moment of distraction, Hermione noticed that Silan had taken out three cauldrons and placed them on the table.
"Three cauldrons?" Hermione asked in surprise.
Snape was clearly taken aback, but quickly understood, frowning as he asked, "Are you planning to brew Potions in three cauldrons at the same time?"
"That's right." Silan nodded.
Hermione's eyes widened as she looked at Snape in surprise, thinking, "This method has never been mentioned in any books. Did Professor Snape teach it?"
Snape also looked puzzled.
I haven't taught him this yet.
"You should know this is very dangerous," Snape warned in a deep voice.
Silan arranged the three crucibles in their proper positions and said with a smile, "This time we're making Hemostatic Healing Potion. It's just three crucibles, nothing difficult."
Snape thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's true."
Hermione looked at Silan from the left and Snape from the right, her face filled with astonishment, feeling a great shock in her heart.
Simultaneously manipulating three crucibles?
Is that all?
Most importantly, neither of them seemed to see anything wrong with it, is that right?
Hermione wondered if she had missed something while reading the book; it seemed like she hadn't learned everything...
In fact, for Silan now, it would be possible to successfully make Hemostatic Healing Potion using four crucibles simultaneously.
However, the quality can only be improved by relying on the third effect of [Potion Prodigy] (when Potions is made, the quality of each batch of Potions is increased by 35%).
But with Snape present today, Silan dared not let him discover the bizarre leap in the effectiveness of the Hemostatic Healing Potion.
"The professor hasn't even finished his Potions paper on Wolfsbane Potion yet; let him take a break."
Therefore, Silan had no choice but to temporarily disable the third effect of [Potion Prodigy].
However, the Hemostatic Healing Potion is a basic Potions, easy to make, and Silan learned it very early on and is now quite proficient at it.
Even when operating three cauldrons simultaneously, the quality of the Potions remains unchanged.
Snape didn't find anything unusual about Silan's words.
In their second year, when Snape was making the Mandrake Revival Potion, he also demonstrated to Silan his skill in simultaneously manipulating multiple cauldrons.
"After all, he's my student. It's perfectly normal for him to make such rapid progress in Potions," Snape thought to himself.
However, Snape was also well aware that manipulating three cauldrons at the same time would introduce many uncontrollable factors into the Potions- making process.
Quietly taking his wand into his hand, Snape stood to the side, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.
"Let's begin," Snape said.