Epic Potion! Mutated Curled-Wing Demon Egg!

Harry felt as though he had been sent to the execution ground in this class. Snape soon finished asking his questions.

Next came potion-brewing: a simple potion for treating rashes.

Since Lyon had not possessed a talent for Potions before the school term began, he had only learned some basic concepts. This was his first time actually brewing a potion.

Working in pairs, Lyon naturally partnered with Hermione. She nervously flipped through her Potions textbook beside him.

"Snake fangs, Lyon. This ingredient needs to be ground with precision."

"Have you brewed this potion before?" Hermione asked.

"This is my first time brewing a potion." Lyon held a piece of dried nettle, his little knife swiftly slicing it into tiny pieces.

"Help me chop up the porcupine quills."

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. It seemed she would be able to keep pace with Lyon in Potions, at least.

According to Professor Snape, magic could not be used to process potion ingredients, as that would greatly reduce the potion's quality. The ingredients had to be handled manually.

She did not have Lyon's vast reserve of spells, but they were all starting from the same line. There should not be much of a gap.

Picking up a porcupine quill, Hermione puffed out her cheeks and carefully cut it with a serious expression. Before long, the quill had been chopped into neat, even pieces.

After checking that every piece was the same size, little Hermione nodded in satisfaction and looked up, intending to show Lyon her results.

The moment she raised her head, she froze.

Dried nettle, snake fangs, horned slugs, and other ingredients had already been processed and arranged neatly on the table.

Beside her, Lyon had already brought the water in the cauldron to a boil and was slowly adding the ingredients piece by piece.

"But... Lyon, didn't you say you'd never brewed a potion before?"

Little Hermione felt as if she had been deceived. Watching Lyon's practiced movements made her feel a little sour inside.

"Hm? I really haven't. But aren't you just supposed to follow the textbook? It shouldn't be difficult, right?"

As Lyon spoke, he took the porcupine quills from little Hermione's hand and slowly added them to the cauldron. Then, with a flick of his wand, the cauldron began stirring itself.

Hermione soon discovered that the color of the brew inside was exactly the same as the textbook's illustration of the halfway product!

A fresh fragrance instantly spread through the classroom.

"Lyon, didn't you say this was your first time?"

"It really is my first time."

"But... this..."

Little Hermione pointed at the exquisite potion in the cauldron, looking utterly bewildered. Once she came back to her senses, she pouted angrily and turned her face away.

Lyon raised an eyebrow at that. He had no idea why Hermione was angry.

Still, he rubbed little Hermione's head and coaxed her.

Before long, blue smoke with a healthy pale tint rose from Lyon and Hermione's cauldron. The commotion drew the attention of the other students.

The reactions of the others quickly caught Snape's attention, and he looked in Lyon's direction.

"Potter, why aren't you focusing on your own cauldron? Gryffindor loses five points for that!"

Snape habitually snapped out the remark before walking behind Lyon. Lyon had not yet noticed Snape's arrival.

He moved the potion ingredients in his hands, adding them to the cauldron according to the textbook's instructions.

Suddenly, Lyon frowned. "That's not right."

"What isn't right?" Little Hermione watched Lyon's work with complete focus. She had already realized that no matter how hard she tried, she could not keep up with him.

So she simply treated Lyon as a teacher and studied every one of his steps intently.

"This potion is wrong," Lyon answered.

"Huh? But that's what the textbook says. Why is it wrong?" Little Hermione frowned. She guessed that Lyon must have made a mistake.

"Brewing it according to the textbook does strengthen its effect against rashes, but it damages a wizard's magical power."

"The dried nettle needs to go in first. Stir once clockwise, then three times counterclockwise. That will reduce the potion's rejection of magical power."

Lyon's gaze was focused, as though he had completely detached himself from the real world and immersed himself in the world of potions.

Little Hermione's eyes widened. Had Lyon just questioned the Potions textbook?

She found it hard to believe and turned to grab the textbook to compare it.

The instant she turned her head, she discovered Snape standing behind Lyon. Their eyes met...

Little Hermione swallowed. Professor Snape had been watching Lyon's potion-brewing process the entire time?

And he had not corrected Lyon's earlier claims at all?!

That meant...

Merlin!

Around them, many students put down their ingredients, stood up, and looked toward Lyon.

Lyon's voice had not been loud, but in the silent classroom, his words had reached their ears clearly.

Lyon was saying that the textbook method was not the optimal way to brew the potion?

"Quick, Seamus, check the potion theory textbook. Compare it and see whether Prefect Lyon is right."

In the crowd, Dean incredulously poked Seamus beside him. Seamus quickly opened his potion theory book.

They found it hard to believe that a first-year could alter a textbook method for brewing potions.

Seamus carefully compared Lyon's steps again...

After reading through it, Seamus suddenly froze.

"Seamus, how is it?" Seeing Seamus's expression, Dean had already guessed the answer.

"According to potion theory, there really is nothing wrong with what Prefect Lyon just said!"

It was not only Seamus. More than a dozen people in the classroom quickly flipped through their theory books and compared them against Lyon's actions, soon reaching the same conclusion as Seamus!

At the center of everyone's attention, Lyon continued brewing with an expressionless face, sharp eyes, and clean movements. Suddenly, he frowned again.

"This step is unnecessary. It was probably added to give beginners more room for error. In fact, there's no need to cut off the horned slug's tentacles to achieve the intended effect."

"And this part—what is going on with this textbook?"

"The cauldron cannot be stirred clockwise the whole time..."

In the silent Potions classroom, only Lyon's muttering could be heard.

Everyone watched Lyon's every movement intently, keeping their voices as low as possible so they would not disrupt him.

After a long while.

Suddenly, a dazzling blue flash burst from the cauldron before him, filling the entire classroom. Waves of fresh fragrance lingered beneath everyone's noses...

A crisp notification suddenly sounded beside Lyon's ear.

[Ding, the host has successfully brewed his first potion: Epic-grade Rash Remedy!]

[Ding, the host has exceeded the requirements of the achievement: Bubbling Cauldron!]

[Reward: Mutated Curled-Wing Demon Egg!]

Lyon frowned. What was an Epic-grade potion?

And he had been rewarded with a Mutated Curled-Wing Demon Egg?

Before he could react, a burst of fierce applause and excited voices suddenly erupted behind him.

"Clap clap clap..."

"Merlin! Look! That blue light just now was the glow only an Epic-grade potion can produce!"

"Epic-grade? I remember that only wizards deeply proficient in potion theory, with years of brewing experience, can make those, right?!"

The silent atmosphere was suddenly shattered. Lyon came back to himself in confusion and exchanged a glance with little Hermione. Her face was flushed as she pointed behind him.

"Mr. Shelby, I think I've discovered a Potions prodigy."

A low, eerie voice suddenly sounded behind Lyon. He whipped around and met Snape's gaze...