The Half-Blood Prince's Notes

"And, Potter, because you just talked back to a teacher, Gryffindor will lose one point for it."

Snape added one final remark before starting to pair the Little Wizards up.

Harry was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

Seeing this, Jerry could only pat his shoulder over Hermione's head in consolation.

Couldn't be helped. His dad had always bullied Snape back in school, and now that his dad was gone, Snape could only take it out on him.

Maybe this was called following in his father's footsteps. Oh, no, it should be paying off his father's debts!

During the grouping, because Gryffindor had more students while Slytherin had fewer, and both had odd numbers, Jerry and Hermione were placed together to brew a Potion to Cure Boils.

In the spellbook Magical Drafts and Potions, besides explaining in detail the various procedures, details, and precautions for basic potion brewing, there were recipes for seven potions in total.

They were: Common Antidote, Potion to Cure Boils, Forgetfulness Potion, Herbicide Potion, Draught of Living Death, Swelling Solution, and Wiggenweld Potion.

After assigning the groups, Snape first explained the entire potion-brewing process, then personally demonstrated by brewing a bottle himself.

Potion brewing was actually very similar to the chemistry experiments Jerry had done in his previous life at school. It involved using small bottles, scales, and various other instruments to precisely prepare ingredients according to a formula.

Carefulness and rigor were the most important things in potion brewing.

However, unlike ordinary chemistry experiments, where following the steps would produce the desired result, if one merely followed the steps when brewing potions, the final result would only be a puddle of useless mixture.

One also had to channel the magic within one's body and use a wand to finish the potion at the end in order to obtain a correct and effective magical draft.

So, if one was simply a Muggle without magic, then even with the ingredients and method for brewing potions, one could not truly brew the corresponding potion.

"You useless idiot, are you blind? Is that dried nettle you weighed out?"

"Moron, it's crushed snake fangs. Do you even know what crushed means?"

As the Little Wizards began brewing their potions according to the instructions, Snape dragged his long black robes around the classroom, inspecting their work.

However, his scolding almost never stopped. Every Little Wizard he passed was berated mercilessly.

Even the Slytherin Little Wizards were no exception. If they made a mistake, they were scolded just the same.

Only when he reached Jerry and Hermione's group did he nod in satisfaction and offer a few words of praise.

At that moment, Jerry had activated Refreshing Mind mode. Both his mind and body were at their peak, and coupled with Hermione's natural talent for Potions, brewing the simplest of potions was naturally no problem at all.

"Done!"

Not long after Snape left from behind them, pink smoke rose from the Cauldron in front of Jerry and Hermione, signifying that the Potion to Cure Boils had been successfully brewed.

"Ah!"

Just then, Neville and Seamus from the group beside them suddenly cried out. For some reason, their Cauldron had sprung a leak. The potion spilled out, and thick green acidic smoke immediately billowed up.

Chain Kicks!

Under Refreshing Mind, Jerry's senses and reactions were incredibly fast. The instant he saw the accident on Neville and Seamus's side, he immediately raised his leg and unleashed a series of kicks at their backsides.

Using soft force, he kicked Neville and Seamus flying away so they avoided being sprayed by the green smoke. Then he instantly turned back, grabbed Hermione, and leaped onto a nearby stool, avoiding the highly corrosive potion.

Even so, Harry and Ron on Neville's other side still had potion splash onto their shoes, burning several holes through them.

Clearly, potion brewing was not so safe either. One experimental mistake might very well cost someone their life.

And this was only the simplest potion to brew.

It was no wonder there were so few Potions masters in the Wizarding World. The danger of brewing potions was probably a major reason.

Without talent in potion brewing, not only would one fail at brewing and waste large amounts of precious ingredients, one might even be putting one's life in danger.

"Idiots!"

Snape roared as he strode over, waving his wand to clear away the spilled potion and green smoke in one sweep.

"I suppose you put the porcupine quills in without taking the Cauldron off the fire first, didn't you?"

Neville and Seamus climbed up from the floor sheepishly without speaking, clearly admitting it by default.

"Because of your idiotic behavior, Gryffindor loses one point. Hurry back and brew it again!"

After scolding them, Snape turned to Jerry and nodded approvingly.

"Your reaction was quick. If it weren't for you just now, those two would be in the hospital wing. Three points to Slytherin!"

Then he happened to see the finished potion on Jerry and Hermione's table, and his eyes lit up.

"You actually finished it so quickly. Hmm, not bad. Quite perfect, a very fine potion. It seems you have considerable talent for Potions. Another three points to Slytherin!"

"Ahem, well, Professor, Hermione and I brewed the potion together!"

Seeing that Snape had simply ignored Hermione, Jerry could only remind him helplessly.

Snape glanced at Hermione.

"Fine, then Gryffindor gets three points as well!"

With that, he resumed patrolling the classroom.

However, when he reached Harry and Ron, he suddenly paused again and turned toward Harry, who was boiling horned slugs.

"Potter, why didn't you tell Neville not to add the porcupine quills? Did you think his mistake would make you look better? Gryffindor loses another point because of you."

Harry froze on the spot.

After Potions Class ended and all the Little Wizards left the classroom for the Great Hall to eat, Jerry made the excuse that he needed to return to the dormitory and temporarily slipped away from the crowd.

After cautiously checking the basement corridor and confirming that Snape had returned to his office, Jerry once again arrived outside the Potions classroom.

Alohomora!

Casting the Unlocking Charm at the classroom door, Jerry pushed it open and walked inside.

After carefully looking around the classroom, his gaze immediately settled on the storage cabinet beside the podium.

That cabinet was where Snape kept potion ingredients commonly used in class.

After opening the cabinet and rummaging through it, Jerry finally found what he wanted on the bottom shelf: a secondhand sixth-year Potions textbook—Advanced Potion Making.

Opening to the first page, he saw a handwritten signature.

"This book belongs to the Half-Blood Prince."