The Dead Unicorn

"Were you looking for me, Professor?"

After all the other young wizards had left, only Eli and Snape remained in the classroom.

Fuck, why is this old bat looking at me like that? I already called Dumbledore!

It was impossible for Eli not to be nervous now. Of course, Snape would never do anything to harm him.

What he feared most was having his identity exposed too early.

Snape was paying such close attention to him now. Could he have already discovered who Eli was?

Snape sat down. "Mr. Hall, can you tell me what you think of Potions?"

Huh? He kept me behind just to ask that?

Eli relaxed a little. At least it was not because of his identity.

Although Eli was certainly no match for the Potions master before him, he was a new-generation wizard who had fused scientific thinking with magical thinking.

Eli was confident that his answer would definitely make Snape see him in a new light.

"Potions are essentially made by using specific methods to activate and combine the magic within different ingredients, thereby producing particular effects."

After saying that, Eli calmly looked at Snape.

Surprised, huh? Incredible, right?

The words Praise me already might as well have been written across Eli's face.

Snape fell silent for a moment. The scene Eli had imagined—Snape gasping and declaring him a fucking genius—did not happen.

"You have some insight, but you have not fully grasped the essence of Potions. You are too constrained by textbooks. It is good enough for a first-year student, but not for you."

Eli's expression froze.

That was not right. Where was the praise? This was nothing like what he had imagined.

What was with praising him and putting him down in the same breath? What did Snape mean, it was not good enough for him?

Old bat, explain yourself!

But in reality, Eli put on a very humble expression. "Please enlighten me."

Sigh. Before he became a big shot himself, he had to bow his head to the current big shots.

Snape glanced at him. "Those with talent need not force themselves to be so humble. You are not an arrogant fool like Potter."

Eli felt a little awkward. It was awkward to have his act seen through so easily.

Old bat, could you not be a little more tactful? Isn't pretending to be humble what every top student is supposed to do?

Though Eli had long known that this man's mouth smelled worse than a cesspit, he was only now truly experiencing it.

Even while praising a student from his own House for being talented, Snape still found time to drag out his enemy's son for a few sarcastic jabs.

Still, being praised by Snape felt pretty good. After all, throughout the entire movie series, Eli had barely ever seen him praise anyone.

While Eli smiled on the outside and cursed inwardly without pause, Snape made a small beckoning motion.

Several potion ingredients flew out from the surrounding cabinets.

Eli had to admit that Snape's control of magic was truly impressive.

Snape's strength could not be underestimated. In all of Hogwarts, perhaps only Dumbledore could reliably suppress him.

But in truth, whoever it was, aside from Voldemort, would be firmly suppressed in front of Dumbledore.

The big shots were terrifying indeed!

The potion ingredients hovered between them. Eli recognized almost all of them, because he had long since memorized the entire book.

You knew nothing of the power of a top student.

"Tell me, what are these ingredients used to brew?"

Snape spoke blandly, his magnetic voice making people listen attentively without even realizing it.

Eli examined them carefully. "Bone-Dissolving Water."

He recognized them easily. These were the ingredients for Bone-Dissolving Water, an ordinary poison that corroded biological tissue.

The reason this poison could only be considered ordinary was because it was far from colorless and odorless.

It even needed to be stored in a specially made container. Not only did it react with biological tissue, but it also had a certain corrosive effect on other substances.

Snape was not surprised that Eli had answered correctly. This was merely a casual test.

With a slight movement of his fingers, some of the ingredients were reduced to juice, while others became powder.

If Snape's earlier feat of summoning objects through the air had made Eli look at him in a new light, this display utterly shocked him.

Worthy of the title of master!

The processed ingredients began to combine slowly in different proportions and sequences.

Eli could clearly sense the fluctuations of magic emanating from Snape.

Gurgle, gurgle...

The juices actually began boiling in midair. Eli nearly wanted to drop to his knees and call him a god.

He had never seen anything like this in the movies from his previous life!

He had not even seen it in potion books.

He had always thought brewing potions meant stupidly standing in front of a cauldron and stirring nonstop!

Was this the strength of a true master?

Did that mean Snape could brew potions with a casual wave of his hand, without even needing tools?

It seemed Potion masters were not merely wealthy; they were also powerful great wizards!

Soon, the potion was finished. It was completely transparent and utterly odorless.

Snape separated out a single drop and let it fall onto the table.

The normally corrosive Bone-Dissolving Water showed no reaction at all, like plain water.

But if anyone truly thought it was plain water, they would pay dearly!

A dried rat corpse was taken out, and another drop fell.

The droplet that had just been as harmless as clear water dissolved the dried corpse completely the instant it touched it.

This was the perfect remedy for disposing of bodies!

Eli stared blankly from the side.

Snape still wore that expressionless dead-fish face, as though none of what had just happened had been his doing.

He truly showed off without making a show of it.

Ignoring Eli's dumbfounded expression, Snape flicked his Wand, and the potion vanished without a trace.

"True potions turn decay into wonder. Come to my office every Saturday afternoon."

"Huh?"

Still dazed, Eli did not immediately process what he had heard.

Was this the legendary private tutoring?

"Is there anything else?"

Snape was dismissing him. Eli immediately composed himself and took his leave respectfully.

As Eli walked down the corridor, he still felt a strong sense of unreality.

How should he put it? The old bat was already giving him private lessons?

His excitement was impossible to hide. These were private lessons from a Potions master!

No, this could not even be called private tutoring. This was a full imperial feast!

He still had plans for a potion factory. With Snape personally teaching him, would he still need to worry about lacking good potion formulas?

Now, as far as the factory was concerned, the Potions side of things was basically settled.

What he still lacked was an assembly line.

That would be the key to dominating the potion market in the future.

It might involve Transfiguration and alchemy. As for Transfiguration, perhaps he should find time to visit Professor McGonagall?

Professor McGonagall was an authority on Transfiguration. Going to her could not be wrong.

Alchemy was a bit troublesome, though. Voldemort's memories did not contain much knowledge about alchemy, so it seemed Eli could only go to the library.

Hogwarts's library was certainly well stocked. It could be called another great treasure trove.

That meant he still had to find time to cultivate himself in the library.

Thinking of this, Eli could not help but feel a headache. At such a young age, he was carrying responsibilities that did not belong to his age.

Just as he was racking his brains over the future, Harry and Ron Weasley found him.

And Hermione Granger was with them.

"Eli, can you teach us Potions?"

Harry and Ron looked at him expectantly.

"What? You two?"

Eli even suspected that the pair had been hit with the Imperius Curse. Since when did they care about studying?

Ron ignored Eli's teasing. "Eli, teach us, please. Whether we survive the old bat depends on you!"

Eli suddenly understood. So they were afraid of dying.

When his brothers were in trouble, how could Eli not stab them in the back... ah, lend them a hand?

He thumped his chest. "No problem. Leave your Potions lessons to me!"

Then he looked at Hermione, who seemed hesitant to speak.

This little witch had always been very smart. Why was she asking for help too?

"Hermione, your Potions skills should be better than those two idiots', right?"

Hermione's expression twisted for quite a while before she finally made up her mind.

"After seeing how you performed in class, I realized I still have far too many shortcomings. So please let me study with you too!"

It truly was not easy for proud Hermione to say such words.

She was indeed ruthless toward herself in her studies. Coupled with her already considerable talent, she would certainly become the most outstanding wizard of their year.

Because Eli had displayed his magical strength on the train, Hermione had been paying attention to him and treating him as a goal to surpass.

But after observing him, she had found that he never studied at all, leading to their earlier conversation about being disappointed in him.

Yet Eli's performance today had truly taught her what it meant to be too young.

Eli looked at the stubborn little witch in surprise. "All right, welcome. Let's study together!"

Hermione immediately became a little excited.

"How about this? Tomorrow is Saturday. If none of us has anything to do, let's study every Saturday morning."

Everyone agreed.

Once they had made their arrangement, Harry and Ron ran off somewhere to play again, while Hermione hugged her books and surely headed for the library.

That night, a figure appeared at the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room.

It was Eli, out on his routine nighttime stroll.

He pointed his Wand at the top of his head, and a mercury-like liquid slowly spread from there, covering his entire body.

Eli felt a little chilly.

Eli's figure gradually became transparent before finally disappearing.

This was the Disillusionment Charm, a spell essential for Aurors that many adult wizards might not even know.

Having mastered the Disguise Charm, Eli swaggered into the Forbidden Forest.

He headed straight for its depths.

"Soul Devouring!"

Another soul was devoured by Eli.

After searching the corpse and taking the valuable parts, he prepared to seek out his next target.

"Firenze?"

Who else could that silver-haired centaur ahead be but Firenze?

Eli walked over, only to find Firenze's expression extremely grave.

"Another Unicorn has died!"

Eli's heart jolted.

Who else besides Voldemort could have killed a Unicorn?

To sustain his life, Voldemort had no choice but to hunt Unicorns and absorb their blood.

"There have already been several Unicorn attacks recently. This is the second one in the last few days!"

Eli tightened his grip on his Wand. It seemed Voldemort had already begun to move!