All the Same Age

Roy obediently sat down, lowered his head, and said nothing. Cedric watched Roy's shoulders tremble slightly as he practically lay on the desk. Knowing Roy, Cedric was one hundred percent certain the kid was secretly laughing.

Today's lesson was on the Cure for Boils, a very simple potion. The young wizards were to attempt brewing it in their very first class, but if they were not careful enough, the potion they brewed would make people break out in boils instead.

The blackboard at the front of the classroom was filled with steps and precautions for brewing Potions. Snape paced back and forth through the room as he explained the most basic procedures for making Potions in a low voice.

Though Snape had a terrible personality, he was genuinely skilled. The blackboard contained plenty of additions and improvements to the textbook material. Without someone to teach them, only exceptionally gifted students would be able to figure those things out on their own.

No one dared relax during Snape's class. Every young wizard kept their head bowed low, terrified of catching Snape's attention. Whenever Snape passed by a student, the student would break out in a cold sweat.

"All right, put away your textbooks. If the brains in your heads are not only as big as a troll's, you should understand how detailed my explanation has been. Now, work in pairs. The materials have already been handed out. I expect to see your results before class ends."

At Snape's command, all the young wizards hurriedly began processing the ingredients before them. Snape continued dragging his long black robes through the classroom aisles, constantly inspecting their work.

Nearly every student received a scolding from Snape, whether for their handling of the ingredients or their control of the heat. Only a very few escaped unscathed.

Honestly, the lesson itself was not difficult for Cedric. But Snape put him under far too much pressure, and his hand slipped while he was grinding up snake fangs.

Snape never passed up an opportunity to criticize students, but since Cedric and his partner, the young witch Megan, had done fairly well overall, Snape merely made a few sarcastic remarks and did not deduct points.

Cedric and Megan, having escaped disaster, exchanged a glance and both breathed a sigh of relief.

Roy had no partner and could only work alone. This was also Roy's first time brewing Potions himself. Still, he seemed to be doing quite well. After being a doctor for so long in his previous life, handling these little tasks came naturally to him.

Roy became more and more adept as he worked. As he grew familiar with the process, he could even multitask.

Roy held a mortar in his left hand, grinding up venomous snake fangs, while his right hand wielded a small silver knife, swiftly slicing slugs on the table. He bustled nonstop before the Potions bench. After processing all the ingredients, he spun the knife around his fingers as he inspected it, tossed it into the air for a turn, then neatly caught it and slid it back into its sheath.

Roy looked back and saw that the rest of the class was still processing their ingredients. Working alone, he was actually faster than pairs. He rolled up his sleeves, took out his wand to light the flame, and began brewing Potions.

Aisling was paired with a Slytherin young witch named Lisella in this lesson. Aisling completed almost the entire process of handling the ingredients herself, while Lisella merely handed things to her. Even so, they were the fastest group in the class.

"All right, now we brew it. Remember to move the porcupine quills away from the fire."

Aisling never acted domineering, yet she was always telling those around her what to do. Lisella did not resist her instructions and obediently followed Aisling's directions.

Aisling had practiced brewing Potions quite a bit at home during the holidays. A potion of this difficulty was child's play to her, so while the flame heated the cauldron, she casually explained Potions-brewing tricks to the nearby students.

Snape came over to Aisling. Without caring that she was whispering with her classmates, he directly awarded Slytherin ten points and displayed Aisling's nearly perfect ingredient preparation to the entire class.

But what happened next soon made it impossible for Aisling to remain so relaxed. She deliberately glanced in Roy's direction and discovered that Roy, brewing the potion alone, had already tossed the final ingredient into the cauldron and was stirring it while reciting an incantation.

"Impossible. How could he be brewing it so quickly? Even the world's greatest Potions master would need to heat a potion for ten minutes. He must have messed it up."

Roy was curious too. By all rights, the Potions should have been heated for ten minutes, but after only two minutes, it had changed to the color for the next step. Roy had even carefully sensed the flow of magic within the Potions. Only after confirming there was no problem did he dare proceed early.

As for Aisling's confusion, all that could be said was that Ancient Magic was just that miraculous.

Roy finished the final stirring. Looking at the clear potion in the cauldron, he scooped out a little and examined it carefully, then even closed his eyes to sense the magic within it.

"There shouldn't be any problem?"

Snape noticed Roy extinguishing the fire beneath his cauldron and assumed Roy had messed up. He was just about to come over and mock Roy when he saw the clear, bright potion in Roy's cauldron.

Snape recognized at a glance that Roy's Potions was flawless, but it had been brewed far too quickly. Even the heating alone should not have been finished by now.

Roy even scooped out a little and tasted it, only for Snape to snatch the stirring spoon away.

"Is your brain full of water?! You actually dare drink Potions that is not meant for oral consumption?! Hufflepuff loses two points."

Snape scooped out some of Roy's Potions and held it up for a close examination. In the end, he found that Roy's Potions was identical to one he himself would have brewed. It was utterly flawless.

Snape grabbed Roy by the shoulder and demanded harshly.

"What did you do? Why did you only heat it for such a short time?"

Seeing Snape getting worked up, Roy immediately told him everything. He even poured out every detail about how he had sensed the Potions' magic.

"You can directly sense the magic inside Potions?"

Snape's expression darkened as though water could drip from it. With a flick of his wand, he set an empty cauldron on Roy's desk and spoke to Roy sternly.

"Now, repeat the entire process exactly as you did before. If I find that you lied, hmph, I certainly will not let you off."

Roy had no choice but to process the ingredients all over again. Snape watched Roy handle different ingredients with both hands at once, even spinning the cutting knife around in his fingers. Though Snape clearly wanted to say something, he ultimately swallowed the words.

But when the Potions in Roy's cauldron changed color after being heated for only one minute, Snape completely lost his composure. He shoved Roy aside and continued brewing it himself.

First, add the porcupine quills, then stir three times. Snape was far more practiced with these steps. After completing the rest of the process, he too produced a cauldron of perfect potion.

Snape left and stopped paying attention to Roy, returning to inspect the other students. Roy shrugged and poured both batches of Potions into glass bottles. They might come in handy someday.

"Class dismissed. Students who did not finish their potions will submit a five-foot-long essay to me."

Including Roy, only five groups in the entire class had completed their Potions. It seemed that most people would still have homework to write.

Since he did not need to write any homework, Roy was in a good mood. Before he left, Snape snatched away the potion Roy had brewed, claiming it was school property and students were not allowed to take it away.

Roy handed it to Snape without caring. After all, he had already pocketed quite a few Potions ingredients.

"Snape really is rich. I'll have to spend more time talking with Professor Snape in the future."