Nature's gift

"Potion Improvement Theory originated with the Potion Conversion School. Ethan Abdullah developed the Flesh-Consuming Potion based on the Flesh-Stitching Curse, then used the Flesh-Consuming Potion as a foundation to transform the Flesh-Stitching Curse into the Flesh-Consuming Potion. Some Wizards saw the advantage in this: using spells to imitate the effects of potions was clearly an 'improvement.' After all, replenishing Magic required no precious ingredients, which could effectively reduce the cost of certain potions. The most famous experiment was an attempt to turn Felix Felicis into a spell."

"Felix Felicis? How much must that experiment have cost?" Will clicked his tongue. Brewing Felix Felicis was already an extraordinarily difficult task. Not only did it require all sorts of rare, priceless ingredients, but it also took six months to brew. As far as he knew, the number of people in all of Europe capable of brewing it could be counted on one hand, and two of them, Snape and Slughorn, were in England.

"The cost of that experiment was almost unimaginable. After several years of trials, the Potions Master involved had nearly bankrupted himself, without making any real progress. In the end, he declared the experiment a failure, leaving only the words 'Potions are nature's gift.' He then spent several years brewing potions for others to recoup his losses. Only that kept him from spending the last ten years of his life in destitution." Professor Flitwick's knowledge was remarkably broad, and he recounted these obscure stories with easy familiarity.

Hearing that the research had failed, Will nodded to himself. He had never heard of a "Felix Charm."

"Then, Professor, what did he mean by 'Potions are nature's gift'?"

"It is difficult to say precisely. It was merely his personal view. He believed that, in certain respects, human Magic could not replace natural ingredients imbued with special magical properties, such as unicorn blood. He believed that Wizards could never reproduce the power of unicorn blood with their own Magic, just as an Animagus cannot transform into a magical creature. To some extent, brewing potions is nature's gift to Wizards, allowing them to enhance themselves through other things imbued with Magic.

"This incident also had a considerable impact on Potion Improvement Theory, to the point that hardly anyone took an interest in it afterward."

"I see." Will nodded thoughtfully.

Seeing Will fall into thought, Professor Flitwick picked up his teacup.

In reality, however, Will was frowning at the notification before him.

[You have acquired distorted Potions knowledge. Your Potions experience +19]

Distorted knowledge? Will furrowed his brow in confusion. Why was that Potions Master's theory "distorted"?

Could the correct understanding of Potions be that Wizards actually can replace potion ingredients with their own Magic? Is that really possible?

Will decided to investigate what constituted "distorted knowledge." It would shape his future understanding of the entire body of knowledge.

"There is no need to dwell on these things. The magical world has many such fringe theories. Each has some merit, but the vast majority are misguided notions that will yield no results even if you devote your entire life to them. You are still young, with a very bright future ahead of you. There is no need to delve into them. Even the professors have only heard of a small fraction of these theories, and none have wasted time researching them in depth." Professor Flitwick was now quite afraid that Will might go astray. Many theories sounded perfectly reasonable at first glance, and for a gifted young Wizard like Will, they could waste his energy or even his life.

Yet to Professor Flitwick's surprise, Will raised his head at those words and grinned. "If I can't figure it out, I'll stop thinking about it."

"Really?" Professor Flitwick was astonished. He had not expected Will to let it go so quickly. Plenty of students had squandered precious time on books from the Restricted Section.

"Of course. With what I know now, it would be almost impossible to understand things that took my predecessors countless hours of effort to work out. Rather than waste time now, I might as well wait until I'm more knowledgeable before analyzing them."

"I am glad you can see it that way." Professor Flitwick nodded. He had feared that Will would act on impulse, become captivated by these ideas, and try to produce results for everyone to admire. "Especially a young Wizard as clever and gifted as you."

"Professor, fools think they know everything, while the wise know their own limitations. I'm merely learning while standing on the shoulders of those who came before me."

Will had never considered himself particularly intelligent. He simply had a cheat.

"Stupid. Utterly stupid, Mr. Potter. Surely you knew that you must wear gloves when handling Agapi Flower? Their nectar will give you quite the experience." Harry glared at his Potions professor, Severus Snape. In the dim office, his greasy long hair almost blended into his black robes, forming enormous bat wings.

Snape had put both him and Malfoy in detention, yet he had let Malfoy leave after only two hours of handling slugs. Harry, meanwhile, was still here, enduring intense discomfort as he continued preparing potion ingredients.

Harry's hands hurt and itched so badly that he wished he were dead. He fixed Snape with a murderous glare, longing to stuff the flowers into his mouth. He could see a glimmer of pleasure in Snape's eyes, and he was certain that Snape was enjoying his suffering.

Even if Snape could be trusted, as Professor Dumbledore had said, Harry had no doubt that the man hated him to his very bones. He did not even know where that hatred came from.

The two stared at each other in Snape's office, surrounded by strange smells and jars and bottles. Harry still had no idea what was special about the Agapi Flower in his hands.

Agapi meant "love" in Ancient Greek.

While the two were locked in their staring contest, someone pushed open the door to the Potions office, breaking the strange atmosphere between them.

Harry and Snape turned at the same time to see a short wizard enter the office. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. Professor Flitwick was very approachable.

"Filius, is there something you need?" Snape sounded displeased, as though Flitwick had interrupted his contemplation of Harry Potter.

"Severus, I wanted to speak to you about Mr. Berens, and the books he has been reading from the Restricted Section." Professor Flitwick approached on his short legs. Seeing Harry scratching incessantly at his hands, he drew his wand and waved it. All the nectar on Harry's hands vanished, and the itching stopped at once.

"Harry, remember to wear gloves when handling these." Professor Flitwick summoned a pair of gloves with a Summoning Charm and handed them to him as he spoke. Harry felt rather touched.

"Filius, Dumbledore approved Berens's reading those books. I merely provide the permission slips." Snape sat down in his chair. Harry seized the opportunity to tuck several nectar-coated Agapi Flower stamens into a clump of stamens. He hoped Snape would get a good taste of that nectar.

The thought of Snape itching in agony made him want to laugh, but when he heard that Will was reading books from the Restricted Section, he could not help pricking up his ears...