So, under Snape's watchful eye, Morris began to brew the Draught of Living Death.
But this time, he doesn't intend to follow the textbook completely.
After successfully brewing the Draught of Living Death " for the first time, Morris thought that the "adding Sopophorous Bean " step could be optimized.
Of course, it doesn't matter if the attempt fails, since the materials aren't his, he can mess with them as he pleases, and he has two more chances.
The juice of the Sopophorous Bean contains potent hypnotic components, but it is wrapped in a tough outer skin, so putting the whole bean in is obviously not a good choice.
Therefore, Morris decided to chop it up and squeeze out the juice before adding it.
Just as he was squeezing the Sopophorous Bean with the silver knife, Snape suddenly spoke up, "Who taught you to do that?"
Morris didn't stop what he was doing, and casually said, "I came up with it myself."
He was never one to follow the rules.
One of his principles is to put his ideas into practice.
A faint hint of surprise flashed across Snape's eyes.
The standard recipe in textbooks simply involves adding the whole Sopophorous Bean, but what Morris is doing is precisely the ideal way to handle Sopophorous Bean.
This was a technique he had figured out on his own during his student days!
It can only be said that talented people often share similar ideas.
Time passed slowly, and Morris gradually became focused on brewing the Potions.
Snape remained silent throughout this time—interfering while someone else was brewing a high-level Potions would have been extremely unreasonable.
Finally, as Morris added the processed Sopophorous Bean and their juice to the crucible, the liquid inside reacted violently.
The liquid quickly lost its turbidity, and its color rapidly transformed into a clear, translucent pale blue.
Stir, remove from heat, and you're done.
Morris looked at the final product and nodded in satisfaction.
His judgment was correct; the quality of this batch was much better than his previous batch.
Seeing this, Snape stepped forward, leaned slightly forward, and stared intently at the liquid in the crucible.
Instead of giving a direct evaluation, he used the tip of his wand to pick up a small drop of the potion from the edge of the crucible, suspended it in mid-air, and observed it closely.
"How is it?" Morris asked.
To be honest, he really wanted to get a word of praise out of Snape.
At least in his memory, his Potions Class professor had never praised anyone.
"Hmph," Snape scoffed, "Barely passable."
"?"
So, is it good or bad?
Morris was hesitant to make a judgment.
He asked cautiously, "What about my punishment...?"
" Ravenclaw, deduct thirty points," Snape said, his expression remaining unchanged. "Also, no one is allowed to enter the Potions warehouse without my permission."
Morris secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
This result is acceptable.
Moreover, it's good news that the twins won't be implicated.
It's only thirty points; he should be able to make it back with a little effort.
He thought he would face even harsher punishment.
It seems that Snape at least approves of his pot of Draught of Living Death.
The matter has now come to a perfect end.
Morris asked softly, "May I go now, Professor?"
Snape raised his chin and casually waved his left hand outwards. "Let's go."
Morris immediately turned and left.
Only after his figure disappeared behind the door did Snape slowly return to his seat behind his desk.
" Morris Black..." he murmured.
Although the surname Black brought back some unpleasant memories, it was just a misunderstanding.
He already had a general understanding of Morris's background.
An orphan who grew up in an orphanage, without any family tradition or guidance.
Yet, he was able to independently brew the "Draught of Living Death" in his first year of high school, and even made reasonable improvements to the recipe.
All I can say is that they look very similar.
Hogwarts once had such a student--
Born into poverty and subjected to cold stares, yet possessing exceptional talent in Potions...
Snape paused almost imperceptibly.
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the office door, interrupting his thoughts.
Morris reappeared in the doorway.
Snape looked up, his face expressionless, and said, "Is there anything else, Mr. Black?"
Morris gave a slightly embarrassed smile and pointed to the crucible on the table.
"That..."
"Can I take the Draught of Living Death with me?"
Snape's face immediately darkened.
However, Morris seemed not to notice and continued to look at him expectantly.
A few seconds later.
"Take it and get out of here," Snape replied, without even glancing at Morris again.
Thank you, Professor.
Morris happily picked up the pot of Draught of Living Death.
We've already put in the effort, we can't let it go to waste.
It's just the Draught of Living Death; he believed Snape wouldn't lack such a small amount of stock.
Back in his dorm, Morris immediately finished dispensing the Potions, which was expected to be even more potent.
As for the pot—I'll just have to take it back to Snape during the next Potions Class.
Immediately afterwards, he began to draw the magic circle for the Gate of Two Realms.
This won't take too much time.
Half an hour later, the magic circle was successfully completed.
The materials were still ordinary red paint mixed with his blood.
Its shape is similar to Morris's previous Undead Creature Transformation Magic Circle, only larger, with a space in the middle large enough for an adult to lie down.
At this moment, his room, in the dim light, resembled the scene of some kind of mysterious religious ceremony.
After locking the door and hanging a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, Morris slowly walked to the center of the magic circle and took out the Draught of Living Death that he had just dispensed.
According to the instructions, just one drop is enough to put him into a deep sleep for an hour.
Without hesitation, Morris immediately took an extremely small sip.
It has a taste that's somewhere between bitter and refreshing.
It's not that it tastes bad, but it's not exactly delicious either.
Almost immediately, a wave of weariness washed over him.
He lay down on the empty space reserved in the center of the magic circle, his consciousness sinking into darkness.
There are no dreams.
There was only a pure, peaceful nothingness.
After an unknown amount of time, Morris opened his eyes.
He looked around and found that he was still in the room, and the magic circle beneath him had not changed at all.
The wall clock showed that only an hour and a half had passed.
As expected, it failed. Morris sighed.
He sat up from the cold floor and rubbed his stiff neck.
In fact, he had a premonition the moment he drank the Draught of Living Death.
The Draught of Living Death " is, in the end, just a potent sleeping pill.
It can indeed induce sleep, but it's still quite different from death.
but...
"It seems like something's missing..." Morris murmured.
He had a vague feeling about it.
The Draught of Living Death is not perfect, or rather... incomplete.
Yes, incomplete.
It's missing something crucial.
A decisive element that can push sleep to a deeper level, closer to death.
no way.
Morris put on his robe, pushed open the door, and walked towards the Potions Classroom.
Perhaps his Potions Class professor can give him some clues.