Chapter -4.
"Am I seeing a woman? Of course, I am." I replied, but noticing her somewhat disappointed expressions, I joked, "Am I not seeing you right now?"
Matilda, momentarily confused by my words, stared at me, but then stepped forward and placed a finger on my chest, asking, "Who are you? Are you really the same Severus Snape I know?"
"Of course I am; if not, who else could I be?" I said, displaying a rare smile on Snape's face, which caused Matilda to hesitate for a moment before saying, "Sigh, I still can't decipher what's happening behind that cold exterior of yours. Anyway, you can go downstairs; I'll gather the ingredients and bring them to you there."
Matilda's shop also had a small potion brewing room; that was one of the reasons the old Snape frequently visited this woman during his two months of leave from Hogwarts. "Thank you; but could you also bring Darkroots and Danglellies? I'll need those as well," I said before stepping away from her, earning a curious look from her, followed by a question a few seconds later, "Those two ingridients, don't tell me, are you trying to make a paste or something for the beautification potion?"
""Well, something along those lines, since it's a present for someone," I said with a smile, leaving Matilda to ponder who that person might be on her own.
Using Snape's memories, I made my way to the dungeon in Matilda's shop, which was entirely different from the dungeon where Snape taught his students. Observing the environment of this dungeon, it felt as if I were in a warm and cozy chemistry lab where an enthusiastic professor would assist eager students in learning about bonds and other concepts I was unfamiliar with.
Upon arriving in the lab, I started preparing for the so-called wand waving and brewing of death or whatever, and a few minutes later, Matilda finally showed up with the ingredients, as the fragrance of fresh roses and other components filled the room before her.
"So, who's the fortunate one receiving such a gift from you?" Matilda inquired, seeming to still contemplate what I had mentioned earlier in the shop. "It could be anyone but you... because, in my eyes, you're already a beautiful woman and don't need such things," I replied, attempting to redirect her admiration for the old Snape.
"You... It seems like there's genuinely something off with you today," Matilda couldn't help but exclaim; she never would have imagined that someone like Severus Snape would audaciously call her beautiful. However, seeing a blush on her pale face made me smile internally as I said, "Well, what can I say? It might be because of you. Anyway, I would only need a small amount of the beautification potion, so you can do whatever you want with the rest, or perhaps just sell it."
"Would that be acceptable?" Matilda asked, her face flushed deeper, knowing that the beautification potion sells for a higher price among noble ladies, and moreover, this potion is crafted by the renowned Hogwarts potion master. Wouldn't even a small vial of this potion fetch a much higher price than usual?
"Of course, it's fine, since I didn't bring any galleons to pay you for the ingredients," I said, revealing my true intentions behind giving her the free potion; while flirting with her was another matter, giving away such a potion that could potentially bring in around a hundred galleons for free and then paying for the ingredients would be simply foolish.
Matilda, upon hearing my response, stared at me for a moment and then said, "That's such a Severus-like response, but either way, I must express my gratitude since despite reducing the cost of the ingredients, I would still earn a few extra galleons if I were to sell the potion."
"Be my guest," I said, taking the tray from her hand and then focusing on the cauldron to begin the potion-making process, which I had thought would be somewhat challenging to follow; however, the moment I ignited the fire beneath the cauldron, my hands began to move on their own as if I were conducting some kind of performance.
Noticing me absorbed in potion making, Matilda gazed at me for a few minutes as if she were admiring something; however, after a short while, she heard a noise from above and exited the lab, leaving me alone with my potion.
The process of creating the beautification potion was not difficult at all, as I simply needed to add the ingredients in a specific order while managing the temperature; however, my main concern was incorporating the Darkroot and danglillies.
As the potion brewed on its own, I mixed and then crushed both herbs into a paste, leaving out a few roots to add directly to the potion for the final reaction. Once the paste was ready, I observed the potion, which had turned green and emitted a pleasant aroma, "Five extra minutes, huh," I murmured, as Snape's memories guided me in potion making.
Finally, after five minutes, I took a small amount of the potion and poured it into another cauldron while setting aside the remaining potion in vials for Matilda to sell; allowing the potion in the cauldron to brew for another five minutes, I gradually added the darkroot paste and began stirring it clockwise for an additional ten minutes.
"Now for the final step, adding these roots to the potion." Watching the potion become thicker with each stir, I finally added the remaining darkroots.
The potion bubbled for a minute, and then it started to produce the reaction I was hoping for. "Alright, it looks like I truly am a potion master now," I couldn't resist saying aloud, as I had worried I might make some beginner mistakes despite having Snape's memories, but that didn't occur.
Once the beautification paste I wanted was complete, I retrieved a tube I had bought from the muggle store, and with the assistance of my wand, I finally prepared my first beauty product.
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A/N : Want to read more; spare some powerstones and comment if you see any mistakes.