An owl flew into the Great Hall and landed precisely in front of Allen.
Allen didn't think much of it; he had been at the school for so long and, apart from one letter from Professor McGonagall, had never received any other deliveries by owl.
He even thought this was another owl that had gotten lost.
But the owl hopped around in front of him, constantly showing him the letter attached to its leg.
Allen, puzzled, took the letter.
He had never seen this owl before; who could be writing to him?
He took the letter and was about to open it when the owl jumped onto his hand, hooting loudly and extending its other leg, which had a small money pouch attached.
"Who's so stingy? Sending a letter and making it cash on delivery!" Allen cursed inwardly.
The owl, however, remained persistent.
Allen fumbled in his pocket for a long time before pulling out four small copper coins, which he reluctantly placed into the owl's pouch.
Still, the owl was not satisfied and continued to hop around on the table.
"There's nothing left, really nothing left! This is all the money I have! I'll give you the one Knut I owe you next time!" Allen whispered.
The owl, probably encountering such a stingy wizard for the first time, gave Allen a sharp peck and flew away.
"Poverty is truly terrifying; even a bird looks down on me!" Allen lamented as he opened the letter.
After reading the letter, Allen belatedly realized it was already the 10th.
The letter was from Professor Snape, concisely instructing him to come to his office after class this afternoon to collect this month's potion for maintaining his physical condition.
"No wonder he's so stingy; it's that old greasy Snape who wrote it!" Allen muttered under his breath.
Professor Snape, for well-known reasons, particularly disliked Harry, a fact Allen had seen in videos.
Thus, Snape often made things difficult for Harry in Potions class, and Allen, being close to Harry, suffered from Snape's hatred by association.
"It seems I need to find a way to make money! Life without money is too hard! Even birds look down on you!" Allen secretly made up his mind.
...
Time quickly passed to afternoon dismissal.
Allen said goodbye to his roommates and arrived at Professor Snape's office.
After much hesitation, he finally knocked on the office door.
The door silently opened, and Professor Snape appeared, his face taut.
Seeing it was Allen, he stepped aside to let Allen in, pointing to a stool in the room and saying, "The potion will take a while longer; wait there for a bit."
Allen obediently sat on the stool and then realized Professor Snape had disappeared.
This made Allen a little uneasy.
He looked around the room's furnishings; the room was very tidy, with not much furniture.
A cabinet was filled with various bottles and jars, and in a corner of the room, a cauldron was steaming.
There was also a door in the room, which was likely a private washroom.
Allen waited for a while but still saw no sign of Professor Snape, and his heart involuntarily relaxed, his mind starting to become active.
He recalled a theory from a short video in his previous life about why Professor Snape's hair was so greasy.
It was because the Potter family, as one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight Pure-Blood families, had their core business in shampoo, and Potter brand shampoo held a monopoly in the wizarding world.
Therefore, Professor Snape, hating the Potters, extended his hatred to washing his hair, and never used shampoo again—no, he never washed his hair again.
Thinking of this, Allen's curiosity was piqued.
He suddenly wanted to check if there was any shampoo in Professor Snape's washroom!
He repeatedly confirmed that there was no one else in the room and then decisively acted.
He quickly moved to the washroom door, and just as he was about to open it, a mocking voice came from behind him.
"Are all of Potter's friends so impolite?" It was Professor Snape, who slowly finished the sentence in a 詠嘆調 tone.
Allen froze instantly, slowly turned around, and cautiously said with a forced smile, "Professor, I suddenly have a stomach ache and wanted to use the washroom."
Professor Snape looked at Allen coldly, without saying a word.
"I wanted to see what brand of shampoo you use, and I was going to get you a bottle of a different brand for Christmas!" Allen blurted out, a little incoherent.
Professor Snape's face grew even colder.
He snorted and turned to walk to the cauldron in the corner of the room, opening its lid.
Inside was a pot of red potion.
Allen, knowing he was in the wrong, awkwardly began to change the subject: "Professor Snape, why is the color of this potion different from what I drank before?"
Professor Snape said with a taut face, "This is specially made for you, to better stabilize your physical condition.
Drink it without worry!"
As he spoke, he put something from his hand into the cauldron.
The potion quickly turned bright green and became very viscous, constantly bubbling.
He found a wide-mouthed cup, seemingly made of bone, and scooped a full cup from the cauldron.
The cup was also covered in a lot of viscous green potion, which was very conspicuous in the dim room.
He handed the cup to Allen: "Drink it, Phineas." Professor Snape said.
Allen dazedly took the cup, suddenly feeling that this scene was very familiar, but he couldn't recall which scene it was for a moment.
Seeing him in a daze, Snape continued in a deep voice, "This is your destiny!"
At this moment, a thought flashed in Allen's mind.
Isn't this the scene from the "Warlords of Draenor" cinematic, where Gul'dan hands Mannoroth's blood to Grom Hellscream?
Could it be... Professor is also a transmigrator?
He saw himself cosplay Illidan during flying class yesterday, then confirmed he was a transmigrator, and then deliberately created such a scene similar to a famous scene in Warcraft, and even said those two widely spread lines.
Is he trying to use a secret code with him?
Allen instantly conjured the entire process in his mind, and his heart sank.
Was his identity as a transmigrator discovered just like that?
But this didn't seem too bad.
Two transmigrators supporting each other in this world would surely be better than struggling alone.
Could it be that he would have a powerful backer to rely on from now on?
He looked up, trying to observe Professor Snape's expression, but the light in the room was too dim, making it impossible for him to see clearly.
Never mind, let's think about how to respond first!
He had already exposed his identity as a transmigrator; the professor could have remained hidden without exposing himself as a transmigrator.
Now he was actively trying to use a secret code with him.
What great goodwill this was!
Thinking of this, Allen made up his mind.
He racked his brains, recalling the CG he had watched before.
What was the next line?
He thought for a long time, seeing Professor Snape growing increasingly impatient, and hesitated before responding, "Then, what is the cost?"
Professor Snape was stunned and said coldly, "No cost.
Professor Dumbledore said it would be provided to you for free during your time at school.
Didn't Professor McGonagall tell you?"
At this point, Allen was already lost in his own train of thought and couldn't snap out of it.
Is one secret code not enough?
That's right!
The professor just said two lines, so he should respond with two lines as well.
What should the second line be?
That's right, it must be this one!
So, Allen looked into Professor Snape's eyes and whispered:
"Orcs will never be slaves!"