Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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Dumbledore spoke a few more words with Madam Pomfrey before leaving the hospital wing with Kyle.
On the way, Kyle took the opportunity to ask some questions about his magical practice, and Dumbledore generously answered them all.
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Due to their different destinations, they separated shortly after entering the castle.
When Dumbledore returned to the headmaster's office, Snape was already waiting for him.
"Here are the ingredients for the Potion,"
Snape casually slapped a long piece of parchment on the table and drawled, "Our deputy headmistress said it contains many valuable materials and requires your signature."
"Minerva is just too rule-bound. I remember telling her a long time ago that she had the final say over all matters at the school,"
Dumbledore said nonchalantly, picking up the parchment. "Besides, it's just the Magic Suppressing Potion. How precious can it be... huh?"
When Dumbledore took a closer look at the parchment's contents, his expression changed.
Mandrake Leaf: 50 ounces.
Horkrup Juice: 50 ounces.
Antipodean Opaleye Dragon Eggshells: 5.
Erumpent Explosive Fluid: 10 ounces.
Horns of the Horned Beast: 5.
Aconite: 100.
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And that's just a portion of it. The rest, all in all, numbered over thirty.
Dumbledore's forehead throbbed after reading it all.
If he remembered correctly, of the six ingredients listed at the top, only one, Mandrake Leaf, was needed; the others had absolutely nothing to do with the Potion.
And Antipodean Opaleye Dragon Eggshells... that's the main ingredient in a dangerous potion, right? How dare he include that? Did he really think everyone else knew nothing about potions?
And then there were those quantities at the end.
Fifty ounces of Mandrake Juice. If all that were brewed into the Suppressant Potion, it would be enough for the entire school to drink for a week straight.
Erumpent horns are usually ground into powder and sold on the market, but Snape was buying them by the horn, five at that. Didn't he know how expensive they were?
Why was he coming to him to buy them?!
At this point, Dumbledore understood why Snape had come to him for his signature.
Given Professor McGonagall's personality, she'd definitely not approve such an outrageous order. Perhaps Snape hadn't even gone to Professor McGonagall, but had come directly to him.
"Severus..." Dumbledore thought for a moment, decided to give Snape another chance, and asked tentatively: "Are these the materials for brewing the Magic Suppressing Potion."
Snape nodded and said calmly: "Yes, Headmaster."
Dumbledore: "Then this Antipodean Opaleye Dragon Eggshells is..."
Snape: "This is a new recipe I tried."
"Then the quantity is too much."
"Please be tolerant, Headmaster." Snape said as a matter of course: "I haven't brewed that Potion for a long time. It is normal to make a few mistakes, so the materials must be sufficient."
"It seems I have no reason to object anymore." Dumbledore picked up a crimson feather pen and signed his name on the parchment with two strokes.
"Mr. Mikel will appreciate your generosity, Headmaster Dumbledore." Snape's eyebrows rose slightly.
After accepting the parchment filled with his private goods, Snape was already eager to fill his personal storage room... or rather, to brew a potion for Mikel.
But then, Dumbledore, unintentionally, asked, "Severus, what do you think of Kyle?"
"Kyle?" Snape's smug expression vanished, replaced by a hint of mockery. "What are your plans, great Headmaster Dumbledore?"
"No, no, no, Severus, I think you misunderstood. This is just a normal reaction of a headmaster upon seeing an outstanding student. If you don't want to talk about it, forget it."
Dumbledore grabbed a cockroach-shaped candy and popped it into his mouth. He even offered Snape one. "Would you like to try it? It's very delicious."
"No need," Snape said with disgust.
He couldn't understand why Dumbledore, with so many varieties of candy in the wizarding world, had such a particular fondness for something so bizarre.
It looked very disgusting.
As if oblivious to his disgusted expression, Dumbledore continued, "Kind, brave, honest, and composed in the face of danger. Hogwarts hasn't had such a remarkable first-year wizard in ages."
"I believe her mother, Diana, was also in Slytherin, only a year older than you."
"Shut up!"
Snape's eyes twitched at this, and he snarled, "Never mention that name in my presence. Never! Ever!"
He even shouted the last few words.
This infuriated the portraits of past headmasters, who accused Snape of being disrespectful for daring to contradict the headmaster.
Unfortunately, Snape ignored them.
He dared to yell at the current headmaster, so how could he be afraid of those paintings?
Only when you give them face can they be called headmasters. Without it, they're like scraps of paper, too hard to even wipe a crucible.
"I didn't expect you'd still remember it, so long ago."
Dumbledore, ignoring the clamoring portraits, sighed softly. "But Severus, even now, I still believe you were wrong."
"Diana was a well-mannered and kind girl. If you hadn't said that nasty thing to Chris, why would she be blocking you in the common room every day..."
"Bang!"
Dumbledore was interrupted by a loud slamming door before he could finish his words.
The noise was so loud that even Fawkes, the sleeping phoenix, was startled. He fluttered his wings in the direction Snape left, expressing his displeasure at being woken.
"Puff..."
A portrait of a portly wizard couldn't help but burst into laughter as he watched Snape angrily leave. However, upon seeing Dumbledore's amused look, he immediately covered his mouth and scurried off to another frame.
Dumbledore comforted Fawkes, muttering softly, "Really? How come as we get older, we like reminiscing about the past more and more..."
"Oh, hypocrisy."
On the wall, the former headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black with a goatee couldn't help but say, "Don't think I don't know, you did it on purpose. Look at how stingy you are. Little Snape just asked for a few more potion ingredients. It's not a big deal. Back when I was the headmaster, that was...
Wait, Dumbledore, what do you want to do? Can't I just stop talking? Don't come over here!"
[End of the chapter]