Chapter 26 — Verdict in the Shadows
The dungeon air was cool, the fire snapping faintly in the grate as Severus Snape turned another page of the manuscript. He felt the faintest tension coil between his shoulders — the kind he associated with grading a stack of essays, except this was no ordinary student submission.
The boy's words had been unsettlingly consistent. Methodical, orderly, annoyingly earnest. He braced himself as his eyes dropped to the next heading.
Chapter 8: Common Errors and Their Consequences
Brewing errors fall into patterns, often repeated across generations of apprentices. Awareness of these errors prevents repetition.
• Over-grinding ingredients: Excessive friction releases uncontrolled magical energy, causing volatility. Example: powdered bicorn horn becomes dangerously unstable if reduced too fine.
• Premature addition: Adding fluxweed before full moon alignment nullifies its properties. Timing is essential.
• Neglecting cauldron condition: Residue of one potion may corrupt the next. Even a trace of previous brew can alter results dramatically.
• Improper storage: Ingredients such as salamander blood degrade quickly. Using stale or spoiled components poisons rather than heals.
Exercise 8: Intentionally brew a diluted version of a Wiggenweld base with over-ground nettles. Observe the loss of potency, and note how correction requires stabilization with a secondary agent.
Warning: Never attempt deliberate mistakes with volatile ingredients such as Erumpent fluid.
Case Study: In 1970, a group of apprentices reused a cauldron improperly cleaned after Shrinking Solution. Their attempt at Swelling Solution produced uncontrollable growth fumes that affected half the corridor.
Snape pinched the bridge of his nose, half in irritation, half in reluctant appreciation.
He catalogues errors with brutal precision. He even includes exercises of failure. Sensible, though… dangerous. To tell children to "intentionally err" might backfire. Still… he anticipates corrections. There's foresight here.
The page turned again.
Chapter 9: Potions Table Etiquette and Proper Management
A brewer's table is their battlefield. Discipline at the station often determines the outcome of the brew more than talent or bloodline.
Rules of Conduct:
• All tools must have fixed places. A brewer who fumbles for a knife has already lost control.
• Silence sharpens focus. Distraction invites disaster.
• Respect for ingredients is respect for the potion itself. Do not waste, do not mock.
• Record every attempt. Failure without notes is wasted learning.
Exercise 9: Brew a simple Restorative Draught. Arrange your table beforehand, assigning fixed positions for knife, stirring rod, ingredients, and quill. After brewing, record not only the result but also how your arrangement aided or hindered you.
Warning: Never permit another's interference at your table. A careless hand reaching across can unravel hours of work.
Case Study: In 1965, a Ravenclaw allowed classmates to "observe" his process. One stray sneeze into the cauldron caused a boil cure to invert into boil induction. The student learned the lesson — painfully.
Snape's hand stilled over the parchment. His black eyes flickered once, the firelight catching their glint.
"Respect for ingredients is respect for the potion itself."
For a moment, the words stirred something in him — a memory of another voice, stern yet patient, reminding him in his own student years that intent and respect mattered as much as technical skill.
He snapped the book shut. The sound echoed sharply in the chamber.
The eagle owl tilted its head, golden eyes unblinking. Snape stood, pacing once across the flagstones, robes whispering against the floor.
"Well," he muttered, the word drawn out like venom. "The boy parrots maxims, arranges his words like a miniature textbook, and presumes to instruct." His tone dripped with disdain, yet his eyes flickered again to the closed volume.
He sat back down, long fingers tapping the cover.
"But…" His voice dropped, almost unwilling. "…it is thorough. Structured. More disciplined than most third-years manage. He documents, warns, and recalls incidents correctly. Even his phrasing—maxims, rules—sticks in the mind."
He drew in a sharp breath through his nose, his expression tightening into the familiar mask of severity.
"He has no experience," Snape said aloud, as if to remind the stones of the dungeon. "Knowledge without practice is a dangerous illusion. But the boy… the boy has potential. And dangerous potential must be watched."
The owl gave a low, resonant hum, almost approving. Snape glared at it.
"Do not look at me so," he snapped. "This changes nothing."
And yet, when he placed the manuscript aside, he did not discard it into the pile of graded essays. He set it neatly upon his desk, close at hand — where it could be revisited.
The fire guttered low, and Severus Snape allowed himself a final thought before extinguishing the light:
The Weasley brat may think himself a scholar already. If he is not crushed by his own ambition, perhaps… perhaps he may yet prove useful.
With a sweep of his wand, the room fell into shadow.