Severus Snape's mood today was anything but good.
That timid, cowardly fellow, he had to keep a close eye on. These days, his whereabouts have become increasingly unpredictable.
"Whatever you plan to do, you'd better pray I don't catch you..."
He murmured coldly before turning down the staircase.
At this moment, a faint chirping sound caught his attention.
No one at Hogwarts was more familiar with that sound than he— it was the wonderful bubbling and simmering of a potion in a cauldron.
But he wasn't in the cellar, which meant—
The cellar had been breached!
He strode quickly over the stone steps, like a swirling cloud carrying thunder and storm.
"What are you doing!"
He appeared in front of Sean, his tone filled with restrained anger.
'Bold and reckless! Utterly ignorant!'
Looking at the bubbling cauldron emitting white smoke, the scattered ingredients, and the liquid in the crystal bottle…
Did he not understand what had just happened?!
Since he took up teaching, Snape had never seen such audacity in a young wizard!
Cooking potions in secret?!
Did he think this was some sort of astronomy or history class for fools?!
Potions are a precise science and dangerous craftsmanship!
Without proper skill or supervision, even a small mistake could cost a young wizard his life.
They wouldn't even have time to react, let alone save themselves!
Sean's smile froze on his face. He quickly swallowed all the surging emotions.
He understood—he had triggered the worst ending—Professor Snape had returned.
Just as he finished brewing the potion and hadn't yet cleaned up or left,
Snape had caught him in the act.
"Hmph… Let me guess, Mr. Green from Ravenclaw, believes he has outstanding talent in potion-making—so much so that he doesn't need guidance and trusts he can brew a perfect potion..."
Snape's voice was like a venomous snake spitting, cold and oppressive.
Sean bowed his head without panicking or explaining.
He knew Snape well—explaining was like self-destructing, not an exaggeration at all…
"Ah—then let's see his achievement. Let's look at the glorious results he obtained after that utterly foolish brew last time, making him, like a brainless giant monster, dare to challenge the authority of potion mastery alone..."
He shot Sean a fierce glare, who immediately lowered his head as he looked up.
"Hmph!"
Snape sneered, but felt slightly reassured—at least this kid hadn't caused the cauldron to explode like those brainless monsters in Gryffindor.
His attention quickly returned to the potion, making sure it wouldn't really explode.
As for Sean's results?
Did he think potion-making was some magic branch that could quickly improve?
Based on that last disastrous attempt, just getting lucky not to have an accident this time was Merlin's blessing.
Seeing this, he was momentarily stunned:
The potion was qualified—though not excellent, it had astonishing progress.
"Is this your masterpiece?"
Snape's eyes glinted maliciously as he stared at Sean.
Sean nodded in response.
"I guess your stirring must have been excessive, and your simmering heat atrociously uneven— it's only barely correct material handling that allows you to stand here talking to me. But what's terrifying is that you haven't realized this at all..."
Snape looked past the sarcasm in Sean's eyes, quickly noting the skills in his speech, even the sarcasm was a beat behind.
Then his face darkened further, and he roared:
"Get out of the cellar! Now! Immediately!"
Sean didn't hesitate—he quickly packed up the crystal bottle, books, and materials, and quietly left the cellar.
No rebuttal, no fear, anger, or any emotion—only calmness:
"Sorry, Professor Snape."
The dark-haired wizard's face darkened slightly; he watched Sean's bright green eyes dim and disappear at the end of the corridor.
As the environment grew brighter and warmer feelings enveloped Sean once more, his mood didn't improve—in fact, it was worse than ever.
He had successfully brewed the potion, and now just needed to practice constantly to solidify his potion skills, to strengthen his talent in potion-making.
Even the panel seemed to have granted him some luck: Scabies Potion: Unlocked (1/30)
[An apprentice-level potion brewing—can unlock the apprentice title in potion mastery]
The proficiency value for the Scabies Potion was 30, and just by brewing an apprentice-level potion, he could unlock a potion title.
Everything was improving, but at the most critical moment, he messed up.
No one could predict Professor Snape's whereabouts, the only known fact being that he taught potion classes on Monday and Friday for the young wizards.
Therefore, Sean had no way to prepare.
He remained silent, thinking—
If he couldn't practice, he wouldn't improve, so practice was necessary.
He would follow the correct method to practice until his talent was enhanced, so he would ensure he wouldn't make reckless mistakes that could cause danger.
His practice was safe and effective, but communicating with Snape was doomed to be futile.
On the way to the hall, Sean suddenly remembered something— Professor Snape hadn't told him not to come next time, nor had he deducted house points.
Why was that?
Sean wasn't sure if he was overthinking, but vaguely, he seemed to have a slight chance again.
In the cellar.
Snape snorted coldly, waved his wand, and the cauldron slowly floated before him.
The dark green liquid rested quietly, as peaceful as the young wizard who had just left.
Because of those bright green eyes, he had no more sarcasm.
He carefully examined the Scabies Potion, and merely from the final formed state of the potion, he could infer the effort the young wizard had put in.
In three days, he not only handled the ingredients above the passing line but also keenly adjusted the stirring strength,
Even achieved the most critical step—
Absolute focus.
If not for that, with his monstrous timing and ingredient addition techniques, it would have been impossible for him to brew a qualified potion.
All this progress took only three days.
Snape could almost imagine the sleepless nights, exhausted herbal studies, and painstaking efforts.
"Hmph, what a pity. The beauty of potions does not welcome wizards without sufficient talent..."
...
In the hall.
Sean took out his notebook and carefully reviewed each step and detail, ensuring they were engraved in his mind.
Was he going to give up potion practice just because of Snape's sarcasm?
The probability was as low as Snape giving Gryffindor a perfect score.
Snape always had times when he was not around…
Sean thought the cauldron wouldn't care who was using it.
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