Chapter 62: The Paired Ritual
Professor Snape left as quickly as he had appeared, leaving Shawn standing there, bewildered, clutching a full ten Galleons and muttering under his breath under the collective gaze of the rubbernecking portraits.
"Professor Snape, is this..."
"Ha ha! Young Green, you don't think that gloomy—oh, and bold—fellow has gone mad, do you? Ha ha..." Sir Cadogan was as fearless as ever.
Then the commotion shifted.
Shawn walked on in silence for a hundred yards, and even the surrounding portraits retreated by two frames' distance, because the returning Professor Snape's face was darker than the storm clouds outside.
"Lady Violet, will the knight be all right?" Shawn asked softly of the kindly lady in the white undergown.
"What do you mean by all right? Being set on fire? Transferred into a painting full of trolls? Or..." Lady Violet smiled with her eyes, as if nothing she said could possibly be frightening. "He will live, as for any other considerations..."
Shawn observed three seconds of silence for Sir Cadogan and left the corridor.
The knight's howls continued there deep into the night.
On the way back to the common room, Shawn took out the slip of paper, using divided attention to fight the stairway that felt as if it would never end.
[As I said before, truth does not compromise, and the wizards who can find it will inevitably find it. When the improved ritual sharpens a wizard's sensitivity, the gifted begin to notice those exquisite changes. The ignorant fool will always wallow in traditions rotten to their core, while true Masters of Potions never stop seeking. Perhaps you wonder why improved rituals are so rare—]
Curiosity carried Shawn up the steps, pages turning easily in his fingers.
[Remember this—the spell and the potion are joined by a single primal thread. You should have felt it when you guided with your will. As you suspect, I completed the necessary work. For each potion's improved ritual, I have recorded a unique method of will-guidance. Those who follow must understand that this is Borage's greatest breakthrough in the mysterious art of Potions! Next, I will reveal why potions are infused with magic at all—]
Shawn held his breath.
Ritual and will-control, paired together?
The prize pool kept growing... the weight of this "greatest breakthrough" kept increasing...
He could not help the thought.
The grandeur of magic lies in this: when a wizard dreaming forward discovers a path, he opens the book and finds that another wizard has already laid it out.
Shawn quickly copied the methods down, word by word.
He was standing before a treasure house.
A vault of wisdom built over a lifetime by a wizard widely regarded as one of the greatest potioneers alive.
When Shawn glanced at his panel again, he discovered Potions had advanced a great deal.
[Title: Potions Novice]
[Scourgebusting Potion: Apprentice standard (210/300)]
[Advancement: Brew three Entry-level potions to unlock an Entry-level title in the Potions domain]
Scourgebusting Potion was about to hit Entry-level. It was time to find other potions to brew and grind experience toward that title.
Magical Drafts and Potions described methods for several kinds of brews, including: Antidote to Common Poisons, Cure for Scrofula, Forgetfulness Potion, Herbicide Potion, Sleeping Draught, Swelling Solution, and Awakening Draught...
Their difficulty was similar, and their prices generally fell within a few Galleons.
Those were for ordinary quality, roughly the price of a Proficient brew.
Higher-grade potions could fetch double or even more.
At a certain quality level, they were nearly priceless.
Shawn thought perhaps this was why Potions Masters never brewed low-level potions, while lesser brewers could not make high-quality ones.
His own Expert-grade Scourgebusting Potion had fetched a full ten Galleons, making his coin pouch plump all at once.
Late at night, the purple-mottled cover of The Advanced Potions Guide fluttered open in the wind, and a slip of paper drifted down like a dancer beside the sky-blue drape.
[Yes, the journey continues. We have still not found that final, definitive answer to the nature of potions. However, by chance, we noticed anomalies. Could this be the beginning of something new for potions? —Borage]
...
On Monday, Ravenclaw first-years were silent.
They had to face a double period of Potions first thing in the morning.
Under the intimidation of a certain master, it naturally became the most feared class.
"Oh, Shawn, slower, slower," Justin fumbled through the brew under Shawn's lead. It felt like Shawn made fresh progress with every cauldron. Even with Shawn's notes in front of him, Justin could not always keep up.
"Right, Terry, so what you're saying is we're still prepping ingredients while they've already decanted their potion next door?" Michael said, chopping slugs with a look that said, "You don't take me for a fool, do you?"
"Yes," Terry said, eyes flicking to Justin collecting his potion, just to confirm it again.
"I find that hard to believe... I believe it, Terry." Michael followed Terry's gaze, then snapped his head away and offered a sincere apology. "Terry, I am deeply sorry for doubting you and Shawn. Do you think we could ask Shawn for a few tips after class?"
Just as the first period was ending, Professor Snape strode toward the back row. Little Eagles and little Badgers all tucked in their heads at once.
"Marginally acceptable," he said, voice as cold as ever. "One point. Each."
Shawn eyed the Entry-level brew on their table. He had hardly helped at all.
Which meant Justin's talent for Potions was not bad at all.
When the second period began, Professor Snape suddenly announced they would be learning a new potion: Swelling Solution.
A wave of small screams broke from those who had only just learned the Scourgebusting Potion.
One look from Snape, and the second half of those screams died on their lips.
Only Shawn's eyes grew brighter.
"Swelling Solution, a brew that appears simple yet tests precision and the mind to an extreme," Professor Snape intoned. His low, smooth voice strangled the last whispers in the dungeon. He paused slightly, a thread of sarcasm curving his mouth.
"Of course, for most of you, that is an impossibly high bar. So if you dare to drift even a fraction..."
The first-years shivered and snapped to attention.
Three ingredients for Swelling Solution: bat spleens, dried nettles, and puffer-fish eyes.
Shawn had not processed two of them before, so as Professor Snape prepared the ingredients, Shawn did not blink.