After he got used to the smell, time flew by, and in a blink of an eye, it was evening.
"Alright, you can go back. Next Saturday, use the frogs you pickled to brew an antidote for a Love Potion. I will personally brew a pot of Love Potion to test the effect of your antidote." Snape smiled very happily.
Ethan Jones felt a chill run down his spine after hearing this, constantly thinking: "Could there be something wrong with the materials I processed? Will it cause my antidote brewing to fail?"
With worry and nausea, he left the office, even forgetting to bring Little Black back.
Ethan Jones, disgusted by frogs all day, didn't even eat dinner. After showering and changing into clean clothes, he headed to the library.
Love Potions and antidotes were not in their current potion textbooks. Ethan Jones could answer because he genuinely wanted to learn potions, so he had browsed many related books in the library.
This time he was looking for the detailed refining steps of the Love Potion antidote.
"Advanced Potion-Making, found it." This was the textbook for students taking N.E.W.T. level Potions after sixth year, and the library also had a small collection.
He turned to the chapter on Love Potions and antidotes, studied it carefully, copied the entire text, intending to study it constantly, and even planned to brew it himself once to avoid making a fool of himself in front of Snape.
Who knew who he would set as the object of infatuation for the Love Potion? It would be fine if it were a small animal, but what if it were someone like Pansy Parkinson? He'd be done for.
No matter how small the probability, he would not allow it to happen.
Hermione, who had searched the Great Hall but couldn't find Ethan Jones, found the person she hadn't seen all day in the library.
Hermione glanced at Mrs. Pince's location and asked quietly: "Why didn't you go to eat lunch or dinner?"
"Processed frogs all day, no appetite." His face was still somewhat pale.
Hermione's words reminded him of the frog entrails he had processed, and he instantly felt nauseous again.
Forcing down the acid in his mouth, he managed a smile for Hermione.
Seeing his reaction, Hermione didn't ask further, lest he vomit right there in the library.
After Ethan Jones studied the Love Potion chapter to a very proficient level, he began to accumulate other potion content to avoid being unable to answer Snape's sudden questions next time and having to endure his vicious ridicule.
He remembered what Snape said to Harry Potter during the first Potions class; he didn't want similar words directed at him.
He frantically copied all content that might be useful to him. Driven by his enthusiasm, Hermione focused even more on the Alchemy book in her hand.
By closing time, Ethan Jones had copied content spanning a full three feet.
"Phew~ I'm exhausted." He shook his sore wrist to relieve the fatigue.
After parting with Hermione, feeling somewhat hungry, he decided to go to the kitchen to get something to eat.
However, when he arrived at the kitchen and smelled the food, he almost vomited, making Toto, who had been paying attention to him, feel very sad.
Pale-faced, he comforted Toto: "It's not your fault; my appetite isn't good today. Don't be sad."
Hearing him say this, Toto blamed himself even more.
Finally, unable to bear the atmosphere, Ethan Jones had to pack the food to go, planning to eat when he had an appetite.
Before leaving, he left a sentence: "You did very well, Toto. No need to blame yourself."
The House-elf was moved to tears, feeling a sense of deep gratitude as if willing to die for him.
In the dormitory, Crabbe and Goyle looked eagerly at the pies and sandwiches he had packed: "Ethan, is this a midnight snack for us?"
"My dinner. If you two want to eat, take this pie. Leave the sandwich for me; I'll eat it later." He made a choice between the two foods and handed the pie to the two hands reaching out simultaneously.
Putting the sandwich on the table, Ethan Jones began to burn the midnight oil studying potion knowledge.
On Sunday, Ethan Jones, who had nightmares about frogs all night, knocked on Hagrid's door with Hermione, looking haggard.
He sat in the large chair, drinking a cup of hot tea, not wanting to move much.
"Ethan, you don't look too good. What's wrong?"
"Didn't sleep well last night." He spoke listlessly.
"Want a stoat sandwich? The stoat I caught last night is delicious."
Ethan Jones's face turned green: "No thanks, Hagrid. I can't eat anything right now. I'm going to practice. I'll chat with you later."
Because his spirit wasn't very good, Ethan Jones casually cast some harmless spells like Engorgio and Geminio to recover his state.
After casting magic for a while, Ethan Jones's condition improved, and he began to concentrate on practicing the Disillusionment Charm, hoping to master this complex spell before the end of the term.
He cast the Disillusionment Charm on various objects around him—stones, trees, wood, grass, etc. Anything he could see was his target. He didn't know if it would succeed; he just cast it first.
After pointing at some unknown object and chanting the spell again, he felt some of his magic power being drawn out, and the wand tip emitted light.
"Did I... succeed?" He began to look for the object he had cast the Disillusionment Charm on.
"Wait, what did I cast the Disillusionment Charm on?" He looked around but didn't find anything nearby hidden by the Disillusionment Charm.
"Should I try casting a Finite Incantatem?" Unable to find it for a long time, Ethan Jones tried to solve the problem with another method.
He didn't want to cast Finite Incantatem earlier mainly because he wanted to see what it looked like after the Disillusionment Charm was cast, fearing he wouldn't be able to cast it successfully again.
Just as he hesitated, Hermione volunteered: "I thought of a spell that might be useful. I'll try it."
Then, she began to chant the spell and pointed her wand at the sky.
Sparse snowflakes began to fall slowly, but most melted into water droplets due to the temperature before they could land on the ground.
Hermione continued using the spell, and finally, amidst a thin layer of snow, a hidden object revealed its form.
"It's a small stone." Ethan Jones stepped on the shallow snow, picked up the stone, and showed it to Hermione, who had just finished casting the spell.
Hermione extended her finger and poked it to confirm there was indeed something in his hand.
"Is this the Disillusionment Charm? It's amazing. It's right here, but you just can't see it." Hermione fumbled in his palm, trying to imagine the shape of the small stone through its contours.