Chapter 21
"My Lord, let me handle this! I will find that bastard and bring him to you!" Bella said, rising to her feet and looking confidently at Voldemort, and Severus let out a quiet sigh of relief.
So she did not. wait! I forgot that this cube, once activated, turns invisible immediately and stays that way until it is hit or the magic runs out, and that feature does not work for me, since I am the owner. And how was I supposed to remember. when I had only seen how this toy worked once, and barely paid attention? Honestly, my head is full of holes. Still. if someone like Bella actually focused on her surroundings, she might be able to see me, but, remembering how furious she was, I doubt she would notice anything. He thought that sheepishly, and did not bother worrying about it.
"Hmm. Fine. I am entrusting you with this task, but if you dare fail the mission!"
"My Lord! I will definitely find whoever is distributing those artifacts and."
"Do not kill him. Bring him here. Talented artificers should not be wasted on that old man's side."
"As you command, my lord!" Bella babbled excitedly, her eyes fixed on the Dark Lord like a puppy seeing its parents for the first time, catching every word and glance.
Hmm. what does she even see in him? Severus looked at the self-proclaimed Voldemort again, at that noseless face, and sighed, disappointed. Women have strange tastes these days. Maybe liches are in fashion? And this Dark Lord. he is a complete and utter letdown. What was the point of tearing his soul apart? It only damages the magical core, keeping it from working at full capacity. On top of that, it means he cannot progress beyond Master. Becoming an Archmage is the fusion of a wizard's spiritual, magical, and physical aspects. You could even call it a kind of rebirth, a completely different level of power, and this idiot just ruined his own development. Severus thought, still disappointed. After watching them a little longer, he heard nothing else of interest, so he returned to his body and simply went to bed.
The very next day, early in the morning, Severus stood in the training room with a jar of dark green mixture in his hands, and the moment he opened it, a minty scent filled the air.
"This is pure masochism. I just hope I do not get used to it," he grumbled, tipping his head back and starting to swallow the contents.
A few seconds later his face twisted as a fierce heat surged through his chest. The pallor vanished, replaced by a flush, and veins stood out all over his body. A dark green aura wrapped around him, strong enough to crack the floor. If he had not planned for it, there would probably have been a huge hole by now, and he would have ended up on the ground floor.
"If I had not done this before, I would have passed out from the pain. Damn baptism, I never thought I would have to go through this again." he hissed, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists so hard his nails dug into his flesh. He barely felt that, though. The heat in his chest only intensified, almost completely swallowing his upper body and slowly creeping downward.
What Severus was enduring was called baptism by fire. It burned away almost all fat and impurities, strengthening and renewing the body all the way down to the skeleton. Not everyone dared go through it, especially wizards, known for weak constitutions and low pain tolerance. Usually only warriors practiced it, and his teacher had been a true knight in robes. But it was only thanks to this potion that in his old world Alan had been able to get his limbs back.
Half an hour later the pain gave way to a faintly refreshing feeling and a sharp minty smell, which made his pale face twist.
"Now I understand how shrimp feel when they are tossed into boiling water while they are still alive." he muttered dryly, sweating so much his shirt might as well have been wrung out. And yet, even through all the irritation, there was a barely visible smile on his face. He had finally taken the first step toward a peaceful life and his former strength.
With effort, he pushed himself up and dragged his bag closer. In an instant the floor was covered with all kinds of food. After the baptism he had lost almost all his strength and looked like a skeleton wrapped in skin, so he needed to recover quickly, then start training.
The Strengthening Potion worked by gradually improving the user's physical fitness, even if they did nothing at all. But if they exercised during that time, its effectiveness rose in proportion to the effort they put in.
The potion could only be taken for a month. After that, it turned into a poison that slowly destroyed the body, starting with the skeleton, making the bones so brittle that even a gust of wind could shatter them.
That was why, even after the recent torment, Severus ate a hearty meal, regained what strength he could, and immediately began training to squeeze the maximum out of the potion.
For the next two weeks, Severus barely left the training room, except for quick runs to fetch food and ingredients.
During that time he more or less regained a human look and no longer resembled someone half-starved, with muscle even showing in places. As a result, he could now walk through Diagon Alley without a cloak and not draw much attention.
Those two weeks passed fairly quietly. There were no visitors, and he could work in peace, adapting two more recipes from his old world that promised solid profit, especially with women. The first was the Rejuvenating Potion. As the name suggested, it rejuvenated a person for twenty-four hours to the optimal age they wanted, then returned them to their original state. Of course, it did not make anyone immortal, even if they drank it for the rest of their life.
In his old world, Alan also knew the recipe for a true rejuvenating potion that made a person thirty years younger, and it could only be taken once in a lifetime. But some ingredients did not exist in this world, or simply had not been discovered yet, and finding replacements would take time and experiments. He planned to run those experiments at Hogwarts, on three lab rats and one animagus.
The second potion had a simpler name, the Beauty Potion, but unlike the ones sold at Madame Pomfrey's, it worked holistically. It affected the entire body: slowing skin aging, making it more elastic and soft, clearing imperfections like blackheads and pimples; stopping hair loss, making hair stronger, thicker, softer, and easier to style; not to mention what it did internally, like burning fat, enhancing regeneration, whitening teeth, and correcting flaws in the human body.
That was only a short list of what it could do, but the most important thing was the duration, exactly one week. It was this potion that Alan had once used to make a small fortune at his magic school, which was mostly attended by children from wealthy families, and for them, spending a few dozen gold pieces meant nothing.
After another exhausting workout, Severus was about to take a shower. It was far nicer than a Cleansing Charm. He did not get the chance, though, because there was a knock at the door, and the image of a silver-haired man appeared before his eyes, with two other wizards behind him, both dressed in expensive-looking outfits.
I hope he brought the ingredients.
After cleaning himself with magic and pulling on a shirt, Severus went downstairs and yanked the door open. Lucius stared at him, shocked, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly.
"Come in. Why are you frozen?" Only then did Malfoy snap out of it.
"What happened to you?" The last time they had seen each other had been about three weeks ago, and yet in that short time Severus had changed too much. Not only was he now taller than Lucius, his whole appearance looked different, as if several years had passed. Even the muscles, clearly visible through a shirt that was too big and therefore only emphasized his build, were enough to make the point.
"The Strengthening Potion," Severus replied with a smile as he sat at the bar. "I take it this is about that issue?"
"No, not yet," Lucius said, still staring, while the two men behind him exchanged puzzled looks. "These are my good friends, Matthew Goyle and Jonathan Crabbe." He introduced them, then took a small purse from his inner pocket and handed it over. "This is what you asked for."
The moment it was in Severus's hand, his eyes lit up.
"Thanks. Just in time," he said, slipping it into his pocket with a satisfied smile. Then he pulled several vials of red and purple liquid from his pouch. "And these are for you. I hope they come in handy."
"This?"
"I made them myself. The red one is a general restoration potion, and the purple one temporarily boosts magical power with no side effects. As for the first, I do not know how well it works on wizards, but one dose almost pulled a Muggle back from the brink of death. As for the purple one, it increases magical ability by half for about an hour." Lucius's eyes widened again, and this time the other two joined him. "I am confident they work, but they still need more testing. I hope you can help with that, and I will owe you. If everything works out, you will get the first batch for free, and I will sell the rest to you exclusively until I open a shop. Even after that, you will still be first in line. And you know how it is, all that paperwork is a nightmare: registering and patenting the potions, getting a license to sell them. Altogether, that is at least six months of work, even with Professor Slughorn's help. I am sure you understand."
"Wait, you created a potion that increases a wizard's magical abilities by half, with no side effects?!" Lucius blurted, unable to hold back as he seized Severus's hand and squeezed hard.
Potions like that were extremely rare, because most were too damaging to the body. After drinking one, a wizard's strength could double or even triple, depending on the potion. But afterward came a vicious rebound that could leave the user bedridden, and if it happened in the middle of a fight, it was a death sentence. That was why almost no one used them, afraid of what came next.
"Calm down. I am ninety-nine percent sure there are no side effects, but there is still one percent," Severus said, and only then did Lucius manage to collect himself and let go, embarrassed.
"Ahem. Ahem. Please forgive me. Of course I will help my good friend," Malfoy said, coughing and smiling in a way that made Severus want to punch him, though he held back. "By the way, about your Strengthening Potion."
"Of course I can sell it. I just happen to have one good jar left."
"A jar?"
"Yes." A liter jar of dark green mixture appeared in Severus's hand. "A thousand Galleons and it is yours. Well, assuming you are not afraid of a little pain."
"Me, the future Head of the Malfoy family, afraid of pain?" Lucius lifted his chin haughtily, flicked his hand toward the empty table, and a pile of gold appeared a moment later. Then he snatched up the jar.
"Fine. I warned you. And you have to drink it all at once."
"Understood. If that is everything, we are leaving."
"Of course. Have a safe journey," Severus said, waving as the three wizards left, barely managing to hold back his smile. You will definitely need it.
Lich* - in modern fantasy, a necromancer magician who became undead, according to some versions after death, according to others instead of death.
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