Potions Classroom.
The air pressure in the room was lower and more oppressive than usual.
Professor Snape stood at the podium, his black eyes sweeping across the class like searchlights, finally nailing themselves to the solitary seat in the corner—Ivan Potter's exclusive spot.
"Today," Snape's voice sounded like it had been dredged from an ice cellar, "we will be attempting a potion that is absolutely forbidden for first-years to touch—a simplified version of Felix Felicis."
The class went dead silent instantly.
Neville Longbottom dropped his scales onto the floor with a loud clang.
Felix Felicis! Liquid Luck!
Even a single drop brewed incorrectly could render the potion useless at best, or blow up the entire classroom at worst! This was typically N.E.W.T. level optional material for sixth-years!
"Silence." Snape flicked his wand, and the scales flew back onto Neville's desk. "Given that certain... 'special' students find the first-year curriculum too boring, I decided to spice things up for him."
Everyone's gaze shifted to Ivan.
Ivan was sitting in his chair, twirling his Thestral wand like a pen. Hearing Snape, he lazily lifted his eyelids. "Professor, if I brew it, can I apply to have the sofas in the Slytherin Common Room changed to genuine leather? The current stones are too hard; they're uncomfortable."
A vein throbbed on Snape's forehead.
This kid always knew exactly how to step on his rage button!
"If you can brew even a single drop of drinkable potion, I will give you my office!" Snape gritted his teeth. "But if you blow up the classroom, or poison yourself... I will carve 'Died of Stupidity' on your tombstone."
"Deal." Ivan stood up. He wasn't even wearing his school robes, just that black jacket.
He walked to the podium and collected a set of ingredients.
But he didn't return to his seat. Instead, he walked straight to the abandoned cauldron in the center of the room—the "Slag Bucket" usually used for disposing of failed potions.
"What are you doing?" Snape frowned.
"Saving time." Ivan said flatly. "According to the textbook, slicing snake fangs takes three minutes, stirring takes twenty. Too slow. I'm in a rush for lunch."
The whole class: ???
What nonsense is he talking about? Isn't Potions all about slow, meticulous work?
Ivan ignored the stares. He dumped all the ingredients—daisy roots, Ashwinder eggs, unicorn hair—into the rusty cauldron all at once.
"Potter! Are you making a stew?!" Snape roared. "The order is wrong! You'll kill us all!"
"Order is for the mediocre." Ivan didn't look back.
In the next second, he did something that scared the soul out of everyone.
He raised his ebony wand, didn't chant a spell, but used the wand like a... rolling pin.
"Physical Brewing Method · Form One: High-Frequency Oscillation!"
Ivan's wrist turned into a blur. The tip of the wand struck the bottom of the cauldron at a speed invisible to the naked eye!
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
It wasn't ordinary knocking; every strike was accompanied by an injection of magic.
The liquid inside the cauldron boiled instantly, but eerily, no bubbles rose. All the ingredients were shattered and molecularized instantly under the extreme frequency, then forcibly fused together under the coercion of magic!
Snape's eyes went wide.
He could feel that Ivan wasn't using fire to heat it, but friction from pure magical output!
How precise must his control be? A fraction more and it explodes, a fraction less and it fails!
"This... this is violent extraction?!" Snape cried out involuntarily.
But it wasn't over.
The liquid in the cauldron began to change color, shifting from murky grey to blinding gold. But just then, the liquid began to vibrate violently, emitting a sharp whistle—the precursor to a potion going critical!
"It's going to blow!" Pansy Parkinson screamed and dove under her desk.
"Want to explode? Did you ask me?!"
Ivan huffed coldly. His left hand slammed onto the cauldron lid.
"Word Soul · Micro-Control · Solidify!"
The energy that should have exploded was forced back into the liquid by Ivan's command, like a tamed beast!
The boiling golden liquid instantly turned into a translucent, jelly-like substance, suspended in the air, no longer flowing.
"This... this is..." Snape was speechless.
He had taught for years, seen geniuses and idiots, but never someone who turned a potion into "jelly" without blowing it up!
Ivan wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead, used his wand to spear a piece of golden "jelly," and shook it in the air.
"Professor, although the shape is a bit like pudding, component analysis shows this is indeed Felix Felicis." Ivan tossed the chunk to Snape. "Don't believe me? Taste it. It won't kill you; at most, you might get hit by a bag of Galleons while walking down the street."
Snape instinctively caught the golden solid.
Trembling, he took out a silver needle and pricked it.
The needle didn't turn black (non-toxic).
He leaned in and sniffed.
A crisp scent, like sunshine after rain, drilled into his nose, clearing his mind instantly and wiping away the fatigue of last night's late shift.
This is... Perfect Quality Felix Felicis!
And it's solid! How high is this concentration?!
> [System Alert: Snape suffers massive shock! Cognitive dissonance!]
> [Emotion Value +600!]
> [Current Total: 5800 Points!]
Snape looked at the "Potion Pudding" in his hand, then at Ivan, who wore a "I just casually made egg fried rice" expression.
In this moment, he even felt an urge to beg Ivan to take him as a student.
No, this isn't a student. This is a Potions Grandmaster wearing human skin!
"Did... did you make this?" Snape's voice was dry.
"Who else?" Ivan shrugged. "Did the cauldron grow it? Professor, remember your promise. Leather sofas. And don't forget the points for Slytherin."
Snape took a deep breath and spun around to face the class of dumbfounded snakes and lions.
"Mr. Potter," Snape's voice returned to its cold cadence, but if one listened closely, there was a tremor. "Has demonstrated... a very 'unique' brewing technique. Although the process looked like trolls fighting and completely violated the elegance and precision of potion-making..."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the Gryffindors with their exploded cauldrons and soot-covered faces, finally resting on Ivan.
"...However, the result is perfect."
"Twenty points to Slytherin."
> [System Alert: Draco Malfoy is unrecognizable with jealousy! Emotion Value +100!]
> [System Alert: Hermione Granger feels "Thirst for Knowledge"! Emotion Value +50!]
> [System Alert: Harry Potter feels "My Brother is a God"! Emotion Value +50!]
Snape carefully stowed the golden Felix Felicis into a crystal vial, then stared dead at Ivan.
"Potter, come to my office after class. I have several questions regarding 'molecular oscillation'... that I wish to 'discuss' with you."
Discuss? This was clearly trying to steal trade secrets!
Ivan smiled slightly, packed his things, and walked back to his seat under the awed gazes of the class.
As soon as he sat down, a small note flew over.
It was thrown by Harry Potter.
Ivan raised an eyebrow and opened it.
Written in scrawled handwriting was:
"Ivan, are you really a Dark Wizard? Professor Snape seems afraid of you. Also, can I learn that 'Physical Brewing'? My potions always explode."
Ivan looked at the note, a playful smirk on his lips.
He picked up his quill, wrote a line on the back, crumpled it up, and tossed it back to Harry in a beautiful arc.
Harry unfolded the note. It contained only one dashing sentence:
"Want to learn? Go to the Forbidden Forest and catch me a unicorn as tuition first. Also, stay away from that diary, little Savior brother."
Harry read the note and froze.
How did he know about the diary?!
In the back row, Ron Weasley looked at Ivan's back with worship, whispering to Harry, "Merlin's beard, Harry, your brother is totally cool! Did he just beat the ingredients into submission with his wand?"
Harry smiled wryly, clutching the note tightly.
He had a premonition that this brother who had suddenly appeared would completely change his life at Hogwarts—perhaps even the fate of the entire wizarding world.
On the podium, Snape watched Ivan's relaxed figure and made a silent decision.
Tonight, I must lock this little monster in the underground lab!
I won't let him out until I've hollowed out everything in his brain!