great-warnovel Chapter 126 Alchemy Catalyst
Chapter 126 Alchemy Catalyst
Chapter 126 Alchemy Catalyst
When they returned to the Quidditch boutique, the boys were still discussing, but their attention had shifted from the unattainable nuclear crossbow to the more cost-effective Sweep series.
"Beauxbatons is trying to bring broom prices back to pre-war levels so that every child can own their own broom," the saleswoman accompanying the Weasley twins said in a melodious voice.
"While still sweeping across the seven stars, our new technology can reduce costs by more than 30%! I believe it won't be long before flying brooms are commonplace in every wizarding household!"
"Of course, the wood used is not the pure, high-quality natural wood from the Magic Garden, but the mutated burl wood found in the wild is also very tough and radiation-resistant."
Hermione, bored, leaned closer to Fleur and whispered, "Are there any shops around here that sell raw materials? I'm looking for some special, less common items to use for potion experiments."
She hasn't forgotten her perfumery career, but she's tried all the common materials available on the market in Malfoy.
Fleur looked at the little girl in front of her with some surprise. Could she be experimenting with new potions in the second grade? Hogwarts has Master Lily, so the overall potion level seems to be quite terrifying.
She thought for a moment: "Perhaps a quirky general store could meet your needs; they mostly sell things that are hard to categorize or have unusual functions."
"Moreover, the shop owner, Mrs. Sinta, is a well-known alchemist. She is also an advisor to our principal and can even represent Beauxbatons at events."
She glanced at the boys, who were captivated by another sales assistant's enthusiastic explanation, so Fleur pulled Hermione along: "I'll take you there. Mrs. Sinta's shop is a bit hard to find, and they'll probably be open for a while. We can come back after we've finished shopping."
So the two girls left the store and wandered into the alley between the shops. After twisting and turning for a while, they finally found a small shop with its door half-open and no lights on inside. They could hardly see the inside of the shop by the sunlight streaming down from the sky.
Furong went up first and knocked on the door: "Mrs. Sinta, I have brought a guest."
Hermione followed behind her into the store, where she could barely make out the furnishings.
One wall was covered with all sorts of strange objects: a snake specimen with more than a dozen heads, a Muggle power armor disassembly diagram, each part of which was accompanied by corresponding physical disassembly parts, a scrapped mechanical device whose purpose was unknown, and oddly shaped tree roots, eggs, candles, etc. In the dim light, it looked like a haunted house designed to scare children.
As Furong's voice rang out, the candles on the walls lit up one by one. A middle-aged woman wearing a colorful robe, also adorned with sequins, came down the small staircase at the back of the shop. It seemed she had partitioned off a small attic on this floor, which explained the low ceiling and poor lighting.
"What do you need? Maybe you can just tell me what you need and I can find it for you." Her voice was even hoarser than Furong's, and she was shrouded in smoke, a cigarette made from some unknown leaf.
That's when she noticed Hermione: "A little girl? Are you in third grade?"
P
"Furong, don't bring just anyone to my shop. Or if you want to broaden her horizons, there's no need to call me down," she complained. In her opinion, such a young girl couldn't even recite spells properly, so what could she possibly know about alchemy? Besides, she probably couldn't afford anything in the shop.
"Madam, he is Master Lily's disciple and has already begun experimenting with potions," Fleur explained somewhat awkwardly, though this was, of course, her own assumption.
This piqued the woman's interest, and she looked Hermione up and down: "I greatly admire Lily Potter's potions skills. Has she assigned you any new topics? Could you pick something you can talk about?"
"It's a new discipline separate from potions, and it's only just beginning," Hermione said, looking around at the shop's decor.
"There's only some basic research at the moment, but I can show you this." She took out a bottle of stimulant spray and placed it on the table.
Mrs. Sinta opened the bottle with great interest, put on a device that looked like a metal respirator (its purpose was unclear) over her nose, and then sniffed it gently: "It doesn't seem to have much of a smell? But the component analyzer shows it's some kind of fragrance mixture? What's it for?"
Hermione wasn't worried that her instruments could directly analyze the raw materials. If perfumery were that easy to crack, it wouldn't be the exclusive domain of the nobles of the Borderlands.
She took the bottle back, poured it into her mouth, mixed it thoroughly with her saliva, and then spat it out. A large amount of white mist instantly filled the small room, enveloping the three of them.
The next moment, Mrs. Sinta exclaimed, "The instruments show that the oxygen activity increased tenfold in an instant! Just for a split second! Thank goodness I didn't move the poisonous swamp basin, otherwise the whole street would have had to be evacuated!"
She didn't use a wand; she simply waved her hand, concentrating the trigger spray into a small area.
She stood up, put on a monocle, and peered closely at the mist: "It's amazing how such a potent catalyst is so stable in the bottle, and it's broad-spectrum! It works on most drugs!"
"How do you control it? Can you talk about that? If not, just pretend I didn't ask," she asked, but then added with a hint of regret.
"It's saliva." Hermione shrugged. Once the trigger spray is mass-produced and enters the market, this little trick won't be able to hide it at all. As long as the base fragrance is kept secret, that will be enough.
We call it an eliminator spray; it can amplify and catalyze the effects of therapeutic drugs and poisons.
"Hmm—I'm afraid there's more than that, child." Mrs. Sinta, once she entered professional mode, was completely different from her previous demeanor. She used her glasses and respirator to continuously analyze the medicinal mist.
"It can greatly accelerate the conversion between elements, shorten the reaction time, and also form a tiny inhibition valve."
"It won't cause the reaction to get out of control, my God, this is truly the perfect alchemical aid!"
"Can you mass-produce this spray?" Madam Sinta looked at Hermione with some envy. Perhaps its value wasn't that great in potions, but in alchemy, controlling the speed of the reaction was extremely important.
Unlike potions, alchemy emphasizes rational analysis and the coordination between elements. It is a branch of magic that is closer to science, and in some areas, it is even difficult to distinguish between them. Potions, on the other hand, are more idealistic, filled with strange customs passed down from ancient times.
Unlike the rigid settings that produce magical effects without any logic, every potion master, in addition to possessing precise quantitative talent, is also a magic master with a head full of inspiration and imagination. Alchemists, on the other hand, are more likely to form their own order and become rigid and obsessive.
This is why potions is less popular than other disciplines. Students often struggle to understand the seemingly illogical steps taught by professors, but mastering it can easily produce top potions masters. The three current potions masters can all brew Felix Felicis, a potion that can change one's destiny to some extent.
While anyone can learn alchemy, the highest achievements are often hard to attain. To this day, Beauxbatons is still at a loss when it comes to making Philosopher's Stones. No matter how much resources they accumulate, they can hardly produce someone like Nicolas Flamel. However, the number of qualified alchemists they have is extremely large, even terrifying.
"The raw materials aren't hard to find, but due to manpower constraints, I'm currently the only one researching it. And if we were to mass-produce it, the cost probably wouldn't be cheap," Hermione replied with a smile.
In fact, the base spices could be gathered from the kitchens and greenhouses of Hogwarts, but judging from Mrs. Sinta's words, it seemed that there was a lot of profit to be made. Since it was about to be a business deal, it was only natural to leave enough room for profit.
"Child, what's your name? If you're interested, we can talk about the patent rights to this spray, or the supply chain. Beauxbatons will need it in large quantities, and with that alone, you can become richer than Master Lily."
Furong didn't bring her to the shady shop, and at least Madam Sinta didn't deceive her because of her young age. Instead, she earnestly explained the value of the inducing spray to her. From this point of view, apart from being a bit harsh in her dealings with others, this lady is actually a good person.
"Granger, Hermione Granger."
Now, the initiative is in her hands.