great-warnovel Chapter 272 Everything About the Potions Master
Chapter 272 Everything About the Potions Master
Chapter 272 Everything About the Potions Master
Perhaps the castle absorbed a large amount of radiation, which changed the surrounding living environment.
In recent days, the animals in Black Lake and the Forbidden Forest have been very restless and have become more aggressive.
Lily, draped in an invisibility cloak, with a suitcase floating beside her and a wand tightly gripping her hand, was walking step by step on the rocky beach by the water.
This is the lower reaches of the low-lying Black Lake, where mermaids don't often come. So occasionally you can see mutated animals cautiously running over to drink water, but they are all fierce and will fight and bite each other at the drop of a hat. Then one of them will die by the water and become the victor's meal.
"Sorrow and curses flow in the waters; they are confined to fixed areas, preventing much pollution downstream."
The potions master shook the small bottle in her hand, which contained a water sample she had taken.
From the farthest point of the Black Lake all the way to here, the closer you get to the original site of Hogwarts, the more numerous and obvious the "foreign objects" become in the water.
"In a sense, these curses are confined here, which also prevents the downstream ecosystem from suffering too much damage—" she murmured to herself.
Just then, a whooshing sound came from the sky. She looked up and saw Little Barty following the light of the Tracking Charm, making a beautiful broomstick stop in mid-air before slowly landing.
"How's it going?" the man asked after landing. Perhaps it was because of the time they had spent together these past few days that the relationship between Little Barty and Lily had improved, and the two of them were exchanging fewer pleasantries.
"My theory is sound, but the radiation ahead is too strong. We have to wait for Hogwarts' progress," Lily replied calmly.
"Here are the sap of the guardian tree, powdered narcissus root, aconite flower, valerian branches, and mugwort sap you requested." Little Barty pulled out a bag, and perhaps due to recent overwork, the spy looked somewhat haggard.
Lily took the bag without a word, and the suitcase floating beside her automatically unfolded, turning into a simple potion-making table, with a cauldron bubbling and boiling on it.
She casually estimated the dosage, grabbed a handful of grass branches and threw them in, making Little Barty's eyes twitch. Even a potion master shouldn't be so casual when brewing potions, right?
"I don't quite understand your current formula—" he began, trying to start a conversation.
"The sap of the guardian tree can dispel evil, which is easy to understand, but narcissus root powder and mugwort infusion are used to prepare the 'Water of Life and Death,' which seems completely unnecessary at the moment?"
"Herbs are commonly used for calming the nerves and can also be used to make forgetfulness potions—"
"Aconite is usually used for its leaves and sap, and very few people use its flowers." Little Barty frowned. With his potion-making skills, he should be able to tell the difference even from a master's experimental potion.
"Potions aren't that simple. If you can't face them wholeheartedly, they won't open their doors to you." Lily didn't explain what she was doing, but instead gave this junior a lecture. Even if she didn't know he was a traitor, the senior from Gryffindor wouldn't be too polite to him.
Little Barty was so amused that he didn't know what to say, so the two of them just remained silent.
"Aren't you going back? You must be exhausted from juggling my classes, right?" Lily broke the silence first.
Little Barty shook his head: "I promised Miss Granger that I would protect your safety."
"Actually, an invisibility cloak is more than enough," Lily muttered under her breath.
Judging by the time, the potion was almost ready, so she turned off the fire and took the cauldron down.
They didn't even wait for it to cool down or be bottled before pouring the whole pot into the lake.
"Talk! Huh? He just collapsed like that!?" Little Barty was so shocked he almost jumped up.
"This is downstream! Even if this little bit of potion could affect the entire lake, it shouldn't spread upstream!"
"You don't actually think I'm going to use a potion to affect the whole lake, do you?" Lily looked at him strangely, as if he were an idiot.
Little Barty immediately choked up: "Then—then where is this?"
"A simple blocker." Lily finally decided to teach him something seriously.
"The purification ritual can only be applied to a single completed crucible. The Black Lake has a vast network of waterways that can even extend to the sea. Another purpose of our circling of the lake is to make the Black Lake relatively independent in terms of mysticism."
"This potion is only meant to create a barrier here. It will adhere to the bottom of the water, severing the connection between the Black Lake and the downstream area, thus ensuring the integrity of the 'cauldron.'"
Little Barty fell into deep thought, pondering the reason behind it.
"You're all Professor Slughorn's students. You seem to be particularly good at potion rituals?" He was only a few years younger than Lily and had only heard of her talent. Moreover, he was a genius himself, and it was difficult for him to notice others in his own brilliance.
"Every Potions Master has their own area of expertise. Just like our mentor, he specializes in conceptual potions such as Felix Felicis. He is a Potions Master who can truly change destiny," Lily said softly.
Although Slughorn is ambitious and cunning, he is uncompromising in his academic pursuits. His Felix Felicis is different from others', which take half a year to prepare. Others' Felix Felicis is more like fully mobilizing a person's all-round abilities, enabling him to do things better.
But Slughorn's Felix Felicis, besides its original effects, seems to genuinely be able to skew fate and probability, and this cannot be truly confirmed yet, making his strength rather ambiguous.
"Although I studied under Professor Slughorn, my research direction is different from his. I am more skilled at performing potion rituals, which is inspired by some ancient magic."
"What about the other Potions Master?" Little Barty suddenly asked.
"That Severus Snape, another senior of mine, he should be in the same year as you."
Lily seemed lost in memories. She whispered, "Besides the potions available on the market, I've also seen his Cup of Rebirth. Although the magic in it has been altered, you can still tell how skilled he is at potion making."
"A shift in nature, a combination of magic and potions. He is not only skilled in potions, but also excels in spells, inventing his own spells and incorporating them into his potions—."
"So, which side do you think is stronger, Dunqiang or the weaker?" Little Bati asked with great interest.
"It's difficult to judge the strength of potion masters; we can only say that we each have our strengths in different areas, but if we're talking about raw power—."
Lily paused for a moment: "He's much stronger than me."
She recalled Hermione's first year when the Green Flame Party invaded and she had a brief encounter with Snape.
Although the two seemed evenly matched in their potion duel, her magical power and skill level were actually weaker than Snape's in battle. If it were a true life-or-death struggle, she would certainly be no match for him.
But Snape didn't seem to have any murderous intent; he was just stalling her as a matter of routine, which made Lily somewhat suspicious.
"I didn't expect you to think so highly of him," Barty said meaningfully. Although they were both members of the Green Flame Party, they had very little interaction. He was the head of the Department of Law Enforcement on the surface, while Snape was Voldemort's most trusted man.
"Alright, we've been chatting for too long. We need to move on to the next location—" Lily tapped the table with her wand, and the potion-making table automatically closed, turning back into a briefcase.
The two continued forward in silence.