great-warnovel Chapter 283 The Gap Between Potions Masters
Chapter 283 The Gap Between Potions Masters
Chapter 283 The Gap Between Potions Masters
The rumbling sound coming from the north could be heard even across the mountains and lakes.
Lily looked up, gazing at the distant sky with a hint of worry.
"The war has already started over there."
Little Barty stood beside her, unusually quiet.
"We need to speed things up; the longer we drag this out, the greater the pressure on Hogwarts will be."
She has returned to where she started, and the "circle" that will close the entire Black Lake is about to be completed. Once the purification ritual is successful, the mermaids' problems will be solved, and the pressure on Hogwarts will be much less.
"This is just the beginning. If we can't even hold on to this, how can we expect to re-establish ourselves here?" Little Barty shook his head.
"Besides, are you really that confident that this ritual will be effective?"
All of this is just a theory, and even potion masters can't guarantee they're right when trying new things.
"If the ceremony fails, the best outcome is that nothing happens and we rejoin the battle to defend the castle," he continued.
"The worst outcome would be an even more terrible mutation occurring throughout the Black Lake, leading to the destruction of Hogwarts."
Potions are never stable. If the fire isn't extinguished when porcupine quills are added to scabies potion, it can cause the pot to explode and cause scabies to develop on anyone who comes into contact with the liquid.
Similarly, if the purification ritual fails, it is unknown whether the pollution will become more severe in unknown areas.
Little Barty was saying discouraging things, but Lily didn't waver at all. She walked on firmly, her wand tracing mysterious lines as she muttered incantations.
"Do you know?" the Potions Master suddenly said.
"In terms of talent, I am actually not as good as my teacher, and of course I am not as good as Snape. He was a true genius," Lily said calmly.
"At best, I'm just a student who's relatively good at potions. Back in my student days, I was probably not much different from you."
"But you became a Potions Master, while I'm just a former Director of the Enforcement Division," Barty said.
"And it was all thanks to my father."
Lily shook her head: "You are truly outstanding. Even Snape, or all the other students in the twenty years before you entered the school, could not achieve what you have."
"But you've seen too much, and you want too much. Your privileged family background and life make you always want to do better and get more."
"This prevents you from focusing on one path. You always reach a level that the system is designed to be called 0, then you abandon it and turn to a new direction."
"You can always quickly reach places that others can't, but that's all you do; you don't take another step forward."
Little Barty looked very uncomfortable after hearing what she said, but he had to admit that it was all true.
The Crouch family rose to prominence during Barty's generation. Before that, they were just unknown purebreds. Under Barty's tutelage, his sons, from the age of sensibility, strived to achieve the highest standards in the system in various fields.
Even though he graduated with twelve zeros, setting a precedent for postwar Hogwarts, and even though he returned to Malfoy Castle in a grand manner to take up the post of Director of the Department of Law Enforcement, it seems that after that, we never heard much about this genius's achievements again. He seemed to be unable to find a new system, a new way of recognition, or an exam that would allow him to get zeros in the next stage of his life.
"I may be slightly less talented, but I have always persevered." Lily said solemnly.
Even if no one has ever walked this path before, even if my advisor doesn't have a positive view of my research direction.
"But I still improved the wolfsbane potion and explored the value and significance of potion rituals more deeply."
"That's why I became a Potions Master, while you're just a Defense Stance professor with not many class hours."
These words, which were almost directly aimed at his lungs, left Little Barty breathless for a long time.
But as Lily said, this woman's magic was not strong. Apart from potions, her other subjects were only considered good. Born into a Muggle family, she was burdened by her Muggle parents and sisters in her early years.
Even with such a life, she has become the person she is today, to the point that everyone in various wizarding communities treats her with utmost respect.
Even during this time, she still found her soulmate, had a mischievous but excellent son, and while researching potions and publishing papers, she also took time to teach students at Hogwarts.
Honestly, how many people could do that? On this desolate and abandoned continent, Lily quietly achieved what everyone desired.
"But I'm still not satisfied," Lily said, gazing at the calm water.
"Snape's Cup of Death gave me a lot of inspiration and also made me see my own shortcomings."
"Compared to truly talented people, everything I have achieved through hard work is like an apple that he can easily obtain but disdains. He wants diamonds at a higher level, which cannot be reached through hard work. Only a flash of inspiration and Merlin's favor can bring him the crown."
"Even today, even though we are of different kinds of good and evil, his achievements still put me under a lot of pressure and make me feel inferior. He has always been someone I can hardly catch up with on my path of potion making," Lily said with a sense of loss.
Little Barty looked at her with a strange expression, never expecting that such thoughts would exist in the woman's heart.
"This ceremony is not only for Hogwarts, but also a challenge for myself. It is an unprecedented, mega-scale potion project, which will allow my research to advance further and bring me one step closer to catching up with that man."
She spoke firmly, making Little Barty open his mouth, unsure of what to say.
"Should I be moved or flattered to hear myself being praised like this?" Suddenly, a discordant voice appeared by the empty lake.
"However, thank you for saying so much. It has helped me understand to some extent what you are doing."
As the Disillusionment Charm was broken, Snape appeared like a bat on a protruding rock by the water.
In the dim light, he was like a black hole that sucked away all light, staring at the two people by the lake with his icy gaze. Then, more wolf shadows emerged one after another from the surrounding shadows.
"Either we have a smooth journey, or we'll face the most difficult one," Little Barty whispered.
Lily was startled at first, then glared defiantly at Snape's figure: "Dumbledore said Voldemort and Greyback have joined forces. It seems they really have assigned you to be a dog's dog."
Little Barty looked at the woman beside him with surprise; he thought she was only so harsh when she was scolding him.
"Ha, you sharp-tongued woman. When Hogwarts is breached, James Potter is dead, and your son becomes a werewolf, you won't have anything to say anymore," Snape mocked coldly.
He then turned to the Defense Defence professor: "I didn't expect Dumbledore to send you to protect her. I originally thought I'd make Harry Potter an orphan today. What, Malfoy Castle doesn't want you anymore, so you're starting to wag your tail and beg for Hogwarts?"
"Have you finished your steps?" Little Barty ignored his sarcasm and asked in a low voice. This was the last step.
"When the fighting starts, you go first, I'll cover the rear."
Lily nodded slightly. The invisibility cloak was right beside her. As long as she was out of Snape's sight, she would be instantly undetectable to him.
In the next instant, without any pleasantries, the two genius wizards, who were almost contemporaries, attacked simultaneously.
A huge splash of water suddenly erupted, forming a barrier that blocked the view. Without any hesitation, Lily threw out a bottle of concealment potion and disappeared into thin air.