Judging by his appearance, Professor Slughorn looked very much like an old walrus, with not only a thick silver mustache but also a broad, balding forehead.
At that moment, he was clearly very interested in Snape, studying him from head to toe without missing a single detail.
Realizing he might be staring a little too much, he smiled and spoke before Snape had a chance to ask.
“Ms.
Lavinia and I have exchanged many letters, and she assured me that you would be the most talented student I have ever taught.” “I’ve been looking forward to seeing your performance for quite some time, Mr.
Snape.” “I’ll do my best not to disappoint you.” Snape replied politely.
Beside him, Lily subconsciously straightened her back, her face full of pride as though she were the one being praised, earning a chuckle from Professor Slughorn.
Only James looked visibly displeased.
The professor’s attention on Snape, combined with the crowd that had gathered to watch the miniature duel earlier, made him feel that Snape had stolen all the spotlight.
Old grudges mixed with new ones, and he couldn’t help but start thinking about how to get back at him.
“Potions is a profound subject that allows absolutely no mistakes.
It can turn many seemingly impossible fantasies into reality, provided the brewer has the talent.” Although Professor Slughorn’s classroom atmosphere was relaxed, his years of teaching experience allowed him to effortlessly capture his students’ interest.
“Brewing a potion often requires nimble hands.
The difficulty lies not only in the brewing itself, but also in gathering the ingredients and minimizing waste.” “No Potions Master ever achieved success without first experiencing failure.” “This also means that anyone hoping to accomplish something in this field must be prepared to invest an unimaginable amount of Galleons and effort.” “But on the other hand…” “Once you become a true Potions Master, no matter the era or the side you choose, you will always be treated as an honored guest.” Following Professor Slughorn’s instructions, the students opened Magical Drafts and Potions, gaining a basic understanding of some of history’s most famous potions and Potions Masters.
Lily was clearly fascinated.
Although she had learned from Snape in private before, she had never had the opportunity to brew a potion herself.
Looking at the cauldron and ingredients laid out before her, she was already eager to begin.
Perhaps Professor Slughorn had somehow heard Lily’s silent prayers.
After speaking for more than half an hour, he finally drew out his words with a smile.
“Er…
for your very first attempt at brewing a potion, I think the Babbling Beverage is an excellent choice.
What do you all think?” Babbling Beverage.
Lily immediately recalled the potion that hardly resembled a potion at all, and it almost felt as though its sweet, fizzy taste had returned to her mouth.
Although it was called a beverage, it was indeed a potion.
Sweet.
Fizzy.
Anyone who drank it would babble incoherently for about five minutes.
It was especially popular among children and often served at private parties.
More importantly, Lily had tasted Babbling Beverage before.
It had even been brewed by Snape himself.
That meant she already knew every step of the brewing process.
This was the perfect opportunity to wash away her previous humiliation.
Unable to contain herself, Lily whispered to Snape without taking her eyes off the ingredients.
“How about we have a contest later to see whose tastes better?
The loser is a dummy.” “Including the match before class, you’ve lost to me one thousand four hundred and fifteen times.
How is it that the person who loses that many times isn’t the dummy?” “Hey, you can’t cheat like that!” Lily was dumbfounded.
“You didn’t actually count every single contest we’ve had since we were kids, did you?
What if you counted wrong?
What if I haven’t lost that many times?” “Either way, you’ve never beaten me, so it’s pretty easy to keep track.” Snape glanced at Lily.
She was so embarrassed that she wished she could crawl into a hole, no longer daring to continue a conversation that only deepened her humiliation.
Even so, since Lily insisted on adding another loss to her already miserable record, Snape naturally had no reason to object.
…
Squeeze the fresh juice from six Laughing Tangerines and strain out the pulp.
Add three drops of Ashwinder saliva.
Stir briefly, then add five leaves of Fluxweed picked during the full moon, followed by one Lacewing Fly.
Heat the mixture for seven minutes.
Soon, bubbles began rising from the bottom of the sweet-smelling liquid.
Simply inhaling its aroma was enough to leave one’s mind feeling slightly muddled.
As a potion well suited for beginners, the Babbling Beverage was relatively simple to brew, and it had also been one of the first potions Severus had ever learned to make.
However, to everyone’s surprise, the Gryffindor and Slytherin students made mistake after mistake while brewing.
In the original story, Neville Longbottom stumbled at the very first step, failing to properly strain the impurities from the juice.
That single mistake doomed his Babbling Beverage from the very beginning.
Nevertheless, after enthusiastically heating the potion, he confidently took a large gulp without the slightest hesitation, displaying Gryffindor’s trademark courage.
The next moment, his eyes flew wide open.
He began hiccuping uncontrollably as bubbles continuously floated out of his mouth.
Every bubble that burst released a smell like an especially foul fart.
The surrounding students burst into laughter.
Then, after catching a whiff of the odor, they hurriedly scattered, afraid they wouldn’t escape in time.
The worst part was that Neville had no idea what had gone wrong.
Seeing everyone running away from him, he instinctively chased after them, instantly throwing the entire classroom into chaos.
Amid the noisy commotion, one of the chubby boys from Snape’s remedial class looked at the bottle in his hand with satisfaction before cautiously taking a small sip.
Unfortunately, he immediately paid the price for accidentally adding a few extra drops of Ashwinder saliva when his hand had slipped earlier.
Pimples rapidly appeared across his face.
Before he knew what to do, the swollen bumps, now as large as fingernails, burst open one after another, oozing cloudy pus.
The sight was even more horrifying than Neville’s condition not far away.
Lily stared at everything unfolding before her in stunned silence.
After a long pause, she slowly lowered her head to look at the pale orange potion she had just brewed, suddenly finding it very difficult to summon the courage to drink it.
And at that very moment, the voice she least wanted to hear reached her ears.
“Finished?” “Then take a sip first and see how it tastes.”