3: Chapter 3: Potions Mastery Lv.3!
3: Chapter 3: Potions Mastery Lv.3!
Severus carefully crushed a bundle of dried daisy roots, extracting every last drop of their pale juice before filtering it through a fine cloth into a small cauldron.
He lit the alcohol burner beneath it and quietly counted the seconds.
Thirty.
Without the slightest hesitation, he added exactly one hundred caterpillar spines.
On the workbench beside him, a fresh purple cabbage lay waiting.
Using a small knife, he carefully separated its thin inner membrane along the natural veins before placing it into the cauldron.
Three drops of leech juice followed, and he immediately began stirring with slow, even motions.
This was the standard brewing process for a basic Blood-Replenishing Potion, one of the introductory healing potions taught during first-year Potions classes at Hogwarts.
Most first-year students could only manage an acceptable result after repeated practice, and few would trust a bottle they had brewed themselves.
Yet in Severus’s hands, every movement appeared calm and practiced.
The tweezers he used to extract the caterpillar spines never trembled, despite being held by the hands of a nine-year-old child.
His black eyes were as still as deep water.
His left hand firmly restrained the wriggling caterpillar while his right carefully removed each tiny spine one after another.
Every spine was neatly arranged by length before being added to the potion.
The moment he began brewing, the world around him seemed to disappear.
Nothing existed except the ingredients before him.
His breathing became so steady it was almost impossible to notice.
Every step was calculated.
Every movement deliberate.
Official brewing instructions never specified the length of the caterpillar spines.
Any suitable spine would work.
However, after countless experiments, Severus had discovered something others had overlooked.
Spines measuring approximately one centimeter consistently produced a more stable potion.
It was a tiny optimization, almost impossible to notice, but one that noticeably improved the final quality.
Collecting enough spines required five caterpillars.
Grinding daisy roots demanded patience rather than skill.
Neither task was difficult.
Together, however, they formed the foundation of the potion.
With a soft hiss, the burner heated the filtered daisy root juice.
At precisely the right moment, Severus added the prepared caterpillar spines.
The next step was the most troublesome.
Removing the membrane from the purple cabbage without tearing it required exceptional precision.
A careless cut would ruin the ingredient entirely.
Severus simply heated the cabbage in warm water for several seconds before removing it.
Rather than using a knife, he gently lifted the softened membrane with his fingernail.
A flawless, paper-thin layer peeled away cleanly.
He lowered it into the bubbling potion.
Three drops of leech juice followed.
A pale mist rose from the cauldron.
The light-yellow liquid gradually deepened into a rich golden color as it slowly thickened.
A delicate scent of daisies drifted through the room.
Five minutes later, the mixture reached the proper consistency.
Severus extinguished the burner, lifted the hot cauldron with iron tongs, and carefully poured the potion into five identical glass bottles.
Not a single drop was wasted.
He glanced over the ingredients and silently calculated the cost.
The daisy roots and purple cabbage had come from Flynn’s Herb Shop.
Since they were close to losing their freshness, Mr.
Flynn had allowed him to take them home free of charge.
The only real expenses were the caterpillars and the leech juice.
Together, they had cost around twelve Sickles.
A properly certified Blood-Replenishing Potion sold for approximately one Galleon at most apothecaries.
Unfortunately, Severus had neither a reputation nor a license.
No customer would willingly pay full price for a potion brewed by an unknown child.
That meant there was only one practical strategy.
Price.
He intended to sell each bottle for ten Sickles.
At that price, selling a single bottle would nearly recover his costs.
Selling two would already generate a modest profit.
If all five bottles sold, he would earn more than several days’ wages working at Flynn’s Herb Shop.
His careful refinements during brewing had also reduced production costs considerably.
Without discovering the importance of matching the caterpillar spines by length, every batch would have required significantly more ingredients.
As long as the potion’s quality proved reliable, Severus wasn’t worried about finding customers.
Blood-Replenishing Potion wasn’t a rare medicine.
Its role resembled that of an ordinary first-aid treatment.
Almost every wizarding household kept a bottle on hand for treating small cuts and minor injuries.
While it couldn’t compare to the remarkable healing power of Essence of Dittany, it was dramatically cheaper and perfectly suitable for everyday use.
Severus had originally planned to stop after bottling the five potions.
But as he looked across the workbench, his gaze settled on the remaining magical ingredients he had collected over the past several weeks.
At that instant, countless ideas flooded his mind.
His enhanced talent seemed to connect scattered fragments of knowledge into a complete picture.
Every instinct urged him not to let the inspiration slip away.
Without wasting another second, Severus cleared the workbench.
One ingredient after another appeared before him.
Mandrake leaves.
Powdered snake fangs.
Fresh slug mucus.
He placed the mandrake leaves into clean water and slowly brought the mixture to a boil.
Three spoonfuls of powdered snake fang followed.
Then he poured in the slug mucus.
An unpleasant odor instantly filled the room.
Most people would have assumed something had gone terribly wrong.
Severus did not hesitate.
His instincts told him he was on the right path.
He continued stirring.
Fifteen minutes later, he added finely chopped ginger root.
Almost instantly, the foul smell disappeared.
In its place came a refreshing fragrance that was surprisingly pleasant.
The potion continued simmering.
White steam drifted upward, surrounding the young boy in a faint mist.
Time passed.
Ingredient after ingredient disappeared into the cauldron.
Even though many of them were valuable, Severus never showed the slightest hesitation.
His entire focus remained fixed on the brewing process.
Finally, the mixture began bubbling violently.
At exactly that moment, he scattered several dried lavender flowers into the cauldron.
The pleasant fragrance gradually faded.
The liquid darkened.
Within moments, everything collapsed into an unremarkable mass of black paste.
Had it failed?
The thought flashed through his mind.
Yet something deep inside insisted otherwise.
Severus patiently waited for the mixture to cool.
Once it reached a safe temperature, he scraped the paste from the cauldron and kneaded it into three thumb-sized portions.
They looked completely ordinary.
Only a faint floral scent hinted that they were anything unusual.
He carefully examined the finished product, mentally reviewing every ingredient and every reaction that had occurred during the brewing process.
Gradually, the purpose of the potion became clear.
Severus glanced at the faint scar on the side of his palm.
It had been left behind two weeks earlier while helping Mr.
Flynn move heavy pots in the greenhouse.
Picking up one piece of the black ointment, he gently spread a thin layer over the scar.
The effect was immediate.
The pale mark faded before his eyes.
Within seconds, the scar vanished completely, leaving behind smooth, flawless skin as though the injury had never existed.
Severus stared silently at his hand.
After a long moment, a genuine smile slowly spread across his face.
He had succeeded.
Quite by accident, he had developed an entirely new cosmetic ointment.
Unlike ordinary healing salves, this one removed old scars after the wound had already healed.
For countless witches concerned about their appearance, such a product would be immensely valuable.
After thinking for a moment, Severus smiled.
“Scar Removal Ointment.” “A simple name…
but one no one will forget.” At that moment, the countless inspirations that had guided his experiment suddenly became perfectly clear.
The complete formula settled firmly into his memory.
Almost simultaneously, a familiar notification quietly appeared before his eyes.
[Potions Mastery has reached Lv.3!]