Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

Chapter 176: Professor Snape's assigned task: brewing wolfsbane potion?
The candlelight in the cellar office cast flickering shadows on the stone walls.

The glass jars containing unidentified biological organs glowed eerily on the shelf.

Professor Snape's black robe swept across the mottled stone floor like an ominous bat wing.

Three steps away from him, a high-backed oak chair stood alone, the serpentine patterns carved on its back seemingly writhing slowly in the dim light.

"sit."

After meeting Dylan.

Professor Snape casually pointed to the chair, his voice like an echo drifting from the depths of the cellar.

Dylan walked over and sat down unceremoniously, the leather cushion creaking in protest.

"This semester, one of the new professors needs to use wolfsbane medicine—one bottle per month."

Professor Snape looked at Dylan with a calm expression. His thin lips barely moved as he spoke, yet his voice clearly pierced through the damp air of the cellar.

“I do not wish to brew potions for him—even at Dumbledore’s request.”

"so?"

Dylan blinked.

Professor Snape glanced at him.

That look clearly said—is there even a question?
Professor Snape pursed his thin lips slightly, his movements extremely subtle, yet revealing his usual coldness.

"If you were to brew the potion, Dumbledore would owe you a favor—I'll provide the ingredients. Do you have any other questions?"

Dylan rubbed his chin.

Is Professor Snape no longer going to act?

Lupin is a werewolf.

It needs to be suppressed with wolfsbane medicine.

This is normal.

What's unusual is that Professor Snape just told him this information like that?
—Although it wasn't explicitly stated, how many new professors are there?
There are only two this year, aren't there?
One Hagrid, one Lupin.

One Dylan is very familiar with, the other Dylan is "not familiar".

So doesn't this clearly tell him who exactly needs to use the wolfsbane medicine?

Professor, you promised Old Deng that you would keep Lu Ping's identity a secret, right?

Is it really okay to leak secrets like this?

Dylan wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead.

Moreover, and more importantly...

The preparation of wolfsbane medicine is quite complicated, with a low success rate and great difficulty.

And it is a drug that was only developed in recent years.

This potion is used to treat werewolf symptoms. Its main function is to help werewolves maintain their sanity during the full moon, while also reducing their pain and controlling their behavior.

This prevents it from completely losing its humanity and harming others when it transforms into a werewolf.

Dylan had not previously learned how to make this potion from Professor Snape.

—The ingredients for this potion are also very precious.

Professor Snape really trusted him, being willing to entrust him with such a task.

Could he then pretend to have failed to produce a document, but actually keep the materials for himself?

Then, using a second or even a third portion of the ingredients, brew a potion and give it to Professor Snape.
They'll just bring in a bunch of middlemen to make a profit – the medicine brewers!
“I would be happy to help you with this, Professor.”

Dylan said sincerely, "I'm just worried that if I fail to brew the potion successfully, the materials will be wasted... that would make me feel very embarrassed."

Professor Snape gave him a puzzled look.

After a pause, he spoke: "Even if you fail to brew the potion, it's not a big problem. There will always be a way to deal with it."

How to deal with it?

Dylan muttered to himself.

Should we throw Professor Lupin into the Screaming Shack?
That's a great strategy...

Dylan nodded: "Okay, but if you can give me two or three portions of ingredients each month, I can assure you that I can make one batch every month."

Professor Snape narrowed his eyes: "I hope so."

Dylan smiled shyly: "By the way, Professor, why are you unwilling to help the new professor brew this strange potion?"

Professor Snape gave Dylan a cold, sidelong glance.

However, the latter just smiled and wasn't afraid of his gaze at all.

After a brief silence, Professor Snape snorted and then added, "Is that even a question? It's because I brewed other potions before I knew I was going to make the Wolfsbane Potion."

Dylan fluttered his eyelashes: "Like what?"

Professor Snape's face darkened: "Like the Living Hell Soup!"

Dylan's face lit up with realization: "I see!"

"Although you haven't told me the specific recipe for the wolfsbane potion, since you've said that, this wolfsbane potion must be quite volatile, right?"

Professor Snape frowned and corrected him: "It's positive! What irritability? Did you feed all the knowledge I taught you into the belly of a werewolf?"

Dylan chuckled and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, it's positive."

Essentially, the key to the potion's effectiveness lies not in the conventional medicinal properties of the ingredients themselves, but in the mysterious qualities they possess.

These qualities are like magical codes hidden deep within the material, waiting for wizards to decipher and utilize them in some way.

Take, for example, the mysterious property of "transformation".

It needs to be driven by feminine forces.

Compound decoctions are a good example.

This magical potion, which can temporarily change a person's appearance, requires the use of sap grass harvested during a full moon.

In magical understanding, the light of a full moon carries a feminine quality. When the sap grass is picked at this special moment, it will absorb this feminine power, thus providing crucial assistance for the compound potion to change its appearance.

In addition, there was the Animagus potion that Dylan had previously concocted.

The same is true.

The process of making it is also very complicated. In addition to the time factor of the full moon, which has a yin power, it also requires natural phenomena such as storms, which are full of mysterious power.

And the pupa of the hawk moth.

The pupa itself contains the mysterious characteristic of metamorphosis.

Furthermore, the entire production process must be kept away from positive forces—such as sunlight.

This is because yang energy interferes with the condensation of yin energy required for the potion, thus ruining the potion's production.

Clearly, the wolfsbane potion that inhibits transformation also follows this magical law.

Hellfire Soup is an extremely potent sleeping pill that can induce a deep sleep in the user, even causing them to appear as if they are dead.

This involves the use of Yin energy.

However, the wolfsbane potion requires the "antidote" of the wolfsbane that the werewolf transforms into.

This requires possessing positive traits.

If you've just brewed a pot of Hellfire Elixir, immediately turn around and brew Wolfsbane Elixir.

This could very likely lead to accidents during the preparation of the wolfsbane potion.

Such an accident, at the very least, would cause the potion to lose its effect.

Even worse, it could lead to an imbalance in the effects of the medication, resulting in even more troublesome problems.

only……

Did Professor Snape really brew Vitality Elixir?

The properties of this potion that cling to the body have been thoroughly researched and perfected by Dylan, who always makes time to brew potions.

The result is that this characteristic doesn't stay on the body for very long!

It will completely dissipate in less than a week.

If we hurry, three or four days should be enough.

Only one bottle of wolfsbane medicine needs to be brewed each month.

Professor Snape certainly didn't have the time and energy for that.

Dylan didn't believe it.

However, he stopped there and did not continue to tease Professor Snape.

Who else could it be but Professor Snape's most prized disciple?
It means that you have to take good care of your master.

Even if he gave himself the title and it wasn't officially recognized.

Although Lupin was James's friend and never directly bullied Professor Snape, his relationship with James was enough to make Professor Snape hostile towards him.

Dylan, of course, was willing to stand by Professor Snape's side and join him in condemning Lupin.

Of course, when facing Lu Ping, he would also stand by Professor Lu Ping's side and acknowledge him as a kind person.

—In short, speaking human language to humans and ghost language to ghosts is Dylan's consistent style.

"So, Professor, when will you provide me with the materials? And the potion recipe?"

Professor Snape grabbed his wand and pointed.

A small pocket appeared before Dylan's eyes.

"The herbs and the recipe are all here. Take them back and study them carefully when you have time. I don't need you to make the potion perfect, as long as it works. Understand?"

Dylan calmly accepted the pocket: "Of course."

"Professor, shall I brew the potion here, or will I find another place?"

Dylan added, "I think you've probably heard that I took all the elective courses this academic year, so I don't have much free time."

"Just brew it in your dorm room, don't always use that stuff—even for class."

Professor Snape glanced at Dylan.

Dylan kept smiling.

How many more glances does this old bat need to give him before it's enough?

"I see, Professor."

As soon as Dylan finished speaking, the office fell silent.

After a brief pause, Professor Snape looked up again.

"Aren't you going out yet?"

"Oh? You want me to leave? Okay, I'll go now."

Dylan stood up in a "panic," said goodbye to Professor Snape, and walked out at a leisurely pace.

Get some rest early, goodnight~

Professor Snape stared at his retreating figure, a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Dylan left Professor Snape's office.

Follow the stairs all the way back to the tower in Gryffindor.

After giving the command, the fat lady opened the door.

After exchanging greetings, Dylan entered the Gryffindor common room.

The fireplace in the common room had turned to dark red embers—and it was getting late.

Dylan plans to study the process of making wolfsbane potion and brew a bottle today.

—After all, judging from Professor Snape's attitude, he probably hasn't even prepared this month's potion ration for Professor Lupin yet.

He took out the pocket Professor Snape had given him and pulled out a notebook.

The above details the medicinal materials needed for the wolfsbane medicine.

And the process and steps to boil it.

"They even need unicorn horn powder."

Dylan opened the pocket and glanced inside.

There are three kinds of medicinal herbs inside.

Dylan's eyes lit up immediately.

"I just got three free unicorn horn powders this time! No, I still need to use one more, so that makes two."

Dylan clicked his tongue: "Speaking of which, it's been a while since I went to the Forbidden Forest to bleed that unicorn—unicorn blood is the most valuable thing to study about a unicorn!" Dylan planned to find some free time to go to the Forbidden Forest.

While you're at it, take a look at Hagrid.

I wonder if Hagrid will still have time to go into the woods with him after he becomes a professor at Hogwarts.

"But now that Hagrid is a professor, his salary should increase again, right?"

"Although I'm only a professor of the Magical Creatures Protection class, the course uses a lot of magical creature-related props and materials. I must ask Hagrid to bring some out for me when I get the chance..."

A slight smile crept onto Dylan's lips.

Harry and Ron were chatting nearby when Ron saw Dylan's expression and couldn't help but shudder.

"Why does Dylan's smile seem so sinister?"

Harry looked over and asked curiously, "What's that booklet? Hermione said that Dylan was just called over by Professor Snape."

Ron shook his head: "I don't know, it looks like some kind of recipe."

Dylan ignored the two and began setting up the crucible with a clanging sound.

Finally, Neville couldn't help but ask, "Dylan, what kind of potion are you brewing?"

Dylan nodded, finishing the preparations before brewing the potion, and replied, "Professor Snape asked me to help him brew some potions, but I have a lot of classes, so I can only brew them now."

Ron's eyes widened: "Huh? Professor Snape actually asked you to brew him some medicine? What kind of medicine is it?"

Dylan casually replied, "It's nothing, don't worry, I'll put the crucible on the side closer to the door, it won't affect you."

Ron was still speechless: "That's a pure gold crucible, isn't it? My God, how much would such a huge crucible cost?"

Harry blinked too: "And the sterling silver cauldron, Dylan, are these all yours?"

Dylan smiled. "Yes, it's mine."

—It was something he had specifically borrowed from Mr. Bokin.

"Merlin's socks! Dylan, you're really rich!" Ron said with envy.

“You will definitely be very rich in the future,” Dylan said.

He retrieved a small table and placed it not far from the doorway.

He then cast a silencing spell on the area around the dormitory door before lighting a fire and beginning to brew the wolfsbane potion.

According to the instructions in the pamphlet Professor Snape gave him.

Wolfsbane medicine requires a long time to brew.

It's quite troublesome.

First of all, there are a lot of materials to prepare.

Wolfsbane, aconite, unicorn horn powder, belladonna extract, agrimony, frankincense, and poisonous mushrooms.

And pure gold crucibles, gold stirring rods, silver crucibles, silver stirring rods, fine gauze, kraft paper...

Wearing gloves, Dylan cut the roots of the wolfsbane aconite into small pieces.

After mixing with unicorn horn powder, belladonna extract was added.

This step alone requires soaking the wolfsbane and aconite in a whole bowl of belladonna extract.

However, Dylan can do some other preliminary preparations beforehand.

Dylan spun his wand, and the flame beneath the pure gold cauldron diminished slightly.

Dylan poured distilled water into the gold crucible and brought it to a boil.

Then Agrimonia pilosa was added.

This step requires simmering for at least four hours.

The better the extract, the better its effects.

Dylan cast a simple protective spell to prevent anyone who accidentally touched the crucible from being burned.

Next, Dylan added frankincense into the silver crucible.

Stir five times clockwise and three times counterclockwise with a silver stirring rod, then ignite.

This step also requires waiting.

Dylan wasn't in a hurry.

Once these preliminary preparations are completed, we can proceed to the next step.

Dylan placed some bottles and jars on the table.

Although it wasn't all the necessary ingredients, and there were some other medicinal herbs, Dylan planned to brew potions in his dorm room from time to time.

This way, others won't always wonder what he's doing in his suitcase.

And more importantly, his course schedule will indeed be very busy going forward.

If he were simply brewing potions, he wouldn't need to spend all his time in his briefcase.

—Unless he wants to conduct some more covert experiments and research.

For example, finding a snake monster and bleeding it out.

They sought out Little Tom to study dark magic.

Alternatively, the formula for Obsidian Restorative Agent could be further improved.

The spell was cast again.

Reinforce the small table.

And keep the flame below the crucible in a stable state of energy release.

It was covered with several more layers of shields.

Since the potion was being brewed in the dormitory, the possibility of it exploding had to be considered.

—Although this possibility is not high.

However, we must be wary.

Do it all.

Dylan tidied himself up quickly and lay down on the bed.

You can also read a book for a while before going to bed.

The crucible was bubbling and gurgling.

But Dylan couldn't hear it at all.

Wait until bedtime.

Dylan closed the book, but didn't pull Coal Ball out of the pet space.

Instead, he hugged his pillow and fell fast asleep.

Harry and the others also pulled up their blankets, preparing for tomorrow's busy classes.

Until the early hours of the morning.

Around three or four o'clock.

Harry's head was spinning, his consciousness still lingering on the edge of a dream, but his body had already instinctively driven him to get up.

Being woken up in the middle of the night by the urge to urinate is really not a pleasant experience.

Harry walked towards the door in a daze, intending to use the restroom in the Gryffindor Tower.

However, he had only just reached the door when he lost his footing, his body swayed, and he tilted to the side.

Originally, all I had to do was hold onto the wall.

However, there were crucibles and various bottles of medicinal herbs that Dylan had prepared there.

When Harry touched it, the cauldron was fine, but the bottles on top were smashed to pieces with a "crash".

The cap of one bottle flew off and landed right above the crucible, causing several herbs inside to fall into the pure gold crucible with a clatter.

The crucible was still boiling.

Bubbling and gurgling.

The liquid has now become viscous.

The herbs dissolved instantly without causing any problems after falling in.

However, although nothing unusual happened, Harry instantly snapped awake, his green eyes behind his glasses widening in shock as he stared at the scene before him.

At this moment, only two words were on his mind.

"It's over!!!"

Is Dylan going to curse him out?

No, Dylan wouldn't just use a spell to turn him into a giant, would he?!
at the same time.

Dylan woke up almost the instant Harry touched the medicine bottles.

He had cast a spell on the crucible so that he could sense if anyone touched it.

When he woke up, the room was not brightly lit—Dylan had used a spell to block the light from the crucible flames.

But he still spotted Harry, looking flustered, standing in front of his cauldron at a glance.

Looking at the mess around him, Dylan understood what had just happened.

He threw back the covers, got out of bed, and quickly walked to Harry's side.

Harry shuddered, feeling his legs go weak.

"Dylan, let me explain, I didn't mean to."

Dylan paused in his attempt to support Harry, and his lips twitched.

"I know you did it on purpose."

"Ah? No, no, no! I'm not..."

Harry glared at him, then quickly waved his hands, trying to defend himself.

Dylan rolled his eyes.

"Alright, of course I know you didn't do it on purpose, nor was it intentional—it wasn't deliberate."

"Uh……"

Harry nodded, but something about Dylan's words felt off.

"Alright, alright, go back to sleep."

Dylan took Harry's hand and carefully helped him to the bed.

Harry sat blankly on the bed, scratched his head, and muttered softly, "I...I was going to go to the bathroom."

Dylan was taken aback, then smiled sheepishly: "I thought you were already back from the restroom. You should go now."

Harry quickly got up, tiptoed to the door, opened it, and went out.

Dylan then walked over to the small table and began to examine the potion.

He wasn't in a hurry to check the potion because even though he only glanced at it, he could still sense its condition.

It's not a big deal.

The wand was waved.

Clean up the messy scene.

Dylan looked at the medicine bottle with the cap open.

"Helleborus?"

Dylan blinked.

"Hmm, if we just hold on a little longer, there shouldn't be any problems."

However, this kind of herb is even more bitter than wormwood.

He was thrown into the potion.

This will likely make the final brewed wolfsbane medicine quite bitter.

Moreover, it's highly likely to cause a more numbing sensation in the mouth than stuffing a handful of peppercorns into it.

"Well, I didn't do this on purpose. If there are any problems, Professor Lupin can ask Harry."

Dylan checked the time.

"Oh well, it's about time I woke up anyway, so I'm not going to keep sleeping."

Dylan extinguished the flame in the crucible and began the next step.

(End of this chapter)