Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 201 The Potions Master's Test

The three walked along the path leading from the grounds to the Forbidden Forest, Harry and Ron taking turns carrying pebbles, their steps slow and leisurely.

Hermione was looking down, puzzled. She realized that she was interested in all the elective courses, but the schedules were conflicting. It was so unreasonable. Why couldn't the professors make full use of their free time and hold classes on weekends and evenings as well?

"Harry, Ron, what else do you want to take?" Hermione pondered for a long time without coming to a conclusion, so she could only consult her friends' opinions.

They had already discussed it; the choices of protecting magical creatures and Muggle research were made out of consideration for the professors they taught. Harry and Ron thought about it for a moment, and realized that having only two electives was indeed a bit too few; they wouldn't be able to get many certificates during the wizarding exams.

“Let’s choose another divination course,” Ron said. He had heard from older students that ancient runes were a prerequisite for alchemy and were very difficult, while arithmetic divination assignments were plentiful.

Divination.

Harry nodded in agreement. Professor Trelawney, the divination professor, was renowned for his ability to easily cheat on homework and final exams; as long as one could concoct terrible prophecies, one could get high marks.

"Divination is an important branch of prophetic magic, and it is indeed very important."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, then fell into a dilemma once again.

The three of them walked forward silently with their heads down. After entering the Forbidden Forest, Harry and Ron kicked up pebbles and headed straight for Hagrid's hut.

"You two lazy parasites! All you think about all day is eating and playing!" someone cursed viciously from the fence.

Harry and Ron looked up in alarm. Not far ahead, a gamekeeper was holding a jug high and pouring out diluted insecticide, which landed on the pumpkin vines in the ground.

A hunting dog cheered them on from the sidelines. Sensing their approach, it excitedly looked up and barked loudly, "Woof! Woof!"

Harry and Ron realized that Hagrid was scolding the slugs on the pumpkin vines. They had made their home on the unripe pumpkins, infuriating the gamekeepers. The two breathed a sigh of relief upon learning the truth.

"So he was calling me a slug..."

"Hagrid, Tooth!"

Hermione waved to them, but as she got closer, she noticed something on Axe's neck: a circle of fine, silvery-white scales, a young snake's tail curled up on Axe's body, and its head resting on the dog's head, lazily greeting them.

"Wang~"

"Eurm is here too?" Hermione exclaimed, "So Professor Levent is nearby as well?"

"Haha! What a coincidence!"

Hagrid walked up to the group, put down his water bottle, and wiped his hands on his mole-skin coat. "Melvin arrived only half an hour earlier than you. He came with Snape and went deeper into the forest, saying he was going to test potions."

"Snape is here too?" Harry and Ron were surprised.

“He's the one who made my insecticide. It works very well, but it smells a bit bad.” Hagrid pointed to the kettle and fanned himself with his hand.

The three of them then smelled the scent of farmyard manure in the air, and their faces turned pale. They had thought it was fertilizer made by Hagrid, but it turned out to be the smell of pesticide. The smell was strong, and they could tell at a glance that it was very nutritious for plants.

"Testing potions? Why haven't we seen the old bat testing potions in the Forbidden Forest before!" Ron, who never hesitated to assume the worst about Snape, widened his eyes and let his thoughts wander. "He must have known that Professor Levent and you were on good terms, so he deceived Professor Levent and got him to lead the way into the Forbidden Forest to cause trouble!"

This was prejudice against Snape, but neither Harry nor Hermione refuted it; Professor Snape's behavior didn't seem like that of a good person.

Harry quickly pressed, "Hagrid, do you know which way they went?"

Hagrid frowned. "Don't talk nonsense. Snape is a professor, after all. Dumbledore trusts him. He wouldn't do anything to harm the school, and Melvin is there to supervise him."

Harry and the others knew he was a stubborn guy and couldn't be persuaded in a short time, so the three of them turned their attention to Tooth.

The dog and the snake looked up at them, tilted their heads, blinked, and looked puzzled.

"No, students are not allowed to go to the forbidden forest!"

"We're here to see the professor; we have some questions to ask him!"

"..."

Hagrid couldn't persuade them either, so he could only throw down his water bottle and accompany them, sulking.

Four wizards and two animals strolled along a forest path. A young snake rode on the head of a hunting dog, hopping and sniffing here and there, occasionally looking up and barking, as if introducing it to Yulm.

Yurm responded indirectly with a few words, speaking softly.

Walking past the moss-covered tree stumps, the leaves rustled in the breeze, and the sound of flowing water could be heard in the distance. They followed Ya Ya into the depths of the forbidden forest. The dense foliage blocked out the sky, making the atmosphere of the forbidden forest dark and gloomy. The temperature began to drop, and the damp air made it slightly chilly.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione seemed inexplicably nervous, constantly turning their heads to look around.

About half an hour later, Ya Ya suddenly stopped in front of a lush oak tree. Through the tangled branches, they could see a clearing in front of them, with green lawn, brownish-red leaves, sprawling bushes, and two tall figures dressed in black robes.

A row of animal carcasses were laid out in front of me.

A grey-furred hare, a male deer with forked antlers, a woodpecker with full plumage, and even an immature eight-eyed giant spider all lay motionless on the ground, the bright red blood on the bushes a shocking sight.

A damp, cold breeze blew by, carrying the stench of blood to the tip of the nose. The leaves rustled softly, like creatures sobbing quietly.

“This…this…” Hermione was stunned, Ron turned pale, and Harry and Hagrid’s expressions instantly turned serious.

"Was it... a massacre?" Ron asked, his voice trembling.

"Shh!"

Hagrid covered his mouth, and Harry and Hermione instinctively stepped back, stiffening as they hid behind a tree, their hearts pounding. They had all been holding their breath, afraid of making a sound.

Yulm couldn't speak; he could only look up at them, his vertical pupils revealing a human-like bewilderment.

……

"Use it sparingly, there's only a pint left."

"This medicine works very well. One ounce is enough for an ordinary animal, and one pint is enough for at least twenty animals."

As the two talked and examined the animals lying on the ground, they showed no regard for them and their practiced actions revealed a kind of indifference to life that sent chills down one's spine.

The experiment had lasted for an unknown period of time. Fur and feathers were scattered everywhere, and there were bloodstains on the lawn and treetops. The two professors held wands, and glass bottles containing some kind of milky white potion floated in the air.

“A common European hare, with a head injury, must have hit a tree stump.” Snape’s voice echoed through the woods, tinged with a cold laugh. “Incredibly stupid.”

"Why mock a rabbit? It can't understand you." Melvin didn't even look up. He used a levitation spell to draw out a wisp of potion and poured it into the rabbit's mouth, thus removing the petrification from the rabbit's body.

The stiff muscles gradually relaxed, the dullness in the rabbit's eyes slowly faded, and its ears gradually perked up. The rabbit, now able to move again, immediately struggled, but Snape did not let it go. Instead, he grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up to carefully examine the head wound.

“This rabbit doesn’t understand, but there are always stupid rabbits that do.” Snape casually tossed the rabbit aside, letting it burrow into the bushes. “A scar about half an inch long will heal in two minutes. It’s not very effective for treating external injuries, not as good as Dictamnus dasycarpus.”

……

"So it was just a potion experiment." Hermione patted her chest.

Harry and Ron breathed a sigh of relief; it was really hard to accept that the professor and his associates were torturing and killing animals.

“I knew it, they’re professors.” Hagrid scratched his head, then looked troubled again. “How am I going to explain this to Melvin later?”

……

"Let's try this deer. It fought with other deer and has multiple abrasions all over its body, and its antlers are broken off."

"A total of fourteen abrasions were sustained, all of which healed within three minutes. Three of them left scars. The broken antlers did not heal, possibly because blood could not flow to the antlers."

As the stag's body crumbled into stone, the raging stag, defeated in the duel, immediately began to struggle and fight back, shaking its head and attempting to attack Snape with its broken antlers. However, its legs remained fixed in place, limiting its attack range, and it couldn't even touch Snape's robes.

"Foolish deer—"

"Pooh!"

"..."

Melvin stared at the scene before him and fell silent.

Before the potions professor could finish speaking, the enraged stag shook its head at him and spat out a mouthful of saliva.

Snape was a seasoned Death Eater with plenty of dueling experience and quick reflexes. The moment he sensed the attack, he raised his hand and tried to cover it with his wide sleeves. Although he avoided the serious blow of being spit on his face, he still got water stains on his body.

Although male deer are herbivores, wild animals are still wild animals. They don't have the habit of regularly washing themselves, and their saliva has an indescribable odor.

Snape squinted at the stag, his cheeks bulging slightly. After a moment of silence, he said coldly, "The antidote effect of the potion hasn't been tested yet, so let's use it for the experiment."

"You're the Potions Master, you're in charge."

After obtaining Melvin's consent, Snape immediately took action, summoning the eight-eyed giant spider lying on the ground. The spider, not yet an adult, was smaller than the stag and was petrified by the Binding Charm, with only its eight eyes moving about in fear and unease.

The enraged wizard pried open the two front claws, opened their mouthparts, revealing their menacing fangs, and then nailed them to the stag's back.

The stag howled in pain, but its limbs and torso were restrained, and no matter how much it shook its head and spat, it could not break free.

The venom quickly flowed through the blood vessels and took effect throughout the body. The dark blue stains began to spread, and the intense pain became unbearable for the stag, causing it to let out a mournful howl.

Melvin, who was watching from the sidelines, and the little wizards hiding behind the tree all felt a little sorry for them.

Snape stood quietly by the side until the stag was in so much pain it was almost fainting, then he put the milky white potion into the stag's mouth and thoughtfully separated a strand to apply externally.

A soft white light emanated, gradually expelling the venom from the stag's body and repairing its injuries. However, this process was unpleasant, causing pain, itching, and burning sensations. The stag continued to whine and howl, sounding quite pitiful.

"Its detoxification effect surpasses most antidotes, and its mechanism of action seems to be directly dispelling ominous magic?" Melvin's observation was very keen.

The venom of the eight-eyed giant spider is very expensive because it contains the magic of magical creatures, and conventional antidotes are difficult to use directly. However, the milky white potion produced by the Golden Cup directly targets the magical power of the alien species and detoxifies very quickly.

"Um……"

Snape gave a nonchalant reply, "The potion can directly remove ominous magic. I'll try it on the damage caused by dark magic."

Isn't this clearly using public office to settle personal scores?

It's understandable that Professor Snape, a man of great stature, would be enraged to be ambushed by a deer and witnessed by his students.

Melvin expressed his understanding.

【God's Shadowless Sword】

The transparent blade whistled across the stag's body, leaving only a shallow wound, smaller than a thumb. Given the vitality of a mature wild animal, such a wound should have stopped bleeding quickly. However, an ominous magical force lingered around the wound, preventing it from healing and causing intense pain.

Blood gushed out and spread across the stag's back, turning its brown fur crimson. The stag had recently escaped death and was so weak that it almost collapsed to the ground.

Now, feeling its life slipping away again, its eyes filled with fear of death, it turned its head to look at the wound on its back, shook its head at the two wizards, and its wailing became much weaker.

After a few more ounces of medicine were administered, the wound on the stag's back gradually healed.

Snape stared at the wound, examining it closely. The Slash of the Gods was a dark magic spell he had invented himself. Once slashed, the wound could not heal naturally, and even the White Essence was difficult to cure it. Without a counter-curse, the person afflicted would bleed until death.

This milky-white potion can directly dispel dark magic and heal wounds; based on this property alone, the wizard who invented it could apply for the Order of Merlin, First Class.

"Can it heal injuries caused by other dark magic? What about the Unforgivable Curse?" A glint of light flickered in Snape's eyes.

"..."

This stag deserves more than that.

Melvin extended his wand and tapped the deer's head lightly, releasing it from petrification.

The stag could hardly believe it. It struggled to turn around, but seeing that the black-robed demon made no move, it dared not utter a sound. It silently got up from the ground and ran into the depths of the forbidden forest, quickly disappearing behind the layers of branches.

Melvin released the remaining animals one by one, letting them escape from sight.

The milky-white potion brewed in the golden cup has almost shown its effects in testing.

Treatment of external injuries is secondary; the most important thing is the effect of removing the foreign magic.

Many spells work through magic, and this potion addresses the problem at its root, healing many injuries caused by dark magic. As for the more evil Unforgivable Curse and Killing Curse, they are obviously beyond saving. As for the Imperius Curse and Cruciatus Curse...

That requires more rigorous testing, which cannot be done with just a few wild animals.

Melvin shook his head and turned to look at the oak tree behind him: "The animal that offended the professor has been punished, now it's time for the students who break the school rules."

(End of this chapter)