The Rune Mage Starting at Hogwarts

Her initial research on euphoria drugs focused on maximizing efficacy and minimizing side effects.

The medicine used a lot of ingredients, not because she really wanted to use that many ingredients.

Rather, it's because with each improved ingredient added, other ingredients are needed to neutralize its additional medicinal properties and maintain balance, so as to prevent the potion from becoming unstable.

In her repeated attempts, she kept adding ingredients to the potion. Last week, the finished product she brewed had half the side effects and was much more potent, but the uncontrollable cost made her realize that no one would buy such an expensive euphoria potion.

After that, she began to subtract little by little, and finally, after adding seventeen more ingredients, she prepared a powerful elixir that seemed to her to be relatively balanced.

After completing it, she naturally tasted the medicine that had helped her subtract from her previous life in private.

The side effects have been reduced by nearly half. Although I still occasionally have the urge to sing out loud, it is now within a controllable range.

Now, after tasting the euphoria brewed by Ritz with only three additional ingredients and more of an adjustment to the brewing method, she closed her eyes and carefully felt it for a long time before she felt a subtle desire to sing from the bottom of her heart.

“The cost has only increased by less than one silver sycophant, the efficacy has not been affected at all, but at least 70% of the side effects have been eliminated. As long as you don’t pay close attention, you can basically consider it as having no side effects,” she opened her eyes and looked at Ryze with an amazed expression.

"What an amazing change... peppermint, honey, and daffodil root powder, how did you come up with the idea of ​​putting all three together?"

She had something else to say: she felt that this recipe was no longer within the scope of student practice. Even if she took it outside, she believed that many potion shops would be willing to pay for it.

Meanwhile, Penelope and another Ravenclaw student were hunched over the table, staring intently at the draft paper left by Rez, their brows furrowed.

“I haven’t seen several of these formulas in books, and your calculations are too simple. Even with the draft right here, I’m having trouble keeping up with your train of thought,” Penelope shook her head, indicating that although she was quite good at arithmetic and divination, she was struggling to keep up with Rez’s draft.

There were several places where she clearly understood how the formulas were derived, but then Rezs would directly switch to a new formula to perform the calculations.

Penelope had to discuss it with her classmates for a while before she could figure out, through a combination of guesswork and deduction, that there were probably many complicated transformations hidden between the two formulas.

Faced with this euphoria, everyone present felt a strong sense of unreality.

Just a month ago, Ritz was struggling to concoct shrinking and aphrodisiac drugs.

Now, Ryze's answer sheet has even led Snape to suspect that Ryze has found the notes of a mysterious female potions master.

Ryze's response was also very humble.

"Actually, at the beginning, I was just using divination to help me with the materials compiled by Senior Penelope, while privately improving my skills in making the 'happy drug'."

As everyone can see, Ritz only did one thing in the first three weeks: improve his proficiency with the euphoria drug.

"During one of the brewing processes, I accidentally saw a sprig of peppermint in the layers of mist through divination. I then tried to deduce it using arithmetic divination and found that although it should greatly reduce the side effects of the medicine, it would also make the medicine itself very unstable. After that, I tried to improve the formula."

He paused for a moment, then concluded: "I think the reason I was able to sense peppermint so easily is probably because others had made similar attempts before, such as Professor Snape and the female master he mentioned. I just saw a trace they left behind in the past."

This explanation is actually more likely to be believed by these older students, or rather, it seems more reasonable to them.

After all, rather than acknowledging that an eleven-year-old boy could accomplish this level of improvement on his own, people are more inclined to believe that he has absorbed the wisdom of his predecessors to some extent.

"Even if you gained inspiration through divination, the contents of these drafts prove your excellence. No one without talent could calculate the latter two ingredients using pure potion principles and formulas. Professor Snape's attitude towards you is the best proof."

With that, Jamie Farley nodded to Ritz, whom she now considered a completely equal competitor.

"Your talent is even more amazing than I imagined."

“I originally thought that Penelope was the only one in our class who could stay until the end, but now I have to admit that you are indeed capable of staying until the end as well.”

Although Gemma Farley completely disregarded the remaining three students, she had already proven herself to be the most talented potionist in their class over the past five years in Potions class.

The potion they spent a month perfecting was only considered "mediocre" and "boring" by Snape.

They originally intended to compete for the third entry spot, in addition to Jemma Farley and Penelope.

But now, seeing the unexpected rise of Ryze, they must admit that Ryze has become their biggest rival for the last spot.

Despite the complex looks from the other students after Jemma Farley finished speaking, Reiz's expression remained unchanged.

Campus life is definitely more interesting with a bit of competitive pressure.

Whether it's from the Duel Club or the Potions Faster.

As long as they don't use any dirty tricks behind his back, Ryze welcomes these seniors to compete with him, as it can motivate him more.

So he smiled and looked at Jemma Farley: "Since you've said so, Senior Jemma, I will try my best not to disappoint you."

Chapter 105: Chicken Soup Potion and Fried Rice

As the first hailstorm of December struck, Ryze finally got to eat the rice he had been longing for.

Rizz participated in the entire process, from harvesting the rice to hulling and milling. Although it was his first time handling rice and he was a little inexperienced, he still managed to turn the rice into polished rice successfully with the help of magic.

Rizz is currently happily cooking rice in Hagrid's cabin.

Hagrid's cabin was now packed to the brim.

Ritz's three roommates and the three Gryffindors squeezed around Hagrid's bed, while Cho Chang and Su Li, along with other Chinese students, sat on small stools nearby. Neville stood somewhat reservedly next to Ritz, looking at the steaming pot in front of him.

Ritz had previously said that once the rice was ripe, he would invite them over for a meal that he would personally cook.

In addition, Penelope, who had helped him a lot during this period, was also invited over by Rizzi.

Rizzo had also asked Professor Babling and written a letter to Headmaster Dumbledore, asking if they wanted to come and taste the first rice grown on Hogwarts soil.

Unfortunately, neither of them is currently at school. The former attended a fairly large ancient magic script symposium, while the latter attended some year-end gatherings.

Furthermore, considering that the professors and the president are here, everyone might feel a bit reserved, so let's wait until they return before discussing it further.

"The rice is cooked. There's some chicken soup I made in advance over there. If you're hungry, you can eat some first."

Ron had already smelled the aroma of the chicken soup. He quickly scooped up a bowl of rice, poured a spoonful of chicken soup and a few pieces of chicken on it, and then started eating heartily with the soup spoon.

“This tastes much better than my mom’s stew,” Ron mumbled, stuffing another mouthful of rice soaked in the broth into his mouth.

The young wizards couldn't sense the magic in the chicken soup, but Penelope could.

She only took a sip, but she could feel the calming and healing magic of the delicious chicken soup.

Penelope put down her spoon, her eyes filled with astonishment: "Riz, what kind of potion did you put in the chicken soup... No, wait, you used chicken as the main ingredient, and then used gastrodia elata, ginseng, astragalus, and some other ingredients that I couldn't taste as auxiliary ingredients, and while preserving the original flavor of the chicken soup, you used potion-making techniques to create a nourishing potion?"

Having studied potions for so many years, she never imagined that the theories of potions could be used in such ordinary cooking.

After listening to Penelope's assessment, the room fell silent for a moment, and Hermione also looked up at Rizz.

Rizz, who was using household magic on several portions of rice to quickly lose moisture and turn them into "leftover rice," nodded to Penelope: "That's right, Penelope-senpai."

"I was in poor health before I was ten years old. In addition to going to the hospital frequently, I also tried many ways to improve my health on my own. Among them, I discovered Eastern medicinal cuisine. Although many of them were just gimmicks, I did learn a lot from them. So after that, I studied a lot of knowledge related to the East."

"This chicken soup is one of the dishes I'm most skilled at making, so I took some time to study the pharmacology of these herbs, and then tried to make some adjustments. In the end, I made this Eastern medicinal chicken soup that incorporates knowledge of potion-making. The effect should be pretty good."

As he said this, he waved to Penelope with a smile: "But don't mention these things to Snape, or he'll definitely deduct points from my score for defiling the potion."

Of course, in addition to his own research, the extra benefits of the juicer are also a key factor.

Penelope smiled and nodded, then continued to savor the excellent taste of the chicken soup potion: "Actually, the taste of potions has always been an important area of ​​research in potion science. After all, no one likes to drink things that taste bad. You've made this chicken soup so delicious, and its effects are no less than those of ordinary tonics. Even if Professor Snape found out, he'd probably just scold you for 'not doing your job properly'."

The atmosphere inside Hagrid's hut instantly brightened as Penelope mimicked Snape's tone.

After hearing that the chicken soup was a genuine, high-quality, nourishing potion, the girls couldn't help but drink several bowls. The two young Chinese wizards, Li Su and Zhang Qiu, even thought about learning the recipe so they could try to make it when they got home.

While they were preparing the soup, Rizzi finally managed to cook up the "leftovers".

He picked up Hagrid's extra-large frying pan and used it as a griddle.

Then, oil and eggs were poured in, and the sizzling fried rice was finally ready to be served.

Afterwards, Ritz added smoked meat, shrimp, and even curry according to everyone's taste, and handed out the fried rice to everyone present.

"It's incredible. The way you make fried rice makes you look like one of those chefs who have been working in Chinatown for many years," Zhang Qiu said, eating his Yangzhou fried rice and exchanging bites of Li Su's shrimp fried rice with her. He couldn't help but marvel at Ryze, the young wizard who was a year younger than him.

"Thank you for the compliment. I've always believed that no matter what, you shouldn't neglect your stomach. So after I got sick of eating potatoes at the orphanage, I started researching these things. I'm happy that you can enjoy your food."

We thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

The delicious chicken soup potion, along with fried rice of various flavors that seemed to go perfectly with everything, and some grilled skewers, filled everyone's stomachs. Even Scabbers, the rat in Ron's pocket, ate several delicious pieces of chicken.

Without drawing attention, Ryze glanced at the mouse a few times, then fed it some fried rice with cured pork.

Let this mouse have a few more good meals one last time.

It wasn't until curfew was almost here that the group reluctantly ended their gathering, already looking forward to the dumplings that Reese had mentioned they would make together before the Christmas holidays (Winter Solstice).

In the days that followed, Hogwarts was covered by a thick layer of snow.

The magic potion speed-up has entered a tedious phase of theoretical deep learning.

Surprisingly, Snape didn't eliminate any more people. Instead, he assigned the remaining competitors mountains of theoretical papers, requiring them to analyze various drug theories.

With the accelerated thinking brought by the scientific madman, Ryze initially struggled to keep up due to a lack of foundational knowledge. However, as time went on, he quickly absorbed the basic theories, and his learning speed gradually caught up with the majority of the group ahead.

He believed that once the Christmas holidays were over, he would no longer have to worry about Snape's刁难 (diāonán, making things difficult for him).

Finally, Rizzi also ushered in his first Christmas holiday at Hogwarts.

Chapter 106: The Return Journey and the Trail

On the eve of the holiday, a small incident occurred at the school.

The Weasley brothers, known for their pranks, for some unknown reason, cast a precise tracking spell on several snowballs. They chased Quirrell around and eventually crashed into his heavy headscarf.

Although Ritz didn't witness this classic scene firsthand, the whole thing spread throughout the school during lunchtime.

However, this prank did not achieve the expected results. The heroic image of Quirrell, who "resolutely accepted the position to break the curse of the Dark Arts defense magic and ultimately suffered a backlash," which was prevalent among the students, was now met with more sympathy and encouragement than contempt from the younger students.

Professor McGonagall's punishments were also more severe than ever before.

She not only deducted thirty points from Gryffindor's score, but also punished the Weasley brothers by requiring them to clean all the trophies in the trophy room before the Christmas holidays, forbidding them from using their wands, and making Felch watch over them the entire time.

Rizz glanced at Gryffindor's score, which was only slightly better than the laid-back Hufflepuffs, and had already fallen far behind Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

However, there was a bonus for Harry and the others at the end of the year, so Ryze didn't pay too much attention to those points.

Before the winter solstice, as they had agreed beforehand, they gathered at Hagrid's hut and made a lot of dumplings.

Thanks to the versatility of their family magic, they wrapped thousands of dumplings with various fillings in just one day. Then, on the morning of the winter solstice, before leaving school, they distributed these dumplings to people they were on good terms with.

Whether it was Harry and Neville, who were close friends, or professors like Flitwick and McGonagall, including Dumbledore, who had a sweet tooth, they all received a dumpling filled with cherry and blueberry jam, specially made by Ritz with Ukrainian dumplings as a reference.

Even the frozen dumplings that the magic potion concocted made them look at Ryze with a strange expression.

Before leaving school, Rhett made a point of saying goodbye to Harry and Ron.

“I left all sorts of dipping sauces with Hagrid. Go find him if you get tired of the Christmas dinner in the Great Hall,” Rhett said, patting Harry on the shoulder as he carried his suitcase in the Great Hall. “I can sense that you’re going to have a lot of wonderful experiences this holiday, so enjoy your Christmas holiday at Hogwarts, Harry.”

Harry didn't quite understand what Ritz meant, but he was definitely looking forward to the holiday even more.

After saying goodbye, he boarded the Hogwarts Express with his roommates on their return journey.

The train didn't go any faster on the return journey, and the group played Wizard Chess and Bombs on the train, allowing Rizz to relax for a rare moment.

After it had completely darkened, the Hogwarts Express arrived at King's Cross Station, where the brightly lit platform was already filled with people who had come to greet it.

"Rizzo, Merry Christmas, see you next year!" Anthony and his friends spotted their family right outside the platform.

After the train arrived at the station, they took their luggage and squeezed out of the train with the throng of people.

Ritz, on the other hand, remained unhurried, waiting until the crowd thinned out before finally disembarking from the train at the very end of the line.

Hermione, who was walking ahead of him, was struggling to carry the heavy suitcase filled with books.

Ryze slightly raised his hand, without even taking out his wand, and cast a subtle and discreet levitation spell on the other party.

Hermione was taken aback when she noticed that her luggage was lighter. She then looked around and her expression turned somewhat frightened when she saw Ryze gesturing to her.

Not only because Ryze used the Levitation Charm without a wand, but also because Ryze used magic outside of school!

“Riz, have you forgotten the agreement we signed with Professor McGonagall before we went home? It says we can’t use magic after leaving school. The Ministry of Magic will warn us!” She looked at Riz with concern, thinking it was because Riz had gotten used to using magic at school.

Ryze waved to Hermione and whispered, "Calm down, Hermione."

Do you know how the Ministry of Magic discovered that the young wizards were using magic outside of school?

"I had already researched what that so-called 'trace' was before signing that bill."

“The trail can only confirm whether there are magical fluctuations around the wand and the young wizard, but it cannot accurately identify who the spellcaster is.”

“Kings Cross Station is now filled with adult wizards, and there are various household charms and Apparition fluctuations all around. The Ministry of Magic can’t tell whether we are using magic or not.”

He reminded Hermione, "Muggle-born wizards are targeted by the Ministry of Magic when they detect magical fluctuations because there are no other wizards around them."

"As for young wizards from magical families, they can practice magic at home as long as their parents agree. Although this may not have been the original intention of the law, in reality, it can be considered a differentiated treatment for young wizards from different backgrounds."

Rizz looked at Hermione, who was somewhat dumbfounded, and then casually reminded her that if she wanted to practice magic during the holidays, she could sneak off to places like Diagon Alley where wizards gather.

Just then, a middle-aged man wearing a wide hood, with a burly build, who looked like a Ministry of Magic employee, suddenly rushed over from the side, seemingly trying to grab Ryze.

Amid Hermione's exclamation, Ryze easily dodged the attack with a nimble sidestep just before the other man could grab him, causing the burly figure to miss its target.

Hermione thought that the Ministry of Magic employee had overheard their "seriously illegal conversation" and was therefore coming to arrest Rizz.