My necromancer career begins at Hogwarts

So, under Snape's watchful eye, Maurice began to brew the Water of Life and Death.

But this time, he doesn't intend to follow the textbook completely.

After successfully brewing the "life-and-death water" for the first time, Morris thought that the "adding sleep beans" step could be optimized.

Of course, it doesn't matter if the attempt fails, since the materials aren't his, he can mess with them as he pleases, and he has two more chances.

The juice of the sleep bean contains a powerful hypnotic ingredient, but it is wrapped in a tough outer skin, so putting the whole bean in is obviously not a good choice.

Therefore, Maurice decided to chop it up and squeeze out the juice before adding it.

Just as he was squeezing the sleep Bean with the silver knife, Snape suddenly spoke up, "Who taught you to do that?"

Morris didn't stop what he was doing and casually said, "I came up with it myself."

He has never been a person who follows the rules.

One of his principles is to put his ideas into practice.

A faint hint of surprise flashed across Snape's eyes.

The standard recipe in textbooks simply involves adding the whole Sleepy Bean, but what Morris is doing is precisely the ideal way to handle Sleepy Beans.

This is a technique he figured out on his own during his student days!

It can only be said that talented people often share similar ideas.

Time passed slowly, and Maurice gradually settled into the rhythm of brewing the potion.

Snape remained silent throughout this time—interfering while someone was brewing a high-level potion was perfectly reasonable.

Finally, when Morris added the treated sleeping beans and their juice to the crucible, the liquid inside reacted violently.

The liquid quickly lost its turbidity, and its color rapidly transformed into a clear, bright light blue.

Stir, remove from heat, and you're done.

Morris looked at the final product and nodded in satisfaction.

His judgment was correct; the quality of this batch was much better than his previous batch.

Seeing this, Snape stepped forward, leaned slightly forward, and stared intently at the liquid in the crucible.

Instead of giving a direct evaluation, he used the tip of his wand to pick up a small drop of the potion from the edge of the crucible, suspended it in mid-air, and observed it closely.

"How is it?" Morris asked.

To be honest, he really wanted to get a word of praise out of Snape.

At least in his memory, his Potions professor had never praised anyone.

"Hmph," Snape scoffed, "barely good."

"?"

So, is it good or bad?

Morris was somewhat hesitant to make a judgment.

He asked cautiously, "What about my punishment...?"

"Ravenclaw, deduct thirty points," Snape said, his expression remaining unchanged. "Also, you are not allowed to enter the potions warehouse without my permission."

Morris secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This result is acceptable.

Moreover, it's good news that the twins won't be implicated.

It's only thirty points; he should be able to make it back with a little effort.

He thought he would be punished even more severely.

It seems that Snape at least approves of his pot of life-or-death water.

The matter has now come to a perfect end.

Morris asked in a low voice, "May I go now, Professor?"

Snape raised his chin and casually waved his left hand outwards. "Let's go."

Morris immediately turned and left.

Only after his figure disappeared behind the door did Snape slowly return to his seat behind his desk.

"Maurice Black..." he murmured.

Although the surname Blake brought back some bad memories, it was just a misunderstanding.

He already had a general understanding of Maurice's background.

An orphan who grew up in an orphanage, without any family tradition or guidance.

Yet, he was able to independently brew the "Water of Life and Death" in his first year of high school, and even made reasonable improvements to the recipe.

All I can say is that they look very similar.

Hogwarts once had such a student—

Born into poverty and subjected to cold stares, yet possessing exceptional talent in potion-making...

Snape paused almost imperceptibly.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the office door, interrupting his thoughts.

Morris reappeared at the doorway.

Snape looked up, his face expressionless, and said, "Is there anything else, Mr. Black?"

Morris gave a slightly embarrassed smile and pointed to the crucible on the table.

"that......"

"Can I take the Water of Life and Death with me?"

Snape's face immediately darkened.

However, Maurice acted as if he hadn't seen it and continued to look at him expectantly.

A few seconds later.

"Take it and get out of here," Snape replied, without even glancing at Maurice again.

"Thank you, Professor."

Morris happily picked up the pot of life-and-death water.

We've already put in the effort, so we can't let it go to waste.

It's just the Water of Life and Death; he believed Snape wouldn't lack such a small amount of stock.

......

Back in his dorm, Morris immediately finished dispensing the potion, which was expected to be even more effective.

As for the pot—I'll just have to take it back to Snape during the next Potions class.

Immediately afterwards, he couldn't wait to begin drawing the magic circle for the two-world gate.

This doesn't take too much time.

Half an hour later, the magic circle was successfully completed.

The materials were still ordinary red pigment mixed with his blood.

Its shape is similar to Morris's previous undead creature conversion magic circle, only larger, with enough space in the middle for an adult to lie down.

At this moment, his room, in the dim light, resembled the scene of some kind of mysterious religious ceremony.

After locking the door and hanging a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, Morris slowly walked to the center of the magic circle and took out the water of life and death that he had just dispensed.

According to the instructions, just one drop is enough for him to fall asleep for an hour.

Without hesitation, Morris took an extremely small sip on the spot.

It has a taste that is somewhere between bitter and refreshing.

It's not that it tastes bad, but it's not exactly delicious either.

Almost immediately, a wave of weariness washed over him.

He lay down on the empty space reserved in the center of the magic circle, his consciousness sinking into darkness.

There are no dreams.

There was only a pure, peaceful void.

After an unknown amount of time, Maurice opened his eyes.

He looked around and found that he was still in the room, and the magic circle beneath him had not changed at all.

The clock on the wall showed that only an hour and a half had passed.

As expected, it failed. Morris sighed.

He sat up from the cold floor and rubbed his stiff neck.

In fact, he had a premonition the moment he drank the water of life and death.

The "Water of Life and Death" is, in the end, just a potent sleeping pill.

It can indeed lull a person into sleep, but it's still quite different from death.

but......

"It seems like something's missing..." Morris murmured.

He had a vague feeling about it.

The Water of Life and Death is not perfect, or rather... incomplete.

Yes, it's incomplete.

It's missing something crucial.

A decisive element that can push sleep to a deeper level, closer to death.

no way.

Morris put on his robe, pushed open the door, and walked towards the Potions classroom.

Perhaps his Potions professor can give him some clues.