Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 63 The Arrogant Tyrant

Layers of snow piled up in the woods, on the castle rooftops, and in the courtyards, and the Black Lake was frozen smooth. Outside, snowflakes, as white as goose feathers, fluttered down.

Hermione and Loren sat by a window in the common room, each holding a large book.

Harry and the others walked around them when they saw this; the huge tome was too scary.

Loren was reading the last book on Snape's reading list. According to Snape, after reading these books, Loren would have barely gotten the hang of Potions.

Snape hadn't had Loren collect snake venom in a long time, and the work had become much easier lately. Loren guessed that the snakes had all gone into hibernation.

The entire book list contains 25 books. Loren originally thought he wouldn't be able to finish reading them until before Christmas, but after obtaining the fantasy book, he was able to find some time to read these books in addition to Flamel's teaching, which accelerated his progress considerably.

Hermione has found out about Nicolas Flamel and also knows about the Philosopher's Stone.

She read this passage to Loren:

Ancient alchemy involved the creation of the Philosopher's Stone, a magical substance with astonishing properties. The Philosopher's Stone could turn any metal into pure gold and could also be used to create elixirs of immortality, granting those who drank it eternal life.

There have been many reports about the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only surviving piece belongs to the famous alchemist and opera enthusiast, Mr. Nicolas Flamel. He celebrated his 665th birthday last year and now lives in seclusion in Devon with his wife, Perenad (658 years old).

Loren's understanding of Nicolas Flamel came entirely from Flamel's autobiography, "The General Explanation of Hieroglyphs," and he had never carefully read any other books that introduced or evaluated Flamel.

He clicked his tongue in amazement when he heard this. Good heavens, they even marked the place where the person was living in seclusion. What kind of seclusion is this?

Hermione put down her book, looked at Loren, hesitated for a long time, and asked, "Do you know that Snape wants to steal the Philosopher's Stone?"

That night, I was so angry at Loren that I didn't ask any questions.

Loren continued reading the thick book, making a note in his notebook about the difference between morning dew and midnight dew: "Professor Snape wasn't a very good person, but he was a decent man."

Hermione looked around. "I saw Snape curse Harry's broom with my own eyes that day at Quidditch."

"People are naturally willing to believe what they see."

Loren continued taking notes, "But we should look even more closely for what we cannot see."

Loren didn't intend to tell Hermione what he knew; without evidence, he couldn't very well just say he knew the plot.

After speaking, Loren pondered for a moment, then thought, "Wow, this sounds just like Dumbledore's style. I'm still young; I can't become the Riddler so early."

Loren quickly added, "You should keep an eye on Professor Quirrell."

"Why?" Hermione pressed for a reason.

"Snape is an old professor who has been at Hogwarts for many years. Quirrell has been at Hogwarts for much shorter time, and Quirrell is sneaky and secretive; he doesn't look like a good person at all." Loren was talking about his impression while watching the movie; he could tell at a glance that Quirrell was not a good person.

There wasn't really any solid reason; it was all just guesswork. Hermione retorted, "You're just willing to believe what you see and not what you don't see."

Loren closed the book. "Wrong. I'm not taking anyone's side. If you ask me, Headmaster Dumbledore is still in the castle. What are you kids worried about?"

Loren truly believed this, but he also knew that even if he said that, the three little ones would still do what they thought was right. They were Gryffindors, upholding justice and possessing courage.

On the contrary, it's his own indifferent attitude that's the problem. But he's not the main character, so his life is definitely more important.

"Aren't you a child too?"

After that night, Hermione was relieved to know that Snape hadn't threatened Loren. But Loren was still trying to defend Snape, and Hermione thought that Loren had become close to Snape after spending so much time with him.

Hermione plans to work with Harry and Ron to expose Snape's plot and prevent Loren from being in a difficult position.

On the other hand, Harry found that he would run into Snape wherever he went, and Snape's eyes were always following him.

Harry believed that Snape was constantly following him, looking for an opportunity to kill him when he was alone.

After this discovery, Harry never went anywhere alone, and he even took Ron with him when he went to the toilet.

Loren found it strange; it turned out that it wasn't just girls who went to the bathroom with their best friends, but boys did the same with their buddies.

……

It's Friday again.

Loren walked through the dimly lit basement, which was even colder in winter. Slytherin's dormitories were still below the Black Lake; the Slytherin students really weren't afraid of the cold.

As I approached Snape's office, the dark door opened by itself.

"Come in directly," Snape's voice came from the inner storage room.

"Yes, Professor." Loren walked through the office filled with various specimens and went into the storage room.

Snape sat at the workbench with two stoves in front of him. One was empty, and the other contained a pink, viscous liquid that was bubbling continuously and had no smell.

Have you finished reading the books on the reading list?

"I've finished reading it, Professor."

Snape took a green blade of grass and put it into the bubbling pot, stirring it.

A few purple streaks gradually appeared in the middle of the pink liquid, then spread out, turning the entire pot of liquid purple. The purple gradually deepened, and the liquid took on an eerie color, emitting the smell of fermented rotten eggs.

"Wolfsbane Potion!" Loren was very familiar with it.

Loren would come every Friday, and Snape would give him the wolfsbane potion half a month before the full moon. The wolfsbane potion had to be taken a week in advance, giving Loren a week to send things to Grandpa Bates.

Previously, all the products were finished products, directly bottled. This was the first time Loren had witnessed the process of making wolfsbane potion.

Snape extinguished the fire and put the lid on.

"【Whirlwind Sweep】"

Snape waved his wand, summoning a gust of wind that carried the smell out of the room.

"In your opinion, what is a magic potion?"

Loren was a little confused. "Potions are any pharmaceutical products that are made, extracted, or semi-synthesized from magical organisms."

Loren was a little unsure. Any introductory book on potions would start with this, but since Snape had asked, the answer was definitely not that simple.

Snape looked at Loren with disdain, "Just like Miss Know-It-All, a bookworm and a stupid thing."

Loren's eyes widened, a personal attack in his voice.

"Potions are essentially another form of magic..."

In Snape's words, potions, like spells, are expressions of magic.

Spells have specific incantations and casting actions, and potions require specific materials and methods of preparation. This fixed process is called a ritual; the wizard performs the ritual, and the magic achieves its effect.

In the realm of spells, skilled wizards can cast spells without a wand and without sound.

Potions are different; they are much stricter and require adherence to rules. Even the most skilled potion masters must strictly follow standard procedures and use standard ingredients to achieve the desired effect.

"Potions are a more rigorous and advanced form of magic!" Snape said.

Loren thought of Voldemort's process of reshaping his body—his father's bones, his servants' flesh, and his enemies' blood—it certainly sounded like brewing a potion. That was also an evil magic, an evil ritual achieving an evil effect.

"Only by understanding the essence of potions can you better grasp their patterns."

After saying all that, Snape didn't continue talking about potions. He put the cooled wolfsbane potion into a bottle and handed it to Loren. Then he turned around and took out a pair of small glass buttons from the cabinet, one red and one green.

"This is a spyglass. Find a way to make sure Harry Potter always carries it with him." Snape handed the red glass button to Loren.

Loren had heard of this thing; it was used for warnings.

He took it, held it in his hand, and examined it curiously. "What's the use of this?"

"It lets me keep track of your stupid roommate's whereabouts anytime, anywhere," Snape said.

Loren placed the button on the table, drew his spell, and attempted to cast a "Thunderbolt Pierce" on it.

"Ugh!!!"

Before the incantation was even uttered, the red button on the table and the other green button in Snape's hand simultaneously emitted a shriek, the sound piercing and sharp.

Loren wanted to tease Snape, but his life was more important, so he didn't dare say it aloud. He just looked at Snape with a "you tsundere" look.

"During Quidditch, Quirrell tried to harm our savior, Mr. Harry Potter, but I and that know-it-all girl stopped him."

"He'll definitely do it again. I've been following that idiot these past few days to make sure he gets killed. That stupid Harry Potter actually thought I was trying to harm him."

"Incredibly stupid, beyond redemption." Snape grew angrier with each word, adding adjectives every time he mentioned Harry.

After saying this, Snape calmed himself down, and his tone became calm again. "This thing can prevent him from dying an unexplained death."

"Why didn't you tell Dumbledore?" Loren asked as usual.

Snape's calm face hardened with anger once more. "That senile Dumbledore! I don't know how he could have hired Quirrell as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and then claimed he knew everything and had his own plans!"

"He's getting senile!"

This was no place to linger, so Loren took the potion and the button and slipped away.

Back in the Gryffindor common room.

Loren took a thin string, threaded it through the hole in the middle of the button, and made the sight glass into the shape of a pendant.

Loren told Harry that it was something his mother had given him, from Professor McGonagall.

What? Evidence? There's no evidence, it's just empty talk, playing the family card.

In Harry's view, Loren had saved his life before, so there was no reason for him to lie to him. If Loren wanted to help Snape harm him, it would be easier for him to find an opportunity to poison him.

The next day, Harry wore the pendant around his neck and had a smile on his face all day.

Loren felt a pang of guilt and secretly vowed that he would get Harry a real Lily item from Snape after everything was over.

Snape definitely has it, there's no doubt about that.

(End of this chapter)