I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 490 The Slick-Haired Kid

Slughorn finished speaking.

Everyone then went to their desks and opened their books.

Unlike the original story, Harry and Ron knew during the summer that Slughorn would be the new Potions Professor.

Moreover, he only requires a good score on the OWL exam.

Ron achieved excellent results in the Potions exam.

So they both bought themselves textbooks.

That old textbook of the Half-Blood Prince should still be lying in the bookshelf in the corner right now.

Owen was still somewhat interested in Snape's old textbooks. His interest stemmed from the desire to compile and publish them. The "Advanced Potions Making" textbook currently used by young wizards clearly had various problems, and even if not for the sake of the young wizards, Snape should do it for his own reputation.

This would make him one of the greatest potions masters in the magical world.

Snape was not someone who was indifferent to fame and fortune. As for why he did not publish his old notes—perhaps there were other reasons?

Irving rubbed his chin, pondering the matter.

Then he suddenly raised his hand, "Professor, I've lost my textbook."

"Lost it?" Slughorn was taken aback, but he didn't pay much attention. It was normal for young wizards to be forgetful, but losing a textbook on the first day of school was still a bit of a surprise to him.

"Maybe the Aurors lost it during their inspection," Owen bluntly shifted the blame to the poor Aurors.

"Alright. There are some old textbooks in the storage cabinet; you can use those for now. You can write to Flourish and Blotts in a few days."

After receiving Slughorn's permission, Owen went to the locker by the wall.

He wasn't sure if Snape had left his old textbooks behind.

In the original story, Snape likely left his old textbooks behind with Dumbledore's permission.

Harry was unaware that Slughorn would be the Potions professor in the new term.

Furthermore, his test scores were only "good," while Snape's advanced classes required "excellent" scores. Therefore, in the original story, Harry did not buy a Potions textbook during the summer vacation.

Dumbledore knew all of this.

That's why he instructed Snape to leave his old textbooks behind, knowing that Harry would definitely get them.

This was a huge help in winning Slughorn's favor later on.

But—it seems Dumbledore no longer needs to do these things.

So he wasn't sure if the old textbook was still in that cabinet.

Owen quickly opened the locker and immediately saw several copies of "Advanced Potion Making" placed in the corner.

The old, tattered textbook stood out conspicuously among the pile of books.

"There really is one?" Irving was a little surprised. Although he didn't understand why, he figured he might as well take it.

Irving returned to the classroom.

Slughorn began the lesson. He puffed out his already bulging chest, the buttons on his vest threatening to burst open. "Alright, I've prepared a few potions to broaden your horizons, just for fun, of course. Once you finish the advanced course, you should be able to make things like this. Although you haven't made them yourself, you've certainly heard of them. Can anyone tell me what this one is?"

He pointed to the cauldron closest to Slytherin's table, where only water was bubbling inside.

This obviously can't be plain water, so it can only be...

Hermione raised her well-trained hand first, and Slughorn pointed at her.

"It's Truth Potion, a colorless, odorless potion that forces the person who drinks it to tell the truth," Hermione said.

"Very good, very good!" Slughorn said happily. "What about the others?"

He pointed to a cauldron near a Ravenclaw.

"It's a compound decoction, sir," Hermione said again.

Harry also recognized the bubbly, mud-like substance in the second cauldron.

After all, they had drunk it in second grade.

"And—what about this?"

"Aphrodisiac!"

"Absolutely right." Slughorn now showed genuine admiration. "Then you must know what it's used for."

"Hmm—" Hermione suddenly felt a surge of heat. She paused for a moment before saying, "The most potent love potion in the world!"

"That's amazing," Slughorn exclaimed. "Twenty points for Gryffindor."

"I originally thought you were exceptionally talented in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Spells, but perhaps not as good at Potions as you are in other subjects. Miss Granger—you are truly surprising."

"There's nothing wrong with that professor." Hermione felt a little uncomfortable with the praise, and she unconsciously glanced in Owen's direction, seeing him studying the old textbook in his hands.

"Oh—I see," Slughorn said with a smile, his gaze shifting between Hermione and Owen. "Looks like someone's tutoring you."

As a once-renowned and famous healer, Slughorn had no doubt about Owen's excellence in potions, and with such a partner, Miss Granger's outstanding potion-making skills seemed to be explained.

"I bet there are many talents in this year's young wizards that I don't know about. It's quite surprising," Slughorn remarked, before changing the subject back.

"Of course, we all know that love potions can't create love; they can only create a false attachment. In the past, many wizards have stumbled because of their infatuation. Don't underestimate this potion; it's probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in this classroom."

"Now let's begin class."

Meanwhile, Ernie interrupted Slughorn to inquire about the golden potion in the last small dry pot on the platform.

Irving was carefully studying the old textbook in his hands.

The pages were moldy, and there was scribbling and drawing all over them, making the blank spaces on each page as dark and messy as the areas where medicine was printed.

The handwriting is strange—sometimes it's very messy, and sometimes it's very careful.

It's as if it was written by two people.

Or it may have been written by someone in a state of mixed emotions.

The bottom cover of the book reads: "This book belongs only to the Half-Blood Prince."

It was a little strange, though, that he didn't remember Snape's signature in the original story. After all, that was such a detail, how could he possibly remember it?

The book improves most of the potion recipes in "Advanced Potion Making," although the improvements are not significant, such as changing a single ingredient.

Most of them are about how to handle the materials, the number of times to stir, and the order in which the materials are added.

But the main problem is that there are too many products, and almost all the recipes have been modified.

It's hard to imagine that Snape, at sixteen or seventeen, had such a talent for potions.

As Slughorn explained Felix Felicis to the young wizards, he announced that he would award a small vial of Felix Felicis as a prize to the first wizard to brew a high-quality potion of Living Hell.

Instantly, everyone was overjoyed.

The young wizards prepared the materials and eagerly lit the fire in the cauldrons in front of them.

Hermione was, of course, among them.

However, she soon encountered an accident.

After adding the grass roots.

We need to process a material called Sleepy Beans.

Sleepy bean is the fruit of the mistletoe. It is a pearly white, shriveled bean that looks very much like an overgrown mistletoe berry.

Sleepy beans contain a silvery sap that, when ingested directly, can erase a person's memory.

The textbook says to use a silver knife to slice it so that the juice can flow out, but the surface of the sleep bean is very slippery, and even a little pressure will make it bounce off.

Suddenly, the entire church was filled with flying sleep beans.

"Use the side of the silver knife to press the beans, don't cut them directly," Owen whispered to Hermione.

"Squeeze?" Hermione was annoyed by the Sleepy Beans and instinctively wanted to object, but trusting Owen, she knew he was very good at improving potion recipes, as proven in both her second and third years. So, after only a moment's hesitation, she decided to do as Owen said.

Sure enough, by choosing to squeeze directly with a knife, Hermione completed the process in just a few seconds.

"How do you know to squeeze?" Hermione asked.

"A master has given me guidance," Owen replied with a smile.

On the other side of the desk, Ron and Harry's eyes lit up as well.

The advanced class is different from the previous classes. Only young wizards with good grades and who are willing to take the course will attend, so the number of students is not large.

There were six people at the table, and everyone else naturally heard Owen's advice to Hermione.

Without saying a word, Ernie dodged his sleep bean with a single slash.

Others followed suit.

"Next, stir with your wand, seven times counterclockwise, then one time clockwise! Keep doing this," Owen continued.

It also stirred the wand at the same frequency.

Hermione, upon hearing this, naturally did as he said.

Although the book clearly states that you must keep stirring counterclockwise until the solution turns into a clear liquid.

But she didn't question it further, because she had only tried it once, and the purple in the crucible turned pink.

Then she tried stirring counterclockwise according to the steps in the textbook, but after a while, the color didn't change much.

"this"

The stark effect was right before her eyes, which greatly troubled Hermione.

She picked up her textbook and examined it carefully, wondering if she had bought some pirated textbook.

No problem!

She even brought Harry's textbooks.

I took a look at it.

Advanced Potion Making by Ribasius Pollach.

Libache Polachi is a South American wizard, considered one of the most famous apothecaries in the world. He attends the Castorbcher School of Magic.

Could it be that there's something wrong with this Libashi Pollack?

Hermione inexplicably started thinking of Lockhart.

But after careful consideration, he felt something was wrong. Novels and academic books are completely different. It was impossible for someone to become a world-renowned potions master simply by copying other people's work.

Unfortunately, Owen couldn't hear Hermione's thoughts.

Otherwise, he would definitely tell her that the academic world is not as clean as she thinks.

About five more minutes passed.

Slughorn suddenly spoke up, "Alright, time's up."

"Please stop stirring!"

He moved slowly between the tables, inspecting each crucible in turn.

He didn't make any comments, just occasionally stirred it or took a sniff.

Finally, he walked over to the table where Irving and the others were.

"Um?"

When he saw that several crucibles were filled with the clear, watery broth of hell, he finally couldn't help but let out a short, surprised exclamation.

"this--"

Slughorn looked at Harry, Ron, and Ernie's cauldrons in turn.

"Unbelievable, absolutely brilliant."

Finally, he walked between Hermione and Owen.

"Oh, this is the best living hell potion I've ever seen. I dare say just one drop would be enough to knock out everyone here."

"but--"

Hermione and Owen's work was of the highest quality, almost on par, so Slughorn hesitated for a moment.

"Professor, Owen won. We received guidance from him," Hermione said immediately.

The other young wizards nodded in agreement.

"Is that so?" Slughorn looked at Owen, a glint of silver light reflecting in his pupils. "Alright, here you go—I keep my word, here's a bottle of Felix Felicis, make good use of it!"

Irving put the bottle of golden liquid into his pocket.

feeling good.

This potion is extremely difficult to brew and takes a very long time, several months.

Even if he had the ability, he wouldn't choose to brew Felix Felicis.

It takes too much energy and time.

"Owen, how did you know how to make those potions?" Harry asked eagerly as soon as they left the underground classroom.

He wasn't Hermione and hadn't received any instruction from Owen on potions. Although he knew the incredibly beautiful wizard in front of him was a renowned healer, Harry had no direct impression of him in that regard.

"It's just that I found a martial arts manual left behind by an old man—ah—no—I mean, a melancholy old man," Owen muttered to himself. He then handed the old textbook to Hermione.

"This is?"

"Uncle's treasured secret manual," Owen said with a smile. "Take a look, and then you can compile all the methods for improving potions inside, print them into a book, and distribute them to other people. I think that's the greatest use of this book."

Hermione took Snape's old textbook, opened it, and immediately frowned.

"These annotations."

Are you sure it's safe?

It's perfectly normal for Miss Granger to have such doubts; this is Hogwarts, the magic school!

It is foolish to blindly believe the annotations in a book without considering the implications of the textbook.

Because there are indeed some senior students who are particularly malicious and will deliberately leave traps for junior wizards to suffer.

Inside the castle, you should stay away from anything whose origin is unclear.

"Don't worry!" Irving said, "There's nothing safer than this."

Hermione nodded.

Although she didn't understand why Irving was so certain, she chose to believe him.

After that, the group parted ways.

Hermione went to the library to organize her old textbooks.

Harry and Ron went back to the common room.

At 8 p.m., Harry also has a personal tutoring session with Miss Zhang.

As for Irving, he also went back to the locker room.

Taking a nap might be a good option.

But before that, we need to eat.

A few weeks later.

In Potions class, Slughorn was increasingly amazed by the young wizards' talents. Their success rate in brewing potions was getting higher and higher. He said he had never taught so many geniuses.

Of course, the reason was that Hermione had already finished organizing the old books, edited them into booklets, and distributed them to the other young wizards.

The title of "half-blooded prince" has become known to more and more people.

Everyone is guessing that this senior must be a famous potion master. Libash Pollack, the author of "Advanced Potions Making," was born at the end of the last century, around the same age as Dumbledore. He became famous in the 1940s and 50s, and the book was not published until the 1950s. Hogwarts listed it as a textbook even later.

Therefore, this "half-blood prince" must have been a senior student who attended Hogwarts in the 1960s or 70s.

He should be no more than forty years old now.

The information that a forty-year-old Potions Master was easy to deduce; Hermione figured it out in just one hour.

Unfortunately, none of the famous Potions Masters of our time are under forty, and the only renowned scholar in his early forties did not graduate from Hogwarts.

"Maybe it's a woman?"

One weekend, at the DA's gathering in the House of Requests.

On the table and chairs conjured by Transfiguration, Hermione was holding the old textbook. She had already flipped through it several times over this period of time. She said, "It was deliberately given this name to confuse people. And the handwriting is very fine, it doesn't look like a boy's handwriting."

"How many girls would actually call themselves a prince?" Harry retorted. "That's a really weak argument."

"That's not necessarily true," Hermione said. "There are plenty of girls in the castle who would love to be princes."

"Huh?" Harry was taken aback and looked at her.

"It's just that the princess doesn't want to, I also think that reason is a bit far-fetched." She quickly changed the subject, "The half-blood prince, at least we know that the author of this book may be of mixed race."

"Hey—Owen, who do you think the 'Half-Blood Prince' really is?" Harry asked Owen, who was writing a letter beside him.

"."

Owen looked up and gave Harry a disdainful look.

Then he put away the letters on the table.

That was a letter he wrote to his grandfather, asking him what he had discovered in Canada.

"The answer is right there in the question itself." He shook his head and said, "How can anyone be so blind as to not guess this?"

"Huh?" Harry was taken aback, a clear look of stupidity appearing in his eyes.

Hermione frowned.

Is the answer in the question itself?

She thought about it for a while.

Then suddenly his eyes widened.

Where did Irving find the old textbook?

In Slughorn's classroom.

And if this book does not belong to Slughorn himself.

So

The original owner of that classroom was

"Oh my god!" Hermione suddenly realized who the "Half-Blood Prince" was.

"You guessed it all along?" She looked at Owen.

"Was it difficult?" Irving said. "It only took me a few seconds!"

"." The little witch glared at him, then looked at Harry.

I can't imagine what Harry would think if he knew that all the achievements and honors he'd gained in Potions class these past few weeks came from Snape.

(End of this chapter)