From Azkaban to Hogwarts.

Chapter 579 The Brought by the Wolfsbane Potion

Research and observation on improved formulations of wolfsbane.

Slughorn leaned back in his rocking chair and looked at the special supplement to "Pharmacist Today" magazine, published by the Extraordinary Pharmacists Association, which had been delivered that morning. He was startled by the headline on the cover.

'No wonder there was a special supplement all of a sudden... No wonder...'

The wizarding world is neither too big nor too small. Even the Society of Extraordinary Apothecaries, the largest in the entire British magical community, cannot guarantee that every issue of its publications is substantial. Most of the content consists of discussions on several improved versions of common potions or research on some obscure potions.

As the most promising medicine in recent years, wolfsbane naturally deserves a dedicated issue from the association—and, of course, some less substantial articles will be inserted as supplementary material…

'Wolfsbane Potion, Belby is really diligent, it's only been a short time since the first version of the potion appeared...'

He picked up a piece of candied pineapple, enjoying the treat while happily reading this article, which was theoretically the only worthwhile article in this supplement.

'Animagus? Interesting, very interesting—it's amazing he managed to find such rare material…'

There are only a handful of Animagus in all of Britain, far fewer than werewolves. Slughorn couldn't help but admire Belby's keen observation. That's how magical potions are; sometimes, just a tiny difference is all it takes to observe a qualitative change.

'Five Animagus hairs (4 inches long), three Animagus hairs after transformation (2 inches long), silver powder (10g), Floober caterpillar juice…'

He meticulously counted the medicinal ingredients one by one, even stopping the candied fruit he was holding in his hand—aside from the Animagus hair and down, the other materials were shockingly cheap. After calculating, the cost of one dose of the potion, excluding the most difficult-to-obtain parts, was less than a single Gallon!

Well... a Gallon is indeed not a small amount of money, but compared to the potion's miraculous effects, a Gallon is not unacceptable.

Compared to the slightly expensive cost of the first version, this version of the potion is affordable for the vast majority of users.

'The formula has been modified... I don't know how effective it will be, but if it achieves more than 70% of the previous effect, it will be a very successful improvement...'

Slughorn praised him. He wasn't the kind of person who was oblivious to the hardships of ordinary people. Although he had been complaining to Dumbledore about his meager salary, he would be happy for a long time if a student brought him even just a piece of pineapple preserve.

'Can transformation be suppressed during a full moon?'

He jumped to his feet, his mouth agape, not even noticing the candied fruit slipping from his mouth—could a full moon suppress the transformation effect? ​​And even allow the user to communicate normally, instead of just falling into a deep sleep like the first version of the potion?

'Merlin's beard!'

Slughorn stood on the ground, pacing back and forth excitedly—no kidding, no kidding, this isn't some kind of improved potion! It's practically a completely new potion! The impact it brings is no less than the impact the Wolfsbane Potion had when it first came out!

'What about the side effects? What about the side effects?'

Slughorn quickly searched and soon found the information about the side effects.

This can cause users to become overly excited, feel lethargic the next day, and may even lead them to fall asleep.

It may be accompanied by some headache and loss of appetite.

[The werewolf who has already transformed will fall into a deep sleep after taking the medicine and will not be able to immediately revert to its original form. Instead, it will revert to its original form the next day when the moonlight disappears. (Note: It seems to become more alert, but this experiment is extremely dangerous and should not be replicated lightly.)]

[Further observations of side effects and the formulation of subsequent medications will be published in the next issue of the main publication.]

'Only this much?'

He took another look and found nothing he had missed, thus confirming that the new potion indeed only had those few side effects—it was fine as long as nothing went wrong at the time, but what about the subsequent side effects? There are so many potions, can't they be adjusted?

'I want to try…'

He stuffed the remaining pineapple preserves into his mouth, but couldn't taste much sweetness—a brand new potion recipe was right in front of him, how could he not give it a try?

As a top pharmacist, he naturally had a very well-equipped laboratory with all the necessary materials.

'These are all common medications, I have them all—it's just the animagus hair…'

He muttered to himself that the materials needed were few, just a few hairs, but the problem was that there were only a handful of Animagus in all of Britain.

'Go through the list and see if you recognize anyone…'

He was very confident about this – a huge network of connections, good relationships, if he couldn't handle big things, what was a few hairs?

Slughorn quickly obtained the list of Animagus from the students.

"That's all?"

His eyes widened—only seven? And from the past century?

However, he quickly found the names of people he knew from there—after all, almost all wizards in Britain came from Hogwarts.

'This is a student… unfortunately, not in the club, so it's not appropriate for them to write a letter asking for hair.'

'I didn't teach this...'

'this…'

He froze, because he saw Minerva's name...

'To brew a potion, should I ask Minerva for hair?'

Faced with unfamiliar students on one side and the familiar vice principal on the other, Slughorn was caught in a dilemma.

'Oh, right! Bellby!'

He suddenly remembered the discoverer of the potion; this experiment would definitely cause a lot of hair loss, and he didn't believe that Belby could shave Professor McGonagall's head.

Professor Slughorn picked up the supplement again and began reading it from the author's side.

"Huh? Professor William is here too?"

He gaped, not knowing Professor William very well—because he had taken some of Severus's work after returning to teaching, and out of guilt, he had silently supported Severus in some matters.

Although they weren't as directly hostile to the people in the Self-Defense Office as Severus, their interactions were definitely not extensive; at most, they were just nodding acquaintances.

'They actually collaborated on this research… He's Bellby's student? Wait a minute, if he were a student, he wouldn't be placed in this position. A collaborator?'

'Is that professor's potion-making talent that high?'

'What a pity… If it weren't for Severus, we might have had a proper exchange, and he could have given the younger generation some pointers—but judging from his appearance, Professor William has also achieved some success in potions…'

He shook his head, and then noticed another unusual name.

Sirius Black?

"That's it! Sirius Black! I remember now, the newspaper said he was an illegal Animagus, so he's the one being studied!"

"That's right, that's right. Potter is his godson. Considering how much extra tutoring I've given Potter this semester, taking a few hairs is no big deal!"

-

"Severus, why did you cut your vacation short?"

In the vice-principal's office, Professor McGonagall looked at Snape, who had appeared in the castle, with a puzzled expression.

She was curious. Snape's family lived in Spider's End, where he usually spent his holidays, and she had never heard of him planning to return to school early.

But to her surprise, Snape, who used to be able to sarcastically retort to her, was somewhat—well, clumsy—in his speech today.

This was truly intriguing. If she didn't know the professor's strength and hadn't noticed the added defenses in the castle, she would have suspected that the person in front of her had been switched with someone else.

“It’s like this, Minerva…”

Snape, who was usually taciturn, even stammered, "I need some of your hair, and some of your Animagus form's hair."

???

Professor McGonagall's eyes widened in disbelief at what she had just heard.

"Sorry, Severus, I didn't quite hear you."

"I need some of your hair, and the hair in your Animagus form."

This time he spoke very fluently, but now Snape wanted to draw his wand and have a duel with the instigator.

A new wolfsbane potion appeared, but for the first time he encountered such an embarrassing situation—he, Severus, the potions professor at Hogwarts, and the person with the most potion stock, couldn't get any new potion ingredients!

He was quite good at divination, even though he was a complete novice. But when it came to potions, he couldn't even get the raw materials right.

Moreover, because he can't figure out the raw materials, he might become the only top-tier apothecary who hasn't mastered the new potion-making method.

What a joke!

How could the dignity of a Potions Master be so blatantly challenged? A potion for which the recipe was even published in hopes of improvement, and he, Snape, had never even made one?

How embarrassing! He's even learned how to brew the wolfsbane potion, a potion he hadn't even considered before. How could he fall behind in improving it?

But if you can't get them, you just can't get them. Potions and Transfiguration are completely unrelated industries. Maybe McGonagall knows all the Animagus, but he can't—there are only seven legal ones in all of Britain, and he doesn't know any of them!

What about the illegal ones?

No, Wormtail has gone mad and Dumbledore has permanently stripped him of his Animagus powers. Sirius Black, with his semi-legal Animagus, is even less likely to be approached. The only illegal Animagus he might have a slight chance of contacting through connections is Rita, who's still stuck in Azkaban for her full ten-year sentence…

But that idiot's Animagus is a beetle—are you suggesting we pluck the beetle's legs to use in medicine? Let's not even talk about how that would be tantamount to improving the potion; we might not even be able to improve it by stewing Rita whole. Besides, even if she foolishly agreed, how many legs does a beetle have?

After much consideration, he realized that among all the people he knew, there was only one left who could provide him with the raw materials for the medicine.

Minerva McGonagall.

"Hair? And hair in the Animagus form?"

Professor McGonagall looked at Snape with suspicion, seriously doubting whether he had drunk the wrong potion today.

Let's put aside the issue of curses—wanting her hair?

She used Animagus in class to demonstrate to her students, not for people to pluck feathers today!

This behavior is absolutely unacceptable—if you dare to come and pluck feathers today, are you going to come and steal the Academy Cup tomorrow?

"That's how it is..."

Before Professor McGonagall could explain, Snape finally began to explain.

-

Another one has arrived!

Sirius was going crazy staying at home.

From that far away, those people were going to pluck their own hair and fur!

Is it possible to refuse? No…

A renowned pharmacist throughout Britain, from a famous pure-blood family... His tone was kind and his words sincere. If you're willing to pluck his feathers, our family will owe you a debt of gratitude.

Other companies might have issues with whether they could honor their promises, but the Blake name offers a high level of security—of course, there's also a reason why it's hard to refuse, since they're relatives…

Although many wizards are unwilling to acknowledge werewolves, it cannot be denied that some purebloods have actually been bitten. Moreover, even if there are no werewolves in the house, who wouldn't be prepared for a bite?

The previous wolfsbane potion would still turn you into a wolf, but the current one is almost indistinguishable after taking it. We definitely need to try to concoct this kind of potion!