days at Hogwarts

Chapter 183 Potion Activity
"By the way!" Professor Flitwick looked to the other side, "Pomona, isn't Herbalism planning to open a club? Many students are looking forward to it."

The chubby Professor Sprout paused to deal with the steak in front of him, and wiped his mouth with a napkin: "You don't need to say that to comfort me, why would a little wizard like to go into the greenhouse and deal with the soil?"

Dumbledore suddenly turned his head and raised his eyebrows exaggeratedly: "Don't underestimate the charm of those interesting plants, this is not a comforting scene, at least there are many students in Gryffindor who like to handle herbs."

Professor McGonagall reached out and patted her on the shoulder: "In Hufflepuff College, there are more little wizards like this!"

Hogwarts colleagues are really nice to talk to.Professor Sprout could not restrain the smile on the corner of his mouth:

"Well, I'll think about it. But I can take care of the greenhouse by myself for now, and maybe start a herbalism club when I feel like I need help."

There is harmony at the table and every club has a bright future.

Some people laughed and others were sad, Lockhart was anxious thinking about the Defense Against the Dark Arts club where he still had no shadow, his eyes wandered among the young wizards in the audience with blank eyes.

Trelawney, who was sitting on the edge, filled another glass of sherry and drank it down.

Why didn't anyone come to persuade her to open a divination club?

Don't any little wizards like divination?

Prophecy is an integral part of magic!

Tons of tons, the wine hurts in the throat.

In the next two days, the invitation to the Potions Club sparked extensive discussions among the young wizards.

Potions are a popular profession, and some young wizards want to join the Potions Club, learn the skills of preparing potions, and become decent pharmacists after graduation.Now, their hopes were dashed, and only some of the students who had received invitations, sent directly from Snape, were able to join the club.

For this undisclosed and opaque selection method, many young wizards harbor resentment.

"What is the standard for issuing invitation letters? Is there a limit on the number of people? Why can't I take the initiative to apply?"

"We must oppose this unfair selection method! Oppose the shady scene!"

Two red-haired students from Ravenclaw, who did not want to be named, arched the fire.

George and Fred didn't receive an invitation letter, and they didn't want to join the Potions Club. They said these words just to watch the excitement.

In Ron's words: "Think about it, this is the excitement of the old bat, it's so exciting!"

Le Ziren's words caused some waves.

One day, several students gathered together and blocked the entrance of the auditorium, with solemn expressions, like warriors who were about to be burned to death for justice and freedom.

Surrounded by more young wizards watching the excitement, George and Fred were among the crowd, looking at these people with bright eyes, with anticipation on their faces.

Loren and his group, who had just finished class, saw such a scene. Ron saw his two brothers at once, his eyes lit up, he pushed through the crowd and squeezed in, and soon squeezed out again.

Ron turned excitedly to what he knew: "They're going to question Snape here, to protest him!"

Seamus and Dean immediately cheered up: "Cool!"

Loren and the others didn't want to leave either. Even if they were hungry, a group of people wanted to watch the fun outside the auditorium.

Soon, Snape in a green robe approached with a blank expression on his face, and the little wizard in the corridor instantly stopped talking.Snape walked with the wind, and his long-fronted wizard robes made hunting sounds. When passing by the little wizards who were about to protest, he gave them a sharp look.

The warriors who were about to die did not dare to die at once, and turned into little quails, not daring to make a sound.Let Snape enter the auditorium smoothly.

The group of people who watched the excitement couldn't help but let out a "chuck" laugh. After preparing for a long time, it was too funny to be frightened by Snape.

The farce was just farce, and it didn't make any waves in the busy school.

The time for the Potions Club event was approaching. The day before the event, Loren was taken to the office by Snape to do some preparations.

Take the herbs out of the storage box, untie the bundled ropes, and pack them into boxes.This kind of mechanical work is not tiring, but a bit boring.

The bundle of herbs was thrown into the box, the slipknot was undone and the rope pulled out, and the next bundle.

Loren twirled the dried grass leaves and recognized the herb by observing the veins on the leaves.

He turned his head to look at Snape: "Rue herb? This common herb is used to make rue essence. What are you going to use it for?"

Rue is a mild tonic, often used by weaklings, to give them some warmth and strength, like glucose.

But the preparation process is very troublesome. The two leaves located in the middle of the rhizome are picked, and the remaining part is used to extract the juice, and then the leaves are put into the grass juice extracted from the rue grass to boil.

It belongs to the basic and commonly used potions, because it takes time and effort to sell at a higher price.

Snape, who was writing at his desk, raised his head: "For tomorrow's club activities, the second-year students will be responsible for picking grass leaves, the third-year students will be in charge of soaking the grass juice, and the senior students will be in charge of brewing rue essence."

Loren raised his head in surprise: "Aren't these tasks too simple?"

He actually meant to say dull and boring.

These tasks are the little wizards who have just entered school, and they can learn and master them proficiently if they do it a few times.Those who received the invitation letters were all students with excellent grades in potions. They were really overqualified for doing these things, and they were overkill.

"The preparation process of rue essence is simple and easy to learn, and the price is a little expensive. It is the most suitable potion for the first business."

Snape saw Loren stunned, and explained: "Hogwarts needs to have its own funds and income if it wants to completely break away from the control of the school board. It's just that it needs to be opened in this way in the early stage, and it won't be used later. you guys."

"But-but... I thought the Potions Club was for research on rejuvenating potions."

"I have made my own arrangements for the medicine that brings the dead back to life."

……

Basement, Potions classroom.

This is where the Potions Club's first activity took place, the potion brewing classroom they were familiar with.No candles were lit, and dim light came in from the skylight, so that the dark basement classroom would not be plunged into complete darkness.

The young wizards in the audience gathered together and listened quietly to Professor Snape's narration, just like they had just entered the first class, and Professor Snape also said something similar.

Loren, Hermione, Harry, Rolf and Draco sat in front, not daring to make any noise.

Snape's figure was completely hidden in the darkness, only his occasional movements could reveal some undulations in his outline.

"As I said a long time ago, personally, I don't expect some of you to understand the techniques and mysteries of Potions."

"Some mediocre people think that I am arbitrary and the way I distribute invitations is not objective enough. But please believe that there is only one reason why they did not receive invitations, and that is that they lack a little talent in potions. Of course, maybe they didn't give out invitations in front of me. Show talent." Snape spoke slowly, with sarcasm in his words.

The familiar way of speaking reminded Harry of his first Potions class, and he had a feeling of foreboding.Looking around and comparing the people around him, Harry felt that he also lacked the talent for potions.

Snape paced back and forth on the podium, and his shadow was constantly elongated: "Even everyone here, most of them just follow the textbooks, put in herbs step by step, rigidly holding the textbook in one hand, and holding the textbook in the other. Just stir the cauldron with your hands."

Suddenly, an unknown know-it-all lady felt targeted.

"As for some people, who want to use potions as a way of life—" Snape sneered, "I hope you don't give up on this naive idea."

He squeezed his wand and gently picked it up, and the candlesticks on the walls on both sides lit up, illuminating the dark underground potions classroom.

It was only then that the young wizards discovered that there were boxes of rue herbs placed in front of the podium.

Snape assigned tasks to the little wizards of each grade, demonstrated the brewing process of rue essence and left.

"Go, go?"

The senior little wizard was a little dumbfounded.

They thought that the Potions Club could learn some advanced knowledge of potions, but it turned out to be low-level rue?Now that Snape had left directly, they couldn't accept it for a while.

Loren glanced left and right, besides the two acquaintances Rolf and Draco, Michael Kona, a second grader, also received the invitation letter.

Conor was a wizard from Ravenclaw, with long black hair covering most of his head, showing blank eyes, and he didn't understand Professor Snape's approach.

Loren held out his hand to him: "Get to know me, I'm Loren Morgan."

Kona came back to his senses, and quickly shook hands in response: "Hi, Michael Kona, Ravenclaw."

Harry, Hermione, Rolf, and Draco also introduced each other one after another.A group of people began to pick rue grass leaves under Loren's call.Under their leadership, young wizards of other grades entered their work one after another.

The second graders picked grass leaves, the third graders soaked the grass juice, and the remaining senior wizards boiled rue essence around the crucible.

"7 blades of grass, 7 and one blade of grass, 7..." Harry counted, and said angrily, "What potion club, old bats are here to torture us, what can we learn from this?" ?”

Draco squinted at him, the sarcasm was on his lips, he suddenly remembered something, stopped the words in time, sneered, and buried himself in picking the leaves again.

Rolf wasn't impatient at all, and even seemed a little relaxed: "Some seniors and sisters want to use potions as a career choice, and Professor Snape's current arrangement is to dispel their thoughts."

These words attracted the attention of several people around, and Hermione's eyes turned, revealing a look of enlightenment.Connor and Draco looked at Rolf suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Taking potion as a profession, their work is the same as it is now. The same potion is constantly configured repeatedly. As an apprentice, they can only repeat one of the processes like now."

While Rolf was talking, the work in hand did not slow down: "I can't bear it now, so how can I make potion dispensing a lifelong career? They don't like potion dispensing, they just like the respectability of potion masters." That's all."

Several people turned their heads to look at the seniors and sisters who were in charge of the work behind them. Some of them were sitting in their seats and doing their own things. Some of them were already restless, as if they had nails on the stool. .

Loren smacked his lips, a little puzzled.

Did Snape actually have such an intention?

How does he feel that this is exploiting their labor force?

……

Unknowingly, the time gradually came to October.

The upsurge of spell practice triggered by Professor Flitwick has subsided a lot. The main reason is that the temperature has dropped, and the damp cold air is hidden in the wind. Also infected the people in the castle.The school doctor, Ms. Pomfrey, was in a hurry.

There are often little wizards running around in the corridor with white smoke coming out of their ears.It was a side effect of taking a pick-me-up potion for colds, and people who drank it had smoke coming out of their ears for hours on end.

The dense raindrops like bullets hit the castle, the glass, the Forbidden Forest, and everything in front of us.It has been raining like this for several days, and misty fog has risen in the wilderness, covering the mountains and the Forbidden Forest.

On the steps of the courtyard on the first floor, little wizards sit here listening to the rain, chatting and playing.

"How are you practicing your spells?" Seamus poked Neville's Leffe, and Leffe jumped every time he poked. In this humid weather, Leffe was in a good mood.

"I'm a lot more proficient, and the rest seems to have remained the same. I don't want to practice anymore." Dean said, most of the little wizards have similar ideas, and it's already too long to last for 3 minutes.

"I heard that the senior wizards in the Charms Club are studying ancient magic. I really want to know how powerful the ancient Explosive Curse is?" Seamus said enviously. He hadn't learned the Explosive Curse yet.

Hermione also showed yearning expression when she heard the ancient magic.She complained to Loren in a low voice: "Professor Flitwick shouldn't be rejected at that time, so we can also learn ancient magic."

The results of the Transfiguration Club exam she was looking forward to hadn't been sent out, let alone started activities.The little witch even had a little resentment towards Professor McGonagall, and chatted with Loren from time to time.

"Then go talk to Professor Flitwick again, he will definitely not reject you." Loren laughed.

Hermione stopped talking. Although she had a little resentment towards Professor McGonagall, Professor McGonagall was her favorite professor.

"Hey, George gave me a good thing." Ron ran over with a bottle of potion and showed off excitedly, "a refreshing potion that makes your ears smoke like a train!"

Ever since everyone thought it was cool to have smoke in your ears, the school infirmary's pick-me-ups have suffered.In the beginning, they pretended to be sick to get the refreshment potion, but later someone got caught in the rain and caught a cold because of the refreshment potion. Ms. Pomfrey became very angry, and the refreshment potion never left the school infirmary.

Feeling that everyone was looking at him, Ron swallowed the potion in one gulp, waiting expectantly for the effect of the medicine to take effect.

His ears didn't respond, and black stripes appeared on his skin, one black and one white, like a zebra.

Loud laughter erupted from the crowd.

Harry, Loren, and Hermione turned their heads sideways, unable to bear to look at him, and instead of laughing, they just shrugged their shoulders violently.

Ron's skin changed from black and white to an angry black and red, "Yeah——" shouted to find George and Fred and died together.

"Looks like he forgot and can't eat anything from George and Fred," laughed Harry.

(End of this chapter)