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Male wizards included.
The fury in Snape's glare deepened, now tinged with sothing else, unease.
"You brewed the love potion!" Ian's voice cut through the tension, indignant as he jabbed a finger at the cauldron Snape had just finished. "I didn't make that, I watched you make that!"
"The love potion you learned about from the Restricted Section?" Snape snarled. "I knew Dumbledore should never have approved you."
Indeed.
No one at Hogwarts understood potions better than Severus Snape.
"I'm conducting research!" Ian shot back.
Professor Morgan's love potion formula contained fragnts of alchemical theory that had intrigued him. He wasn't even close to unraveling all its secrets yet, but he was making progress, until Snape had interrupted him.
Had he been left alone for just a little longer, he would have cracked an entirely new principle tonight.
But now?
To clear his na, Ian had to shift tactics.
His gaze flicked toward the large bag of ingredients Snape still held, his carefully acquired supplies. If he played this right, he might be able to steer the conversation toward practical application instead of punishnt.
As Ian stepped forward and ignited a fresh cauldron, Snape's fury deepened.
"You intend to teach how to brew potions?"
His voice was low, dangerously soft.
"I only hope you'll advise ." Ian's tone was carefully asured.
He wasn't about to throw caution to the wind, he was well aware that Snape's knowledge of potioneering still far surpassed his own.
At least, for now.
"You've altered the formula this much, and yet you still need to guide you in brewing a love potion? Ha! Don't think flattery will save you! This is a love potion, Prince! It's forbidden magic! Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you're in?"
Snape's voice still carried anger, but the raw fury had noticeably lessened.
"If you hadn't destroyed the cauldron that was closest to success, I could have shown you exactly what I was doing!" Ian shot back as he continued preparing ingredients.
Truth be told, Snape had successfully brewed a love potion, but it was nothing like Professor Morgan's formula. That cauldron had been on the verge of becoming sothing else, sothing that strayed far from standard potion-making practices. The love potion had rely been a foundation, the easiest path.
Had Ian not recognized this, he wouldn't have been so determined to study it overnight.
"Kā kā kā kā~"
Lacking the assistance of his usual helper, Ian had to manually process the ingredients. Snape, standing nearby, made no move to help, his expression remained one of irritation and brooding impatience.
"You idiot, cut it coarser! Do you want the calamus root to release all its properties at once?"
At least Snape wasn't stopping Ian from working. Unfortunately, with no other students to focus on, the man had all the ti in the world to criticize.
"Scrape off the top layer of the asphodel root, soak it in honey, then blend it with the liquid from the petals. And rlin's beard, are you rationing that nectar as if the bees had a hard ti collecting it?"
"You're pouring out armadillo bile, what, do you have so personal vendetta against armadillos? Or does that empty head of yours think more will sohow improve the potion?"
Snape's cutting remarks were sharper than usual, clearly, he was using them as an outlet for his frustration. Ian didn't argue. He simply adjusted his technique and followed the corrections without hesitation.
[Potions Proficiency 4]
[Potions Proficiency 6]
[Potions Proficiency 3]
…
Though Ian was only making minor adjustnts, Snape's scathing remarks proved he wasn't just being difficult. The steady improvents in Ian's proficiency made it clear that his ingredient handling still had plenty of room for refinent.
"What in rlin's na are you adding unicorn saliva for, wait." Snape's voice cut off as his gaze locked onto the large bottle Ian had produced. "Where did you get such a large supply of unicorn saliva?"
Before Snape could fully process this, Ian calmly began stirring a bowl of frog brains, then poured them into the cauldron along with the unicorn saliva.
"Are you trying to convince that this is a love potion by using the most repulsive thod possible?"
Snape looked ready to explode, until an unfamiliar aroma curled through the air.
Ian had altered the process, weaving a different path through the half-finished potion Snape had seen earlier. That was the only reason Snape hadn't imdiately put a stop to it.
"Of course not."
Under Snape's piercing gaze, Ian raised his wand and began to move it in a precise pattern.
The air around them grew thick with tension, urgency creeping in as their conversation deepened.
The potion in the cauldron was changing. Its scent shifted, curling through the air in an unfamiliar way.
Snape, who had thus far worn his usual let's see how you embarrass yourself expression, suddenly looked uncertain.
"Add armadillo bile!"
His eyes snapped wide with shock. His usual biting tone faltered into sothing urgent. Without waiting for Ian to respond, he strode over to the shelf, snatched up a bottle, and asured out precise drops into the potion.
The scent shifted again, just slightly.
Ian's potion making continued.
He had ant to fetch the next set of prepared ingredients himself, but before he could move, he noticed Snape had already done it.
His professor stood by the cauldron, adding the components in swift, deliberate sequence. Ian hadn't even given instructions, yet Snape adjusted the quantities, deviating slightly from what Ian had planned.
"Uncle, " Ian started.
But Snape cut him off with a glare so sharp it could've sliced through dragonhide.
"Continue."
There was sothing in his voice, sothing layered, almost unreadable.
Under that piercing stare, Ian didn't hesitate. He lifted his wand again, focusing his magic as he resud the incantations.
The potion in the cauldron was no longer murky. Slowly, it clarified, becoming more transparent until it shimred with a rich, srizing deep blue, like the most enigmatic treasure hidden in the depths of the sea.
"Success!"
Ian's voice brimd with surprise, he hadn't truly expected one of the many possibilities hidden within Professor Morgan's perplexing formula to be verified so smoothly.
It must be the Half-Blood Prince.
"Where is your original love potion formula?"
At so point, Snape's previous frustration had faded. Now, his hands were steady as he carefully decanted the shimring potion into crystal vials, each one gleaming in the dim light.
Watching the liquid swirl inside the vials, Snape finally believed Ian.
(To Be Continued…)
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