After Wyzett left, the door to the headmaster's office creaked open.
Dumbledore stood in the doorway, a gentle smile playing at the corners of his mouth. After a moment's thought, he lifted his wand. "Specialis Revelio!"
The tip of his wand quivered, releasing a swirl of golden smoke that spun into a vortex above the corridor. The vortex rotated slowly, a faint rustling sound filling the air as layer upon layer of golden dust drifted down.
The gold dust danced, then coalesced into the shimmering outline of a figure—wand raised in a familiar gesture. It was the exact pose Wyzett had struck while casting in the hallway.
Dumbledore glanced at Fawkes, his ancient phoenix. "His self-regulation is rather impressive, wouldn't you say?"
Fawkes looked older than ever, his movements slow and weary. He didn't sing as he once had, but gave a small, dignified nod in response.
Compared to Dumbledore, who was busy unwrapping a piece of candy, Fawkes seemed the very embodiment of twilight years.
Noticing this, Dumbledore paused in his own treat and offered a berry to his companion. "You've been working hard for so long. Let me take good care of you for a while."
As October rolled in, the Halloween Feast drew ever closer.
But this October was different from last year's—an unusual damp chill crept through the castle. The cold seeped into every stone, leaving the walls clammy and the air heavy with moisture.
To avoid the biting damp, most students tried to stay indoors—at least, that was the case for Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff. Their common rooms were warm and inviting, and after classes, students flocked to the hearth, settling in with books or games as close to the fire as possible.
Slytherin wasn't so lucky. Their common room, set beside the Black Lake, remained stubbornly cold and damp no matter how fiercely the fireplace roared.
Naturally, this led to a wave of colds and flu, with Slytherin students hit the hardest—almost none were spared.
...
In Potions class, Ron and Harry pressed close together, soaking up every bit of warmth from their bubbling cauldron. The flames flickered merrily beneath, turning their cheeks a rosy red.
Watching Snape nitpick at Neville, Ron muttered, "Snape didn't catch the flu..."
Harry gave his cauldron a stir and whispered, "Maybe he's just so cold-blooded it doesn't bother him?"
"Cough, cough—" Ron tried to stifle his laughter, disguising it as a fit of coughing.
"Heh..." Snape let out a sharp, cold laugh. "Gossiping about a professor, are we? Five points from Gryffindor."
At that, Harry and Ron exchanged glances—the flush on their faces seemed to vanish instantly.
"Will you two knock it off!" hissed Seamus Finnigan, glancing back at them. "He's been brewing Pepperup Potion lately. Maybe his mood'll improve..."
BANG!
Before Seamus could finish, his cauldron erupted with a loud pop, splattering potion all over him and Dean Thomas.
Neither boy screamed. Instead, they both flopped to the floor, instantly fast asleep—out cold, but looking blissfully content.
"Another ten points from Gryffindor!" Snape snapped. "Everyone, eyes on the board! Find out what step six is!"
"The Pepperup Potion calls for three clockwise stirs. These two 'geniuses' went counterclockwise—so they brewed the exact opposite!"
He crouched to check their condition. Seeing only minor burns, he announced, "Now... someone will need to take the trouble to escort them to the hospital wing."
Harry and Ron's eyes lit up, but they quickly ducked their heads, feigning deep concentration on their potions.
They were closest to the fallen pair—surely they'd be picked for the errand.
Snape shot them a withering look. "How disappointing that their own dormmates don't volunteer."
"Since the gentlemen are so reluctant... Miss Granger! Miss Patil! Please escort our two sleeping beauties to the hospital wing."
With that, he resumed his patrol, prowling the classroom and deducting more points as he went.
Watching Hermione leave with a look of pure frustration, Ron sighed. "That would've been the best job all day."
"In a way, he really gets us... Making Hermione take them—she'll be fussing over them for hours."
"Tell me about it," Harry agreed, double-checking the instructions on the blackboard and tossing two portions of wolfsbane into his cauldron.
...
Seamus hadn't been wrong—thanks to the flu outbreak, Snape was brewing Pepperup Potion by the cauldronful.
Even during their weekend private lessons, Wyzett found himself roped into helping.
Ordinarily, the recipe called for just one pungent ingredient: ginger root.
But Snape, being a true Potions Master, wasn't satisfied with ordinary. Alongside heaps of ginger, he tossed in catmint, peppercorns, horseradish, and mint—so much that Wyzett's eyelids twitched at the sight.
And when it came to the final step, Snape still wasn't finished. He added a splash of chicory extract for good measure, leaving Wyzett sweating with anxiety.
Catching his look, Snape arched an eyebrow. "Care to lose points?"
"Professor Snape, I was just thinking about the effects," Wyzett replied, finishing his own potion with a careful counterclockwise stir.
"Catmint, peppercorns, horseradish, mint—those could all substitute for ginger, but adding so much at once... isn't it a bit over the top?"
"Then dilute it," Snape said curtly. "I haven't got time to waste. I'll brew Pepperup Potion today. You'll handle the rest from now on."
Wyzett couldn't help but ask, "Professor, what about the chicory extract at the end? It doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the potion's effects."
Snape gave a frosty smirk. "Gryffindors are too full of themselves—let's help them work up an appetite."
He cleaned his cauldron and began another batch. "When you deliver these to Madam Pomfrey, be sure to tell her they're a special batch for Gryffindor."
"Diluted Pepperup Potion, huh?" Wyzett thought of Ancient Magic: Potion Equilibrium Transmutation.
"Professor Snape, if I add extra sweetener to the concentrated Pepperup Potion, will it affect the efficacy?"
"What kind of sweetener?" Snape asked.
"I thought about licorice at first," Wyzett explained, "but too much can cause side effects. Then I considered honeysuckle and echinacea extracts. If you add those at the final step, you can keep the sweetness without compromising the potion."
Snape pondered for a moment, then nodded. "That'll work. But you'll need to alter your technique—including your wandwork."
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