A half-drunk potion bottle was smashed onto the ground.
"Cough, cough..." Kate knelt on the floor with her head down, her limbs too weak to support her body as she dry-heaved and coughed incessantly.
It was too bitter. This bottle of magic-suppressing potion tasted a hundred times worse than the improved version she had taken before!
A rich, bitter taste spread infinitely from the tip of her tongue to the depths of her throat, even creating the illusion that her throat was being scorched.
She struggled to crawl up from the ground, her face pale and covered in sweat, and looked at Snape. "Professor... is this enough?"
With every word she spoke, she felt the urge to vomit.
Snape calmly filled a brand new potion bottle with the Draught of Peace, then cast a Scouring Charm on the spilled potion on the floor.
"If you cannot sleep tonight, drink this." He handed over the potion bottle and said lightly, "Come here once every three days."
Kate's face twitched as her trembling hand took the bottle. "Then... how many times do I need to come?"
Surely she wouldn't have to drink such bitter stuff for the entire coming semester?
"If you do not make any mistakes in the interim," Snape looked at her expressionlessly, "the duration will be half a month."
That meant five times.
Kate's heart tightened slightly. Before Snape could kick her out, she hurriedly asked, "Then, during the evenings of this half-month, can I come here for... confinement?"
As she spoke, she looked at the jars and bottles on the counter with a gaze full of thirst for knowledge.
Since she was being punished anyway, how could she not find an opportunity to collect some interest?
Snape frowned in displeasure. With a wave of his wand, he cleaned the cauldron. "I do not have the time to play games of private tutoring with you."
He paused. "However—I do not mind if you come here to do some menial preparation work."
A smile finally appeared on Kate's bitter little face. She bowed excitedly to Snape. "Then I will come again tomorrow! Thank you, Professor!"
As for today... after drinking such bitter medicine, she really needed a good rest.
Slowly backing out of the Potions office, Kate finally couldn't endure the burning bitterness in her throat anymore and began to cough violently in the corridor.
"System, open personal interface."
[Host: Kate Shafiq]
[Profession: Wizard]
[Title: Lord of the Manor]
[Charisma: 40]
[Strength: 24]
[Agility: 25]
[Spirit: 25]
[Vitality: 61]
[Luck: 27]
[Mana: 28+25 (Unable to mobilize)]
[Academy Reputation: 27]
[Family Reputation: 18]
[Wand Output Power: 1.6]
[Wand Attribute Points: 8]
Kate: "..."
She really hadn't expected that Snape's potion this time could actually cut her Mana directly in half. It was too ruthless.
Wasn't that old bat afraid the dosage was too heavy, making her unable to use magic at all?
"Cough... cough, cough!" Coughing laboriously, she walked slowly down the corridor. From a distance, she saw Peeves poking his head out from a wall.
"Hahaha! Shafiq has been punished by the Professor!" He laughed wantonly, throwing a box of red ink he had picked up from somewhere right onto her wizard robes.
In an instant, the originally black robes looked as if they had been soaked in fresh blood.
Kate had intended to draw her wand to block this urchin-like prank, but she had just drunk the potion; both her Spirit and Mana were at their lowest ebb.
In that moment, she actually failed to defend against it.
Truly, misfortunes never come singly.
Nausea still roiled in her stomach. Pale-faced, she looked at Peeves, who was laughing loudly above her head. Fighting back the churning in her stomach, she pulled out her wand, intending to teach him a lesson.
"Peeves! The Bloody Baron is coming!"
Hermione's voice suddenly rang out from behind Peeves. The poltergeist was so frightened that he immediately dove into the wall, wandering off to who knows where.
What he feared most was the castle ghost, The Bloody Baron. There was no other.
After driving him away, Hermione ran over in a hurry. Seeing Kate's wretched appearance, she immediately became anxious.
"What happened? Shouldn't you be in confinement right now? did Professor Snape use corporal punishment on you? I'll go tell the Headmaster right now!"
Kate quickly grabbed the little lion who wanted to rush out of the dungeon. She first used a Scouring Charm to clean her robes, then leaned weakly into Hermione's embrace.
"Hermione," she called out softly.
"I'm here, I'm right here. Are you okay? What exactly happened?"
Having never seen her in such a weak state, Hermione was so anxious that her voice carried a hint of sobbing.
Kate smiled weakly. "Do you have any snacks? Preferably the sweet kind."
"...?" Hermione frowned hesitantly, almost thinking she had heard wrong.
But soon, she patted around her pockets and found a Licorice Wand. "Sorry, there's only this."
Better than nothing.
Kate wasn't picky. She quickly unwrapped it and stuffed it into her mouth, feeling the rich licorice flavor spreading through her oral cavity.
Although it didn't completely mask the bitterness of the magic-suppressing potion, it was much better.
Seeing her complexion gradually improve, Hermione finally relaxed a little, supporting her step by step as they walked toward the Common Room.
"What exactly happened? You have to tell me," she pressed.
Kate sighed softly, knowing she couldn't hide it from her in this state. "Professor Snape's punishment for me was to make me drink a potion."
Hearing this, Hermione's eyebrows shot up immediately. "How can you just drink that randomly! Isn't he afraid of causing you health problems?"
The little lion simply couldn't rest easy the more she thought about it. "No! I think we still have to report this matter to the Headmaster, let him..."
"You can't." Kate immediately held Hermione's hand, shaking her head slightly at her. "Hermione, I've already resolved all of this. Don't create new complications."
The magic-suppressing potion was just a bit bitter; it didn't have much impact on her.
Her Mana was still on par with most seventh-year students. As long as she didn't get involved with Voldemort in the school, she would be fine.
To use this price in exchange for half a month of stealing knowledge by Snape's side—no matter how she thought about it, it was worth it.
Moreover, she had finally managed to divert Dumbledore's gaze away from her. She absolutely could not let him pay attention to her again because of something like this!
"But your body..." Hermione's voice was already sobbing.
Kate smiled, her weak arm gently wrapping around Hermione's neck as she leaned diagonally against her shoulder. "It doesn't matter. I'll be fine after a night's rest."
The two of them hugged for a while in this intimate yet awkward posture, until the Licorice Wand in Kate's mouth had melted, before she slowly straightened up.
Fortunately, no one was passing through the dungeon at this hour, otherwise it would have been awkward if they were seen.
"I'll walk you back to the Common Room." Hermione supported her carefully, her voice muffled.
Blame the dungeon for being too dim; only after Kate used a Lighting Charm did she see the faint tear tracks on the little girl's face.
"Really now," she reached out, gently wiping away Hermione's tears, her voice soft. "Don't cry. It's not like something happened to me."
Often, tears could clearly be held back, but when the person who cared about you offered comfort, the tears became impossible to stop.
With a "Wah," Hermione threw herself directly into Kate's arms, knocking her back against the hard, cold stone wall behind her.
"Mmh..." Kate groaned, feeling the chill radiating from her spine. She looked down at the girl sobbing softly in her arms.
Sigh, truly a pain one cannot refuse.
Holding her wand in one hand, she placed the other on the crown of Hermione's bushy hair, stroking it gently.
Clearly, she was the one who drank the potion, so how did Hermione become the one crying?
Unable to figure out this question, she didn't bother thinking about it. she could only keep speaking in circles to comfort the girl in her arms.
It was unknown how much time passed—long enough for Kate's own back to develop a stiff, numbing sensation—before Hermione finally emerged from her embrace, sniffing.
"Done crying?" she asked with a light laugh.
Heads bowed, Hermione hurriedly shook her head.
Fumbling around her person for a moment, Kate fished out a tissue and proactively reached out to wipe that tear-stained little face.
She leaned down again, looking straight into those red eyes with a gentle smile. "It'll be better after crying it out."
Although, in the end, she still didn't understand why Hermione's emotions were so intense tonight.
Probably because there had been too much pressure recently, and she just happened to bump into an emotional outlet like Kate.
Back in the Common Room, it was only when Kate was showering that she discovered her back had been bruised purple from the impact.
Tsk, the little girl is quite strong.
Fortunately, the System had collected a bit of Hermione's Emotion Points, so it wasn't a loss.
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