Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 66 A bold idea

"How many people have you actually seen?" Snape instinctively pulled his wizard robes tighter around himself.

“I’ve seen a few before,” Myrtle looked at him with interest, “but recently I’ve only seen yours.”

“Bah, you lowly female ghost,” Snape picked up a golden cauldron from the table and placed it on the floor. “Should I feel honored?”

“I haven’t met you yet, Severus,” Pandora suddenly chimed in, joining the conversation.

"Want me to show you now?" Snape rolled his eyes in annoyance, while waving his wand to cast the Clear Water Charm.

The clear, trickling water soon filled the crucible, and with a gentle tap of his wand, a ball of ghostly blue magic fire shot up from the bottom of the crucible.

"No need for that, there's nothing to see anyway." Pandora stuck out her tongue, turned around and ran to the lab table, picked up her wand and fiddled with it casually, occasionally fiddling with the magical materials next to her.

The two remained silent. Myrtle floated down onto the chandelier on the roof and watched everything with great interest.

“First, the main ingredients,” Snape took a deep breath and pulled two small, chilling eggs from his bag, “two Fire Serpent eggs from Professor Kettleburn’s stash, shelled and chopped into one-inch cubes…”

After processing the materials, Snape finally began the formal potion-making process.

He first poured a bottle of goblin wax into the boiling crucible. Thick, dark green smoke immediately rose from the crucible.

After cooking for just nine minutes and thirty-two seconds, Snape precisely tossed in the Fire-Ash Serpent Egg fragment, then stirred the mixture three times clockwise and seven times counterclockwise.

After boiling for seven minutes, Snape added to the crucible in the following order: finely chopped sapwort, garlic, Angelica pubescens, henbane petals, honey, finely powdered dried ginger, and petrified and ground calamus root.

The liquid in the crucible slowly turned into a soft, pale pink suspension. After the potion remained in this state for a few minutes, Snape added the final ingredient—two bay leaves.

Now, the potion is emitting a faint, shimmering purple vapor and a pleasant fragrance.

"It smells so good!" Myrtle had somehow floated above the cauldron. She suddenly stuck her head out, her translucent hair almost touching the liquid. "I haven't smelled anything like this in years."

"Ah!" Startled, Snape nearly overturned the cauldron.

"Don't come near me without saying a word again!" he said angrily, glaring at Myrtle.

“But I don’t make any noise when I walk,” Myrtle said innocently, pouting.

“Then when you get close, at least make some noise with your mouth,” Snape said with lingering fear. “Don’t scare me every time.”

The medicine needs to be simmered over a low flame for an entire night.

Early the next morning, Snape and Pandora arrived at the House of Requirement once again.

They stood in front of the white wall, repeating the agreed-upon code several times before Myrtle finally opened the door.

As soon as the door opened, she rushed to the crucible with a satisfied, silly grin on her face.

At this point, the medicine had lost its pink color from yesterday and turned into a pale brownish-white liquid with a mother-of-pearl luster, accompanied by wisps of rising steam.

“I know what this is.” Pandora leaned in and took a deep breath, a lazy smile spreading across her face. “Why does this smell like you, Severus?” Myrtle suddenly turned around, her eyes filled with doubt.

"Oh, really?" Snape snapped out of his daze, having just caught a whiff of many pleasant scents. "You're making me a little scared."

"Why?" Myrtle asked, puzzled. "What is this?"

“Amortentia,” Pandora answered, “the most potent love potion. What are you making this for, Severus? Isn’t it forbidden at Hogwarts?”

“It’s not for my own use, but I have a bold idea that I might need it.” Snape took out a crystal bottle and slowly poured the potion into it. “Besides, since when did you start caring about school rules?”

“That’s true, as long as I don’t get expelled,” Pandora said with a smile.

After bidding farewell to a man and a ghost, Snape left the castle with the Love Potion in his hand, walked down the lawn, and arrived at the Quidditch pitch.

The weather is clear and cold, and it's the middle of the Quidditch season.

The cheers from the Quidditch pitch were already clearly audible; today's match was between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.

Of course, Snape went to the Quidditch pitch not to watch a game, nor to learn from Quirinus Quirrell and cast a curse on Potter.

Although James, as a Chaser, went out of his way to steal a Golden Snitch, let it fly away, and then catch it to show off, Snape had no need to risk doing such a thing.

Snape squinted at the court for a long time but couldn't find James. He seemed to be absent from today's game, and his friends weren't in the stands either.

Even after the cheering crowd dispersed, he still hadn't found Sirius.

As Snape wandered aimlessly around the campus after leaving the Quidditch pitch, he spotted Sirius sitting alone under a tall beech tree by the lake.

He walked toward the beech tree that had been with generations of Hogwarts students.

Sirius heard Snape's footsteps and looked up. His long, black hair was a little messy, hanging down his forehead in a disheveled manner.

"It's you," Sirius immediately stood up alertly, wand already in hand, his eyes filled with disgust and defensiveness. "What else do you want?"

“Don’t be so hostile towards me,” Snape raised his hands to indicate that he meant no harm. “I’m here to help you this time.”

"Help me?" Sirius's anger flared up instantly. "What do you mean? You've ruined James! If you're going to threaten me with the illegal Animagus thing, I'm ready to fight you to the death!"

“Oh dear, don’t get so angry,” Snape said apologetically. “I went a bit too far this time, and I’m sorry for the unpleasant experience James had. I’ve come to see you to make amends.”

As he spoke, Snape slowly pulled a crystal bottle from his pocket, the pale brown liquid inside swirling gently: "I think this might help James and you feel less sad."

"What is this?" Sirius asked coldly, staring at the crystal bottle.

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(End of this chapter)