Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 106, Section 105: The Furnace

The advantage of having a fireplace that's always burning is that the three returning young wizards can dry off their moisture whenever they return.

A damp, chilly air lingered at the back of the classroom, while the closer one got to the fireplace, the stronger the aroma became—a mixture of the warmth of dried wool and the fresh scent of burning pine.

Three small figures, holding hot tea, stood in this atmosphere of light and warmth.

Justin pulled out a camera—a soft "click" sound accompanied by Hermione's angry voice.

"Sheen—it's happening again—hurry up and take it!"

Hermione always appeared with the fireplace. She puffed out her cheeks and handed over a towel, wanting to say something but swallowing it back helplessly.

"And you! You're so dirty!"

Seeing the mud splattered on Justin's feet, Hermione waved her wand, cleaned the ground, and then tossed a clean towel into Justin's hand.

Neville had been watching Sheen practice using Transfiguration, but now he was trembling and dared not utter a word.

Then two towels were placed in his arms—he was quite wet in many places.

Surrounded by the fireplace, light and heat danced and clung to the faces of the four—Justin handed some seeds to Hermione, while Neville held a plump, newly sprouted bubble pod and grinned wistfully.

Because of their hard work in the greenhouse, Professor Sprout not only gave them extra points, but also gave them a lot of seeds. Now, many places in the classroom are planted with greenery, and the classroom is becoming more and more like a cozy secret base.

But Shin's gains went beyond that. After Professor Snape sarcastically introduced him to a great deal of knowledge about potion materials, he essentially learned the process with a purpose while handling materials in the greenhouse—

For example, the root of the sunflower, Sheen knows that it needs to be ground into powder, so he pays special attention to the grinding process of the sunflower root;

For example, with Abyssinian wrinkled figs, Sheen knows that they need to be shelled, so he focuses on how and when to peel off the shell.

The connection between herbs and potions is as strong as the connection between ancient runes and alchemy.

Over the past few weeks, Sheen has spent a great deal of time finally memorizing "An Easy Introduction to Ancient Magic Runes" and "Magic Phonetic Table".

The complexity of this project is no less than that of thoroughly studying two of Professor McGonagall's treasured books.

How did Sheen know?
Of course, it's because he accomplished two arduous tasks at the same time.

Well, what he's most looking forward to is brewing potions tonight. He's just ten more points away from unlocking a new title in the potion realm.

After drying the thick robe, Sheen put it in the classroom wardrobe; it was still too hot to wear it in places with fireplaces or crucibles.

After all, this was a robe that could withstand torrential rain, and Professor Sprout carefully applied many special spells to it to ensure the health of the young wizards.

The torrential rain had not yet stopped, and by evening the weather had become very cold.

The mountains surrounding the school were gray and covered with ice and snow, and the lake surface was as cold and hard as tempered steel.

At this time, many Ravenclaws and Gryffindors would always grow in the fireplace of the Great Hall.

It's highly likely because the common rooms for students from both houses are exceptionally tall—unlike some little badgers huddled near the dining hall—so during breaks, the Great Hall is mostly filled with young wizards from both houses.

On the long table.

Ron was playing Wizard Chess with his head held high. With one command, his Knight smashed the head of the opponent's King.

"That's unfair! Replay! My pieces won't obey my commands at all!"

Simo blushed, he could hardly believe what his pieces had done—his king, shouting something about "a king cannot be insulted," had walked into the range where the opponent's piece could be captured in the next move, and was then undoubtedly attacked by the knight in a "split action".

"You still have a lot to learn!"

Ron quickly tidied up the wizard chess set and pondered who to play with next. Wizard chess is a popular game in the magical world, and some people believe that mastering the rules is enough to play well, but in reality, that's far from sufficient.

Because all its pieces are alive—playing chess is like commanding an army, the pieces have their own opinions, so you have to understand the temperament of the pieces very well in order to avoid any trouble when commanding them.

Ron is very good at this, which is why he always wins.

"Ron—that's strange. You're usually scratching your head and doing your homework by this time, so why are you like this today..."

Dean watched Ron slaughtering his way through the enemy ranks and asked, quite puzzled.

"Oh—this one—"

Ron seemed to have been waiting for this question for a long time. He rummaged in his bag for a while and actually took out several carefully preserved notebooks.

"Grimm's Notebook! Merlin! Where did you come from..."

The surrounding young wizards craned their necks and exclaimed in surprise.

“Of course it’s Sheen… oh no, that’s a secret…”

Ron covered his mouth halfway through his sentence.

“Sheen Green? Even the Slytherins say he’s not someone to mess with…”

Dean immediately suppressed his burning desire to explore.

"Do not--"

Ron immediately straightened his face.

"No description can replace Sheen. If you have the guts, go and find out for yourselves."

His face flushed red, and his eyes became terrifyingly resolute:
"I absolutely cannot hear any rumors about Sheen!"

Sheen, who was passing by, quickened his pace silently.

He... seems like a cult leader.

The corridor leading to the cellar.

A group of senior wizards in long robes filed out of the cellar and quickly filled the corridor.

Sheehan pressed himself against the wall, listening to their hushed conversation—a small portion of them were cursing Professor Snape, while most of them just nodded in agreement silently.

At the entrance to the cellar, Sheen saw a figure shrouded in shadow, holding a booklet and coldly staring down the corridor.

The hushed conversation seemed to go unnoticed; he simply stared at Sheen, lingering for a moment on his slightly shivering body and crumpled scarf.

In the cellar.

Steam rose from the crucible, instantly dispelling some of the chill from Sheen.

He handled the swelling potion materials with practiced ease, his technique identical to Professor Sprout's. Even by Professor Snape's standards, he would have reached the excellent level—though he only had a small portion of the materials, it was enough.

Professor Snape watched all this from the shadows, the parchment with the inscription on it folded up with two other slips of paper in his hand.

As his memories drifted down the corridor, he seemed to hear the hushed taunts—he never thought he would care about such things, but now they stirred something within him.

So as Sheen focused on stirring the crucible, he suddenly spoke:
"Ha—I bet you're using that outdated mixing method from the Book of Potions. Even trolls wouldn't use that method anymore—you should know, Sheen Green, that not everything is true! If your eyes weren't just decorations, you could see the alterations in your notes!"

(End of this chapter)