Hogwarts: Lacus doesn't want to be a witch who destroys nations.

The Perfect Wolfsbane Potion

【3份火龙血萃取物、2片曼德拉草叶的汁液、3滴鲜龙血、1份月长石粉末、2滴嚏根草糖浆、3根莫特拉鼠触角、7颗苦艾豆的汁液、1枚鸟蛇蛋】

[This process must begin on a day other than a full moon, and only one step can be performed each day. If the process is rushed, the potion will turn into green foam, rendering it completely ineffective.]

[The entire manufacturing process requires close attention to the heat and stirring frequency...]

[Werewolf users should start taking the medication 3 days before the full moon, taking approximately 500 ml daily. Missing even one dose will render the medication ineffective.]

[No sugar, honey, or other sweeteners can be added.] [The product must not come into contact with silverware during the manufacturing process.]

……

The recipe was covered in dense text, detailing the material processing, refining techniques, magic distribution, and precautions. Lux was completely bewildered by it.

"Brother Tong, are you sure I can handle the complexity of this recipe?" Lux felt a headache coming on just looking at it, like she was doing a university lab. "I can't afford any of the ingredients on this list, and who can I hire a potion master who can process dragon blood these days?"

There really was one, right there.

"A seasoned potion master..." Lux immediately pictured the round figure of Horace Slughorn in her mind.

Professor Slughorn, Head of Slytherin and Potions teacher, is known for his love of collecting talented and famous students to form his "Slug Club." He is indeed very talented; otherwise, he wouldn't have become Head of Slytherin.

But his smooth-talking, worldly-wise nature, his love of pleasure and fame...

"Ask him for help?" Lux stroked her chin. "It feels a bit risky. The moment I reveal this recipe, his first reaction will definitely be: Where did this girl copy this from? Or does he think I'm making fun of him? What if he gets greedy and wants to keep it for himself? Although he doesn't seem to be shady, he definitely covets fame and credit."

"Give it directly to Dumbledore?" Lux rejected the idea. "Giving it to Dumbledore would definitely work, but he might not have the time. Right now, Dumbledore is probably preoccupied with Grindelwald and his sorcerers. We don't see him for days on end. Vera will also be turning into a wolf this month once the wolf poison is developed."

Lux, tossing and turning in bed, finally decided to go to Slughorn first, because he was very lenient with his students, and even if she couldn't get through to him, she could get Tom to plead for her.

If we can't get through to Slughorn, we'll have to go to Dumbledore.

In the first Potions class of the second semester, Professor Slughorn was still wearing his dark green velvet robe, his belly seemingly rounder than last semester. He drew out the course schedule for the new semester.

"Swelling potion, my dear children!" Slughorn waved his fat hand, his face bearing his signature slightly smug smile.

"It's not just about making your enemy's nose swell up like a ball! Mastering its essence can give you the confidence to handle situations where you need to change your appearance! Of course, that is, as long as you don't make yourself look like a giant monster stung by a wasp!" He chuckled a few times, thinking he was being humorous.

Slughorn's gaze swept across the class, lingering on Tom Riddle for a moment before settling on Lux.

"Ah, our 'Flying Kick Witch'!" Slughorn's voice rose, tinged with obvious affection.

"Looks like you had a pretty great holiday? The Daily Prophet portrays you as as heroic as a modern-day hero! Younger, of course, and... more energetic!" He winked knowingly, clearly referring to Lux's heroic kicking.

Slughorn never hesitates to give attention to students who are famous and valuable. Ever since Lux appeared in the newspaper (although the headline was a bit of a rip-off), her "collectible value" in Slughorn's eyes has skyrocketed.

"Hehe, Professor, you flatter me! I was just lucky to see someone in need and help them out!" Lux scratched her head and gave a "pure and innocent" smile.

"Luck is also part of ability, dear," Slughorn said with a smile, clearly enjoying interacting with his celebrity student.

"Alright, let's get back to the swelling potion. Remember, the bat spleen should be added last, and you need to stir it four times counterclockwise. Stirring it even one more or one less time may make your potion ineffective."

The bell finally rang, and the students packed up their crucibles and textbooks, preparing to leave.

Tom finished first as always, the potion was perfect, a bonus. He gestured to Professor Slughorn and then left quietly, while Lux dawdled, deliberately falling behind.

When only Professor Slughorn was left in the classroom, slowly packing his personal belongings, Lux took a deep breath and crept over furtively.

"Professor Slughorn?"

"Hmm? Lux? Still here?" Slughorn looked up, somewhat surprised, but his attitude remained amiable. "Is there something you don't understand about the swelling potion? Or... are you trying to reserve a spot for the Slug Club's small gathering in advance? Even though there are still more than two weeks left, good spots are always in high demand!" he said half-jokingly.

"Uh...no, Professor." Lux rubbed her hands together, forcing a genuine smile.

"During the holidays, I was researching some extracurricular interests, including werewolves, and I stumbled upon an ancient potion recipe. It seems quite interesting, but I have absolutely no idea how to make it myself. You are the most authoritative potion master at Hogwarts, so I would like to ask you for help."

"Oh?" Slughorn raised an eyebrow, his face showing a knowing yet slightly amused expression.

A first-year student came to him with an "ancient potion recipe"?

It's as ridiculous as a Niffler holding up a Galleon and claiming it made it itself. He's seen far too many "genius" students like this, some coming up with wildly imaginative recipes, others bringing family secrets to ask for his advice, but very few are truly worthy of his attention.

"Heh heh, my dear child." Slughorn's voice carried an elder's tolerance and a hint of barely perceptible perfunctoriness as he slowly wiped his wand.

"Young people's thirst for knowledge is always worth encouraging. However, potion-making is an extremely precise art, and innovation is even more difficult. Many outstanding potion masters may not produce many truly innovative results in their entire lives. An 'ancient' recipe often means that it has either been proven ineffective or inefficient, or that the technology cannot replicate it..."

He stretched out his hand, a beaming smile on his chubby face, but his eyes looked like he was looking at a whimsical child: "However, since you're so eager to learn, let me take a look, just to satisfy our 'witch's' curiosity?"

Lux silently thought, "This is promising!" She quickly pulled out the wolfsbane potion recipe she had copied overnight from her bag. It was covered with dense writing, and Lux ​​copied down the text from the system without changing a single word.

Slughorn took it with a playful smile, untied the rope, and unfolded the parchment.

His gaze was initially casual, with a relaxed air of playing with a child.

"Hmm... dragon blood extract, mandrake leaf juice, fresh dragon blood..." he murmured slowly, a "I knew it" smile playing on his lips, his voice trailing off. "Oh, my dear child, dragon blood? That's quite imaginative. You know, processing dragon blood as a potion ingredient has only been around for a few years, and so far, not a single potion has used dragon blood as a core ingredient, and..."

His words were abruptly cut off, as if an invisible hand had choked him.

This recipe is written in such detail that it can no longer be called a recipe, but rather a potion-making manual. For a potion master like Slughorn, writing down such details is no different from being guided through the process step by step.

Those usually smiling, shrewd eyes suddenly widened, fixed intently on the tiny note below "Dragon Blood Extract" in the formula:

[For the basic method of extracting dragon blood, please refer to page 47 of Albus Dumbledore's "On the Twelve Magical Properties of Dragon Blood and Their Related Uses." This recipe has been improved and optimized...]

"Improve and optimize Dumbledore's operation?" Slughorn roared.

He had certainly read Dumbledore's paper. That groundbreaking paper on dragon blood research shook the entire wizarding world. It did mention several extremely cutting-edge extraction methods, but the operational aspects were extremely complex.

Horace Slughorn, who considered himself a Potions Master, was still slowly digesting those groundbreaking theories and practices. His experiment on extracting dragon blood failed twice before he finally succeeded.

And now, this parchment, presented by a first-year student and claiming to be an "ancient formula," dares to say that it has improved the extraction method of dragon blood and uses it as the core and precursor of the entire potion.

It feels like someone has a manual that claims to be a "medieval knight's sword technique," but when they open the first page it says "a lightsaber is also a sword."

"How is this possible..." Slughorn muttered to himself, his relaxed and tolerant expression vanishing, replaced by shock and the fervor of a scholar facing a completely new system of knowledge.

His obese body leaned forward abruptly, almost pressing his face against the parchment, his nose nearly rubbing against the ink.