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

That day, Lux accompanied Vera to read in the common room. Vera slammed shut the thick book "Elementary Potion Making" shut. She looked up, and her light gray-blue eyes burned with an unprecedented, almost obsessive flame.

She stared straight at Lux, who was trying to get a few magic stones to sing an off-key version of the Hogwarts school song.

Vera suddenly said, "Sister Lux, I want to become a potion master in the future, specializing in researching wolfsbane potions so that more werewolves can stay conscious during the full moon, just like me."

Lux was holding a disobedient pebble, trying to make it pronounce "Hogwarts" more smoothly. Hearing this, she paused, almost crushing the pebble. She turned her head, looked at Vera's serious little face, was stunned for a moment, and then grinned into a big smile.

"That's a great goal, no wonder you're the little wolf girl I've chosen!" Lux patted her on the shoulder. "I believe you can do it..."

Lach didn't hold back his praise, then quickly changed the subject, leaning back lazily in his soft armchair, and said in a tone of someone with experience,

"However, Vera, you're still struggling to even brew the most basic scabies treatment. You're probably ten Toms away from improving the wolfsbane medicine."

Vera's cheeks puffed out, clearly dissatisfied with the assessment but unable to refute it.

Her performance in Potions class could only be described as mediocre. Every time Professor Slughorn passed by her, his smile was encouraging rather than admiring.

"But the current textbooks are written so poorly. The content is either outdated or contains errors. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will definitely rewrite a few."

Vera nodded with a smile, her eyes full of anticipation.

"If only Lux could stay with me forever..." Vera said in a very soft voice, which Lux didn't quite hear.

"What did you just say?"

Vera suddenly realized her slip of the tongue and quickly covered her mouth, shaking her head: "It's nothing, Sister Lux. I was just thinking about whether we could improve the wolfsbane potion. The raw materials are too expensive now. If it weren't for Professor Slughorn and Sister Lux providing them, I simply wouldn't be able to afford these costs."

Lux thought for a moment. Although the Wolfsbane Potion was now almost perfect, it was indeed very expensive to make, and the price of Fire Dragon Blood wouldn't come down anytime soon.

If the effect isn't perfect, using the most basic formula should reduce the price.

"Vera, do you know about wolfsbane and aconite?"

"Wolfsbane and Aconitum?" Vera shook her head in confusion. She had never seen this herb in her herbal medicine textbook.

"That's true. Before the advent of the wolfsbane elixir, it could only be used as a poison, so it naturally wouldn't appear in textbooks..." Lux paused for a moment.

"Replacing the expensive fire dragon blood with wolfsbane aconite is also an option, but wolfsbane aconite itself is highly poisonous, and if not handled properly, it can turn the wolfsbane medicine into a deadly poison."

Lux naturally remembered the original recipe for the wolfsbane potion, but she was completely unaware of the more detailed parts, such as the quantities and the changes in the mixing method.

Potions are developed through constant trial and error, requiring numerous experiments to achieve the desired effects. Potions science itself is a discipline that combines luck and knowledge.

Lux thought, why not let Professor Slughorn do the liver surgery? He'll be able to publish another paper, and he'd definitely be happy to do so.

"How about we let Slug..." Lux was interrupted by Vera before she could finish speaking.

"Lacus, I'd like to join this research, is that alright?" Vera stared intently at Lux's face.

She didn't want to always be the one being taken care of.

"I know my potion-making skills are far inferior to those of Lux and the Professor, but I will try my best to learn. I know I'm not good enough yet," Vera's voice lowered, but her eyes remained firm. "So I need to study, to study a lot. Lux, can you teach me?"

"Me?" Lux pointed to her nose and shook her head dramatically. "Don't be ridiculous. Teach you? What's the difference between that and having Peeves teach you etiquette?"

Lux was well aware of her potion-making knowledge. Although others regarded her as a potion master, Lux knew her own limitations. Apart from the Wolfsbane potion directly imparted by the system, her potion-making knowledge was basically at the level of a Hogwarts student.

She thought for a moment, then added, "Professor Slughorn could do it. Given our current academic partnership, it shouldn't be difficult for him to give you some extra tutoring, but..."

Lux stroked her chin and began to analyze carefully: "Professor Slughorn is willing to guide you mostly because of me, and what he teaches is mostly advanced, cutting-edge knowledge that you can boast about. But what you need now is not how to neutralize dragon blood with phoenix, but how to refine basic potions."

Vera's shoulders slumped; Lux's words made perfect sense.

She's like an apprentice who wants to build an airplane but doesn't even know the basics of metalworking. What she needs is solid fundamental skills, not listening to masters explain aerodynamics.

A brief silence fell over the common room, broken only by the crackling of firewood burning in the fireplace and the distant chatter of a few upperclassmen discussing Quidditch tactics.

Vera lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously picking at the cover of the book "Elementary Potion Making".

Just then, a brilliant, two-birds-with-one-stone, and ingenious idea struck Lux's mind like lightning.

She needs someone with exceptional talent in potions, a solid theoretical foundation, enough patience to teach from scratch, and preferably someone she wants to keep track of at all times.

It seems there is only one person in the entire Hogwarts who meets these criteria.

"I've got it!" Lux slapped her thigh, startling Lumi, who was dozing off beside her. "I've found you the perfect tutor! Let's go, let's go now!"

She grabbed Vera, who was still somewhat bewildered, and rushed towards the entrance of the common room.

In the Hogwarts library, Tom Riddle sat at a secluded long table by the window, surrounded by towering books that shielded him from the noise of the outside world.

Sunlight streamed through the stained glass window, casting dappled shadows on his handsome profile, making him look like a sculpture immersed in an ocean of knowledge.

However, this tranquility was completely shattered by a series of impolite footsteps and a familiar, irritating opening line.

"Hey, Tom, still studying? You're so hardworking." Lux pulled Vera along, swaggered around the pile of books, plopped down opposite Tom, propped her chin on her elbow, and looked at him with a grin. "I know you can understand it, but the way you're frowning could crush a slug."