HP: Those Years Sleeping with the Half-Blood Prince

"I found it at a flea market in Diagon Alley," Ian said casually, as if it were just a casual remark.

"The stall owner said it was a replica of an antique, a somewhat old replica. Wearing it might give you weird dreams, or just keep you up at night. The style looks a bit strange to me, it doesn't look like ordinary jewelry."

He paused, then looked at Severus. "If you don't find it interesting, or think it's unlucky, I'll just throw it in the drawer."

Severus's gaze fell on the brooch. He didn't act immediately, but simply looked at it quietly, as if examining it or feeling it.

After a few seconds, he reached out, but instead of touching the brooch directly, he pinched the corner of the velvet cloth that lined it and held the brooch and the cloth together in front of his eyes to examine it more closely.

The silver had darkened somewhat, and the engraved patterns were indeed blurry and rough. The pair of rubies were pitifully small, barely showing any luster.

But he could sense a lingering trace of the curse swirling around it.

"Bogin-Bock?" he asked in a low voice, his tone flat but certain.

He knew Ian had said he was going to Diagon Alley that afternoon, but the chilly, dusty smell that was typical of Knockturn Alley on him when he came back didn't escape his notice.

"I just happened to be passing by and took a look." Ian admitted it naturally, without any intention of hiding it. "Mr. Borgin also said it was just an old fake, with some 'story' about it, but it didn't have any practical use. It's just an old thing with a bit of a story."

"I think... at least it's a real object, which is more reliable than just reading about 'possible' or 'supposedly' descriptions in books. What if we can figure out some casting techniques or residual traces?"

Severus remained silent for a moment.

He touched the edge of the brooch with his fingertips through the velvet, feeling the cool metallic touch and the barely perceptible "mark".

He certainly understood Ian's intentions.

The "further reading" provided by Professor Travers was full of dangerous knowledge and temptations. Ian did not directly stop him, but instead handed him an object that was clearly defined as "almost harmless" and an "old fake".

This is a safe, defined subject of investigation, a tacitly approved "research" direction that falls within a controllable range.

"...How many Galleons?" he finally asked, his voice still flat and devoid of emotion.

"Not much, the price of a secondhand stall." Ian waved his hand, his tone relaxed. "Consider it a Halloween bargaining item, even though it's not very festive. If you don't mind it taking up space, keep it. If you find it useless or annoying, return it to me anytime and I'll get rid of it."

Severus said nothing more.

He carefully covered the box with the velvet cloth again, closed the wooden box, and instead of putting it away immediately, placed it next to the stack of books beside his bed.

Ian turned around and packed his things, as if he had just handed him an ordinary notebook.

Before long, noisy footsteps and Kevin's excited voice came from the corridor, growing louder as they approached.

"...Then Peeves poured a whole can of spiders off his armor, almost soaking the Ravenclaw prefect! Hahaha..."

The door was pushed open with a bang. Kevin, his face still flushed with excitement, was clutching a handful of candies he'd swiped from the dinner party. Aris followed behind him, his expression as calm as ever, though there seemed to be a few traces of pumpkin juice on his glasses.

"You guys are back so early!" Kevin tossed the candy onto his bedside table, then glanced at the Honeydukes bag on Ian's bed. "Oh! A pile of cockroaches! Ian, you're awesome!"

Aris glanced between Ian and Severus, but said nothing.

……

Inside the castle, the festive atmosphere began to fade, while the Quidditch season grew increasingly intense.

Quidditch training took up most of Kevin's free time.

He got a tan and his arm muscles became more defined, but his body was often covered in bruises, bearing the marks of being rubbed by a ball or falling with a broom during practice.

Severus did indeed give him the medicine to relieve his muscle soreness, and it worked remarkably well.

Kevin was so grateful he wanted to worship Severus.

After training, Kevin went to the Requirement room to finish his homework. Mentioning this incident, he exclaimed, "It's amazing, Severus! It feels so cool and refreshing when I apply it, and I felt so much better the next day! My teammates are all asking me where I bought it!"

Severus simply gave a faint "hmm".

Ian moved closer to him, as if he had something on his mind.

"You know..." He stroked his chin, his eyes darting around, "What if we diluted this soothing agent, put it in small bottles, and sold it to those teammates who are sore all over after training... or those Quidditch enthusiasts from other houses who play like their lives depend on it, wouldn't we be able to make some pocket money?"

Severus was using a small silver knife to scrape off a tiny, almost invisible black shaving from the back of the brooch and sprinkle it onto a piece of parchment soaked in a special reagent.

The paper scraps made a slight "sizzling" sound when they touched the paper, but did not change color immediately.

Without looking up, he said in a flat tone, "The material cost is not high, the brewing time is forty minutes, and each batch can yield about ten standard doses. When diluted into an external application, the production can be tripled."

Aris looked up from a pile of ancient runic notes. "The school rules don't allow students to do business. If you get caught, your money and belongings will probably be confiscated."

"If you absolutely must do it," he said in a lower voice, "don't make it too conspicuous."

"Let's do it privately then," Ian decided. "No upfront sales, just say 'I'm doing a friend a favor and I'll pay for the materials at cost price.' Who can say anything then? The money we earn will be enough to subsidize Severus's experimental materials; the things on his list aren't cheap."

He looked at Severus and said, "How about it? You provide the technology, I'll handle the 'sales' and raw material procurement, Kevin will be the live-action guy, Aris will do the accounting, and you'll take the lion's share of the profits."

Severus finally raised his eyes, looking at the fragments of parchment that still retained their original color, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he were thinking about something.

After a moment, he turned his attention to the topic at hand and said briefly, "Okay, the formula needs a slight adjustment. Reduce the oral effect and enhance the external penetration and duration of relief. Give me two days."

That's settled.

In the days that followed, Severus adjusted the formula for the soothing balm, while Ian obtained a batch of identical small crystal bottles through "channels"—clearance stock from a closed perfume shop in Diagon Alley, cheap, simple in design, and perfect for the job.

The first batch of finished products was quickly "tested" within the Slytherin Quidditch team.

The effect was immediate. After Captain Theodore Greengrass applied it, he asked Kevin the very next day, "Where did you get this good stuff?"

The news spread quietly, and even people in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff teams came to ask about it indirectly.

Ian controlled the quantity, only making introductions through acquaintances. He carefully kept the Galon, Sikor, or some less valuable but useful magical materials he received, and gave most of them to Severus.

Severus didn't say anything about it, but one day he handed Ian a new, more complicated list of materials, with several items marked with an asterisk.

Ian glanced at it, nodded, asked nothing, and put the list away.