Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 213 The potion that causes swelling in the human body

The days that followed were uneventful. The Duel Club meetings were scheduled for once a month. The professors believed that this frequency would be sufficient for the children to learn enough practical self-defense spells.

The Quidditch League proceeded as scheduled, but Slytherin's performance was less than ideal. Besides losing to their arch-rivals Gryffindor, they also suffered a defeat against Hufflepuff, causing a stir throughout the house.

Losing to Gryffindor seems somewhat understandable, after all, their Seeker is a once-in-a-century genius, while their Seeker, although he has upgraded the brooms for the team, clearly still needs an opportunity to prove himself.

But losing to Hufflepuff is completely unacceptable! From personnel to equipment, the Slytherin team was utterly outmatched in every aspect. How could they not win?

Seeker Malfoy and captain Marcus were in poor form, which is why they lost. That duel left a deep psychological scar on the two of them. If it weren't for Daphne's incredible record, the two of them might have dropped out of school.

But for someone like Rice who wasn't into Quidditch, winning or losing really didn't bother him. Wasn't it perfectly normal for Slytherin students to be bad at Quidditch?! Riding broomsticks was something Gryffindors were supposed to do.

As December arrived, the temperature plummeted. A biting cold wind howled through the corridors, causing students emerging from the warm lounge to instinctively wrap themselves tighter in their robes.

"You've been studying that booklet Rowena gave you regularly, haven't you?" Rice conjured a ball of fire the size of a human head and floated it between himself and Daphne to keep them warm.

"Of course, it often asks some tricky questions, and many times you have to rack your brains to answer them." Daphne's tone was bitter, and it was clear that she had suffered a lot.

It's incredibly painful to be unable to come up with a solution no matter how hard you try, and you can't even ask other people how they feel.

However, the rewards were also astonishing. Ravenclaw was never stingy with rewards for "intelligent" young wizards. From the booklet given to her by Ravenclaw, Daphne had already mastered the use of the Unseen Extension Charm.

She can now even create a three-bedroom, one-living-room space in what looks like an ordinary single-person camping tent.

However, when she thought of "repayment," Daphne suddenly remembered a promise.

"Rice, you said before that if I dared to test the potions on myself, you'd reward me with a spell!" Daphne proudly raised her head. "Next class is Professor Snape's Potions class, so our promise still stands, right?"

Rice rubbed his head, remembering the promise he had made to Daphne.

"Of course it counts," Rice readily agreed.

Anyway, the incantation had to be taught sooner or later; he was just looking for an excuse to motivate his child to learn independently. Knowledge shared for free is often overlooked, while knowledge gained at a cost is cherished and valued.

Rice believed Daphne was a hardworking and good girl; he just wanted her to understand that every spell was hard-won.

For example, the magic he was about to teach her about manipulating the soil was something he had obtained by preparing several kinds of animal potions for Helga in exchange for it—he was a master of potions, but he still had to go to the pigsty to observe the pigs' excrement and look for parasites in order to obtain the spell.

This is only because he and Helga are friends! If it were a stranger, it wouldn't be impossible for him to be forced to breed with pigs...

Seeing that Rice had given in, Daphne immediately became excited.

She entered the Potions classroom with a cheerful heart and began preparing for class with great enthusiasm.

Snape entered the classroom on time and then told the students some "good news": he wouldn't be choosing one "lucky" young wizard to test the potion today; he would be choosing two!

"One student provides the swelling potion, and the other provides the antidote." Snape smiled maliciously. "I sincerely hope your potions work—if you're not confident in the antidote you prepared earlier, thank Miss Greengrass; her improvements to the process have given you ample time to prepare another dose."

He had already decided that Daphne or Lint would provide the swelling potion, and Potter would take his antidote to test it. This would maximize the potion's effectiveness.

Snape wouldn't feel comfortable using potions from other young wizards!

If those little giants make a mistake and the potion doesn't have the "swelling" effect, that would be really disappointing.

"So why do pharmacists concoct potions that cause swelling in the human body?" Daphne's movements were so fluid and smooth that she had time to let her mind wander.

This time, Rice, who seemed to know everything and be omnipotent, unusually did not answer Daphne's question.

Swelling potion is a very ancient potion. Thousands of years ago, most wizards aspiring to become potion masters would try to obtain a recipe for swelling potion and then hone their skills in making this magical potion. This was an important means for them to support their families in the future, and their potential consumers ranged from lords and nobles to peddlers and laborers in taverns.

The swelling potion could theoretically be used as a combat enhancer, increasing body size and providing a temporary buff that boosts movement and attack speed. But Rice was willing to stake his reputation on it; those bastard apothecaries had far more to do with this potion than just for ordinary combat.

Rice glanced at Daphne. A thousand years ago, a student of the Greengrass family had broken into her potion storage room and stolen enough ingredients to make ten potions of swelling. By the time he caught the guy, he had already used up all the potions.

Don't ask, the answer is that the fighting wore it down.

"Rice, you know—"

"Miss Greengrass, you must concentrate when brewing potions. Potions is a delicate art that allows no carelessness. You may have already mastered the methods of potion preparation, but caution, meticulousness, and focus are the eternal qualities of a potion maker." Snape happened to pass by Daphne's table during his patrol and overheard her question. He tapped on Daphne's table, indicating that she should focus her attention on her cauldron.

After being called upon by Professor Snape, Daphne stuck out her tongue and focused on fiddling with the swelling potion in front of her.

Rice breathed a sigh of relief and went back to making his potion.

When Snape and Daphne were talking, many young wizards looked up, their attention drawn to the two of them, including Ron, who was sitting at the table next to Rice and Daphne.

He looked up, his attention sharper than ever before, listening intently to what was happening at the next table, not wanting to miss a single word.

Malfoy, sitting diagonally behind Ron, raised an eyebrow: his chance had come.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

This is the second update. The next update will be at the same time as before.

Ravenclaw School Prodigy:

(End of this chapter)