Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

"I think I should bring the Marauder's Map with me next time. I was really scared just now!"

"Well - actually Filch doesn't patrol that much nowadays, he's busy playing with crabs at night! He's been seen trying to get the cleaning crabs to learn to clean cups..."

"No wonder our nighttime swimming skills have declined! It turns out that we haven't been chased by Filch for too long - George, I have a brilliant idea -"

"What a coincidence, I also have an idea——"

The two of them went into the secret passage whispering to each other, and there was a faint sound of giggling.

Wade watched them leave, then continued downstairs, walked up a few stone steps, turned a corner, passed the pear painting in the kitchen, and saw a few Hufflepuffs playing with wooden barrels.

Then, in front of him was the door of the Potions Professor's office.

Wade touched the potion in his pocket and raised his hand to knock on the door when it was suddenly opened.

Draco Malfoy walked out with his head down, feeling bitter. He almost bumped into Wade head-on, and he subconsciously took a step back.

"Don't forget to deal with the lovage tomorrow, Mr. Malfoy."

Snape's tone was gentle and polite, but it still made people feel chilly.

Malfoy's face turned dark, and he turned and left without saying a word.

Wade then remembered that Malfoy had been punished with a whole year of detention, and had been helping the professor with work every night. He must have helped Professor Snape process a lot of potion materials.

If Harry and Neville knew that the leech juice they used in the shrinking potion today might have been squeezed out by Malfoy, they would definitely not remember any sad things.

He didn't close the door, so Wade stood at the door, knocked with his fingers, and said, "Professor, can I come in?"

In the office, Snape was waving his wand, returning the clutter on the desk to its original place.

Hearing the voice, he turned around and frowned, "Gray, if I'm not mistaken about the time, now it's..."

He glanced at the time.

"—there's five minutes until curfew?"

Chapter 343 You should go back to the lounge, Gray

"Yes."

As Wade spoke, he walked in, closed the door, and took out the potion he had just brewed.

"Professor, I have some questions about potions that I would like to ask you."

Looking at the potion that had just been brewed, Snape's tone softened a lot and he said:

"I hope you can have a better sense of time next time, instead of acting like a stupid lion and doing whatever comes to your mind immediately - what do you want to ask?"

"Look, Professor - I heard that in Potions class today, you used just a few drops of a potion to restore a shrunken toad back to its original size. I've also experienced shrinking potions, but other potions don't have such an immediate effect."

Wade put the medicine bottle on the table and said, "I guess what you used is an aging agent, but how do you make it work without taking it?"

When it comes to his own area of ​​expertise, Professor Snape's attitude is even more amiable.

He first took the potion from Wade's hand, shook it gently, examined it carefully, smelled it, and then put it down.

"I can see that you followed every step - although it was standard, it was as monotonous as a Muggle assembly line machine. I hope you are not stupid enough to put your brain into it."

Snape raised his lip and commented in a not-so-subtle way.

When dealing with other students, Snape always emphasized that potions must be very precise and strict; but when commenting on Wade, he thought Wade was too by-the-book.

Wade lowered his head and thought for two seconds, trying to suppress the corners of his mouth that were about to curl up.

When he heard Professor Snape use the term "assembly line machine" to describe it, he knew that Professor Snape must have watched a lot of TV during this period, and might even have watched some programs several times, so he blurted out the term when making the metaphor.

The most impressive "assembly line machine" in recent times should be the one from a Muggle comedy silent film.

As Wade thought about this, he felt more confident about the purpose of his trip.

If Professor Snape really lost all hope because of Lily's death and had no interest in the outside world at all, then his heart would be like the Antarctic ice wall, which would not be easily broken.

But he is not.

He still has a passion for life and aspirations for it, as if he also hopes to receive the Order of Merlin.

Professor Snape turned around and took out a similar potion from his cabinet, handed it forward and said, "Look at this."

Wade took it and tested it in the same way. After thinking for a while, he said uncertainly: "Evening primrose?"

"Yes, add one-third of an ounce of evening primrose seeds and a small spoonful of ground epiphyllum root powder when boiling, and you will achieve the effect you want."

"But how do you control the dosage, Professor?" Wade asked again, "It should be just right to restore it to its original state, not too old or too young."

"The dosage is calculated based on weight and magic power. This potion also requires an additional consideration, which is the interval between the two potions..."

Professor Snape explained it carefully, and Wade took notes while listening.

For him, potions was a subject where there was no shortcut. He had to remember the properties of each ingredient, the quantity and timing of use, and then practice repeatedly to achieve a satisfactory effect.

To become a potion master like Snape, besides hard work and money, talent is the most important thing.

In this regard, Wade did not set high standards for himself, after all, human energy was limited. When he spent a lot of time on spells and alchemy, he naturally practiced less potions.

But even so, Wade was a rare good student in Snape's eyes. Teaching him made him feel very fulfilled, and he couldn't wait to say more.

After finishing his talk on potions, Snape looked at the time again.

Seeing that he seemed to be about to chase him away, Wade hurriedly said, "I have another question - Professor, I heard that you are also very good at Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

It was common knowledge that Snape had applied to be the teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts, but unfortunately Dumbledore had never agreed.

Hearing this, Snape asked, "Of course - is there anything else in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class that you don't understand?"

"I have no problem with what is taught in class, but I just want to ask - is it possible to heal the damage caused by black magic, especially the serious kind?" Wade said.

Snape frowned and said, "It depends on what the spell is... and how severe it is. The victim's own magic and will are also important... What kind of dark magic are you talking about?"

Vader: "Like... uh... a mental breakdown caused by the Cruciatus Curse?"

Snape was silent for a long moment before he said, "Why do you want to ask that?"

As if he had never heard that Snape disliked Neville, Wade said frankly and slightly distressedly:

"While practicing magic tonight, Neville accidentally broke a piece of the target. He tried to repair it but failed."

"We all thought it was just a piece of wood, so we could just throw it away and replace it with a new one, but Neville kept trying and trying..."

"Then I guess he might have thought of his parents. I heard that the Longbottoms were tortured by the Cruciatus Curse because they resisted Voldemort. That caused them to suffer mental breakdowns and they had to spend the rest of their lives in St. Mungo's Hospital."

"Neville - well - Neville looked really miserable. So I was wondering if there was any way I could help him..."

"Sometimes I wonder, which is more painful: never having it, or having it and then losing it?"

Vader did not try to persuade Snape directly to be nicer to Neville.

He himself was just a student who was more valued by the teacher, and he often received guidance and help from Professor Snape. It seemed a bit ungrateful to criticize him in person about his attitude towards another student.

What's more, even Dumbledore couldn't make Snape change his attitude towards Harry. How could Wade make him change even if he tried to persuade him?

Snape is not a saint who listens to advice and is merciful. He is a paranoid personality who is obsessed with love and hate and persists in his life. Although he can sacrifice his life to kill Voldemort, he is actually indifferent to most people.

When Snape used his superior status to bully Neville, he felt his own pleasure but could not feel Neville's pain.

Or maybe he knew, but he didn't care.

What Vader needs to do is to pull him out of that isolated and indifferent state, and make him passively think from Vader's perspective.

If he could temporarily put aside his anger and disgust, he would realize that his actions had caused great harm to Neville, but they were also victims of Voldemort's reign of terror.

If Snape had a higher moral character, he would have thought that he also had an unshirkable responsibility in the whole thing, and it would be really unreasonable to vent his anger on Neville.

The office was quiet for a long time. Wade didn't know what Snape was thinking, he just looked at those deep and empty eyes calmly.

Vader's brain-occlumency skills are now very good, and he is not afraid to look people in the eye - of course, Professor Snape is not so rude as to randomly search his students' brains.

He was silent for a long time before he said in a slightly hoarse voice: "If Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom could be cured, they wouldn't have to live in St. Mungo's forever."

"You should get back to the lounge, Gray."

Chapter 344 Hufflepuff Common Room

More than half an hour had passed since curfew. In the corner on the right side of the kitchen corridor, a brown head would occasionally pop out from between a pile of wooden barrels, then immediately retract when it heard some noise.

Soon, the one head turned into two heads, like two mushrooms growing out of the ground.

“It’s been a long time,” Ryan said.

"Yeah," Theo said grimly.

"Ved may have gone back to the lounge," Ryan said. "You know he could turn into an eagle and fly away through any window. He doesn't have to take this route."

"I know. But I sent him a message and he hasn't replied yet," Theo said.

"Maybe he just didn't look at the Friends Book. Once that guy starts studying, he won't even open it to read the news for most of the day." Ryan said again.

"It's late, you should go and get some rest, Ryan. I'll just wait." Theo started to chase people away.

Ryan snorted, said nothing, and didn't leave.

Theo hung on the barrel next to him, propped his chin up with his hand, and couldn't help yawning. Then he said, "Do you think we should go find Professor Sprout? Or Professor McGonagall?"

Ryan was hanging on the other side and said speechlessly: "Do you think Professor Snape is a Zibkru monster that eats children? Even if Wade accidentally angered the professor, he would not be stuffed into the crucible and boiled."

"I know, but... well..."

Theo sighed worriedly.

Professor Snape didn't specifically target anyone in Hufflepuff, but criticized everyone who made a mistake equally. In Potions class, Theo was always in the same group with Wade and was rarely scolded.

But the professor's stern face was enough to scare everyone in Badger College.

"Professor Sprout is the best. She's like a mother to me."

Theo thought of his dean and felt very fortunate.

Ryan nodded in agreement.

Just then, he heard light footsteps coming from the corridor, and hurriedly pulled Theo down, saying in a low voice: "Someone is coming!!"