章節 51: Chapter -50 Want to learn potions?
Chapter -50.
"Hooray!"
Malfoy couldn't help but laugh a little at Dudley struggling in class.
"Looks like those potions weren't just made well; they were made pretty badly! Just wait, Professor Snape is definitely going to give him a hard time for this."
Hermione and Harry felt a bit uneasy about Dudley, but with Snape's scary vibe, they figured it was best to slip out of the classroom.
Once everyone had left, it was just Snape and Dudley hanging out in the room.
Honestly, being alone with Snape was pretty nerve-wracking, especially surrounded by all those potion ingredients. It felt a bit like torture.
After a moment of silence, Snape decided to break the ice.
"Have you done this before?" He held up a perfectly brewed Rat Poison Treatment potion.
"No," Dudley replied, shaking his head. "This is my first time making this potion." He made sure to clarify that it was just this particular potion he hadn't made before, not that he was new to potion-making altogether—a detail Snape picked up on right away.
"Have you brewed other potions before?"
"Yeah," Dudley nodded, answering honestly. "I've made the Movement Increasing and Slowing Potion, Strength Enhancer, Bone Regrowth Potion, White Willow Essence, and Blood-Replenishing Potion."
As Dudley listed off the names of various potions like he was reading a menu, Snape's expression shifted from calm to a mix of surprise and intrigue.
"Show me."
Snape extended his hand toward Dudley.
Without saying much, Dudley slowly pulled out several potions from his waist pouch, neatly laying them out in front of Snape.
"These are quite limited in quality with your limited knowledge," Snape remarked casually, picking one up for a closer look.
"Yeah, it's definitely not great—just a bit better than what those goblins might whip up in a sweet potato field."
Dudley was momentarily taken aback by the bluntness of the comment. Even though he had made all these potions before getting the data magic eye, he was still pretty proud of his work; calling his skills limited felt a bit too modest.
Do you know what modesty is?
Unbeknownst to Dudley, while Snape's face showed disdain, he was actually quite impressed inside. In terms of potion-making skills, Dudley was definitely not on the same level as Lily or himself. But when it came to the variety of potions, Dudley had learned more in his first year than Snape and Lily had combined.
Snape's standards were based on what he and Lily had achieved by the end of their first year, while Dudley was just starting out; it was clear he had taught himself a lot.
He had a real knack for potion-making, just like his mother.
'Only slightly worse than Lily.'
As one of the few potion masters in the wizarding world, Snape could see Dudley's potential right away. It reminded him of the times he had visited the Evans household and tasted Petunia's cooking, which was surprisingly good.
In many ways, potion-making is a lot like cooking.
"Your brewing technique is very similar to your mother's cooking," Snape said out of the blue.
"You know my mom?" Dudley asked, surprised.
Snape's expression shifted slightly. "We were acquaintances; we used to be neighbors."
Petunia, who couldn't attend Hogwarts, wasn't very friendly to Lily's wizard friends and had even called them a freak, claiming their connection was only because of Lily. After the incident in their fifth year, they lost touch completely.
He never imagined that Petunia's son would come to Hogwarts and have such a talent for potions; he had thought they were all just Muggles.
"Are you the Severus my mom mentioned?"
At Hogwarts, professors don't usually introduce themselves; they just tell the students their last names in the first class. So, even with Snape, the little wizards only knew his last name, not his full name.
"She mentioned me?" Snape paused, clearly surprised that Petunia had brought him up to Dudley.
"Before coming to Hogwarts, my mom told Harry and me a lot about the wizarding world, including stories about her childhood with Aunt Lily."
"She really longed for this place and cherished her friendship with Aunt Lily."
Petunia had shared a lot of information she learned about Lily to help Dudley and Harry adjust to life at Hogwarts. Even though much of it was from twenty years ago, the wizarding world hasn't changed all that much.
Dudley noticed a slight tremor in Snape when Lily's name came up. Snape suddenly seemed to have a realization, lifting his head and staring blankly at Dudley, making him feel a bit uneasy.
'I see now; Penny's child must be exceptional because he inherited Lily's talent.'
In reality, Dudley inheriting Lily's talent could be explained scientifically, but that involves genetics. If we think of potion talent as a recessive gene, both Penny and Lily had this invisible gene, but since Penny couldn't become a wizard, it stayed dormant. Dudley, however, activated it by becoming a wizard.
Of course, Dudley preferred to believe that this change was due to his arrival in this world and not genetics. But what Dudley thought didn't matter as much as what Snape believed. He was convinced that this was Lily guiding him.
Look at that—Dudley inheriting Lily's exceptional potion talent, and the childhood connection between Gryffindor and Slytherin mirrored Snape's past with Lily. What are the odds of such coincidences? Of course, Dudley was a bit stronger than Snape was back in school; Snape had been rather frail.
How do you describe these wizards? They don't believe in science; they believe in fate and prophecies.
Even powerful figures like Voldemort and Dumbledore are superstitious about fate. Voldemort, in particular, killed the Potter family because of a prophecy, and he ended up meeting his end just as foretold.
Dudley, however, was different; he didn't believe in prophecies—he believed in muscles.
"You," Snape said seriously, fixing his gaze on Dudley and stretching out his words.
Just as Dudley was about to throw a punch, Snape continued, "Do you want to learn potions from me?"
Snape had thought about passing on everything he learned throughout his life for a long time, but he had never found the right moment. His pride as a master of potions made his standards exceptionally high. To learn potions from him, one had to have at least half of Lily's potion talent, which he considered to be limitless; half of infinity is still infinity.
Now he felt like he was saying this because he had received guidance from Lily. If one day he no longer felt that way, or if Dudley didn't respond or refused, then this opportunity would vanish. Plus, this was just a chance; if Dudley couldn't seize it, he would still be left behind.
In the wizarding world, there's no strange saying Exist in this world when it comes to taking on apprentices.
"Of course, it would be an honor, Professor Snape."
Tl/N: If you want to read more [upto Ten chapters] while supporting me, you can join me on patreon.com/EmptyThoughts ;Thanks.
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Upcoming chapters :-
51. Warm black tea and biscuits.
52. I'll wait for you at your doorstep.
53. This is definitely dark magic.
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