He pushed open the door and stepped into the Potions Master's office.
Once again, the familiar scent of medicinal herbs filled the air.
!? Lucien's nose twitched. Amidst the complex mixture of herbs, he caught a faint trace of blood.
Hmm, it seemed Snape had indeed been bitten by the Cerberus.
Moving with practiced ease, Lucien walked over to the table and sat down. A glance at the uncapped bottles and jars confirmed his suspicion.
"Professor, happy Halloween," he greeted politely.
Hearing Lucien's words, Snape looked slightly taken aback. After a brief pause, he gave a small nod.
"Hm."
The curt response made Lucien inwardly sigh.
Does this old bat never get holiday greetings?
"Do you have a question?" Snape asked in his usual tone.
Very few students ever dared to approach him so casually with questions—Lucien was one of the exceptions.
Lucien took a small bottle from his pocket, placed it on the table, and gently pushed it toward Snape.
"Professor, I tried refining a simple potion. Could you please take a look?"
Hearing this, Snape reached for the bottle, uncorked it, and saw that it contained a solid potion.
He tilted it slightly and tapped the bottom a few times. A perfectly round white pill rolled into his palm.
Bringing it closer to his nose, Snape frowned slightly.
"It seems to be a healing potion. The ingredients include blood-stopping flower, dew, Ashwinder egg white...…"
"But…"
"There's one ingredient I don't recognize."
That caught Snape's attention. As one of the foremost Potions Masters of his time, there were few ingredients he couldn't immediately identify—especially coming from a young wizard.
Hearing this, Lucien couldn't help but grumble inwardly.
Of course it's not common. Qilin saliva is one of a kind.
Lately, his potion studies had been strictly by the book. After all, he hadn't encountered the Philosopher's Stone yet, so he couldn't attempt refining potions with it—and naturally, he didn't know what kinds of problems he might run into that would require questions.
This small pill was made mainly from qilin saliva, combined with a few other medicinal herbs.
Lucien mused that when it came time to use the Philosopher's Stone in potion-making, he might need some extremely rare ingredients.
Ingredients rare enough that money alone couldn't buy them—ones that required special channels to acquire.
And speaking of channels…
The world's youngest Potions Master, with endless prospects—Snape's network of contacts must be vast.
Perhaps in the future, Lucien would need to trade for rare ingredients with him or ask for his help in finding them.
After all, having more connections was never a bad thing.
Lucien couldn't help but recall something from his previous life—it had always struck him as quite true:
Cherish the opportunity to communicate with your university professors; it's best to build some personal connections.
After all, professors might be the most capable and influential people you ever meet in your life.
Seeing that Snape had developed an interest in the pill—or more precisely, the unique ingredient within it—Lucien knew the first step of his plan had been achieved.
"Professor, you can analyze it with magic—or perhaps just taste it directly?"
"After all, I wouldn't put anything strange in it. You can be at ease."
Snape looked up at Lucien. He knew this student well enough.
Lucien was disciplined, diligent, and humble—completely unlike certain foolish boys.
Snape summoned several instruments, then drew his wand and cast a few minor spells to help analyze the pill's composition.
"Hm, it does contain those common ingredients," he murmured, "but this seemingly potent life force…"
While examining it, Snape made a cup of tea and a small plate of pastries float over to Lucien.
Lucien picked up the teacup and took a sip.
Hmm, the familiar medicinal tea again.
A bit bitter, a bit astringent, a bit sour—ugh, in short, not pleasant at all.
He glanced at the pastries: air-dried cheese frog jerky. As the name suggested, frog jerky with a cheesy flavor.
Lucien secretly pouted. Why not just bring out plain cheese? What a strange Old Bat.
"How was the duel with Draco?" Snape asked casually.
After all, he was on good terms with Lucius Malfoy, so if possible, he would still keep an eye on his friend's son.
Lucien set down his teacup and replied calmly, "It was fine. He surrendered right at the start."
When those words reached Snape's ears, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
"After all, he's a Malfoy boy…" he muttered under his breath.
"What was that, Professor?"
Lucien hadn't caught Snape's mosquito-soft voice—only the word "Malfoy."
"Nothing," Snape said curtly. "I've finished examining it. Your potion—well, the refining method is quite simple. It relies mostly on the ingredients themselves, especially that unique one."
He brought the discussion back to the potion.
Lucien nodded slightly.
"You're absolutely right."
After a brief pause, he smiled.
"So, Professor, would you like to test its effects?"
After a moment of silence, Snape placed the pill directly into his mouth and began to chew.
As a Potions Master, testing potions was part of his daily routine.
Eating a potion was no different from eating a handful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.
At first, Snape's expression remained calm. The pill's taste was tolerable—slightly sweet and easy to swallow.
But once he swallowed it, a warm current rose from his abdomen and spread through his body.
That was normal enough; most healing potions caused a similar sensation.
However, Snape soon realized that the pain in his leg had eased considerably, and—Hmm?!!
He abruptly lifted his robe to inspect the Cerberus bite. His usually cold, dark eyes flickered with rare surprise.
The torn flesh was rapidly mending—but that wasn't what shocked him most.
It was the dark curse, the black aura that had been spreading around and within the wound, left by the Cerberus's fangs—it was dissipating in thin wisps!
For Snape, repairing torn flesh was easy.
But the lingering effects of Dark Magic were another matter entirely. Conventional spells and potions had little effect on them; only time and repeated cleansing could wear them away.
Yet in the brief moment of his astonishment, the black aura had completely vanished.
"This…"
Lucien couldn't see what was happening behind the desk, but he could clearly read Snape's expression.
Hmm, the effect must be excellent.
The last time he'd treated Harry, the boy had recovered almost instantly.
Qilin saliva, aside from being rich in life force and promoting rapid healing, could also dispel certain curses—like the ones lingering from Cerberus's fangs. Otherwise, Harry's bite wouldn't have healed so quickly.
In that sense, it was somewhat similar to Little Qilin's Pure Fire, though slightly less effective.
"Professor, how's the potion's effect?" Lucien asked.
Snape quickly composed himself, his face returning to its usual stoic calm.
"Hm. The effect is… remarkable," he said evenly.
Of course, Snape knew full well—it wasn't that the potion itself was exceptional, but that the mysterious ingredient he couldn't identify was extraordinary.
In truth, Snape wanted to ask Lucien what that ingredient was and where he had obtained it.
But in the end, he didn't. Partly because of his reserved nature, and partly because he felt Lucien was still a child—there was no need for a professor to pry into a student's little secrets.
Seeing that everything had gone as he expected, Snape said nothing more. Lucien stood and prepared to take his leave.
Just as he reached the door, Snape's voice sounded behind him.
"On the shelf to your left—pick anything you like."
There was a brief pause.
"And… happy Halloween."
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11 Advance Chaps- P@treon/DarkDevil1