In the Potions Master's office.
Snape's words made Lucien's lips curl into a faint smile.
So, the Old Bat wasn't completely unreasonable after all.
Whoever said taking risks for personal connections must have been mistaken.
"Professor, would this count as a Halloween treat?" Lucien asked playfully.
Perhaps because few students ever dared to joke with him, Snape looked slightly taken aback.
After a few seconds of silence, he picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said coolly, "If you think it is, then it is."
Snape could tell that the potion Lucien had given him contained an extremely rare and valuable ingredient.
His pride wouldn't allow him to take advantage of a student.
So, he told Lucien to pick an ingredient for himself, treating it as a fair exchange.
But Lucien's playful remark about it being a Halloween exchange had caught Snape off guard.
After all, no one had ever dared to walk up to him and say, "Trick or treat."
Snape's cold response only made Lucien want to laugh—this Old Bat was still as awkward as ever, always unwilling to show his real thoughts or emotions.
If he'd been a bit bolder, a bit more direct back then, Harry might have carried the Snape surname.
Well, maybe not.
The main reason was that in his youth, Snape had been too obsessed with the Dark Arts and mixed with the wrong crowd, which ultimately drove him and Lily apart.
Tsk, tsk. The Dark Arts are harmful—they corrupt the body, twist the mind, and even make it hard to find a wife.
Could there ever be Dark Arts developed in the future that had mild or no side effects?
No, that wouldn't make sense. If it's powerful, effective, and doesn't backfire, how could it still be called Dark Arts? That would be proper White Magic.
After all, for something to be considered "evil curses," it must come with consequences.
Otherwise, what would you call something that allows rapid advancement, immense power, and no side effects?
That's called the Supreme Magic of Love, lol. Well, that was Dumbledore's canon answer for all the logic-defying abilities Harry demonstrated at the end of each book.
Lucien walked over to a row of cabinets and began carefully selecting materials.
As expected of the youngest Potions Master—
There was nothing ordinary among the items on display here.
Many were rare and valuable ingredients, even ones nearly impossible to find on the market, yet Snape's shelves held them in abundance.
Building a good relationship with Snape had definitely been the right choice—it would make acquiring rare materials much easier in the future.
Hmm, which one should I choose?
Lucien stared at the shelves for a while, finally understanding why girls spent so long picking jewelry and clothes.
On one hand, everything looked good—he wanted them all.
On the other, he felt that keeping any of them wouldn't be a loss; they'd surely be useful someday.
Just as he was deciding, Snape suddenly spoke.
"I heard you've been tutoring Potter lately—helping him with his studies?"
Lucien was a little surprised.
Not because Snape knew—Harry had already mentioned that Snape seemed aware of it—but because it had been so long, and Snape was only bringing it up now.
What, he didn't want to show concern for Harry in front of others before?
Tsk, still the same—so awkward and restrained.
"Yes," Lucien replied. "How do you think his potion skills have been lately?"
"Alright," Snape said after a pause. "A bit better than at the start of term."
After a few seconds of silence, he added, "Perhaps you should consider becoming a teacher in the future."
Those words were Snape's indirect way of praising Lucien.
Of course, the Old Bat would never openly compliment anyone.
Still, Lucien understood the meaning behind his words and replied politely, "Thank you for your recognition."
To be honest, Snape was very satisfied with Lucien—both his attitude toward learning and the way he handled people.
He had even said before that that foolish boy Harry should learn from Lucien.
At the very least, he could stop wearing that irritating expression every day and acting so much like his even more irritating father.
Sometimes, Snape thought that if Lucien had been sorted into Slytherin, the Slytherin House Cup would be practically guaranteed every year.
In every class, Lucien was the first to complete his tasks and earn extra points.
It had practically become a routine for the professors.
After some comparison, Lucien finally chose a dragon heartstring.
Many of the materials on the shelves could also be found in the Forbidden Forest, where the natural resources were abundant.
And by now, entering the Forbidden Forest felt almost like returning home to him.
Hmm, he should visit Seleneia and the others in a few days—the unicorn's pregnancy should be nearing its end in another two or three months.
He could spend some time observing them more closely over the next few days.
As for other rare materials, Lucien didn't bother with them for now.
There would be plenty of chances to trade for them later.
After putting away the dragon heartstring, Lucien bid Snape farewell.
Then he went to visit several other professors, offering holiday greetings and chatting briefly with each.
Finally, Lucien returned to his dormitory.
He drew the curtains around his bed, enclosing himself in the small private space.
From his system space, he took out the Changeable Flesh Puppet.
The original form of the Changeable Flesh Puppet resembled a pink, translucent jelly.
Inside was a hollow spherical core filled with small holes, used to adjust its form and the intensity of its consciousness.
Lucien pulled a handful of candies from his pocket and tossed them toward the puppet.
The Changeable Flesh Puppet extended several pink jelly-like tentacles, wrapped the candies into its body, and quickly decomposed and absorbed them.
According to the system, the Changeable Flesh Puppet could consume any substance that contained nutrients.
Meaning, it was easy to feed.
Lucien drew his wand and touched the surface of the Changable Flesh Puppet with its tip.
As his magic flowed into it, the spherical core began to glow faintly and slowly rotate.
He pictured the creature he wanted in his mind.
Guji—~~
The pink body of the Changeable Flesh Puppet trembled, expanding and contracting.
A few seconds later, the blob of jelly disappeared.
In its place stood an alpaca, tilting its head curiously at Lucien.
Compared to animals created through Transfiguration, this alpaca's eyes were noticeably livelier—it looked no different from a real one.
"Hm, the consciousness intensity is set to that of an ordinary animal."
Lucien had tested this before. The consciousness of plants was too weak to interfere with Transfiguration, so the process always succeeded smoothly.
With a tap of his wand, the alpaca began to twist and transform.
Guji—~~
A barrel appeared in its place—but the lid still retained a full alpaca head.
It glanced at Lucien, puffed out its cheeks, and seemed ready to spit.
Lucien quickly raised his wand again, and the barrel-alpaca transformed once more.
Guji—~~
This time, there was no alpaca head—but the barrel now had four legs and was hopping around energetically.
"My first attempt at turning a living creature into an inanimate object… still a bit rusty," Lucien muttered.
He let the barrel hop around as he reflected on the flaws and mistakes in his latest Transfiguration.
The consciousness of living beings was indeed an issue—especially starting with animals, whose mental intensity was much stronger.
He studied the four-legged barrel thoughtfully.
Hmm, the Changeable Flesh Puppet was truly useful—it could transform into any creature and freely adjust its level of consciousness.
Perfect for practice.
He planned to fully master the Transfiguration of living creatures before Christmas.
Then, he would begin working toward becoming an Animagus.
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11 Advance Chaps- P@treon/DarkDevil1