Chapter 99: Snape's Recognition, The Versatile Flesh Puppet
Inside the Potions professor's office.
Snape's words made Leo's mouth curve slightly upward. So the professor wasn't entirely lacking in human sentiment after all. Those who said Westerners didn't understand social niceties were clearly mistaken.
"Professor, does this count as Halloween candy?" Leo asked with a slight smile.
Perhaps because few students dared joke with him, Snape seemed unaccustomed to it. After a few seconds of silence, he picked up his teacup and took a deliberate sip before responding coldly.
"Believe what you wish."
Snape could see that the ingredient in the small pill Leo had given him was quite precious. His pride also wouldn't allow him to take advantage of a child. So he'd proposed letting Leo select a material himself as a fair exchange.
Instead, Leo had characterized it as a holiday-themed interaction, which caught Snape off guard. After all, no one had ever dared approach him saying,
"Trick or treat!"
Leo found Snape's response amusing. The professor remained so stubbornly closed off, never willing to easily express his thoughts and feelings. Had he been bolder and more direct back then, perhaps young Harry might have borne the Snape name.
Well, perhaps not. Snape's immersion in dark magic during his youth and his association with unsavory people ultimately drove him and Lily apart.
Dark magic was truly harmful—twisting both body and mind, making it difficult to find a wife.
Could he eventually develop dark magic with minimal side effects? No. If it lacked powerful effects and posed no risk of backlash, it wouldn't be dark magic anymore. That would simply be legitimate white magic. After all, forbidden arts required consequences to justify their prohibition. Otherwise, if practice was fast, power was strong, and there were no side effects—what would you call that? Perfect magic. Impossible magic. Magic that defied the fundamental laws of nature itself
Leo walked to a shelf of materials and carefully examined them. Truly, Snape was the youngest potion master. Nothing he kept here was ordinary. Rare and expensive items, even those rarely seen on the market, lined his small shelves in abundance.
Establishing good relations with Snape was definitely the right choice—obtaining materials would be far more convenient in the future.
Which one should he select?
Leo examined for quite a while, finally understanding why young women spent so long selecting jewelry and clothing. On one hand, everything seemed wonderful, and he wanted it all. On the other hand, keeping things in reserve wasn't wasteful—they could be used later regardless.
While Leo deliberated, Snape suddenly spoke.
"I heard previously that you've been tutoring Harry, helping him study?"
Hearing this, Leo was somewhat surprised. Not surprised that Snape knew—Harry had already mentioned Snape seemed aware. Rather, surprised that Snape was only asking now, after all this time.
Did he previously not want to express concern for Harry in front of outsiders?
Tsk tsk—still that same stubborn nature.
"Yes. How do you think his Potions level has been recently?" Leo asked.
"Acceptable. Somewhat improved since the start of term," Snape replied curtly.
After several seconds of silence, he added something unusual.
"Perhaps you should consider becoming a professor someday."
This was essentially Snape's way of praising Leo. Of course, the professor would never offer a direct compliment. Leo, however, understood the subtext and responded politely.
"Thank you for your recognition."
Truthfully, regarding Leo—whether his study attitude or manner of conducting himself—Snape was quite satisfied. He'd previously said Harry should learn from Leo properly, rather than carrying that detestable face resembling his equally detestable father. Sometimes Snape wondered if Leo had been sorted into Slytherin, whether the House Cup would be more secure each year. Every class, Leo was always the first to complete tasks and earn points.
It had nearly become a habit among the professors.
Finally, after considerable deliberation, Leo selected a dragon heartstring. Some materials on the shelf could potentially be found in the Forbidden Forest, which actually contained abundant resources. Visiting the Forest himself now felt like coming home. In a few days, he'd check on Selene and the others. The unicorn's pregnancy should conclude in two or three months, and he could observe closely during this time. Regarding other rare materials, Leo didn't worry. He'd have opportunities to exchange again.
Securing the dragon heartstring, Leo bid Snape farewell and subsequently visited several other teachers, offering holiday wishes and casual conversation.
Finally returning to his dormitory, he entered his bed's small pocket dimension and retrieved the Versatile Flesh Puppet from system space.
In its original form, the puppet resembled a pink transparent gelatin mass. Inside existed a spherical core riddled with holes—the puppet's control center, capable of adjusting form and consciousness strength.
Leo drew candies from his pocket and tossed them toward the puppet. It extended several pink gelatinous tentacles, drawing the candies inward before rapidly decomposing and absorbing them. According to the system, the puppet could consume anything providing nutrition. It was simply easy to maintain.
Leo drew his wand and touched it to the puppet's surface. As magical power flowed in, the spherical core brightened and began slowly rotating as he constructed the desired creature in his mind.
"Gleep—"
The pink body suddenly trembled, contracting and expanding rhythmically. Several seconds later, the gelatinous mass vanished.
In its place stood a llama, tilting its head at Leo.
Compared to creatures created through Transfiguration, this llama's eyes appeared noticeably more animate. It looked indistinguishable from a real llama.
"The consciousness intensity should match ordinary animal levels," Leo noted.
He'd previously experimented. Plant consciousness was extremely minimal, causing no difficulty with his Transfiguration attempts and allowing him to succeed quickly. With a wand tap, the llama instantly began distorting. A barrel appeared on the ground, yet retained a complete llama head perched on its lid. It glanced at Leo, puffing its cheeks as if preparing to spit.
Then Leo tapped his wand again, and the barrel-llama transformed once more. Now lacking the llama head, the barrel's side sprouted four legs, bounding about playfully.
"First attempt at animate-to-inanimate transformation is rather imprecise," Leo mused, allowing the four-legged barrel to bounce around as he contemplated the transformation's shortcomings.
Creature consciousness was indeed problematic, especially when it came to animals. Looking at the legged barrel bounding about, he smiled. The Versatile Flesh Puppet is excellent—becoming any creature with freely adjustable consciousness strength. Very convenient for practice.
He'd master animated transformation before Christmas. Attempting an Animagus transformation sooner would be preferable.