On one hand.
He was shocked and incredulous at such an improvement, but on the other hand, he felt a sense of frustration and horror at Ian applying his talents on Amortentia.
"I can send you over right now!"
Snape clearly didn't know that Azkaban was no longer intimidating Ian.
The Professor of Potions clenched his jaw tightly, his gaze shifting to a few cauldrons that had been cleaned thoroughly, and were even set up as if ready for immediate use.
"Six cauldrons! You brewed six whole cauldrons! And yet, you complain it's not enough for you!" Snape's eye twitched uncontrollably, his voice trembling and filled with intense outrage. He suspected Ian might not even spare Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout, Madam Pomfrey, and Madam Pince.
No... Or perhaps Ian didn't plan to spare anyone at all! Might even the male wizards be considered among them!? His gaze at Ian was both angry and somewhat alarmed.
"It's clearly you who brewed the Amortentia! What I'm brewing isn't Amortentia at all!" Ian retorted loudly, accusing Snape of completing the Amortentia.
"What you learned about Amortentia in the Forbidden Book Area? I knew Dumbledore shouldn't have granted you approval!" Snape, shifting the blame to the headmaster, didn't believe Ian's words at all.
Indeed.
There was truly no one at Hogwarts more knowledgeable about potions than him.
"I'm researching a possibility!" Ian had already discovered that Teacher Morgan's Amortentia formula contained several truly useful insights, but he felt that he had barely grasped an understanding of one.
If not for being caught by Snape.
He would've surely completed the analysis of this piece of knowledge tonight. Unable to clear his name, Ian bravely stepped forward to begin processing new materials. Fortunately, Snape held onto the large bag of materials Ian had 'acquired,' allowing Ian the chance to clear his name through concrete action.
Only, seeing Ian ignite a clean cauldron, Snape's anger visibly intensified.
"You want to teach me how to brew potions?"
His expression was as unpleasant as could be.
"I only hope you can guide me a bit." Ian didn't just want to give up; he knew very well that Snape's research on potions far surpassed his understanding.
At least for now, that is still the case.
"You even managed to improve the formula to such an extent, and you need me to guide you in brewing Amortentia? Ha! Don't think that with smooth talk you can please me to let you off! This is Amortentia! It's a crime! Do you understand?" Snape's expression still carried annoyance, though his anger had clearly subsided a bit.
"Had you not ruined the cauldron I was closest to succeeding with, I would've immediately shown you what I'm actually doing!" Ian refuted while processing the materials.
Honestly, Snape did succeed in brewing Amortentia, but there were quite a few differences from Teacher Morgan's formula. The original cauldron of potion could become something entirely different if some ingredients were removed; it was merely a base, just that the easiest direction led to Amortentia itself.
If Ian hadn't realized this, he wouldn't have planned to conduct all-night research tonight.
"Crackling~"
Without the help of Dementors, Ian could only manually process the materials, and Snape standing nearby was certainly not going to assist, his face was filled with impatient gloom.
"You fool, cut a bit thicker, don't release the potent effects of the calamus root so quickly!"
Luckily Snape didn't prevent Ian's actions, unfortunately, without other little wizards to distract, he could focus all his attention on picking faults.
"Throw away the top layer of the daffodil root, soak it in honey, then mix it with the liquid of the petals. Do you only add a little because you sympathize with the bees' hard work?"
"You're generous with the armadillo bile, the armadillo must have a deep grudge against you, otherwise it's just your empty head thinking the more of this stuff you add, the more effective it gets."
Snape's snark was sharper than usual, likely a venting of pent-up anger, but Ian didn't argue back, fully incorporating corrections as he went.
[Magic Potion Skill Level +4]
[Magic Potion Skill Level +6]
[Magic Potion Skill Level +3]
...
Though Ian merely adjusted by adding or subtracting slightly, Snape reprimanded him with exaggerated critiques, yet his panel indicating more frequent skill level increases clearly showed Snape wasn't being difficult for no reason—there was still much room for improvement for Ian in processing techniques.
"What are you using Unicorn Saliva for… No, where did you get such a big bottle of Unicorn Saliva!" Snape realized Ian began preparations that veered away from typical Amortentia brewing.
Hardly had he processed the shock over Ian pulling out a large bottle, he then saw Ian stirring a bowl of frog brains, then poured it together with the Unicorn Saliva into the pot.
"Are you trying to use such a wicked method to confuse my understanding of whether you're brewing Amortentia?" Snape wanted to lash out, but smelled a distinctive fragrance.
Ian altered the procedural steps that began from the semi-finished potion he'd seen just moments ago, which was also why he hadn't immediately intervened to stop.