"Of course not."
Under Snape's furrowed brow, Ian began to wave his magic wand.
Initiating the ritual.
The potion in the cauldron began to change, and its scent followed suit. At that moment, Snape, who was wearing an expression of "I'm just going to watch how you perform," suddenly looked somewhat uncertain.
"Add some armadillo bile now!"
Suddenly, his eyes widened with shock, and with a somewhat urgent tone, he interrupted his instruction to Ian and quickly rushed to the place where the armadillo bile was stored and grabbed a bottle.
Dripping it precisely.
The scent changed subtly once again.
Ian continued his ritual.
He originally intended to grab other prepared materials, but realized that a sharp-eyed and serious-looking Snape had already brought the materials to the crucible and began adding them one by one. Ian didn't even tell him what to add, and Snape's sequence and quantity slightly varied from his expectations.
"Uncle..."
Ian wanted to speak.
But was silenced by Snape's gaze.
"Continue!"
The Potions teacher's voice carried a trace of complexity.
Under his warning gaze.
Ian hurriedly resumed maintaining the ritual with his wand and spell—there was no sense of failure, and Ian saw the potion in the cauldron begin to change slowly. From initially murky, it gradually became clear and transparent, finally revealing a mesmerizing deep blue color, like the most mysterious treasure in the deep sea.
"It succeeded!"
Ian's tone was full of surprise, genuinely not expecting Teacher Morgan's seemingly intricate formula, among which one possibility could be verified so smoothly.
Indeed, the Half-blood Prince!
"Where is the original formula for your Amortentia?"
By this time, Snape no longer exhibited the previous anger and irritation. He personally poured the potion out, storing it in the crystal-clear Crystal Bottle.
Seeing the potion in the Crystal Bottle, Snape finally believed Ian—a little wizard, however extraordinary, could not possibly research such a thing within just a few days after the term started.
"I found the formula in the Forbidden Book Area, just memorized it in my mind." Ian certainly couldn't give away pieces of Morgan's robe, at most sharing the formula with Snape for joint research.
Good uncle doesn't have children after all.
How could he forgot him if they achieve something?
"Do you know what you are deciphering?" Snape realized the formula didn't belong to Ian, but that didn't keep him from being shocked by Ian's talent in potions. Not even most wizards, and perhaps many potion experts, have such a keen potion instinct.
To peel off a unique trait from a potion formula… the Prince family obviously won't decline for this. Snape's heart carried comfort as well as some indescribable emotions.
"I believe it is an energy potion, enabling our magic power to maintain a super level of activity for a long time, perhaps we can name it Infinite Firepower Potion." Ian's naming level was inversely proportional to his potion talent, but this didn't stop him from enjoying the beautiful future of becoming a monopolist.
"I think we need to apply for a patent and sell it to Aurors, surely many would need it. I believe it will definitely outsell shampoos and such!"
Ian's voice was filled with excitement.
This actually belongs to Teacher Morgan's achievement and patent, only as Teacher Morgan's only living apprentice in the human world, he certainly can be seen as the sole inheritor of Teacher Morgan's legacy! How could he let this teacher's research be buried in history? Ian felt a duty to promote its greatness!
Just when Ian almost persuaded himself that he was a person with a heavy sense of responsibility.
"Go to the Forbidden Book Area, find that formula, then…" Snape's voice was very low; Ian originally thought he wanted him to bring the formula to him.
However.
"Destroy it! Use your Fiery Fire! Or whatever magic you have!" This was absolutely an unexpected demand for Ian.
Utterly bewildering.
Yet Snape's expression was extremely serious and earnest… even somewhat terrifying. Far more oppressive than when he thought Ian was brewing Amortentia.
"Is it for monopoly?"
Ian was perplexed by Snape's attitude.
"Let that formula rot in your gut!" Snape glanced around those crucibles, then raised his hand to completely destroy all the semi-products and materials with magic.
If I find out you shared this formula with your friends, don't blame me for enforcing a brutal mind alteration on them." Snape's expression was unprecedentedly earnest.
"Prince, I don't want to die, and I think you feel the same." Leaving only a murmur that was chilling once thought through, Snape quickly left the Room of Requirement with the finished product in hand, leaving the dumbfounded Ian standing in an empty classroom, completely unable to understand what was going on with Snape.
Dungeon.
Snape's office.
The Potions professor opened the door, stepped inside, shut the door, and as if still uneasy, relocked it, then walked to his desk with Ian's bottle of potion.
He just sat there.
Staring at the blue potion on the desk, his eyes filled with fear, horror, and worry, yet the increasingly obvious entanglement was growing more intense over time.
"I know, I shouldn't do this, it will be very dangerous." When the emotions within his heart were utterly uncontrollable, the mental debate in Snape's mind was fierce, and eventually, he walked up to a section of wall.
He uttered an incantation.
The bricks on the wall began to rotate continuously, shifting, revealing a secret area hidden within the wall, but only about the size of a shoebox, containing a potion with tiny starry glimmers.
[Water of Revival]
The label on the potion bore Snape's unique handwriting; from the luxury level of the crystal material used for the bottle, this was evidently a work the potion maker was extremely proud of.
Staring at the creation within the secret compartment.
An indecisive Snape paced back and forth in front of it for a long time.
Watching as the sky grew dim.
He raised his head, closed his eyes, and took several deep breaths.
"But I also don't want to die uneasily.".
Resolute, Snape fetched the potion from within, set up his crucible, poured in his creation, then added several ingredients and conducted a ritual.
The process didn't last long.
After completing the series of operations, Snape poured his heated potion into Ian's potion. Consequently, the blue liquid began to shimmer with starlight.
Brilliant and dazzling, spectacular and magnificent.
"It really… succeeded."
Despite the potion's completion, there was no trace of joy on Snape's face, instead, there was a look of paleness, even his voice and hands holding the potion trembled uncontrollably.
"How could it possibly succeed!" Snape hurriedly ran towards his cabinet, appearing somewhat clumsy, due to an emotion akin to panic.
Fetching a pipette from the cabinet, Snape used it to draw some potion from the bottle, subsequently grabbing a toad and dripping it onto the toad's skin.
After a period of time.
"Prince, I truly wish you were only trying to make all of us drink Amortentia." Gazing at the trapped toad, Snape's complexion appeared more pallid.
"Why does it have to be such a colossal disaster!" At this moment, he was holding a piece of transparent stone close to the toad, and faint blue light flowed gently within the stone.
Like twisting silk threads.
That was.
Detected… magic power.