The Potions class at Hogwarts does not contain much purely theoretical information.
Follow the books and the operating procedures given by the professors on the blackboard, brew each kind of potion step by step, and then master and absorb the potion refining methods summarized by previous people in the practice process. This is the whole potion class.
.
In the past thousand years, countless potion masters have all grown up under this ancient inheritance.
Practice is the only way to learn potions - at least in the memory of Horace Slughorn, from the time he began to understand the wizarding world, entered Hogwarts Castle to study and graduated, and finally became a professor and retired.
...The Potions Classroom is like an ancient reef on a distant coastline, forever submerged in the mist of the crucible.
Slughorn walked back and forth in the smoke, preparing to make suggestions for the students' work.
To his surprise, compared to his memories of teaching at Hogwarts, the professionalism and rigor shown by the students in this class were no less than those in the sixth and seventh grades.
Senior students.
In the past many years of teaching, perhaps one or two young wizards with outstanding talents occasionally appeared.
They will show extraordinary qualities in the Potions class very early, and what Horace Slughorn is most proud of is that he can rely on his rich teaching experience to teach those students
When the talented little wizards are just showing signs of success, be the first to make friends with them and constantly consolidate and develop your own "club".
but……
"Are all the students admitted to Hogwarts last year monsters?"
Horace Slughorn wandered back and forth in the classroom, his eyes slightly blank.
Since he announced that the potion was brewing, Slughorn had already walked around the desks and chairs in the classroom two or three times.
If we say that the first time, he was still a little casual and sloppy, and he was still glad that there was no emergency.
So when Horace Slughorn began to inspect the underground classroom for the second time, carefully observing the operations of each student, trying to find some sense of presence to comment, but still found nothing and silently returned to the starting point, this
A Potions professor who had taught at Hogwarts for decades suddenly realized the sense of dissonance that had been lingering in the classroom.
Apart from quiet, brief exchanges, no one was chatting or asking questions.
These little wizards showed a high degree of concentration, almost condensing it into something tangible - cutting, separating, weighing dried nettles, processing puffer fish eyes, grinding, mixing and heating... Maybe the speed is slightly different, but
There is almost nothing that everyone needs to correct in terms of basic organization and techniques.
Situations like this are extremely rare even among wizards who have graduated.
You know, this is not an isolated case of one or two. When this trait that Slughorn once called "genius potential" appears in everyone in a class, it means...
"I see, Albus...is this the unprecedented new era you are talking about?"
Slughorn's eyes swept over the young faces of the students one by one, and he nodded slightly thoughtfully.
There is no doubt that Slughorn is not the top wizard in the wizarding world today when it comes to potions knowledge alone.
But what Horace Slughorn was most proud of in his life was not limited to the small classroom - in Hogwarts, and even in the entire British wizarding world - no one knew what it meant better than him.
Magic genius.
When the definition of genius is re-evaluated, those standards of excellence in the past become the norm.
This may be a bit difficult to accept for those who have been surpassed, but from the perspective of an educator, this is the moment they are most looking forward to seeing. Most professors may not be able to see it become
Reality.
Slughorn subconsciously recalled Albus Dumbledore's somewhat meaningless words in his mind.
"Horace, I hope you can help me see...are these children, maybe, starting a new era?"
"It's more than possible, they-"
The fat old Potions professor looked across the fog and seemed to see the stars twinkling behind the crucible.
Even if it is just a few minutes of practice in Potions class, facing these habits that may have taken students a full seven years to understand and develop in the past, he didn't know about other subjects, but from the perspective of the inheritance of Potions
…
Without further observation, Slughorn can now draw an extremely certain conclusion.
"They are the new era of potions science——"
No matter in any world, in the basic field, the efficiency and speed of mastering knowledge are the most core and basic manifestations. The so-called geniuses are often top students with slightly faster understanding ability and learning speed.
When all students begin to touch the realm of genius, it also means that education has become dull.
"It's really a headache. It seems that I have to prepare for lessons later..."
Horace Slughorn scratched his temples and looked down at the students who had completed the basic boiling operation and were gradually raising their heads to look at him, or starting to talk quietly, and shook his head with a wry smile.
.
In the past second-grade classroom lesson plans, there was not much teaching content about boiling swelling potion.
In addition to a brewing process that has been used for hundreds of years, most of the time, Slughorn, as the Potions professor, is more about correcting the processing methods of the little wizards, or solving some illegal operations.
emergencies caused.
For example, the writing on the blackboard behind Slughorn is actually just a simple operating procedure.
[Swelling Potion: Preparation Method]
[Add 2 tablespoons of dried nettles to the mortar]
[Add 3 parts of puffer fish eyes into the mortar]
[Grind them evenly into a medium-fine powder]
[Add 2 parts of the mixture powder into the crucible]
[Heat at intermediate temperature for 20 seconds]
[Wave the wand after one minute to add magic to the potion]
【Boil for 45 minutes】
[Add 1 part of bat spleen into the crucible]
[Stir counterclockwise 4 times]
[Heat at low temperature for 30 seconds]
[Wave the wand again to complete the potion]
Of course, this is more of an outline-like reminder, mainly used to check and remind the little wizards.
During the actual brewing process of the swelling potion, Elena and others still had to follow the detailed instructions in "Magic Potions and Potions", such as what the "intermediate temperature" was and what the "low temperature" was.
What temperature...
In fact, many contents are not clearly written in the books.
Due to the subtle differences in the raw materials of the potion, as well as the temperature range, heating method, particle size and other complicated subjective constraints when each potion is brewed, wizards used to rely more on actual conditions when preparing potions.
Make some flexible adjustments according to the situation, or judge in what direction your operations should be changed.
The most common way is to identify it from the color and shape of the smoke, liquid surface, and see whether it needs to continue stirring or adjusting the temperature.
However, the above situations mostly occur in the subsequent preparation of more complex potions. At least in the process of brewing entry-level potions, if the variables are controlled enough, the chance of differences and accidents is almost zero.
.
After a year of knife skills practice and standardized weighing exercises, it was too easy for two people to prepare potions.
In less than half a quarter of an hour, most of the students had completed all the operations before adding the bat spleen, and the classroom gradually began to be filled with whispers, or quietly "playing with potion ingredients" with nothing to do.
"Ahem, it looks like most of the students have already reached the cooking process?"
As more and more students began to look at the hourglass in a daze, or began to use a knife to destroy the potion ingredients on the table, Slughorn finally could no longer pretend to see nothing and continue to brew his own blessing.
Elixir.
Slughorn puffed up his chest, cleared his throat, and quickly glanced at the blank lesson plan in his hand.
"Then let me think about it, during this time we should... um..."
Well, obviously he can't be entirely blamed for this.
After all, he was just a temporary second-year Potions professor. Severus Snape did not explain the situation of these demons clearly before handing over. Otherwise, as the former dean of Slytherin House, the former demon would
The leader of the pharmacy course, how could he make teaching mistakes in such a small place?
In fact, Slughorn had no shortage of content to teach, he just wanted to find the most appropriate way.
It would be best if he... would not show his lack of preparation, but could also quietly reflect his profound teaching ability in the field of potions. It would be best if he could also take this opportunity to learn about the latest potions.
Education trends.
oh!
Right, right! Yes!
"Mr. Michael Corner, what did Professor Snape usually tell you before?"
Slughorn glanced at the roll call on the podium, casually called on an inconspicuous student, touched his walrus-like white beard, and smiled, "After all, Severus is also my student, I will try my best to
Lectures in a way you are familiar with."
Obviously, what could be easier than imitating and surpassing?
Perhaps Severus Snape did have some talent in the field of potions, but Horace Slughorn did not think that this young wizard in his thirties would surpass him - as Snape's
Potions Professor, he still has some confidence.
In particular, most of the things Snape knew were taught by him.
At least in this kind of class for younger students, his experience will obviously be more advantageous.
"Professor Snape..."
Michael Corner swallowed, and a look of yearning suddenly flashed in his eyes.
"If it is such a relatively long potion brewing stage, the professor will usually take time to cook a few dishes and let everyone practice together. Finally, the dishes will be distributed according to the quality of the potion brewing at the end of class..."
"How many dishes are you cooking?"
The smile on Slughorn's face froze slightly, and he asked politely.
Is this some new grammatical vocabulary?
Why didn't he quite understand what the child said?
"Yeah, there are quite a few! They are all things you can never learn from books, but usually only a little bit."
Michael Corner nodded seriously, and the little wizards around him also nodded in agreement.
A little? Several times?
And... it's still something that can't be written in books?
Slughorn looked relaxed, nodded in realization, and said with a smile.
"Oh, I know. Did you just want to describe some simple and easy basic operations? Severus showed you some improved techniques that can make the process of brewing potions a piece of cake. This is quite interesting.
His style..."
When he was in school, Severus was a strange student who was somewhat difficult to evaluate.
This was not only due to his increasingly withdrawn and cold personality, but also reflected in the works he submitted to the Potions class. As the Potions professor, Slughorn knew very well that Severus Si
Nap's bad habits.
In so many years of teaching, there are few students who like to change recipes at will like Snape.
You know, the magic potions that are handed down and taught to students in schools have all passed a lot of verification.
Of course, compared to the few successes, there are too many examples of failures caused by Snape's "wanton behavior" in Potions class. Even those mistakes that can be called stupid, he will make mistakes.
Deduplication.
"But any potion that can appear repeatedly is not completely meaningless..."
"Even if this is a bottle of poison? It is a failed work that has no effect except killing people."
"Poison, isn't this a very valuable result?"
"Mr. Snape, zero points. Clear it all——"
Slughorn still remembers the time when he scolded Snape for disrupting the refining method of the "Shrinking Potion", which was not difficult to refining, and turned it into a highly toxic potion.
Conversation with the black-haired student.
So much so that when he later heard that Snape had joined the Death Eaters, he wasn't too surprised.
What frightened Slughorn the most was that after the mysterious man fell, Snape actually appeared in Hogwarts Castle unscathed, and even became the next Slytherin professor.
Professor of medicine.
Perhaps Dumbledore would be inclined to believe in the beauty of human nature, but Slughorn would not be so naive.
Through the accounts of his "friends", Slughorn knew very well that Snape had never drawn a clear line with his fellow Death Eaters. Over the past ten years, he had protected those people more than once.
Cunning friends.
For example, the Malfoy family, the Crouch family...
After Slughorn returned to Hogwarts Castle, he hinted to Dumbledore more than once that if Voldemort came back one day, Severus Snape would definitely be a huge hidden danger. Unfortunately...
"I don't like to judge others behind their backs, but I must emphasize this once!"
Slughorn raised his finger and said seriously.
"Everything that appears in your textbooks is the result of decades or hundreds of years of verification. At least before graduation, I think you should focus on how to learn them instead of looking for shortcuts..."
"But, Professor - there are no good recipes in the magic world..."
Terry Butt scratched his nose in confusion and looked at the old man standing on the podium in confusion.
"Compared with the dishes in "A Bite of Hogwarts", the dishes Professor Snape taught us are obviously much simpler and easier to achieve, both in terms of production process and taste, and
It can also help us learn potions."
"Huh? So...Severus, is he really teaching you cooking in Potions class?!"
Slughorn was stunned, and the corners of his eyes couldn't help but twitch.
What kind of changes have taken place in Hogwarts in the past ten years?! Is there anything more outrageous and ridiculous than learning to cook in Potions class?! It is simply unreasonable!
However, before Horace Slughorn could continue to speak.
"Yes, yes! Professor Slughorn, what can you cook? Since you have taught Professor Snape and been the Potions Professor at Hogwarts for so many years, you must
You can cook a lot of dishes..."
"That must be the case! Look how delicious the professor's pot of elixir smells!"
"Hey, Professor looks much fatter than Professor Snape. His cooking must be delicious, my mother said."
"It doesn't necessarily depend on size. Have you forgotten Mr. Hagrid's rock biscuits?"
"That's different. Mr. Hagrid is not the Potions professor at Hogwarts. Besides..."
As the topic unfolded, the underground classroom suddenly became lively.
The little wizards, who were still a little reserved at first, raised their heads and looked eagerly at Slughorn, who was obviously more talkative and more approachable than Severus Snape. They were happily discussing it.
stand up.
For these students who have only been exposed to magic for one year, last year's Potions class was a real Potions class.
Potions = cooking = cooking, this is the truth taught to them by Professor Snape and Elina. Although Professor Snape did not say this, he rewarded and told everyone with practical actions.
, the correlation between the two.
By analogy, as Professor Snape's teacher, Professor Horace Slughorn is obviously...
Seeing that the conversation in the underground classroom began to get out of control, the smile on Slughorn's face finally became unbearable.
"Ah this——"
It's over, this class of students may be hopeless.
The future of the magic world is gone, all gone... all the good seeds are gone...
After the Potions class ended, he immediately went to the principal's office to report to Dumbledore that he must eliminate the bad influence caused by a certain black sheep in Hogwarts as soon as possible and get everything back on track without delay.