Snape turned once again to face the class, arms crossed in front of him, his dark gaze sweeping the room.
"Before you even touch a single ingredient, you must understand one essential thing: potion-making is one of the most complex and dangerous arts. Unlike other forms of magic, which may seem more spectacular to you, this art is based on fundamental principles that you must master if you don't want to cause disasters."
He cast a cold, intimidating glance around the room, observing the students.
"Dosage, preparation of ingredients, temperature, sequence, and reaction time are among the absolute basics. This is only the surface of what you will need to understand and apply perfectly. These notions, which I will introduce to you, are merely the foundations of this delicate art. If you cannot master even these basics, you are nothing more than a walking time bomb."
He turned to the blackboard and quickly wrote down the recipe for the boil-cure potion.
"Let's take the example of the potion you will be brewing today. The boil-cure potion is an elementary preparation, so simple that even students of your caliber should be able not to fail. However, as basic as it may be, a mistake on your part could turn it into a deadly poison."
Snape slowly walked between the rows of cauldrons, his piercing gaze falling on each of his students as he continued in a merciless tone.
"If you do not properly prepare the snake fangs, the potion could cause severe burns instead of curing boils. If you add the tree snake skin too early, you might create an explosive reaction." A slight, mocking smile appeared on his lips. "And I doubt you'd enjoy seeing your cauldrons explode in front of you, especially if it happens due to your incompetence."
He stopped in front of a shelf where ingredients were carefully arranged.
"Temperature is just as crucial. Heat this potion too slowly, and it will be as useful as colored water. But if you bring it to a boil too quickly, the result could be far more deadly. An overheated potion can release toxic fumes or even cause an immediate explosion."
He turned back to the class, his expression even more severe.
"Brewing a potion is a delicate and exciting art, but above all, it is dangerous. And let me remind you that if you create a potion with undesirable or deadly effects, you will not only be held accountable by the school but also by the Ministry of Magic. The consequences of your mistakes could go far beyond simple inconveniences, potentially leading to death."
Snape paused, letting his last words hang in the tense air of the classroom. Then, with a slight, disdainful smile, he resumed in an even sharper tone:
"Some people might think that potion-making is accessible, that it's enough to follow a recipe to succeed. Let me disabuse you of that notion immediately. Brewing a potion requires as much, if not more, investment and discipline as the time spent mastering a complex spell. A mistake with your wand can be corrected with a simple counter-spell. A mistake with a potion, however, is much harder to fix."
He took a step toward his desk, where ingredients were carefully lined up, some rarer than others.
"And that doesn't even include the cost of the ingredients," he continued with measured coldness. "The components needed to brew a potion are often expensive. Each failure won't only cost you your pride… it will also result in significant financial losses. Poorly prepared snake fangs, a poorly cut root, a wrong dose of bezoar, and you could very well make me lose rare and precious ingredients, which I will not tolerate under any circumstances."
His gaze became more piercing, scrutinizing each student as if he could predict who would fail in advance.
"I warn you, I will not accept incompetent students wasting resources that are worth far more than what your little student wallets could hold. If you dare waste my time and my ingredients with your pathetic mistakes, I guarantee I will make your life a living hell. I will not tolerate any lack of preparation, and every failed potion will be treated as an insult to this art you are supposed to be learning."
He straightened up, his stern gaze sweeping across the class one last time.
"You've been warned. Perfection is required before you even begin mixing anything. I will make sure every mistake makes you regret your lack of preparation or your negligence."
After his intimidating introduction, Snape made his way to his desk and clapped his hands sharply.
"Take out your books and open them to the section on the boil-cure potion," he ordered in a frosty tone. "You have one hour to carefully read through every detail. Do not skim. This is not a simple cooking recipe; every line matters. Once you're done, you will gather the necessary ingredients and come to me for inspection. Before you even think about preparing anything, I will ensure you have everything in your possession and that each ingredient is in impeccable condition."
The screeching of chairs echoed through the room as the students hurried to open their grimoires, the atmosphere suddenly tense. The only sound was the rustling of pages and the murmuring of students reading in silence. Meanwhile, Snape prowled around the room, his piercing gaze briefly stopping on each student as if evaluating their level of understanding just by looking at them.
The hour dragged on, with some students visibly growing nervous under the weight of anticipation. Finally, Snape straightened up.
"Stand and gather your ingredients."
Orion turned to Emma and Max, his two friends, who looked at him with some apprehension. Emma seemed focused but worried, while Max showed a mix of excitement and fear.
"Don't worry," Orion murmured as he scanned the lines of the grimoire. "It's simple if we follow the instructions to the letter."
They headed together to the shelf where the ingredients were stored. Orion carefully checked each component, his analytical gaze sweeping over the bottles and herbs as if he were assessing their quality with expertise far beyond his age.
"The snake fangs must be thoroughly cleaned before being cut," said Orion, picking them up cautiously. "And the tree snake skin... it needs to be kept moist before adding it, or it loses its properties."
Emma nodded, focused, while Max watched closely.
"Look," Orion continued, showing them each ingredient one by one. "The bezoar, it's essential that its surface is smooth, without cracks. That guarantees it's still effective. I'll show you how to clean and prepare the snake fangs. Then you'll do the same."
He took a fang, examined it under the flickering candlelight, and then carefully cleaned it using a cloth soaked in a specific solution he had prepared in advance. Emma and Max watched every movement closely.
Once the ingredients were ready, they approached Snape's desk to present their work. Professor Snape scrutinized them with his gaze, meticulously inspecting each ingredient. After a few moments of silence, he nodded.
"Correct," he said coldly. "However, Mr. Maga, don't do all the work. Miss Lawson and Mr. Davies won't learn anything if you spoon-feed them each step."
Orion nodded respectfully. "I understand, Professor. I'll make sure to explain each step in detail."
Snape stared at him for a few more seconds, then waved his hand. "Return to your cauldrons. Make sure they do the work this time."
The group returned to their table, and Orion turned to his friends. "Now that everything's been checked, we'll start," he said calmly. "Max, you'll cut the fangs this time. Emma, you'll handle maintaining the cauldron's temperature. I'll show you one last time, then it'll be your turn."
Orion demonstrated to Max how to handle the fangs carefully, his movements precise and fluid. Max, though slightly nervous, imitated his movements under Orion's attentive eye. Meanwhile, Emma carefully adjusted the heat under the cauldron, her face marked with concentration.
As they worked, Snape continued to walk among the students, his sharp voice ringing out with each mistake.
"Miss Brown, if you heat your cauldron before finishing the preparation of your ingredients again, I assure you, you will pay the price!"
Further away, a student accidentally knocked over a flask of hellebore essence.
"Fool!" Snape shouted angrily. "Is it too much to ask that you read the manual properly?! Everything is spelled out in black and white, and yet you still manage to do everything wrong?!"
Snape's reprimands were relentless, each of his students growing more and more tense with every pass of the professor.
Back at their table, Orion showed his friends how to begin brewing the potion. "Now, pour in the purified water and wait for the surface to start gently simmering," he explained to Emma. "Too much boiling, and we'll have to start all over again."
Emma nodded, focused, while Max continued cutting the fangs under Orion's supervision.
The silence of their group was suddenly broken by a loud noise from the other side of the room. A student had knocked over a cauldron, spilling its contents on the floor.
Snape turned sharply toward him, his face contorted with anger.
"What did I tell you about valuable ingredients?!" he roared, his piercing eyes fixed on the guilty student. "If you don't follow the basic instructions written in this book, you have no business being here!"
A tense silence settled over the room, all the students holding their breath, fearing they might be the next target of the professor's fury.
When the bell rang, signaling the end of the class, the students left the potion room almost running, as if fleeing a nightmare. Their faces displayed a mixture of sadness and fear, a consequence of Snape's numerous biting corrections. All, except for three young students who stood apart from the rest of the group.
Emma and Max were smiling broadly, a gleam of satisfaction in their eyes. The sweet sound of a successful potion, after so much preparation and concentration, still resonated in their minds. They were pleasantly surprised by the unexpected pleasure that success had brought them.
Orion, for his part, simply walked calmly by their side, a slight smile on his lips as he observed his friends' joy.
Later, at dinner in the Great Hall, Orion once again found himself the center of attention. Gazes turned toward him, whispers were heard at every table, but this time, it didn't affect him as much. He was starting to get used to this constant scrutiny, and it became easier for him to ignore them, focusing instead on the light conversation with Emma and Max, as well as his meal.
After dinner, Orion returned to the Hufflepuff common room with Emma and Max. Upon arriving, he expected to find the usual calm and warm atmosphere, but was quickly surprised. This time, the other Hufflepuff students seemed to be waiting for him.
Instead of the whispered comments or sidelong glances he had grown accustomed to, the students approached him, visibly curious. Several of them gathered around him, asking questions with a sincerity that took him by surprise.
"Orion, is it true what you did in Transfiguration?" asked a student in an admiring tone. "Did you really turn a matchstick into a needle without a wand?"
Orion looked at them, a little taken aback by this reception. What surprised him the most wasn't the questions themselves, but the complete lack of anger, jealousy, or contempt. All the members of the house of the badger seemed genuinely curious, eager to know more about what he had accomplished.
"Yes, it's true," he answered calmly, nodding. "I did it without a wand."
The faces around him lit up with astonishment and fascination. The questions kept coming, but always with kindness and interest.
As a flood of questions continued to pour around him, the Hufflepuff prefect, seeing the growing excitement, stepped in to calm the students. She raised her hand and spoke to them with authority but kindness.
"Calm down, everyone! You can't all talk to him at once. Orion is probably tired after a long day."
The murmurs immediately quieted down, the students stepping back slightly to give him some space. Grateful for the intervention, Orion smiled slightly and spoke.
"Thank you. Listen, I understand that you're curious, but I can't spend all night on this. I'll answer three questions... after that, I'm going to bed. Does that sound fair?"
The students exchanged glances, whispering among themselves to decide on the most pertinent questions to ask. Eventually, a consensus was reached among them. A student stood up to ask the first question, his eyes shining with curiosity.
Miss Hart, amused by the situation, watched as both younger and older students enthusiastically debated the questions to ask. Even the older students participated in the discussions, each proposing their own idea. Finally, after a moment of deliberation, three questions were selected, and Miss Hart approached Orion with a smile.
"Alright, Orion," she said with a smile. "They've made their choice. Here are the three questions."
The first student, visibly the youngest of the group, spoke up with a slightly hesitant but full-of-curiosity voice.
"We heard that you can do non-verbal and wandless magic... is that true? If so, could you explain how to do it, or at least how it works?"
Before Orion had a chance to answer, an older student jumped in, his tone a bit more direct.
"And are you really as good as you let on? We'd like to see it for ourselves. Could you give us a little demonstration?"
Finally, a third student spoke, this time with a more friendly and collegial expression.
"If all of this is true... could you help us out from time to time? Give advice or lessons, like a mentor for the other Hufflepuffs?"
The students then turned to Orion, eagerly awaiting his response with palpable excitement. Even Miss Hart seemed intrigued, a mischievous smile on her lips, curious to see how he would respond to their requests.