Chapter -87.
"That's the right answer, but sorry, no extra points for you!"
Snape said with a hint of sarcasm, trying to lighten the mood with a joke that fell a bit flat: "Dursley, if I want to recover faster, what potion should I use?"
Is he testing me based on his own situation?
Every potion master is also a skilled healer, and, of course, a capable poisoner.
"Let me take a look at your injuries first."
Dudley's face turned serious as he carefully examined Snape's wounds, making sure not to overlook any details.
There was no damage to the femoral artery and no broken bones; so no need for bone-repairing potions or blood replenishing remedies.
The bite marks, which looked pretty severe, and the injury that almost went through his calf were actually the easiest to fix.
Just a dab of a white essence would do the trick.
That's the magic of potions; most external injuries can heal almost instantly with the right application. Even broken bones can mend overnight.
But Snape's leg had more going on than just surface wounds.
That little surface injury could be treated with just a bit of ointment from Snape himself.
His wound was giving off a faint gray mist, and the edges were covered in a layer of old moss green. A gentle touch would cause a nasty-smelling liquid to ooze out from beneath the skin.
To treat it, the first step was figuring out what had caused Snape's injury.
It seemed Snape wasn't going to tell Dudley directly.
So Dudley had to piece it together himself.
"This kind of large canine magical creature is pretty rare, especially one that can inflict such a curse."
With a curse involved, it definitely wasn't just any ordinary animal; it had to be a magical creature.
"Suppuration. Decay."
"It can also slow down the growth of new flesh."
Dudley muttered to himself, comparing Snape's injuries one by one.
Finally, he came to a conclusion.
"Guardian dog? Or... Cerberus?"
Guardian dogs and Cerberus are actually different branches of the same magical creature family; both are huge, fierce, carnivorous canines, but Cerberus has more heads.
Legend has it that they guard the underworld; whether that's true can only be confirmed by actually visiting the underworld.
So, their bites carry a curse that causes the bodies of those bitten to rot slowly; regular healing potions won't work and might even make things worse.
Seeing Snape quiet, Dudley took it as a sign of agreement; after all, the treatment methods for these two magical creatures are the same.
"Professor Snape, I'm curious about where you ran into this creature. As far as I know, there aren't any around the shallow parts of the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts."
As Dudley spoke, he pulled out several small vials and started brewing potions right there.
He didn't have any ready-made healing potions.
"You've been to the Forbidden Forest? Wow..."
The potion dripped onto the wound, making a sizzling sound, which was the sound of the curse being lifted, though it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.
Even Snape gasped.
This was no ordinary pain.
"There are tons of potion ingredients there, Professor."
"Instead of letting them go to waste, I might as well put them to good use."
Dudley kept chatting, but his hands didn't slow down.
Since it wasn't a life-threatening bite, lifting this curse wasn't too hard; a timely application of the potion would do the trick, but with Snape's condition, it would take at least three days to heal.
Dudley poured the prepared potion onto some gauze he had ready and pressed it firmly against Snape's wound.
"Just hang in there for three days of treatment."
And that was that.
"Assessment of injuries? Full marks."
"Selection of materials? Full marks."
"Potion preparation? Full marks."
"But it looks a bit... well, not great."
Snape commented on Dudley's work, finally glancing at the potion on his foot, his eyelids twitching slightly.
White cloth, round black core.
It looked just like a dog bandage.
Thank goodness Snape was bitten on the foot and not the face.
"Professor, I'm not a professional healer."
Dudley said, tucking away the materials he had used into a small pouch at his waist.
"Now, let's kick off today's lesson."
Snape limped up to the podium.
Watching Snape's back, Dudley hesitated to speak.
Logically, after being bitten by a wild animal, he should probably get a rabies vaccine.
Dudley glanced at Snape's gloomy face and figured he probably wouldn't go for it.
So, the question popped up: do magical creatures count as wild animals? Does Fluffy carry the rabies virus? Can potions kill the rabies virus?
Dudley didn't have the answers to these questions; he just hoped Professor Snape would be okay.
After all, the incubation period for rabies can stretch up to ten years.
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As December rolled in, the temperature dropped significantly, and the young wizards started bundling up in thick clothing.
Dawn was getting later, so Harry and the others pushed back their morning exercises by half an hour.
But Dudley? He still wore a vest and kept up with his daily workouts without fail.
The biting cold of the Black Lake in winter was just a minor hurdle for Dudley.
As long as he kept training, his Ripple Energy Technique would keep boosting his body.
At this hour, even the merpeople living at the bottom of the Black Lake had gone back to rest, but Dudley was still pushing himself.
After swimming back and forth ten times, Dudley finally decided to call it a day.
His body was sparkling with golden sparks, which stood out in the dim lake water; this was the special effect of the Ripple Technique, the power of the ripple.
Then he took a deep breath, slowly closed his eyes, and got himself into the best mindset. Dudley made a surprising move.
His body began to bob up and down in the water, with the golden sparks from the Ripple Breathing Technique flickering in and out, making him rise and fall.
However, this didn't last long. Dudley rose again, but this time he didn't sink back down. After a moment, he rose once more, this time breaking the surface. In the end, it was as if he was walking on stairs, slowly making his way to the water's surface, finally standing firmly with both feet on the surface.
Golden sparks kept flashing beneath his feet.
Walking on water is a sub technique of the Ripple Energy technique .
Before, Dudley couldn't reach this level; at most, he could get half a leg above the water. But with all his training, he finally achieved this milestone.
Then Dudley noticed that his personal panel showed his Ripple Energy Technique had leveled up from LV1 to LV2.
Now it was—Ripple Energy LV2.
"Finally, I have some self-defense skills."
Dudley could feel the energy surging within him, filled with vitality and strength, and his body seemed to be entering a new stage of development.
During this time, Dudley had already grown to 190 cm, and if he kept growing, he'd look like he was trying to intimidate someone when walking alongside Hermione.
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Note : Guys, some power stones will be really helpful.