Chapter 76: Stimulant Potion and Magic-Replenishing Potion
Ethan was on his way to Snape's office, still wondering what had happened in his dormitory, or rather, what had happened to him, that had caused the other three to leave.
"Sit down." Snape wearily rubbed his forehead.
He'd just exerted considerable effort to prevent the castle from being burned down.
After a moment's thought, Snape retrieved two potion bottles from his storage cabinet: one contained a pale, gray transparent liquid, the other had sparkling particles suspended within.
"Recognize these potions?" Snape couldn't resist testing Ethan even now.
He placed both bottles on the coffee table before Ethan, instructing him to examine them closely.
Although Ethan was anxious to figure out what had happened to him, he steeled himself to take on Snape's challenge.
Picking up the small bottles, he first selected the gray one.
He unscrewed the cap and gently waved it near his nose, allowing some of the potion's scent to drift into his nostrils.
"This is a Stimulant Potion, a healing draught that can awaken those under magical sleep. Of course, it also slightly boosts the user's spirit and reduces drowsiness."
He looked at Snape, receiving a confirming nod in return.
Setting down this bottle, Ethan found himself stumped.
He'd never seen such a brilliant potion before, not even described in Advanced Potion-Making.
Using the same method to smell it, he could only detect a sweet fragrance but gained no other useful information.
After seeking Snape's permission with his eyes, he cast Scarpin's Revelaspell, attempting to deduce the potion's effects through its ingredients.
Ethan identified one ingredient after another: "Lavender, Acromantula venom, Sopophorous bean, rose essential oil, asphodel petals, unicorn horn, unicorn blood, salamander blood, morning dew..."
More than a dozen ingredients made his head spin.
Unicorn blood and Acromantula venom were rare ingredients he couldn't readily obtain, and even with the other identified components, he couldn't guess the potion's purpose.
Because it contained both sleep-inducing ingredients like lavender, healing components like salamander blood, and antidotal substances like unicorn horn.
With such a mix, he simply couldn't determine the potion's function.
Ethan looked at him. "Professor, I can't figure it out. I suspect it's sleep-related, but with so many rare ingredients, if that's all it does, the Dreamless Sleep Potion would be better. There must be another purpose, right?"
Snape was somewhat satisfied. "Hmm, good guess. You used your brain."
He took a small sip from the potion bottle, then drank a bit of the Stimulant Potion:
"This is a Magic-Replenishing Potion. Because it's difficult to brew and the ingredients are rare, hardly any wizard makes it."
"Magic-Replenishing Potion? Replenish magic? Such a potion exists in the wizarding world?!" Ethan was shocked. He'd always believed no such potion existed.
"Yes and no. A wizard's magical power relates to many factors, but there's only one true way to replenish it, and that is rest." Snape shook his head.
"As long as you rest well, your magic recovers quickly. Of course, most wizards never truly exhaust their magic, which is one reason this potion isn't popular."
"Furthermore, though called a magic-replenishing potion, it doesn't truly replenish magic. It merely gives you a feeling of rest, allowing some magical recovery."
He picked up the bottle and swirled it, the sparkling particles dancing inside.
"However, this recovery is quite limited, perhaps only one-tenth of your total magic, maybe less. And if taken multiple times in a short period, the effect diminishes. Because it essentially just relaxes your mind slightly, restores some magic, then forces your body to draw on its reserves, so naturally the effect weakens."
He shook his head and set the bottle down.
"So now you understand why it contains both poisons and antidotes, along with healing ingredients."
"Understood." Ethan nodded vigorously.
Lavender and other sleep-inducing ingredients to relax the mind, poisons to stimulate the body's potential, antidotes to neutralize toxins, Salamander blood to heal potential damage, every ingredient had its purpose.
"The test is over. Now let's discuss what happened to you." Having taken the potion, Snape was more energized and ready to address the main issue.
"You have no recollection of what happened tonight?"
Ethan shook his head. "No. I fell asleep normally tonight and woke up to find my bed gone, with you standing in the dormitory doorway, Professor."
"You likely experienced a second magic surge. When I arrived at your dormitory, you were surrounded by air currents, floating in midair. The curtains were shredded, the bed collapsed."
"Later, flames ignited on your body, filling the entire room."
"You truly remember none of this?"
Snape was skeptical. He found it hard to believe Ethan perceived nothing given such a massive disturbance from the magic surge.
"I honestly don't know. I truly felt nothing." He felt somewhat innocent, then suddenly remembered something.
"Professor, what's today's date? Is it the 25th?"
"Yes, why? What are you thinking?"
"I had my magic surge on February 25th last year, which awakened my bloodline talent." He recalled what had happened during his awakening.
Because his surge accidentally set his room on fire, he'd been given the day off from school.
However, it had happened in the morning, so he was conscious and hadn't caused much damage.
"Is that so?" Snape's expression turned serious. The situation was more complex than he'd thought.
"You're certain it's been exactly a year?"
"Yes, I'm certain. Only this time it was night, last time was morning. I definitely didn't get the date wrong." Ethan was absolutely sure.
Snape stood and began pacing back and forth in his office.
Ethan cast a Warming Charm on himself. His clothes were rather thin, and he was slightly cold.
After several laps, Snape stopped.
"Go back and change, then accompany me to Dumbledore's office."
"Yes, Professor." Ethan quickly crossed the empty corridor, tidied up, and followed Snape hastily toward the headmaster's office.
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