days at Hogwarts

"Sands of Time?"

Slughorn's eyes lit up and he stopped what he was doing. "The sand in the time-twister can affect the time around it. Do you want to use this method to speed up the brewing of the potion?"

The Sands of Time were just an excuse; what really mattered was the golden gem on the pendant.

Loren responded vaguely: "Is this idea feasible, professor?"

"The idea is feasible, but..." Slughorn paused for a moment, "The materials for brewing the Felixir are not complicated. It just takes time for the various materials to fully react so that their magic can be more harmonious. That's why it takes up to half a year to brew. The longer the time, the greater the possibility of accidents. It really tests the willpower and concentration of the maker."

"The professor's analysis is very thorough." Loren nodded and smiled, "Using the power of time to intervene can speed up the reaction of the medicinal materials, reduce waiting time, and reduce the difficulty of brewing the Fuling Potion."

"Are you sure?"

Slughorn asked, speaking a little faster.

You know, his success rate in brewing the Foling Potion is not high. He is old and his energy is not as good as when he was young. The long-term brewing will always lead to mistakes due to trance, fatigue, dizziness, etc. Sometimes he can't even remember whether he checked the crucible that day.

If you can shorten the cooking time...

"The Time-Turner has lost its outer hourglass, leaving only the sand inside. The power of time should be difficult to control, right?" Slughorn asked thoughtfully.

“I just happen to have some takeaways from that.”

"Yeah!?"

Slughorn looked delighted. Just as he was about to agree, he suddenly remembered something and frowned and asked, "If I remember correctly, all time turners are under the control of the Ministry of Magic. How did you get your gravel?"

"Don't worry, Professor." Loren smiled gently, "Didn't there happen riots in the Department of Mysteries last year? The Hall of Time was smashed, and I took some of it while I was there."

"This..." Slughorn couldn't help but look at the last cauldron and smiled, "Perhaps we should discuss this in detail. Is there time after dinner? No, I think we should have dinner together. What do you think, Loren?"

"My pleasure."

……

The Potions classroom was already filled with light blue steam. Every student was anxiously working on their work. Some of them were distracted by looking at what other students were doing, and when they found Loren chatting with the professor, they felt happy.

If the top student in Potions is a few steps slower, their chances will be better.

Loren returned to his seat and lit the smokeless charcoal under the crucible. His movements were slow and leisurely, and he even took the time to observe his surroundings. Needless to say, Hermione was making the fastest progress, and the potion in her crucible was already close to the ideal state described in the book, a light snow-blue color.

Harry had just finished cutting the grass roots and was dealing with the slippery sleepy beans. The Half-Blood Prince's notes covered the original content of the book. The key point was that the handwriting was obscure and twisted, and it was extremely difficult to recognize. It took him a lot of time just to sort out the correct steps, and his progress fell behind others.

His silver dagger was a little blunt, and the slippery sleepy beans flew off the chopping board again. Harry picked them up, wiped them clean, and glanced at the textbook again. There was a note from the previous owner next to this step. It looked like a scribbled instruction: Use the side of the silver dagger to squeeze it, which will make it easier to extract juice than slicing.

"What a mess..." Harry gripped the knife handle in anger, wishing he could stab him twice.

After making two gestures, Harry vented his anger and changed back to his normal knife-holding posture. He looked up at Loren's teasing smile and turned his face away embarrassedly.

No, this is Loren!

Harry turned around and asked quickly, "Loren, the notes in this textbook say to use the blade of a knife to squeeze the beans, not to slice them. Is that right?"

Loren grinned and said, "That's right."

"Really..." Harry was a little worried, "Then why are you laughing?"

"I remember happy things."

"..."

Harry withdrew his gaze and began to squeeze the sleepy beans with the blade of the knife. The slippery beans were pressed down, groaning and squeaking under the heavy pressure, and obediently oozed a lot of juice.

The juice was dripped into the crucible, and the potion immediately turned into the ideal light snow-blue color.

Looking around, other students were still cutting beans. Except for Hermione who was stirring counterclockwise, the fastest one was only brown.

Harry felt a surge of joy in his heart, and squinted his eyes happily to read a note in his notebook: "Stir counterclockwise 7 times, stir clockwise 1 time..."

"Loren, Loren, the notes say..."

"Is such that."

"..."

On the other side, Hermione's face turned red and her hair was a little messy due to the hot steam coming out of the crucible. She stirred counterclockwise as the book said, but the potion, which should have become clear and transparent, was still light blue, and the progress was slow.

Hearing the conversation between the two, Hermione immediately did as they asked. The effect was immediate, and the liquid in the crucible immediately turned a light pink color and became clearer and clearer.

Loren was not in a hurry. It was not the first time he had made the Living Hell Potion.

The little tricks that Professor Snape discovered when he was a student were very helpful, but the control of the temperature and the study of the medicinal properties became more important in the following decades. Loren, who mastered the underlying principles, quickly caught up with the progress of others.

When the get out of class was about to end, Slughorn's loud voice spread throughout the classroom: "Okay, time's up! Please stop stirring!"

He moved slowly between the tables, examining each crucible in turn. Regarding the potions that were purplish or bluish in color, he made no comment except to stir them occasionally or take a sniff.

The Gryffindors made a final check, and the tar-like substance in Ron's potion was naturally eliminated without any suspense. However, when Slughorn saw the equally clear potions of Loren, Hermione, and Harry, he showed an embarrassment.

"Excellent, absolutely outstanding! Loren, I didn't expect you could catch up after wasting so much time! Hermione, you are worthy of being the top student in the grade! And Harry, you obviously inherited your mother's talent. Lily was so clever in Potions class back then!"

Slughorn thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "I mean what I say, but I only have one bottle of Felicis Felicis now... Loren, Hermione, could you please wait a moment?"

"Of course, Professor."

"Well Harry, here's a bottle of Felicity Potion for you, make good use of it!"

"..."

Leaving the underground classroom and walking in the corridor to the auditorium, Ron asked in surprise: "How did you do it?"

Harry told it like it was.

Ron regretted it immediately: "The book was originally with me. Alas, no one has ever written on my textbook. Judging from the situation on page 52, it seems that someone has vomited on it..."

Hermione, who was walking beside him, glanced at the worn second-hand textbook, then looked at the smiling Loren. Some scenes from her memories emerged in her mind, and her eyes flickered with a thoughtful gleam.