Sean had originally thought that brewing potions was not a particularly difficult task; after all, it had strict, rigorous steps.
But things were far from as simple as he had imagined.
He knew he had to toss dried nettles and crushed snake fangs into the cauldron to stew together, and add porcupine quills only after extinguishing the fire.
But this was merely a brief description. Once it came to practice, problems arose everywhere.
To what extent should the snake fangs be crushed? How long after extinguishing the fire should the porcupine quills be added?
How much force should be used for stirring? What should the arc of the stirring be? At what point should one stir?
The books contained absolutely no records regarding these questions, and Professor Snape hadn't provided even the slightest explanation.
Sean felt that these were likely things wizards didn't need to be taught.
Perhaps there was an instinct, just like when he practiced the Levitation Charm, where a peculiar feeling would guide the wizard.
The result was that because these were things everyone knew—or would quickly grasp even if they didn't—no one taught them.
And Professor Snape had likely never even paid attention to these questions.
Otherwise, as a Potions Master, it was highly improbable that he hadn't noticed these issues.
"But I seem to be a poor student, so these questions have become my obstacles."
Sean could only sigh to himself.
His conjecture was confirmed the very next second. When he brewed the potion strictly following the steps in the book and the instinct he assumed existed, the cauldron—amidst his "as I thought" and Justin's puzzled gaze—turned into a blue concoction.
"I remember, the Boil-Cure Potion isn't supposed to be this color."
Justin scratched his head, somewhat disbelieving of the result.
The cauldron bubbled, and the blue potion slowly grew viscous. Along with the potion, Snape’s complexion turned equally terrible.
"Idiot!"
He strode over, the hem of his robes carving out a sharp arc.
"I suspect that besides the stirring and the heat, your material preparation also likely had problems..."
Professor Snape flicked his wand, and a stool appeared before him. He sat down elegantly, his gaze locked firmly on that pot of blue potion. He only observed it for a few seconds before sneering.
"Stupid choice of porcupine quills, troll-grade choice of nettles, and a disastrous choice of snake fangs—you actually chose non-venomous snake fangs?! Two fools who deserve to be hung in a portrait!"
He roared mercilessly, waving his wand to vanish the potion in the cauldron.
"You should be thankful the steps weren't wrong, otherwise you would have learned the lesson fools earn in Potions!"
His voice was as chilling as the cold wind in the dungeons.
"Minus one point—each."
Justin had felt that something was wrong the moment he saw Snape approach, but such a dense barrage of mockery still made his face flush. Sean’s large eyes also lost their luster; just like when he practiced spells before, he had not a shred of instinctive perception for brewing potions.
He could probably guess his talent for Potions now.
...
Even after class, the young wizards didn't dare to speak loudly; the shadow of Potions class still loomed over everyone's heads.
"Sean, don't worry, we'll earn back the lost points."
Justin’s voice rang in Sean’s ear, sounding as if he were also trying to cheer himself up.
"Mm."
Sean appeared somewhat distracted, but in reality, his inner waves had already settled.
If he were to stop just because of difficulties, obstacles, or the mockery of others, he wouldn't even be able to perform the Levitation Charm by now.
The reason he was distracted was that he was ruminating on Professor Snape’s words.
Failed heat control, unreasonable stirring, problems with the choice of materials...
These were the foundations of potion brewing, and they were also the problems Sean faced.
Now, there were two paths before him.
One was to brew potions mindlessly, just like learning spells, and summarize experience through trial and error.
This path had just appeared, and Sean immediately rejected it.
Potions were not like spells.
This was not a safe branch of magic.
The handling and brewing of potions were dangerous and unpleasant; a moment of carelessness could result in something like toxic fumes. Trying his luck like this was no different from gambling with his life.
Then, only one path remained.
Understand this branch of magic as quickly as possible, solve all potential problems, then gain proficiency through practice, and finally obtain a title to improve his talent.
This path was more complex and difficult than the previous one, but it was clearly viable.
And as long as he had one correct practice, his speed would increase significantly afterward.
"Solve one problem at a time, but be quick. Hogwarts has more than just this one subject."
Sean’s voice was audible only to himself.
The long table in the Great Hall was covered with delicacies
Roast turkey, small sausages, buttered peas, gravy, cranberry sauce, Christmas pudding, turkey sandwiches, toasted bread...
A dazzling array.
His poor talent and Professor Snape’s venomous tongue did not affect Sean’s enthusiasm for eating in the slightest.
Merlin’s beard... this is delicious.
Sean fought through the food quickly and elegantly.
For half a year, he had never had a full meal; even at yesterday’s opening feast, he had only eaten until he was seventy percent full.
The orphanage couldn't generate income, so they often chose to cut costs. As for how to cut costs, Caretaker Anna had once proposed a theory that a child only needed to eat one meal a day.
Acid reflux in the middle of the night was not pleasant.
When he was at his hungriest, Sean often thought of the stray dogs at the orphanage gate as emergency rations.
"Hermione! Over here!"
Justin was calling out to Hermione, who was looking for a corner to sit in.
She soon trotted over with a slightly flushed face.
"You’re too loud!"
Hermione glared at Justin.
"Sorry, I was afraid you wouldn't hear me."
The dimples on Justin’s face were deep.
"Our first class this afternoon is Herbology. I noticed it’s the most frequent course on the schedule... I guess it won't be very simple, so I read the book again, hoping it might be useful. By the way, I heard you had Potions..."
Hermione lifted her chin and rattled off a string of words like a machine gun.
"Herbology, sounds great. Will you get to know those magical plants? Like... as for Potions, I have to say..."
Justin listened carefully, and the two soon began to discuss.
Their voices slowly faded in Sean’s mind. Sean took out his schedule, lost in thought.
[Wednesday morning: Herbology, Wednesday afternoon: Herbology, Friday afternoon: Herbology]
It was indeed the most frequent of all his courses.
The scheduling at Hogwarts must have a deep meaning; Herbology must be scheduled so often because it was necessary.
So, why was that?
"...disastrous choice of materials... your material selection likely had problems..."
Sean sorted out Professor Snape’s words, and a few seconds later, he understood the logic.
Herbology taught wizards how to handle materials, and material handling was the first step in potion making.
Therefore, it wasn't hard to conclude: to learn Potions, one must first learn Herbology.