No one knew how much time had passed.
Malfoy returned to the Slytherin common room in a daze.
The other Slytherins, who had been waiting for him for quite a while, were dozing off. But the moment they saw Malfoy walk in, they immediately perked up.
"Malfoy, what took you so long?"
Some of them looked at him with knowing expressions.
"You must've had a late-night talk with the Dean, right?"
"What did Snape say?"
"As expected from a Malfoy…"
But their assumptions were quickly shattered by the shocking news Malfoy delivered.
"The Dean added points to Robert Sprout."
Dead silence filled the room.
Then, chaos.
"What?!"
"You're joking!"
"Malfoy, are you sure you heard that right?!"
Malfoy gritted his teeth.
"I was standing right there. How could I have misheard?"
"Snape really gave a point to Hufflepuff. If you don't believe me, check the House Cup hourglass tomorrow. Don't we track the points daily?"
"Go look first thing in the morning. You'll definitely see Hufflepuff has one more point."
His words were difficult to believe, but no one thought Malfoy would make up something like this.
An unsettling feeling settled in the room.
They had just been preparing for a fierce showdown against Hufflepuff, determined to protect Slytherin's honor in the House Cup.
And now… the Dean had defected?
"No way…"
"He must've been tricked. That Robert Sprout probably sweet-talked Dean Snape."
"That sly Hufflepuff actually targeted our Head of House!"
The more they thought about it, the more furious they became.
This wasn't something they could ignore.
But what could they do?
"Forget revenge for now," one said.
"The priority is getting that sneaky Sprout kid away from Snape."
"We need to kick him out!"
Their whispers turned into brainstorming. A plan began to form.
"Hufflepuff's got Quidditch training tomorrow—we found that out days ago."
"Robert will be there, no doubt. Which means, if he does go to the Dean, it'll be late."
"So, if we finish his assigned work before he gets there, Snape won't need him anymore."
"Exactly! Let's show Snape we can handle everything Robert does—and more."
The Slytherins brimmed with confidence.
"Robert Sprout is just one person. No way he can outwork our entire year."
"Even if we don't outdo him, we can wear him down and force him to quit."
With their plan finalized, fatigue finally overtook them.
Some slumped over the tables in the common room and fell asleep.
Others, like Malfoy, stayed up a while longer, imagining tomorrow's victory.
"No matter how much charm he has," Malfoy muttered, "we'll get him out of that Potions classroom tomorrow."
Meanwhile, Robert was still entirely unaware of the brewing scheme.
He had already brought the Potions ingredients he needed into Snape's classroom.
Glancing at the time on the wall clock, Robert nodded in satisfaction.
"Only two in the morning. Plenty of time."
His gaze then shifted to the system panel, specifically to the ability labeled [Magic Perception Enhancement].
The bronze hue on the ability was almost gone, replaced almost entirely by a silver light.
From Robert's past experiences, when an ability reached this stage, full advancement usually came within three to five days.
But occasionally, with intense focus, a push could bring a breakthrough in just a day.
And for Robert, reaching Silver level was crucial.
It wasn't just about enhancing the Frequency Light Spell for the piranha weed experiment.
Even his stuck Lumos spell—teetering between Silver and Gold—could benefit from this progress.
In fact, all his spells—Soil Loosening, Pruning Charm, and more—would gain a huge boost.
So, for tonight, he wouldn't be searching for the Half-Blood Prince's textbook.
Instead, he would pour everything into this one goal: break through to Silver.
He took a deep breath and placed two large basins—one filled with Flobberworms, the other with porcupine quills—on the table.
His thoughts stilled.
Quiet as a lake at dawn.
For the first time, he focused entirely on the ingredients before him.
Before tonight, even when immersed in work, his mind always wandered—thinking of the Prince's notes or other tasks.
But now, he was single-minded.
This was a concentration he'd never reached before.
And in that stillness, something shifted.
He could feel it.
Every part of his consciousness honed in on the magical aura in the ingredients. Subtle, obscure flows of energy felt just a bit clearer, a bit louder, than before.
He lost all sense of time.
Of space.
Even of himself.
He forgot about the skill panel, forgot about promotion—he was purely, deeply absorbed.
Flobberworms passed through his hands, one by one.
With each, a gentle squeeze and a slight twist guided by intuition released the thick, clear mucus.
Each motion was elegant and smooth, almost reminiscent of Snape's masterful technique.
On the system panel, [Magic Perception Enhancement] began to flash with silver light.
And the progress bar surged forward faster than ever before.
Robert didn't even notice.
Not until—
"Robert?!"
A startled voice pierced the stillness.
The perfect focus shattered in an instant.
Robert blinked, dazed. That feeling—that flow—vanished like mist.
He looked up at the wall clock.
6:30 AM.
Four and a half hours had passed.
Yet it felt like… a blink.
"Flow state?" he thought.
He'd heard of it in his past life—complete immersion, time distortion, a spike in mental performance.
He'd entered that state once before, during exam prep. But never since.
And never this intensely.
"I can't believe clearing my mind while processing ingredients triggered it," he thought.
He turned to the voice.
It was Hermione.
Her brows were furrowed with concern.
"Robert," she said, stepping closer. "Don't tell me you stayed here all night, processing all this?"
She looked at the piles of Flobberworms and quills. Her jaw dropped.
"Snape's gone too far! This is practically corporal punishment!"
"Are you okay? Do you want me to ask for a sick day? Go get some sleep."
Robert quickly shook his head and smiled.
"Thanks, Hermione. Really. But this wasn't Snape's doing."
"I chose to do this."
"I get insomnia sometimes. And honestly… work calms me."
Hermione still looked skeptical.
"And how do you feel now?"
Robert's eyes flicked back to the system panel.
A smile spread across his face.
"Honestly?" he said, his voice calm and confident.
"I feel amazing."
"Better than ever."
On the panel, [Magic Perception Enhancement] now glowed with a bright silver light.
And at the same time…
A brilliant golden light flared into life beside it.
For more chapters
patreon.com/Ben479