Chapter 102 Neville's Conviction
The sight of Anton waving his wand and levitating the entire Black Lake into the air stunned almost everyone.
Not to mention the praise from the professors, the students practically erupted with extreme, frenzied enthusiasm.
Especially the wizards from Muggle families, who had been influenced by the power systems of certain novels since childhood, couldn't help but wonder if Anton was now stronger than the professors.
This even included a large number of upper-year students.
Anton really didn't know how to explain it to others, and in the end, could only numbly repeat Professor Quirrell's words, "It takes practice, practice makes perfect, you can do it too, keep it up!"
Then, the encouraged students left with excitement in their hearts.
The power of a role model is infinite, and the students showed a tremendous passion for Charms class, which made Professor Flitwick very happy.
Anton wasn't so much stronger than the upper-year students as to be out of reach.
It's just that many young wizards, and even adult wizards, couldn't understand one thing: making a feather float and making a rock float have nothing to do with magical power or the strength of the spell!
They are only about whether the spell takes effect.
If someone can make a feather float but not a rock, it's not because their spell isn't powerful enough, but because the Levitation Charm they cast on the rock simply didn't succeed.
And whether it succeeds or not, the biggest factor is the wizard's will.
One aspect of this is whether the wizard truly believes they can do it.
This confidence is not blind confidence, it doesn't come from nowhere, it's a complex combination of emotions, memories, faith, and a whole bunch of other things that are hard to quantify.
The power of the mind is a strange feeling, difficult to describe in words.
Anton couldn't be bothered to explain it clearly to others, could he really explain the principle behind the old wizard's most precious saying, 'A wizard is a god'?
The praise of others was all external, and Anton didn't take it to heart.
Just like when Snape and the others sat around scrutinizing him that day, Anton didn't take it to heart either.
Voldemort's lessons always managed to unlock the treasure trove of knowledge from the Volkovas deep in his memory, and combined with his own accumulated learning and thoughts, Anton once again threw a great deal of energy into his laboratory.
He was still that quiet child focused on research.
That night, the twins took their brooms to the Forbidden Forest, and Neville came.
"I... I don't know what I can do." Neville seemed a little intimidated.
Thump.
A large bamboo basket of herbs was thrown in front of him.
"Sanguinaria, cut off the front half of the leaves with the tips and put them in the jar, put the roots in the cloth bag next to it, and take all the rest to the door to feed that Elephant-Eating Vine."
"Simple, isn't it?"
Neville nodded, sat down, picked up the scissors and an herb, and looked a bit lost, "How big a half should I cut?"
Anton thought for a moment, sat down next to him, tore off a leaf, and broke it in half.
"The effect of Sanguinaria is to deplete the body's blood, it's a highly toxic herb."
Clatter, Neville was so scared that the scissors and herb in his hands fell into the bamboo basket.
"But the interesting thing is, as long as it's an herb, or rather a plant, each one represents a life, and the place where its life force is most vigorous is the leaves." Anton spoke eloquently, these were insights he had gained bit by bit under the combined tutelage of the old wizard, Snape, and Voldemort, he felt Neville was getting a great deal.
"They absorb the essence of sunlight and dew, the life force between heaven and earth, into their bodies to nourish the plant, unlike the roots and stems, the leaves of Sanguinaria have a wonderful balance of death and life."
Anton threw the back half of the leaf, the part connected to the plant, into his mouth and chewed, in just a moment, his mouth began to turn black, his lips visibly turned a grayish-black, blood-red cracks appeared, and his teeth were also losing their luster.
"The back half has an exceptionally high concentration of the deadly, death-infused poison."
Neville gasped, pointing a trembling finger at Anton's mouth, and cried out, "You! You're bleeding!"
Anton shrugged and continued to chew, "Mmm~ the aura of death, by the way, this stuff tastes pretty good, it actually has a light fragrance similar to honey."
Neville's eyes went wide, he kind of wanted to run away from here.
Just like when he was struggling these past two days, Harry and the others had advised him not to hang out with Anton.
This person looked like an evil wizard!
Gulp.
Anton swallowed that half of the leaf directly!
Just swallowed it like that!
Neville was about to go crazy, didn't you say this thing was highly toxic?
Didn't you say it had some kind of aura of death?
Before long, the corners of Anton's mouth cracked, the grayish-black spread from his mouth, and his entire chin began to look like cracked charcoal.
Then, Anton threw the other half of the leaf with the tip into his mouth, his eyes sparkling, "Haha, I never noticed before, the part with the life force actually has a fresh and savory flavor, this is a perfect seasoning."
As he chewed again, half of his face began to return to normal, becoming smooth and rosy again.
The wounds at the corners of his mouth and on his lips all healed, and his dark red lips began to turn back to a faint, healthy pink.
"Anyway..."
Anton stood up, "I just need the half with the leaf tip, the roots have a highly penetrating toxicity, which is also a great potion ingredient, just help me feed the rest to the Elephant-Eating Vine."
He leaned on the table with both hands, looking down at the clearly terrified boy.
"Neville, you won't let me down, right?"
The poor boy really didn't dare to say things like 'I'm leaving' or 'I can't do it well', he nodded nervously, tore off a leaf, picked up the scissors, and finally said with a miserable face, "I don't know how much to cut to get the half with the life force you mentioned."
"Go by feel!" Anton said with a nonchalant expression.
"I discovered myself that cutting half a leaf works best, I don't have the energy to create a processing standard for it, Neville, go by feel."
"But..."
"No buts!" Anton stared at him intently, "Remember, you are a wizard, the noblest of all living beings, follow your wizard's intuition, with an unstoppable momentum, whether it's killing an enemy, casting a spell, or processing herbs!"
"Although I know this sounds a bit ridiculous, but for herb processing, and even potion brewing, the best standard is—go with your gut."
"Don't hesitate at all, cut based on your feeling, believe in yourself, the half you cut out will be the best."
"That requires talent!"
Anton gently placed his hand on Neville's shoulder, staring at him intently, "You were born with this talent, trust your own intuition! I need you to process these herbs with an extremely confident emotion, that's what will make the highest quality potion ingredients, understand?"
Neville looked at him in astonishment, murmuring, "I have this talent?"
"Yes, you have this talent!"
"Neville, you have to believe I'm not an idiot, Sanguinaria is a potion ingredient I'll be using in large quantities, one small mistake with this stuff can lead to unpredictable consequences." Anton stared at Neville with a smile, "If you're not careful with your work, I could even die from drinking the wrong potion."
"I'm putting my life in your hands, Neville."
"I believe in you, so, please believe in yourself too!"
Neville's expression turned serious, he panted heavily, gripping the scissors in his hand tightly, "No... no one has ever trusted me like this before!"
Anton patted his shoulder with a smile, "Your power is beyond your imagination, keep it up!"
Neville looked up at this person with an extremely brilliant smile, as if he could feel Anton himself glowing.
"Yeah!"
He nodded vigorously.
At this moment, he had only one conviction—he could not betray this trust, he could not let Anton down