"Good uncle."
The little wizard spoke guiltily.
Yes.
Snape caught the night-wandering Ian.
"Even if it's not class time! You should still call me Professor Snape!" Snape's expression wasn't too harsh; he just looked at Ian with a slightly annoyed gaze.
"Alright, Professor Snape Uncle." Ian pondered whether he would face retaliation from Snape once school started if he bolted right now.
"I heard you muttering about some materials you shouldn't have; planning to 'pick up' some somewhere again, are you?" Snape's annoyed expression clearly resulted from his misunderstanding of Ian.
"Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. I was only sleep-talking about revisiting today's books while sleepwalking." Ian ultimately decided not to turn and run.
He was well aware that, while other professors might settle scores later, his good uncle would do so with compounded interest, and his future shouldn't suffer the consequences of usurious punishment.
"Let me see that bag of yours." Of course, Snape couldn't believe the little wizard's nonsense. His sharp gaze immediately fell on the money bag in Ian's hand.
The contraband inside could land Ian in Azkaban for multiple lifetimes; under no circumstances could Ian let Snape inspect it. He wasn't afraid of Snape reporting to the Ministry of Magic, only of Snape confiscating it directly.
"I really wasn't planning anything bad tonight. I have more than enough of my own supplies. If something's missing, I bet it's because there's a... no, an unseen rat in the school," Ian almost misspoke, but quickly corrected himself. Regardless of whether Snape believed him, Ian believed his own words.
"Tonight? Ha, should I commend you for that?" Snape, suspecting theft so much that he'd become paranoid, of course, wasn't convinced of Ian's sincerity.
"Look at me! Do I look like someone who needs materials?"
Ian, trying to change the subject and make his words more believable, dumped out all the materials he had pilfered from Snape's office in the last two loops.
The floor was covered.
This was twice the quantity Snape had in his office right now.
It was undeniable proof that he had no designs on Snape's office! Just as Ian planned to retrieve the materials, Snape unexpectedly lunged forward to stop him.
"Do you want them? I could give them all to you. After all, I've always kept your kindness to me in mind!" Ian looked somewhat wistfully at the low-potency magic potion materials on the ground.
They did have some value.
They might not brew anything effective, but with a shifted perspective, the value they could create was essentially the same as if they were efficacious. While Ian sometimes lacked morals, it didn't mean he was unaware of them.
"Hmm?"
Snape listened to Ian's pretty words, but instead of feeling pleased, his brow furrowed tightly as he crouched to pick up a shriveled fig from the ground.
"You call this magic potion material?"
Sure enough, Snape wasn't fooled by appearances. He didn't even need to sniff it, just squeezed it until the shriveled fig turned to crumbs.
"They look like magic potion materials and have effects, just not very strong ones. Why can't they be considered qualified magic potion materials?"
Ian looked pained at the crushed shriveled fig.
"Is this what those wizards in Diagon Alley told you? I thought you were smart, but I guess not..." Snape apparently believed Ian had been shopping in Diagon Alley.
He sneered, but his words were cut off before finishing.
"No, Uncle, the dark wizards in Diagon Alley can't deceive me, and I haven't gone there to buy fake potions." Ian shook his head and interrupted Snape.
"How do you explain these things?"
Snape thought Ian was just stubbornly defending himself after being swindled by some unscrupulous merchant.
However.
In the face of his sharp gaze.
Ian hesitated briefly before responding.
"They were intended to be counterfeit potions that I would sell in Diagon Alley..." The little wizard's voice was a bit soft, as he knew this wasn't exactly something to be proud of.
"?????"
Upon hearing this, Snape was genuinely baffled.
He had just been worried that Ian had been fooled by those dark wizards in Diagon Alley, only to find that this fellow was plotting a Reversed Celestial Spirits maneuver! Clearly, Hogwarts had admitted some peculiar characters this year!
"What an absurd idea!"
Snape swallowed hard and then stiffened his expression, "Do you think those things could fool the people in Diagon Alley? Do you think your counterfeiting skills can surpass theirs?"
"Let me clearly tell you, even if you brew something reasonably presentable from those materials, the people in Diagon Alley will see through it in no time!"
"Don't assume that wizards hanging around in Diagon Alley are fools. They're selling fakes not because they lack skill or talent. Crafting fake items requires skills no less complex than crafting real ones." Snape glanced dismissively at the materials Ian had dumped; in his eyes, their lack of potency made them obvious fakes.
Of course.
This was based on the keen eye of a Master of Magic Potions; fooling ordinary wizards wouldn't be a problem. The appearance was convincing, though he wasn't entirely sure how they achieved it.