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Chapter 14 - Chapter 14 — Brewing Greatness

Morning came far too quickly. The dungeon corridors hummed faintly with the low, eerie sound of dripping water. The faint green light from the lake filtered through the narrow windows, casting everything in a murky glow.

Our first class of the day — Potions.

I made my way down to the classroom with Abraxas at my side. He carried himself with the casual confidence of an old pureblood family heir, but even he glanced at me occasionally, that subtle recognition of who now stood among Slytherin's upper ranks.

The heavy oak door creaked open, and the familiar scent of herbs, ground roots, and faint traces of smoke wafted through the air. The classroom was lined with shelves upon shelves of bottled ingredients — everything from shimmering liquids to dried scales and curled plants preserved in glass.

At the front of the room stood Professor Horace Slughorn — plump, mustached, and already beaming with that mixture of warmth and shrewdness that defined him.

"Ah, my new Slytherins! Welcome, welcome!" Slughorn announced, waving his arms as though greeting old friends. "Potions, my dear children, is a delicate art — not just stirring and boiling but understanding! The mind makes the potion sing!"

As I took my seat beside Abraxas, a familiar ding echoed faintly in my mind.

[System Quest Generated]Quest: Impress Professor Slughorn with your potion-making skill.Reward:Severus Snape's Potion TalentDescription: Show your brilliance in brewing. Potions is an art of precision, patience, and subtlety. Outshine your peers.

I smirked faintly. A quest like this… was practically an invitation.

The assignment for today was simple — brew a Boil-Cure Potion. Basic. First-year work. But a potion's difficulty wasn't in its complexity — it was in the execution.

Abraxas began preparing his ingredients with fluid precision, clearly used to such tasks. I, meanwhile, studied the instructions carefully — not following them word for word, but adjusting slightly, guided by instinct and the knowledge inherited from Merlin's bloodline.

Less crushed nettles — they react too violently to excessive heat. Grind the horned slugs finer — smoother consistency for binding.

My cauldron simmered in a calm, rhythmic pattern, not the usual bubbling chaos that filled the rest of the classroom. I could sense Slughorn's eyes on me as he made his rounds.

He stopped beside our table, his mustache twitching with interest. "Hmm… very controlled, Mr. Riddle. Most students boil the mixture too quickly at this stage."

I gave him a modest nod. "I find that patience often yields cleaner results, Professor."

"Indeed it does!" he said brightly. "Ah, you remind me of myself when I was your age."

Abraxas chuckled quietly. "You mean less round, sir?"

Slughorn laughed, tapping his ladle against Abraxas's cauldron. "Cheeky boy, Mr. Malfoy, cheeky boy."

When the time came to finish, our potion shimmered a perfect shade of turquoise — textbook ideal.

Slughorn clapped his hands as he examined both ours. "Excellent! Absolutely excellent! Ten points to Slytherin — and a fine start, gentlemen. I daresay we have two young stars in the making."

As he moved on, a faint golden glow pulsed at the corner of my vision.

[Quest Complete]You have impressed Professor Slughorn.Reward Acquired:Severus Snape's Potion Talent

Effect: Your understanding of potion composition, brewing instincts, and ingredient synergy have drastically increased. Potion making will now feel as natural as breathing.

A rush of clarity filled my mind — every ingredient, every reaction, every balance of heat and time — it all clicked into place, forming an intricate map of alchemical precision.

Abraxas nudged me with a grin. "You really are something else, Tom."

I gave a calm, practiced smile. "Just trying to live up to the House's expectations."

But deep inside, I knew this was only the start. The first step toward true mastery — not just of magic, but of every system, every structure, every rule this world had to offer.

And I intended to rewrite them all.

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