Chapter 840: No one knows Potions class better than I do
Potions class at Hogwarts doesn't have much to talk about purely theoretical.
According to the operation procedures given by the books and professors on the blackboard, brewing potions step by step, and then mastering the potions refining methods summarized by the previous people one by one in the process of practice, this is all there is to the Potions class.
For nearly a thousand years, countless potions masters have all grown up under such an ancient inheritance.
Practice is the only way to learn Potions - at least for as long as Horace Slughorn can remember, from the time he first learned about the wizarding world, to the time he graduated from Hogwarts Castle, and finally to becoming a professor and retiring...... The Potions Classroom is like an ancient reef on a distant shoreline, forever submerged in the mist of the cauldron.
Slughorn walked back and forth in a cloud of smoke, ready to make suggestions for the students' work.
To his surprise, compared to his memories of teaching at Hogwarts, the students in this class showed no less professionalism and rigor than the senior students in the sixth and seventh years.
In the past years of teaching, there may have been one or two young wizards with outstanding talents.
They will show their extraordinary qualities in Potions classes very early, and one of the things Horace Slughorn is most proud of is that he can use his extensive teaching experience to befriend talented young wizards before they show their beginnings, and continue to consolidate and grow his "club".
But......
"Are all the students Hogwarts recruited last year all monsters?"
Horace Slughorn wandered back and forth in the classroom, his eyes slightly dazed.
By the time he announced the potion brewing, Slughorn had walked about two or three times from the desks and chairs along the classroom.
If the first time he was still a little casual and sloppy, and he was still glad that there was no emergency.
So when Horace Slughorn began to tour the underground classroom for the second time, carefully observing each student's operations, trying to find some presence to comment, but still returned to the original point in silence, the Potions professor who had taught at Hogwarts for decades instantly realized the sense of disobedience that had been haunting the classroom.
Aside from whispered, brief exchanges, no one was gossiping or asking questions.
The little wizards displayed a high level of concentration, almost condensed into a substance at their fingertips—cutting, separating, weighing dried nettles, processing puffer fish eyes, grinding and mixing to heat ...... There may be a slight difference in speed, but there is hardly anything that needs to be corrected in terms of basic organization and technique for each person.
This kind of situation is extremely rare even for wizards who have graduated.
You know, this isn't just one or two, and when this trait, which Slughorn once called "genius potential," appears in everyone in a class, it means ......
"I see, Albus...... Is this the one you call a new era that has never been seen before?"
Slughorn's gaze swept over the young faces of the students, and he nodded thoughtfully.
Needless to say, Slughorn is not the best wizard in the wizarding world today, if it comes to potions alone.
But Horace Slughorn's proudest thing about his life was not confined to a small classroom - at Hogwarts, and even in the entire British wizarding community - no one knew what a magical genius was better than him.
The definition of genius has been re-examined, and those standards of former excellence have become the norm.
This may be a bit difficult for those who have been surpassed, but from an educator's point of view, this is the moment they are most looking forward to seeing, and most professors may not be able to see it come to life in their lifetime.
Slughorn subconsciously recalled Albus Dumbledore's somewhat clueless words.
"Horace, I hope you can help me see it...... These kids, aren't they, maybe starting a new era?"
"It's more than possible, they-"
The chubby old Potions professor looked beyond the mist, as if he saw the stars twinkling behind the cauldron.
Even if it was just a few minutes of Potions practice, he didn't know about these habits that might have taken students a full seven years to comprehend and develop in the past, but from the perspective of Potions inheritance......
It didn't take any more observation to make Slughorn come to a conclusion that couldn't be more certain.
"They're the new era of Potions—"
No matter in any world, in the basic field, the efficiency and speed of mastering knowledge is the most core and basic embodiment, and the so-called genius is often the excellent students who understand and learn a little faster.
When all the students start to touch the field of genius, it also means that education has become sluggish.
"It's a real headache, it looks like I'll have to prepare for class in the future......"
Horace Slughorn scratched his sideburns, looked at the students below him who had completed the basic boiling operations, and were gradually looking up at him, or starting to talk in a whisper, and shook his head with a wry smile.
In the past 2nd grade lesson plans, there was not much teaching about the swelling potion.
In addition to a centuries-old cooking process, most of the time, Slughorn, as a Potions professor, was more concerned with correcting the handling methods of the young wizards, or solving some emergencies caused by irregularities.
For example, on the board book on the blackboard behind Slughorn, it's actually just a simple operation process.
【Swelling Potion: Preparation Method】
[Add 2 tablespoons dried nettle to the mortar]
【Add 3 servings of puffer fish eyes to the mortar】
[Grind them evenly to a medium-fine grinding]
【Add 2 parts of the mixture powder to the crucible】
【Heat at intermediate temperature for 20 seconds】
[Wave your wand one minute later, inflicting mana in the potion]
【Boiling for 45 minutes】
[Add 1 part of the bat spleen to the crucible]
[Stir counterclockwise 4 times]
【Heat on low temperature for 30 seconds】
[Wave your wand again to complete the potion]
Of course, this is more of a syllabus-like prompt, mainly used to check and remind the young wizards.
In the actual brewing process of the swelling potion, Elena and the others still had to compare the detailed instructions on the "Magic Potions and Elixirs" to operate, such as what temperature is the "intermediate temperature" and what is the temperature of the "low temperature......
In fact, a lot of the content is not clearly written in the book.
Due to the nuances of potion raw materials, as well as the complex subjective constraints such as the temperature range, heating method, particle size and so on during each potion brewing, wizards used to make some flexible adjustments according to the actual situation when preparing potions, or judge what direction their operations should be changed.
The most common thing is to distinguish from the color and shape of the smoke and liquid surface to see if it is necessary to continue stirring or adjusting the temperature.
However, these situations are more likely to occur in the subsequent more complex potion preparation, at least in the process of brewing as an entry-level potion, and if the variables are well controlled, the chance of differentiation and accidents is close to zero.
After a year of knife practice and standardized weighing practice, the preparation of potions in pairs was too simple.
In less than half an hour, most of the students had completed all the operations before adding the bat spleen, and the classroom began to fill the classroom with whispering or quietly "playing with potion materials" with nothing to do.
"Ahem, it seems that most of the students have already gone through the boiling process?"
As more and more students began to stare at the hourglass in a daze, or began to destroy potion materials on the table with knives, Slughorn finally couldn't continue to brew his elixir as if he hadn't seen anything.
Slughorn puffed up his chest and cleared his throat, his eyes darting quickly at the blank lesson plan in his hand.
"Let me think, then, that we should ...... during this time Hmmm......"
Well, he obviously can't be blamed for this.
After all, he was just a temporary substitute second-year Potions professor, and Severus Snape didn't make it clear about the situation of these demons before the handover, otherwise as the former head of Slytherin House and the former head of the Potions class, how could he have made a teaching mistake in such a small place.
In fact, Slughorn didn't have a shortage of content to teach, he just wanted to find the most appropriate way.
Preferably a ...... It doesn't show that he is unprepared, but it also shows his deep teaching prowess in the field of potions in a quiet way, and it is best to take this opportunity to learn about the latest trends in Potions education.
Oh!
That's right, that's right!
"Mr. Michael Corner, what does Professor Snape usually tell you before?"
Slughorn glanced at the roll call on the podium, randomly clicked on an inconspicuous student, touched his walrus-like white beard, and smiled, "After all, Severus is also my student, and I will try to teach in a way that you are familiar with." ”
Obviously, what could be easier than to imitate and transcend?
Severus Snape may have some talent in the field of potions, but Horace Slughorn didn't think the young wizard in his thirties would surpass him - as Snape's Potions professor, he still had that confidence.
At least in this kind of classroom for younger students, his experience would obviously be more advantageous.
"Professor Snape......"
Michael Corner swallowed, a look of yearning flashing in his eyes.
"If it is such a relatively long potion boiling stage, the professor will usually take the time to cook a few dishes, and at the same time let everyone practice together, and finally assign the dishes according to the quality of the potion brewing at the end of class......
"Do...... How many dishes?"
The smile on Slughorn's face stiffened slightly, and he asked politely and softly.
Is this a new grammatical vocabulary?
Why didn't he understand what the kid was saying?
"Well, several! All of them are things that you never learn from books, but only a little bit. ”
Michael Turner nodded earnestly, and the little wizards around him nodded in agreement.
A little? a few dishes?
And...... Or is it something that won't be written in a book?
Slughorn looked relieved, nodded in realization, and said with a smile.
"Oh, I know, you just wanted to describe some simple, easy basic manipulations? Severus showed you some modifications that could make potions-making a 'piece of cake', which is very much his style......
When he was in school, Severus was a strange student who was a bit hard to evaluate.
This was not only due to his increasingly withdrawn and cold personality, but also in the work he submitted for Potions class, and as a Potions professor, Slughorn was well aware of Severus Snape's bad habits.
In all his years of teaching, there are few students like Snape who like to change recipes at will.
You know, the potions that have been handed down and taught to students in schools today have all been verified a lot.
Of course, there were so many examples of Snape's failures in Potions class as a result of his "recklessness" compared to the few successes that he would repeat even those mistakes that could be called stupid.
"But any medicine that can be repeated is not completely meaningless......"
"Even if it's a bottle of poison, a failed work that has no effect other than killing. ”
"Isn't poison a valuable consequence?"
"Mr. Snape, zero. Cleaned up—"
Slughorn still remembers a conversation with the black-haired student on one occasion when he scolded Snape for disrupting the way the "shrinking potion" was made to become a highly toxic potion.
So much so that when he later heard that Snape had joined the Death Eaters, he was not too surprised.
And what scared Slughorn the most was that after the fall of the mysterious man, Snape actually appeared in Hogwarts Castle unscathed, and even became the next Slytherin professor and Potions professor.
Perhaps Dumbledore would have been inclined to believe in the beauty of human nature, but Slughorn would not have been so naïve.
Through the accounts of his "friends", Slughorn was well aware that Snape had never distanced himself from his fellow Death Eaters, and that he had protected them more than once over the course of the past decade.
Take the Malfoys, for example, the Crouches......
After returning to Hogwarts Castle, Slughorn hinted to Dumbledore more than once that Severus Snape would be a huge danger if Voldemort made a comeback one day. Pity......
"I don't like to judge people behind my back, but I have to stress this point once!"
Slughorn cocked up his finger and said with a serious expression.
"Everything that appears in your textbooks is the result of dozens or hundreds of years of validation, and at least until you graduate, I think you should focus on how to learn them, not on finding shortcuts......
"But, Professor—there's no good recipe in the wizarding world......"
Terry Bout scratched his nose in confusion and looked at the old man standing on the podium in confusion.
"Compared to the dishes in Hogwarts, the dishes that Professor Snape taught us were significantly simpler and easier to achieve, both in terms of preparation and taste, and could also help us learn potions. ”
"Uh? So...... Severus, really in Potions class, teaching you how to cook?!"
Slughorn was stunned, and the corners of his eyes twitched.
How has Hogwarts changed in the past ten years?!Is there anything more outrageous and comical than learning to cook in Potions class?!!
However, before Horace Slughorn could continue to speak.
"Yes, yes, Professor Slughorn, what do you cook? Since you've taught Professor Snape, and you've been a Potions professor at Hogwarts for so many years, you must be cooking a lot......
"That must be the case! You see the Professor's pot of elixir smells so good!"
"Hey, the professor looks a lot fatter than Professor Snape, and the food must be delicious, my mom said. ”
"Not necessarily tall, have you forgotten Mr. Hagrid's crust cake?"
"That's different, Mr. Hagrid isn't a Potions professor at Hogwarts, and ......"
As the topic unfolded, the underground classroom suddenly became lively.
The young wizards, who had been a little reserved, looked up eagerly at Slughorn, who was obviously better spoken and more affectionate than Severus Snape, and gleefully rushed to discuss it.
For these students who have only been learning magic for a year, last year's Potions class was the real Potions class.
Potions = Cooking = Cooking, this is the truth that Professor Snape and Sister Elena gave them - although Professor Snape did not say this, he rewarded and told everyone the correlation between the two with practical actions.
And by analogy, as Professor Snape's teacher, Professor Horace Slughorn is clearly ......
Seeing that the conversation in the underground classroom began to gradually get out of control, the smile on Slughorn's face finally couldn't hold back.
"Ahh
It's over, this year's students, maybe they can't be saved.
The future of the wizarding world is gone, it's all gone...... The good seedlings are all crooked......
As soon as the Potions lesson was over, he went to the Headmaster's office to report to Dumbledore that he must eliminate the bad influence of a black sheep in Hogwarts as soon as possible, so that everything can get back on track and not delay the children.
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Dazhang!! yes!!