Since last year, the Potions class has been sampling new dishes from time to time.

This is no secret among the young wizards of Hogwarts, and while Professor Snape and Elena have always emphasized that this is to enhance their understanding of potions, it is considered a classroom perk to the vast majority of students.

Sometimes new dishes are common dishes, usually when they involve some unfamiliar potion technique.

More often than not, the dishes that appear in Potions classes are not present in the auditorium, as they are more of a mimicry of some of the potions and the materials used, such as scabies potions and cheese baked snails, whose main purpose is to enable students to master and familiarize themselves with some of the usual "laboratory operations".

Among them, the potion material processing simulation can be said to be the most complicated part of the little wizards' feelings.

Compared with other simple tasting, cooking and entertainment, most of the practical handling of potion materials means mechanical practice, as well as task indicators with strict standards, from the depth of the winter melon peel, the thickness of the radish slices, to the average particle size of raw and ground grinding, the degree of separation of muscles and flesh, and the completeness of the extraction of fishy lines......

In order to let the young wizards experience the standard of professionalism, Elena copied the knife skills courses of many professional chefs.

On the other hand, of course, the Hogwarts kitchens will prepare delicious limited-edition exclusive dishes as rewards for this kind of training that may inspire rebellion.

Over the course of two semesters, this had become almost an unwritten secret agreement in Hogwarts Potions class.

Even though Elena had only described the poison of puffer fish a few minutes earlier, the little wizards had no fear of the delicious food from the Hogwarts kitchen, and carefully rinsed their hands by the faucet, and enjoyed the puffer fish soup.

"This ...... This ......"

Slughorn held the soup bowl in his hand, a little hesitant.

Ten years later, although the castle of Hogwarts is still the same as in memory, many details and teaching modes in the school have changed so much unconsciously, that the old professor didn't know how to speak for a while.

"Drink, Professor, it's the Potions professor's responsibility......"

Elena smiled sweetly, gently blew the heat from the bowl, and took a sip of the puffer fish white soup.

As the freshest puffer fish among fish, unlike other fish that harden after cooking, the Hogwarts elves still maintain that tender and delicate softness under the knife work and careful stewing.

Crucially, as a fish, the puffer fish has an advantage that other fish don't have – it hardly has any fishy smell. 、

Also because puffer fish has less fat? So the umami flavor of the puffer fish meat is not the somewhat greasy mellow flavor of the dashi? After simmering in the soup for a while, a slightly sweet texture will naturally appear? Along with the gelatinous skin of the fish melts in the mouth? It can be said that it is one of the very few fish soups that does not add ginger and shallots to remove the fishiness and will not affect the taste.

"Potions Professor's ...... Responsibility?!"

Slughorn glanced at the soup bowl in his hand with a strange expression, his expression becoming more and more comical.

The whole classroom was almost full of low sounds of drinking soup and smacking lips? Among the greedy little guys, this pot-bellied old wizard is a little abrupt? For so many years? Slughorn had never eaten in the classroom.

"Of course, because the Potions professor has the sharpest sense of potions. ”

Elena nodded as a matter of course, licked her lips with a satisfied expression, and explained softly.

"If something went wrong? Professors who have eaten the same food as everyone else can also determine what to do with it in the first place – not to mention? You'll have to teach everyone how to handle fugu, and you'll have to eat it early. ”

"Learn how to ...... in a potions class Cooking pufferfish?learning how to cut fish?!"

Slughorn raised his eyebrows high, his nose grunted, and he said with some displeasure.

"I'm sorry, Miss Kaslana? Perhaps Severus thought that teaching students to cook in Potions class would be useful for learning Potions? But that doesn't mean that all Potions professors will teach the way he does. ”

"But, Professor Slughorn, you're going to agree? Right?"

Elena looked up, her fingers absentmindedly stroking the bottom of the bowl? Said with a chuckle.

"Because puffer fish materials are related to potions, or is that a rule set by Professor Snape?"

Slughorn narrowed his eyes slightly mockingly? He looked carefully at the little silver-haired witch in front of him. 、

Don't know why? He began to dislike the little fellow a little, and from the moment on, Miss Caslana's attitude and way of speaking became more and more presumptuous, as if it were a certain ......

"No, sir, for this is my request—Elena Kaslana's request. ”

Elena glanced at the little wizards around her who were drinking soup, and waved her wand slightly, and the fog around the two of them was a little thicker, just enough to make the voice on the side of the podium a little more muffled.

"Huh...... Miss Caslana, this joke is not funny. ”

Slughorn looked at Elena with a slight look of anger on his face, frowning.

As if unaware of Slughorn's displeasure, Elena spoke abruptly.

"Sir, I would like to ask you something. ”

"I'm not going to answer too many of your irrelevant questions right now, Miss Caslana......" Slughorn said coldly.

However, Elena ignored the already displeased look on Slughorn's face, and the girl raised a strange smile at the corner of her mouth, and continued to speak to herself, as if she were performing a play or reciting a script.

"Sir, I would like to ask if you know...... Tetrodotoxin. ”

"Obviously, this isn't a Potions subject. But, sir, I read it in the book and don't quite understand it. ”

"Hmm...... Oh, yes...... It's hard to find a book at Hogwarts that details tetrodotoxin, Professor. That's a very evil and dangerous thing, very bad, right?"

Elena whispered, her seemingly casual tone that made Slughorn's face pale for a moment.

"You!wait—what are you talking about?

Slughorn's eyes widened as he looked at the little witch in front of him in disbelief, and some of the conversations he had hidden in the depths of his memory gradually surfaced, and the girl's words became clearer and clearer.

It was as if history was repeating itself in front of him in a very ridiculous way.

Just a few decades ago, at Hogwarts, a dazzling student had said something similar to him.

To be more precise, it is simply the same sentences and lines, except that the two are not discussing tetrodotoxin, but evil Horcruxes, whether it is the structure of the sentences or the way they use words...... Even if it's a break in a sentence and a way of addressing it......

It's all exactly the same! It's no longer a coincidence.

The student's name was Tom Riddle, the Dark Lord who came to be known as "Lord Voldemort".

Could it be Albus Dumbledore's temptation?

Slughorn's mind flashed through this conjecture, and he quickly rejected it.

No!

Wrong!

This was an impossible situation, and even Dumbledore didn't know about it.

You know, in order to hide the past that he accidentally told Tom Riddle about the Horcrux, Slughorn modified and hid his memories more than once, and it stands to reason that there is no third wizard in this world who knows about this conversation except for him and the Dark Lord who has escaped.

Unless......

"How is that possible, this ...... How would you know...... This ......"

Horace Slughorn's lips trembled, and his tone was mixed with last expectation, hoping that it was all just a coincidence.

In a trance, he seemed to see a terrible devil slowly emerging from the girl's shadow.

Fitting perfectly, Elena happily admired Slughorn's expression, trying to imitate the hesitant, casual, and not a bit overly flattering tone, and said unhurriedly.

"But you obviously know, sir? I mean, wizards like you — I'm sorry, I mean, if you can't tell me, obviously— I just know that if anyone can tell me, it's you — so I wanted to ask—"

Bang Bang –

Slughorn's hand holding the soup cup shuddered violently, and the lid of the cup collided with the porcelain with a screeching sound.

The hot fish soup flowed down the back of his hand, but the old wizard couldn't care so much now, and saw the old wizard look at Elena with a dead face, and there was no more luck or hope in his heart.

"Who are you, who are you? What are these words......

"Is there anything wrong with those words? I saw it in a book, a thick, thick book. ”

Elena blinked, thoughtfully picked up a handkerchief from the side of the lectern, and helped the old man dry the fish soup on the back of his hand.

"If you're willing to help me with tetrodotoxin and teach you how to deal with puffer fish together, maybe I can help you with some questions after this lesson...... Drink the soup, Professor Slughorn, it's been a long time since the kitchen was prepared. ”

After carefully looking at the old wizard in front of her, and making sure that the old man had no heart problems, Elena said with a smile.

"Don't worry, I'm not the same as Tom Riddle's evil guy, we're righteous. ”

"......We? Who else?"

Slughorn's eyes twitched, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

"Hmm, let me count......"

Elena cocked her fingers and counted them softly with the utmost seriousness.

"Professor Dumbledore, my grandfather, Mr. Lemay, Mr. Scamander, and ......"

"I see...... Let me think about what to do with puffer fish - I haven't been in class for so many years, and I'm getting old and I can't remember things, so I'll be alone for a while, and we'll talk after class later. ”

Horace Sgrahorn's eyelids twitched, and he raised his palms and shook them a little tiredly, and sighed heavily.

He didn't have too many doubts about the authenticity of what Elena said.

At Hogwarts, these things could be easily verified with a little inquiry, and he was anxious about what was behind the scenes, and what was going on after these long-planned showdowns and temptations.

Although Slughorn still doesn't know why that secret conversation was leaked.

However, given the magic of Hogwarts Castle and the rumors in the wizarding world over the years, it was not entirely surprising that Dumbledore, a legendary wizard who had lived in the school for most of his life, saw all of this.

Needless to say, Elena Kaslana is nothing more than a pawn, or a microphone.

Not to mention the things that happened when Tom Riddle was at Hogwarts, even when Voldemort was at his most arrogant and unbeatable ten years ago, and even the mysterious man later failed unexpectedly and finally disappeared......

All of this, from any point of view, is clearly not related to this little girl, who has just turned eleven.

On the other hand, of course......

Horace Slughorn took a sip of the hot soup in his hand, finally suppressed his palpitations, turned his head to look at the girl who was patrolling the classroom like a little angel, and sighed helplessly in his heart.

Sure enough, he is worthy of being a descendant of that adult, such a talent, such a life experience, and this demon personality.

Careless!

How could such a little ancestor, who could not be scolded, beaten, cheated, or coaxed, so that he was so hot in the first place that he naively thought that it was a good thing to invite her to the "Slug Club"? Slughorn could even have predicted that with this black-bellied little witch joining his tea party, his main voice might have left him from now on.

But fortunately, it is recorded in the history books that Paracelsus has always been afraid of trouble and is low-key and modest.

Even if there were legendary wizards involved, it would probably not be a bad thing.

If this kid was Voldemort's reincarnation or had some kinship with the Dark Lord, he might have considered quitting his job and running away after this lesson, and he didn't want to accompany that madman Dumbledore to save the world.

All in all, he must have had to talk to Dumbledore after the lesson.

As his worst fears were punctured, Slughorn felt a sense of relief.

As for teaching students how to handle puffer fish in Potions class, or involving some knife work and cooking knowledge...... Since a cold little guy like Severus Snape had compromised, as a Hogwarts old-timer, he had nothing to hold onto.

Not to mention......

Slughorn looked up at the students in the classroom.

As Dumbledore described in his letter, the children in front of him now, this Hogwarts, did have the potential to create a new era, and it would be a shame for a professor to miss this opportunity.

"Ahem, if you finish drinking the soup on the table, wash your hands and put on your gloves......"

Slughorn cleared his throat, remembered how the puffer fish was handled, and smiled.

"Next, on Miss Caslana's exploded book, I will briefly explain some of the puffer fish organs that we may be involved in the potion, as well as some specific methods and precautions for disassembling and separating them......"

Hmm, it seems to be accepted quickly...... This old man?

Elena smiled slightly, and after wandering around the classroom twice, she expertly walked to the edge of the podium and began to help Horace Slughorn assign each of the young wizards the puffer fish they used to practice, while repeating the various precautions tirelessly.

At Slughorn's advice, the young wizards began their first puffer fish dissection in fear.

"Well, yes, you must pay attention to proportions when you go under the knife, and try not to break the internal organs......"

"Mr. Justin, don't rinse the blood with water, use a wand...... Don't forget that you're a wizard. ”

"Haven't mastered the cleansing spell yet? Alright, let's go to the front of the classroom and get a new fish—clean it up." ”

Slughorn patrolled the classroom with his hands behind his back, correcting the methods and operations of the young wizards, in fact, as long as he crossed the hurdle in his heart, this was not much different from the regular teaching of Potions courses, but could make more effective use of the leisure time of the class.

As he walked up to Elena, Slughorn paused and said thoughtfully.

"This batch of puffer fish is very well-balanced in size and size......"

"Because they all come from the same farms, they are naturally similar in size...... After all, it's meant to be eaten in the stomach. ”

Elena replied casually without raising her head, and she was now holding Hermione's hand, teaching the little beaver how to perfectly break open the belly of the fish, remove the whole skin, and use the tip of the knife to pick out the puffer fish eye without breaking the eyeball.

"So...... These puffer fish aren't poisonous at all?" asked Hermione, whispering in some surprise.

She remembered very well in her notebook that this was the last point Elena had made about the distribution of tetrodotoxin.

"Don't get distracted, concentrate on my strength and trajectory...... Not necessarily in Diagon Alley pharmacies. ”

Elena glanced at Hermione angrily, "I'm not a demon, if I really bring that poisonous puffer fish into the classroom, not to mention whether Professor Dumbledore will agree, what will happen to the students in the other class?"

The toxins in puffer fish mainly come from acquired ingestion, and this batch of puffer fish from artificial farms is not dangerous.

And so it was...... Miss Caslana was right, and it was true to be cautious. ”

Slughorn approached their table, and after hearing the girls' whispers of understatement, his round fat face finally showed a hint of heartfelt relief and approval, and he somewhat understood why Dumbledore valued the little girl so much.

Aside from the "line intimidation" instructed by those old things, this is indeed a good boy who is thoughtful.

"In a real potion environment, outside materials aren't always so reliable...... Well, it's handled greatly. ”

Slughorn commented casually, looking up at the hourglass in front of the classroom.

Before he knew it, Slughorn had become accustomed to this new two-line parallel teaching model.

Compared to the traditional Potions classroom, this compact arrangement increases the burden on students and professors, but on the other hand, it also greatly improves teaching efficiency...... Of course, the premise is that the students in each classroom can be like this group of little wizards, and there will not be too many headache-making low-level mistakes.

Not...... Reduce low-level mistakes......

Slughorn pondered for a moment, and suddenly remembered the "Rules" that Elena had read aloud to the class at the beginning of the class.

I see, a chain reaction of one ring after another, is this the teaching reform that Hogwarts is implementing?

Looks like he's really going to have to study and memorize the new rules and regulations tonight.

The old wizard slowly straightened up, looked around the classroom with his hands behind his back, and raised his voice.

"Pay attention to speed up, there are still five minutes left, and when I say stop, everyone will stop for a while, and prepare to start the next step of the swelling potion, and then wait for the operation to finish, and then continue with the puffer fish cutting exercise......"

"Before the end of class, I will check your results one by one and record your scores......

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Okay, yes, it's a big chapter again~big chapter~ Potions class is over~~