Chapter 188

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-Room of Requirement - Laboratory-

"A pinch of powdered oak leaves that have been under a storm for 72 hours? Where the hell am I going to get this?" I asked myself with a strange look.

I was making more preparations to face the Basilisk, and I was reading some of the potion recipes that were recorded in Marcel's journal. One of these recipes was for a potion that would cause extreme dizziness and weakness in anyone ingesting it, but the ingredients weren't something I could get easily or quickly.

"I think in my entire life, I've never seen it rain more than 1 full day, let alone 3 days, and even more a storm" I said to myself, rubbing my temples, "Sigh... well, to the next potion then"

Saying that, I turned to the next page, only it was just another potion that served to torture someone, and that wasn't what I wanted.

I then continued flipping through the pages, looking for some spell or potion that might help me.

I found some useful spells, but there were few potions that could help me, and even the ones that could help me needed ingredients that there was no way I could get or order so easily and in so little time.

Unfortunately then I had to put aside the potions from Marcel's journal, but with that I could concentrate on creating the Draught of Living Death, which is a difficult and complicated potion.

I'm good at potions, but this potion requires a lot of patience and time, which I didn't have, and there's also the fact that this potion isn't usually potent enough to have an effect on a creature like a dragon, and it's probably the same for a basilisk, so because that I'll have to modify it.

Knowing that modifying a potion is a very difficult thing, I decided to use a small book that contained some notes from one of the best potioners of that era.

And so I took from the supply cabinet one of the old potions books that had the signature of someone called the Half-Blood Prince, who is also known as Severus Snape.

I've already read most of the notes he had left in the book, and I can only say that Professor Snape really is a genius, perhaps even on the level of Riddle and of Headmaster.

Perhaps if he had devoted his life to studies and potions, he would have been someone far more famous in the wizarding world.

An amazing Potions Master, a great duelist, and a powerful wizard who can create his own spells. But all that was wasted by his fixation on Lily Evans, and his many jobs as a spy.

But back to the subject, after giving up looking for potions in Marcel's journal, I started to get the ingredients in my bag to make the Draughts of Living Death.

The ingredients for this potion were easy to come by, as every Apothecary in Diagon Alley had them.

Taking my high quality potion brewing materials from my suitcase and placing them on the table, I started brewing the potion.

This was not the first time I brewed this potion, and in my first 4 attempts I managed to create acceptable potions, far from the perfect potions I need.

After these 4 attempts I kept trying, until I managed to make the Draught of Living Death which according to the description in the books, was perfect, or close to perfect.

But that's not what I wanted. I wanted a potent and powerful potion that could take down even the strongest of creatures, so I started modifying it.

It took me 4 tries to make the normal potion perfectly, so it was no surprise that my attempts to modify the potion were even more difficult.

I changed some ingredients, added others, prepared some of the ingredients differently than described in the book instructions, but none of these changes brought a pleasant result.

Some of these changes actually made the potion a little more potent, but the difference was barely noticeable and I only noticed it thanks to my senses and my Magic Vision.

Other changes created potions with entirely different effects or even exploded, which led me to visit the hospital wing a few times.

"Hmm, and if I add to the sloth's brain the paws of a dead panda when it was in hibernation? Maybe it will increase the sleepiness and sluggish effect," I muttered, grabbing more ingredients and vials to test.

My journal already had many pages with many notes, and around me there were many vials or leftover ingredients that were scattered around.

"Now the question is, do I crush, cook, or cut the paws? Crushing might cut the effect or dilute it, but I also think that if I put more than 1 paw in the potion it can get too creamy breaking the effect of the asphodel" I commented to myself as I put the other ingredients in the cauldron, at the same time taking 1 pickled adult panda paw from a large glass jar.

Deciding it would be best to cook the paw whole, I waited for the right moment to add it to the potion.

Tossing the ground sloth brains into the cauldron, I immediately added the panda's paw, and chamomile broth harvested in the fall that were dipped in owl saliva.

As I stirred the potion, following the steps that were in Professor Snape's book and in my journal, I activated my Magic Vision and began to see the potion's magic being brewed.

When I noticed that the potion was starting to become unstable, I would stir the potion or add goat hair, which served to stabilize the potions without changing the effects, something I discovered with the Flamels.

Unlike expected, the potion, instead of reaching its pale lilac color, acquired a violet hue, but in my last anti-clockwise stir the potion began to darken, turning to magenta.

The smoke rising from the potion was purple in color, and the scent itself was making me drowsy, but I transferred some magic through my body and quickly the effect wore off.

"If the smoke alone can make me drowsy, even though I am already resistant to the effect of many potions, I can't even imagine what would happen to anyone who ingests the potion directly," I said, looking satisfied at the potion, not forgetting to note it in my own journal the changes I've made.

I didn't intend to share my recipes, as many of them are dangerous and I could be declared a dark wizard, but writing them down can also be considered a hobby of mine.

Going back to the potion, I poured the liquid into 4 vials, and after that I cleaned the cauldron and tidied up my workbench.

When everything was clean, I got more ingredients to make another batch of my new potion.

I also decided to name the potion "The Curse of the Evil Queen", obviously in honor of the Evil Queen's poisoned apple from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

With this potion, I had one more guarantee against the basilisk, and now I just needed to continue my training by increasing the power of my spells until the goblin silver dagger arrives.

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-Gryffindor Common Room – 9 pm-

[POV – Harry]

After Ron and Hermione had gone to their respective dorms to sleep, I continued in front of the common room fireplace, staring into the burning flames with a tired look on my face.

I wasn't alone in the common room, but the few and only other students in the room were studying at a few tables away from me.

I couldn't sleep, which had been normal since the end of last school year.

I tried in every way to ignore the nightmares, but they were persistent.

But sometimes, the nightmares I had were different from what I was used to. Usually I have nightmares of Quirrell's face blaming me for his death, but other times my nightmares are just darkness with a woman's voice in the background begging someone to be spared, before everything disappeared in a flash of green.

"Harry?" I heard someone call out to me, and turning around I saw that Hermione was standing on the first few steps of the stairs leading to the girls' dormitory in her pajamas, looking at me with concern.

"Hi" I replied with a tired look.

I then turned back to the fireplace, and Hermione came to sit beside me.

"Are you still having trouble sleeping?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm not having trouble sleeping" I denied, but Hermione just looked at me critically, "Sigh... It's just a little nightmare" I said.

"Harry, you've been having trouble sleeping for months...I can't remember the last time you had a really good night's sleep" Hermione said, putting her hand on my arm in concern, "And a 'little nightmare' doesn't do that"

"It's nothing, Mione. I'm just thinking about the final exams," I said, but even I didn't believe this lie.

"You need to talk to Madam Pomfrey, you might be sick" Hermione said.

"I'm not sick"

"Then you should speak to Professor McGonagall, or the Headmaster. Perhaps they can help you," she insisted.

"Hermione, I'm fine, just a little tired," I said, and when I saw her open her mouth I interrupted her, "Look, you don't have to worry, and if the nightmares continue I'll talk to someone, okay?"

When I finished speaking, I looked at Hermione, and she looked like she wanted to say something else, but she held back.

"Sigh... Alright... But Harry, if you keep having these nightmares, you can talk to me, I'll be here to listen to you" she said, and I smiled softly at her.

"Fine, I'll talk to you if the nightmares continue," I said.

I then let out a fake yawn, and turned to Hermione.

"See, I'm already sleepy" I said, getting up, "I'm going to my dorm to sleep, don't stay up reading late" I joked.

Giving her no chance to say anything I turned and headed towards the stairs to the boys' dormitory, not noticing that Hermione was looking at my back with a worried and sad look.

End.

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(End AN:I've always had a question in my mind about a subject... Why did J.K Rowling choose these 4 specific animals to be the Hogwarts house animals?

I understand that the features of the houses match the features of the animals, but it makes me wonder something...

If you could create your own houses, what would their characteristics and animals be?)