Snape remained noncommittal. "There are very few wizards who can truly understand the soul."
"Indeed…" Dumbledore remarked, "Wizards who walk the path of magic can never escape the eternal topic of the soul…"
"Croak! Croak croak croak!" The toad beside the potion equipment stirred, seemingly regaining its animal instincts.
Snape waved his wand and summoned a notebook.
As he recorded the data, he said, "Five days... Vizette's soul-soothing elixir has affected this toad for a full five days!"
"It's amazing…it's truly amazing…" Dumbledore exclaimed in response.
The office suddenly fell silent, save for the rustling of Snape's notes and the croaking of the toad.
"How noisy!" Snape finished recording everything, then flicked his wand, causing the toad and the glass jar to disappear together.
He then looked at Dumbledore. "Why didn't you tell Vizette the truth?"
"Actually, we told part of the truth," Dumbledore explained. "He is indeed not suited to continue studying these kinds of potions."
"Wizards who have studied the soul will be able to detect Vizette's abnormality through these kinds of potions, which is a very bad outcome."
"For example, the Dark Lord?" Snape put down his notebook. "Vizette sent Quirrell a bottle of Soul Soothing Potion, which he will probably offer to the Dark Lord."
Dumbledore sighed. "We can't stifle the sincerity that Vizette has put so much thought into every Christmas gift."
"So we need to use 'white lies,' this dishonorable method... to protect his safety."
Snape chuckled coldly. "Fortunately, the Dark Lord will keep this a secret... In fact, he's hiding many secrets!"
"He claimed to have achieved immortality, but never revealed the secret of immortality… This is 'Lord Voldemort'."
"He wanted to be everyone's 'Lord'! He enjoyed that feeling, 'Lord, no one will dare to utter your holy name!'"
Dumbledore's tone was gentle yet firm. "That's precisely why we must uncover... the secrets of this 'Lord'! And defeat this 'Lord'!"
-------------------------------------
As the second half of the school year approached, students were more or less troubled by anxiety in this new semester.
Students in fifth and seventh years, who needed to take the O.W.L. or N.E.W.T. exams, experienced this anxiety even more acutely.
They were either holding notes in their hands or carrying textbooks under their arms, and these materials were marked with various lines, seemingly confirming their day-and-night preparations.
The library, occupied by fifth- and seventh-years, was like a battlefield, with students constantly moving between the bookshelves.
They wanted to find fragments of information in those books that could be useful for the exams.
During mealtimes in the Great Hall, the steaming hot food went neglected as fifth- and seventh-years constantly flipped through their books, with almost no time for distraction or conversation.
This atmosphere of anxiety was spreading; not only in the Great Hall, but even the common room had become much more somber.
Ravenclaws pursued knowledge and wisdom, and exams were undoubtedly the best way to demonstrate these two qualities.
Especially for fifth- and seventh-years, their conversations in the lounge were almost entirely about exams.
It was filled with discussions of the theoretical details of transfiguration magic, checking the correct order of potion-making, and repeatedly memorizing key dates and events from the history of magic...
Penelope, who was responsible for class duties, needed to squeeze in time to patrol or maintain order on campus.
Now that she had taken on the responsibilities of prefect, she seemed somewhat overwhelmed and even unwilling to talk to those around her, showing signs of a possible breakdown.
As Vizette finished Snape's private lesson and returned to the common room, he heard intermittent sobbing coming from a corner.
Just as he approached and stepped into the shadows, a figure peeked out, her red-rimmed eyes revealing confusion. "Vizette?"
Vizette nodded. "Penelope... what happened to you?"
"Cough cough... It's nothing..." She hurriedly wiped away her tears and hid a textbook behind her back. "I just want to sit here for a while."
Vizette noticed that it was the Potions textbook, a thick volume titled *Intermediate Potion-Making*. "If it's a question about Potions... perhaps I can think of a way."
"You mean you want to go see Professor Snape? No! No!" Penelope instinctively refused. "Professor Snape is too terrible... There's no way!"
"Ahem…" Vizette coughed lightly. He hadn't even mentioned this point, but Penelope's reaction was so strong.
...
It was clear that Professor Snape had a very bad reputation.
In some respects, Professor Quirrell's reputation was even better than his.
According to Fred and George, although Professor Quirrell stuttered in class and was less efficient at teaching than studying on one's own, at least he had a very good temper!
Professor Quirrell wouldn't get angry even if you hit him on the head with a snowball.
Vizette immediately dissuaded them, saying, "Can you not do that next time? He's under a lot of pressure."
The twins saluted and nodded playfully, saying, "If it's the materials consultant's request, we promise you we won't do it again!"
Fred and George also talked about what would happen if anyone dared to throw a snowball at Snape's head...
Vizette recalled that the twins had exaggerated expressions of terror, clutching their necks and saying, "We definitely won't see the sun rise the next day! We'll be poisoned that night!"
...
"Actually, Professor Snape… is quite easy to talk to," Vizette said carefully. "As long as you can identify the important information, after all, that's Professor Snape's… style of speaking."
"Is that so?" Penelope had calmed down and gently wiped away the last of her tears with her sleeve. Her eyes were no longer as red as before.
"Of course!" Vizette nodded. "I just asked him some questions…"
"Tell me first, and I'll ask Professor Snape for you next time."
"That works too…" Penelope said a little embarrassedly. "Professor Snape…never insulted you?"
"Wait a minute! It seems... he even gave you extra points! Right? I heard people from Hufflepuff mention this before!"
"Yes," Vizette did not deny it. "So you can tell me without worry."
Penelope nodded, hesitated for a moment, then took out her textbook and turned to the page filled with different line marks.
"Regarding the formulation of this vitality tonic, I remember Professor Snape mentioning two key points when he was reprimanding people..."
She pointed to two of the brewing steps. "Right here, regarding the key points about dosage and stirring speed. Professor Snape seems to have mentioned that there are ways to speed up the brewing process of potions."
...
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