Brewing potions is a long process, and if the brewing time can be effectively shortened, it will greatly help improve exam scores.
"Didn't you go see Professor Snape after class?" Vizette asked.
"I didn't dare to ask…" Penelope's voice weakened a bit. "I remember last semester, Robert mustered up the courage to walk into the classroom, but before he could even ask a question, he was kept behind to clean."
Robert Hilliard was another Ravenclaw prefect.
"And then what?"
"We didn't get anything out of them."
"Ahem…" Vizette coughed lightly twice. "Professor Snape is actually a nice person… you just have to get used to his way of speaking."
Without comparison, there is no harm; Vizette felt that Professor Snape was... quite kind and approachable to him.
At least he helped with the cleaning, which not only earned him extra points but also helped answer questions.
He had actually studied the relevant material before the Christmas holidays for the two questions Penelope mentioned, and now he was able to answer them.
He pointed to a line in the textbook and said, "Here you need to use double the amount of verbena, chop it up and add it to the crucible. This will shorten the cooking time by ten minutes, but you need to turn the heat to medium."
"Regarding the stirring speed with the spoon... it shouldn't be about speed, but rather about the force. Each stirring motion must reach the very bottom, stirring against the side of the crucible..."
As Vizette explained in detail, Penelope's expression gradually brightened, and she exclaimed in realization, "That makes sense! That's exactly what he said! Thank you so much!"
"I'm glad I could help you," Vizette said with a smile. "But I suggest you try it out yourself."
"If the process is correct, the time to brew the vitality supplement should be reduced by fifteen minutes."
"How many times have you helped me? I don't know how to thank you enough," Penelope said with an envious look. "You're quite bold to ask Professor Snape a question."
"Hiss!" She gasped, frantically pulling out her prefect badge. "What bad luck, off on patrol again. See you later!"
"See you later!"
After saying goodbye to Penelope, Vizette continued toward the common lounge.
He still has much to learn, such as studying Professor McGonagall's notes and combining them with Professor Flitwick's notes to explore the mysteries of silent spellcasting.
On the night before Christmas, he remembered that he didn't want to wake Luna, so he cast a transformation spell that was almost silent...
As he walked along, lost in thought, he heard Dumbledore's soft voice behind him, "Vizette, would you like to come somewhere with me?"
...
Hogwarts Castle is very large, and it takes a lot of time to fully explore it.
Dumbledore led Vizette along a completely unfamiliar road.
"Vizette, I received your Christmas present, all sorts of candies…it's wonderful!"
While collecting ancient magical power, Vizette smiled and said, "I'm actually a little nervous. I thought I should give you a book... but then I thought that would be too old-fashioned."
"Later, Luna and I traveled in London and tried a lot of interesting candies, which led to that Christmas present... I'm so glad to have your approval."
"Family!" Dumbledore murmured, his melodious voice like a saxophone, "I love them very, very, very much!"
"If possible, you could also send some daily necessities... such as wool socks or more novel candies, which would be an unreasonable request from this old man."
Vizette smiled and replied, "Of course, I'll remember."
He followed Dumbledore through corridor after corridor and hall after hall, until they finally arrived at the castle's back garden.
In the center of the back garden was a huge circular fountain, and further away there was a magnificent marble archway, where two winged boar statues were also located.
The marble archway was in the Gothic style and was extremely grand, adorned with a variety of patterns.
Two winged boar statues crouched there, their carvings exquisite and lifelike, seemingly ready to attack at any moment.
"Headmaster Dumbledore," Vizette asked curiously. "Where are we going?"
"Hogsmeade Village." Dumbledore walked ahead of him. "Normally, you need to be a third-year student to get in there."
"So…we need a little covert method." He raised his wand and gently tapped it on Vizette's forehead.
Vizette felt liquid flowing down his forehead, a sensation that instantly spread throughout his body, like being doused with a bucket of cold water, leaving him feeling refreshed.
He quickly looked at his hands, but where his hands should have been, he could see the ground directly below, as if he had vanished into thin air.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, this is the Disillusionment Charm, right?"
"Exceptional intelligence is the greatest treasure of mankind!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "That's right, just follow me and try to speak as little as possible along the way."
Hogwarts Castle is full of magic. As they walked through the archway, the iron gate in front of them rose up with a "whoosh," revealing a wide stone bridge outside.
The stone bridge looked weathered, with its many potholes and dents bearing the marks of history.
Vizette followed Dumbledore across the bridge, simultaneously activating the map in his mind.
Sure enough, as he followed Dumbledore along the way, many areas were illuminated.
Without any hesitation, Vizette absorbed and stored all the ancient magical power closest to him.
Dumbledore seemed to sense something, looked down at Vizette, and a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.
Around the stone bridge were students returning to school, chatting and laughing with each other, carrying large and small bags.
The Disillusionment Charm could make them invisible, so as long as they didn't make any obvious noise, these students would have a hard time finding them.
Leaving the stone bridge, a pastoral landscape unfolded before them. Along the simply leveled dirt road, various lush magical plants were planted, occasionally swaying in the wind.
They continued along the road until they reached a T-junction before stopping.
In the middle of the T-junction was a string of tree-canopy-like road signs, which looked crooked and had messy strokes, indicating the names of Hogsmeade shops and their directions.
Dumbledore seemed to be deliberately slowing down so that Vizette could familiarize himself with the route.
Dumbledore's deep voice rang out: "This way, Vizette."
For some reason, although Vizette could not see Dumbledore, he could clearly sense his presence.
Vizette felt the warmth of his hand and a possibility occurred to him, "Perhaps it's because of Fawkes's feathers?"
Following Dumbledore's footsteps, Vizette saw a large wooden gate with a pointed roof and a plaque hanging above it.
The design on the plaque was quite interesting: two crossed wands at the top, two wild boars about to collide below, and an arched wooden sign that read "Hogsmeade".