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Morris mingled at the back of the group, and no one noticed his disappearance.
After counting everyone, he subtly learned from several senior students what had happened that night.
Halfway through the banquet, their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Quirrell, suddenly rushed in and announced that a troll had escaped from the underground classroom, and then fainted on the spot.
Headmaster Dumbledore had to order all students to immediately return to their respective house common rooms to prevent anyone from getting hurt.
Morris felt that Professor Quirrell was overreacting.
He had learned about trolls from books.
It was a large, not very intelligent, humanoid monster.
An adult wizard familiar with spells would be more than capable of handling it.
So, the smell they detected in the bathroom must have been the smell of the trolls.
However, it has nothing to do with him.
The only advantage was that, because the banquet ended midway, some of the food was sent to the lounge.
Morris was lucky enough to get a still-warm steak, which finally soothed his empty stomach.
...
The next day, Morris heard that Professor McGonagall had deducted five points from Fred.
Fortunately, he was not required to conduct "labor reflection".
This was just a minor, insignificant punishment.
During the morning's History of Magic class, Maurice was studying the methods and key points of brewing the Water of Life and Death in "Advanced Potions Making," simulating it countless times in his mind, and didn't listen to the lecture at all.
The Water of Life and Death is a very complex potion, and he only has two chances.
If he fails twice, he will have to find another way to collect raw materials.
This is clearly not the situation he wanted to see.
Going to the potion material warehouse to steal materials again isn't really the best option.
Therefore, he had to repeatedly rehearse every detail and every step in his mind until he knew them by heart.
Fortunately, Professor Binns had no intention of paying attention to the students and just continued lecturing on the podium, while most of the other students looked drowsy.
Finally, the History of Magic class ended.
Morris immediately returned to his dormitory.
The crucible has been set up, and all preparations are complete.
It's time to begin.
The cooking method sounds simple; you just need to put the raw materials into the crucible in order and cook them.
However, there are strict requirements regarding the method of adding materials, the timing, and even the direction of stirring with the wand during this process.
Morris dared not be distracted for even a moment.
The good news is that the brewing time for the Water of Life and Death is not long, only a few hours—some potions take days or even months to brew.
Prepare the ingredients, turn on the heat, add the mugwort infusion, add the sleeping beans, stir, stir in a different direction...
Morris seemed to have fallen into some kind of strange state of concentration.
Everything around seemed to be isolated by a transparent film.
In his world, all that remained was the bubbling crucible before him.
After an unknown amount of time, with the final stirring, the solution in the pot turned a light blue color.
It's done.
Morris stretched his stiff neck and then carefully poured the medicine into the crystal bottle that had been prepared beforehand.
One batch of ingredients can only yield a small amount of finished product, just enough to fill five small crystal bottles.
After everything was finished, he let out a soft breath.
Only then did he feel a slight fatigue from the intense concentration he had been experiencing.
But more than anything, it's a sense of satisfaction.
Potions—what a fascinating field of study!
"It's getting late."
Morris turned to look at the clock on the wall.
Forget about lunch, he was almost late for the first class in the afternoon.
Moreover, it was Potions class.
Morris didn't have time to pack up and immediately got up and went to the classroom.
It seems he can only attempt the "Two Realms Door" later tonight.
Chapter 53 Three Apologies
During Potions class, Snape was in the same state as usual, except that he walked with a slight limp, as if he had a broken bone.
However, after drinking a bottle of medicine, he immediately returned to a normal walking posture and continued lecturing as if nothing had happened.
Morris breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed Snape had no idea the potion ingredient warehouse had been visited.
He turned his attention back to the swelling medicine in front of him and began to carefully grind the dried nettles.
This lesson is for Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students together.
Ron sat diagonally behind Morris and hadn't stopped talking since the start of class.
"Listen," Ron leaned in again, excitedly, "we actually killed a troll last night! I mean, me, Harry, and Hermione—though she was terrified at first…"
"Hmm, hmm," Morris replied perfunctorily, stirring the crucible gently.
He had heard the story several times already, and Hermione had told him the details—they used a levitation charm to control the troll's club and then stunned it.
Honestly, those creatures called trolls sound really weak.
Professor Quirrell fainted from fright because of this?
Morris could hardly believe it.
Is this the quality of a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts?
Perhaps because Ron had been talking for too long, Snape suddenly turned his gaze to them.
He spoke coldly: "Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Potter. Whispering in class is forbidden. Two points will be deducted from Gryffindor's honors."
Ron's lips moved, but he didn't speak.
Harry, on the other hand, wore an expression that said, "I'm used to it"—he clearly hadn't said a word.
Snape paused at their table for a moment, his eyes sweeping over the almost perfect swelling potion in front of Maurice, then over the bubbling, murky purple mixture in Harry and Ron's pot, and a smirk played on his lips.
Why is there such a big difference between students?
"Ravenclaw gets five points," he said expressionlessly, his gaze lingering on Maurice for a couple more seconds.
Morris smiled slightly.
He discovered that ever since Snape gave him that reading list, he had been receiving special attention from Snape in class—second only to Harry Potter, of course.
That's strange.
But he doesn't dislike being given special treatment.
What was that saying again?
Ah, yes, those who are favored are fearless.
Although Snape was mostly expressionless, Maurice could sense that he was probably the student he valued most (except for Harry Potter).
However, if Ravenclaw and Slytherin were to attend classes together, Snape would still favor the latter.
After all, Snape was the head of Slytherin—it's only natural, and understandable.
The bell rang on time to signal the end of get out of class.
Morris finished tidying up his things and was about to leave when Snape's voice suddenly came from the front, "Mr. Black, stay after class."
Several Gryffindors nearby paused, casting glances that were a mixture of sympathy and curiosity.
Being left behind by Snape is usually not a good sign.
"What does he want with you?" Ron asked from behind.
"I don't know." Morris shook his head.
Judging from Snape's expression, he probably hasn't discovered the thief broke into the warehouse yet.
After all the students had left, Maurice was led into Snape's office.
This is his second time here.
He had barely sat down when Snape's words sent chills down his spine.
"Water of Life and Death?"
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