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These two syllables were uttered by Snape in an almost casual tone.
Fortunately, Morris had already figured out a way to deal with this situation.
That is—
"I'm sorry, Professor. I was wrong. I won't do it again."
The three apologies flowed smoothly from Morris's mouth.
His tone was sincere and his posture humble.
The entire process was smooth and efficient.
Snape was clearly taken aback, seemingly not expecting this turn of events.
He asked, puzzled, "Why are you apologizing?"
The office was silent for a few seconds.
Why apologize? Of course, it's because of the "life-and-death water," right? Did he misunderstand?
Morris cautiously raised his gaze slightly and looked at Snape behind the desk.
Snape's face remained expressionless, except that his brows furrowed.
He said, "It's just brewing the water of life and death. Although it's dangerous for a novice to brew it, it's not something that requires an apology."
"Uh…" Morris paused, then asked, "How did you find out I was brewing the Water of Life and Death?"
"Smell," Snape replied casually, his voice carrying a hint of "it's obvious."
I see.
Morris secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Indeed, he didn't bother to remove the smell from his body after brewing the "Water of Life and Death".
Snape was able to accurately determine the type of potion Snape was brewing simply by the lingering scent.
No wonder he's a potions master.
"So, Professor, why did you keep me here?" Morris asked the question that concerned him most at that moment.
Snape did not answer immediately, but simply stared at Maurice.
Meanwhile, Maurice was also staring at Snape.
Other students might find their Potions professor's gaze chilling.
But Morris didn't; he just found it strange.
"Stay here and don't move."
Snape suddenly spoke, got up and left the office, leaving Maurice alone in the chair.
This left Maurice even more confused.
Three minutes later.
The office door was flung open, and Snape reappeared.
Unlike before, his face was now so gloomy it could drip water, and he was carrying a linen bag that smelled of medicinal herbs.
He went to the potion warehouse!
And they must have noticed the problem!
Morris thought to himself, "This is bad."
Snape threw the bag on the table and sat back down.
"I need an explanation, Mr. Black." His voice was low and husky, getting straight to the point. "Several samples of the Water of Life and Death have gone missing from the warehouse. I think you should know something about it."
Just now, he was about to go to the warehouse to get some materials to test the potion-making skills of the student in front of him, but he found that the reserves of those materials had changed slightly.
The reason is not hard to guess.
Morris felt somewhat helpless.
If he didn't smell of the potion used to make the "life-and-death water" on his body, then he might still be able to struggle.
No one would doubt a first-year wizard.
But now, denying it seems like it will only make things worse.
I was careless.
So Maurice lowered his head and said sincerely again, "I'm sorry, Professor, I was wrong, I won't do it again. I was just a little curious about the Water of Life and Death."
Snape was speechless at Morris's deadbeat-like behavior.
What can he do? Throw a tantrum? Or fire the other person?
Looking at the student in front of him, who was bowing his head and admitting his mistake with a very serious posture, yet exuding a subtle aura of "I know I was wrong, but I'll do it again next time," he felt an absurd sense of powerlessness.
Moreover, this happened to be one of his students whom he greatly admired.
Snape was silent for a moment, then spoke expressionlessly: "Mr. Black, now please brew another batch of the Water of Life and Death in front of me."
He pointed to the bag of medicinal herbs on the table. "I have brought you the materials. The final result will affect my punishment of you."
You have two chances.
Morris nodded obediently.
What else could he do?
Just do it.
To be honest, he could accept any punishment as long as he wasn't expelled.
But he felt that this was a small matter and didn't warrant being fired.
Chapter 54: On the Treatment of Sleep Beans
So, under Snape's watchful eye, Maurice began to brew the Water of Life and Death.
But this time, he doesn't intend to follow the textbook completely.
After successfully brewing the "life-and-death water" for the first time, Morris thought that the "adding sleep beans" step could be optimized.
Of course, it doesn't matter if the attempt fails, since the materials aren't his, he can mess with them as he pleases, and he has two more chances.
The juice of the sleep bean contains a powerful hypnotic ingredient, but it is wrapped in a tough outer skin, so putting the whole bean in is obviously not a good choice.
Therefore, Maurice decided to chop it up and squeeze out the juice before adding it.
Just as he was squeezing the sleep bean with the silver knife, Snape suddenly spoke up, "Who taught you to do that?"
Morris didn't stop what he was doing and casually said, "I came up with it myself."
He has never been a person who follows the rules.
One of his principles is to put his ideas into practice.
A faint hint of surprise flashed across Snape's eyes.
The standard recipe in textbooks simply involves adding the whole Sleepy Bean, but what Morris is doing is precisely the ideal way to process Sleepy Beans.
This is a technique he figured out on his own during his student days!
It can only be said that talented people often share similar ideas.
Time passed by, and Maurice gradually settled into the rhythm of brewing the potion.
Snape remained silent throughout this time—interfering while someone was brewing a high-level potion would have been extremely unreasonable.
Finally, when Morris added the treated sleeping beans and their juice to the crucible, the liquid inside reacted violently.
The liquid quickly lost its turbidity, and its color rapidly transformed into a clear, bright light blue.
Stir, remove from heat, and you're done.
Morris looked at the final product and nodded in satisfaction.
His judgment was correct; the quality of this batch was much better than his previous batch.
Seeing this, Snape stepped forward, leaned slightly forward, and stared intently at the liquid in the crucible.
Instead of giving a direct evaluation, he used the tip of his wand to pick up a small drop of the potion from the edge of the crucible, suspended it in mid-air, and observed it closely.
"How is it?" Morris asked.
To be honest, he really wanted to get a word of praise out of Snape.
At least in his memory, his Potions professor had never praised anyone.
"Hmph," Snape scoffed, "barely good."
"?"
So, is it good or bad?
Morris was somewhat hesitant to make a judgment.
He asked cautiously, "What about my punishment...?"
"Twenty points deducted from Ravenclaw," Snape said, his expression unchanged. "Also, no one is allowed to enter the potions warehouse without my permission."
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