211- Swelling Solution And Antidote
The days that followed gradually became more routine. The Dueling Club meetings were scheduled to be held once a month. According to the professors, this frequency was enough for the students to learn practical defensive spells.
The Quidditch tournament was held as scheduled, but Slytherin's performance was less than ideal. Not only did they lose to their arch-rival, Gryffindor, but they also suffered a defeat against Hufflepuff, which sent shockwaves throughout the entire house.
Losing to Gryffindor seemed understandable—after all, their Seeker was a once-in-a-century talent. As for their own Seeker, although Draco had provided the team with new broomsticks, he clearly still needed a chance to prove himself.
But losing to Hufflepuff was simply unacceptable! From players to equipment, every aspect of the Hufflepuff team was inferior to Slytherin. So how did they still end up losing?
The poor performance of Seeker Malfoy and Captain Marcus was the main reason for their defeat. The duel had left both of them with deep psychological scars—if it weren't for Daphne's incredible winning streak, the two might have already taken a leave of absence.
However, for someone like Rhys, who wasn't interested in Quidditch, the outcome didn't matter at all.
Wasn't it perfectly normal for Slytherin students to be bad at Quidditch?
Flying on broomsticks was Gryffindor's business after all.
As December arrived, the temperature plummeted. Bitterly cold winds howled through the corridors, forcing students emerging from the warmth of their common rooms to tighten their robes around themselves.
"The booklet Rowena gave you—you've been studying it regularly, right?" Rhys conjured a head-sized ball of fire, letting it float between himself and Daphne to keep them warm.
"Of course. It often throws out tricky questions, and most of the time, I have to think carefully before I can answer them," Daphne replied with a bitter tone, clearly having struggled with it quite a bit.
No matter how hard she tried to think, she couldn't come up with the answer—and worse, she couldn't ask anyone else for help. It was quite a painful experience.
However, the rewards she gained were equally astonishing. For those deemed "wise," Ravenclaw never hesitated to offer rewards. From the booklet Rowena had gifted her, Daphne had already mastered the use of the Undetectable Extension Charm.
She could now even create a three-bedroom, one-living-room space inside a simple, unremarkable single-person camping tent, all by herself.
But when she thought of "rewards," Daphne suddenly remembered an old promise.
"Rhys, you said before that if I dared to test potions on myself, you'd reward me with a spell!" Daphne proudly lifted her chin. "The next class happens to be Professor Snape's Potions lesson. Does our agreement still stand?"
Rhys rubbed his head, recalling the promise he had made to Daphne.
"Of course, it still counts," Rhys agreed without hesitation.
After all, he was going to teach her spells sooner or later anyway. Back then, he had only made the deal as an excuse to encourage her to take the initiative in learning.
Knowledge that was given away for free was often taken for granted—only knowledge obtained through effort and sacrifice would be truly cherished.
Rhys believed that Daphne was a hardworking and diligent student. He simply wanted her to understand that every spell was hard-earned and valuable.
For example, the spell Rhys was about to teach her—the one for manipulating soil—was something he had exchanged for by providing Helga with several types of animal potions.
Even though he was a Potions Master, he still had to spend time in a pigsty observing pig excrement, checking for parasites, just to trade for a spell.
And that was because he and Helga were friends!
If it had been a stranger, being dragged off to help with pig breeding wouldn't have been out of the question...
Seeing that Rhys had agreed, Daphne instantly became excited.
With a joyful heart, she walked into the Potions classroom, eagerly preparing for the lesson.
Snape entered the classroom on time and then announced some "good news" to the students: today, he wouldn't be picking just one "lucky" student to test a potion—he would pick two!
"One student will provide the Swelling Solution, and another will provide the antidote," Snape said with a malicious smile. "I sincerely hope your potions are effective—if you're not confident in the antidote you've brewed previously, you should thank Miss Greengrass. Thanks to her improvements to the process, you all have had plenty of time to brew a second batch."
He had already made up his mind—either Daphne or Lint would provide the Swelling Solution, while Potter would test it with his antidote. This way, he could maximize the potency of the Swelling Solution.
Snape wouldn't trust anyone else's potion for this task!
If those little trolls messed up and the potion didn't have the proper "swelling" effect, that would be quite disappointing.
"Why would potioneers even need to brew a potion that makes the human body swell?" Daphne mused as she worked, her brewing process flowing as smoothly as running water. Her progress was exceptionally smooth, giving her the luxury of indulging in idle thoughts.
This time, in a rare occurrence, the usually all-knowing, seemingly omniscient Rhys did not answer her question.
The Swelling Solution was a very ancient potion.
A thousand years ago, any wizard aspiring to become a potioneer would make sure to acquire a recipe for it and master its brewing.
It was a crucial skill for making a living—lords and nobles, down to common tavern-goers, were all potential customers.
In theory, the Swelling Solution could be used as a combat enhancer, temporarily enlarging the body while boosting movement speed and attack speed. But Rhys could swear on his reputation that those damned potioneers hadn't limited their research on this potion to mere battle applications.
Rhys glanced at Daphne.
A thousand years ago, a student from the Greengrass family had once broken into his potion storeroom and stolen enough ingredients to brew ten batches of Swelling Solution. By the time Rhys caught him, the potion had already been used up.
Don't ask how. If you asked, the answer was: "Used up in a fight."
"Rhys, do you also not know—"
"Miss Greengrass, you must stay focused while brewing potions. Potioneering is a delicate art that leaves no room for carelessness. You may have mastered the method of brewing the potion, but caution, attentiveness, and concentration are the eternal qualities of a true potion-maker."
Snape happened to be passing by Daphne's workstation when he overheard her question. He tapped on her desk, signaling that she should focus her attention on her cauldron.
After being called out by Professor Snape, Daphne stuck out her tongue playfully and turned her full attention back to her Swelling Solution.
Rhys also let out a quiet sigh of relief and resumed his own brewing.
While Snape was speaking to Daphne, many students had looked up, their attention drawn to the interaction—including Ron, who was sitting at the table next to Rhys and Daphne.
Ron lifted his head, his expression more focused than ever as he strained to catch every word from the neighboring table, not wanting to miss a single syllable.
Sitting diagonally behind Ron, Malfoy raised an eyebrow—his chance had come.
________
Read 12 Chapters ahead:
Patreon: HornyFBI