Chapter 199: Completing a Mission

Orli had thought that being alone in a room with Severus Snape might be awkward. But Snape left her no time for awkwardness or idle thoughts. From the second day he moved into the Waters' old mansion, he subjected her to a grueling "holiday boot camp."

"Look at your abysmal report card! You've failed to achieve an 'O' in three subjects? And Transfiguration is one of them!" Snape had exclaimed, holding her end-of-term report card aloft like a damning piece of evidence.

"It seems your Head of House has been far too lenient with you. I suppose she never deducted points in class, did she?"

"Actually, Professor McGonagall is quite strict..." Orli murmured, her voice barely audible.

"Strict? I see no evidence of that. Your mind is cluttered with nonsense about the Dark Lord, Death Eaters, the Savior Potter, and Dumbledore, yet you can't even manage a simple teapot-to-turtle Transfiguration," Snape said, his tone dripping with disdain.

"If you're determined to keep gallivanting with Potter and his troublemaking crew, at least learn how to defend yourself!"

Thus began Orli's summer of torment. Every morning, she practiced spells until her wand arm ached. Afternoons were spent working with Snape on improving the Wolfsbane Potion. Evenings were dedicated to cramming magical theory.

The silver lining was that with Snape's presence, Orli could finally tackle the system tasks that had previously stumped her. She had already completed tasks up to the seventh-year level at Hogwarts, but higher-level potions remained untested. Now, she could finally accept apprentice-level potion tasks. However, the first task issued by the system turned out to be a bombshell.

That evening, as usual, Orli finished her reading, set up her cauldron, and began brewing an orange-hued burn salve according to the system's recipe. Snape sat beside her with a book, occasionally glancing at her work, his presence oddly reassuring. But just as she was about to pour a bottle of oil into the cauldron, Snape suddenly seized her wrist.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Orli asked, startled. She was certain her steps were correct.

"Where did you get this?" Snape carefully took the small bottle of amber-colored oil from her hand, handling it as if it were a priceless artifact.

"This is Arctic mermaid oil. They went extinct five centuries ago, and even preserved samples shouldn't look this pristine..." His eyes gleamed with an intense, almost fanatical light.

"Arctic mermaid oil?" Orli repeated, stunned.

"All modern potions use temperate mermaid oil or even seal oil as substitutes. But when this burn salve was invented a thousand years ago, the original recipe specifically called for Arctic mermaid oil!" Snape said, his voice tinged with urgency.

"Where exactly did you acquire this?"

Orli silently cursed. The system had provided the material directly when issuing the task. Each task came with double the materials, and she still had another identical bottle in her pocket. If she passed the apprentice-level potion tasks, she could even accept this burn salve task indefinitely, effectively granting her an endless supply of Arctic mermaid oil...

"I'm sorry, Professor, I can't say. But..." Orli's mind raced.

"If you need it, I can get more for you. You just need to complete a few small tasks..."

She couldn't reveal the system's existence. But if Snape were to take on system tasks, his expertise would undoubtedly allow him to breeze through to the level of a Potions Master. By then, not only would Arctic mermaid oil be available, but also countless lost potion recipes and rare ingredients. He would only need to select the corresponding tasks as needed. Moreover, the higher the task level completed, the more contribution points Orli could earn... Her gaze toward Snape grew increasingly eager.

"Tasks? What tasks?" Snape asked, his tone laced with suspicion.

"Just brewing potions," Orli replied quickly.

"Hah." Snape let out a confident chuckle.

"Do elaborate."

Orli's smile faltered. Everyone had to start system tasks from the very basics, with no skipping levels. Which meant...

"The first task..." Orli swallowed hard.

"You need to brew a bottle of Boil-Cure Potion. The kind first-year students make in their first Potions class..."

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