Chapter 26: The Magic Extraction Method Lesson

The rest of the day was spent in Snape's office, where Vaughn and the dour Potions Master worked together, locked in focused experimentation.

They were testing Vaughn's so-called "Magic Extraction Method."

Vaughn didn't hesitate to share everything he had discovered so far. This stage of development required full transparency. If he wanted insight and feedback from someone like Snape, withholding information would be idiotic.

"The idea came to me when I first started studying Potions," Vaughn explained, sitting across from Snape at the worktable. "I was thinking about the essence of potion-making."

"What exactly is a potion? Why do certain combinations of ingredients produce magical effects? More specifically, which parts of the ingredients are responsible for those effects?"

He paused, watching Snape's expression remain flat and unreadable.

"I started simple, with blood-replenishing potions. Ran dozens of control groups. By adjusting the ingredient ratios, I analyzed the quality of each sample, breaking it down into active elements, harmful residues, and useless waste."

Vaughn spoke casually, but the actual process was far from gentle.

He had followed the pharmaceutical research methods of his previous life. Which meant... test subjects.

Lots of them.

He'd created controlled wounds on lab rats, sometimes even dissecting them mid-experiment to observe how the potion acted inside living tissue. The aim was to understand not only whether a potion worked, but how it worked and why quality mattered.

Snape, hunched over the cauldron, stirring slowly with his wand, didn't look the slightest bit disturbed. He had already guessed as much.

After all, he had once been a Death Eater. Whatever remained of his kindness certainly wasn't wasted on rats.

"Once I isolated the active elements," Vaughn continued, "I started working backward. I experimented with pulling those qualities directly from the ingredients. It turns out that studying Transfiguration helped a lot."

Snape closed his eyes, focusing. His magic flowed through his wand and into the cauldron. As it mingled with the ingredients, vague outlines began to form in his mind.

This really was like Transfiguration training.

Only harder.

It required precise magical control to maintain a steady flow of magic, without disrupting the natural motion of the ingredients.

And all of this had to be done quickly, before the mixture overheated and lost its structural integrity.

Beads of sweat appeared on Snape's brow.

Still, decades of brewing experience gave him an intimate familiarity with base ingredients. Even without a gift for Transfiguration, he managed to separate the qualities of several ingredients just before the cauldron hit the critical temperature.

It was the sixth attempt.

And finally, success.

He exhaled sharply, stepping back and lowering his wand. The liquid inside the cauldron had split into distinct layers, each representing an isolated property. Vaughn stepped in, stirred five times, then flicked his wand.

The potion turned a bright, shimmering blue.

Snape stared at it, lost in thought.

After a long pause, he finally spoke. "This is extremely difficult. It requires talent. Not just in Potions, but in Transfiguration too."

He paused, then added, "And experience with material properties."

Vaughn nodded with a sigh. "I once sent this method to an apothecary friend who supported my research. He tried and tried, but couldn't make it work. That's when I realized... the method is still too raw."

Snape leaned back slightly. "But it's promising."

Vaughn smiled faintly.

They were both potion prodigies. They knew that no technique began perfect. Everything went through stages, research, refinement, and eventual standardization. What mattered was whether a method was worth developing further.

And this one absolutely was.

Snape's face returned to its usual unreadable mask. His deep-set eyes stared into the blue potion. "Do you have a plan for developing it?"

Vaughn had been waiting for that question. "Yes. But it won't be easy."

"Go on."

"I need access to a wide range of rare ingredients and advanced potions. The more I understand their components and properties, the closer I'll get to identifying common patterns. There's a spell I think could help a lot, and I hope you'll be willing to teach it to me."

Snape didn't even blink. "Scarpin's Revelaspell?"

"Yes, Professor."

Snape's black eyes fixed on him. "You know the Ministry forbids widespread use of that incantation. Too much damage to potion-makers' intellectual property."

Vaughn grinned. "I'm aware. But it's for research, not profit."

There was a long silence. When Snape spoke again, his voice was flat and dry. "Anything else?"

"I want to study high-level spellcraft," Vaughn said seriously. "You were right, the current extraction method is too hard for most to learn. My goal is to build a general framework that can be used by anyone. And that framework... I want to encode it as a spell."

He had finally said it.

This was the reason he had spent the last two years developing the method in the first place.

And from the start, he had been aiming at one person: Severus Snape.

Vaughn knew the man well enough to know he wouldn't refuse.

Sure enough, Snape didn't react immediately. After several moments, he spoke quietly.

"Come to my office next Saturday. That will be all."

"Thank you, Professor."

Vaughn bowed slightly and headed for the door. Just as he reached it, a thought stopped him.

"Professor, may I ask... how do you plan to convince Professor Dumbledore? I've heard he doesn't like Slytherins much. He might not approve of you teaching me advanced magic."

Snape stood with his back to the fireplace, the only light source in the room. The shadows cloaked his expression.

But his voice, when it came, was slow and deliberate.

"He'll agree, Vaughn Weasley."

Snape turned slightly, just enough for his profile to catch the firelight.

"As far as I know, the Headmaster is very fond of your habit of wandering into every common room on campus."

"Ah... really?"

Vaughn raised an eyebrow, turned, and left.

So Dumbledore was keeping an eye on him.

Snape's wording made it clear. Every step Vaughn took inside Hogwarts, that wily old man noticed.

"Tsk. The mighty White Warlock. Must've scared him good, huh, Tom?"

Still, Vaughn wasn't too concerned. He had mentally prepared for this from the moment he decided to enter Slytherin.

He wouldn't abandon his goals just to ease Dumbledore's mind. And he certainly wouldn't waste time resenting the man's caution.

Though... it was surprising to hear Dumbledore appreciated his little hobby of sneaking around the other Houses.

Even after returning to the Slytherin common room, Vaughn was still pondering it.

Did the old man think he was spreading love and unity?

"Please. I only visit Ravenclaw for the snacks and company. Don't slander me with this 'good person' nonsense."

Feeling his darker nature had been unfairly maligned, Vaughn made yet another nighttime trip to Ravenclaw.

He spent the evening chatting and laughing with the girls until long past curfew, finally leaving with Fruity in hand and absolutely no shame in his heart.