In the face of the classmates' amazement and thumbs up, Ririm accepted with a smile.
"This guy is quite something."
Ian was also brewing.
However, his expression was much more relaxed than most of the classmates.
It's not about having strong endurance.
It's because he made some subtle adjustments. Snape, like a ghost, drifted to Ian's side, staring at the potion being brewed in Ian's crucible with a frown.
"What are you doing?"
He asked somewhat displeased.
"Of course, it's the Weed Remover Potion."
Ian answered honestly.
"I haven't smelled the foul stench that should be present in the Weed Remover Potion." Snape had a stern face, growing more serious, his gaze fixed firmly on the potion Ian was brewing.
"I made some slight improvements; the smell of the original really gets you." Ian wasn't trying to show off; he simply didn't want to spend the whole afternoon wearing a robe that reeked.
"I remember warning you last semester not to use your damn improvements in my class." Snape immediately looked at Ian with an angry expression upon hearing this.
"Do you think I wouldn't know that this stench is unbearable? Do you think all the Master of Magic Potions in the world wouldn't know how to eliminate this potion's smell?"
"Smart-ass kid... The smell is deliberately intended by the developer to prevent unlucky people from accidentally ingesting the Weed Remover Potion!"
He explained why the Weed Remover Potion was so foul-smelling.
"Uh..."
Ian could naturally guess this point, but he actually had other ways to prevent accidental ingestion. However, Snape certainly didn't give him a chance or intention to explain.
"If I hadn't told you this, would you have been proud and added a little pineapple flavor to it?" He didn't see through Ian's thoughts.
He was just using his usual way to taunt.
Upon hearing this.
Ian didn't react much.
Ririm, who had started to read again, suddenly looked up, glanced at Snape several times with a speechless expression, and after a heavy sigh, he lowered his head again.
"So that's how it is."
A quiet mutter went unheard.
"Failed work! Nobody would dare buy your kind of Weed Remover Potion!" Snape wasn't targeting Ian specifically, but he felt Ian sometimes was too disrespectful of his predecessors' accomplishments.
Regarding this.
Ian didn't argue.
Not far away, Ririm raised his hand.
"If you consider it as a poison, it might actually have a good market; it's cheap to make, very toxic, and even the standard detection methods can't find it."
The blond boy suggested an alternative approach.
"You're a genius too!"
Ian looked incredulously at the blond boy; he didn't expect there would be someone in the world with such a similar mindset to his own, his attempt was also with a similar research purpose.
After all.
This Weed Remover Potion has characteristics similar to paraquat.
"Mr. Olivander, it's not your turn to suggest things now." Snape visibly paused after hearing that, but quickly snorted coldly, his face still sulky.
"I could hardly believe there could be a Wizard so dumb they wouldn't figure this out." Snape's eyes flickered slightly, but his tone remained sarcastically evaluative.
"..."
Ririm's expression was... hard to describe, tangled with awkwardness and speechlessness.
"Not necessarily, maybe some very capable Wizards could be caught off guard at times." He seemed to be striving to present a defense Ian would normally give.
"Then I suggest that Wizard to get their brains treated, or maybe they should switch out their eyes." Snape didn't hesitate, and immediately judged Ririm's hypothetical situation.
His tone remained in a mocking manner.
"..."
Ririm took a deep look at Snape, returned to his seat without saying anything further, and despite raising his book, held it upside-down, seeming to have fallen into a state of helplessness.
"Brew again!"
Snape ignored Ririm, turning to Ian with a stern command. What could the Little Wizard do when faced with authority but put his improved Weed Remover Potion into a bottle and set it aside, then fetch the materials again—when he returned, he found Ririm staring directly at the potion placed on his desk.
That look was somewhat familiar to Ian.
So the wary Little Wizard immediately placed his work into his Money Bag, keeping it close, and upon observing this action, Ririm retrieved his gaze while sighing.
"Damn, sort of fanned the flames."
He cursed quietly.
The rest of the Magic Potion Class proceeded without incident.
Ian's pace was quick.
Successfully brewing a second batch of Weed Remover Potion within the allotted time, preventing the possible fate of reliving a toilet cleaner's destiny, Ian hurriedly brewed himself a bit of diarrhea remedy after class.
"Hopefully, Ririm was just fooling around."
Ian shared a bottle with Aurora, drank one himself, and after checking the hallway clock, he headed towards the North Tower's top for his last class of the day.
The Divination Class was held there.
Normally.
First- and second-year Little Wizards only needed to take Astronomy Class, but due to Professor Lockhart's suggestion, second-year students would start having a monthly Divination Class experience from this year.