Chapter 20: Potion

An owl flew into the Great Hall and landed precisely before Allen.

Allen paid it no mind; he had been at school for so long that, aside from receiving one letter from Professor McGonagall, he had never received any other owl delivery, and he had assumed this was yet another owl that had mistaken its target.

But that owl hopped back and forth before him, constantly displaying the letter tied to its leg; Allen, puzzled, took the letter. He had never seen this owl before; who was writing to him?

Just as he held the letter and intended to open it, the owl hopped onto his hand, squawked incessantly, and extended its other foot, which bore a small pouch.

"Who is so stingy that they send a letter with a delivery fee!" Allen cursed inwardly.

Yet that owl remained insistent.

Allen rummaged in his pocket for a long time before producing four small copper coins, which he reluctantly placed into the owl's pouch.

The owl was still unsatisfied, hopping back and forth on the table.

"I'm out, truly out! That's all the money I have! I'll give you the missing one Knut next time!" Allen said in a low voice.

The owl, likely encountering such a stingy wizard for the first time, pecked Allen hard and flew away.

"Poverty is truly terrible; even a bird looks down on you!" Allen sighed as he opened the letter.

After reading the letter, Allen only then realized belatedly that today was the 10th; the letter was from Professor Snape, concisely instructing him to go to his office after classes this afternoon to collect the potion for maintaining his physical condition for this month.

"No wonder he's so stingy; it turns out it was written by that old greaseball Snape!" Allen muttered quietly.

For reasons well known, Professor Snape particularly disliked Harry; Allen had seen this while scrolling through videos, so Snape often made things difficult for him in Potions class, and Allen, who was very close to Harry, was caught in the crossfire by association.

"Looks like I need to find a way to earn money! Days without money are too hard to endure! Even birds look down on you!" Allen silently made a resolve.

Time quickly arrived at the afternoon dismissal; Allen bid farewell to his roommate and came to Professor Snape's office, hesitating repeatedly before finally knocking on the office door.

The door opened silently, and Professor Snape appeared with a tense face.

Seeing it was Allen, he stepped aside to let Allen in, pointed to a stool in the room, and told him, "The potion still needs a little while to finish; wait there for a moment."

Allen obediently sat on the stool, then discovered that Professor Snape was nowhere to be seen; this made Allen feel somewhat uneasy. He looked around at the room's furnishings; the room was very tidy, with little furniture. A cabinet was filled with various bottles and jars, and in the corner of the room, a cauldron was steaming.

There was also a door in the room, which should be an independent washroom.

Allen waited a while and still saw no trace of Professor Snape; his heart naturally relaxed, and his mind began to wander. He recalled a theory from a short video in his past life about why Professor Snape's head was so oily.

Because the Potter family, as one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families, had a core business of operating shampoo, and Potter-brand shampoo held a monopoly in the Wizarding World, so Professor Snape, who hated the Potters, by association never used shampoo when washing his hair again—no, he never washed his hair again.

Thinking of this, Allen's curiosity surged; he suddenly wanted to see if there was any shampoo in Professor Snape's washroom!

After confirming three times that no one else was in the room, he acted decisively; he quickly moved to the washroom door, and just as he intended to open it, a mocking voice came from behind him.

"Are all of Potter's friends so impolite?" It was Professor Snape; he slowly finished this sentence in an operatic tone.

Allen froze instantly and slowly turned around,

carefully offering a smile and saying, "Professor, my stomach suddenly hurts; I'd like to use the washroom."

Professor Snape looked at Allen coldly, saying not a word.

Allen was instantly speechless.

Professor Snape's face grew colder; he snorted, turned, and walked to the cauldron in the corner of the room, opening the lid. Inside was a pot of red potion.

Allen, knowing he was in the wrong, awkwardly tried to change the subject: "Professor Snape, why is the color of this potion different from the one I drank before?"

Professor Snape, with a tense face, said, "This is specially made for you; it can better stabilize your physical condition. Drink it without worry!"

As he spoke, he put the thing in his hand into the cauldron; the potion quickly turned bright green, was very viscous, and bubbles constantly rose from its surface.

He found a wide-mouthed cup that looked as if it were made of bone, scooped a full cup from the cauldron, and much of the viscous green potion clung to the cup's body, making it very conspicuous in the dim room.

He handed the cup to Allen: "Drink! Finis," Professor Snape said.

Allen numbly took the cup, suddenly feeling this scene was very familiar, yet he couldn't recall which scene it was for a moment.

Seeing Allen standing there in a daze, Professor Snape continued in a deep voice, "This is your destiny!"

At this moment, a flash of inspiration struck Allen's mind; wasn't this the scene in the "Warlords of Draenor" CG where Gul'dan handed Mannoroth's blood to Grommash Hellscream?

Could it be... Professor is also a transmigrator? He saw me imitating Illidan during yesterday's Flying Class, then confirmed I am a transmigrator, then deliberately created a scene similar to a famous moment in World of Warcraft, and even spoke those two widely circulated lines; is he trying to exchange secret codes with me?

Allen instantly imagined the entire process; his heart suddenly sank. Was his identity as a transmigrator discovered like this? But this doesn't seem too bad; two transmigrators supporting each other in this world would be better than struggling alone. Could it be that I have a golden thigh to cling to from now on?

He raised his head to observe Professor Snape's expression, but the light in the room was too dim, making it impossible for him to see clearly at all.

Never mind; let's first think about how to respond!

I have already exposed my identity as a transmigrator; the professor could have remained hidden in the shadows without revealing he is a transmigrator. Now he actively seeks me to exchange secret codes; what great goodwill this is! Thinking of this, Allen made up his mind.

He racked his brains, recalling the CG he had watched before; what was the next line again?

He thought for a long while; seeing Professor Snape growing increasingly impatient, he hesitantly responded, "Then, what is the price?"

Professor Snape paused, then said coldly, "No price is needed. Professor Dumbledore said you will be provided with it free of charge during your time at school. Didn't Professor McGonagall tell you?"

At this moment, Allen was already immersed in his own train of thought and could not break free.

Could one secret code not be enough? Right! Just now the professor spoke two lines; I should respond with two lines as well. What should the second response be?

Right, it must be this line!

So, Allen looked into Professor Snape's eyes and said quietly:

"Orcs never bow!"