A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts

The bell rang, and students streamed out of the classroom, their faces filled with anticipation.

"I've made up my mind!" Ron announced loudly as he headed in the direction of the Potions classroom, "I'm going to make a complete set of Wizard Chess pieces." The people around him looked astonished.

But Harry and Hermione showed little interest in his declaration. "Have you finished your Transfiguration essay? Let me take a look," Harry said.

Ron's confidence immediately deflated.

"Not yet," his expression fell, "I've only written the beginning—I can't understand half of it now."

"Professor McGonagall will go over this material repeatedly. Actually, there are many parts I don't understand either," Hermione offered some encouragement, "It will be much better when you master Animagus transformation and then combine it with the textbooks to understand the situation, won't it, Harry?"

Harry muttered vaguely. Since learning Animagus transformation, he did feel some difference, but that 'difference' didn't include the profound Transfiguration theories Professor McGonagall talked about; he was still as bewildered in class as before.

He knew Hermione's method, but the thought of her hefty books constantly rotating by her side these days made him hesitate.

"Is it a sudden increase in heart rate, sweating profusely?"

"Are you sure it's not just psychological?" Harry retorted, and Ron fell silent.

...

In Potions class, Professor Slughorn stared blankly at Harry's cauldron.

Inside was a lump of gray-green soft and sticky substance, resembling boiled and solidified snot mixed with vegetable juice. It emitted a faint chill when approached. This was Harry's creation today, utterly dismal.

Hermione's eyes lit up joyfully, seeming like she was about to burst into song at any moment.

"Oh... well, dear, this won't do," Slughorn absentmindedly fiddled with the buttons on his vest, "It's quite off the mark. You need to brush up on your potion theory..."

He didn't say much more, instead, he walked up to Ron. He only lingered for two seconds before being driven back by the pungent smoke.

"Wasn't there any hint in that book?" Hermione said eagerly as Slughorn moved away to check on other students, her eyes shining, "Even if it were Snape and Lupin combined, they couldn't explain a complex composite toxin in just a few lines."

"I could carry some powdered horn," Harry whispered through gritted teeth.

Hermione paused for a moment, but Ron, excitedly, said, "You could do that? Why not? We have plenty of time—"

"No! Professor Slughorn knows Harry's prized book, not only knows but has taken it to look through," Hermione hastily interjected. She said earnestly, "I think the first person to do that would be considered a genius, but the second would be a poor imitator."

"Well summarized, thank you, Hermione," Harry said, annoyed.

As Slughorn returned to the podium, the students below looked dejected; none of them had managed to concoct the antidote within the allotted time, which was quite a blow to them.

However, Slughorn showed no signs of disappointment. He straightened his protruding belly and spoke with a jovial tone, "Have you realized that some shortcuts don't work anymore?"

Some students glanced at Slughorn and then collectively looked towards Harry's direction.

Because of the special experience in last year's O.W.Ls exam, many knew that several Gryffindor students had obtained the textbooks Snape used when he was a student, and later, some of the simplified steps in O.W.Ls level potions were compiled from these notes, benefiting students from all four houses.

At the beginning of this year's Potions class, they wanted to do the same thing, although they got the notes (Harry removed some dangerous curses and Snape's horrifying remarks), they were surprised to find that this approach no longer worked.

Slughorn smiled, his walrus mustache trembling slightly, "Yes, Miss Granger was the closest to success in today's test. If she had been given another half hour, I believe she could have completed the antidote independently. But she still has a considerable distance from being a true master of potions."

Hermione, not entirely convinced, pursed her lips.

"I can name some particularly outstanding potion masters, such as Damocles Belby, Severus Snape, and, of course, Lily Evans—" Slughorn glanced at Harry with a smile, "Perhaps you would think my criteria are based on grades, but that's not the case... A potion master needs a spirit of independent thinking, courage, passion, rigor, innovation, and extraordinary insight into potions."

"For truly talented individuals, these qualities will manifest early, their minds are like the flow of leaping grass under the full moon, so distinctive."

"Outsiders find it difficult to understand. Even among students who achieved excellent results in the O.W.Ls potion exam, I have a special preference for one... because I see their talent. Indeed, this is often the case; they will pull away significantly in the sixth year. I rarely make mistakes."

"The advanced class is different from previous years; you will encounter more magical potions, more profound theories. Without love for potions, it's difficult to go far enough... Of course, concocting some barely passable potions is still acceptable."

"Sounds a lot like Snape's rhetoric," Harry muttered under his breath.

"Harry, do you have any questions?" Slughorn didn't catch his murmuring and asked with concern.

Harry, dumbfounded, stood up hesitantly. Others turned their gaze towards him.

"Um... I wanted to know, is Professor Snape considered talented? I mean, his notes have been helpful to me—" Harry asked haltingly.

This time, Slughorn didn't immediately provide an answer as usual. He furrowed his brow and pondered for a while.

"I haven't taught him, but... from his notes, it's apparent he has his own independent ideas about potions." Slughorn obviously didn't want to say more, but the students were all staring at him, very interested in this topic. Slughorn waved his hands in the air as if he didn't know where to put them, "Alright." He cleared his throat and murmured softly.

"I don't think he'll become a master potion-maker—Professor Snape is capable of brewing some advanced magical potions, yes, I have no doubt about that... His notes are logically strong, and with his magical skills, he won't mess up those delicate operations."

"But I haven't seen too many groundbreaking insights, perhaps because his heart isn't in it. His achievements in ancient magical texts suffice to explain everything. It's normal; talented wizards are always more individualistic, they are attracted to different aspects of magic..."

Harry suddenly thought of something else; perhaps Professor Slughorn had once viewed Voldemort in the same way.

Voldemort had also excelled in school, with Dumbledore saying he was top of every subject, but perhaps he, like Professor Snape, was more of an imitator in the field of potions rather than a pioneer.

As Slughorn said, "Talented wizards are attracted to different aspects of magic." Clearly, Professor Snape eventually chose ancient magical texts, while Voldemort unhesitatingly plunged into the depths of dark magic.

He also thought of Dumbledore and Grindelwald, the two former friends who had taken diametrically opposite paths.

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