HP: For a better world

Winster put the last pile of books back on the shelf and ended his day's work. Just as he took today's payment and was about to leave, "Hey, White." The bookstore manager called him, "Are you going to the potion store?"

"Yes, I'm going back to school tomorrow. I have to go and replenish the herbs and sell the shrinking potion I made these days." Winster patted his bag, which contained several bottles of bright green shrinking potion. Winster took out one of the bottles and held it up to show him.

The manager took a closer look at the bright green potion in front of him, then patted Winster on the shoulder with a smile on his face and said, "This is a potion that third graders will learn! It's of perfect quality, and you are really promising at a young age. You will definitely become a potion master in the future, White."

"Good luck, sir," Winster replied, impressed that the manager was willing to split the extra revenue from his services to wealthy families with him, rather than the customary small increase in salary, which another clerk who had been there told him was very stingy ("He only raised it by three Sickles, damn stingy!" the clerk grumbled).

"Perhaps, if you are willing to work part-time here during your vacation, I can still offer you a salary of 40 Galleons."

Winster shook his head and rejected him. "I have to go sir, let's talk next time. I don't always have so many money-making ideas."

"Okay, okay..." The manager watched Winster leave with disappointment.

Winster walked to the north side of Diagon Alley, where the [Apothecary's Shop] was located, where students could buy all the potion materials they needed. After Professor Snape confirmed that Winster's potion skills had quickly recovered to the state before he lost his memory (according to Harry's casual mention, Winster's potion skills were very good), he recommended Winster to this shop.

It was like this at the time——

"If you want to go further in potions, in addition to talent you also need a lot of money and time to practice to perfection." Snape had just finished checking the quality of the potion brewed by Winster. He stared at White putting the shrinking potion into the bottle and said slowly, "Your level is already close to those fifth-year students. You can't catch up with several students in the advanced class - but that is in terms of proficiency and bottling skills. As for the grasp of the medicinal properties of potion materials in the lower grade textbooks, you have almost mastered it. Of course, you haven't seen much of the rarer materials -" As he spoke, he glanced at the notebook that Winster had placed on the table, which was densely filled with Winster's previous and current ideas about potions.

"——Those more advanced potions will take longer. When you return to school, come to the Potions Office. The headmaster has just ordered a high-level potion to be brewed and needs manpower."

Winster carefully poured the potion into the bottle and put it in a box specially for storing potions. "Okay, professor." Winster looked up and asked with some surprise, "Do you think I need to prepare anything else for this?"

"Keep your creative ideas - although there are mistakes in them," Snape commented, "but you have to experience them yourself. That is what a real wizard who learns to brew potions must have."

"That's inseparable from your teaching, teacher." Winster said sincerely, "It's hard for me to imagine how much effort I would have to spend without your help to recall these things I lost in my memory." He cleverly changed the name. A name that is more closely related.

This is not just flattery. The brewing of potions is related to many factors, such as brewing time, stirring technology, heat control, bottling and other series of experiences that need to be accumulated over the years. The most important of these is the way of thinking about potion brewing from a potion master.

Snape's eyes fell lightly on the student who was sincerely praising him. He didn't say anything about the name Winston used without permission. He just snorted and smiled lazily. "I can see through your little thoughts." His eyes said so.]

After that, Snape recommended this shop to Winster (and also recommended Winster to this shop in turn), telling him that he could make more shrinking potions during this period and the shop would buy them. He also asked him to remember to buy an owl of his own after making enough money here.

"Lacewings, snake teeth, chamomile, wormwood infusion... and some moonstones and dried nettles - and a new silver scale, too. How much?"

The boss wrote something on the parchment. "Eleven Galleons in total... Didn't you bring any potions today?"

Winster took out the shrinking potion from his bag.

"They are all here. Three bottles in total."

The boss took the potions, took a look at their quality, and put them all in the cabinet next to him.

"You're going to start school tomorrow, Winster. Will you continue to work with me while you're in school?" The boss came out from behind the counter, picked out a few bottles full of strange things from the cupboard and handed them to Winster without raising his eyes.

"I have to finish the potion that the teacher wants me to make first. I don't know how long it will take." Winster said reservedly, causing the boss to roll his eyes several times. "Okay, little Winster. If you want to continue to cooperate, you'd better buy your own owl as soon as possible." The boss went into the warehouse at the back and took out a silver scale that was a little dusty. He blew on it, grabbed a piece of soft cloth and wiped it a few times. The scale soon became as bright as new. He handed it to Winster.

"Why do I have to buy an owl? That's what my teacher said too," Winster complained.

"The scale you requested - an owl that belongs to you is sometimes a unique symbol for you. This can be a good way to prevent someone from counterfeiting your potions before you become a potion master."

"What happens after you become a potion master?" Winster wondered.

"Are you kidding, little Winster?" The owner of the potion shop laughed. "Once you become a potion master, your unique skills will be remembered by all potion sellers. No one dares to offend a potion master—"

"But owls are so expensive..." Winster muttered.

The boss laughed angrily, "You made more than ten Galleons from me, you little miser. You are just as obsessed with these few Galleons as your teacher was - OK, I have to close the shop. It's already late today. If you don't go back, the dark wizards from Knockturn Alley next door will come and catch the kids." He waved his hand to White to signal him to go back quickly, and when Winster left the door, it clicked shut. A circle of iron chains at the door automatically flew up from the ground and wrapped around the shop several times, locking it shut.

There were few pedestrians passing by in the alley. Many shops were closed.

Winster had to hurry back, luckily the Eeyore Owl Shop was still open.

He pushed open the door, and the welcome bell rang above his head. The clerk, who was counting the day's revenue, stopped writing with the quill in his hand and said, "Hello, this is Eeyore Owl Shop, what would you like to buy?"

"Well... an owl." Winster said hesitantly.

"We have Tawny Owls, Screech Owls, Barn Owls, Brown Owls, and Snowy Owls. Except for the Screech Owl, which is 15 Galleons, the others are only 10 Galleons, and you get two packs of owl food for free when you buy one." The clerk said, "But you came too late. School starts tomorrow, and all the owls here have been picked by the new students. There are only a few Tawny Owls and Screech Owls left... and there is one immature one [Note 1]." The clerk pointed out the owls to him. Several tawny owls were squatting in a cage in a daze, and next to them was a Screech Owl... He could recognize it at a glance. It looked like an owl with two long ears, also called a long-eared owl... The owl glared at him fiercely. Winster looked around and didn't like any of them.

"What about the immature one?" he asked.

The clerk pointed behind him, where a light brown owl was squatting in the corner. It had big dark eyes on its heart-shaped face and was furry, as if it was wearing a brown wizard robe. One of its paws was resting on the railing, looking at the gradually dimming sunlight outside the window.

“Can it deliver things?”

The clerk nodded, "Of course, they are all trained. This one just left the nest a little early, and is only a few days away from fledge."

"Then let her be."

"Ten Galleons."

Winster counted out ten Galleons to him.

"Remember to give him a name, so that he will remember you and be able to find you no matter how far away you are." The clerk handed the cage and food to Winster and reminded him. "Also, this means that you are responsible for his life and cannot abandon or hurt him at will - this is the agreement between the wizard and the messenger."

Winster lifted up the cage and looked at the owl inside. He sighed, "Am I going to take on a life?" Winster stretched out a finger and poked her tawny feathers, and his finger sank into it. "Do you want me to give you a name?" Winster whispered to her. She tilted her head, called softly, and pecked Winster's finger. "Okay, okay... let me think about it."

"Today is August, the last month of summer. And one of my favorite poems is Shakespeare's 'Shall I compare thee to a Summer'... How about summer? Summer, Summer."

"How about just call me Summer!"

"Hello, Summer?"

Summer cried out in delight and flapped her wings in excitement.

"Hey, be gentle, you're a little heavy, Summer!"

Winster quickly supported Summer and her cage and lifted her up in his hands.

"Let's go, we should go back--"

------

When Snape came up to the dripstone with a bottle of potion, the door of the headmaster's office was already open.

Dumbledore looked up from behind his seat. "Oh, Severus... you're here." He pointed to the pile of cockroaches on the table. "Would you like some? You don't look well."

"No," the Potions Professor said stiffly with a dark face, "I'm afraid I can't afford it. Your hard-working Potions Professor may die suddenly from brewing potions for all the students in the school - since you insist on finding a werewolf to be a professor." He slammed the potion heavily on the table.

The cockroaches on the table quickly avoided that piece——

Snape took a deep breath.

"Ah... Is this the wolfsbane potion? I heard from Belby that the process is very complicated - each bottle takes a month to boil."

"Yes, I couldn't expect you to know this more." Snape said, "Your poor Potions professor not only has to teach those trolls, but also has to provide potions to the hospital wing after class."

"I didn't expect you to realize that I would have to take time out to deliver medicine to the werewolf professor in the school without telling anyone else."

Dumbledore smiled awkwardly.

"So I'm here to inform you, Dumbledore - I've found a student to help me brew this stuff... Considering the trolls in recent years, it's rare to find someone who is willing to concentrate on learning potions and not mess around."

"As long as you can confirm that the student is trustworthy, Severus."

Snape said coldly, "It's better than you telling me that you suspect the You-Know-Who has possessed White, and asking me to keep an eye on him, giving me an extra holiday job."

"I thought you might want to tell me something about your judgment," said Dumbledore.

"Potions," Snape spat out two words reluctantly. "The method of brewing potions is the most difficult to conceal the trace," he said dryly. "I have been teaching this child since the first year. I brought him from the Muggle world to school and watched him and Miss Know-it-all... Granger had to be separated because of the relationship between the houses. Before that, White had never been exposed to potions."

"I know all the habits he showed since the first class, such as handling potions, placing items, and recording inspirations. After losing his memory, he became more optimistic, and his thinking was further reduced to the limitations of Muggles."

“—I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

Dumbledore mused.

"Perhaps you are right, Severus. But I still hope you can keep it a secret from the students," Dumbledore said sincerely.

"I can't expect -" Snape paused "... that he will throw away his brain like other young wizards."

"I'll do my best...if you don't insist on having a werewolf as a professor, like there's no other choice."

Dumbledore continued earnestly:

"You know... Severus, I can't bear to lose you yet."

Snape showed a disgusted expression, and said with disgust, "...You always say such nice things."

he's gone.