The water in the crucible quickly began to steam. Wade added powdered snake fangs and then added nettle, stirring two circles clockwise and three circles counterclockwise. The crushed nettle melted rapidly, almost like ice cubes.

At that moment, a sudden scream erupted in the classroom, and a thick cloud of green smoke hissed out. Some students cried out in pain as their skin was corroded by the failed potion. Theo jumped in surprise and asked, "What’s going on?"

"Don't get distracted!" Wade didn’t even look over, silently counting to ten in his mind before adding in the slug.

"Theo, lift the crucible."

Theo immediately complied (still wearing dragon-hide gloves), while Wade paused for a moment to add two porcupine quills, then stirred clockwise for five more circles.

The potion instantly underwent a visible change, the disgusting brown-green liquid quickly transforming into a shimmering green color, resembling jelly—this was exactly the color described in the book as the sign of a successfully brewed potion.

Theo looked at the potion in astonishment, glanced at the book, and exclaimed, "It worked! Wade, you did it all in one go!"

At the other end of the classroom, Snape, who had just dealt with a potion accident and had scolded a few students to tears, walked over briskly upon hearing the noise. He lowered his head and scrutinized the mixture carefully. Finally, under Theo's anxious gaze, he grudgingly said, "Not bad; it meets the standard. One point added—each."

……………………

"—They say Professor Snape rarely adds points for anyone outside of Slytherin. I mean, it’s great to get back the points we lost," Theo excitedly told his friend Ryan on the way out of class. "And after finishing our potion, we can use the remaining time to prepare for next class's cough syrup. Next time Professor Snape asks a question, I won't be caught off guard at all!"

Ryan was happy for him and added, "Our group's potion has always been just a bit off—it has a strange smell. I wonder if we didn’t brew it long enough..."

"Hey, Wade!" a voice called from behind. Michael hurried to catch up with Wade and asked, "Can I ask how you got that light green color? I followed Professor Snape's steps exactly, but for some reason, mine turned out a bit dark."

"If there were no mistakes in the steps, it should be a difference in how the materials were handled," Wade replied, looking at his partner Theo. "Theo handled the materials perfectly; our final product had almost no impurities."

Michael looked curiously at the Hufflepuff.

Theo seemed a bit uncomfortable with the praise, his face slightly flushed, and he quickly changed the subject. "By the way, do you guys have classes this afternoon? How about we go to the library to do our homework together?"

Before class ended, Snape had assigned them to write a paper on scabies potion, at least six inches (about 15 centimeters).

"Isn't it a bit early to worry about it?" Michael said reluctantly. "It’s not due until Friday; we still have several days!"

He naturally included himself in the count, even though Theo had only asked Wade and Ryan at first.

"I'm going to the library," Wade said. "It's just six inches; I can finish it quickly. That way, I won’t have to keep thinking about it."

Ryan nodded. "Library."

Michael seemed to be a bit of a procrastinator; he dawdled, looking longingly at classmates discussing going on adventures in the castle or taking a walk by the Black Lake. Two girls giggled and invited Michael to join them at the Quidditch pitch, but for some reason, he hesitated for a moment and ultimately jogged to join Wade and the others.

"Aren't you going to play?" Wade asked him.

Michael sighed, "If everyone else is going to have fun, of course, I want to go too. But if someone is going to do homework early, I’ll feel guilty having fun."

…………………………

The Hogwarts library is on the west side of the castle, and the space inside is much larger than it appears from the outside. Wade was sure that some kind of space-expanding magic was used here. The library is divided into several levels, with staircases moving about, and the interlaced bookshelves silently lined with thousands of books, with rows of brown desks between them.

On the first day of school, there were very few students in the library. When the four young wizards stood at the entrance, their faces filled with awe at the countless books, Madam Pince, the librarian, immediately noticed them.

She quickly walked over, looking down at the four, and asked, "First years?"

Theo, standing at the front, nodded.

"You must not tear, rip, fold, soil, damage, or throw books; no loud noises, and no eating in the library, understood?" Madam Pince said sternly.

Theo quickly nodded, as if envisioning Professor Snape.

"You are not allowed to go to the restricted section. You can browse the regular section, but you must not scribble on the books! If you want to take anything out of the library, you must have my permission, understood?"

Everyone nodded in unison.

Madam Pince then asked, "What book are you looking for?"

"Uh... the scabies potion... books related to potions," Michael replied.

Madam Pince waved her wand in a circular motion, and a dozen books flew over from several shelves.

"These should be enough; go study," Madam Pince said, revealing a very faint smile on her face.

The four of them gathered their books and found a spot by the window to sit down. Michael flipped through the pages and, considering there were four of them, realized they had two copies of each book, with the thinnest one still an inch thick—how long would this take?

He casually flipped through a few books, feeling like he hadn’t absorbed a single word. He contemplated whether he could just copy a couple of hundred words from the text and then find a random book to quote a few lines to meet the length requirement when he heard the sound of a quill rapidly scratching across parchment beside him.

"Wade?" Michael asked in surprise. "Did you already figure out how to write it that quickly?"

"Huh?" Wade replied without looking up. "It's not that hard."

In front of him lay several books, and in no time, he had written four or five lines, not even writing particularly large letters.

Not only were Michael and Theo stunned, but even Ryan, who usually didn’t say much, couldn’t help but take a look at what Wade was writing.

Seeing their expressions, Wade realized he had momentarily overlooked something—these kids were all eleven years old, not like his college classmates who could casually whip up a thousand or eighteen hundred-word paper. If these children came from wizarding families, they might not have even received systematic schooling; even if they had attended Muggle school, they might not have written many papers.

He didn’t mind sharing his experience with them.

"Writing a paper is actually quite simple." Wade pulled out a blank sheet of parchment and began to write as he spoke softly. "Just build a simple framework and fill it with appropriate content. First, introduce the scabies potion briefly; second, discuss its history, such as who invented it and who improved it; third, write about the preparation process and precautions; fourth, analyze the reasons why potions might not meet the standard, what accidents could occur from improper preparation, and how to handle those accidents; fifth, you can detail the effects of several ingredients and their interactions, which can be looked up in 'Magical Herbs and Their Properties' and 'Common Potion Ingredients'; sixth, write about the conditions the scabies potion corresponds to, causes of the disease, symptoms, usage of the potion, past cases, etc. You can also compare it with similar potions, such as comparing their ingredients, brewing time, cost, effectiveness, and so on. Finally, you can conclude with a summary and your thoughts. There’s so much to write about; just choose two or three points, and you should be able to complete a qualified paper."

The three of them fell silent for a while, suddenly pulling out their parchment at the same time and starting to copy furiously—not doing their homework but transcribing everything Wade had written.

"You’re a genius! Wade!" Michael exclaimed as he copied, marveling, "This is like a cheat sheet for writing papers!"

Theo nodded. "Exactly! I feel like from now on, no matter what paper it is—forget six inches; I could write six feet!"

Ryan paused in his writing, thought for a moment, and said seriously, "Six feet is too much! I can’t write that much."

Wade and the others couldn't help but laugh.