The Extraordinary Apothecary at Hogwarts

The holiday sunshine made my neck feel hot, and the spell on the skirt did exactly the opposite to the sunshine, dissipating the heat.

Eugenie's arm was firmly grasped by Snape, and then her whole body was like a doll stuffed with cotton, being put into a cramped space by the attendant's manifesting spell, and her facial features were tightly pressed against a layer of compression bags. An invisible film, pressure coming from all directions, squeezing the mouth and nose.

After a few short seconds, the discomfort of being squeezed quickly disappeared, but the bright sunshine also disappeared.

It was so dark all around that it didn't look like daytime at all.

Where?

There was a small, dark square window a few steps away, and two or three rays of light poured into the room from the torn parts of the piece of cloth that covered the square.

Eugenie's arms were released.

A bit of fire shot out from the wand beside him, lighting up the candle hanging from the ceiling.

She looked up and saw that the old lamp stand above her head looked weird, as if it had been hit by something a long time ago, and no one was willing to repair it, so it just hung there crookedly.

The aperture brought by the candlelight barely illuminated the sofa and armchairs below it. Snape glanced at her, and as if remembering something, he shook his wand again, letting the sleepy candle burn brightly.

In the space that smelled of musty dust, the dark book walls were finally illuminated.

At the same time, the sudden lighting of candlelight disturbed the small animals living here.

The spider's "villa in the sky" was burned down by the flames of candles. It dropped its silk thread in panic to escape from the scene of the small fire. The silk thread swinging left and right rubbed Eugenie's ears and was about to swing up to her shoulders.

The spider was ejected just in time, and it fled in panic after landing.

Eugenie lowered her head and looked around. Spider webs were not only scattered on the chandelier above her head, but also in the corners of the walls, between chairs and table legs.

It seems that the spiders regard themselves as the owners of the house, and the flies and insects that accidentally enter through the gaps in the doors and windows provide food for the spiders.

"professor?"

"Ok?"

"How long has it been since you've been to this place?"

"How long—as long as you've seen me."

"Oh, almost two years, no wonder." Eugenie approached the only window.

Opening windows to ventilate the rooms that need cleaning is like something written in the genes. The musty smell in the house needs to be dissipated.

Snape watched her open the short curtains, and the trapezoidal sunlight filtered in faintly, which seemed insignificant under the bright candles. "If it were me, I wouldn't want to open it."

Eugenie's movements then stopped. The window frame at hand was stuck with unknown black paste, and an indescribable smell came out of the narrow gap between the wooden frame and the brick wall.

She hadn't smelled anything like this in a long, long time, or worse than any pollution she had ever smelled in her life.

Outside the depressing small window is an even more depressing environment.

The black river water lay behind the rusty and broken railings. She was almost surprised that thin weeds could grow beside such a river, sick but alive.

Huge chimneys stood tall, and the wandering mist pressed low against the rows of dilapidated low-rise buildings along the river, blocking most of the already scarce sunlight.

The uneven pavement is paved with many chipped pebbles, and there are many potholes. Slurry drips between the stones, and large and small garbage fills some puddles.

The smell of overcooked fish and chips mixed with the industrial stench of the river, drifting into the nostrils along the river breeze.

The lifeless scene makes it difficult for people to care whether today's lunch is burnt, nor do they want to pursue quality of life and hygiene. Only by living numbly can they forget that tomorrow will only be worse than today.

Eugenie closed the curtains and rubbed her dizzy head. At this time, there were already bubbles on her neck to maintain fresh air.

She stood here like a colorful portrait cut out of another magic photo and pasted onto an irrelevant black and white background.

Snape lowered his wand and turned toward the wall of books next to the sofa.

He had not said beforehand that he would come to Spider End Alley, but his purpose was obvious. The only thing that attracted people to this place was the few walls of books in front of him that were higher than his head.

The book wall is pleasing to the eye.

It doesn't look like something that could be born from a lifeless garbage heap.

Eugenie squeezed past the sofa and curiously picked out a few books at random to browse. The printed handwriting was without exception filled with densely packed small words.

She held the book and followed Snape, but with every step she took, a thin layer of glue seemed to be brushed between the soles of her shoes and the ground. The pervasive dirt accumulated on the ground for a long time, and became sticky after being stepped on and mixed with the dust. Gooey mulch.

Only the book under the cover is well protected from dust.

Snape stared at a book with a brown cover in deep thought for a moment, then selected it with satisfaction, "Take it." After saying that, he turned around and saw Eugenie holding another book in her hand, and folded the book on her head, holding her The bubbles on the headband have been squashed.

Eugenie kept her balance, holding the books on her head as she put the other books back on the shelf, and then took the brown one off her head.

Snape's eyes were still searching through the bookshelves, "You must already know what to learn next."

Eugenie happily rubbed the spine of the book, "Elixir of Fortune, I guessed it when you specifically asked to study the purple moonstone in detail."

"Then you should be aware that once the preparation of the Felixir fails, the consequences will be disastrous. I ask you to be fully prepared."

"Yes, Professor, I understand."

Most potions are open to trial and error, as long as you don't foolishly inhale or drink the wrong product.

However, the brewing of the elixir failed. Even if one avoids contact with the decoction that has turned into poison, bad luck will still follow, inducing the maker to make a series of wrong actions until the effect wears off.

It must be treated with caution.

Soon Snape picked out another black book. There were three metal dragon claws on the side of the cover. The dragon claws clasped the pages and locked the contents.

It is followed by a book in a light color rarely seen here, with various jellyfish and sea anemones on the cover.

Still choosing.

It seems that three books are not enough.

"Pack them all up and take them away!" suggested Eugenie, taking out two unfilled pockets.

When it's full, you can still put it into the ring.

After receiving the consent, she opened her pockets, looking like a Sniff entering a jewelry store. Within a few minutes, the bookshelf was stripped bare, revealing the back panel that was close to the wall.

The interior space without the stacks of books has obviously become a little larger, but this makes the house that has never held happy memories look even more disgusting.

The candlelight went out, the squeeze of space struck again, the dark and polluted river ran away, and the rotating colors in front of me alternated between different styles at high speed.

When she landed again, she was in a quiet alley, where the aroma of coffee beans permeated the air.