Chương 44: Chapter 43 - Castle Kitchen.

[Chapter Size: 2500 Words.] 

Third Person POV 

Hogwarts. 

... 

... 

Half an hour before the latest events, still at the end of Potions class... 

Severus paid no attention to any of the looks in the Potions classroom as he remained focused on his golem design. It was only when the last student left that the professor made a point of closing the door personally before walking over to him. 

"Mr. Snape, I see you're working on something quite interesting." The professor quickly invaded his space, with obvious interest. 

Severus merely sighed, realizing he could no longer continue working, and raised his head. "Yes, Professor. I'm working on a project I started recently." He briefly explained while the professor watched him. 

"This seems fantastic. Would you like to share it? Perhaps I can give you some suggestions or help you." Severus heard that and rested his chin on his hand before looking at the drawing. 

"Well, as you can see, I'm trying to create a golem. I just don't know how I can make its core. If the professor has any idea how I could create it and keep energy stored like a battery, to power it so it can fight independently..." he asked, while the professor widened his eyes slightly in surprise before looking at the drawing and then at Severus. 

"A golem?!" 

"Yes. A magical golem. But I wanted something that would function differently from a stone transfiguration or something like that, as I've read about in some cases involving wizards highly skilled in transfiguration. I wanted to make something more mechanical, something that could use magical energy." Severus said this, and the professor stared at him for a moment. 

"Well, I have no idea about that..." he said after a few lost seconds. "I've never seen anything like it before, even with all my experience. But I'm sure that perhaps the Headmaster can help you." 

The answer discouraged Severus a little, but it also kept Slughorn from asking any more questions. 

"Well, it's only an initial project, Professor." He said, beginning to close the book. "But I'm sure that's not what you wanted to talk to me about." 

Meanwhile, Slughorn nodded before letting out a small laugh. "Well, that's true. I see you've worked on this project the entire class, but I'm still surprised. How did you make your cauldron brew the potion automatically? Is there a spell for that? That should be impossible..." he asked, his eyes shining with interest. 

"Proof that there isn't a spell for that is that, as far as I know, there isn't one, and I don't know how to cast it." Severus explained. "I brewed the potion personally, only using an extension of my mind." 

The professor blinked, confused. "What do you mean by that, Mr. Snape?" 

"All the magic that was performed, from making the cauldron float, the flames that circled its base, as well as the ingredients being added at the right moments and the clockwise and counterclockwise movement of the boiling liquid inside the cauldron, was personally executed by me and my attention, if I may put it that way..." 

The professor stared at him with a cautious and suspicious look. "But you were clearly working and writing on your project. I still can't understand." 

"Well, it seems that this concept I created for making potions is something unique..." Severus looked at his potion vials and began making them float one after another as they circled around his hand. 

"It's very simple." He said, while the professor watched in shock. Severus did not even have a wand in his hand or speak any spells. "I use telekinesis to manage the entire process." 

He spoke as entire desks in the classroom began to rise, causing great astonishment in the professor. 

"That's incredible! Did you learn that this summer?" Slughorn asked, while Severus nodded, not paying much attention to the professor's amazement. 

"Of course. And the flames..." He said, raising his other hand and creating a huge blaze that began circling around it. 

"I control the fire as well." He should not have been surprised by the professor's stunned expression, but Slughorn was completely bewildered as he watched the desks, the small potion vials, and even the flames circling Severus's other hand, with the fire dancing across his skin. 

"This... this is unbelievable." He finally murmured. 

"Of course. Telekinesis and the flames are two different types of magic that I have mastered." Severus said calmly. 

"But how can I focus on two processes? Through Occlumency. I trained my mind to divide itself into two. That way, I can focus on two tasks at the same time. While one part of my mind was on the drawings, the other half was directly focused on creating the perfect potion." Severus explained. 

Why was he revealing all of his abilities so openly? Because none of this was a secret. Anyone who observed him would try to reach the same conclusion. And why should he simply hide things? 

No. He would not do that. 

Severus Snape had already lived his entire life in the shadows, and what he was showing was merely a small extension of the spells he had learned during the summer. It was not something that represented his true essence. 

If he wanted to show something that would truly terrify the wizarding world, he would transform himself into a dragon one hundred and twenty meters long. Compared to the dragons that, at most, reached twenty meters in the magical world, that would be absolute chaos. 

So talking about small abilities was not something he cared much about. But for Slughorn, hearing all of this was extremely impactful. 

It was complete chaos. 

Never in his entire career had he encountered someone who came close to doing something similar to what Severus was demonstrating in the first class of the first day. 

What kind of wizard could do such things? Where was that skinny and ill-tempered boy? Suddenly, he had become a more open young man. Despite not wearing a constant smile and remaining quite serious, he also seemed lighter and more confident. And his abilities... 

Perhaps he was standing before Merlin himself. 

"That is incredible, Mr. Snape. More incredible than anything I have ever seen in my entire career..." He understood that Severus could simply brew potions without moving a single finger. He still did not know how the boy managed to sense the potion's condition and understand exactly what needed to be done at every moment, but he had no doubt about one thing: 

Severus possessed a gift, and an extremely powerful gift. After all, his potion had still been the best in the class... A talent without precedent. 

"Mr. Snape, since you've explained so many things to this curious professor, let me give you a reward. In fact, it's the reward I mentioned at the beginning of class." 

He said as he walked over to his chair and picked up a vial that had been kept like a trophy. Severus raised an eyebrow when he recognized the transparent liquid. 

"I see you already know what it is." Slughorn said cheerfully. 

"Yes. Liquid Luck." Severus replied. 1

"Exactly. And, as I promised, I will be presenting it to the best student for the Draught of the Living Death." He said as he handed the potion to Severus. 

"Thank you... Professor, may I also keep the potion I created? I need some funds. I hope my potion is good enough to be sold, and I would also like you to allow me to take it with me." He said, while Slughorn raised an eyebrow. 

"Of course. Well, it's excellent. There's no problem with you keeping it." The professor said. 

Severus immediately nodded and began putting everything into his bag. He was already a little tired of the professor's questions. He did not want to store anything in the ring in front of him and prolong the conversation even further, now that it seemed to finally be ending. 

"Well, I won't bother you anymore. You must be heading to lunch. But you know about the Slug Club, right?" Slughorn asked, while Severus nodded. 

"We meet once a week to discuss various matters. Today I'll have to insist that you become part of it as well. I'm sure that, with the abilities you've demonstrated today, you have a more than suitable place among my guests. Not to mention that I'd like to learn more about you." He said. 

"I'll think about it, Professor..." Severus merely nodded, packed his things, and finally left the classroom. 

He walked through the corridors toward the Great Hall. Slytherin liked to remain silent about many things, but this was a little different from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. 

Along the way, he noticed several glances and heard comments from students who were standing in the corridors or walking through them. 

Even the portraits were whispering among themselves and pointing at him, informing their neighbors. 

Severus Snape was a common phrase in the midst of all that gossip. However, he did not care. 

He entered the hall and headed toward Heloísa, who was sitting with her head lowered while eating. Ignoring all the other stares, he sat down beside her. 

"Is there a problem?" he asked. 

Heloísa looked at him and gave a small smile, but it did not reach her eyes. "It's nothing." She said. 

Severus narrowed his eyes; he did not like that answer. 

Articuno was still flying outside the castle, circling the area, and until then everything had seemed fine with Heloísa. If something had happened, it had occurred at some point between Articuno leaving her shoulder and now. 

He was certainly about to say something to start finding out what had happened when two figures appeared beside him. 

"Hey!" The voice of someone he knew well caught his attention. 

Severus and Heloísa looked at them and smiled, also ignoring the looks those people received, since Iris and Roberta were there. The Slytherins especially disliked the latter because she was a half-blood. 

"What's up?" Severus smiled before reaching for a piece of bread, but Iris was quick and grabbed his hand. 

"Wait. How about we eat somewhere else? Have you ever heard of the castle kitchens?" she asked. 

Severus raised an eyebrow. 

"Kitchens?" 

"Yes, do you know them?" 

"Not much. I heard some fourth-year Slytherin students talking about house-elves working there..." Severus thought for a moment. 

"Then that's where we're going. Wouldn't you like to join us?" Iris asked. 

Severus looked at her and then at Heloísa. 

"Heloísa, what do you think? We can explore the castle a little." The idea immediately appealed to him. 

Heloísa also showed a much brighter expression than before and quickly nodded, full of anticipation. 

"Great. Let's go." With those words, they all moved forward together. 

Heloísa left her food behind and followed them as they entered a corridor. As soon as they turned a corner, they found several Gryffindor students in the area along with Dumbledore, but no one paid attention to them. 

The group headed the other way and began descending several staircases until they reached a place not far below the dungeons, though it looked more like a storage area. 

There were several Hufflepuff students nearby, which indicated they were close to the entrance of their common room. Severus knew it was hidden in one of the barrels. 

But they did not go that far. They stopped in front of a painting in those corridors. Iris took out her wand and began tickling the pear depicted in the painting. Suddenly, with a pop, the painting began to open, revealing its interior. 

Both Severus and Heloísa were surprised. 

"This entrance is amazing." Heloísa said. 

"Isn't it?" She smiled. 

Severus simply moved forward. 

"Hey, wait. Let me introduce you to the place first." Iris joked. 

Iris entered right behind him. Roberta came next, and Heloísa entered last. 

Meanwhile, Severus observed the interior of the kitchen, filled with house-elves working here and there. Some stopped when they saw them, while others continued their tasks but kept curious eyes on the group. 

"Students? What are you doing here?" a house-elf murmured. 

Then she saw the Hufflepuff girls. "Ah! Miss Scamander and her friends have returned!" Several house-elves immediately seemed excited. 

Severus watched their reaction before turning his gaze back to his companion. "I see you're popular." He said. 

She nodded with a mischievous smile. "I have my qualities." She said, winking at Severus before turning her attention back to a house-elf who was already at her feet. Iris gently patted its head. 

"We came here to eat. Is it alright if we take that table to sit at?" she asked. 

The house-elves immediately began jumping with excitement. "Of course! Miss Scamander may bring her friends to eat with us!" they said. 

As everyone settled around the table, Severus kept his gaze fixed on the house-elves with curiosity. 

There was a strong gleam in his eyes. He was certainly seeing something that interested him greatly. 

"I saw them in Diagon Alley." Heloísa announced, still quite curious and surprised by the elves. 

"And so did I..." Severus said. "I hired some the first time I was there after the end of fifth year to help with some shopping." 

Severus explained while watching the entire table fill with dishes that instantly teleported into place, gaining a better understanding of how Hogwarts functioned. 

"But why are they so..." Heloísa asked carefully. 

"...miserable." Roberta finished for her. 

The girl seemed a little embarrassed by the word and also by thinking that way about the house-elves. 

"Don't be so embarrassed. House-elves live wearing clothes in a miserable condition, but that's because they cannot receive new clothes. Receiving clothes means breaking the contract with their lords/masters. They are creatures that live to serve. They feed on magic and work." Iris replied. 

"What do you mean? Are they enslaved?" Heloísa, who did not know much about the subject, immediately asked the question. A certain horror appeared on her face. 

Severus remained silent while beginning to pile plenty of protein onto his plate, taking from his ring a potion filled with vitamins and stimulants for physical and magical growth. 

"A house-elf needs to be under that contract to survive. Otherwise, it dies. It's a race that lives to serve. They have no choice, and many are quite happy with it. Even though many are mistreated, they still enjoy what they do." Iris paused before continuing: 

"These elves here, for example, love serving Hogwarts. I've known them since my first year. I eat in the kitchen and sometimes run away from prefects..." Iris said. 

Heloísa was fascinated. But Severus, sitting beside them, observed everything with a mind full of questions and possibilities as he looked at those elves. 

No one had any idea what was going through his head, but he was already beginning to develop several thoughts about those creatures. 

"Can we classify house-elves as magical animals?" He could not help asking the question. 

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