Harry Potter: This senior is pretty strong

Chapter 42 New Effects

Looking at the enormous pyramid in front of him, Qin Yu felt as if he were looking at a work of art.

It's so beautiful; its golden, regular facets seem to shimmer with light, dazzling the eye.

Then, I looked at the two teachers who were clearly tired.

Qin Yu suddenly thought: "I've gone through all this trouble just for a refrigerator. Isn't that too much of a hassle?"

Look how tired Professor Snape is; his once long, smooth, black hair has become dry and split.

Qin Yu looked at Professor Snape with a touch of melancholy.

After noticing his gaze, Snape rolled his eyes and said coldly, "I don't know what you're thinking, but if you keep looking at me like that, I can't guarantee I won't throw you out of the third-floor window."

"Hehe, I just think you look very tired. You and Professor Swinton have really had a hard time these past few days!" Qin Yu said with a smile that was also sincere.

"I don't find the research work difficult at all. On the contrary, you should have the right attitude and not be afraid of difficulties," Professor Snape continued in a cold tone.

"Okay, I understand," Qin Yu nodded quickly.

“Alright, Severus, the training session is over. It’s time to show you the results of our research over the past few days!” Professor Swinton interjected at the opportune moment.

"Hmm." Snape nodded in agreement.

Then, Professor Swinton and Professor Snape took a step to either side at the same time, while the former waved his wand and pointed it at the pyramid.

A golden panel of the pyramid then slowly rose up and hovered in mid-air, revealing its hollow internal structure.

There, on the table, was an exquisite porcelain plate containing several kinds of fruit: an apple, three bananas, a bunch of grapes, and two avocados.

Looking at Swinton's smug expression and Snape's slightly raised chin, Qin Yu sighed inwardly, "I really am a sinner. I shouldn't have troubled these two geniuses with this. Isn't this a waste of their talents?"

Although he thought this way, he certainly couldn't show it on his face.

"The two teachers' teamwork is incredibly efficient. I didn't expect them to replicate the Little Pyramid's spell so quickly," Qin Yu said with great admiration.

This worship was indeed genuine. Qin Yu himself was studying the incantations inside these pyramids, but he could only barely sketch out a rough outline, without any flow of magic, let alone achieving any expected effects.

Now, looking inside the pyramid that was emanating magical energy, Qin Yu truly felt the "classical magical aura" that Professor Swinton had mentioned.

“Replicate? Do you think the two of us would do something so low?” Professor Snape sneered, speaking arrogantly.

"Huh? Isn't that right?" Qin Yu was slightly taken aback.

Professor Snape, too lazy to answer his question, instead extended his wand and lightly touched the tip of the pyramid. Then, he moved his lips and uttered a spell, and a thin layer of cold air quickly appeared inside the pyramid.

As the chilling air permeated the air, Qin Yu heard the crackling sound of ice crystals solidifying, and icicles were visibly forming on the inner walls of the pyramids made of alchemical materials.

Looking at the fruit in the plate, it was covered with a layer of frost, clearly frozen.

"Hiss~ a quick-freezing effect?" Qin Yu looked at the two professors in disbelief.

That said, the small pyramid Bill gave Qin Yu only had a preservation function, and its magical aura wasn't very strong. But this large pyramid, in addition to having a strong magical aura, also has a quick-freezing effect, which surprised Qin Yu.

“Severus, I was supposed to demonstrate, how could you do this?” Professor Swinton said, quite annoyed.

"Does it matter who demonstrates it?" Professor Snape said calmly.

“Of course there is a difference! How am I supposed to project a positive and upright image to my students if you do this?” Professor Swinton argued.

“Oh, then if you’d like, you can demonstrate it again,” Snape said.

"What's the point of doing it again? Can it be as impressive as the first demonstration?" Swinton said angrily.

“You didn’t say before that it would be your turn to demonstrate,” Snape said incisively.

"You! You're just making excuses!" Professor Swinton said through gritted teeth.

"Say what you will," Snape said indifferently, his hands folded at his hips.

"..."

"Um..." Qin Yu couldn't help but raise his hand, interrupting their conversation.

"Speak." "Qin, do you also dislike him?"

Both professors said this at the same time.

"Well, what I meant was that no matter who demonstrates, the image of both of you teachers in my heart is glorious and great! It is you who have shown me the wisdom and magical literacy that an excellent wizard should possess! It is my greatest honor to be your student!" Master Qin Duanshui said with utmost sincerity.

Upon hearing this, Professor Swinton's expression immediately softened considerably, while Professor Snape gave a soft hum and said no more.

"So, which of you can explain to me the principle behind this curse? I really want to know," Qin Yu said to the two of them.

“Naturally, I’ll speak,” Professor Swinton said first.

Then, pointing to the open pyramid whose interior was covered with a thick layer of frost, he began to explain:

"First, the alchemical materials your friend used were actually low-quality materials refined by the Egyptian Alchemy Research Center, which didn't cost much. The materials we refined before were of much higher quality. Second, the spells he drew inside the small pyramid, while having some preservation and anti-corrosion effects, didn't bring out the full potential of those ancient incantations. This is a problem that Professor Snape and I have been working on recently. Now, we can say that we have thoroughly studied and developed 80% of the spells' abilities. Therefore, in addition to preservation, we can also rapidly freeze this pyramid!"

After Professor Swinton finished speaking, Snape nodded and added, "Many of these incantations are used for magical conversion. If you want to understand how the pyramid works, you need to learn about each incantation and know what magical process they are involved in."

"It sounds complicated..." Qin Yu smacked his lips a few times and said.

"It is quite complicated, but with us here, we guarantee we can teach you," Professor Swinton said confidently.

"Thank you both so much!" Qin Yu quickly said.

Of course, there wasn't time to explain in detail today, and Qin Yu could tell that the two professors were quite tired from studying these incantations, so he suggested that they start the formal study tomorrow.

The two professors naturally had no objections, since there was no rush.

……

In the days that followed, Qin Yu began to learn this ancient incantation under the joint guidance of the two teachers.

The process went fairly smoothly, though it was a bit tedious.

Fortunately, Qin Yu found it quite amusing to watch Professor Swinton and Professor Snape bickering like two children over trivial matters, which served as a way to pass the time.

Of course, he was more struck by the mystery and power of these incantations, as well as the profound magical attainments of the two professors.

One day, as the three of them drank strong tea and ate fruit taken from the pyramid, Professor Snape looked at the thing they had been studying and murmured, "Have we been working on this for so long just to store fruit?"

Ha, so you finally realized that too? Qin Yu's lips twitched as he awkwardly thought to himself.

"What's wrong? Is there something amiss?" Professor Swinton asked, somewhat puzzled.

“There’s nothing wrong with it. I’m just suddenly curious about how much money you spent on this pyramid,” Snape said slowly.

Upon hearing this, Qin Yu also looked at Professor Swinton with curiosity. He only knew that those alchemical materials must be very valuable, but he didn't know exactly how much they were worth.

"How much will it cost? Let me think... The materials used in those alchemy sessions are probably worth two or three thousand Galleons, maybe a little more," Professor Swinton said after thinking for a moment.

Two or three thousand Galleons? Qin Yu was dumbfounded. They hadn't made that much money even after selling the venom of the eight-eyed giant spider all autumn!

But that wasn't all. Professor Swinton continued, "As for the catalyst that Lord Lemaître gave me for alchemy, it can't be measured in money. After all, it's something that can't be bought on the market; it's the crystallization of Lord Lemaître's wisdom."

"Well, the culmination of the wisdom of the greatest alchemist of our time, how incredibly precious must it be, and you just used it right away?" Qin Yu thought to himself, exasperated.

"Of course, the most valuable part is the hard work you and I put in! And the wonderful ideas Qin occasionally comes up with!" Professor Swinton concluded with considerable pride.

That sounded nice, but after thinking about it, Qin Yu couldn't help but say, "Professor Swinton, how about I pay you back later? I certainly can't afford the catalyst for Lord Lemaître, but at least let me pay you for the alchemical materials."

"Haha, Qin, do you really think I'm just bored and playing around with you?" Professor Swinton said with a laugh.

"Isn't it... cough cough, definitely not." Qin Yu corrected himself in time.

"Of course, there was indeed a reason for me to have nothing to do and want to kill time, but after coming into contact with the small pyramid, I also had a strong desire to replicate it, or even surpass it. As a wizard, when faced with such a thing, one should naturally go all out. After all, it is with such a desire to explore that we can make progress," Professor Swinton said seriously.

"Yes, I've learned a lot in the process and gained a deeper understanding of magic," Professor Snape interjected.

“Yes, you see, your Professor Snape thinks the same way I do. We did only build one pyramid to store fruit, but that doesn’t mean we can only build that. You agree, dear Qin?” Professor Swinton said with a smile.

"...That seems to make sense. But, so many Galleons..."

"Money is not important to me."

After saying this, Professor Swinton paused, then continued, "Because I really have a lot of money."

"..."

Qin Yu was somewhat taken aback. He really hadn't expected that Professor Swinton, who was usually quite low-key, was actually a wealthy man. This was somewhat contrary to Qin Yu's understanding.

“Swinton…Swinton on the River Devon in Yorkshire?” Snape frowned slightly and muttered to himself.

"Ha, you found out." Professor Swinton gave a funny look, as if his identity had been discovered.

However, for some reason, Qin Yu felt that there was an unspeakable loneliness hidden in his smile.