Chapter 29: The Shrinking Potion

"Protego!" Kael was prepared. The moment he threw in the porcupine quills, he immediately cast a protective barrier around the cauldron, enveloping the liquid inside to prevent it from splashing. Only when the noxious liquid had calmed down did Kael conjure a glass bottle and carefully float the highly corrosive substance into it for storage. Looking at the iron cauldron again, it was utterly corroded beyond recognition, completely unusable. Even Kael's Reparo (Mending Charm) couldn't restore it. Seeing such a result, Kael was not surprised but rather delighted. The Potion textbook had specifically warned that when making the Potion for Boils, one needed to extinguish the fire before adding porcupine quills; otherwise, the potion would dissolve the cauldron and turn into a highly corrosive liquid. But Kael, upon reading this, had a different idea. Although this failed Potion for Boils could not be used on people, it possessed an incredibly potent corrosiveness, far more intense than sulfuric acid. If used on enemies, it would certainly be a wicked weapon. Bilbo, who also witnessed this alarming scene, looked at the vile green liquid in the bottle with awe, not daring to approach, fearing that even a single drop on him would be fatal. After successfully brewing the correct Potion for Boils and experimenting with its corrosive variant, Kael began to attempt another magical potion: the Shrinking Potion. The Shrinking Potion was a magical brew that caused living creatures to shrink or revert to a younger state. It typically appeared as a bright green, acidic liquid. It could be used against large monsters with strong anti-magic abilities, or for more mundane tasks like transporting livestock—shrinking entire herds of pigs, cattle, and sheep into a wizard's pocket. Similarly, if a wizard drank Shrinking Potion, their body would rapidly contract. The stronger the potion's effect, the smaller the individual became. It was often exploited by unscrupulous wizards to shrink themselves and sneak into others' homes or vaults for theft. The ingredients for Shrinking Potion were not overly complex, including Shrivelfig, Daisy Roots, Caterpillars, Wormwood, Leeches, Rat Spleens, and Scurvy-grass Essence. Among these, Scurvy-grass Essence needed to be extracted from scurvy-grass, but Kael already had all the other required ingredients. Kael first set up his silver cauldron, then cut the scurvy-grass into pieces, ground them into a powder in a mortar, poured it into the cauldron to boil, and continuously stirred it with his wand, constantly adjusting and controlling the heat to ensure that the essence in the scurvy-grass fully dissolved in the solvent. "Finite Incantatem!" With a wave of his wand, the liquid and powdered residue in the cauldron automatically separated. The residue was filtered out and discarded, leaving only the pure potion to continue boiling. Eventually, the potion boiled dry, leaving only a layer of grayish-white paste at the bottom of the cauldron. This was the Scurvy-grass Essence needed for making Shrinking Potion and other potions. With the Scurvy-grass Essence prepared, Kael officially began making the Shrinking Potion. The Shrinking Potion was a second-year potion course content, more complex to brew than the Potion for Boils. It required the addition of Shrivelfig, Daisy Roots, Caterpillars, Wormwood, Leeches, Rat Spleens, and Scurvy-grass Essence, one by one, in precise measurements. Moreover, the production time was longer, demanding greater concentration and meticulous care. Kael first squeezed the Shrivelfig, retaining the peel and pulp, and added the juice to the cauldron to simmer for twenty minutes over low heat. Then, he added Daisy Roots and caterpillars, bringing the potion to a boil. At this point, the potion turned dark green. After simmering it down to half its original volume, he extinguished the fire and let it cool for thirty minutes. Once the cooling time was up, he added twenty-four drops of wormwood infusion, one drop at a time, stirring with his wand in alternating directions after each drop. Before adding the last drop, he needed to stir vigorously to make the Potion foam until its surface was completely covered. Kael stopped his actions and turned to other tasks. The potion needed to sit for twenty-four hours until all the foam disappeared before he could continue the process. At the same time the next day, Kael reheated the settled potion and added leech juice, then stirred carefully and slowly. The potion's color began to lighten. When the potion turned a light green, he added the Rat Spleen and Scurvy-grass Essence, heating it over high heat for two hours. After two hours, the potion transformed into a bright green, thick, syrupy consistency. Looking at the potion in the cauldron, Kael leaned in to observe it carefully, comparing it to the descriptions in the book. "This should be a success, right?" he murmured, somewhat uncertainly. To know for sure, he needed to test it. Kael took a drop from the cauldron, dripped it onto a carrot, and then went outside with the carrot. A curious Bilbo followed closely behind. Kael arrived outside Bag End and saw the pony grazing. He immediately waved the carrot in his hand at it. "Hey, Little Dummy, look here!" The pony, Little Dummy, was the means of transport gifted by the Took family head when Kael was in Tuckborough. Although very obedient, it always seemed a bit foolish, so Kael had affectionately nicknamed it "Little Dummy." However, after returning to Hobbiton, Little Dummy was mostly cared for by Bilbo. Compared to Kael, its "irresponsible" owner, Bilbo was far more diligent and devoted, almost treating the pony as a third family member, and had even personally built a simple stable for it. Seeing the carrot in Kael's hand, Little Dummy's eyes lit up. It immediately abandoned the fresh grass in its mouth and ran over with joyful steps, then bit into the carrot and began to chew. Bilbo didn't have time to stop it and immediately looked at Little Dummy with a worried expression, silently condemning Kael, the "bad owner," with his eyes for testing the potion. Kael guiltily rubbed his nose. There were only three living beings here. Could he not use Little Dummy but instead use himself or Bilbo to test the potion? Besides, he was very confident in his potion; it definitely wouldn't poison Little Dummy. At the same time, his attention remained focused on Little Dummy, observing its changes. As the pony, Little Dummy, ate the carrot containing the Shrinking Potion, in less than two seconds, Little Dummy's body began to change. "Neigh! Neigh! Neigh!" Little Dummy became panicked. In its eyes, everything around it, including its two masters, suddenly became enormous. And in Kael and Bilbo's view, the pony was shrinking at a visible rate, eventually becoming a palm-sized miniature, looking like a living figurine. Kael picked up the miniature Little Dummy in his hand, looking at the tiny pony frantically flapping its four miniature legs, a look of wonder on his face. "It seems the potion works well. One drop can shrink it like this. If I add a few more drops, it should be able to get even smaller." Bilbo looked at Little Dummy in Kael's hand, too shocked to speak. Although he had witnessed many of Kael's magical feats, such a miraculous potion still left him profoundly amazed. Seeing him staring blankly, Kael handed the miniature pony to him. Bilbo carefully took Little Dummy, holding him in both hands. Feeling the minuscule weight and body temperature, he realized this wasn't a dream. He stared blankly, then looked up at Kael and stammered, "K-Kael, will Little Dummy stay like this forever?" Kael shook his head. "Of course not. Once the potion wears off, he will return to his original size. So you need to be careful, don't let the potion wear off when you're still holding him, or he'll crush you." Upon hearing this, Bilbo quickly put Little Dummy gently on the ground. He certainly didn't want to experience the sensation of being crushed by hundreds of pounds of horse. After about fifteen minutes, the shrinking effect on Little Dummy wore off, and he rapidly expanded back to his original size. (End of Chapter) *** (End of Chapter) [Check Out My Patreon For More Chapters On All Of My Fanfics!!] [www. [email protected]/meowthtl] [+300 Power Stones = +1 Bonus Chapter] [+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter] [Thank You For Your Support!]