My obsessive study of reaction tables and theory before doing any practical work is most definitely paying off in this particular field. I’m not a savant, but my obscene intelligence along with my diligent study habits (helped along by my enthusiasm for all things magic) mean that I’m not just learning how to brew these potions, I’m tearing the recipes apart to figure out why the ingredients created a potion with the effects they had. My reading suggests this is post-OWLs level, but I didn't care. I’m not moving onto second year potions until I understand the first year. The fact I’m able to squeeze this into the space of a standard Hogwarts year is honestly just a testament to the scary amount of brain power I have access to in this life. And once I did understand first year potions...brewing and understanding the higher years is honestly a breeze, they were simply more complex applications of the patterns I already recognised. Snape really is an awful teacher, considering his classes don’t hint at this hidden world within the discipline at all. I’ll save the experimental potion brewing for Hogwarts, but if by the time I get there I can’t brew everything up to NEWT level while correcting for simple errors I should honestly just roll over and let Voldemort win.