Come to My Office

"Miss Granger? Oh, Granger?" He pondered for a moment. "Are you related to Hector Dagworth-Granger, the founder of the Extraordinary Potioneers' Association?"

"No, Professor. My parents are both Muggles," Hermione answered.

Slughorn showed no disappointment. On the contrary, he nodded warmly at Hermione, then pointed to the cauldron in front of Hermione and Sean.

"Then what about this, Miss Granger?"

Hermione looked somewhat uncertain, then ventured, "Vigor-Boosting Elixir? It gives the drinker more energy."

"Absolutely correct!" Slughorn looked pleased and waved Hermione back to her seat. "Ten points to Ravenclaw!"

Hermione's face was bright red as she sat back down. She quietly let out a breath, then flashed Sean a victorious gesture.

I'd forgotten there was a top student beside me... Sean smiled helplessly. With Hermione around, his task of earning twenty points had suddenly become much more demanding.

Slughorn puffed out his stomach. "All right, now we can begin the lesson properly..."

"Professor, you still haven't told us what's in that cauldron," Terry Boot asked, raising his hand.

Slughorn seemed to have been deliberately waiting for a student to ask, so he could create a dramatic effect. His walrus mustache quivered happily as he smiled. "Oh, I nearly forgot. Then, does anyone know what potion this is?"

He did not look at Hermione, presumably because he did not think any first-year would know it.

Sure enough, Hermione frowned as well. Her fingertips tapped lightly against her palm, as though she were frantically searching her memory of Magical Drafts and Potions.

Sean looked toward the black cauldron beside the podium. The potion in the small cauldron splashed merrily. It was the color of molten gold, with large droplets leaping across its surface like little goldfish, yet not a single drop spilled over the edge.

Though Sean had forgotten many of the details, this remarkable potion had still left a deep impression on him.

"Oh, this gentleman?" Slughorn pointed at Sean's raised hand in surprise.

"Felix Felicis, also known as Liquid Luck." Sean paused, allowing Slughorn's dramatic setup to work even better. "It brings you good luck."

"Yes, that's right, this..."

"Wallerup, Professor," Sean helpfully reminded him.

"Mr. Wallerup... completely correct. This is Liquid Luck." Slughorn searched his memory for any famous person named Wallerup. Finding none, he still smiled at Sean and confirmed his answer.

"Sean, how did you know? The book didn't mention it at all." Hermione lowered her voice and stared at him in surprise.

"Secret, Miss Granger." He smiled and winked at her.

Slughorn continued, "This potion is extremely complicated to brew, and if you make even one mistake, the consequences can be disastrous. But if brewed correctly, like the one in this cauldron, you'll find that whatever you do will succeed... at least until the effects wear off."

Everyone in the classroom seemed to breathe a little more heavily.

Slughorn was clearly pleased by their reaction. He took out a tiny glass vial. "One small vial of Felix Felicis will bring you a full twelve hours of good luck. Whatever you do, fortune will smile upon you. Believe me, the feeling is incomparably wonderful."

Sean could even hear people around him swallowing.

"Well, then." Having built up the suspense, Slughorn shook the glass vial in his hand. "I shall offer it as a prize to anyone who can complete today's Potions lesson perfectly."

Looking at the students' wide eyes, he nodded in satisfaction. "All right, turn to page four. Today, we'll be brewing Swelling Solution. Let me remind you: very few students have received one of my prizes so far. I hope one of you will be the next!"

Sean glanced at the contents of the book and silently sighed. He had failed to earn any points, and there was no need to even dream about getting the Felix Felicis.

He had not forgotten that his Potions Talent was 2. His first priority was staying alive...

Every student in the classroom flipped through their books frantically, eyes reddening with excitement. Having encountered such a magical potion so soon after entering the wizarding world, what Young Wizard wouldn't be tempted?

Sean was tempted too, but he could only follow every step in the book with stern concentration, making sure his potion did not go wrong.

He did not want to be covered in swellings on his first day of school.

"All right," Slughorn said, spreading his hands. "Everyone, stop stirring."

He paced around the classroom, inspecting everyone's potion.

Obviously, most students' work only earned a brief glance from him. Sean's potion was the same; Slughorn merely looked at it once before moving on.

He nodded approvingly at Hermione's potion, but the girl did not receive the vial of Felix Felicis either.

Even as they left the classroom, Hermione still seemed rather unhappy.

"Did you really want that vial of Liquid Luck?" Sean asked lightly, relieved that he had not died in a potions accident.

"A little, but mostly..." Hermione patted the textbook in her hands. "I followed every single step exactly. Why didn't I get a perfect potion?"

"Maybe you're still lacking a bit of experience? I'm sure you'll manage it in the future." Though he comforted her aloud, Sean did not truly think so.

Potions looked as though there were fixed standards to follow, but those were only standards. True potions geniuses had their own unique understanding.

Sean also had not forgotten the advertising slogan for Magical Drafts and Potions at Flourish and Blotts: Basic Brewing Methods—This Book Is All You Need.

Sean, with a Potions Talent of 2, wholeheartedly approved.

After such a wonderful Potions lesson, History of Magic that afternoon was far more tedious. Cuthbert Binns, the History of Magic professor, was a ghost. Rumor had it that he had taught for so long that one day, when he went to class, he forgot to bring his body with him.

Professor Binns spoke in a wheezing, droning drawl that could almost certainly make people drowsy within ten minutes; if the weather was hot, five minutes would do.

Even Sean could not keep his attention focused. Fortunately, the only student listening seriously sat beside him. Sean felt that, if only so he could copy notes before the final exams, he ought to stay on Hermione's good side.

After dinner, Sean's first day at Hogwarts came to an end, but the rest he had imagined did not arrive. He received a letter from Professor Flitwick, the head of Ravenclaw House.

"Mr. Wallerup, please come to my office after dinner."