Chapter 528

Despite the many things that happened today, Sean was physically and mentally exhausted, didn't feel sleepy at all.

Thinking of Felix Felicis, he took down a book he had marked from the bookshelf in the Room of Requirement.

Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches

Among the high-level Magical Theory books that Sean often reads, this book is slightly out of place.

This is a book about how to date and flirt with girls. The author, Zakaria Fleming, is not well-known, so the book's sales are not very impressive.

When Sean first saw the book, Ron was reading it intently—he swore that in his five years at school, Ron had never shown such an expression while reading any magic textbook.

Then, Ron showed Sean the treasure he had obtained from the Weasley twins.

"This is no ordinary book; it's a treasure of gold..." Ron Weasley remarked.

However, after his evaluation, he still glared at Sean with considerable dissatisfaction. "Dude, you don't need this. Stay away from me, otherwise when I'm reading, I'll think of a guy standing next to me who can hook up with countless hot girls without even reading a book."

Sean shrugged, indicating he was leaving, but a casual glance before Sean went revealed something interesting.

He ordered the book from Diagon Alley and then found the passage he wanted.

This book, "Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches," contains virtually no scenes requiring the use of a magic wand. The author dedicates over two hundred pages to teaching you how to flatter beautiful witches of all kinds.

In order to make his teaching more vivid, the author gave many examples of how he attracted those witches who seemed difficult to win over.

The author gives an example in the book of how he once won over a Potion Master in a practical exercise.

Yes, the author calls it a "drill".

In his description, the witch, who was exceptionally skilled in Potions, came from an ancient Pure-blood families. However, the philosophies of the Pure-blood families led to an unhappy childhood for the witch—especially since her mother had some mental health issues.

In order to heal her mother, the witch devoted herself to the research of various Potions, not only modern Potions, but also to searching for many ancient books about Potions.

However, before she could find a way to cure her mother, her mother died in a Potions accident—the mentally unstable mother wanted to brew a potion of happiness for her daughter, but an accident led to her death.

Overall, this witch was very reclusive; the author's original words were. "She had lost the ability to love someone."

"Lonely people lack a sense of security and self-confidence, and may exhibit escapist behavior."

"Her not accepting you doesn't necessarily mean she doesn't feel good about you or that you're not a good match right now. It just means she pessimistically predicts that your future together might be fruitless, so she chooses not to start anything—"

"To win this lady's heart, I tried almost every method imaginable, including: not being stingy with my words, praising her often (not fake, but genuine and specific praise); letting her feel my undisguised affection for her; and at the same time, not showing any strong ulterior motives (being nice to her simply means I like you, nothing more, I don't need to get anything from her), so that she can be with me without pressure or burden..."

"All of this is to teach my readers how to deal with different ladies, and this Potions witch in this case, oh my readers, believe me, is much more difficult to handle than you can imagine!"

"So I'm going to talk about another characteristic of recluses: competitiveness. This witch was initially unwilling to communicate with me, but I keenly sensed one thing—she was indifferent to everything except Potions."

"She loved Potions yet hated Potions. She learned Potions to save her mother, but her mother died from Potions, which made her stay away from the Cauldron for a long time—when I discovered this, I chose to do something."

"I crammed on Potions, which I had lost most of during my school years. I even spent a lot of money to buy some manuscripts by Potion Master. Then, I showed off my skills in a casual setting—and that's when I piqued her interest."

"Before that, although I was very friendly and gentle, she only found me annoying. So, after seeing the pot of life-and- Draught of Living Death I brewed, which turned out to be quite good, she mocked me and pointed out many of my shortcomings in making Potions."

"Dear readers, here's the key point—she took the initiative to communicate with me."

For over a dozen pages, the author describes his journey from an unwelcome stranger to his only trusted confidant, though Sean felt he exaggerated a bit and that there was probably a lot of fiction involved.

Of course, none of these are the key points; the key points are what comes next.

The author spends some space describing the scenes after the two had gone on several dates. At this point, it no longer feels like a lesson, but rather like a biography in which the author boasts about his experiences.

"Friends, you should know that pursuing a reclusive witch is extremely difficult, and if anyone reading this book is doing it, you will certainly agree."

"However, once you succeed, the other party's enthusiasm is unparalleled—to give everyone more anticipation and confidence when putting it into practice, I've decided to share a story about my date with the other party. This way, you'll see how effective my method is and how passionate the seemingly aloof witch can be."

"We agreed to meet at a bar... (followed by a long tutorial on how to choose a date location)"

"When I met her, I was pleasantly surprised and complimented her on her outfit. For the first time, I genuinely felt how charming this woman was. Yes, I was immediately captivated and wanted to spend the rest of my life with her."

"At the time, I didn't even realize that something was wrong. As a playboy, to be infatuated with only one beautiful flower is obviously not my style, haha."

"We talked a lot that night, the lady was incredibly charming, we drank a lot of wine, and finally, naturally, we had a wonderful night—oh, I know what you want to see, you can search for my other book published by the Countryside Press, ' The Witch's Delight ' if you're interested..."

This author seems to have some side hustles...

"As we lay in bed snuggling together, the woman confessed to me that she had drunk the legendary potion of good luck—a magical potion worth many Galleon in a small bottle—before meeting me. This was the effort she made to see me."

Sean could sense a strong sense of superiority from the author's choice of words and sentence structure. Clearly, the author felt proud of using a potion of good luck—although Sean had no idea what was going on in this guy's mind.

"Dear readers, please note that she has been honest with me, which is enough to prove that I have completely taken root in the deepest part of her heart, and she is mine."

"Of course, the follow-up was also important—I gently expressed that I was very happy that all of this had happened, and she was so moved that she almost cried."

"To make the atmosphere more relaxed, and at the same time maintain my image as Potions master, I casually inquired about the Potion of Good Luck—of course, I'm also quite interested in this potion."

"However, the lady told me that the potion of good luck is very difficult to brew, and this is the last of her stock."

"I didn't express my regret openly, but I asked her with great interest about all sorts of details about the potion of good luck—this would make her happier because I mentioned her area of expertise, although I was very disappointed that I didn't get the potion of good luck."

"' Felix Felicis is far more potent than people imagine. I studied this Felix Felicis for a long time and finally discovered that it's not just about bringing good luck,' the woman described to me in detail. 'People think that frequent or excessive use of Felix Felicis will cause side effects, but I found that as long as you drink Felix Felicis, even the first time, even if you only drink a little bit, side effects will definitely occur.'"

"I showed great interest in the topic to guide the other person to continue—actually, I wasn't interested at all; the preparation of this medicine is too difficult."

"Felix Felicis works in a way that most people imagine. It does bring good luck, but if I had to describe it, it brings Felix Felicis the most urgent and best option for the foreseeable future."

"Felix Felicis made the perfect choice for the user among many possibilities, and this effect came at a price—I don't know the specifics of that price, but I have reason to believe that it was a mechanism of repayment."

"This mechanism will occur sometime in the future, and you will feel it more intensely if you take it too frequently."

"She told me about many of her research findings in detail and with pride. I expressed my appreciation, and then she became inseparable from me!"

Having read this far, Sean closed the book, "Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches." The author only mentioned a portion of the witch's words; the rest was his "teaching time" and self-praise.

In the end, the author did not reveal the witch's full name, only mentioning that he referred to her as "Mina".

However, coincidentally, Sean happened to know a Potions witch nicknamed "Mina," whom he had seen in Snape's manuscript.

Snape's Potions Notebook also records some of the inspiration and information he received from other Potions Masters, including the mention that a witch named Minaval Uribe had conducted in-depth research on Felix Felicis.

Given Snape's personality, he naturally wouldn't go to ask for advice, so he only mentioned it briefly.

Sean then looked up some information and finally found the news in a Daily Prophet from more than ten years ago.

"The renowned Potions Master Delia Doherty recently held a small discussion with Potions scholars from various countries. Participants included xxx, xxx... and Ms. Minavar Uribe from Colombia..."

Sean then followed up on this information, Lupin helped him find a local magic daily in Colombia, one of which mentioned the witch.

Minavar Uribe, a locally renowned potion-making witch, recently passed away at home. This reclusive woman was said to have been deceived in a relationship, which caused her to completely lose the confidence to leave her home. However, fate did not favor her, as she encountered an unfortunate and absurd accident while brewing potions at home.

"According to the investigation by the Ministry of Magic personnel who arrived afterward, it appears that Ms. Minaval Uribe accidentally bumped into the cauldron while brewing a potion. The heat of the cauldron caused her to move slightly, and coincidentally, she bumped into the silver knife that was placed on the table. The silver knife fell and pierced her foot."

"Originally, this was just a minor accident, but unfortunately, it seems that there was a problem with the potion that Ms. Minaval Uribe was brewing. The cauldron exploded, and the potion flowed into her wound."

"This Potions is not difficult to make, but one of the ingredients requires careful handling, which will cause massive blood loss from the wound."

"And so, poor Ms. Minavar Uribe bled to death at home."

"After investigation, it was indeed just a heartbreaking accident. Although it was a coincidence, it can only be described as a tragedy, an accidental tragedy."

When Sean saw all this news, he was completely shocked.

A Potion Master brewing such Potions should theoretically be able to avoid any accidents, and even if an accident does occur, it should be relatively easy to resolve.

Accidentally bumping the Cauldron is a basic mistake that usually occurs when the cook is not paying attention. Placing the silver knife on the side of the table is also a basic mistake. And for the Cauldron to explode is even more illogical.

Furthermore, any one of these three mistakes, if occurring individually, would at most cause a minor accident, not such a fatal result. However, all three accidents happened at the same time.

Ultimately, Ms. Minavar Uribe tragically passed away.

Originally, no one would have connected all of this to Felix Felicis, and after investigation, the suspicion of intentional homicide was also ruled out.

However, Sean discovered something: in that book, the witch had said that she had run out of Felix Felicis.

Generally, wizards who brew Felix Felicis brew a large batch at once, keeping at most one bottle for themselves, and selling or giving the rest to their friends—after all, one pot at a time is not a small amount.

But this witch was reclusive...

Sean suspected that the other party had likely overdosed on Felix Felicis.

This excessive use led to adverse consequences, and the manner of her death was all too coincidental.

Sean now strongly suspects that the side effects of Felix Felicis might be a manifestation of this.