Harry's Old Textbook, a Reward in Potions Class

"There's still plenty of time, right?" Harry said sheepishly. "You're the smartest witch in Gryffindor, don't give up so easily!"

"I'll take that as you trying to comfort me." Hermione forced a smile, composed herself, and headed to the Arithmancy classroom.

Harry and Ron returned to the Common Room, since their OOWLs exam results meant the Arithmancy professor wouldn't allow them to attend advanced classes.

On his way back, Harry received a letter from Dumbledore, asking him to come to his office for class at 8 p. m. on Saturday, and also telling him the address of the Headmaster's Office.

Harry was still excited that the greatest villain of the century was giving him special treatment, but he was even more excited that Snape wouldn't be able to put him in solitary confinement on Saturday night. The professor still had to bow down to the headmaster.

At 2 PM, the bell rang for Potions Class.

There were only a dozen or so students in the advanced class: six Slytherin, four Ravenclaw, three Gryffindor, and two Hufflepuff.

Harry's grades originally wouldn't have qualified him for the advanced class, but the Potions Class professor was changed.

Slughorn, interested in the famous the Chosen One, lowered the academic standards for Harry and Ron to enter the advanced class, intending to take them under his wing.

The classroom door opened, and Slughorn, with his beer belly protruding, strode in, followed by the students.

Unlike Snape's classroom, this one was filled with steam, several large crucibles were bubbling, and there was a lot of strange smell.

"Truth Serum, Polyjuice Potion, and..." Clea raised an eyebrow as she smelled the scent in the air, "This is Amortentia."

"Merlin's beard!" Slughorn looked at Clea in disbelief. "You guessed it all by smell alone. Slytherin, ten points."

Honey, what's your name?

I was so busy admiring Aaron's pets at the Sorting Ceremony that I only knew you were a new transfer student at Hogwarts.

Aaron instinctively hugged the dozing Young Dragon in his arms tighter. "Professor, I told you, Abei is just an ordinary cat."

"Uh... actually, I quite like cats too."

Aaron:...

How shameless!

If I said that Abei was a dog, I'm afraid this old man would immediately change his stance and become a dog lover.

Clea smiled slightly, "Clea Darwen, Professor, you are my Clea."

"Oh, Clea Darwin?" Slughorn's face showed shock. "Is this the Darwen I'm referring to?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, that should be it."

Gollum!

Slughorn swallowed hard. "What an honor!"

"Professor, is class starting now?" Aaron asked.

"Ding-dong, ding-dong," Slughorn chuckled. "But before that, I need to test the students' level, and you two aren't among them."

Slughorn stood before several crucibles, facing a dozen or so students, and asked, "Does anyone know what the effects of these elixirs are?"

Hermione immediately raised her right hand.

"Yinyi, this one..."

"Granger, Professor," Hermione said, "Truth Serum is a colorless and odorless potion that forces people to tell the truth."

"Absolutely correct," Slughorn said excitedly, then pointed to the third crucible, inside which was a decoction that looked like mud. "Where's the Polyjuice Potion?"

"The preparation of Polyjuice Potion is very complicated. After drinking it, you can transform into another person's appearance, but the prerequisite is to add another person's nails or hair."

"That's right, and the Polyjuice Potion has a time limit; it will automatically revert to its original form after that time," Slughorn said. "There's one last one left, and if you don't know it..."

"The Amortentia is the most powerful Love Potion." Hermione glanced at Aaron, blushing. "Its scent varies from person to person; depending on individual preference, it will emit the scent that is most attractive to that person."

For example, the scent I smell is parchment and... lavender.

"Darling, may I ask your name?" Slughorn asked with interest.

"Hermione Granger, sir."

Slughorn pondered for a moment, "Are you related to Hector Granger, the founder of the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers?"

"I'm Muggle-born, Professor," Hermione said awkwardly.

"It's alright." Slughorn waved his hand dismissively. Although he was proud of being Pure-blood, he didn't discriminate against Half-blood or Muggle-born Warlock.

"Potter told me before that he had a Muggle-born friend who was the best witch in Gryffindor, and now it seems he wasn't lying. Gryffindor's Miss Granger deserves a perfect score of 10," Slughorn said personally.

Hermione's face lit up with joy, and she felt a surge of affection for this unassuming professor.

"It is worth mentioning that although Amortentia can cause intense obsession or infatuation, they cannot truly create love. Love cannot be manufactured."

However, if two people have a good emotional foundation but are unwilling to express it, Amortentia would be the best catalyst for their relationship.

However, it is indeed the most dangerous Potions in this room. "Slughorn said, putting the lid on the pot of Amortentia. Many students then came to their senses, and the infatuation on their faces gradually faded.

"Alright, let's begin the lesson now."

Please take out your scales, medicine packets, and your textbooks for "Advanced Potion-Making."

"Uh... sir," Harry said timidly, raising his hand. "Our books haven't arrived yet, because we never thought we'd be able to take Potions Class, and neither has Ron."

"Yes, I wouldn't have come if Professor McGonagall hadn't asked me to," Ron said reluctantly. "My Potions are terrible; to be honest, having me brew potions would be a threat to others."

"We'll find out after class," Slughorn said meaningfully. "There should be old textbooks left by previous students in the closet, and you can keep the raw materials in the storage cabinet. You can also lend us the scales."

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and looked toward the closet.

The two opened the cabinet door, inside were two books, both written by Ribasius Pollach, titled "Advanced Potion-Making".

However, one of the books had a brand-new cover, looking like it hadn't been flipped through much, while the other was tattered, with more than a dozen thin threads sticking out from the spine, looking like it might fall apart at any moment.

At almost the same time, both of them rushed towards the newer book.

After a brief but intense struggle, Ron smiled and hugged the new book to his chest, while Harry gave him a resentful look and reluctantly took the old book.

Slughorn returned to the front of the classroom. "Today in class we..."

"Professor." A Hufflepuff student looked curiously at the lectern. Next to the black cauldron, a small vial of pale gold potion was held firmly in mid-air by test tube clamps. "You still haven't told me what this is?"

"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot about it." Slughorn looked like he suddenly realized it, and carefully took off the potion, "Gentlemen and ladies, what you see is a magical potion, it does..."

"Felix Felicis, also known as Lucky Water." Aaron looked at the bottle of pale golden solution with great interest. The quality was average, but the effect should be quite good.

"That's right." Slughorn raised the small bottle in his hand with a hint of pride. "The production process is extremely complicated, and the consequences of the slightest mistake are unimaginable."

But just a small sip is enough to make all your efforts a breeze, at least until the effects wear off.

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole class seemed to straighten their backs, and even Draco, who wasn't particularly interested in Potions Class, had a glint of light in his eyes.

An easy success? That would undoubtedly be incredibly appealing to him, who was supposed to be working for the Dark Lord.

"Today, I'm using it as a prize."

This small bottle of lucky water will be awarded to the student who can brew the Draught of Living Death within an hour.

All the materials are listed on page ten of the book, but I must remind everyone that only the first student to brew a qualified Draught of Living Death can win this prize.

Now, let's begin. Good luck to everyone!

The reward fully motivated the dozen or so students. Each of them placed the crucible in front of them, their attention focused, and they didn't even dare to make a sound.

"Want to have a contest?" Clea looked at Aaron meaningfully and said, "I can tell you want Felix Felicis."

"I have a few bottles in stock, but you can never have too much of this stuff, right?" Aaron shrugged. "Whether it's fighting or escaping, it increases your chances of survival!"

Clea chuckled, "It seems you've had quite an exciting life these past few years."

"It's all tears when I talk about it!" Aaron smiled bitterly. Apart from dealing with Voldemort, he would drink a big gulp before each trip to another world, but every time he would end up in a freefall from the sky. If he weren't a Warlock, he wouldn't have enough lives.

Everyone else was preparing materials according to the book and carefully mixing the potions, but Aaron and Clea at the back of the classroom were chatting slowly, and it was only a few minutes later that they began to mix the potions.

The Draught of Living Death, also known as the Draught of Living Death, is a powerful Sleeping Potion.

The main ingredients are Daffodil Powder and Wormwood. However, brewing Potions is a delicate task. The main ingredients are necessary, but the processing of the ingredients is even more important. If you are not careful in the details, you will fail.

Aaron was, after all, Snape's prized student, and with the guidance of an elder during his vacation, he knew every step of the Draught of Living Death. Once the ingredients were ready, he got right to work.

Valerian Root was chopped into small pieces, and Sopophorous Bean were ground into juice using flour... The steps were much simpler than those in the textbook.

To his surprise, Harry Potter's steps were very similar to his, almost identical except for not using magic to stir or control the temperature.

Aaron frowned slightly; he didn't think a student with only a "good" (E) grade in Potions could achieve this.

But seeing Harry enthusiastically flipping through that extremely old book Advanced Potion-Making," he seemed to have figured something out. It was either Fawley left by some senior, or it was specially arranged by someone, and the possibility of it being a later death was even greater.

Harry Potter was not originally allowed to attend the advanced Potions Class class, but he happened to appear in this classroom.

No one knew how long that old book had been sitting in the closet; so many people had never noticed it before, but Harry found it today.

Coincidence? Haha, coincidence is the last thing he believes in right now.

However, Aaron didn't care. Even if Harry knew the simple steps of brewing Potions, he was still no match for him.

Besides, his foundation and experience far surpass Harry's. If he were to be surpassed by Harry with a lousy book, he might as well find a block of frozen tofu and kill himself.

As time passed second by second, different colors appeared in the dozen or so crucibles, including purple, pink, red, and blue, as well as a paste-like mixture that was completely unrecognizable as a solution.

"Okay, time's up, please stop stirring," Slughorn announced loudly.

He went to each person's table and inspected each crucible.

He makes no comment on unfinished products, and he smiles wryly or frowns at failed ones, only showing an approving smile when he gets to Hermione.

She is indeed an excellent witch, Muggle-born, but with this talent alone, she has a bright future.

But when he saw the pale liquid in Harry's cauldron, his eyes widened slightly, filled with surprise. "Merlin's beard, it's amazing!"

"Maybe I was just lucky," Harry said shyly. This was the first time in five years that he had been praised by his teacher in Potions Class, and he felt pretty good about it.

"Brewing Potions isn't just about luck," Slughorn said earnestly, patting him on the shoulder before heading to the back of the classroom.

He was very satisfied with the work of the Chosen One of the Magic World, but he was more interested in Gaius and Darwen, two families who were legends in the Warlock world, whose existence was unknown to those who were not of high status or position.

"Hiss!"

Hog gasped as he looked at the crystal-clear solution in front of Aaron, which was so clear that it reflected a person's image.

"Is it alright?"

"Mr. Gaius, you are too modest," Slughorn said, unable to hide his excitement. "This Potions alone is enough to call you a master of Potions."

"Thank you for the compliment. I was able to successfully concoct the Draught of Living Death three years ago."

"That just means you're even better than I thought," Slughorn said with a chuckle. "I need to take another look at Clea's work, but I'm sure you'll be number one."

Clea raised an eyebrow at Aaron, then opened her cauldron.

The faint smell in the air made Slughorn's expression change, and the clear, transparent solution in the crucible left him speechless.

After a long silence, he looked at Clea in disbelief, "How did you do that? You actually increased the potency of the Draught of Living Death by twenty percent."

"I made some minor adjustments to the recipe in the textbook," Clea said casually. "I replaced the juice of the Sopophorous Bean with calming herbal powder, which will make the medicine milder and taste better."

"This can't even be described as perfect," Slughorn exclaimed. "It's truly unparalleled, almost no one can do it, an indisputable winner."

I keep my word. Here's a bottle of Felix Felicis as a reward. Use it wisely.