"Harley, tonight we'll continue studying the Potions that might appear in the competition."
Even though there was only a month left until the final exams, Professor Snape hadn't ended Harley's "detention," and Harley hadn't asked him to end it.
After all, it was only the final exams. How hard could they be?
During this time, Harley had been working hard to learn the Potions that frequently appeared as competition tasks in the Potion Championship.
According to past practice, the Potions in the First Task were usually drawn from a list provided by the organizers.
This was because each magical school used different textbooks. Without a set range for the competition questions, the contest could easily become unfair.
Given Hogwarts' teaching standards, the Potions on the organizers' list were usually difficult brews that Hogwarts students only learned in their sixth or seventh year, such as Draught of Peace and Draught of Living Death.
And every year, hardly anyone took the advanced Potions class at Hogwarts. After all, few students could meet Professor Snape's standards.
As for those who could maintain excellent grades after getting into the advanced class, there hadn't been a single one in recent years.
That showed just how difficult these Potions were to brew.
But Harley found them effortless to learn. In fact, she seemed completely at ease when brewing them.
After a full evening of work, Professor Snape looked over the Draught of Living Death Harley had brewed and nodded with satisfaction, offering comments on every detail:
"...Very good. You have a fine touch with the knife. You sliced the Sopophorous Bean very thinly, allowing it to release as much juice as possible.
"I'd actually recommend pressing the bean with the side of a silver knife. That makes it easier to get the juice out and is