Water of Life and Death

"Of course, a highly skilled potion-maker can induce powerful feelings of infatuation, but so far, no one has ever been able to create that truly unbreakable, eternal, unconditional feeling that can be called 'love.' This is probably the most dangerous and potent potion in this classroom." Professor Slughorn smiled at the young wizards, who were utterly absorbed, and put the lid back on the cauldron, covering the spiraling steam rising from it. The young witches who had been drawn in by the potion and gathered around the cauldron wore looks of longing, but once Slughorn covered it, they realized how improper they had been, clutched their textbooks, and stepped back.

"Professor, you still haven't told us what's in this one," said the pure-blood Hufflepuff wizard Ernie Macmillan, pointing at a small, teardrop-shaped potion.

"Oh, yes. Ladies and gentlemen, what you see before you is a wondrous potion called Felix Felicis." Slughorn took the teardrop-shaped vial down from the shelf, raised it, and said to the wizards, "Though people usually call it..."

"Liquid luck," Hermione Granger answered first.

Seeing Hermione answer correctly several times in a row, Slughorn smiled broadly and asked tentatively, "Precisely, liquid luck, Miss Granger. Have you personally attempted to brew this potion?"

"Professor, although I have tried brewing Felix Felicis, preparing the ingredients plus the brewing time takes at least half a year, and I still have classes, so after persisting for a while, I failed because of the time conflict..." Hermione gave her bushy curls a slight shake, a little embarrassed.

"Miss Granger, there's no need to feel ashamed. After all, the process of making Felix Felicis is extremely complicated, and its demands on a potion-maker's time are very exacting. But the fact that you could finish processing the initial ingredients and begin attempting to brew