Will was amused. His earlier performance had been an act, put on to help Dumbledore bring Slughorn back to Hogwarts.
Outwardly, though, he showed just the right hint of surprise and hesitation.
Slughorn took it as proof that his guess had hit the mark, and his heart leaped. A genius of this caliber was his student!
Back then, Potions Master Romanoff had nearly bankrupted himself pursuing a way to turn Felix Felicis into a charm. His attempt had left a lasting mark on Potions.
If Will succeeded while studying under him, Slughorn's name would appear in the history of the Felix Charm too.
"Don't be nervous, my boy," Slughorn said quickly. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. Quite the opposite—this would be an achievement worth celebrating!
"Felix Felicis is one of the crowning achievements of Potions. If you can unravel it through Charms, the result would be groundbreaking!
"You'll surpass Severus and me and become a true leading scholar in both Potions and Charms!"
As he spoke, he carefully lifted an object wrapped in dark red velvet from the very back of a drawer.
"To tell you the truth, I looked into this quite thoroughly myself, back in the day. And..."
Slughorn set the velvet on the desk and slowly opened it.
Inside lay a leather notebook with badly worn, darkened edges. Embossed on its cover in incongruously bright gold lettering were the words Romanoff's Experimental Records.
"These are Romanoff's private notes," Slughorn explained. "I bought them from one of his descendants years ago. They cost me a fair bit."
He pushed the notebook toward Will, his eyes eager. "I hope they'll be useful to you."
"Professor," Will said sincerely, "this is exactly what I needed."
Slughorn grinned like a delighted child. "Take them, my boy. Study them well. I'm