During Friday's Potions class, Harry had already begun looking forward to Saturday's visit to Hogsmeade.
But halfway through the lesson, a sudden knock came at the classroom door.
Professor Slughorn frowned slightly. He was usually good-natured, except when he was interrupted while brewing potions. At that moment, he was demonstrating how to brew an Antidote Potion for the students.
The knocking outside was very loud. Although Professor Slughorn's hands did not tremble even once, his expression still showed clear displeasure.
"Miss Perks, could you open the door for me?" Professor Slughorn asked Sally-Anne Perks, who was sitting fairly close to the door. His own hands never stopped working.
As he added the final drop of his ingredient, the cloudy liquid in the cauldron suddenly turned clear. At the same time, a faint orange fragrance spread through the classroom.
"Wow!" Quite a few of the young wizards let out quiet exclamations of wonder.
"Yes, Professor!" Sally-Anne answered when he called her name. She gazed admiringly at the perfect potion before Professor Slughorn, exactly as described in the book, before going to open the classroom door.
Having completed the potion perfectly, Professor Slughorn brightened up. He looked toward the classroom door and saw Colin Creevey standing there, beaming into the room.
Well, to be precise, he was beaming at Harry.
"Is something the matter, Mr. Creevey?" Slughorn's attitude toward Colin was ordinary, just as it was toward the vast majority of students.
"Yes, sir. Mr. Bagman asked me to bring Harry Potter and Ron Weasley upstairs," Colin said, sounding rather excited.
"Ah! I know, I know." The moment Professor Slughorn heard Harry's and Ron's names, a brilliant smile spread across his face.
"It must be about the Triwizard Tournament. Come to think of it, it's about time. Harry, Ron, off you go.