In the Potions Classroom, Harry wore a miserable expression as he watched Hermione beam while accepting the little bottle of Felix Felicis from Professor Slughorn.
He was jealous beyond words.
Yes, Harry had failed to win the reward. Although his Draught of Living Death had turned out very well, it still fell a little short of Hermione's.
His potion had reached the pale lilac described in the textbook-he had not followed the textbook's method entirely, instead drawing on some Ravenclaws' and Slytherins' understanding of potion ingredients.
At the very least, cutting a sopophorous bean with a knife was no easy task. The thing was slippery and hard to hold. If the aim was to extract its juice, crushing it was much easier.
It had to be said that although Harry and the others were using a classic work by a Potions Master as their textbook, it was somewhat outdated. There was certainly nothing seriously wrong with its contents, but a few minor problems remained.
Yet even so, Harry had still failed to outdo Hermione.
Hermione's Draught of Living Death was not only a perfect lilac, but also had an amber-like lustre.
Even the textbook had made no mention of this. That lustre made it look like the potions Professor Slughorn usually brewed, like a work of art.
"Hermione, how did you do it?" Padma asked with considerable curiosity after class.
Professor Slughorn's teaching was quite good. As a result, most students in Harry's year did well in Potions Class, especially the Ravenclaw high achievers, who had all developed quite solid theoretical knowledge and practical skills.
Padma, in particular, was among the best of them.
Her potion had looked slightly better than Harry's, but even so, there was still a gap between its quality and Hermione's. Padma found that very hard