Ficool

Chapter 59 - Water of Life and Death and Love Potion

Chapter 59: Water of Life and Death and Love Potion

Later that day, Hermione followed Draco closely, her face full of curiosity, and finally stopped at the door of the wizarding spa.

"I didn't expect to meet another wizard today. You weren't clear on the phone, just asking me to come to you. Is this gentleman the former headmaster of Slytherin? And a Potions Master?" she said nervously, "Is it really appropriate for me to wear this to meet him?"

She looked down at her black tank top and grey cropped trousers. "Isn't that too casual?"

Draco looked at her tank top silently—it only had two straps, not even sleeves to cover her shoulders. It was overflowing with the youthful vitality that only girls have.

From a boy's perspective, the soft, slender shoulders and well-proportioned frame were somewhat eye-catching, but if it was a visit to a Potions Master, it was indeed not very formal.

He studied her for a moment, causing her to blush slightly. He finally lowered his gaze, took off his black casual suit jacket, and handed it to her by the collar. "You put it on."

"Is this too big..." Hermione muttered softly, but she honestly put it on. The dress was indeed a little big for her, but it had a surprisingly lazy and simple feel. Moreover, the dress seemed to have a light and refreshing scent that made people feel happy.

"How is it?" She turned around in a circle.

"Not bad." Draco glanced at it and a satisfied smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

He wasn't in the habit of lending his clothes to others. However, she looked quite pleased with herself in this way.

Afterwards, they walked into this otherworldly place. Although she had been mentally prepared, Hermione was still surprised by the vast space inside.

"From the outside, this is just a dilapidated little courtyard!" Hermione finally couldn't help but sigh.

They were walking along the long corridor covered with lush vines and roses, with neat green lawns on both sides. Not far away was a luxuriously decorated hot spring bath in the ancient Roman style, and buildings dating back to the Georgian period could be vaguely seen.

"That's right. You know, they used magic that can expand the space. This place was not that big originally." During the conversation, Draco took her into another deep and quiet corridor. The temperature here was lower than outside, and the wind brought by walking was cool.

He knocked on the door at the end of the corridor and listened carefully. After a moment, he opened the door for Hermione and motioned her to go in.

"Welcome, welcome..." The pot-bellied Slughorn came out from the inner room and warmly invited them to sit on the sofa in the living room.

"This is Hermione Granger. This is Mr. Slughorn," Draco said. Hermione hurriedly greeted Slughorn.

"I've heard about your talent in Potions. Severus must be very proud, right? To have two such outstanding students in his own college?" Slughorn adjusted the bulging cushion behind him and smiled comfortably.

"I'm not from Slytherin, I'm from Gryffindor." Hermione answered a little stiffly.

"Oh, that's all right." Slughorn gave Draco a quick, slight look of doubt, then said kindly to Hermione, "I have many excellent students from other houses."

He waved his hand nonchalantly, stroking his walrus-like beard, and tried to dig out the family tree of all wizards with the surname Granger in his head. "Granger, I think you may be related to Hercule Dagworth-Granger, the founder of the Extraordinary Apothecary Association?"

"Sorry, no. I'm a Muggle-born." Hermione felt a little embarrassed. She turned her head and secretly glared at Draco.

Draco—how on earth did he introduce her to people?

Draco silently responded with a puzzled look - what had he done wrong again?

Doesn't this silly girl think she's unwelcome here?

Slughorn would surely like Hermione.

Wasn't she a member of the Slug Club in her previous life? He was the only one who was always rejected... He touched his nose guiltily.

"Children, don't be prejudiced against me! Do I look like a pure-blood person?" Seeing the subtle changes in their expressions, Slughorn shook his short, thick fingers in disapproval.

He walked quickly to the desk not far away, held up the front photo and pointed it to them: "Look at one of my favorite students, she is a Muggle-born and also in Gryffindor!"

In the picture, a beautiful, red-haired witch was smiling happily at them, and her emerald green eyes blinked at Draco.

A strange feeling of familiarity came over him.

Hermione held her breath and asked in surprise, "Is that - Harry's mother?" She had seen some photos of his parents that Harry treasured, a gift from Hagrid.

"Yes, Lily Evans, a lovely girl. Very talented and very likable. I think she should come to Slytherin." Slughorn said with regret, like a shrewd collector who lost a rare collection in an auction.

Hermione was a little surprised.

"She later married James Potter and gave birth to Harry Potter. Why, you know him?" Slughorn asked casually.

"Oh, he's a friend of ours," said Hermione.

"The friendship among young people is so touching! I often tell people that outstanding people always gather together unconsciously." Slughorn smiled, as if he was immersed in the glorious memories of the past.

Draco nodded humbly to Slughorn, but other thoughts were running through his mind.

Harry must be the student that this "student collector" wants to collect the most. Look at the absent-minded look of this old man, and the sound of the abacus in his head can be heard from Bath to Hogwarts.

Slughorn looked incredibly motivated.

He led them briskly to the apothecary room on one side of the room. Here were several large cabinets with many drawers, densely covered with labels of medicinal herbs, and several large workbenches, on which were placed crucibles and brass scales of various materials and sizes, as well as various tools for processing medicinal herbs.

He turned around and looked at Draco. "I heard that you can already make the Mandrake resurrection potion by yourself? What an amazing achievement! But how did you come up with the idea of ​​brewing it?"

Draco smirked. "I happened to have some ingredients, so I practiced a bit. Since we're interested in Potions, we often do some small research outside of class."

Slughorn remained noncommittal, then asked Hermione with interest, "Also, Miss Granger, did you make Polyjuice Potion on your own last school year?"

"Yes. You can just call me Hermione. I made the Polyjuice Potion just out of curiosity..." Hermione smiled unnaturally.

Slughorn wasn't curious about its purpose; his curiosity was, "How long did it last?"

"Half an hour," said Hermione.

"Oh, Merlin's beard! That's quite an achievement!" He waved his chubby hands exaggeratedly. "Draco, you didn't mention this to me before! I thought a second-year student could only successfully brew a Polyjuice Potion that would last for ten minutes at most!"

He looked at Hermione with admiration. "Half an hour! This potion is good enough to be sold on the shelves of a pharmacy!"

Hermione smiled sheepishly.

"You're too kind. I've heard that the strongest single dose of Polyjuice Potion lasts for 12 hours. I'm still way ahead of that!"

Her self-deprecating remark unexpectedly gave Slughorn a touch of elation, as if he were greatly pleased by it.

He glanced proudly at a pot brewing a potion over there and asked casually, "So, with your current level, what potions would you be interested in? What do you need to learn from me?"

"Felix Felicis," Draco said calmly.

"Efficacy potion?" He paused, his watery green eyes widening. "Do you know what this is for?"

"A luck potion. One sip and you'll be lucky all day long." Hermione gave the standard answer from the book, and unsurprisingly received an approving smile from Slughorn.

"Yes. I took a tablespoon with breakfast at the ages of 24 and 57," Slughorn said, as if lost in a wonderful memory. "Two perfect days."

Draco curled his lips quietly, having heard this sentence once in his past life. Hermione's eyes were filled with longing and eagerness to try.

"Do you know what the consequences are if you overdose?"

"Dizziness, recklessness, and arrogance," Hermione said without hesitation. She had already read these things in the book in Draco's hand in the Room of Requirement.

"You're not planning on using it in exams or competitions, are you?" Slughorn eyed them suspiciously.

"Of course not." "Pure academic research." Hermione and Draco said these words almost at the same time.

"It seems you're aware of this." Slughorn rubbed his hands, his eyes flashing, and his face showed an embarrassment. "How unexpected! This is not a potion you should be studying at your age. Moreover, the herbs are hard to find and the process is quite complicated. If you make a mistake, the consequences will be disastrous..."

"The fun of advanced potions lies in their difficulty in preparing them, isn't it?" Draco said lightly. "It takes time to prepare all the ingredients. We just want to know the details that need to be paid attention to during the preparation process."

"Children, I admire all attitudes of pursuing excellence. However, before I teach you how to prepare this potion, I have to test you to see if you have the ability to brew more advanced potions." Slughorn walked towards several crucibles on one side of the room. Strange steam was rising from the crucibles to the ceiling, accompanied by a strange smell.

He pointed to the cauldron nearest them, which was bubbling lazily with a dark, sticky, mud-like substance inside.

"Can you tell me what this is?"

"It's Polyjuice Potion." Hermione gave the correct answer after just one glance.

"Of course, Hermione, of course you can recognize it, since you have brewed it before!" Slughorn clapped his hands and smiled happily.

At first, he was a little skeptical and doubted the authenticity of her brewing the polyjuice potion; after her answer came out, he believed that this little girl had really brewed the potion.

"Mr. Slughorn, this potion—" Hermione observed the quality of the potion and asked curiously, "Can it maintain the transformation for a long time?"

"Oh, I can't guarantee that. After all, nothing is certain until it's ready," Slughorn said mysteriously, smiling with satisfaction at the potion's condition. "Of course, we all hope that the user only needs to drink it twice a day, right?"

Hermione nodded in awe.

They walked to the second crucible, where a liquid as transparent as pure water was boiling.

"So, what about this?" he asked with interest.

"Veritaserum. A colorless, odorless potion that forces anyone who drinks it to tell the truth," Draco replied.

He had seen this thing before in his previous life. Umbridge had used it to pry open the mouths of many disobedient students.

Besides, last year in the headmaster's office, Peter Pettigrew was also ruthlessly fed a mouthful of wine by Professor Snape in front of him.

"Excellent," said Slughorn, delighted. "Broad knowledge, and accurate judgment."

They continued walking forward and found a pure gold crucible against the wall.

The potion inside shimmered with mother-of-pearl, and the rising spirals of steam emitted the most alluring scents Draco had ever smelled: chocolate, some kind of rose from the family estate, and a hint of green apple.

A great sense of satisfaction came over him, and he breathed slowly, like a drug addict who had finally found his drug, and he felt dizzy and dazed.

He heard Slughorn ask cheerfully, "Well, then, boys—"

"Love potion, also known as love potion. It's the most powerful love potion in the world!" he heard Hermione reply enthusiastically. "It smells different to each person, depending on what attracts us. I can smell freshly cut lawns, new parchment, and a hint of watermelon..."

Draco couldn't help but glance at her.

Hermione was unconsciously leaning forward to smell the cauldron, a faint blush on her face.

She was in a state of ecstasy, her mind bombarded by the enchanting blend of aromas.

Familiar and elegant, fresh and natural. She couldn't help but take another deep breath.

"Very good, Hermione. Be careful, this is the most dangerous potion in this house." Hermione didn't come back to her senses until Slughorn gently closed the lid of the crucible.

"Yes, it doesn't produce true love. It simply breeds a powerful obsession and delusion," Draco added, his thoughts returning. This knowledge was old news to him.

"Mr. Slughorn, why are you brewing these potions?" Draco asked suspiciously.

"Ah, it's purely a request. Even the most skillful potion-maker will lose their skills if they don't practice for a long time. Besides, it can add a little fun to life and earn some Galleons," Slughorn said happily, winking at him. "Who would have thought that retirement would be busier than being the headmaster at Hogwarts? I've told them many times that I'm too old to take on such a heavy responsibility, but several pharmacies still write to me to buy potions."

"Okay, let's get back to business!" He cleared his throat and pointed to the book 'Advanced Potion Making' on the corner of the workbench. "The real test for you is here. Use the instructions in this book to prepare a potion of life and death. I don't expect you to make a perfect potion, but the effect of the potion will affect my assessment of your potion talent."

History repeats itself!

Draco felt angry when he thought about the horrible thing he had created in his previous life.

The Life and Death Water was prepared because of the Fuling Potion again! This is terrible.

But that doesn't mean he wasn't prepared. In fact, he was.

A Malfoy never fell into the same trap twice. After that class, he consulted Professor Snape and mastered a few tricks. Besides, those Potions notes that Professor Snape gave him earlier were not given for nothing.

"How do we divide the work?" Hermione asked, her tone a little nervous, having not yet fully recovered from the "love potion attack" just now.

"I'll use the knife, you weigh it." Draco said, picking up a small silver knife with a distracted look, and there seemed to be some kind of fragrance lingering in his nose.

"Okay." She quickly lowered her head and checked the required ingredients and dosages with the book "Advanced Potion Making". She fiddled with the brass scale and weights, and soon said, "The valerian root is ready."

Draco took the handful of valerian roots from her and began to chop them quickly, trying to get them evenly divided.

Hermione felt her palms warm from the touch of his fingertips. She shook her hands and began to pour distilled water into the beaker with a graduated cylinder, and then used a scale to weigh the required amount of African sea salt.

She had no time to think about what was happening in her hands. She was busy pouring the blue-tinged salts into the beaker. While waiting for them to dissolve, she diligently weighed the powdered narcissus root on a scale, listening to the sound of the boy chopping valerian root.

Slughorn looked around, examining the cauldrons still boiling potions for a long time. He squinted at the two people working on the counter, listening intently to their conversation.

"The sea salt is dissolved," she said.

"Then I'll start the fire." He waved his wand under the cauldron, and blue fire jumped out.

"Beaker," he said briefly. He took the sea salt mixture she handed him, tilted the beaker, and carefully poured it over the side of the pot.

"High fire." The girl leaned over to look at the pot and reminded him.

"Don't be in a hurry, preheat it." He put down the beaker and waved the hawthorn wood wand. The fire became more intense and turned orange-red.

She soaked the valerian root the boy had chopped into a beaker. "It's chopped very evenly," she said with satisfaction. Without stopping, she began pouring the wormwood infusion into the measuring cylinder.

"Of course." He said with a hint of pride, observing the light blue steam gradually rising from the crucible, and reminded her, "Wormwood infusion."

"Here it is." She took the graduated cylinder to the crucible. When he waved his wand and tilted the crucible forward, she poured the wormwood infusion halfway into the crucible along the edge.

"The other side," she said flatly, and he waved his wand again as he was told, tilting the cauldron back.

"Let me do it," he suddenly realized and took the remaining half of the measuring cylinder, so that she wouldn't be splashed by the boiling potion in the crucible. "You go weigh the sleepy beans."

"Okay. Remember to turn the heat to medium." She smiled slightly, turned around and grabbed a handful of lively sleepy beans from the medicine cabinet, and walked back to the scale.

Any experienced Potions Master could see that this was a pairing of incredibly well-matched potions duos. Their work was clearly divided and methodical. Slughorn was certain that these two students had collaborated extensively in Potions classes at Hogwarts.

Meanwhile, Hermione was spreading powdered narcissus root evenly into the cauldron, while Draco was straining the valerian root infusion from the beaker through muslin.

"Hermione?" He looked up at her.

"The potion has turned blackcurrant." She looked at his expression and answered with understanding, shaking her wand and turning the fire back to a small blue flame.

"Valerian root infusion," he said, handing her the dropper. "Be careful not to burn yourself when you put it in."

"I know." She took it carefully, and her face flushed slightly when her fingertips touched it.

Then, without blinking, she gently squeezed the dropper and counted the number of drops of medicine that dripped down.

Draco glanced at her serious profile, smiled slightly, took the sleepy beans she had weighed, and began to crush the beans with the side of a knife. A lot of juice immediately seeped out.

"The potion has turned a dark purple," she said softly, glancing at him.

He handed her the crushed sleepy beans and said, "Squeeze them one by one and squeeze the juice in."

"It seems in the book—"

"Listen to me for once and try it," he said, picking up a crushed sleepy bean and demonstrating to her.

Hermione squeezed it tentatively, and a large amount of sleepy bean juice dripped into the cauldron, turning the potion a light lilac.

"How?" There was a hint of pride in his tone.

"Not bad." She glared at him, feeling helpless about his behavior that did not follow the book.

What a pleasure it was to watch the smooth, flowing process of brewing the potion, Slughorn thought.

This was not only because both of them handled the potion skillfully and beautifully, but more importantly, with just one or two words, or a glance, they knew what to do next, and they even trusted each other's operations so much that it was like a flowing poem.

Hermione is serious and focused, and her operations are careful, rigorous, and have strong execution ability. She has a strong control over the overall time and detailed steps; Draco has a wild imagination and does not completely abide by the so-called norms, but those seemingly careless operations follow a certain pattern, and he has a maturity and proficiency that is inconsistent with his age.

From Slughorn's perspective, these two were extraordinary. He had acquired two talented students for no apparent reason! He hummed a song, his hands clasped behind his back, and strolled out of the potion room, ready to pour himself a glass of fine mead.

At this moment, Hermione was extremely pleased with the change in color of the potion in the crucible.

"The last step." She said in a relaxed tone, picked up the stirring stick, and prepared to stir the potion counterclockwise according to the method in "Advanced Potion Making".

One, two, three... When she stirred for the seventh time, her hand was suddenly held by his - which stopped her stirring.

"What's wrong?" She looked back at Draco in confusion and found his face very close to her.

He looked at her intently with his pale grey eyes and asked, "Hermione, do you believe me?"

"Of course." Her face flushed, and then she said seriously: "Now is not the time to talk about this. The potion is at a critical moment-"

"Listen to me this time. Stir it clockwise once, then counterclockwise seven times." Draco stared at her. "This potion is very important to me, too. Trust me, I won't mess around."

"You're always messing around like this," Hermione complained, her heartbeat a little erratic, her tone extremely puzzled. "You have no respect for books at all."

However, out of trust in him - his special operation on the sleepy beans just now had led to a good result - she let go of the stirring stick.

So, Draco was able to hold her hand and gently but firmly turned it clockwise.

He said softly, "What's written in books isn't necessarily correct. The more advanced the potion, the more you need to figure it out on your own."

Hermione frowned, looking worriedly at the color of the potion, trying to process the true meaning of Draco's words.

While she was distracted, Draco held her hand and continued stirring it with seven counterclockwise and one clockwise stroke.

To keep steady, he placed his other hand on the table to her left, almost wrapping his arms around her—this position was too close, so close that her face felt hot, even a little scalding.

In this situation, she completely forgot to continue arguing with Draco about the mixing method of the potion, but became inexplicably nervous and suddenly remembered the smell of the aphrodisiac she had smelled before.

It must be that she hasn't recovered yet! Hermione wondered, puzzled, is this potion so strong? When making the potion, she always felt vaguely that something was wrong with her, as if the smell was vaguely surrounding her.

Draco didn't notice Hermione's discomfort. He was concentrating on his work, leaning his face closer to the cauldron, nervously observing the color of the potion. After all, he was only using Professor Snape's notes on paper and had never actually brewed the improved version of the water of life and death.

The room was quiet, with only the faint bubbling of the potion brewing in the crucible. His face was close to her hair, and he could smell the faint scent of green apples on the tip of his nose, which made his heart skip a beat - at that moment, the potion turned from light lilac to clear pink.

"It's done!" Draco laughed, ignoring the missed heartbeat.

He held her hand carefully until he had taken the stirring rod out of the cauldron and placed it in the measuring cup beside it. "Hermione, keep an eye on it. I'm going to see Mr. Slughorn next door."

"Okay," Hermione agreed reluctantly. She felt a turmoil in her heart, not sure if it was because of his proximity and touch, or because of his haphazard potion-making process.

Slughorn held up his half-drunk mead and slowly walked to the crucible to examine the result - a smile of surprise and joy appeared on his face.

"Excellent! Wonderful, this pot of water of life and death that you brewed is perfect! You are indeed masters. I bet you must be the best in your grade." Slughorn drank the mead in a gulp with satisfaction, looking very proud, like an antique buyer who had found a treasure.

"I'll make an exception just this once." He blinked his watery light green eyes, rubbed his fat belly contentedly, and said to them in a voice close to a whisper, "You've come to the right place. I've just gathered a small amount of ingredients for the Felicis Fatale potion and plan to brew it soon."

Draco and Hermione's spirits lifted. They looked at each other and saw excitement in each other's eyes.

Slughorn continued cheerfully, "There's no better day than today. Let's do it today. Tonight at nine o'clock, you two will be my assistants. How much you can learn will depend on your comprehension!

More Chapters