After afternoon tea, Luke did not rush to start making Potions, but instead summoned a magic book.
The cover of the magic book read "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration."
When Luke returned to Hobbiton from Buckleberry, he did not take the straight East Road but instead made a detour north, visiting Hardbottle and Longbottom in the Northfarthing to check in.
He obtained "History of Magic" by checking in at Longbottom and "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration" by checking in at Hardbottle.
"History of Magic" was basically useless to Luke, except for passing the time and learning about the history of the magic world.
But "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration" was different; as the Transfiguration textbook for first and second years at Hogwarts, its content mainly covered basic Transfiguration, such as transfiguring everyday objects.
What made Luke even happier was that, besides Transfiguration spells, it also contained useful spells like Summoning Charms such as Aguamenti and Orchideous, and Vanishing Spells.
Transfiguration is different from Charms; Charms can be successfully cast with firm belief and magic.
But Transfiguration is a delicate discipline that greatly tests imagination and magic control, so it is more difficult to cast than Charms.
The beginner stage mainly involves transfiguring objects, such as turning an inanimate object into another inanimate object, and secondly, turning a living object into an inanimate object.
At the intermediate stage, it involves transfiguring animals, such as turning inanimate objects into living ones, or living objects into other living objects.
As for the advanced stage, it even involves human Transfiguration, including the highest achievement of Transfiguration—Animagus Transfiguration.
The "Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration" that Luke currently possessed only contained basic Transfiguration content, but for him, who was thirsty for knowledge, it was a timely rain.
With the aid of his wand, Luke found it not difficult to cast some of the simplest Transfiguration spells; for example, he successfully transfigured a small matchstick into a needle on his first try, but as the volume of the transfigured object increased, the difficulty of Transfiguration also increased, and more magic was consumed.
"Feraverto!"
Luke cast a spell on the small bed in the guest room; the small wooden bed rapidly expanded and transformed into a large bed over two meters long, and the bedding on the bed also turned into comfortable velvet and silk.
Luke nodded in satisfaction; now he no longer had to worry about sticking his feet out of the bed when he slept.
Then he turned around and asked Bilbo, who was gaping, with a smile, "Do you want me to transform your bed and bedding too?"
"Yes!" Bilbo snapped back to reality, his eyes sparkling as he nodded eagerly; this was even more magical than the magic he had seen before.
In the days after returning to Hobbiton.
After mastering basic Transfiguration, Luke began preparing for the Potion-making task.
Potions is different from other disciplines, just as Professor Snape said:
"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of Potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic.
I don't expect you to really understand the beauty of the gently simmering cauldron with its shimmering steam and wafting aromas, nor will you truly grasp the enthralling, mind-bewitching power that can be poured into veins to bewitch the senses, to ensnare the mind…
I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I've had to teach before."
Luke was not sure if he was the kind of dunderhead Professor Snape spoke of, but he knew that Potions were very important; if he could master this discipline, he would have an extra means of self-preservation in the world of Middle-earth.
After all, Potions possess effects that spells cannot achieve, such as healing injuries; many injuries that would be fatal to ordinary people can be instantly cured by taking a Potion, making them lively and vigorous again.
There are also Polyjuice Potion, which allows one to transform into others and cannot be detected by spells, Veritaserum, which makes people reveal secrets, Felix Felicis, which brings luck, and even the Elixir of Life.
The only problem is that many ingredients for making Potions cannot be found in Middle-earth, so if one wants to make these magical Potions, they must find substitute Potion ingredients.
This requires the level of a Potion Master to achieve.
However, these problems were too early for Luke, who could not even be considered a beginner in Potions at the moment.
"Magical Drafts and Potions" only contained basic Potion content, and some of the ingredients required for these Potions were not special, so they could also be found in Middle-earth.
Luke's first true Potion-making attempt was the simplest Potion for boils, chosen as practice for a beginner.
Inside the storeroom,
Luke set up a silver cauldron and preheated it with a kerosene lamp underneath.
Then he put the prepared 6 snake fangs into a mortar, ground them into fine powder with a pestle, and after the cauldron had preheated for 1 minute, he poured them into the cauldron to stir and boil.
Waving his wand, the flame of the kerosene lamp under the cauldron turned into a large fire, heated for 10 seconds, then changed to a medium fire, and then 4 slugs were added for steaming.
Throughout this process, Luke followed the instructions in the book step by step.
Only when the liquid in the cauldron boiled and smoked did Luke extinguish the flame and let the cauldron stand for a while.
He added 2 porcupine quills, then stirred 5 times clockwise with his wand; as he stirred, magic evenly and continuously diffused into the cauldron's liquid through the wand, and the liquid gradually changed color, eventually turning blue, while pink smoke rose.
At this step, the Potion for boils was completed.
The Potion for boils was not complicated to make, but Luke was very satisfied with its immediate success.
Using Transfiguration, he conjured a crystal bottle, and Luke poured the Potion for boils into the bottle.
"Is that it?" Bilbo, who had been quiet beside him, finally asked. He had always been curious about how Luke made Potions, so after getting Luke's permission, he watched from the side.
Now, seeing Luke miraculously create a blue Potion with snake fangs, slugs, and porcupine quills, he was greatly astonished.
"Of course." Luke nodded with a smile, then handed him the Potion bottle, "This is the Potion for boils, it has a miraculous healing effect on boils. You can take it to someone with boils and try it."
The Potion for boils was a Potion specifically for treating boils, with a single purpose. Luke only used it as a practice piece for his Potion initiation, so he gave it to Bilbo without hesitation.
Then he began to prepare to make Potions again, and it was still the Potion for boils.
However, his purpose was different this time, so he used an unwanted iron pot from Bilbo as a cauldron.
He again followed the Potion Class textbook step by step until, at the step of adding the porcupine quills, Luke did not extinguish the fire but directly threw the quills into the boiling liquid.
Instantly, the liquid in the pot emitted sour-smelling green fumes, a sharp hissing sound, and the green liquid reacted violently, rapidly corroding the bottom of the pot and splashing everywhere.
"Protego!"
Luke was prepared; the moment he threw in the porcupine quills, he immediately applied a protective barrier to the cauldron, enveloping the liquid inside to prevent it from splashing.
Only when the liquid in the cauldron had calmed down did Luke conjure a glass bottle and float the highly corrosive liquid into it for storage.
Looking at the iron cauldron again, it was already corroded beyond recognition, completely unusable.
Even if Luke tried to repair it with a mending charm, the iron cauldron couldn't be restored.
Seeing such a result, Luke was not surprised but rather delighted.
The Potion book had specifically warned that when making Scab Potion, one needed to extinguish the fire before adding porcupine quills, otherwise the Potion would dissolve the cauldron and turn into a highly corrosive liquid.
But Luke, upon seeing this, had a different idea. Although this failed Scab Potion could not be used on people, it possessed extremely strong corrosiveness, far more potent than sulfuric acid. If used on enemies, it would definitely be a sinister weapon.
Bilbo, who also witnessed this scene, looked at the green liquid in the bottle with awe, not daring to approach, fearing that getting even a drop on him would be fatal.
After completing the successful and failed versions of the Scab Potion, Luke began to attempt making another magical Potion—Shrinking Potion.
Shrinking Potion is a magic Potion that causes living creatures to shrink or revert to a younger state. It typically appears as a bright green acidic liquid. It can be used against large monsters with strong anti-magic abilities, or to transport livestock—shrinking entire herds of pigs, cattle, and sheep into a Wizard's pocket.
Similarly, if a Wizard drinks Shrinking Potion, their body will quickly shrink, and the stronger the Potion's effect, the smaller the individual becomes. It is often exploited by unscrupulous Wizards to shrink themselves and sneak into others' homes or vaults for theft.
The ingredients for Shrinking Potion are not overly complex, including Shrivelfig, Daisy Roots, Caterpillars, Wormwood, Leeches, Rat Spleens, and Scurvy-grass Essence.
Among these, Scurvy-grass Essence needs to be extracted from scurvy-grass, but Luke already had all the other ingredients.
Luke first set up a silver cauldron, then cut the scurvy-grass into pieces, ground them into a powder in a mortar, poured it into the cauldron to boil, and continuously stirred it with his magic wand, constantly adjusting and controlling the heat to ensure that the essence in the scurvy-grass could fully dissolve in the solvent.
"Finite Incantatem!" With a wave of his magic wand, the liquid and powdered residue in the cauldron automatically separated. The residue was filtered out and discarded, leaving only the Potion to continue boiling.
Eventually, the Potion boiled dry, leaving only a layer of grayish-white paste at the bottom of the cauldron. This was the Scurvy-grass Essence needed for making Shrinking Potion and other Potions.
With the Scurvy-grass Essence, Luke officially began making Shrinking Potion.
Shrinking Potion is a second-year Potion course content, more complex to make than Scab Potion, requiring the addition of Shrivelfig, Daisy Roots, Caterpillars, Wormwood, Leeches, Rat Spleens, and Scurvy-grass Essence, one by one, in precise measurements.
Moreover, the production time is longer, requiring more concentration and greater care.
Luke first squeezed the Shrivelfig, retaining the peel and pulp, and added the juice to the cauldron to simmer for 20 minutes over low heat.
Then, he added Daisy Roots and caterpillars, bringing the Potion to a boil. At this point, the Potion turned dark green. After simmering it down to half its original volume, he extinguished the fire and let it cool for 30 minutes.
Once the cooling time was up, he added 24 drops of wormwood infusion, one drop at a time, stirring with his magic wand in alternating directions after each drop. Before adding the last drop, he needed to stir vigorously to make the Potion foam until the surface of the Potion was covered with foam.
Luke stopped his actions and turned to other tasks.
Because the Potion needed to sit for 24 hours until all the foam disappeared before he could continue the process.
At the same time the next day, Luke reheated the settled Potion and added leech juice, then stirred carefully and slowly. The Potion's color began to lighten.
When the Potion turned light green, he added the Rat Spleen and Scurvy-grass Essence, heating it over high heat for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, the Potion transformed into a bright green, thick, syrupy consistency.
Looking at the Potion in the cauldron, Luke leaned in to observe it carefully, comparing it to the descriptions in the book.
"This should be a success, right?" he murmured, somewhat uncertainly.
To know the effect, he needed to test it. Luke took a drop from the cauldron, dripped it onto a carrot, and then went outside with the carrot.
A curious Bilbo followed closely behind.
Luke arrived outside Bag End and saw the pony grazing. He immediately waved the carrot in his hand at it, "Hey, Little Dummy, look here!"
The pony, Little Dummy, was a means of transport gifted by the Took family head when Luke was in Tuckborough. Although very obedient, it always seemed a bit foolish, so Luke called it Little Dummy.
However, after returning to Hobbiton, Little Dummy was mostly cared for by Bilbo. Compared to Luke, its irresponsible owner, Bilbo was more diligent and devoted, almost treating it as a third family member, and even personally built a simple stable for the pony, Little Dummy.
Seeing the carrot in Luke's hand, the pony, Little Dummy's eyes lit up. It immediately abandoned the fresh grass in its mouth and ran over with joyful steps, then bit into the carrot and began to chew.
Bilbo didn't have time to stop it and immediately looked at Little Dummy with a worried expression, condemning Luke, the bad owner, with his eyes for testing the Potion.
Luke guiltily rubbed his nose. There were only three living beings here. Could he not use Little Dummy but instead use him or Bilbo to test the Potion? Besides, he was very confident in his Potion; it definitely wouldn't poison Little Dummy.
At the same time, his attention remained focused on Little Dummy, observing its changes.
As the pony, Little Dummy, ate the carrot containing the Shrinking Potion, in less than two seconds, Little Dummy's body began to change.
"Neigh! Neigh! Neigh!" Little Dummy became panicked. In its eyes, everything around it, including its two masters, became enormous.
And in Luke and Bilbo's view, the pony, Little Dummy, was shrinking at a visible rate, eventually becoming a palm-sized miniature pony, looking like a living figurine.
Luke picked up Little Dummy in his hand, looking at the little pony frantically flapping its four tiny legs in his hand, with a look of wonder, "It seems the Potion works well. One drop can shrink it like this. If I add a few more drops, it should be able to get even smaller."
Bilbo looked at Little Dummy in Luke's hand, too shocked to speak. Although he had witnessed many of Luke's magic, such a miraculous Potion still left him profoundly amazed.
Seeing him staring blankly at Little Dummy, Luke handed Little Dummy to him.
Bilbo carefully took Little Dummy, holding him in both hands. Feeling the weight and body temperature, he realized this wasn't a dream. He stared blankly, then looked up at Luke and stammered, "L-Luke, will Little Dummy stay like this forever?"
Luke shook his head, "Of course not. Once the Potion wears off, he will return to his original state. So you need to be careful, don't let the Potion wear off and get crushed by the horse."
Upon hearing this, Bilbo quickly put Little Dummy on the ground. He certainly didn't want to experience the sensation of being crushed by hundreds of pounds of weight.
After about fifteen minutes, the shrinking effect on Little Dummy wore off, and he rapidly expanded back to his original size.
After confirming the Potion's effectiveness, Luke returned indoors content and bottled a pot of Shrinking Potion.
Shrinking Potion can not only shrink large monsters, thereby rendering them harmless, but also allow people to shrink their bodies after consumption, thus hiding themselves. It is a very practical Potion.
After successfully making the Shrinking Potion, Luke continued his efforts, subsequently attempting to make other Potions in the following days.
He successfully created Forgetfulness Potion, Soothing Potion, and Sleeping Potion.
At the same time, he used two pots of mature dittany to make Essence of Dittany. After all, Luke never thought he had enough of this Potion, which has miraculous effects on healing wounds.
However, compared to the two pots of early-maturing dittany, the other two pots of poisonous nightshade showed little change. Even though Luke watered them with magic every day, they absorbed it all without resistance, but there was no sign of them transforming into Mandrake.
Luke also had some doubts about whether this poisonous nightshade would eventually turn into Mandrake, but with the idea of not giving up halfway, he continued to water them with magic every day, wanting to see what they would eventually become.
In a blink of an eye, the time came to early spring in the Shire.
It had been almost a year since Luke came to Middle-earth.
One day, Luke was studying the contents of "Curses and Counter-Curses" when he was disturbed by the commotion outside.
Bilbo knocked on Luke's door, standing at the entrance with some hesitation.
Luke shifted his gaze from the curse book, turning his head to look at the door, "Bilbo, what's wrong?"
After a moment of hesitation, Bilbo said hesitantly, "Luke, I suspect Bag End is haunted!"
"Haunted?" Luke was surprised to hear this, trying to find any trace of a joke on Bilbo's face.
Bilbo's expression became more certain, and he nodded, "Yes, it's haunted. These past few days, when I was repairing the garden, I always vaguely heard crying, it sounded like a baby's cry, very strange and frightening!"
"A baby's cry?" Luke was puzzled for a moment, but then suddenly seemed to think of something, and quickly walked out of the room to the front yard.
Bilbo also followed closely, curious.
Luke came to the two pots of poisonous nightshade in the yard and examined them carefully. During these days, besides watering the two pots of poisonous nightshade with magic regularly every day, he hadn't paid much attention to them.
Now, upon closer inspection, aside from the branches and leaves growing a bit taller, he found nothing unusual.
But Luke did not give up checking. He gently pushed aside the soil with his wand, revealing the roots buried in the soil. He saw that the roots were a human-like structure, resembling an ugly-faced baby, complete with limbs and facial features.
Seeing the human-like roots of the poisonous nightshade, Luke was instantly delighted.
His Mandrake cultivation had actually succeeded!
Mandrake has powerful medicinal value. It is a potent restorative, capable of returning people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state, and it is also an essential ingredient in many advanced Potions.
Even in the magic world, it is a very precious and rare Herbology plant, requiring specific magic environments and care to thrive.
During these days, seeing that the poisonous nightshade had not changed for a long time, he had lost some confidence.
He never expected such a surprise now.
Just as Luke was happy.
The Mandrake, pulled out of the soil, was very unhappy. Restless and agitated, it twisted its body, opened its mouth, and let out a sharp, piercing cry.
Luke only felt as if his head had been hit hard by an iron hammer on the back of his head. He instantly had a splitting headache, and the world spun around him, feeling as if he would faint at any moment.
Oh no, I forgot about the Mandrake's cry!
Luke was overjoyed, then saddened. He suppressed the urge to faint and quickly cast a spell on the Mandrake.
"Petrificus Totalus!" The Mandrake's cry stopped instantly.
"Phew!" Luke had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard a thud behind him.
Turning around, he saw Bilbo's eyes rolled back, unconscious on the ground.
Luke re-covered the Mandrake roots with soil, then quickly helped up the unconscious Bilbo.
Fortunately, the Mandrake was still immature, only in its infancy, so its cry was not fatal; at most, it would cause people to faint for a while.
Luke had a higher tolerance for the Mandrake's cry and did not faint immediately.
But poor Bilbo was affected and suffered.
Luke carried the unconscious Bilbo to his room and waited for him to wake up.
Two hours later, Bilbo finally woke up. He clutched his head, looking a bit dazed, "Hiss, what happened to me?"
"Drink this Potion first, it will alleviate your discomfort," Luke said, offering him a cup of Soothing Potion.
Bilbo knew the miraculous effects of the Potions Luke made, so he didn't refuse and gulped it down.
He immediately frowned, showing a pained expression, "Ugh, a strange taste!"
But the effect was also obvious. Bilbo quickly recovered and also recalled the memory of his unconsciousness.
Bilbo immediately looked fearful and amazed, "Luke, what was that exactly? Why do the roots of the poisonous nightshade look like a person, and why do they emit a cry that makes people faint?"
"I'm so sorry, that you had to suffer. That is a magic plant I cultivated—Mandrake," Luke explained apologetically. "I originally thought the cultivation had failed and didn't pay too much attention, but I didn't expect it had already transformed in the soil. The crying sounds these past few days were from it."
At Luke's apology, the kind hobbit felt a bit embarrassed and quickly waved his hand, "This isn't your fault, besides, I'm fine now, aren't I!"
However, Bilbo still felt some lingering fear about the Mandrake's cry and quickly asked, "Luke, will the Mandrake still make that kind of cry?"
Luke shook his head and reassured him with a smile, "Don't worry, before they mature, Mandrake generally like to sleep in the soil. Unless you pull them out of the soil, they won't make a cry that causes people to faint."
"As for the commotion these past few days, it should be because they need to be re-potted. Once the soil is changed, they will become quiet again," Luke speculated, recalling the contents of his Herbology Class textbook.
Mandrake needs to be repotted regularly. After Luke transplanted them previously, besides watering them with magic regularly, he had forgotten to change their soil.
Now that they had successfully transformed, to ensure they thrived, they needed to be nourished with fertile soil.
In the magic world, Herbology experts typically use dragon dung compost to cultivate Mandrake.
But here in Middle-earth, there is a giant dragon in the Lonely Mountain, but that's not realistic.
So Luke could only choose animal manure compost. For this, Luke endured the stench, first giving the two Mandrake two doses of Petrificus Totalus, then re-potting and changing their soil.
After finishing, Luke felt that he smelled terrible all over.
What was even more despairing was that such tasks would have to be done many more times in the future.
The only consolation was that once the Mandrake fully matured, he could make powerful restoratives, and the Voodoo Dolls he had been yearning for.
Just as Luke was waiting day by day for the Mandrake to mature.
One day, another Wizard arrived in the Shire.