Later that day, Hermione, her face full of curiosity, followed Draco closely and eventually stopped at the entrance of the Wizarding Hot Springs Sanatorium.
"I did not expect to be meeting another wizard today. Your explanation on the telephone was vague; you just told me to come see you. Is this gentleman the former Head of Slytherin House? And a Potions Master at that?" she said nervously. "Is it really appropriate for me to see him dressed like this?"
She looked down at her black vest top and grey capri trousers. "Will this not look too casual?"
Draco silently looked at her vest top—it had only two straps and no sleeves to cover her shoulders. It exuded the youthful energy unique to girls.
From a boy's perspective, those shoulders were soft and slender, with a well-proportioned frame, making them somewhat captivating. But if one were to visit a Potions Master, it certainly would not be very formal.
He looked her over for a moment, which made her blush slightly. He finally looked away, took off his black casual jacket, and handed it to her by the collar, saying, "Here, wear this."
"Is this not a bit too big..." Hermione muttered softly, but her body betrayed her as she slipped it on. The jacket was indeed a little too big for her, but it unexpectedly had a relaxed, minimalist feel. Moreover, the jacket seemed to carry a faint, refreshing scent that lifted her spirits.
"How is it?" She spun around in place.
"Not bad." Draco glanced at it, a satisfied smile appearing on his lips.
He did not have the habit of lending his clothes to others. However, she looked quite good dressed like this.
They then entered this hidden paradise. Although she was somewhat prepared, Hermione was still amazed by the vastness of the space.
"From the outside, this is just a dilapidated little courtyard!" Hermione finally could not help but exclaim.
They were walking along a long corridor covered with lush vines and roses, with neat, green lawns on both sides. Not far away were luxuriously decorated thermal baths in the style of ancient Rome, and buildings dating back to the Georgian period could be vaguely seen.
"That is right. You know, they used magic that can expand space. This place was not originally this big." As they talked, Draco led her into another deep and quiet corridor. The temperature here was lower than outside, and the breeze created by their footsteps was cool.
He knocked on the door at the end of the corridor and listened intently. After a moment, he opened the door for Hermione, gesturing for her to go in first.
"Welcome, welcome..." The portly Slughorn came out from the inner room and warmly invited them to sit on the sofa in the sitting room.
"This is Hermione Granger. This is Mr Slughorn," Draco said. Hermione quickly greeted Slughorn.
"I have heard about your talent in potions. Severus must be very proud, is he not? Having two such outstanding students in your House?" Slughorn adjusted the bulging cushions behind him and smiled contentedly.
"I am not from Slytherin, I am from Gryffindor," Hermione answered somewhat reservedly.
"Oh, that is all right." Slughorn gave Draco a quick, questioning look, then said kindly to Hermione, "I have many excellent students who come from other Houses."
He waved his hand dismissively, stroking his walrus-like moustache, trying to rummage through the family tree of all wizards with the surname Granger in his mind. "Granger, I reckon you might be related to Hector Dagworth-Granger, who founded the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers?"
"Sorry, no. I am Muggle-born." Hermione was a little flustered, and she turned her head to give Draco a furtive glare.
Draco—how exactly did he introduce me to people?
Draco silently gave a puzzled look—what have I done wrong this time?
Does this silly girl reckon she is unpopular here?
Slughorn will definitely like Hermione.
Was she not a member of the Slug Club in her past life? I, on the other hand, had always been shut out… He touched his nose guiltily.
"Children, do not be prejudiced against me! Do I look like a pure-blood believer?" Seeing the subtle change in their expressions, Slughorn shook his short, stubby fingers in disapproval.
He strode to the desk not far away, held up the frontmost photograph, and pointed it out to them: "Look at one of my favourite students, she is Muggle-born, and she is also in Gryffindor!"
In the photograph, a beautiful, red-haired witch was smiling happily at them, her emerald green eyes winking at Draco.
A strange sense of familiarity welled up in his heart.
Hermione held her breath and asked in surprise, "Is that—Harry's mother?" She had seen some of Harry's treasured photographs of his parents, gifts from Hagrid.
"Yes, Lily Evans, a lovely girl. Very talented and charming. I reckon she should have come to Slytherin," Slughorn said with a regretful tone, like a shrewd collector who had lost a rare find at auction.
Hermione was somewhat surprised.
"She later married James Potter and had Harry Potter. What, you know him?" Slughorn said casually.
"Oh, he is our friend," Hermione said.
"The friendship between young people is truly touching! I often tell people that outstanding people always unconsciously gather together." Slughorn smiled broadly, as if he were lost in glorious memories of the past.
Draco nodded humbly to Slughorn, but other thoughts were swirling in his mind.
Harry must be the student this "student collector" most wants to collect. Look at this absent-minded old man; the sound of his abacus could travel from Bath to Hogwarts.
Slughorn looks very motivated.
He led them briskly to the potions laboratory on one side of the room. There were several large cabinets with many drawers, covered with labels for medicinal herbs, as well as several large workbenches with cauldrons of various materials and sizes, brass balances, and various tools for processing herbs.
He turned and glanced at Draco. "I heard you can now concoct Mandrake Restorative Draughts on your own? That is quite an achievement! But why did you even reckon to brew it?"
Draco gave a forced laugh. "I just happened to have some materials on hand, so I practised a bit. Because we are interested in potions, we often dabble in some small research projects outside of class."
Slughorn remained noncommittal, then asked Hermione with interest, "And, Miss Granger, did you make Polyjuice Potion all by yourself last school year?"
"Yes. You can just call me Hermione. I brewed the Polyjuice Potion out of curiosity…" Hermione smiled awkwardly.
Slughorn did not pursue the question of its purpose; his curiosity lay in: "How long did it last?"
"Half an hour," Hermione said.
"Oh, Merlin's beard! That is quite an achievement!" He waved his chubby little hands exaggeratedly. "Draco, you never mentioned this to me before! I reckoned a second-year student could only brew a Polyjuice Potion that would last for ten minutes at most!"
He looked at Hermione with admiration. "Half an hour! The quality of this potion is good enough to be sold on the shelves of an apothecary!"
Hermione smiled sheepishly.
"You flatter me. I have heard that the most potent single-dose Polyjuice Potion can maintain its effect for twelve hours, but I am still far from that!"
Her self-deprecating remark unexpectedly brought a hint of smugness to Slughorn's face, as if he were greatly pleased by it.
He glanced proudly at a cauldron where potions were being brewed and asked casually, "So, at your current level, what kind of potions would you be interested in? And what would you like to ask me?"
"Felix Felicis," Draco said calmly.
"Felix Felicis?" He stopped, his large, watery green eyes widening. "Do you know what this is for?"
"A lucky potion. One sip and you shall be lucky all day." Hermione gave the textbook answer, unsurprisingly earning Slughorn's approving smile.
"That is right. I had a large spoonful with my breakfast when I was twenty-four and when I was fifty-seven." Slughorn seemed lost in wonderful memories. "Two perfect days."
Draco subtly pursed his lips; he had heard that phrase before in his past life. Hermione, on the other hand, looked longing and eager to try.
"Do you know what the consequences are if you take an overdose?"
"Dizziness, recklessness, and arrogance," Hermione said without hesitation. She had already seen these things in the book Draco had back in the Room of Requirement.
"You are not planning to use this in examinations or competitions, are you?" Slughorn looked at them suspiciously.
"Of course not." "Purely academic research." Hermione and Draco said these words almost simultaneously.
"It seems you all know what is going on." Slughorn rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming, and put on a troubled expression. "This is truly unexpected! This is not a potion for someone your age to study. Besides, the ingredients are hard to find, and the process is extremely complicated. If you make a mistake, the consequences could be dire…"
"The interesting thing about advanced potions is that they are difficult to prepare, is it not?" Draco said casually. "The ingredients cannot be gathered in a short time either. We just want to know the details that need to be paid attention to during the preparation process."
"Children, I appreciate any pursuit of excellence. However, before I teach you how to concoct this potion, I must test you to see if you have the ability to brew even more advanced potions." Slughorn walked towards several cauldrons on one side of the room, strange steam rising from them towards the ceiling, accompanied by a peculiar smell.
He pointed to the nearest cauldron, which was lazily bubbling and contained some dark, sticky, mud-like substance.
"Can you tell me what this is?"
"It is Polyjuice Potion," Hermione said, giving the correct answer after just one glance.
"Of course, Hermione, you can definitely recognise it since you have made it before!" Slughorn clapped his hands and laughed happily.
At first, he was somewhat sceptical, doubting the authenticity of her brewing the Polyjuice Potion; but after her answer, he believed that this young girl had indeed brewed the potion.
"Mr Slughorn, this potion—" Hermione examined the potion's colour and asked curiously, "Can it maintain the transformation for a long time?"
"Oh, I cannot guarantee that. After all, everything is uncertain until it is ready," Slughorn said mysteriously, smiling approvingly at the potion's condition. "Of course, we all hope that the recipient only needs to drink it twice a day, is that not right?"
Hermione nodded in awe.
They walked to the second cauldron, where a liquid as clear as pure water was boiling.
"And this one?" he asked with great interest.
"Veritaserum. A colourless and odourless potion that forces the person who drinks it to tell the truth," Draco replied.
He had seen this thing in his past life. Umbridge used it to pry open the mouths of many disobedient students.
Moreover, last year in the Headmaster's office, Peter Pettigrew was also mercilessly forced to drink it by Professor Snape in front of him.
"Excellent," Slughorn said with delight. "Extensive knowledge and accurate judgement."