Just as Harry was thinking, everyone in the entire Potions classroom had their eyes fixed on him.
The Slytherins in the distance were watching Harry's blank expression and couldn't help snickering.
Professor Slughorn's gaze, on the other hand, was full of expectation and encouragement.
Hermione, Ron, and the others were so anxious they were almost breaking into a sweat.
Didn't they know Harry?
A question like this, was it something a Potions idiot like Harry could answer?
Hermione had even already started figuring out how to hint the correct answer to Harry without Slughorn noticing.
But right at that moment, they heard Harry speak in a dazed voice, like he was talking in his sleep, "It's Amortentia."
"Exactly right. Seems I didn't even need to ask," Slughorn said, his face showing a "just as expected" look. "I suppose you know what it's used for?"
Harry didn't pause at all and continued, "It's the most powerful love potion in the world!"
"Perfectly correct! I assume you recognized it by its distinctive mother-of-pearl sheen?"
"And its characteristic steam rising in spirals. Also, its scent is different for each person, depending on what they like most."
Clap? Clap! Clap!
Slughorn couldn't hold it in anymore and began clapping excitedly. "You're brilliant, Harry! Then what about this? Do you know this one too?"
As he spoke, Slughorn pointed to the small cauldron on the podium.
Inside it, the potion was splashing cheerfully. Its color looked like molten gold, with large drops leaping on the surface like little goldfish, yet not a single drop spilled out.
The expression on Slughorn's face was quite strange.
Like a mischievous child who had just discovered something new today, showing it off to friends, waiting for them to ask questions, and then finally jumping in to answer and bask in praise.
But Harry didn't indulge him.
Harry's eyes were locked tightly on the liquid in the cauldron, his gaze unfocused as he spoke again, "Felix Felicis! A potion that's extremely difficult to brew, with a very low success rate."
"And corresponding to that difficulty, once you drink a finished Felix Felicis, you become lucky. During its effect, whatever you do will succeed."
"Twenty points to Gryffindor!"
Slughorn practically screamed it.
His face twisted together, a look of extreme astonishment.
"Sit down, Harry, you're a genius!"
At Slughorn's call, Harry sat back down.
Only now did his head recover a little.
But that made him feel worse.
Because earlier, although his consciousness had been a bit hazy, his brain had been countless times sharper.
In that state, he had a feeling, no matter how difficult Slughorn's question was, as long as he had learned it before, he could pull the answer from deep memory and say it.
That clear, fast-thinking feeling, like he had some kind of cheat turned on, was unbelievably satisfying.
In comparison, now that the state had faded, Harry felt like a huge chunk of his brain had been hollowed out.
"Harry, how did you do that!?"
Hermione suddenly grabbed his arm.
Her expression was twisted, and her eyes were wide as saucers.
Harry was already irritated by what had just happened in his head. Hearing her, he struggled and shook off her hand.
"I don't know either, I just… just suddenly remembered, and then I said it…"
Hermione was clearly not satisfied and wanted to keep asking.
Ron beside them burst out laughing.
"What's the big deal? Compared to how Harry knew all that, I'm more curious, what happens if you keep drinking that Felix Felicis, the lucky potion, continuously? And it must be expensive, right?"
"If taken in excess, it causes dizziness, recklessness, and dangerous overconfidence," Ernie suddenly said. "You know, too much of a good thing can be harmful… in large doses, it's highly toxic. But if taken occasionally, carefully, and in moderation…
As for the price, uh, let me put it this way.
Just the Felix Felicis in that cauldron on the podium right now could probably be traded for ten Firebolts."
As soon as he said that, Ron sucked in a sharp breath.
As a Quidditch fanatic, he knew the price of a Firebolt very well.
This professional-level broom replica sold for at least over 5,000 Galleons.
That meant the cauldron on the podium held about 50,000 Galleons' worth?
That was insane!
"Oh? I really didn't expect there to be a student here with such deep knowledge of Felix Felicis."
Slughorn's voice rang out again as he walked over to Ernie. "Child, what's your name?"
"Ernie Macmillan," Ernie said with a smile as he stood up.
"Actually, it's nothing special. The only reason I know this is because of Link. You might not know, but Link has been carrying Felix Felicis on him for a long time."
"Sometimes we hold little competitions in the common room, like for studying or wizard chess, and the prize is Felix Felicis sponsored by Link!"
As he spoke, Ernie pulled out a teardrop-shaped potion bottle from around his neck, made into a pendant.
Inside it, a golden liquid flowed, the same as the one in the cauldron on the podium.
"Oh!"
Ron shouted in excitement.
He really hadn't expected Ernie to actually have Felix Felicis on him!
Slughorn also seemed a bit stunned. He stared at the teardrop-shaped bottle in Ernie's hand, as if trying to determine whether the potion inside was real.
After quite a while, he finally exclaimed,
"It is indeed Felix Felicis, and of very high quality! This was a reward from Link? You two must have a very good relationship, right?"
"Of course! This is Felix Felicis personally made by Link! As for our relationship, hehe, I can only say this, Link is the person I respect most in my life! I'd die for him!"
Ernie said it firmly.
His voice was loud, even echoing in the spacious Potions classroom.
Normally, such a cringeworthy statement would be mercilessly mocked.
The Slytherins especially would laugh themselves silly, even though they were just as cringeworthy themselves.
But at this moment, everyone instinctively stayed quiet.
Because when it involved Link Flamel, it was different.
No one present doubted the truth of Ernie's words. After all, in all of Hogwarts, there were quite a few fanatics just like him.
Even the bravest person wouldn't dare mock them.
Because the next second, they'd pull out their wands and fight you.
To the death.
"Ahem, "
Sensing the strange atmosphere in the classroom, Slughorn coughed twice. "Alright, children, I know you're very envious. But there's no need for that, because I will make this the prize for today's lesson!"
As he spoke, Slughorn placed a small bottle of Felix Felicis on the table.
"It will bring twelve hours of good luck. From dawn till dusk, whatever you do, fortune will favor you. However, I must remind you, Felix Felicis is banned in organized competitions, and it is not all-powerful."
"You can't expect it to solve everything for you. Excessive or long-term use will not only cause the side effects Ernie mentioned earlier, but will also permanently lower your luck. That is quite terrifying!"
"Now then," after finishing his lecture, Slughorn suddenly became energetic again, "how do you win this wonderful prize? Alright, turn to page ten of Advanced Potion-Making."
"We still have over an hour. Use this time to brew a Draught of Living Death. I know it's more complex than anything you've done before, and I don't expect anyone to make a perfect potion."
"However, whoever does the best will win this small bottle of Felix Felicis. Alright, begin!"
As soon as Slughorn finished speaking, a harsh scraping sound filled the classroom.
Everyone pulled their cauldrons closer, followed by the clanking of weights on scales. But no one spoke, their intense focus was almost tangible.
Harry saw Malfoy frantically flipping through his copy of Advanced Potion-Making.
Malfoy clearly wanted that day of luck. His eyes were already red with urgency, completely unlike his earlier weak and listless state.
'I need to work hard too.'
Harry told himself silently, then opened his own copy of Advanced Potion-Making.
Ron beside him didn't follow along with the same book. Instead, he took out the copy passed down from his top-student brother Charlie and kept flipping through it.
Probably hoping to find some unique insights or inspiration from Charlie's notes.
It made Harry both annoyed and amused.
But he didn't have time to comment on Ron's behavior.
He quickly followed the instructions in the book and began preparing the ingredients in front of him.
He took out a silver knife and started slicing valerian roots.
Throughout the process, Harry kept watching the progress of others.
This was both an advantage and a disadvantage of Potions class.
You could clearly see what others were doing. Sometimes you could get inspiration from their methods, but more often, you'd be distracted by cauldrons exploding or other noises and make mistakes.
Harry had experienced this deeply, Neville's cauldron had exploded more than once.
But that didn't seem to be happening in the classroom right now.
Which made sense.
Students who made it into the NEWT-level Potions class rarely made such basic mistakes.
So far, under everyone's efforts, pale blue steam had filled the classroom.
Needless to say, Hermione seemed to be progressing the fastest. Her potion was already close to the "smooth, tea-colored liquid" described in the book as the ideal halfway stage.
That made Harry feel a bit discouraged, and a bit anxious.
He didn't mind Hermione winning, but honestly, he was interested in Felix Felicis too.
Finally, the valerian roots were done.
Harry let out a breath and looked back at the textbook.
The next step was to prepare the sopophorous beans, slicing them.
But at that moment, Harry felt that same condition return inside his mind.
A cool sensation spread through his body, making his brain feel light and quick.
He grabbed a handful of sopophorous beans and, without hesitation, crushed them with the flat side of his silver knife.
That would make them release more juice.
Harry didn't know why he was doing this. It clearly wasn't what the textbook said.
But he did it anyway, because somewhere deep inside, he knew this was the best way.
Having experienced it before, Harry chose to follow it without hesitation.
The result was naturally satisfying.
When he added the large amount of juice squeezed from the beans into the cauldron, the potion immediately turned the pale silvery color described in the book.
Now his progress had caught up to Hermione's.
Seeing this, Harry was overjoyed.
He stopped looking at the textbook and followed his instincts, stirring the liquid in the cauldron.
The effect was immediate. The potion turned a faint pink.
"How did you do that?"
Hermione asked. The steam from her cauldron had flushed her face red, and her hair was getting messier. Her potion was still purple, refusing to change.
"Try stirring clockwise once more…"
"No, no, the book says counterclockwise!"
Harry shrugged and continued working on his own potion.
He knew he couldn't convince Hermione.
Seven turns counterclockwise, one turn clockwise, pause, then seven turns counterclockwise, one turn clockwise…
"Alright, time… is up! Stop stirring!"
Who knew how long had passed before Slughorn's voice suddenly rang out.
As soon as he finished, Ron muttered a curse under his breath.
Harry glanced over and could clearly see that the potion in Ron's cauldron looked like road tar. Honestly, Harry couldn't understand how he managed that.
Slughorn walked slowly between the tables, inspecting each cauldron in turn.
Most of the time, he didn't comment, just giving it a stir or leaning in to smell it.
But when he reached Harry's table, things were different.
"Wow! You must be a Weasley!"
Looking at the "thing" in Ron's cauldron, Slughorn couldn't help laughing. "I don't even need to look at your hair, just your potion tells me that."
"One could say your potion-making skills are just as bad as your father's. Sometimes I really don't understand how you manage to do this. If you'd done even one step correctly, it wouldn't have turned out like this, would it?"
Ron's face turned red at a visible speed.
Slughorn shook his head and moved on to Hermione and Ernie's cauldrons.
This time, his expression improved, and he nodded in approval.
But when he saw Harry's cauldron, his face showed unbelievable delight.
"The undisputed winner!"
He turned to the class and said, "Outstanding, absolutely outstanding, Harry! My goodness, you've clearly inherited your mother's talent. Lily was just as deft and intuitive in Potions! Here, take it! I keep my word, one bottle of Felix Felicis. Use it well!"
A small bottle of golden liquid was pressed into Harry's hand.
At that moment, every eye in the classroom fell on him.
Their gazes held irritation, jealousy, envy.
Under normal circumstances, this kind of attention would have filled Harry with genuine joy.
But now, his feelings were extremely complicated.
Because Professor Slughorn had just mentioned his mother.
Only then did Harry remember, his mother had once studied under Slughorn too.
That meant if he went to ask, he could probably learn a lot about her student days.
The moment that thought appeared, Harry could barely hold himself back.
Unfortunately, class was already over.
Slughorn didn't have the habit of dragging lessons out. After saying goodbye, he quickly gathered the cauldrons and left the classroom.
The next second, Ron's big head leaned in.
"How did you do that?"
Ron said loudly, completely stunned.
"I don't know," Harry stared blankly at his hands. He couldn't believe that potion had been made by him. "Maybe it was luck?"
"Luck? You think that's possible?"
Hermione said sharply.
Her face was slightly flushed. Harry understood her well.
Hermione might not care about a single bottle of Felix Felicis, but what she couldn't accept was working so hard only to be outperformed by someone like Harry, who spent his days slacking off.
"But… but that's really how it is."
Harry said as he walked toward the Great Hall with Ron and Hermione. "I really don't know what happened."
"The knowledge and methods, it's like they were already engraved in my brain. At that moment, I suddenly remembered what to do. And then I succeeded."
"Stop lying, Harry. You must have gotten help from somewhere else. I noticed that much of your method was different from what the textbook teaches!" Hermione said firmly. "Let me guess, Sirius tutored you over the holidays, right?"
"What are you talking about? Sirius's Potions grades are even worse than mine. He didn't even take NEWT-level Potions!"
"Then how do you explain what just happened?"
Harry was instantly speechless.
He was telling the truth, but Hermione clearly didn't believe him.
"Stop arguing. Seriously, you two are enough."
Ron said, his eyes shining. "If you ask me, this must mean Harry has extraordinary talent for Potions! It's just that before, the professor was Snape, so it never showed. Now we've got a new professor, Harry's talent has naturally activated!"
As soon as he said that, Harry and Hermione both turned to look at Ron.
Harry felt his face must be burning red.
Ron had exaggerated too much.
But deep down, he felt what Ron said might actually be true.
That made him a little excited.
Meanwhile, Hermione just let out a dismissive snort and ran back to the dorm without looking back.
Harry wanted to go after her and explain, but Ron pulled him back.
His eyes were gleaming with excitement.
"Harry, forget Hermione. With her temper, just give her some time and she'll be fine. Right now, hurry up and take out the Felix Felicis and let me have a look!"
Hearing that, Harry hesitated.
But in the end, he still gave in to Ron's request.