A letter from Hogwarts was a momentous occasion for any family.
For Muggle-born children, it was life-changing—an invitation into a hidden world they had never known existed.
For wizarding families, it brought immense relief: proof that their child was not a Squib.
And so, for the rest of the day, the Weasley household was firmly in celebration mode.
Molly prepared a feast that could only be described as excessive by any reasonable standard. By lunchtime, a tent had been set up in the garden near the pond, perfectly placed to catch the breeze and the glimmer of sunlight dancing across the water. It was shaping up to be a picnic in all but name.
Arthur even suggested inviting the neighbours, but that idea was swiftly crushed beneath Molly's raised feather duster. She'd long found the Lovegoods far too odd for polite company and considered the Fawcetts too distant to bother with.
In the end, only one family received an invitation.
The Diggorys.
Amos Diggory, like Arthur, worked at the Ministry of Magic, specifically in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Officially, that made them colleagues.
Unofficially, Arthur had a different motive.
"That man is unbearable," Arthur muttered earlier that morning. "Every time we meet, he finds some excuse to brag about his son Cedric—as if no other child in Britain is worth a single Knut."
Despite that, when Amos arrived via Apparition with his son in tow, Arthur greeted him warmly, dragging Vaughn along to play host.
"Amos! Welcome to the Burrow. This is my son, Vaughn. I imagine you've heard his name."
Amos Diggory had a ruddy face and a neatly trimmed brown beard, giving him the permanent look of someone who'd just finished a hearty lunch. He gave Vaughn a slow, appraising glance.
Vaughn responded with a flawless smile—polite, confident, and exactly the sort adults loved.
"Ah, yes, Arthur. Your little potions prodigy," Amos said loudly. "So the letter came today, did it? Where's Ron, then?"
Arthur's smile twitched.
"Oh—Ron got his letter as well…"
Amos raised his eyebrows. "Really? Then you ought to have him spend more time with Cedric. Professor McGonagall never stops praising his Transfiguration, and he's a Seeker on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Might rub off on Ron a bit."
He'd skipped over Vaughn entirely and gone straight for Ron's sore spots.
The childish rivalry between grown men nearly made Vaughn laugh.
Beside his father, Cedric Diggory looked deeply uncomfortable.
He was handsome, with an open face and a hint of shyness that softened his confident bearing. The moment Amos was distracted by Arthur, Cedric leaned closer to Vaughn.
"Sorry about that," he murmured. "My dad… exaggerates. A lot."
As if on cue, Amos's voice rang out from across the garden.
"Cedric is always polite—always a perfect gentleman!"
Cedric winced and quickly changed the subject.
"I'm Cedric Diggory. It's a pleasure to meet you, Vaughn Weasley. I've read some of your articles on potion development. Your methodology was… honestly fascinating."
"Thanks," Vaughn replied. "Though the Association of Distinguished Potioneers would probably call it 'unorthodox.'"
Where there were people, there was politics.
Over the past few years, Vaughn's Vaughn's Beauty line had earned him both wealth and enemies. Creating market-ready potions at such a young age had drawn more than a little envy.
If not for his pure-blood status—and the lingering decency of his rivals—someone might have already tried to steal his formulas outright. As it stood, most of the criticism was limited to snide commentary in the Daily Prophet.
Cedric, however, was genuinely impressed.
Ambitious and earnest, he admired real talent. Despite being older, he eagerly began asking Vaughn questions about potion theory.
"I've never brewed Polyjuice Potion," Cedric admitted. "It's far beyond public recipes. I've heard Scarpin's Revealing Spell can help analyse ingredients, but that's Ministry-restricted."
"I'm really looking forward to Hogwarts," he added. "The library alone—there's so much I still can't study properly."
Vaughn nodded. "Polyjuice is complex. If you want to understand it, start with powdered bicorn horn. It's one of the core ingredients and relatively safe for controlled testing."
By midday, Cedric had become Vaughn's most enthusiastic listener.
He ignored his father entirely, sitting beside Vaughn and frowning thoughtfully.
"So the transformation doesn't actually come from the bicorn horn?"
"No," Vaughn said. "The real transformation comes from Liquessence Grass—it makes the body moldable. The bicorn horn adds possibility. It allows transformation into another person, even across genders. Its magical signature is complex—much like the creature itself. That complexity is the key. We've barely scratched the surface."
He spoke with genuine passion.
No one in the Weasley family shared his interest in Potions, so having someone to discuss theory with—even from a different angle—was refreshing.
Ron, meanwhile, was suffering.
After failing to hide until lunch, he'd been cornered by Amos and now sat enduring a relentless barrage of comparisons and backhanded praise.
In desperation, he blurted, "Cedric's talking to Vaughn about Potions. I thought I'd go listen."
Amos immediately waved him off.
Which somehow made it worse.
Ron trudged away, shoulders slumped beneath Vaughn's ever-present shadow.
And then came the final blow.
Molly brought out the hotpot.
After years of enduring British cooking, Vaughn had—under the convenient excuse of Arthur's Ministry connections—"rediscovered" a Muggle hotpot recipe and adapted it for wizarding tastes.
When the steaming pot hit the table and Arthur suddenly perked up, proudly boasting about Vaughn's "culinary innovations" to Amos—
Ron felt his soul quietly leave his body.
(End of Chapter 4)
PS :
Squib – A non-magical child born to magical parents.
Knut – The smallest unit of wizarding currency.
Cedric Diggory – Hogwarts student noted for talent, discipline, and sportsmanship.
Polyjuice Potion – Advanced transformational potion with strict brewing requirements.
Scarpin's Revealing Spell – Advanced spell used to reveal hidden properties of objects or substances.
Bicorn Horn – Rare potion ingredient essential to Polyjuice Potion.