The arrival of a Hogwarts letter was a momentous occasion for any family in the magical world.
It could turn a Muggle family's entire world upside down overnight, ushering them into a reality they never knew existed.
Or it could relieve a wizarding family's greatest fear, the terror that their child might be a Squib with no magic at all.
The Weasleys celebrated all day long. Molly prepared a mountain of food that would take days to finish.
At lunchtime, the whole family set up a large tent in the garden near the pond. They prepared to enjoy the breeze, the scenery, and the water while eating together outside.
Arthur even wanted to invite all the neighbors to join them. However, one look from Molly and her raised rolling pin quickly put a stop to that idea. She considered the Lovegoods a bit too odd for casual entertaining and didn't know the Fawcetts well enough to invite them.
Ultimately, they settled on inviting only the Diggorys.
Like Arthur, Amos Diggory worked at the Ministry in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. They were technically colleagues, even if they did not work closely together.
However, Arthur's reason for the invitation went beyond simple professional courtesy or neighborliness.
"That man is absolutely insufferable," Arthur complained.
"Every time I see him at work, he never stops going on about how perfect his son Cedric is. He gets this smug expression, looking down on everyone else's children as if they simply don't measure up."
Arthur looked indignant as he told Molly.
So when Amos Diggory and his son Apparated at the garden gate of the Burrow, Arthur greeted them warmly, with Warren standing right beside him.
Amos, welcome to the Burrow. This is my son, Warren. I imagine you've heard quite a bit about him already.
Amos had a short brown beard and a ruddy complexion, looking as though he had just stepped out of a pub. He shook Arthur's hand firmly, sizing up Warren with interest.
Warren offered a polite smile, the kind reserved for meeting an elder for the first time.
"Yes, yes, Arthur. Your little potions genius. Of course I've heard all about him from the people at work. So he got his Hogwarts letter today, did he? And Ron too?"
Arthur's smile faltered slightly. He hadn't expected Amos to pinpoint his weak spot so accurately. He glanced vaguely around. "Oh, Ron got one too, yes."
Amos immediately raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you bring him along to meet us? If you ask me, you should let Ron spend more time with Cedric here. Our Cedric is so well-behaved and such a model student. Professor McGonagall even personally praised his Transfiguration work. He is a Seeker on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team too, you know. Maybe he could help Ron improve in a few areas."
Amos was a master at shamelessly bragging about his son. He knew precisely how to sidestep an opponent's strengths and target their weaknesses.
The childish rivalry between the two grown men nearly made Warren burst out laughing.
The boy accompanying Amos, Cedric Diggory, looked rather embarrassed by his father's behavior. He was genuinely handsome, still retaining the shyness of youth.
As Amos dragged Warren's father toward the tent, Cedric stepped closer to Warren and apologized quietly. "I'm really sorry about that. My father doesn't mean any harm. He just tends to get a bit carried away."
As if on cue, Amos's voice boomed from across the garden. "...Cedric is always so humble and polite to everyone. Such a perfect gentleman at his age."
Cedric stiffened awkwardly. He scrambled to change the subject.
He extended his hand to Warren. "I am Cedric Diggory. It is a sincere pleasure to meet you, Mr. Weasley. I have read every paper you published on potions. I must say, some of the development concepts you outlined are truly remarkable."
Warren shook his hand firmly. "I appreciate the kind words. They are just a few clever tricks I figured out along the way. There are still some people in the Potioneers' Association who keep insisting I am going about things all wrong, though."
Wherever there were people, there was inevitably conflict of some kind.
Over the years, Warren had amassed a considerable fortune in Galleons from his Warren's Beauty product line. Naturally, this success bred jealousy and resentment among other potioneers who had toiled in the field for decades.
This was particularly galling given the undeniable nature of Warren's talent. It was unprecedented in wizarding history for an eight-year-old boy, not yet even enrolled at Hogwarts, to create a viable, market-ready potion.
Had the other potioneers lacked the professional decency to avoid stealing from a child, or had Warren not been a pureblood from a respected family, someone would likely have cracked his formula by now to steal his market share.
However, after publishing several well-regarded papers on potion development theory, Warren had firmly established himself as a legitimate expert. Warren's Beauty had become a household name across Britain. Consequently, his rivals could do little more than snipe at him in the newspapers and hope their accusations landed.
Warren's calm composure in the face of such hostility actually made Cedric a little envious, if he were honest.
Cedric was ambitious in his own right and possessed a genuine admiration for true talent. As a result, despite Warren not having even started at Hogwarts, Cedric humbly asked him a few serious questions regarding potions and Transfiguration.
I haven't tried brewing Polyjuice Potion myself yet. You know, you can't find the recipe for that kind of advanced potion in any public texts. I've heard Scarpin's Revelaspell can analyze the specific ingredients and proportions if you have a sample, but the Ministry heavily restricts that charm.
So I'm really looking forward to the start of Hogwarts. The library and the professors there can teach you so much that you simply cannot learn on your own at home. But getting back to what we were saying earlier, even though I haven't brewed Polyjuice Potion personally, I know what its main ingredients are supposed to be. I suggest starting with some low-risk experiments using its core ingredient, powdered bicorn horn, to see what happens.
By the time lunch arrived, Cedric had become Warren's devoted admirer for the day.
He even ignored his father completely, making a point of sitting next to Warren at the table to keep asking questions.
Hearing Warren's latest suggestion, he paused for a moment before responding. "So you're saying the main transformative element in Polyjuice Potion actually comes from the bicorn horn itself?"
Not exactly. The transformation actually relies primarily on the specific properties of Fluxweed. The bicorn horn merely allows for more variation. Just as the bicorn resembles a mixture of leopard, ox, and man all at once, it is the key ingredient that enables you to transform into a specific person. It can even transcend gender boundaries if brewed correctly. This involves a fundamental transformation of human biology at a deep level. I truly believe we haven't even begun to fully tap its potential yet.
Warren spoke with absolute authority on the subject.
Apart from him, no one at home possessed any particular talent for Potions. He rarely had anyone to discuss the topic with. Even though Cedric's questions focused mostly on the transformative aspects of potions rather than the brewing process itself, Warren was still happy to finally have someone to discuss it with.
On the other side of the table, Ron was having a thoroughly miserable time.
He had tried to wait until the meal was properly underway before going downstairs, but Amos had cornered him anyway. He was forced to sit with his father and endure Amos's endless praise of his own perfect son, peppered with not-so-subtle digs at him.
To escape the ordeal, Ron finally resorted to using Warren as an excuse.
"Cedric is asking Warren about potions over there," Ron said quickly. "I want to go listen in and learn something."
Amos fell silent immediately and let him go without another word.
That just made Ron feel even worse. It felt as though his brother's shadow loomed over everything, following him wherever he went.
The feeling was especially strong once lunch was finally served. Molly brought out a meticulously prepared hot pot, a Chinese dish Warren had recreated from Muggle magazines using his father's connections at the Ministry. He had been driven to invent something genuinely flavorful by a deep hatred for years of bland British food.
As the steaming pot was set on the table, Ron watched his father perk up instantly. He had been quiet and subdued all morning, but he immediately began boasting to Amos about Warren's culinary invention and just how clever his son was.
Ron felt utterly defeated.