days at Hogwarts

Slughorn returned to the classroom and pushed his already bulging belly forward, the buttons on his vest almost falling off:

"Well, dear children, I have prepared a few potions for you to broaden your horizons. Of course, they are just for fun. When you finish the advanced course, you should be able to make things like this. Although you haven't made them yourself, you must have heard of them... Now, who can tell me what these are?"

"Very good, very good! Mr. Nott is right. It is Veritaserum, a colorless, odorless potion that forces the person who drinks it to tell the truth."

"The medicine next to it is quite famous. It has also been highlighted in several pamphlets issued by the Ministry recently. Does anyone have any experience with it..."

"Great, great! I knew you could do it, Harry..."

"Can anyone tell me what this potion is?"

"Exactly, Miss Parvati Patil recognized it immediately. It is the most effective love potion in the world!"

Slughorn watched the girls whispering to each other with blushing cheeks, and the boys stretching their necks and making strange noises with kind smiles on their faces. He did not care even though the whole classroom was filled with noisy discussions. At the age of sixteen or seventeen, it was the time to look forward to love.

"Of course, love potions can't really create love. They can only lead to intense obsession or infatuation... When you have as much life experience as I have, you will realize that these potions are just a crude imitation of the appearance of love. True love cannot be created..."

Hermione's chaotic mind gradually calmed down. She came to her senses and realized that she had missed the pre-class question session. She felt a little regretful.

You can fall in love at any time, if you miss it, you miss it.

"Now!" Slughorn paused and deliberately drew out his words. "We should start the lesson."

"Sir, you haven't told us what's in here yet." Ernie MacMillan interrupted impatiently, looking excitedly at the small black crucible next to him.

The potion in the crucible splashed lightly. The golden droplets were very brilliant, like melted gold, shining brightly. Anyone could see the wonder of this potion.

"Oh! I almost forgot!"

Slughorn's acting was a little superficial, and all the students could see that he had not forgotten at all, but was just waiting for someone to ask him about it to create a show effect.

He leaned towards the golden potion with a smile and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, this thing is a most peculiar little potion, the lucky potion, we usually like to call it... the lucky potion!

"This medicine is very difficult to make. If you make a mistake, the consequences will be disastrous. But once it's made, just take a sip and everything will go smoothly...

"I have taken it twice in my life, once when I was twenty-four and once when I was fifty-seven. I took two spoonfuls with breakfast..."

Slughorn narrowed his eyes, as if recalling the memory of that time: "Those two days were really perfect... twelve hours of good luck, from dawn to dusk, everything I did was blessed by good luck."

Listening to his story, the students sniffed the scent of the potion and fell into a trance.

Slughorn looked at the sparkling eyes in the audience, took out a glass bottle from his pocket, and chuckled, "The Felixir in the crucible is not ready yet, so I will use this Felixir in my hand as the prize for this class... Come on, students, please turn to page 10 of Advanced Potion Making. You will have an hour to brew the Living Hell Potion, and the one who does the best will win this small bottle of Felixir.

"let's start!"

With a sharp scraping sound, the young wizards pulled the crucibles in front of them one after another. Some of them put the weights on the scales with a clang, and some of them flipped through their textbooks with a rustling sound...

Loren stared at the slightly boiling and glowing Felixir, and information about the Felixir emerged in his mind.

Felixir of Life originated in the 16th century and was invented by Zygmunt Budge. As the greatest potion master in history, he had a similar experience to many outstanding Hogwarts alumni. He was expelled from school at the age of 14, and lived out his life in an unknown remote island in the Hebrides, devoting his life to his favorite potion science.

He discovered the properties of hundreds of secret plants and organisms, invented many textbook potions, and left behind many mysterious legends.

The preparation of the Fuling agent takes six months and involves no more than ten kinds of materials, but the skills required are very demanding. It includes nine steps in total...

Loren glanced at the small glass bottle on the podium, then at the slightly boiling golden potion. It was a full pot, enough to fill dozens of glass bottles.

"Living Hell Decoction, also known as Water of Life and Death...

"Made from narcissus root powder, wormwood, valerian root...

"Simmer and heat... stir clockwise..."

Hermione opened her brand new textbook and glanced over the brewing steps. She confirmed the entire process in her mind before taking action. She searched the locker for the necessary materials, returned to the workbench, took out a knife and prepared to start cutting the valerian root.

Just as he was about to cut, he caught a glimpse of Loren standing there with a dazed look on his face and a silly smile.

"Loren..." Hermione poked him twice with the Narcissus root and said in a low voice, "Don't be in a daze. Today is not a group assignment!"

"..."

How can this person slander someone else out of thin air?

"You can make the living hell soup first. I have a great idea. Also, don't cut the sleepy beans. It's easier to squeeze them to get the juice..." Loren said, and walked towards the fat professor in front.

The potions in the crucible needed to be properly handled. The love potion and truth serum had been prepared and placed in sealed containers. The crucible had to be cleaned to prevent students from scraping a few drops out and causing trouble, which would be embarrassing for him, the Potions Professor.

The polyjuice decoction and the philadelphine are still semi-finished products. They are transferred back to the office for further preparation. They need to be kept in good condition to ensure that the medicinal properties are not lost. In a few months, they can be exchanged for a large amount of Galleons.

Slughorn stood in front of the display table, cleaning up, occasionally showing a pleasant smile.

"Professor." Loren walked over with a smile.

Slughorn looked up and kept filling the Veritaserum. After all, he was a potion master, and even at his age, his hands were steady. He asked with a smile, "Are you having any problems? With your level, brewing the Living Hell Potion should be easy, right?"

"The Living Hell Decoction is fine."

The Polyjuice Potion was almost empty, so Loren held the crucible to make it easier for him to fill it. "I have some ideas about the Felixir Potion, and I want to ask the professor for his opinion."

"what idea?"

"Professor, your pot of Felicis is golden in color. Have you just completed the first step?"

"Indeed, if you add wasabi to a failed fire snake egg and mash it, the color will be the same as the finished product. Once you add the juice of the onion, the color will change... After six months, if everything goes well, the potion will return to this color again, and the Fuling Potion will be successful."

Slughorn put the cork on the bottle, sealed the Polyjuice Potion, and looked at him with great satisfaction. "Any questions?"

"I have some powder of the Sands of Time."