Shawn's plan for brewing potions went better than he expected, thanks to an accident in Friday morning's Potions class. Neville ended up covered in potion, with red, swollen boils on his arms and legs. Professor Snape had to take him to the hospital wing.
According to Justin's hurried account, Professor Snape would be there for a while. Shawn had at least three hours to brew potions.
The dungeons stayed cold, but Shawn was just as excited as ever. He quickly set out his materials and books, then lit the cauldron. Justin was still at the hospital wing, keeping an eye out for Professor Snape. Shawn focused on getting as much practice as possible.
'If I reach Entry level in potion brewing and show my progress in the next Potions class, Professor Snape might let me brew potions in the dungeons like the older students,' Shawn thought. After all, he was a Ravenclaw, not a Gryffindor. As long as he followed the rules, Snape probably wouldn't make things hard for him—unless his last name was Potter.
"Light the cauldron, process the materials..." Shawn had these steps down by now. The only tricky parts were the heat and the stirring.
Just last night, he had flipped through the entire Advanced Potion-Making until he froze on that page full of meaningful text by Master Libatius Borage:
[In fact, from ancient times to now, physical phenomena lacking metaphysical insight and metaphysics lacking physical representation are equally unsatisfying]
Behind this deep passage, on a page where words seemed to appear like a sticky note, there was a paragraph that felt revolutionary for potion-making practice.
[If you use the Fire-Making Charm, everyone can brew perfect potions. But as I said in Have Yourself a Fiesta in a Bottle, if you lose the special intuition that spells provide, cauldrons become as useless as scrap metal...]
Shawn quickly turned the page. The most important part jumped out at him:
[and isn't recognized by tradition, I say, fuck them! If you can see this section, then I will reveal to you that self-igniting cauldrons can equally possess perfect heat control]
Seeing this, Shawn felt just like Harry when he found the Half-Blood Prince's notes, or Hermione with the Time-Turner, or Tom with Secrets of the Darkest Art.
"I have everything I need now!" Shawn focused on boiling the slugs and preparing the ingredients. He no longer stirred at random, but used the techniques Professor Snape had shown him. For heat control, he followed Potion Master Libatius Borage's advice instead of guessing.
The dungeons were dim, but there was just enough light to show Shawn at work. The cauldron sent up thin white vapor, soft and smooth as silk. With the bubbling sounds and Shawn's quiet breathing, the potion turned light blue-green again.
Shawn knew the most important moment was next. Using exactly the same technique as last time, he added the slugs and began the final stirring.
In the chilly underground room, glass jars filled with twisted roots, animal eyes, and strange shimmering scales lined the stone shelves. A drop of cold water dripped from the mossy ceiling and landed on Shawn's neck, but he didn't notice. He was completely focused, lost in the hazy steam and the magic of the moment.
[You completely brewed one cauldron of Cure for Boils at Entry standard, Proficiency +3]
The panel notification snapped Shawn out of his focus. He stared eagerly at the dark green, jelly-like potion. He knew the hardest part was over. Now he just had to keep up this level, steady his brewing skills, and finally turn his weak talent around.
Shawn felt excited and proud, but he packed up and left in a hurry. He quickly put all his materials in his bag. After carefully pouring the Cure for Boils into crystal bottles, he waved his wand.
"Scourgify!" The cauldron was clean in an instant. Shawn put both Advanced Potion-Making and Magical Drafts and Potions into his bag. Now he understood why one cost eight Galleons and the other only two.
He checked the dungeons one last time to make sure he hadn't missed anything. As the room warmed a little, Justin showed up, looking anxious. When he saw Shawn, he let out a big sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness, Shawn. Did it go well?" He asked breathlessly.
"Yes." Shawn nodded.
At that moment, a man with greasy black hair and a hooked nose came around the corner. Every young wizard who saw him quickly stepped aside. Shawn and Justin watched as Professor Snape walked into the dungeons. They felt like a pair of sneaky thieves.
"My mother says friendships from doing bad things together are always stronger than from doing good things together," Justin said with a grin. Then he paused. "Even if this wasn't really bad, it still works out the same."
Shawn gave him a strange look. Was there anything Mrs. Finch-Fletchley didn't teach?
In the magical world, people never really talked about science. Even in Potions, which needed careful skill and knowledge, too much theory was usually ignored. That wasn't just Shawn's view—it was what Potion Master Libatius Borage, author of Advanced Potion-Making and other books, believed too.
Borage's advice on heat control helped Shawn a lot. So before lunch, Shawn got ready to visit the library and read Borage's other two books. He hoped he might find more hidden notes with 'heretical' knowledge, just like in Advanced Potion-Making.
On Fridays, the Hogwarts Library always had a special feel before the weekend—a mix of hurry and laziness. Maybe the students had finally realized they couldn't finish their homework without spending time here.
Almost every oak table was full. Students were everywhere, heads down in their work. The main sound was the scratch of quills on parchment. Fifth and seventh years looked especially anxious, surrounded by piles of books. Even first-year students seemed stressed. Sometimes, a young wizard would groan, 'A one-foot History of Magic essay?!' and then get 'invited' out of the library by Madam Pince.