Chapter 80 - Chapter 80: Who are you trying to harm this time?

[Bonus for Powerstones!♥🥲]

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As soon as Professor Slughorn announced the points award, the Gryffindor students started getting restless.

At this point, even a fool could tell what Professor Slughorn was trying to do.

Immediately, a Gryffindor girl with braided pigtails raised her hand and said, "Professor, since you haven't announced the answers yet, why don't you let us have a try too?"

"Haha, Miss McLaggen, this little test of mine isn't just to see if you've reviewed your homework—it's also a test of your courage. Since Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Riddle were the first to raise their hands and answered correctly, they're the winners. If you were confident, why didn't you raise your hand right away?"

"..."

Professor Slughorn's words left the Gryffindor students speechless.

Was he saying that the courage of Gryffindors was inferior to that of two Slytherins?

A grave insult!

Several hot-headed Gryffindors were now looking at Wade and Tom with dangerous expressions.

Wade and Tom ignored their sharp glares completely.

Gryffindor and Slytherin had always been at odds—being targeted was unavoidable.

In any case, whether it was hitting Slytherins or Gryffindors, it was still a fight—what difference did it make?

Professor Slughorn then announced the answers and laid out the notes written by Wade and Tom for everyone to see.

Sure enough, their answers matched what Professor Slughorn had just explained.

"Come now, Wade, Tom, come up and receive your welcome gift," Professor Slughorn said, pulling two small glass vials from his pocket.

Inside each vial was a single drop of golden liquid...

Tom eyed the liquid with suspicion, as if he wanted to say something but held back.

"Professor, this is too valuable," Wade said.

"Oh? It seems you both recognize what potion this is?" Professor Slughorn asked, clearly pleased.

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be Felix Felicis," Wade said. "That's really far too valuable. We only passed a small quiz—it's not worth that much…"

"Hahaha~ No, you are worth it," Professor Slughorn said with a smile. "I've taught many students. You may be young, but I dare say you'll be among the best I've ever had. My eye is very keen… so I believe you deserve a bit of extra encouragement!"

Professor Slughorn had always been confident in his judgment—any student he had ever taken a liking to never turned out ordinary after graduation.

And Wade and Tom left an even stronger impression on him!

Whether it was their love for Potions or their courage and strength to stand against many senior students while so young, everything pointed to the fact that these two were not destined to remain obscure.

Most crucially, even Professor Slughorn could sense the hostility coming from the other Slytherin students, as well as the Gryffindors, directed at these two.

Yet these boys remained completely unafraid. That kind of composure was especially rare and valuable.

So, when he asked them to come forward and receive their welcome gift, he quietly swapped out the original reward for the far more precious Felix Felicis.

For Slughorn, discovering and drawing talented students into his circle was his greatest passion.

After all, once these gifted young people graduated—grateful to him and likely to rise to prominent positions—they would become part of his invaluable network of connections.

Slughorn: Hu Hu Hu~

Felix Felicis was also known as Liquid Luck. So even those least interested in Potions had at least heard of this rare brew.

The moment the students realized that the prize was actually Felix Felicis, every pair of eyes turned toward Wade and Tom with undisguised envy.

Over on the Gryffindor side, more than a few students were visibly regretful—especially Miss McLaggen.

They all thought that if they hadn't hesitated earlier, the Felix Felicis might've been theirs!

With things said this far, Wade and Tom had no choice but to accept the reward.

After thanking the professor, both of them returned to their seats with cheerful expressions.

Even though Wade had already exchanged for a bottle of Felix Felicis through the system, when it came to such a rare potion, who would ever think one bottle was enough?

Tom, on the other hand, was so thrilled that he felt his drowsiness completely vanish!

"Alright, next we'll begin learning how to brew the Boil-Cure Potion," Professor Slughorn said as he pulled over a blackboard and quickly jotted down the precautions for brewing it.

"Who knows what kind of potion this is? Miss McLaggen!"

"It's a powerful potion used to treat measles, boils, and other lymphatic infections. It has a rather volatile nature. If brewed incorrectly, instead of curing boils, it can actually cause them…"

"Ah! A perfectly accurate answer. I can see you've done a very thorough job previewing the material, Miss McLaggen! Five points to Gryffindor!" Professor Slughorn said happily.

Though McLaggen wasn't as dazzling as Wade and Tom, she was still the kind of student he liked.

However, McLaggen herself wasn't in the least bit cheered up.

She didn't believe for a second that she was any worse than Wade or Tom—yet they got Felix Felicis and twenty points each! 

Clearly, that wasn't fair at all!

Professor Slughorn, of course, had no idea what she was thinking. Even if he had known, he likely wouldn't have found his actions inappropriate.

Naturally, he was more inclined to favor his own House's students...

Next, after demonstrating the brewing process for the Boil-Cure Potion, Professor Slughorn had the class pair up and start practicing.

Wade sighed dramatically and ended up partnered with Tom.

"Well, there's no escaping it. Tom, I just hope you don't blow up the cauldron… Eh? Anne, did you really just take a step back?"

As the two of them began dividing up the work, Tom suddenly heard Wade's voice in his ear.

"When you add the porcupine quills, put in a bit more of the powdered ones."

Tom looked at Wade in surprise, realizing the message had been delivered via the Whispering Charm.

"Spill it. Who are you trying to mess with this time?"

"What kind of thing is that to say? When have I ever harmed anyone?"

"Alright… then how much is 'a bit more' exactly?"

Wade picked out a small measuring spoon from the toolkit and quietly placed it next to Tom.

"Use this—half a spoon."

"You do want me to blow up the cauldron, don't you?"

"It won't explode, and it won't affect the potion's effectiveness. But since it's powdered, a bit will spray out."

"You planning to cover yourself in boils?"

"Of course not. I'll explain later."

As he spoke, Wade subtly shifted his position, stepping slightly to the side—revealing Anne, who was standing just beside him.

Tom glanced at her, instantly catching on.

The two of them began working in sync, and the Boil-Cure Potion steadily progressed toward completion.

Professor Slughorn watched from the side, nodding with satisfaction.

Tom's actions were so precise, it was like watching a textbook come to life.

And Wade was even more impressive.

Especially his knife skills, which were absurdly precise, and his efficiency in handling potion ingredients—both left Professor Slughorn visibly astonished.

Before transmigrating, Wade had been the youngest expert in the field of biology, and things like specimen dissection or anatomical work were everyday tasks for him.

So when it came to preparing potion ingredients, it was practically second nature.

Wade and Tom were starting to feel a little anxious—if Professor Slughorn kept watching them this closely, they wouldn't be able to pull off their little trick...

Boom!

Luckily, it wasn't long before something went wrong on the Gryffindor side. Someone messed up a step, and their cauldron suddenly burst into flames!

"Don't panic!" Professor Slughorn quickly walked over to deal with it.

Tom let out a quiet breath of relief and swiftly moved on to the final step, then lifted the cauldron off the fire.

Wade handed him a prepared porcupine quill.

Tom dropped the porcupine quill into the cauldron, and while the Boil-Cure Potion inside began to react, Wade quietly passed him a small vial.

Inside the vial was finely ground porcupine quill powder.

Tom glanced at Professor Slughorn's back, then quickly opened the vial and used the small spoon to scoop out just under half a spoonful.

Wade nodded, and Tom sprinkled the powder into the cauldron…

Boom!

A sudden splash erupted from the potion as it neared completion!

"Ah!"

Wade let out a deliberately startled cry as he nimbly dodged the splash.

The potion—still not fully stabilized—sprayed outward in a burst of droplets, heading straight toward Anne.

Thanks to Wade's timely warning shout, Anne had been on alert. The moment she saw the potion coming at her, she looked momentarily panicked—but her wand hand moved without hesitation.

Whoosh!

Before the potion could even get close to Anne, she sent it flying back with a swift flick of her wand.

Sizzle!

The potion splashed back into the cauldron with a sharp, hissing noise.

"Oh My! Sorry! I knew Tom was going to blow the cauldron," Wade quickly said to Anne, who was still in a guarded stance.

Tom stared at Wade in disbelief—seriously? Sold him out again?

Professor Slughorn had just finished handling the incident on the other side of the room and hurried over when he heard the commotion.

"What happened here? Oh... Tom, you used the spoon that still had porcupine quill powder on it, didn't you? That's not going to ruin the potion, but it will cause an overly strong reaction and splash everywhere. There's a reason the quantity is so specific."

"I..."

"I told him not to," Wade jumped in, "but he insisted on using it. Nearly hit Anne."

Anne put away her wand and smiled, "It's fine. Good thing I didn't switch seats with you."

Tom shut his mouth. This scoundrel... never misses a chance to throw him under the bus.

Clearly, Wade was the one trying to test Anne—yet in the end, he refused to take the blame!

This had to be payback for not buying his potion!

What a conniving bastard...

Forget it. Tom was used to it by now.

Off to the side, McLaggen had also noticed the scene. She sneered in disdain.

Seriously? Cauldron mishaps over a simple Boil-Cure Potion, and this was the kind of talent that got rewarded with Felix Felicis?

...

The potions class finally came to an end.

Tom dragged himself out of the classroom, exhausted.

Using the Whispering Charm, he asked, "I went through all that trouble. Did you figure anything out?"

Wade replied, "I got the answer."

"What's the answer?"

"The answer is: Anne isn't Grindelwald in disguise."

Tom: "??"

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You gave Dobby a lot of Powerstones, Sir! Here is a chapter for that, Sir! Dobby is working hard, Sir! Dobby wants to die, Sir!(┬┬﹏┬┬)

Read two weeks ahead: P^treon: Captain69

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