The next morning during breakfast, Harry poked at his fried eggs with a fork, sporting a pair of red eyes.
"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked with concern.
"I'm fine," Harry replied, his voice slightly hoarse but in good spirits. "The effects of the potion haven't worn off yet." He turned to Ron, mumbling, "I might need your help tonight."
Ron nodded understandingly.
Hermione, taken aback by their understanding, pursed her lips. Before she could say anything, Neville arrived with a thick stack of parchnt containing the book "A Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi," along with so parchnt slips.
"I've compiled the hundred most common magical plant materials," Neville said. "Referenced past O.W.L.s exam questions, so there shouldn't be any omissions."
Ron was impressed by Neville's confidence. Harry quickly retrieved three parchnt slips from his bag. "These are the simplified processes for the latest three potions. Pass them to, um..."
"Hannah and Susan," Neville grinned. "They can't wait to check these out. Hermione—"
"I'll visit this afternoon," Hermione said. "Strictly according to O.W.L.s standards?"
"That's the only way it'll work; otherwise, Susan's grading criteria from her aunt will go to waste," Neville said. "And for antidotes, there's no fixed plan; one must deeply understand the principles..."
Hermione nodded in agreent.
"I can only provide so ideas—"
"Most poisons can actually be countered with bezoar," Harry interjected, having spent the night reading idle books. Neville finally noticed Harry's red eyes and jumped, nearly spilling his soup.
"Harry, your eyes—"
"It's nothing," Harry mumbled.
Once Neville left, Harry, Ron, and Hermione gathered to inspect Neville's work. Each parchnt contained seven or eight types of plant materials, not just their nas but also simple drawings outlined with arrows indicating their effects in different potions.
The first material was 'Bouncing Bulb.'
Harry glanced at the adjacent pattern for a few seconds, aligning it with his mory. Then he carefully read the string of arrows it led to. The first indicated that raw or applied, it could heal superficial wounds; the second, when distilled, enhanced the healing effect, accompanied by suggested ratios. The third ntioned its use in creating an invigorating potion to awaken those under magical sleep—"We should have stocked up!" Ron exclaid upon seeing this, rembering how long it took Harry to wake him up that morning—followed by arrows four through eight, detailing the combined effects of Bouncing Bulb with other materials, such as mixing it with silver powder to treat excessive bleeding from werewolf bites...
"Fantastic," Harry said. "I wonder how the Greengrass sisters are doing?"
Before the afternoon class, Daphne and Astoria arrived at the "Frontline Outlook" base. It looked completely different with rows of cauldrons set up, students adding ingredients while Hermione inspected a completed potion sample.
"No toxins—"
"The color's a bit faint, but negligible—"
"The scent is normal."
"Next is the Skelpin Appearance Charm," Hermione waved her wand, causing various apparitions to appear above a small glass bottle, their shadows then flickering and becoming gradually clearer as she chanted incantations. Everyone leaned in to observe.
"It should be fine," she sighed in relief.
"Just needs testing, who's up next?" Simon Finch-Fletchley said excitedly.
Everyone stepped back simultaneously, vividly recalling Anthony Goldstein's incident—back then, before Hermione's intervention, Anthony ended up with eyebrows and body hair that "whooshed" and grew uncontrollably after consuming an enhanced hair-growth potion.
"His nose hair was a foot long at one point!"
Since then, Hermione beca an indispensable part, responsible for testing and identification. She also knew the most obscure, seemingly useless spells, which could turn accidents from 'terrible' to 'manageable.'
"I'll go," Justin Finch-Fletchley stood up despite his friend Ernie Macmillan's quiet protest.
Harry stared intently at Justin; his eyes were even redder, visibly fatigued, but he had a vial of Dreamless Sleep Potion he had obtained earlier from Madam Pomfrey. "Kid, you should have co earlier," she scolded sternly. "The O.W.L.s exams are indeed pressuring many—"
"This, this is just an accident, Madam Pomfrey," Harry hurriedly explained. Only after promising not to abuse magical potions again was he allowed to leave.
At that mont, he noticed soone tugging at his clothes from behind. Turning, then lowering his gaze, he stared at Astoria.
Astoria gestured for him to co out.
"Did you bring it?"
"A bottle of dragon blood, half a unicorn horn, twenty secondary unicorn tail hairs, African snake skin, ashwinder eggs, Billywig feathers, dragon liver, scarab beetles, Lethe River water... it's all here," Daphne said, patting her pockets.
A cry ca from nearby—Ron tried to grab sothing and got a zap from Daphne's wand.
"It's conditional," Daphne said, frowning.
"What conditions?" Harry asked sensitively.
Daphne reluctantly gestured towards Hermione, "Only she can use these materials. Everyone agrees—"
"Wait, how many of you are there?" Ron asked.
"Fifteen."
"So many!" Harry exclaid.
"Do you know the value of these materials?" Daphne asked proudly, then glanced sowhat warily at Harry's red eyes. "Just the bottle of dragon blood is worth 12 Galleons. We won't waste precious materials on uncertain tests, so it must be done properly. We need to see the correct procedures! Look at your red eyes!"
"This isn't a side effect of testing simplified processes!" Harry couldn't help but defend himself.
But Daphne shoved a small packet of potion ingredients into his hand. "I don't care; I'm just the ssenger. You figure out the specific ti, but it has to be when we're all available." With her sister, she left, leaving Harry and Ron stunned. "What's she so proud about? Isn't she practically begging us—"
"Technically, it has nothing to do with us," Harry reminded Ron, scratching his head. "Just didn't expect Mafalda to gather this many people."
Indeed, Mafalda's shadow lood over this matter. One could even say she had connected students from four houses. She was now retiring after achieving her goal, actively expanding other business ventures...
"We need to keep track of the progress in the Magic Yearbook; wasn't there news that Roger Davies signed up? He might be invited during the sumr, allowing early predictions. He's still quite popular!" Mafalda said excitedly, swinging her auburn hair.
Several younger students nodded in agreent.
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