Chapter 495: Victory
Chapter 495: Victory
As Slughorn was about to start the class, a student suddenly raised a question.
"Professor, you haven’t told us what’s inside that yet", Ernie Macmillan, a Pureblood male wizard from Hufflepuff, pointed to a small black cauldron on the podium. Inside the cauldron, the Elixirs were happily splashing, their color like melted gold, with large droplets dancing on the surface like golden fish, not a single drop spilling out.
"Ah!" Slughorn let out an exclamation, but Liam was sure he hadn’t forgotten about it. The exclamation was purely for dramatic effect, as he had clearly anticipated someone would ask. It worked, though, as the entire class, including Malfoy, who had been whispering since the start of the lesson, was now fully engaged.
"Ladies and gentlemen, what you see here is one of the most magical potions, called Felix Felicis." He then turned his gaze to Hermione, "I believe our clever Miss Granger knows what this Elixir does, doesn’t she?"
"It’s a Luck Potion, it brings you good luck!" Hermione was visibly excited. Ever since Liam had guided her to understand and master the Law of Magic, they had developed a great interest in this Elixir. They believed it was the only known Elixir that could touch the rules of the universe. Unfortunately, they had found no clues about this Elixir beyond its name, even in the Black Market of Knockturn Alley, where it was highly sought after but rarely available.
Seeing the Elixir, Liam and Hermione’s eyes lit up with a desperate desire. They couldn’t wait to analyze it right away.
Fortunately, everyone in the classroom was looking at the Elixir with the same longing, so Slughorn didn’t notice their intense gazes. He continued with an enthusiastic tone, "Very correct, ten more points to Gryffindor. The brewing process of Felix Felicis is extremely complex, and any mistake can have disastrous consequences. However, if brewed correctly, like this one in the cauldron, you’ll find that everything you do will be effortlessly successful... at least until the potion’s effects wear off."
At this point, his expression became somewhat dreamy, his eyes filled with memories: "I’ve used it twice, once at twenty-four and again at fifty-seven. I took two teaspoons at breakfast. Those two days were absolutely perfect. Of course, using even a little more can have extremely bad side effects, including but not limited to dizziness, recklessness, and dangerous overconfidence. However, occasional and cautious use—"
Slughorn then pulled out a teardrop-shaped Elixir vial from his pocket to show the class: "This small vial of Elixir will be the prize for today’s class, bringing twelve hours of good luck. Of course, it’s prohibited in organized competitions."
Seeing the students’ full attention and their eager expressions, Slughorn suddenly became more energetic, "How can you win this wonderful prize? Turn to page ten of 'Advanced Potion Making.' You need to brew a Mortality Water in the next hour or so. The best brewer will win this vial of Felix Felicis. Alright, let’s begin!"
The sound of cauldrons being dragged to the front, weights being placed on scales, and pages being flipped filled the room. However, no one spoke, as everyone’s focus was intense.
Glancing at Harry’s book, Liam noticed that the margins of every page were as black as the potion itself, indicating that fate had ensured Harry received the old book destined for him, once belonging to Snape. Liam needed to use some extra methods to get the Luck Potion.
He drew his wand and pointed it at the materials on the table, then began to trace runes in the air while chanting a spell in Quenya, "Dissolve, extract, combine—"
As he released his magic, tiny runes the size of grains of rice floated out, forming lines of red light that eventually created a pentagram ritual array on the table, encircled by two concentric rings. The raw materials on the table began to float, and under Liam’s wand’s direction, they were sliced, ground into powder, and their juices extracted.
The commotion naturally drew the attention of the others, but the students were all focused on the Felix Felicis as the prize, so they only glanced over before returning to their own tasks. Only Professor Slughorn showed a look of shock on his face, and he immediately stood beside Liam to watch his work.
This was a simple application of the Transformation Rules. The magic array in front of him was actually a rudimentary alchemical field that Liam had created using the Transformation Rules to drive his magic power. Within this field, Liam could easily analyze, decompose, and recombine any non-ruled materials, while minimizing external interference as much as possible.
Just five minutes later, while the others were still fumbling with their concoctions, a light blue vapor was already rising from Liam's crucible, and the liquid inside had turned into a uniform, tea-brown color. He then waved his wand, and the Sleep Beans automatically lined up in the air above the crucible, squeezed out their juice, and jumped into the trash can under the table.
The elixir in the crucible turned a pale bluish-green as soon as the Sleep Bean juice was added. Under Liam's command, the liquid began to rotate, and its color gradually lightened, first turning pink, then becoming increasingly clear. After 40 minutes, Liam felt that the elixir was ready and waved his hand. The bubbling liquid in the crucible immediately calmed down, and by then, it was as clear as water.
"Truly a miracle. Are you an alchemist?" Slughorn said, visibly excited, after examining Liam's elixir. "I rarely see such high-level alchemy these days."
"How did you know it wasn't just magic?" Liam asked curiously. Distinguishing between alchemy and ordinary magic required careful observation, and Slughorn had only taken a glance from a distance. Liam found this hard to understand.
"Hehe." Slughorn chuckled. "We wizards can use magic, but why do we always rely on manual work when handling potion ingredients and brewing? It's because the slight overflow of magic power during spellcasting can contaminate the elixir, reducing its effectiveness. Only alchemists of a certain caliber can use magic power without affecting the efficacy of the potion."
"I see." Liam realized that his lack of knowledge in this area was due to his non-wizard background, so he was unfamiliar with what could be considered common knowledge in the magical world.
For the rest of the time, Liam transferred the elixir into a crystal vial and cleaned his table. He then took out an alchemy reference book he had copied from the School Library and began reading it. Meanwhile, Slughorn started patrolling the classroom. Unlike Professor Snape, he simply observed without making any comments.
Finally, after an hour, Slughorn began moving between the desks, checking each crucible in turn. He remained silent throughout the process. Most of the students' results were not impressive. For example, Ron's concoction resembled asphalt, and Ernie's was an odd shade of blue. However, Hermione's work was excellent, and Harry's elixir was surprisingly good.
"You are as skilled as your mother", Slughorn praised Harry, patting him on the shoulder, before taking out the teardrop-shaped vial and walking over to Liam.
"Our Mr. Liang is the undisputed winner!" he announced to the entire class as he handed the Felix Felicis to Liam. "I have never seen a young wizard of your age capable of such a feat. Here, take it—my word is my bond, one vial of Felix Felicis. Use it well!"
Liam quickly tucked the small bottle into his pocket amidst the envious looks of his classmates. Since he had no other classes in the afternoon, he hurried back to the Common Room, set down his books, and prepared to follow the plan they had discussed earlier. He called Hermione and they headed to the Alchemy Lab to study the secrets hidden within the Felix Felicis.
(End of Chapter)
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