Chapter 21: Potions Class
In the following days, Vaughn’s life at Hogwarts settled into a routine.
He attended classes daily, answered professors’ questions, and received feedback, satisfying his thirst for knowledge.
On the first day of school, during Charms class, his excellent Levitation Charm earned high praise from Professor Flitwick, the Charms expert rumored to have Goblin blood, who also examined Vaughn’s notes.
However, he did not invite Vaughn to join his Charms Club.
“Your magic is still growing, Mr. Vaughn Weasley. Young wizards your age need to practice foundational spells more deeply; advanced research is not suitable for you.”
Professor Flitwick said to Vaughn in his high-pitched voice, “But I promise, when you reach your 3rd year, I will invite you, if you have the time. After all, the Transfiguration Club will likely take up a significant portion of your energy.”
As a token of his appreciation for Vaughn’s spellcasting skills, he awarded Slytherin an immediate 20 points.
This made Vaughn very happy.
He didn’t want to miss any opportunity for points, as this was a new quest activated after the System’s Main Quest ①!
【 Main Quest ②: By the end of this school year, help Slytherin win the House Cup.】
【 Reward: 1 Talent Point, 50 Magic Power units.】
It doesn’t seem difficult, but anyone who knows the future would consider this a hellish challenge…
The greatest benevolent wizard of the era was preparing to mentor his destined savior, and for that, he was even willing to shamelessly award points.
Although this happened only once in the coming years, it directly conflicted with the System’s quest.
Vaughn hadn’t thought of a good solution yet, but he didn’t want to give up easily. He would just work hard for now.
Two days passed, and after a boring History of Magic class—Professor Binns’s hypnotic lecturing prowess amazed Vaughn, who fell asleep halfway through—he still managed to earn 5 points from Professor Binns.
Even though the professor had misspoken his name.
He also experienced an unremarkable Astronomy class. It was said that Astronomy was a mandatory subject because it formed the foundation for Divination Mastery.
Out of respect for his “2” in Divination Mastery, Vaughn unashamedly copied the astronomical knowledge he had learned in his previous life. This astounded Professor Sinistra, who was only curious why Vaughn was fixated on whether the solar system had eight or nine planets.
Then there was Professor Sprout’s Herbology class, which was very interesting.
Of course, during the first lesson, she didn’t have the first-year students do any practical work. She simply took them on a tour of Hogwarts’ greenhouses and briefly introduced the various magical plants grown there.
However, more than the plants, the students were curious about the greenhouse itself—it was enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, and divided into various regions like forests, wetlands, highlands, and deserts, each suited to the different survival needs of the plants.
It was like entering a dreamlike world.
In this class, Vaughn and Hermione each earned 20 points based on rote memorization of textbook knowledge, while Gryffindor’s Neville surprisingly showed a passion for Herbology.
He even earned 10 points… Fortunately, that same night, Gryffindor lost 20 points due to Fred and George’s prank in the corridor.
Thank goodness!
Even more thanks were due to the subsequent Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Professor Quirrell, with his large scarf wrapped around his head, was disliked by everyone due to the strong garlic smell emanating from him. His teaching ability was also questionable; he only read from the book.
When Seamus Finnigan of Gryffindor pressed him for details about defeating a Revivifying Corpse, he even started to ramble incoherently.
Vaughn smoothed things over for him at that moment, and Professor Quirrell was very grateful, awarding Slytherin 10 points.
Then, a moment later, as if he had amnesia, he awarded Slytherin another 10 points.
(Note: The course arrangements in this chapter combine elements from the movie and original novel.)
Ron and Harry made a bet: “…He must have had his brains sucked out by a vampire!”
But Vaughn knew why.
The subsequent 10 points were likely instructed by Socket Man for Professor Quirrell to award. Speaking of which, Voldemort truly loved Hogwarts and Slytherin deeply.
In his prime, his greatest wish was to become a professor at Hogwarts. When he couldn’t get the job, he directly cursed the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.
If I can’t have it, no one else will!
Truly a deep affection!
Time spun by, and it was Friday. Today was the last class of the first week of school: Potions!
Harry and Ron were sighing early in the morning.
“I think Professor Snape dislikes me. I mean, his gaze at me during the Welcome Feast… it was terrifying!”
“Don’t be silly, Harry. I think he looks at everyone like they owe him 500 Gold Galleons. I heard he’s particularly biased towards Slytherin. Humph, Vaughn must be overjoyed!”
Ron couldn’t help but glance at the Ravenclaw table, his expression sour.
That’s right, today Vaughn was sitting with the Ravenclaws.
The first week of school wasn’t even over, and the first-year students had already discovered the biggest anomaly among them: Vaughn Weasley!
On the first day, when he sat at the Gryffindor table, everyone thought he had gone to Gryffindor simply because he shared the Weasley surname.
But on the second day, everyone realized they had been too naive.
He had gone to Hufflepuff again, and he got along well with those amiable badgers. It was rumored he had even visited the Hufflepuff common room that night.
This “rumor” was spread by Ron, who Vaughn had told him that the Hufflepuff common room was next to the Hogwarts kitchens.
Thus, in less than a week, Vaughn Weasley, this formidable boy, had graced all the houses!
Now, every morning when students come to the Great Hall for breakfast, they first scan their respective house tables to see where the red-haired boy is today.
This peculiar new habit quickly spread to all grades, becoming almost a spectacle.
The most baffling thing was…
Wherever Vaughn went, at least one person could engage in a lively conversation with him.
In Slytherin, there was Malfoy. While Mr. Malfoy didn’t really want to…, in Hufflepuff there was Cedric, and in Gryffindor, there were even more.
Listening to the silver-bell laughter of Prefect Penelope from the Ravenclaw table, Ron sneered:
“Hmph, he’s always liked playing with little girls since he was a child; nothing’s changed.”
As he spoke, he saw Hermione suddenly lose her temper and slam her book shut: “Then why don’t you, as his brother, try to persuade him? All you do is spout nonsense here!”
Ron was confused: “Are you crazy? What does it have to do with me?”
Hermione, however, seemed to have gunpowder in her mouth. Changing the subject, her thin lips flapped rapidly: “What can you two do besides gossip and complain? If you’re worried about Professor Snape’s favoritism, why aren’t you studying more? It’s already been a week of classes…”
After a torrent of articulate words, the girl left, clutching her book.
Ron, dazed and sprayed, retorted angrily: “She’s really crazy. Vaughn flirting with other girls isn’t something I caused, so why is she yelling at me? Just watch, she’ll be chatting happily with Vaughn in class again, that foolish little girl!”
As he predicted, during Potions class, Vaughn, sitting with Hermione again, had her laughing happily with just a few words.
But Ron and Harry, who had guessed the outcome correctly, couldn’t be happy at all.
Because their other guess had also come true—
“Ah, Harry—Potter!”
In the gloomy basement, Professor Snape, half his body hidden in shadow, stared intently at Harry with his dark eyes, his expression grim and cold.
