The Stars Tonight // H.Granger x Male OC

HBP // 19 - Memories from the Past

Harry and Altair shared the old, shabby book for them to create the concoction Slughorn is telling them.

"Why do the scribbles say different from the books?" Altair muttered while reading the black ink beside every step.

"I don't know. But I think let's just follow what it is said." Harry told him and he agreed.

"Cut up one Sopophorous bean." The book says.

The boys then picked up the silver dagger and tried cutting the bean, but it seems like everyone is struggling to as Ron's bean flew through Katie's head.

"I think we shouldn't cut it, Harry," Altair whispered to him as he continued to cut the bean but it doesn't work. "What does the black ink say?"

Harry read the writing and an arrow has been drawn from the word "Cut" to the margin, where a modification has been written in the tight scrawl: "Crush with blade -- releases juice better."

"Crush it." The Potter boy told him as they both use the flat part of the blade to crush the bean, and it released some red juices from it.

"How did you both do that?" They looked at Hermione who seemed to be struggling in cutting the bean.

"Crush it, don't cut it." The young Black told her as the two boys started to press the bean to the cauldron, as it drips with juice.

"No. The instructions specifically say to cut." She insisted and looked back at the book.

"No. Really—" Harry spoke but Hermione just shushed him off in which he shrugs.

Altair just sighed. He knows how stubborn Hermione could get especially when it comes to following instructions in the book.

The liquid in their cauldron turns lilac in color and they both grinned and went back on following the modified instructions of the book...

It was seen that the students were all struggling in doing the potion as Hermione's hair turned bushier because of the steams from her cauldron. Harry and Altair were both following the revised instructions on the old book the Potter boy found in which seems to be the right steps since they seeing the expected formation of the potion. Draco Malfoy hisses and curses after cutting himself, still doing the first part of the instruction.

After a few moments, Harry and Altair both put the final ingredient in their cauldron, looking cool as cucumber and both stepped back, showing that they are already done. Hermione, glowered at the both of them, her hair seemed to be a lot bushier than a while ago.

Slughorn signaled the end of brewing the potion as he checked each of their cauldrons one by one, looking sympathetically on the concoctions he just tested. Almost all of them haven't brewed what he wanted. As he went onto Harry and Altair's cauldron, he smiled a bit seeing the color of the liquid. He dropped a leaf, and it perfectly vanished.

"Merlin's Beard! But it's perfect. So perfect I daresay one sip would kill us all!" Horace pleasingly said to them "Your mother was a dab hand at potions, Harry. And your father was exceedingly good as well, Altair. But this... My, my, what can't you do, m'boys? Perhaps you will save us all in the end..."