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"Got everything you need?" Tom picked up the book and looked down at Ginny, his little right-hand girl for the day.
"Yep," Ginny smiled, waving a storybook in her hand. "Thanks, Hermione."
Tom waved it off, signaling it was no big deal.
Like he said—it was Hermione's money anyway!
But man, Hermione was seriously loaded.
Tom had found over eighty Galleons in her pockets. That was no small change. At a 1-to-5 exchange rate between Galleons and British Pounds, this kid was walking around with over 400 Pounds in cash.
Even if Hermione wasn't a witch, she'd still be rich!
"But Hermione, why does Tom have so many Galleons?" Ginny asked.
"Heh, didn't I tell you? Never underestimate a Potions Master. Since we're out having fun today, let me show you just how deep a Potions Master's pockets really go."
Opening a wizard's eyes to the world was easy, especially for a kid like Ginny.
All Tom had to do was take her to an apothecary.
The Apothecary
"This is a Cough Potion. To Tom, this is child's play. He could brew a better batch than this while taking a shower."
Ginny nodded, her heart skipping a beat when she saw the price tag above the vial.
So expensive... A tiny bottle like that sold for 15 Galleons?
And Hermione just said Tom's potions were even better quality. So, 15 Galleons wouldn't even cover his? What would it be, 20?
The book in her hands had only cost 12 Galleons.
At first, Ginny thought 12 was a fortune. But looking at this? Books were a total steal!
"This is a Tracking Potion, another one of Tom's specialties. He usually carries a few of these around just for kicks. So, when you see Tom, you might think he doesn't look like much, maybe assume he's broke... but if you shook him down and emptied his pockets, you'd find at least 500 Galleons' worth of potions!"
Ginny covered her mouth, her large, watery eyes staring at "Hermione" in disbelief. "Really?"
"Look at this. Polyjuice Potion. 75 Galleons a pop. Tom carries five of these on him at any given time!"
H-how much? 75 Galleons?
Ginny pressed her face against the display glass, staring at the price tag in shock.
It really said 75.
She had never seen that many Galleons in her entire life! And Tom casually carried five of them?
Ginny felt her entire concept of money dissolving.
To her, "Galleons" were quickly just becoming a string of meaningless numbers.
"Wow... are Potions Masters really that powerful?"
The old wizard running the shop cracked one eye open and let out a heavy snort. "Listen, kids. If you're going to buy potions, let me know. If not, just look and keep quiet. Don't disturb my rest."
Having said his piece, the old wizard closed his eyes again.
As for the nonsense these kids were spouting? There were only a handful of true Potions Masters in the entire wizarding world.
He had never even heard of a master named "Tom."
Carrying five bottles of Polyjuice Potion?
Who were they kidding!
Did they think Polyjuice grew on trees like cabbage? Even for a master, brewing a high-tier potion like that required over a month of preparation and insanely precise magical control.
"Hermione, let's keep our voices down," Ginny whispered nervously.
Tom just nodded and led Ginny to look at the other shelves.
"This is a Healing Potion. The quality here is pretty garbage. There's a tier above this called the Advanced Healing Potion. Now that stuff works magic. Whenever I get hurt, I only drink the advanced version. But they don't have it here. Probably because this shop is too small."
Ginny felt the unfriendly glare of the old wizard burning into their backs from his chair. She hurriedly grabbed Tom's sleeve, trying to get him to stop talking.
"You two brats! If you say one more word, I'm throwing you out onto the street!" The old wizard shot to his feet, glaring at them in absolute annoyance.
Are they here to wreck my shop?
"Do you have any idea what tier an Advanced Healing Potion is? In a way, it's even more precious than Polyjuice! One tiny mistake and the whole brew is ruined. You can count the number of wizards who can reliably brew it on one hand! Looking at you, you're Hogwarts students, right?
"Why don't you go ask your Potions professor? Go ask Severus Snape if he can reliably brew an Advanced Healing Potion!"
"He can," Tom replied smoothly. "Professor Snape can definitely do it. I've watched him brew it with my own eyes."
The old wizard was genuinely furious now. "Of course he can! But you need to realize he is one of those five people! As for this 'Tom' you keep bringing up, there is absolutely no way he has that kind of skill!
"If he did, the whole world would know his name by now! I've never seen a wizard hide their power to that extent. What, do you think the wizarding world is a fairy tale? You think there are hidden masters living in the mountains?"
Tom scratched his head. "The potion really isn't as hard as the legends make it out to be. You just need to control the heat. And heat control is the most basic skill any Potions Master has to master.
"If someone can't even manage their heat... they shouldn't call themselves a Potions Master. They should just go home and take a nap."
The old wizard's nose turned cherry red with rage.
He felt completely and utterly insulted!
What do you mean, "go home and take a nap"?! You're slandering me! Yes, fine, I can't brew an Advanced Healing Potion! So what?! I'm still one of the few recognized Potions Masters around! The Ministry of Magic personally gave me that title! Are you implying the Ministry is just a joke?
"Honestly, we wouldn't even need Tom. I could brew an Advanced Healing Potion myself," Tom said casually. "I haven't specifically practiced it, but my success rate would be at least 90%."
The old man sneered coldly. "There's a cauldron in the back. If you're so confident, try it! I'll put my entire shop on the line! You don't even need a 90% success rate. Give me 50%! Just 50%! If you can pull that off, this shop is yours!"
"There's really no need—" Tom figured the old guy was just losing his temper.
"Right here. Right now. Get behind that counter!" the old wizard roared, pointing a trembling finger at Tom. "I want to see exactly what level Hogwarts students are at these days to be making such arrogant claims!"
Tom waved his hands, stepping back. "No, no—I'm worried you'll go bankrupt. You must have spent a lot of Galleons and effort running a shop this big."
"I! Do! Not! Need! Your! Pity!!!" The old wizard's eyes were practically bloodshot. "I'm going to invite every wizard on this street to come see exactly what Hogwarts is teaching these days! And this 'Tom' of yours—call him over! I want to see exactly who he is!"
The old wizard assumed "Tom" had to be some older relative of theirs.
But there was absolutely no noble wizard by that name! At least, none that he knew of.
Ginny frantically tugged at Tom's sleeve.
She noticed that the wizards outside, who had been strolling down Diagon Alley, were now stopping and peering through the windows, treating them like a sideshow.
"Hermione... maybe we should just go."
Tom pressed his lips together. He looked at the crowd pointing and whispering outside, then looked back at the red-nosed old wizard.
"Ginny, do you want a potion shop?"
"Uhh—no! I don't need one!"
Is Hermione crazy?! Doesn't she realize everyone is staring at her?! Ginny shook her head so hard she practically got whiplash. She just wanted to escape this nightmare.
Oh no... am I going to be the first kid to have a ruined reputation before I even set foot in Hogwarts?
"Come on, help me out. Let's show them how easy brewing potions really is."
Ginny: "?"
"Are we really doing this, Hermione...?"
"Of course. It's no big deal. Bring out the cauldron."
It's just brewing a potion. Those old fogies outside want to watch? Fine, let them watch! Never seen a genius before, huh?
Old Kenny had clearly been waiting for her to accept. The moment the words left Tom's mouth, he whipped out his wand and levitated a cauldron out from the back room with a flick of a Levitation Charm.
"Ginny, I'm going to need your help. Whatever ingredient I call out, you hand it to me."
Ginny stammered, her voice tiny. "But... I don't even know what these ingredients are."
She wasn't even a first-year yet. Obviously, she had zero experience handling potion ingredients.
To her, everything on the table looked exactly the same. Just a bunch of weird roots and powders.
"It's fine. I'll teach you."
The moment the cauldron hit the counter, the doorway to the apothecary was swarmed.
A few wizards even sprinted down the street, shouting the news at the top of their lungs.
"Somebody pissed off Old Kenny! Get to the apothecary, quick!"
"A Hogwarts first-year is about to brew an Advanced Healing Potion in public! Old Kenny bet his entire shop on it!"
"Hey, what are you standing around for? Let's go! You're gonna miss the show of the year!"
In less than five minutes, half of Diagon Alley was crammed into or around the shop.
The crowd of wizards stood there, completely dumbfounded.
They had never seen anything like this!
Those kids looked like they had just started their first year.
And they dared to provoke Old Kenny?
Did they not realize they'd be relying on him for the rest of their lives?
This was the only apothecary in Diagon Alley! If you got banned by Old Kenny, where else would you buy your potions?
Forget potions—where would you even get your brewing ingredients?!
Once Hogwarts started back up, Professor Snape would definitely come down here to restock. Old Kenny was absolutely going to tear Snape a new one, demanding to know what kind of delinquents he was teaching.
Just picturing that scenario brought smiles to the faces of the crowd.
These two kids were definitely getting detention when they got back to school.
Humiliating Professor Snape like this? If Snape was in a bad enough mood, he might just expel them on the spot!
"Hermione, what do I do?"
"Don't worry, babe." Tom patted Ginny's head affectionately. "First, I'll teach you how to identify the materials. This is Star-grass. This is the horn of a Wailing Stag. This is..."
Wait, she's starting FROM HERE?! Mouths twitched in the crowd.
She's trying to brew an advanced potion with an assistant who doesn't even know what the ingredients are?! The absolute nerve! Did she just run out of practice ingredients at home during the holidays and decide to scam Old Kenny for a free setup?
Old Kenny watched Tom's actions, his face turning an ugly shade of green and white. "These ingredients don't grow on trees! If you fail, I expect you to pay for everything you ruined! And if you can't pay, I'm going straight to Hogwarts to collect from Professor Snape!"
"No need to worry about that," Tom shot back, glancing at Old Kenny. "But if we actually pull this off, I don't need your shop. Taking your livelihood is a bit much.
"Instead, I'll brew potions and sell them here on consignment. You keep the profits, but I take a small cut. And I don't need it in Galleons—just leave the credit here. I'll swing by to grab ingredients whenever I need them. Deal?"
"If you can actually do it, I'll give you the whole damn store!"
Old Kenny still didn't buy it.
A kid who barely looked like she'd mastered the basics, teaming up with a kid who didn't even know what a cauldron was...
If they could actually pull this off, they deserved the store!
Tom ignited the fire, starting the first step of potion prep.
In layman's terms: boiling the water.
While waiting for the liquid to heat, Tom went over the ingredients with Ginny a second time.
From identifying the herbs to reading the liquid's temperature inside the cauldron, Tom explained everything with surgical precision.
The wizards watching from the crowd had never heard anything so detailed in their lives.
Back when they were at Hogwarts, they basically just winged it based on the textbook. Nobody had a pretty, brilliant witch holding their hand and breaking it down step-by-step.
A collective thought began to ripple through the crowd:
Man... if she had been my Potions teacher, I actually would have learned something. Plus, she's adorable. Seeing the potion start to bubble, Tom clapped his hands. "Ready, Ginny?"
Ginny perked up nervously. "Am I... is that really all there is to it? I just learned this stuff."
"It's more than enough. Like I said, brewing is incredibly simple. Know your ingredients, remember the heat level, and drop them in at the right time. The only tricky part is extracting the liquid right as the brew finishes."
Tom flashed a grin and threw in a joke. "Ginny, how many steps does it take to put a mountain troll inside a nightstand?"
Ginny shook her head blankly.
"Three steps. Open the drawer, shove the troll inside, close the drawer. Alright, let's get started. This is your very first time brewing a potion. I hope it gives you a great memory."
Ginny practically jumped out of her skin. "Me?! Hermione, what are you talking about? I'm just your assistant!"
"Nah, I thought about it, and it'd be way cooler if you brewed it yourself. Alright, time's up. Drop the stag horn in. Now."