"Not bad, Harry..."
In the Potion Class after Halloween, Professor Slughorn looked at the cauldron in front of Harry, a hint of surprise on his face.
"The color is perfect, and the taste is impeccable. I dare say, even someone as irritable as a Fire Dragon would calm down after taking three drops of your Soother."
"Thank you for the compliment, sir." Harry asked excitedly, "So did I pass?"
"Pass? Are you kidding!" Slughorn said exaggeratedly, "This is a perfect potion, without a doubt, ten points for Gryffindor!"
Harry was so excited he almost jumped up. It was the first time in six years he'd earned extra points in Potion Class, and suddenly he found Slughorn much more agreeable.
"I always knew you inherited your mother's excellent potion-making talent, it was just Severus who didn't bring it out in you." Slughorn said with a smile, "Keep it up, I look forward to your performance in the next class."
Harry nodded emphatically.
Next to him, Hermione snorted through her nose.
Her potion was also complete, but its color was a bit lighter compared to Harry's.
This normally wouldn't be a problem, but with the comparison, her tiny flaw was magnified exponentially.
Slughorn glanced at her cauldron, didn't give any comments, and just said it was nice before moving on.
This made Hermione even angrier.
"You're cheating!" Hermione said stiffly after class, "You shouldn't keep looking at that notebook."
"It's just a notebook, how can it be considered cheating..." Harry retorted, "Besides, the fact proves that the steps in it are perfectly fine."
"But you didn't complete it independently."
"But you also read the textbook, what's the difference?" Ron chimed in to support Harry.
"Think about Conna Prince, the youngest member of The Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers, even she acknowledged the notes, how could there be a problem with them."
"But..." Hermione wanted to say something.
"Wait, Hermione, aren't you just jealous of Kael?" Ron's voice rose slightly.
"Why would I be jealous of him!" Hermione couldn't help but say loudly.
"Because you're jealous that he's getting better grades than you, and discovered so many little tricks you're unaware of."
Seeing Hermione's reaction, Ron was even more convinced of his guess. "I think you should try them. After all, the content in books is also written by other wizards, and maybe after a few years, these little tricks will appear in books too.
"Remember what Kael said before? 'Advanced Potion Making' hasn't been revised in a long time, and many of the steps in it are outdated."
Hermione took a few deep breaths and said nothing.
Ron assumed she knew she was in the wrong, and didn't care, continuing to discuss the content of the notes with Harry.
"It's so strange, I clearly followed the steps in the notes too, so why isn't my result as good as yours."
"That's because you're not focused enough," Harry said, "The size of the flame when brewing a potion is also important. I remember you poured the Moonstone Powder into the cauldron and then went to chat with Seamus, completely forgetting to turn down the heat."
"Oh, I guess that's true... but why didn't you remind me then."
"I only just realized it myself."
"Never mind, it's just a small issue." Ron laughed, "Do you think if I keep brewing potions according to the notes, Professor Slughorn might invite me to his party at Christmas?"
"He definitely will," Harry said.
Though his intuition told him that a few excellent Potion Class results weren't enough to change Slughorn's view of Ron, his gut feeling was that it was better not to dampen Ron's spirits at this moment.
With Harry's confirmatory answer, Ron grew more excited, his voice rising noticeably.
"Feeling happy, Weasley? Do you think getting an invitation from Slughorn means you're a celebrity too?"
A cold voice came from behind them, "You could put a silly scar on your head, maybe then you'd be as popular as Potter with the scar-obsessed crowd."
A burst of laughter erupted around them.
"We weren't talking to you, Malfoy." Harry said, keeping a straight face, "I noticed you weren't at the last party, why, didn't you get an invitation?"
"Maybe Professor Slughorn doesn't know anyone from the Malfoy Family," Ron added, fanning the flames.
"You think you're so funny," Malfoy's face instantly turned cold, "Even if he wanted to invite me, I wouldn't attend his stupid, boring party."
"You're just jealous of us," Ron said, shrugging, "You must be insanely jealous inside."
"I'm jealous of you?"
Malfoy, as if insulted, said viciously, "You probably don't know, Weasley, that our family hosts a ball every Christmas...
"Oh, I forgot, you wouldn't know, because all our guests are high society, and pure-blood trash like your family could never get an invitation."
Malfoy then turned his gaze to Hermione, "Of course, a mudblood couldn't step foot in my house either..."
"Shut up, you bastard!" Harry clenched his fists, ready to charge at Malfoy, but was held back tightly by Hermione from behind.
"Don't, Harry. If a professor sees, you'll be expelled!" Hermione pleaded loudly.