New Sight Potion

The following day, everyone talked about at least six different versions of the story of what happened to the troll in the Great Hall, all wrong and far from reality.

"I can't believe Harry and Ron got points!" exclaimed shocked Hermione, who, for reasons unknown, was sitting at the Galegold table instead of the Gryffindor one. They did absolutely nothing while I was being attacked!" she complained, "You were the one who brought down the troll, and they awarded you fewer points than those two!"

"Welcome to the world of rules set by people in higher positions. If I were awarded points for the troll fight, it would set a dangerous precedent, saying that as long as your friend is in danger, you should jump in, even if you aren't equipped to handle the situation. This could result in the endangerment and potential death of multiple students rather than the one. It's logical but cold, especially if your intervention would only result in injuries of both rather than death."

"Their awarding points were likely due more to our actions as students rather than fighting a troll. My actions could be considered arrogant, thinking that my intervention had more merit than getting a professor. Granted, I went through the most reasonable route of telling a prefect to get a professor, but I took action before I was followed up by a professor despite my actions being only meant to bring back the two in a time of crisis. It just so happened that I took out a troll to protect a fellow student."

"Besides, points hold almost no value to me. Prestige holds value for reputation but isn't worth enough to warrant me to act according to what would net me the most points. To me, they're just lines guiding you down a specific path deemed acceptable to them. They are ways to keep the kids in check through competitiveness and peer pressure. If I find my actions justified, I care little for others' opinions."

"My actions have had positive results in everyone's survival, so I don't care if I would be considered arrogant."

The troll event, which should have triggered the birth of the golden trio, brought her closer to Aurelius and deprived the duo of 99% of their future brainpower. Hermione is still angry with Ronald, and her frustrations have leaked out somewhat, extending towards Harry.

"Good morning, Aurelius! Are you well?" asked the tan skinned silverette.

"Good morning, Silvia. I am. Let me introduce you to Ms. Hermione Granger, a fellow first year. Please sit with us."

"I'd love to." She stuck her hand out for a shake. "Hello Hermione, it's nice to meet you."

"Oh, you're the soap girl!" Hermione exclaimed. "Apologies, where are my manners?" she said sheepishly. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Silvia. Your soaps are rather interesting to watch change shape upon having it in your hand. I love the vanilla-scented cat."

"Thank you," Silvia and Aurelius responded at the same time to the bewilderment of the witch.

"We are business partners. I make the soaps", Silvia clarified.

"And I enchant them with a combination of long-lasting charms." Aurelius continued.

While the three discussed which scent went best with which shape and what potential charms could be placed on them, the Weasley twins approached the table.

"Mr. Galegold!"

"Our favorite returning customer"

"We've heard the news."

"And we're grateful to you for saving little Ronniekins!"

"Also, for not decking him when."

"He took credit for taking down the troll."

"How about a 10% discount on the next order to thank me?" Aurelius suggested. "Thanks is always appreciated, but I prefer more tangible shows of appreciation."

Fred and George looked at each other and shared a moment of intensive exchange of micro gestures that were difficult for outsiders to discern.

"Deal!" they agreed.

"I won't be polite then. My next order is going to be large. I'm going to be experimenting with substitutions for ingredients." I told them,

"Noted!"

"I'll bring you a list and the quantities on Wednesday." Told the excited potioneer.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked interestedly as Silvia turned around, expressing the same question with her gaze.

"I'm optimizing and substituting cheaper stuff to make a more affordable potion. The twins are my suppliers for the ingredients."

"But... for potions, you must follow the recipe to the letter!" said the incredulous girl.

"Since I'm creating a completely new potion, there's no recipe. Don't worry. I have professionals reviewing my work." I told her in a joking tone with a smirk.

Hermione and Silvia were in awe. 'How long have we been in school learning potions? Two months? He only just started his soap business project, and he's been working on another at the same time?' they thought simultaneously.

"Wait, you said you were optimizing and substituting ingredients." Silvia had paid special attention to those words.

"Yeah, I have a working prototype potion that is fully effective, but it's on the more expensive side and hurts more due to the rate of change. It may seem excessive, but who wants two minutes of continuous absolute horrendous stabbing pain versus a couple of hours of mild irritation of their eyes?" He said.

His potion, nova visio, morphs the eyes, but it's excruciating due to the rapid changes that happen to the eye due to the strength of the ingredients. So, he decided to decrease its potency to change only the rate of change. So, switching to weaker ingredients with similar effects should get the desired results.

"By the way, there's a Quidditch match next week, Slytherin vs. Ravenclaw. Which team are you going to support?" asked Silvia.

"I'm not fond of quidditch. It seems like an improperly made game." Aurelius said without a second thought.

"Hmm, how so?" said the girl, trying not to protest immediately.

"One, there is no time limit. So, the game could effectively go on for days. Some professional games have gone on for an entire month. Two, the game is almost entirely dictated by the seekers. There have been four seconds long games because a seeker caught it immediately after leaving the ground. And if a seeker catches the snitch at any point, regardless of how many points either team has, they automatically win the game. You can reach the number of points by scoring, but it takes far more time and effort. There have been games that went 0 to 140, and the person on the team with zero points won. Then you have the situation with beaters. Their job is literally to beat up the opposing team with a metal ball and baseball bat. And barely any safeguards protect players from falling to their death or flying into something headfirst."

"If they just reduced the points a seeker can obtain to 60 points per snitch. Put a time limit of two hours. Increase the amount of cushioning charms. Have the bludgers enchanted so that they cast a slowing spell on a broom if the person is hit, and do not make it a metal ball. The game would be safer, each position would hold more importance, and it would increase the complexity of strategies. If quidditch stays as it is, it's better to just bet on the outcomes and support a friend who enjoys playing rather than for something like house pride."