Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
Chapter 32: The Apprentice
When he arrived at the corridor leading to his lab, he found that Bellatrix was already waiting there. Her body was resting against the wall that served as the door.
"You shouldn't be standing there. It could draw suspicion," James told her.
"I could have waited inside, but it seemed kinda rude, so I waited here," she responded.
"I bet you were worried about stepping into another trap, like yesterday," James said, watching her smile disappear. "Next time, wait somewhere less conspicuous."
He then pressed the stone that opened the gate, forcing Bella to move away quickly, as she had her back resting against the wall.
"There's nothing to worry about now. Come in," James told her.
Bella was obviously getting upset, but she kept her mouth shut for now and went inside the lab.
She still made sure to look at the floor, in case there was more of that substance from yesterday. But it looked very clean.
"So…you didn't add any other protections after I left?"
"I didn't say that," James said as he walked inside. She turned around to look at him with suspicion.
"I merely said you had nothing to worry about, as you are not an intruder today."
"What did you do?" Bella looked around but couldn't see any traps.
"Don't waste your time with something so futile. You won't find it," James said as he approached one of the tables and removed the finished product before cleaning the utensils.
"This will be your workstation," he pointed.
Bella got closer to take a better look. Everything was well organized and clean.
"You will be brewing batches of Confusing Draught today."
"Hold on a moment, that's just a third-year potion," Bella said.
"I thought you were going to teach me that brewing method of yours...the one that produces those highly concentrated potions."
"I am. But I told you before that the method is not that simple to use. Before you even attempt it, there are many skills that you must master beforehand. One of them is near-perfect control over the flames. The Confusing Draught requires several delicate changes in temperature during the brewing process for a good result. It's a good potion to practice in order to perfect that skill," James explained to her.
Another reason he chose this one was because the ingredients were cheap and she was going to waste a lot of them.
Despite his reasoning, Bella didn't look too pleased. She had expected to learn something new, instead of having to practice basic things.
"I can already tell you that my control over the temperature is already perfect."
James stared at her for a moment.
"I can already tell you that we have a very different standard for what we consider…perfect."
"How dare you…" Bella got angry. She hated being looked down on.
"You won't convince me with words," James said, pointing at the cauldron behind her.
"Show me how good you are. If you can produce a Confusing Draught that is up to my standards of acceptable…we can move to something more complex. Until then, you're brewing that potion."
"…Fine," Bellatrix finally relented.
"I suppose I don't need to remind you of the recipe, since it's from third year."
Bella shook her head.
"Good. You'll find all the ingredients on those shelves," he indicated to her.
While they had been speaking, several owls had entered his lab and were now waiting for his input.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."
"What are all these owls doing here?" Bella asked, but James had begun his routine and was no longer listening to her.
Bella stared for a while at James as he moved around the laboratory with tremendous speed.
He would go to one station, finish brewing some potion, and place it inside vials. Several vials went into a box before being given to one of the owls, who immediately flew out.
Other owls brought ingredients that he promptly stored, or they brought notes with lists of potions that had been requested.
It didn't take Bella too long to realize that James was running a business here.
"You're selling potions?"
"Ignore what I'm doing and focus on your task. Our time here is limited," James told her without stopping for a moment.
Bella grumbled something but went on to get the ingredients she needed.
"You do realize that it's illegal to brew and sell potions without a Potion Master License…right?" she asked as she was processing the ingredients.
"I am. But if you report me, you'll lose your teacher," James responded.
"I wasn't going to!" Bella said.
"I don't care about something stupid like that…I'm more curious about why you even need to do something like that. Last I knew, the Potters were very wealthy."
"Last I knew, they still are," James said.
"Then why do you need to sell potions if you're not in need of money?"
"That is my family's money. I want to have my own, so I can spend it on whatever I want without anyone questioning me about it."
Bella turned to look at him. "What are you spending it on?"
"Fine…don't tell me," she huffed in annoyance before turning her attention to the potion.
The fire was going. Now it was time to put in the first ingredients.
While she was brewing, Harry finished his routine. All orders were sent, and the next batches were already in process.
"Done!" Bella said with enthusiasm as she placed the finished potion into several vials.
Harry picked up one of the glass vials containing a clear blue liquid and began to examine it.
"Wait…" Something occurred to Bella.
"You're not using me as a free worker for your potion business, right?" she said with sharp eyes. If she was being taken advantage of, this was not something she would forgive.
"What are you talking about?.." James said with a bored expression.
"I mean…" She pointed at the vial in James's hand.
"If you're going to be selli—"
"Let me stop you right there…I have no intention of selling this," James said while looking at the vial in his hand.
Bella was about to say something when, all of a sudden, James pulled out his wand and vanished all the potions she had made.
"Selling something like that would just ruin the reputation I'm trying to build."
"Wha…what did you do that for?! I spent almost an hour preparing that," she shouted.
"It was not good enough…do it again," James said.
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