In the aftermath of the successful brewing, Professor Slughorn provided several glass vials for Alan to store his finished Calming Drafts. After offering another round of encouragement, he awarded Slytherin ten points; it was only natural for the Head of House to show a bit of favoritism toward his own.
Alan left the dungeon carrying five bottles. He pulled out two and held them out to Vivian, as they had technically completed the assignment as a team.
"Oh, no, Alan. These were all your doing. I feel like I barely touched the cauldron," Vivian said, waving them off. She was too embarrassed to take credit for work she hadn't really done.
"Just take one, then. You're my partner, and I practically monopolized the workstation today. Consider it compensation for the lack of hands-on experience," Alan said, pressing a vial into her hand. He kept his tone casual to make the gift easier to accept.
"Hehe... you certainly have a way with words," Vivian said dryly, seeing right through his blunt attempt at comfort.
"By the way, the weekend is almost here. Could I borrow your Mahjong set? I've made a few friends among the girls, and I'd like to show them..." She mimicked the motion of drawing a tile, looking at Alan with a hopeful grin.
*Why is she so much faster at picking up hobbies than she is at brewing potions?* Alan wondered, handing over the set once they reached the common room. He hadn't touched the game in days, having spent almost every free moment holed up in his room researching spells.
Back in the quiet of his dormitory, Alan sat down to review his first week at Hogwarts.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was nearly invisible. A man as withered as an old bone, he did little more than drone from the textbook. The class was boring and devoid of practical application. Rumor had it the position was cursed by Voldemort himself, ensuring no teacher lasted more than a year. Alan spent most of the hour worrying the man might simply drop dead mid-sentence.
Transfiguration was going better. Alan discovered he had a natural aptitude for the subject. When Professor McGonagall tasked the class with turning a matchstick into a needle, Alan achieved a perfect transformation in just over half an eye-opening hour, earning Slytherin another five points. While he found the subject fascinating, he decided to keep it as a secondary priority. Mastery of complex transfiguration required immense repetition, so he planned to focus his immediate energy on Charms before circling back.
Potions, however, was a revelation. He realized he could master the technical side of brewing very quickly. He planned to prioritize learning as many recipes as possible, largely for financial reasons. Gringotts had a strict limit on how much Muggle currency could be exchanged for Galleons, and Alan didn't want to be caught short. The gold Sirius had given him hadn't exactly been a free gift; it had already cost him the unwanted attention of two Death Eaters.
As for Herbology, Astronomy, and History of Magic, his goal was simple: maintain a passing grade and keep up with the curriculum.
His primary focus remained on Charms and the research into Lily's amulet. To manage his progress, he organized his magical development into a tiered system:
1. Entry: The ability to successfully cast the spell. Alan's immediate goal was to get the majority of the mainstream curriculum from years one through seven to this level. He didn't need perfection yet—just a functional understanding. He would skip high-risk spells like Apparition for now, where a mistake could result in "splinching."
2. Mastery: Casting with speed, accuracy, and reliability, even under harsh or distracting conditions.
3. Instinct: Total integration. This included the ability to cast the spell non-verbally or without a wand. Alan's Levitation Charm and Shield Charm were already approaching this stage.
4. Transcendence: A theoretical realm Alan envisioned. This involved developing unique casting techniques that allowed a spell to exert power far beyond its original design. In his view, Vanessa's directional extraction was on the verge of becoming a Transcendent spell.
Alan's "firepower anxiety" was severe. He loathed the idea of his safety being out of his hands, which drove his tireless study. He wanted several defensive spells at the Mastery level and a suite of functional alchemical items—like a replica of Lily's amulet—to create a comprehensive tactical system.
Finally, there were the research topics for Flitwick's club. He planned to tackle those once his general spell knowledge was solidified, with the exception of non-verbal casting and magical sensitivity. He already possessed the training regimen for the former, and he had a very good idea of how to approach the latter.
Alan concluded that the foundation of a wizard's power rested on three pillars: magical reserves, magical intensity, and magical sensitivity.
I need power stones people. Use your powers to stone me.