A Web Of Magic - Volume 1 Chapter 55 Deal With A Slug

Magnus dressed in his best clothes today- a grey suit with a waistcoat and a blue tie. It was inspired from the Ravenclaw colors and from muggle clothes. It was the best he could get and it’s free. He transfigured it himself. While it wouldn’t last as long as the real thing, it’d do for today. He checked his itinerary once again- a couple of contracts drafted by Mr. Tonks, his set of potions and a few trinkets he planned to sell to the shops of Diagon Alley. The goal is to secure a deal as their regular supplier. That’d ensure him a regular supply of money to continue his endeavors.

The Weasleys went to their Aunt Muriel’s house for Christmas, so it’s just him for today. He checked everything once again and then off he went through the fireplace to Diagon Alley. He cleaned himself up and went to his first stop for the day- Slug and Jiggers Apothecary. They were one of the better shops according to Tonks and despite his lukewarm experience last time, he decided to trust Tonks’ information.

The first thing he noticed when he entered the shop was the smell. Despite getting used to all sorts of weird smells while brewing potions, it still took him a moment to adjust. The shop was filled with barrels of overflowing slime while dried herbs, roots, colored powders and all manner of ingredients filled the shelves on the walls all around. Overall, this looked like a potion maker’s paradise.

There was the same annoying guy that manned the counter last time. “Welcome to Slug and Jiggers. We have all manner of ingredients imaginable in our shop for you to purchase. How may I help you?” the man asked him with fake enthusiasm.

“Yes, I’m looking to sell actually. Can I meet with the Shopkeeper?” Magnus asked politely.

“Mr. Jiggers is indisposed at the moment I’m afraid. You can tell me everything. I’m perfectly capable of helping you,” the man continued in an enthusiastic tone, but his twitching nerve at his right temple gave him away.

“Alright, I’m looking to sell this potion. Can you take a look?” Magnus pulled out a vial of potion from his sling bag and presented it to him. It was a midnight-green looking potion that sparkled as you held it against the light.

The man looked at the potion for a while in deep consternation. His eyes took on a wicked glint for a moment which quickly passed. He seemed to have come to a conclusion after a few minutes and said confidently, “This seems like a Mint-breath potion. That’d be 2 galleons per bottle.”

Magnus sighed in his heart. He knew this guy was just a blowhard without any real skill. He heard that the shopkeeper Mr. Jiggers was a fair and learned man, so he decided to make a deal here. He didn’t expect to deal with this idiot twice. Before he could retort back, he heard a voice.

“Stop pulling things out of your muddled head Morty. Mint-breath potion is lime green which I’m sure you would know if you ever studied a thing. Stop misleading the customers,” an old yet firm looking man entered the store from the back room. Despite having a head full of disheveled white hair, he was dressed smart and looked sturdy.

“I’m sorry Mr. Jiggers,” Morty replied softly. Yet Magnus didn’t hear any remorse in that tone. ‘It’s not my business. No point wasting time dealing with this fool,’ he decided. He moved forward to introduce himself to Mr. Jiggers.

“Nice to meet you Mr. Jiggers. I’m Magnus Webb, a second-year student of at Hogwarts,” Magnus offered his hand.

“Nice to meet you too. Second-year? Usually they wait till their fifth year before they come to sell. Quite advanced, aren’t you?” Mr. Jiggers shook his hand firmly as he gave a smile that seemed to hint at Magnus to explain his purpose.

Magnus got the hint as he introduced, “This is a potion of my own making. I call it the Night Vision potion. One sip and you’ll be able to see in the dark perfectly for about twenty minutes. Of course, there might be a slight deviation in the duration depending on who’s taking the potion.”

“Night vision you say? Very interesting. There hasn’t been anything new lately. It’s about time something came up,” Mr. Jigger uncorked the vial and took a deep breath before he replaced the vial and said, “Hmm, I smell the Bercane Leaf, but the others are hard to tell.”

Magnus was surprised that the man could guess one of the ingredients just by smelling the potion. The man must either be a potions master or someone who was very well-versed herbology. Magnus himself was still far away from the realm of potions master so he couldn’t accomplish that without using [Identify]. Mr. Jiggers seemed to have noticed Magnus’s surprise as he laughed and said, “I am no potions master. I am just an old man who knows his herbs. Now how should we test this?”

While Mr. Jiggers mused with his problem, Morty seemed to have found his voice all of a sudden, “Pretty convenient isn’t it? Bringing the Night Vision potion during the day when it can’t be tested?”

Magnus could feel the snark in his tone from right across the counter. ‘What’s his problem?’ he shook his head at the thought. Mr. Jigger replied while still immersed in his thoughts,

“That is called talent. You would know if you had any.”

“Don’t be fooled master. There’s no way a second year can make a new potion all on his own!” Morty exclaimed in a loud tone. Before Mr. Jiggers could answer an elderly yet energetic voice broke in.

“What’s all this ruckus here? Gaius what’s taking you so long? You know I don’t like to stay out for too long” an older gentleman dressed in luxurious robes came from the back room.

“Just Morty being stupid Horace, don’t worry. This young gentleman here brought a new potion of his own making to sell,” Gaius Jiggers replied in a friendly tone. The older man, Horace, immediately gained a curious glint in his eye as he asked excitedly, “Here let me see.”

He repeated the same process that his friend Gaius did. “Ah, Bercane Leaf. Is that Spotted Chicken Egg I smell?” Horace enquired.

Magnus didn’t know what to say. If it goes on like this, these old men might sniff out the whole ingredient list of his potion. He wouldn’t know who to cry to if that happened. So, he decided to try and divert their attention. “Nice to meet you too Mr. Horace. You have very keen eyes. Why don’t we test the potion now?”

“It’s Slughorn my boy. Horace is just my first name,” Horace Slughorn told him with a smile. He was always a sucker for good compliments, especially when they were true.

[Impact Points+30]

“Slughorn? Are you Prof. Horace Slughorn? Ex-potions professor of Hogwarts? It’s an honor to meet you sir,” Magnus shook his hand excited. He was really partly excited to meet the man. He was supposedly a great teacher that taught for about 60 years in Hogwarts. He was supposedly much better than Snape if the rumors are to be believed. Magnus’s information was of course from both the books in the library and the castle ghosts. Meeting the man gave him impact points that means he’s important somehow.

“Do they still talk about me in Hogwarts? It’s so nice to hear. Such a brilliant young man. I am no longer a professor I’m afraid. I’m retired now. I’m just the co-owner of this shop,” Slughorn’s face was filled with happiness though some other emotion quickly passed over him that Magnus couldn’t quite decipher. It was quite clear that Slughorn liked his compliments.

“Now let’s test this potion, shall we? Gaius let your man test the potion. Don’t worry, I’m sure it is very safe. Nothing can go wrong with both of us here,” Slughorn urged Gaius. Just as Gaius agreed, Slughorn waved his wand over Morty whose face was immediately covered in darkness. Gaius quickly handed over the potion to Morty to drink. Morty could only follow his master’s wish as no one seemed to care about his opinion. He was initially terrified of the sudden darkness but he could still hear the words of the other party. He could see the potion bottle despite the darkness as it glowed. He downed the bitter potion that surprisingly had a mint aftertaste. ‘It is a mint potion. I was right!’ Before he indulged in his more delusional thoughts, he noticed that he could now see just fine. It’s just that the colors were somehow off and subdued.

“Well, what are you doing standing there daydreaming? Is it working? Describe everything to me,” Jiggers asked. As Morty did as asked, the two old men listened carefully. By the time the question and answer session was done, the effect of the potion faded away. “Ah, my eyes!” Morty screamed.

“What? What happened?”

“Never mind. I was just surprised by the sudden light,” Morty laughed sheepishly much to the annoyance of the other three. Jiggers muttered something under his breath while Slughorn said smiling, “It should be fine. We need to do some more extensive testing before selling it of course. We are all professionals here.”

“Of course, Mr. Slughorn. But before we move further, I have another potion here. It’s also an invention of mine. I call it the Underwater breathing potion,” Magnus pulled out a milky white potion vial from his bag. Jiggers and Slughorn immediately looked towards Morty who looked more scared by the moment.