The next day, Lys, who habitually woke early, settled Fry and began reading. These books were ones Senna had bought after making a fool of herself due to her illiteracy.
Lys couldn't help but marvel at Germany's strangely open yet closed atmosphere, which was probably related to Grindelwald's rise and fall.
Some people missed him, others feared him.
Struggling to understand the concepts in the book, Lys unconsciously began using magic to mimic the magical descriptions within. It wasn't until nearly noon that Senna crawled out of bed and took her to breakfast.
Senna listlessly chewed her food. Her sleep schedule was already irregular, and now with jet lag on top of that, she was extremely drowsy. Seeing Lys still clutching a book and reading with a furrowed brow, Senna took Fry from her and dozed off leaning against the dining chair.
In her drowsiness, Senna's trembling, drooping head gave Fry an opportunity. The little creature's pale hand seized the moment and grabbed fiercely at Senna's hair, about to burst into "gaga" laughter, when Lys looked up just in time to notice.
She reached out to restrain her fearless little brother's arm that was about to swing downward, competing with him for Mother's hair.
Finally, Lys threatened her brother with her wand before releasing her grip on his hand. Looking up, she spotted a familiar face.
"Hey! Severus!"
Lys waved her hand, trying to catch the increasingly gaunt man's attention, but unfortunately, he was walking away whilst arguing in low voices with a bearded wizard.
Concerned about the drowsy Senna, Lys didn't chase after him. Instead, she signalled the waiter to pack some food and took Senna back to rest.
With one day left before the assessment began, the organisers once again confirmed the process with the participants.
One: Grade and select materials according to potion requirements This tests basic material identification
Two: Processing and preservation of special materials
This tests material handling techniques
Three: Preparation and assessment of self-selected potions Assessment based on multiple factors including potion grade, final effects, and degree of improvement
"So the main assessment scores are generated from these three steps. If you have any questions or difficulties, please communicate with the observers promptly."
Lys was the first to raise her hand: "Can I bring my little brother and my snake?" She even floated Fry and Crunch upward for emphasis.
The organisers weren't unfamiliar with people who insisted on bringing their pets, but a little brother? Family members? Oh, family members were also participating, so...
After some discussion, their conclusion was that the little brother could be brought, but the pet snake couldn't be brought due to its special species. However, they would reserve a space next to Lys's position for Crunch, as long as Lys had no contact with it.
Lys confirmed there were both sunny spots and shaded areas, then agreed, and simply placed Fry there as well.
The first two parts of the examination were quickly completed within two days. Lys's scores were even higher than Senna's. In their venue, only a very few individuals scored better than Lys on materials.
During this time, Fry either clutched his furball whilst chewing wood or lay on Crunch's back sleeping and drooling, which was quite worry-free for Lys.
The third part—the formal assessment—followed. Since wizards who didn't meet the standards in the first two parts would be advised to withdraw, the numbers had decreased significantly.
Since it was advisory withdrawal, some refused to accept it, believing that although they weren't outstanding with materials, they were still decent at brewing potions.
Having read the assessment requirements, Lys knew that to be in the same venue as Mother, she had to register for the same grade of potion as Mother. So Lys had gritted her teeth and registered for an advanced potion.
Facing Senna's hesitant expression, Lys reluctantly explained it was fine—she had money and wasn't afraid of wasting materials.
Senna's expression grew even stranger. She still hadn't forgotten Lys brewing stabiliser and blowing up the wall of a Knockturn Alley shop, that inferior, grey-coloured Soul Stabiliser, and the mortar-like Wolfsbane Potion... Hesitating, Senna added two more cauldrons to Lys's materials.
Since once the third part began, participants couldn't leave the assessment area unless they submitted their potion or withdrew, Lys brought her little brother and Crunch, carrying the needed materials into the underground area the organisers had prepared for the advanced potion section.
The advanced potion area required reaching a certain score threshold in the first two assessments to enter, with materials self-provided. Since many advanced potion materials were expensive, there didn't seem to be many people, and each person would have a separate brewing room.
Lys glanced around—old, old, old, young, black, yellow, white, and even one red-skinned person. Everyone stood uniformly outside their test areas waiting to begin making their potions.
After Lys entered, she first inspected the room, then arranged Crunch's nest, stuffed the Pygmy Puff into Fry's hands, and only then began setting up her workstation.
Above the workstation was a mirror. The organisers had reminded everyone that potion masters and assessors from around the world would observe through the mirrors, advising participants to be mindful of their privacy and proprietary techniques.
Lys hadn't brewed potions in about two years. She even pasted the recipe in front of her desk to prevent herself from missing steps. This made many people who were curious about someone so young challenging advanced potions shake their heads, and most turned their attention elsewhere.
Only the wizard with a protruding belly who looked like a walrus covered his face... that was Slughorn, Lys's Potions teacher from school.
He sincerely hoped his student would be as careful as during her N.E.W.T. exams, otherwise the people present might witness a scene like throwing one's brain into the cauldron to brew together.
But soon he and the personnel responsible for recording scores perked up, because many wizards had brought pre-processed materials to save energy and time, and some had already begun brewing.
The potion Lys chose could be completed fairly quickly, roughly in three days, but during this time it required frequent operation and handling by the wizard.
Lys shook the cauldron with her left hand, waved her wand with her right to chase away the furball Fry had released, whilst trying to shake off her little brother who was hugging her ankle and calling "gaga."
She felt she was about to explode, but what exploded first was the cauldron in her hands... When Lys's cauldron exploded with a tremendous crack!, participants two rooms away heard it.
Lys's magical reflexes were quick, containing the explosion's impact to one corner, but seeing her frightened little brother, she swallowed the words that were about to burst out.
She pulled Fry, who was hiding his head in the corner of her robes, patted the dust off him, watched the little thing's head bob nervously, sighed, and began reprocessing the materials.
Taking out the backup cauldron, Lys smiled bitterly—Mother was right...
And... the thing in her arms really was like a little fly...
Though she didn't know if it would work, Lys still gave it a go. She raised her wand and threatened her little brother: "If your magic keeps sweeping about randomly, I'll cast a spell on your furball to make it stop growing fur!"
Starting again.
With Fry no longer interfering, the focused Lys processed her potion properly, only carelessly pouring materials and shaking the cauldron when time was running short.
Outside the observation mirror, Slughorn unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief before looking back at others' screens.
The potion Lys finally submitted still had very obvious flaws.
Regarding this potion, Slughorn was somewhat surprised, as it seemed rather inferior to her N.E.W.T. exam level.
He guessed Lys probably hadn't touched a cauldron since graduation.
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