"What? You want me to teach you basketball?"
Lucien's words caught Harry off guard, and he mumbled, "Er, no, I mean potions, Lucien. I want you to teach me how to brew potions."
Lucien sighed inwardly. Guess no one's playing along with that joke.
"So, you're asking me to tutor you? In potions?"
Harry nodded eagerly.
Dropping the teasing, Lucien considered Harry's request seriously. Why's this kid suddenly so keen on potions? Then it clicked—Harry must've taken his advice to heart, planning to brew a Vision-Enhancing Potion to ditch his glasses in Snape's class. Ha, Snape's really left a mark on him if he's this motivated to study.
Seeing Lucien hadn't responded, Harry quickly added, "Don't worry, Lucien, I'll pay for the tutoring! How many Galleons do you want?"
Lucien waved off the offer. He wasn't exactly hurting for pocket change. Sure, the Potter family had deep roots in the wizarding world, with a vault full of Galleons to show for it. But the Grafton family—Lucien's own Muggle lineage—wasn't exactly scraping by either. How many so-called aristocrats and elites in the Muggle world bowed to his Aunt Penelope? How many of their kids sucked up to Lucien, the Grafton heir?
Whether in the wizarding or Muggle world, families that endured for centuries amassed wealth, connections, knowledge, and experience beyond measure.
Wait—knowledge?
Lucien's mind snagged on something. The Potters, an ancient wizarding family, surely left Harry more than just a pile of Galleons and that Invisibility Cloak. Muggle families passed down their tricks of the trade—politics, business, whatever. Wouldn't a wizarding family leave behind magical secrets? Rare spells? Unique potion recipes or alchemical formulas?
Suddenly, Lucien's gaze on Harry shifted, brimming with enthusiasm for inherited knowledge and appreciation for family legacies.
But he kept his tone measured, feigning offense. "Harry, we're friends. How could you insult me with money?"
Harry panicked, desperate to learn potions before his next class with Snape. "No, no, Lucien, I didn't mean—!"
Lucien cut him off. "But you know me—I love books, love learning new things. If you're willing to lend me some books, tutoring and potions? No problem at all!"
Harry froze, hardly believing his ears. "Wait, you just want books? And only to borrow them?"
Lucien shrugged as if it were obvious. "What else? Read a book a few times, learn what's in it, and the book itself's just a keepsake. Or, you know, you fill a bookshelf to show off to visitors. That works too."
Harry nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah, exactly!"
"But, uh… I don't really have any magic books…"
He pushed up his glasses, looking flustered. Lucien barely held back another sigh. This kid probably raided his Gringotts vault, grabbed a sack of Galleons, and bolted without checking for anything else.
Lucien muttered to himself, Yup, just ran off with the gold.
"Don't worry, Lucien!" Harry said earnestly. "Even if my family didn't leave me any magic books, I've got money. I'll buy you some!"
Lucien raised a hand. "Let me say it again—borrow. The knowledge your family left you is worth way more than any gold you can see."
Harry nodded like a bobblehead, clearly sold. "You're so right, Lucien! I don't totally get it, but it feels right!"
"You're such a kind person, tutoring me in potions just for a few borrowed books. You're a true Ravenclaw! No, wait, you should be in Hufflepuff—or, better yet, Gryffindor, helping out a friend like this!"
Lucien blinked as Harry's praise poured out, his expression practically screaming loyalty and readiness to fight for him. This kid was definitely sorted into Gryffindor for a reason. The Hat nailed it.
"Alright, enough with the compliments," Lucien said, cutting him off. "Harry, have you thought about where we're going to do this tutoring and brewing?"
Without missing a beat, Harry replied, "Oh, yeah! We can go to Hagrid's."
"You remember Hagrid, right? The one who took us across the lake?"
Lucien nodded, smirking. "Hard to forget someone like him."
Harry's suggestion sparked an idea. Lucien needed a plot of land to plant ten Chinese Chomping Cabbages, preferably somewhere secluded to avoid attention. Hagrid lived right by the Forbidden Forest—maybe he could spare a patch of ground? The forest's edge would be easy to access and manage.
Since Harry was tight with Hagrid, getting him to vouch for the idea could seal the deal. The sooner I plant those cabbages, the better. Gotta cut their two-month growth cycle down to one.
"Let's go," Lucien said, heading toward the Forbidden Forest and beckoning Harry to follow.
"But I haven't grabbed my potion-making stuff!" Harry protested.
Lucien pointed to the cauldron and tools floating beside him—leftovers from that morning's Potions class. "Just use mine."
"And Harry, one thing before we start: learning's about seizing every moment. If you don't push yourself, someone else will outwork you."
Harry, trailing behind with a bewildered look, had no idea he'd just chosen a "teacher" who'd change his life forever.