HP: god of potions

Chapter 95

The next day in the Great Hall, Gray was writing when Jamal looked over his notes and hummed. "Hm, what are you designing a fuel for?" he asked, catching Gray by surprise as he was in the initial stages of a new project. Not to mention, he was high on an Enlightening Potion, so what he was writing looked complicated and unintelligible to most. But Jamal recognized it, casting a quick look of understanding. Gray glanced at him briefly before ignoring him—or so it seemed to Jamal, who appeared relieved despite not showing it. Meanwhile, Harry sat hunched over the Gryffindor table, furiously scribbling on parchment. Finished, he looked up as Ron and Hermione joined him. Hermione's gaze drifted to the teacher's table, her brow furrowed. "Hagrid's still not back yet. I hope he's all right." Harry nodded, pushing the parchment toward her. "I've asked Sirius about it."

Hermione's eyes widened as she read, her voice rising in alarm. "Harry, you can't write to him! Owls are being intercepted; it isn't safe." Harry waved off her concern. "Don't worry, Hermione. I wrote it in code. Anyway, I needed to tell someone about Umbridge. My scar hurt again last night in detention." This caught Gray's curiosity as he said, "Give me your hand." Harry, surprised, complied. Gray poured a red liquid over it, immediately healing the scar and removing the pain. "Wow, this feels amazing," Harry said as Hermione remarked, "Right, I forgot we have a potioneering prodigy with us." Gray replied, "You don't forget my genius when it comes to potions," giving her a sidelong glance. She didn't shy away. "Girls have priority, Gray," she teased as Raven, Gray's bird, flew towards him, majestically perching on his shoulder.

"When did you get a pet, Gray?" Jamal's friend asked, marveling at Raven. "How can a bird look this majestic?" Ron added as Harry said, "Why can't Hedwig be like her?" Raven seemed to enjoy the attention until Gray, disliking it, fluffed her feathers, making her appear adorably bushy. Immediately, Raven was swarmed by girls fawning over her cuteness, which she absolutely hated. She retaliated by pecking Gray, who ignored it but couldn't suppress a smile. Hermione looked thoughtful, her voice cautious. "You think she's working for You-Know-Who?" Harry leaned forward, lowering his voice. "Well, it's a possibility, isn't it?" Hermione frowned. "It could be, but Dumbledore would know if she were under the Imperius Curse." Gray interjected, "She isn't under the Imperius Curse, nor does she work for that noseless bastard. She's just selfish and deluded," shocking the trio into silence.

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Sturgis Podmore?" Ron frowned. "Wait, he's one of the Order!" Hermione shot him a glare. "Quiet!" she hissed, which got Gray's attention as he looked at Hermione, who avoided his gaze. "I won't pry too much. Just tell me it's named the Order of Merlin." Although he said it calmly, they felt uneasy, and how could they not? A mere thought from Gray could harm them before they could retaliate. His emotions were no joke, but luckily for them, Gray didn't mean any harm. Hermione said, "Not the Order of Merlin," to which Gray nodded before continuing to write down notes. They looked at him for a second before they continued. "Do you s'pose it was a frame-up?" Ron asked in a hushed voice, but before they could delve further, Dean Thomas strolled by. "Come on, we'll be late for Charms if we don't hurry," Dean said. "Right," Ron replied reluctantly. As the group began to scatter, Harry clutched a piece of parchment. "You go on without me. I want to send this," he said, parting ways with Ron and Hermione.

-Scene Change-

In Pangea, inside the alchemy room, Gray could be seen mixing different kinds of fuel, magical or mythical. He was wearing specialized protective equipment as Raven watched. Noticing her, he said, "What are you doing here? Go soak in the bath I made you." Raven looked to the side as if she didn't want to, so he didn't force her. After he was done making a potion or fuel using his potioneering skill, all Gray got was a temporary potion. "Huh, I thought after reaching level 10 and having an increased success rate, I would be able to do this, but..." he sighed before deciding to leave the alchemy room. He saw the garage, where what looked like a suit of armor lay in pieces. "Why am I even creating a golem when I haven't even made the core yet—the central processing unit?" he said to himself as he entered the carriage, where there was a blueprint for a golem.

That's right, Gray was making a golem, which was actually a side project. The main project was reaching level 12, where he could create the next grade of potion. He was practicing alchemy when he suddenly had the idea to create a permanent fuel, which shouldn't be possible, but Gray thought, why not? It worked towards his goal of reaching level 12. With permanent fuel, Gray wanted golems to manage his farms and Pangea, but he was having little success with both the fuel and the golem. However, Gray was persistent and didn't stop. He sighed, "Well, there's no need to overwork myself. I'm on vacation." Despite suffering such a catastrophic failure, he was confident, mostly because Gray realized something: he knew nothing about his domain. In fact, he was sure he hadn't even grasped the main abilities of his domain. So, while working towards level 12, he was also going to learn his domain.

Later, Gray was actually spending time with the trio for some reason, which they noticed. Hermione said, "Gray, is there something we should know?" Harry added, "Yeah, you've been with us for the past couple of days." Ron chimed in, "Not that we're complaining, especially since you-know-who is out and about." As they trudged through the muddy courtyard, Gray sighed and said, "Yap, that's precisely why. Who knows when that noseless bastard is going to show up?" This was an excuse, as he actually wanted to spend time with them. Apparently, Pangea was too big, and Raven wasn't talking as she was focusing on recovering. So, despite being busy, Gray was craving human interaction, hence why he chose the trio. Seeing this, the trio looked at each other before shrugging. Hermione proceeded to scold Ron. "You, ordering dungbombs. I mean, really!"

Harry shook his head. "Yeah, it doesn't make any sense." Hermione's tone sharpened. "Unless whoever tipped Filch off was interested in reading your mail, Harry. Doesn't it seem a little too coincidental that Filch was tipped off when you were sending a message to Sirius?" Harry frowned thoughtfully. "Yeah, that does seem weird. You figure it's Umbridge?" Hermione hesitated. "I don't know." Just then, Malfoy and a group of Slytherins appeared. "Hey, Weasley! Nice job out on the field today! You'll be our best player on the pitch!" Malfoy jeered. "Get bent, Malfoy!" Harry snapped as Malfoy and the others burst into laughter before they saw Gray, who smiled and said, "Hello, ferret," making Malfoy fall over his own feet as he scrambled to get up. "Gosh, have I told you how you're my favorite person?" Ron said as Gray smiled. "I thought Hermione was your favorite person," which made them laugh. However, Ron looked disheartened. "But Malfoy's right. I'm useless out there. Complete rubbish." Harry shook his head firmly. "It's your first practice. Don't worry about it." Ron, pale and nervous, muttered, "I'm gonna make a fool of myself out there." Gray looked away from his book and said, "Seriously, I don't get why people are obsessed with Quidditch." Hermione replied, "How much do you enjoy making potions?" and there was no need to say more as Gray sighed.