Chapter 2
It felt like hours later, even though it was probably closer to twenty minutes. Via process of elimination James had expertly flipped through the pages and skimmed the mentioned potion-names at high speed. Most, he recognised and remembered well.
When he found the right potion he had to contain his joy else he woke Lily. Grin spreading on his face, he read the chapter. Felix Felices sounded perfect for his purposes.
That was, until he caught sight of the brewing time. Six months. James grimaced. No wonder Liquid Luck was classified as an advanced potion.
So, James did what any self-respecting wizard would do in his position. He sent a Patronus to Sluggy and offered him to throw a cauldron full of galleons his way for a vial of that stuff.
Their former potions professor could send it to Sirius or Bathilda Bagshot. Plan B would involve apothecaries, but he couldn't owl order while he was in hiding and going to Diagon Alley wasn't feasible either.
He'd wait for good old Sluggy's response. If the man had nothing for him he would ask Lily if they could brew the potion. Which naturally meant his Lily-Flower would have to brew it. James winced.
In class he just glanced at the instructions and forced his way through whatever potion they'd been asked to prepare. That had been enough for James to get an Exceeds Expectations.
For his exams he'd actually put some effort in and scored Outstandings, but that didn't change the fact that he hadn't touched a cauldron in years. He wanted to protect his son, save him, not poison him.
Thus, his first potion after graduating Hogwarts couldn't be an advanced level potion that could very well end up finishing You-Know-Who's job for him if he messed it up.
Six months was a terrifying long time, though. A lot could happen until then and if he was being honest with himself, James wanted to pay a tangible contribution as soon as possible.
So, he'd wait a couple of days for his old teacher to reply, but he wouldn't sit still. He'd check his father's old contacts. Fleamont Potter had been a famous potioneer in his own right after inventing Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and had been a valued member of the Potions Guild.
Decision made, James stood up and made his way to the study. He'd stored his father's notebooks and documents in a box here somewhere.
When he found the self-updating book of names from the Potions Guild and a folder with his dad's work-related correspondence he began to cross-reference the data.
Both Carlisle Ogden and Silas Prince seemed to be deceased. A pity, as those two seemed to be his preferred colleagues for work-related exchanges. James found a couple of letters from Slughorn, too, smiling exasperatedly when he saw they'd been writing about him.
With the next pen-pal of his dad's he had more luck. Luck, ha! Lenora Edgecombe was still alive. According to her latest letter she had three adult children and several grandchildren, enjoying her retirement. Still, not unlike his late father, she still brewed potions in her free time.
He wrote her name on a fresh piece of parchment. Two others followed a short time later.
A loud cry rang from upstairs, making James jump in surprise. Chuckling, he tidied up and stretched his limbs. His son sure had a strong pair of lungs. Time to spend some quality time with his little lion.