Chapter 5
After an in-depth explanation of his preparations, including the Why's, the How's and the What's, Lily had calmed down and, dare he say, seemed to appreciate his proactive thinking.
“It won't hurt us, if we only consume it on traditional holidays,” she stated. “It is already past noon and the effects last twelve hours. We should do it before Harry’s afternoon nap. If it makes him giddy, I'd rather he'll sleep it off later. Without his nap he'll hopefully be tired enough to get a proper rest tonight, despite the potion.”
“Alright, let's do this.” He got up to get a vial of Felix and the Bezoar. Just in case, his father's contact had said and James was glad for it. Toddlers usually didn't use high-ranking potions and Liquid Luck was a potion with high toxicity if the maximum dose had been exceeded.
Just to be absolutely sure, they checked the chapter again and found there were other side-effects next to giddiness, too; “reckless behaviour and overconfidence”, James read aloud.
They shared a look, instantly knowing that they couldn’t both take the potion. One of them needed to think clearly for Harry’s sake. “You two take it and then you'll tell me what the potion tells you I should be doing,” he offered.
Lily was his better half. If they were safe, he was lucky enough. Lily shook her head, though. “No. You take it. No offence, James, but you're more used to over-confidence and reckless behaviour. I'd like to stay the rational one,” she said teasingly, but he saw the worry in her eyes.
“So, I'll take two tablespoons then? Or half the vial?” James asked with uncertainty. When it came to potions, he gladly referred to his wife.
Potions instructions for brewing usually worked well enough for him but the user information regarding the consumption? Bloody useless. What amount is too large? What amount would make the effect last an hour? How much would he need for a day? Nothing.
He hated vague instructions. These were his mother's recipes all over again: “Add a pinch of this, some of that, season a bit, mix with a considerable amount of that and flavour some more. How on earth is anyone supposed to work with that?”
For James it was either following the procedures or being creative and throwing everything he wanted into the mix for an intentional surprise. The in-between wasn't for him.
“I'm not quite sure, James,” Lily answered with a frown, thinking. “Let me check the books again.” After a moment she looked up, eyes wide: “This explains so much.”
“What?”, he asked, stumped.
“Do you remember Professor Slughorn's lesson about this Potion, James?” Lily asked excitedly. “I always wondered why he said the prize vial would be just enough for twelve hours, while the Professor himself had a perfect day with only two tablespoons.”
“Do you remember what he told us, James? I often thought about asking him about the difference but every time I planned to I got distracted and completely forgot about it.”
A smile crept up James's lips. Lily was in her element; eyes shining brightly, gesturing wildly and talking a mile a minute. He reached out, placed his hands on her waist and pulled her in for a kiss.
She gave a surprised yelp, before she laughed against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. For just a moment it was just the two of them enjoying each other's company.
Then Harry, probably feeling left out, made his displeasure known. He wasn't yet crying, though his whining came pretty close to reaching that stage. So, they separated and Lily responded to Harry’s universal ‘up’ gesture by lifting him out of his chair.
“After we figure this out, we'll spend the rest of the day playing with Harry, okay?” Lily asked with a pretty smile and a stern warning in her voice. Yeah, he'd acted a bit out of sorts the last couple of days.
He returned her smile sheepishly. “Of course, Lily, dear.” As if on their own accord, his hands ran through his hair again. Grinning at his son, he ruffled his hair as well. “We'll finish this real quick, Harry and then we're all yours, alright?”
Harry giggled happily and Lily let him down so he could gather his toys.
“So, what did you find, Lils?” He asked when Harry was adequately distracted for the moment. “What explains what?”
Cue her enthusiasm returning. “Potency, James. Potency!, she exclaimed, making an expression that indicated annoyance at the fact it took her so long to come to the conclusion. Her eyes, however, still gleamed with excitement at having found the answer.
“It should have been obvious, shouldn't it?” she continued. “He showed us the vial and said it would last for twelve hours, while for him two tablespoons were enough to last a full day. Therefore, the sample he took for his own use must have had a higher potency.”
James stared at Lily, gobsmacked. That she remembered every little detail their Professor said in a lecture several years ago was simply ridiculous. His wife was amazing.
Her conclusion made sense though. “That's why there's no real instructions for usage given in the books, then?” He asked and continued without waiting for an answer; “That makes sense. If the potency varies, one should take it according to the potioneers instructions.”
It was indeed logical that a potion could be brewed with various degrees of potency, but something didn't add up. “Lily… ? Shouldn't there be a basic version of the instructions that includes consumption guidelines? I mean the potioneers who'd be improving the potion would need to calculate up from a baseline, right? And the inventor must have left something more useful than ‘don't take too much' for a user instruction”.
Lily stared blankly at him for a second before she blinked and shook her head. “No. Yeah. You're right. This is kind of weird. The original instructions should be more detailed.” She skimmed over the pages again and sighed. “Wasn't there anything in the letter? Maybe on the vial itself?”
He gave her the letter and inspected the vial. After they had exhausted their repertoire of revealing spells, Lily remarked; “The vial is bigger than Professor Slughorn's and the golden colour darker, more solid. I think it's safe to assume that this will be stronger than the sample from sixth year.”
“So, I'll just take a big swig then and we'll see how long the effects last?”
“Yes, I don't see any other way. You could have asked the creator any time before today. Just keep the Bezoar ready, in case it's too much. I've got another one in my potions kit.”
“Alright, Lils. Sorry, I didn't think about that.” Running his left hand through his hair, he reached for the vile with the other. Lily could be scary when she was in her no-nonsense mood.
One big swig of the golden fortune later and James felt like his world was tilted on its axis.